When Not On The Clock!!

So I was reading the thread about pay and a few of the responses on that thread inspired this thread.

On person on that thread said that when your on your "Off Duty" you should go explore and it got me thinking. How is this even possible? I would assume if you have a load leaving your truck at a truck stop while you go check out some sites would be frowned upon. I also would think that dropping your trailer and bobtailing to the Grand Canyon would probably be a no no also.

I guess if you are an owner operator and have the time available before delivery you could detour your route to see some sites but as a company driver I am missing how you would accomplish this. Maybe if you are empty and on a 34 hour reset you could rent a car and go see some stuff but just on a 10 hour off duty I would think you have no time or resources to do it.

Leaving for a few hours or so is not a big deal. I walked a short trail in Wisconsin and toured the National Mall in DC and caught some guys practicing for an air show in Florida. The big issue is finding truck parking close enough to what you want to see plus not going to far out of route. I could have stopped by the Mall of America last week but not much for malls and crowds.

I refuse to be the guy who is miserable because he thinks he is stuck in the truck all the time when in reality it is your choice and what you want to make of it.

I absolutely love travelling and seeing stuff. One of my biggest fears of becoming a trucker is wanting to stop constantly along my route to take pictures of stuff.

Afraid I am gonna be pretty miserable because I have to keep on trucking past everything. Hope that isn't the case.

Uber and public transportation are your friends. If you only have a ten hour break then unless something is very nearby you probably won't have time to do much, but you have to take a reset eventually, and the truck will break down/need preventive service at some point as well.

As a team truck we're moving more than solos but have still managed to visit downtown Denver, Atlanta, Memphis, Portland, Seattle, and Dallas. We've gone to a Texas bar/grill that had live music and squaredancing, Meramec caverns in Missouri, more casinos than I'd like to admit, and a steakhouse in Tennessee that made their own moonshine (I was only on my lunch break, not a reset so didn't get to try any). I even saw Disney World from the highway for about three seconds, was picking up another load and didn't have time to stop, heh.

So yes, it can be done. If you're worried about the truck getting messed with make sure you have a solid trailer padlock and either an air cuff lock or glad hand lock, preferably both. But being gone for a few hours or even a whole day if your truck is parked somewhere relatively safe like a truck stop isn't a big deal, unless you're in a high theft area. Then it's best to stay with the truck or park it in a terminal.

The other thing to remember is that you often will be forced to take more than a 10 hour break. This is especially true for flatbeds, where many if not most customers keep normal business hours. Say you arrive near such a receiver at 5:30pm. You would then have until the next morning before you could make your delivery, giving you about 14 hours of free time.

I don't know if they offer the service anymore, but some truck stops had people who were willing to shuttle you around town.I remember one out west who went by shuttle bug, you just had to give her a yell over the cb. I hear ya on the pictures though, it wouldn't be the same as stopping to enjoy it but a couple of dash cams could catch all the scenery as well.