Some Confusion About The Use Of Sleeper Berth At Shippers/Receivers

Topic 22331 | Page 1

Page 1 of 5 Next Page Go To Page:
Don's Comment
member avatar

I have read posts/comments about drivers who go off duty to "the sleeper birth" on their E-Logs while at a shipper/receiver during live loads. Please explain how you would most effectively use the 8/2 split, if getting loaded/unloaded will be completed within a couple (2-3) of hours. Thanks all.

Shipper:

The customer who is shipping the freight. This is where the driver will pick up a load and then deliver it to the receiver or consignee.

Susan D. 's Comment
member avatar

3-3 hours really wouldn't do you any good. But, just in case there's a ridiculous delay, go in sleeper berth.. if they hold you up 8 hours, you've lost nothing on your 14 hour clock. If it's 5 or more hours, I'd hang out long enough to salvage my clock by staying for 8 hours then rolling.

Sleeper Berth:

The portion of the tractor behind the seats which acts as the "living space" for the driver. It generally contains a bed (or bunk beds), cabinets, lights, temperature control knobs, and 12 volt plugs for power.

Don's Comment
member avatar

Factoring in that I (as a driver)would not know how long the delay is going to be, about how many hours should I wait before I consider using the sleeper birth? I have read of drivers stating when "they got to the dock, they immediately went to sleeper." Would that be done to prepare for a " just in case" that they may be there for 6, 7, 8 hours? Also, if they are sitting at the dock waiting to be loaded/unloaded, aren't they considered "on duty-not driving"? How could they log into the sleeper?

3-3 hours really wouldn't do you any good. But, just in case there's a ridiculous delay, go in sleeper berth.. if they hold you up 8 hours, you've lost nothing on your 14 hour clock. If it's 5 or more hours, I'd hang out long enough to salvage my clock by staying for 8 hours then rolling.

Sleeper Berth:

The portion of the tractor behind the seats which acts as the "living space" for the driver. It generally contains a bed (or bunk beds), cabinets, lights, temperature control knobs, and 12 volt plugs for power.

Chris M's Comment
member avatar

If you're running dry van with CFI, you're not going to deal with those extra long waits quite as often, as if you were running reefer , which is where alot of those delay stories comes from. That doesn't mean you won't ever have long waits, but it won't be quite as often.

In my own opinion, I would suggest just ignoring the 8-2 option for the first few months you're solo. Focus on getting your 10 hour break every day, and get a feel for what it takes to run effectively.

Dry Van:

A trailer or truck that that requires no special attention, such as refrigeration, that hauls regular palletted, boxed, or floor-loaded freight. The most common type of trailer in trucking.

Reefer:

A refrigerated trailer.

HOS:

Hours Of Service

HOS refers to the logbook hours of service regulations.
Chris M's Comment
member avatar

Factoring in that I (as a driver)would not know how long the delay is going to be, about how many hours should I wait before I consider using the sleeper birth? I have read of drivers stating when "they got to the dock, they immediately went to sleeper." Would that be done to prepare for a " just in case" that they may be there for 6, 7, 8 hours? Also, if they are sitting at the dock waiting to be loaded/unloaded, aren't they considered "on duty-not driving"? How could they log into the sleeper?

double-quotes-start.png

3-3 hours really wouldn't do you any good. But, just in case there's a ridiculous delay, go in sleeper berth.. if they hold you up 8 hours, you've lost nothing on your 14 hour clock. If it's 5 or more hours, I'd hang out long enough to salvage my clock by staying for 8 hours then rolling.

double-quotes-end.png

Per the fmcsa rule book, yes you are "supposed to be" on-duty when waiting at a dock. But truthfully, that's not practical for us. It's the accepted practice that once you are bumped to the dock and you're just waiting for a green light, phone call, buzzer, or whatever says you're done, that you log sleeper berth. If you stay on-duty, you'll burn your 70 hour clock at an unnecessary pace.

Sleeper Berth:

The portion of the tractor behind the seats which acts as the "living space" for the driver. It generally contains a bed (or bunk beds), cabinets, lights, temperature control knobs, and 12 volt plugs for power.

CSA:

Compliance, Safety, Accountability (CSA)

The CSA is a Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) initiative to improve large truck and bus safety and ultimately reduce crashes, injuries, and fatalities that are related to commercial motor vehicle

FMCSA:

Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration

The FMCSA was established within the Department of Transportation on January 1, 2000. Their primary mission is to prevent commercial motor vehicle-related fatalities and injuries.

What Does The FMCSA Do?

  • Commercial Drivers' Licenses
  • Data and Analysis
  • Regulatory Compliance and Enforcement
  • Research and Technology
  • Safety Assistance
  • Support and Information Sharing

Fm:

Dispatcher, Fleet Manager, Driver Manager

The primary person a driver communicates with at his/her company. A dispatcher can play many roles, depending on the company's structure. Dispatchers may assign freight, file requests for home time, relay messages between the driver and management, inform customer service of any delays, change appointment times, and report information to the load planners.
Deleted Account's Comment
member avatar

Chris is right. However make sure you get clarification from CFI how they want it logged. I've seen some people say their company requires them to log 15 minutes to deal with paperwork

Dave Reid's Comment
member avatar

Factoring in that I (as a driver)would not know how long the delay is going to be, about how many hours should I wait before I consider using the sleeper birth? I have read of drivers stating when "they got to the dock, they immediately went to sleeper." Would that be done to prepare for a " just in case" that they may be there for 6, 7, 8 hours? Also, if they are sitting at the dock waiting to be loaded/unloaded, aren't they considered "on duty-not driving"? How could they log into the sleeper?

double-quotes-start.png

Your company is going to have a minimum amount of time that they expect you to log for various things. In my case, at customers, it is 5 minutes {check in} and 5 minutes {load/unload}. So, as soon as I have logged that 10 minutes, then I am hitting {sleeper berth-customer load/unload}.

There is no harm in this and if it turns out you are there for a long time, then if you hit 8 hours you will have paused your 14 hr clock. Of course if you did not do this correctly, you can always edit the entries later, provided you have not messed it up by getting on the drive line.

This manner of doing things is generally accepted and understood within the industry and by the regulators. Of course that does not mean that it will fly in every circumstance. If there is a serious accident, some official may decide to enforce the letter of the law...just be aware of that.

Sleeper Berth:

The portion of the tractor behind the seats which acts as the "living space" for the driver. It generally contains a bed (or bunk beds), cabinets, lights, temperature control knobs, and 12 volt plugs for power.

Trucker Kearsey 's Comment
member avatar

The flip side of the coin is if you are only there 2 hours, and take 8 sleeper the next break...you will get hours back. the amount depends on the number of hours you drive bewteen breaks.

a driver called me last night..."i drove my wbole 11, but my 10 hour break isnt up and i have 7 hours of drive time now...why?"

because he drive 7 hours to the customer sat for 2 hours getting loaded, then drove the remainder of his 11 hour clock which was 4 hours. he went into sleeper and the clock automatically calculates the 2/8 split he didnt mean to take. so after the 8 sleeper he got back 11 hours of drive time MINUS the 4 hours he drove between the two breaks and wound up with 7 hours of drive time almost 2 hours earlier than he expected any hours back at all. he only needed 2 more hours to get to the next customer so arrived there early.

Susan D. 's Comment
member avatar

My company requires 6-7 minutes on duty/check in time then it's off to the sleeper I go. Yes, I absolutely nap while I'm in the sleeper. I've pretty much trained myself.. get horizontal and I'm out. If they're going to call my cell when they're finished, I'm napping with my Bluetooth headset on lol.. otherwise they're going to have to beat on the side of the sleeper to wake me.

Don's Comment
member avatar

I really need to study the 8/2 Split. If I started on -duty at 6am for pre-trip, start driving 630am and get docked at 1000am, that will be 4 hrs on my 14 and 3.5 hr on my 11. I go to sleeper birth for - lets say 2 hrs - while being unloaded or loaded. When they are done, is it correct to state my 14 didn't stop, but my driving line did stop ****il I started driving again). Would I stiil need to shut down by 8pm? If so, do I only need to take an 8 hr break to start a new 14 hr day, or have to take the full 10 hr break. Oh, and that 2 hour sleeper would satisfy the 30 minute break in the first 8 hours?

The flip side of the coin is if you are only there 2 hours, and take 8 sleeper the next break...you will get hours back. the amount depends on the number of hours you drive bewteen breaks.

a driver called me last night..."i drove my wbole 11, but my 10 hour break isnt up and i have 7 hours of drive time now...why?"

because he drive 7 hours to the customer sat for 2 hours getting loaded, then drove the remainder of his 11 hour clock which was 4 hours. he went into sleeper and the clock automatically calculates the 2/8 split he didnt mean to take. so after the 8 sleeper he got back 11 hours of drive time MINUS the 4 hours he drove between the two breaks and wound up with 7 hours of drive time almost 2 hours earlier than he expected any hours back at all. he only needed 2 more hours to get to the next customer so arrived there early.

Page 1 of 5 Next Page Go To Page:

New Reply:

New! Check out our help videos for a better understanding of our forum features

Bold
Italic
Underline
Quote
Photo
Link
Smiley
Links On TruckingTruth


example: TruckingTruth Homepage



example: https://www.truckingtruth.com
Submit
Cancel
Upload New Photo
Please enter a caption of one sentence or less:

Click on any of the buttons below to insert a link to that section of TruckingTruth:

Getting Started In Trucking High Road Training Program Company-Sponsored Training Programs Apply For Company-Sponsored Training Truck Driver's Career Guide Choosing A School Choosing A Company Truck Driving Schools Truck Driving Jobs Apply For Truck Driving Jobs DOT Physical Drug Testing Items To Pack Pre-Hire Letters CDL Practice Tests Trucking Company Reviews Brett's Book Leasing A Truck Pre-Trip Inspection Learn The Logbook Rules Sleep Apnea
Done
Done

0 characters so far - 5,500 maximum allowed.
Submit Preview

Preview:

Submit
Cancel

This topic has the following tags:

Advice For New Truck Drivers Hours Of Service Logbook Questions Time Management
Click on any of the buttons above to view topics with that tag, or you can view a list of all forum tags here.

Why Join Trucking Truth?

We have an awesome set of tools that will help you understand the trucking industry and prepare for a great start to your trucking career. Not only that, but everything we offer here at TruckingTruth is 100% free - no strings attached! Sign up now and get instant access to our member's section:
High Road Training Program Logo
  • The High Road Training Program
  • The High Road Article Series
  • The Friendliest Trucker's Forum Ever!
  • Email Updates When New Articles Are Posted

Apply For Paid CDL Training Through TruckingTruth

Did you know you can fill out one quick form here on TruckingTruth and apply to several companies at once for paid CDL training? Seriously! The application only takes one minute. You will speak with recruiters today. There is no obligation whatsoever. Learn more and apply here:

Apply For Paid CDL Training