Driving Routines

I am curious how people use their time. I'm learning fast in different parts of the country parking is rough! I'm trying to figure out (newby) the best way to do things, of course appointment times are a factor, and not park too early out of fear of being left with no parking spot and out of hours.....

Second question I have is how realistic is it to think I can be driving after my 1p hour break and pretrip. I mean how many of you oy stop for 10 hours. Not more? Do you drive consistently 11 hours? In a perfect world ;) I've heard drivers say I start up at 5am and shut down at 5pm. Am I missing something because I just see missed money like that..... and again, I'm super green, still with my trainer.

I generally only park for 10 hours and start my clock as soon as my break is over, unless I am waiting for my appointments or due to bad weather. I generally drive between 450 to 600 miles a day depending on many factors.

I'm not on a set schedule, I start moving when my break is over, rather that be 10pm at night or 4 in the morning. Depending on where I'm at in the country, such as a major city, I might wait a little longer to leave out to avoid the morning or afternoon rush hour if my appointment allows it.

Thank you!!

I generally only park for 10 hours and start my clock as soon as my break is over, unless I am waiting for my appointments or due to bad weather. I generally drive between 450 to 600 miles a day depending on many factors.

I'm not on a set schedule, I start moving when my break is over, rather that be 10pm at night or 4 in the morning. Depending on where I'm at in the country, such as a major city, I might wait a little longer to leave out to avoid the morning or afternoon rush hour if my appointment allows it.

Most often I'm ready to roll before the 10 hours is up. On the flip side, plan to shut down after maybe 9 1/2 to 10 1/2 hours, depending on where you'll be at that point and what the rest of your trip looks like.

Your trip planning is based on appointment times, set either by the shipper/ receiver or your dispatcher. Beyond that, I like to shut down by 3pm. Truck stop parking is wide open at that time. (Showers and laundry are yours to be had then, also.)

Then I can start my pre-trip after 1am and roll on absolutely empty highways. Also, plan so you'll drive through big cities during those Oh Dark Thirty hours when normal people are still asleep.

When I was “48 states” with Schneider, I usually started about 4-5am & tried to shut down by 4:30-5pm. Did I leave $ on the table? Maybe, but I was often running on recap hours & didn’t wanna sit for a 34 on the road. I was always doing 2,500 miles per week.

Now I mostly run FL MS LA & and sometimes start later. Today I’ll start around 11am. I rarely do my 10hr at a truck stop. FL scales are my favorite place to park, always room & quiet.

I hope this helps.

My driving breaks are all determined by the load. If I have time I’ll sleep in some if I do t then I’m on it like every 10 hours or 8 if it is required.

As for the driving I like to do 550 miles every day. For Prime trucks that’s about 9.5 hours of driving and my .5 break so about 10-10.5 hours on duty if I have a fuel stop or not.

Thx so much.

I generally only park for 10 hours and start my clock as soon as my break is over, unless I am waiting for my appointments or due to bad weather. I generally drive between 450 to 600 miles a day depending on many factors.

I'm not on a set schedule, I start moving when my break is over, rather that be 10pm at night or 4 in the morning. Depending on where I'm at in the country, such as a major city, I might wait a little longer to leave out to avoid the morning or afternoon rush hour if my appointment allows it.

Thank you. I wonder if most people plan around truck stops for when they stop.

My driving breaks are all determined by the load. If I have time I’ll sleep in some if I do t then I’m on it like every 10 hours or 8 if it is required.

As for the driving I like to do 550 miles every day. For Prime trucks that’s about 9.5 hours of driving and my .5 break so about 10-10.5 hours on duty if I have a fuel stop or not.

I only ever stop for 10 hours unless it doesn’t hurt my money to stop longer. My clock works around my money. I don’t start it or stop it unless it makes me the most money possible. Say I stop 30 minutes away from consignee because there is nowhere at consignee to sleep. I got 3 hours left to run. I might get up in 8 hours if that puts me there 30 minutes before they open. Then I’ll do a two hour break there while they unload me and away I’ll go. I always want to be the first truck everywhere I go.

Maybe a dumb question but how do you know when they open? Do you call?

I only ever stop for 10 hours unless it doesn’t hurt my money to stop longer. My clock works around my money. I don’t start it or stop it unless it makes me the most money possible. Say I stop 30 minutes away from consignee because there is nowhere at consignee to sleep. I got 3 hours left to run. I might get up in 8 hours if that puts me there 30 minutes before they open. Then I’ll do a two hour break there while they unload me and away I’ll go. I always want to be the first truck everywhere I go.