12 Hour Shift

Maverick · Jun 14, 2012

With remastered "Peaceful Easy Feeling" going softly in the background and a little home time in the garage office......can anyone chime in on the 12/On 12/Off Expedite team run?

Tried this for a couple of weeks and it seemed to work great. Almost like running two separate logs and it would seem a team can keep better track of hours and longer times between re-sets. Is it just me, or does this system also lend more focus on miles, than hours?

I really like the 12 hour "modules" and the inherent focus on miles, rather than time. Anyone for or against? Plus or minus?

paullud · Jun 14, 2012

I liked running on a 12 hour shift so I was running the same time every day which helps with sleep and safety.

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Maverick · Jun 15, 2012

paullud said:
I liked running on a 12 hour shift so I was running the same time every day which helps with sleep and safety.

Sent from my ADR6400L using EO Forums

It does assist with both aspects mentioned. There seems to be nice balance and teams can switch the day and night hours as the loads dictate. Always seems an opening for switching the guy/gal on nights back to days....and so on.

Logs are much easier, with less room for mistakes. They don't have to match with the exception of duty change. I found it much more relaxing.

Dynamite 1 · Jun 15, 2012

split logging as a team. guess if you feel it helps. dont know other than personal satisfaction what it does for a team. doesnt cut down on hours used or anything. we as a team for 12 yrs found that all that shift switching makes ones sleep schedule difficult.

we do a 10 / 10 with my wife driving nights and me days to handle all the loading, unloading and fueling. we always driver change at midnight, which is usually possible with most runs. we can do a coast to coast and only be off by four hours.

dont know if this helps but maybe something to try to have a normal schedule of sleep.

Maverick · Jun 15, 2012

Thanks for the input Dynamite. Can see in your case the 10-10 working out pretty well. Just a beginner here and like the idea of running the truck however I want for 12 hours. Co-driver on current team has a lot of experience and drives somewhat different than myself. Driving nights is a little more tiring for both of us, and if I switch at midnight for the morning run.....I include my breakfast, fuel stops, and short rest area breaks in the consequent 6 hours of night drive.

Guess it's six of one, half dozen of the other. Or in this case, twelve.

Dynamite 1 · Jun 15, 2012

on our plan you start driving at midnight and get done at 10 am or whenever before you get to the consignee. there are no fuel stops involved you do that rite before the driver change at midnight. then all you have are potty breaks. have your supper before you start then a snack if needed while driving and breakfast after your finished. if you get there early, lay down, get a nap then have bfast after the delivery then back to napping.

LDB · Jun 15, 2012

Running 12 hour shifts is the most efficient and least confusing of all options. If you have the discipline to do it it's the way to go. You have to maintain the discipline and the shift even when not running though to maintain proper rest. You can choose any hour as cutoff. Some find 1-1 better since you each get about half the darkness hours for sleeping. Between fuel, food and bathroom stops you aren't going to drive over 11 hours in your 12 hour window. You aren't going to go over 14 since you are changing every 12. It keeps your logs legal with the least confusion. Sometimes you will do a lot during your shift and others you will do little or maybe none. You just have to be disciplined to sleep adequately during your off window and that means the partner has to be disciplined enough to keep quiet so you can.

AMonger · Jun 15, 2012

I had a co-driver once who had no sense. This was back when you could do 5 & 5 virtually forever. I woke up, ready to go, and there was a rest area there, so he pulled in. He counted his hours and found that he had only driven 4.75. So he says, "I've got 15 minutes left," and he pulls back out and drives down the highway for 15 more minutes, then pulls ONTO THE **** SHOULDER and comes back in the sleeper and says, "They're you go."

"There you go," apparently as in, "There you go to do your pre-trip on the shoulder in the dark with cars whizzing by."

I'm glad we weren't co-drivers for very long.

Maverick · Jun 15, 2012

Got to be kidding me AMonger? Yup....it all comes down to working together and having respect for the other driver. Couple of times we were very close to the destination and one does not wake the co-driver at midnight just to drive the remaining few miles etc.

Like LDB comments as well and this fits my perspective on the matter. There are ways to work the 12 hour modules so your time is better organized, though I've not run it enough to know all the ways it can be done. I really liked it for reasons mentioned. Thanks

Dynamite 1 · Jun 16, 2012

we hope you find a split that works for you. just in our experience, the more regular a schedule each person can keep the better off you will be. we do it the way we do it cause i dont expect my wife to load or unload freight or have to fuel the truck in the middle of the night. we also have a potty in the truck so she doesnt have to get out in rest areas in the middle of the night. thats just the way we divide the work. i take care of the truck duties and she takes care of the finances.

good luck, you will find what works for you.