Probably no right answer - but give it a shot.

mypie · Mar 3, 2008

I was wondering what a typical day looks like from the time the QC beeps to the time you drop your load?

If you're driving h/w team - how much quality time do you really have when one is sleeping and the other is driving?

How easy is it to sleep in a moving truck?

I'm sure no day is exactly the same, and I'm sure each of you would have a different story to tell. Generalizing is fine. But, I know there are certainly some similarities.

What was your worst experience, and why?

This should be fun!

TeamCaffee · Mar 3, 2008

Learning to sleep in a moving truck is tough! We really did not think we would have a problem with that as either one of could sleep in the front seat with the other one driving but laying down was another story. We have a lot of quality time together which is why we choose expeditiing and not long haul trucking.

When the QC beeps it depends on the time of the day to what happens next and who will start driving. The person who starts driving will plug in the address to the GPS while the other one does the paperwork and also verifys the directions with the computer. Depending then on the time of day after we get loaded we will either sit and chat as we are going down the road or one will start getting ready for bed. This is not to DOT regulations as if you are in the front seat you need to be logging. If we come to a scale the person not driving gets up and moves to the sleeper until we are all clear.

Our worst thing that happened to us is we were on a short load late in the day and did not think we would be offered another load. So we delivered rather late in the evening with both of us talking in the front. Yep you got it just crawled into bed when beep the QualComm goes off with a very long load offer paying to well to turn down! Well that was fun trying to stay safe and get enough sleep to drive. We are a lot more careful of that now.

butterfly610 · Mar 3, 2008

We feel like we get quality time together doing this job. We talk a lot to each other, and are best friends, so this job fits us well. We're always together anyways, so we decided why not work together.

There are days where you feel like you're running really hard, non-stop and don't get to spend lots of time together. Mainly on the all nighters. Then there are days in between where you get the loads where you can both stay up with each other all day while one drives or both get to, and get to go to bed at the same time. Just depends on the load and time of day.

As far as sleeping in the truck, it is hard at first. We got a memory foam mattress and it helps us a lot. You just kinda sink in it, and don't feel all the bumps so much. Sometimes you just get so tired it doesn't matter, and you'll sleep through anything.

Fortunately our worst experience isn't too bad compared to some stories I"m sure. The other day we got a load that had two stops and went to actual people's residences. We picked up the load without knowing we were the ones going to be hand unloading the material, and discovered it was 275 pieces of 12 foot long plastic boards to build decks with. THey were too heavy to unload more than one at a time. So we ended up unloading 175 of them in the early morning hours in the snow. Drove 400 miles to the next stop, and unloaded 100 more of them....one at a time. I personally don't see how an older couple could've unloaded this. It was very physically demanding for a woman to do, and all I had to do was slide the pieces to my husband to carry over to a pile!

All in all, we love this job!

ATeam · Mar 4, 2008

mypie,

The answers to the questions you ask will differ from person to person and team to team, as everyone lives and works on the road in their own way. The way that works best is the one that works best FOR YOU.

I write about Diane's and my life and times on the road on my web site. You can read a fair amount about our way there. See my blog and stories from the road.

Bob Sleasman, a team driver with his wife Donna, also blogs about his life and times on the road. See: Bob's Blog.

It is hard to describe a typical day in expediting since the days differ so much. By reading about numerous days in the above blogs, you can get a sense of things as they are for two teams out there.

mypie · Mar 11, 2008

Hey thanks for your stories. I just thought it would be fun and kinda different than answering the same old questions that all newbies have.

Fast_lanefrt · Mar 15, 2008

wow what a question... I write down the directions, program them in to the computer,... punch the warp drive button......I'm setting in a truck stop
just kidding...sleeping in a truck is tough.. Run solo? wait till you have that night you wake up and think your truck is moving so you dive out of bed thru the door and jump in the seat as you stomp the brakes....

tcoupe · Mar 20, 2008

Fast_lanefrt said:
....wait till you have that night you wake up and think your truck is moving so you dive out of bed thru the door and jump in the seat as you stomp the brakes....

lol! I thought I was the only one who did THAT! A few weeks ago, while parked, I awoke to that same feeling of the truck moving, ran into the cab (hmmm... nude!), a dumpster gave me the illusion of a tractor-trailer on the road right in front of us, as I panicked I realized I didn't have my glasses on to SEE to steer in the right direction... so... ran back into the sleeper to get them, my husband woke up asking what was going on, so I told him we were moving down the highway with no-one behind the wheel! I didn't feel foolish until after feeling angry with him for not caring.

I've had those nightmares several times, but that was surely the worst!

Outside of that, we do basically the same thing. Time permitting, we help each other with routing, etc. If the co-driver will need sleep, once everything calms down, we then head to bed. I have to admit that this ST larger sleeper with more amenities is sooo nice compared to the TT we drove this last year. Life on the road is definitely an experience, and an acquired taste. Be safe all....

pelicn · Mar 21, 2008

Sleeping while rolling is a challenge, but there comes a time when it makes no difference, you;ll sleep through ANYTHING.

In our truck, the most common phrase on a long run (sleep/drive/sleep drive) is "Where are we?" I've woken up, looked out the window, and can't for the life of me figure out where I am. It gets really funny when it happens while we are HOME.

charlee · Mar 21, 2008

Sleeping while moving was hard.....sleeping when you HAD to was harder...ie..at a truck stop messing around allday, load comes in at 6pm for 1200 miles and neither one was able sleep (especially after sitting after a weekend)......those were the hardest. Quality time, I think there is a lot of......I do not know anyone that sleeps 10 hours at a time....that time waiting for a load has made some great daytrips (Bedford whaling museum is one i remember specifically and the GREAT fish chowder.) There is NO experience like seeing this country and doing so many things in so many different places. My nightmare has been going over a ravine with the 53 foot and waking up thinking we were falling....scary.

-charlotte