Sleepers - What am I missing ?

[Fluxcapacitor]

I'm new, just doing research and thinking about getting into this business. I just returned from the Expo and I'm puzzled about something. Sleepers !!! Why on Earth is there so much time, money, and priority put on these things ? Why not just put a 30' box on a straight truck and use the forward 8' and build your own sleeper ? It would be alot less money, you would have all kinds of room, you could even have an attic. IS there some law or regulation against this I'm missing ? I don't see its any different than the small sprinter vans people are running. They don't buy a cab/chassis , stretch the frame, cut the back out of the cab and squeeze in some $35,000 Box to sleep in, they just use a few feet of the cargo area and put up a wall. Someone please explain this to me.

 

[x06col]

Now you're thinking FLUX. Nothing to explain, except from you, explaining to us, what you did with the money you saved.

 

[redytrk]

A self made sleeper in the box has been done. The trick is to isolate the cargo box wiell enough to prevent any cargo fumes from entering the sleeping space.

Now for the biggie...Getting it DOT approved to be a "Legal" sleeper.

LOTSA LUCK.

 

[ACE]

I agree the growth and the importance of the sleeper seems to taken over the planning of an expedite truck.
There are number of reasons for this.

1]Many expediters are couples who want to see our great country in a vehicle that is an RV first with a box attached. They are not so concerned about making a living at this.

2]Many expediters will stay out for very long periods of time and need these larger sleepers to make it more tolerable.

3]The Truck Dealers and sleeper manufactures are able to make more money off a buyer by seeling a large sleeper with all the bells and whistles. So they like to promote the benefits of the large sleepers.

4]Some people can afford it and bigger is better.

There is no right or wrong sleeper size you must determine what works for you and go with it. But listen to the advice of people who have been doing this for awhile and determine if what they do will fit into what you want to accomplish.

Good Luck Fluxcapacitor.

 

[Jayman]

I am a future o/o as well.

I am starting to wonder if your better off investing in Super 8 or Motel 6. Get a basic sleeper and pocket the difference in money. Also save on fuel and engine wear by eliminating a lot of time spent idling. Also save about $7500 you would have spent on a generator. That isnt considering the luxury of being able to sleep in a real room, have a real bathroom and shower of your own, not have to deal with parking issues, or listen to other drivers make all kinds of noise while your trying to sleep.

 

[x06col]

BINGO!!!

 

[guest]

Well, You can build your own sleeprer cheaper if you get a box made for the truck that is 7 ft long and still get a 22 ft box on the truck to be a D-unit. You also can put about a 15 foot box on and still be able to put a 14 foot box on and be a C-unit. We just redid one of our sleeper and it cost us less than $2500.00 to redo it ourself's. It's Got a big frig, 20inch TV/DVD player, streo/ cdplayer in the sleeper and a Mirowave too.
Drive safe

Dave Mayfield
FEDExCC/Roberts Express O/O Since 3/1/1995
C1847,C2045,D3397,D5047

 

[SHARP327]

the only draw backs with the motel thing are things such as check in time because if you deliver lets say at 6-7am and you're real tired and have to first find a place and make sure there's enough for truck parking you could be driving in circles for some time and even if there was a motel next door to the receiver you may end up waiting until 1-2pm just to check in, but let's say you get checked in just when you get there now you lug your stuff into the room and belive me you'll end up having a lot more stuff than you thought you would by the time you get it in the room and when you get settled in you get a load offer then what? loose the money on the room or turn down the run?, a friend mentioned a little bit ago that it work out for a solo but not to well for a team and I agree.

Hope this opinion shed some light on why even getting a sleeper.

 

[x06col]

Not every nite Sharp. Jeez, don't you know the sure way to get a run is to rent a room? Don't believe there would be any cognitave confusion here if I should loose money on a room for a run. The cost of things anymore are causing a "times are a changing" kind of a need to rethink our positions about what was once a given. You can rent lots of rooms for 40k worth of sleeper, generator, etc. Lots!!

 

[RichM]

Years ago many of us had sleepers built into the front of the box.The DOT regulations stated that the rear wall of the sleeper compartment had to withstand a 6,000 pound impact. I had 2 trucks outfitted with box sleepers. The advantages were the head room and privacy. The main disadvantage were lack of adequate heat and AC.

Roberts Express eventually banned box sleepers as there was a accident where 2 women had loaded some very heavy freight in the rear of the box, did not secure the freight and were rear ended by a T/T.
The freight went forward,through a plywood bulkhead and killed the woman who was in the sleeper. Had the compartment been built to specs she would probably be alive today.

 

[LDB]

Why be so wasteful of space? Get an Argosy 90" mid roof and put a 32 foot box on it. You don't need more than 40" or so of sleeper anyway and that has it. Your $7500 of generator money will buy you around 150 nights of motel rooms or 1/2 of 1 year. We'll be generous with the rates though and say it will pay for 200 nights of rooms or maybe 3/4 of 1 year. At that point you're dipping into your own pocket to pay the motel. You get nothing for that except the room. There's no residual value. There's no trade in value. It can't be moved from one truck to another. Most importantly, the bank doesn't finance it and many expediters don't manage money well enough to pay for it.

Maybe it's different elsewhere but I've never lost a load for box length, only max weight capacity. My nice comfortable sleeper made no difference either. I'd have needed another axle even if I'd had only a 36" torture chamber instead of my 96" life on the road is good sleeper. You can go with the torture chamber and the difference will put you up in motels for a few hundred nights. An expediting career spans a minimum of a few thousand nights. For those willing to be uncomfortable and miserable a few thousand nights more power to you. I'm going to be comfortable.

Leo Bricker, 73's K5LDB, OOIDA 677319
Owner, Panther trucks 5507, 5508, 5509
Highway Watch Participant, Truckerbuddy
EO Forum Moderator
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Support the entire Constitution, not just the parts you like.

 

[greg334]

Flux
I was going to do this but decided against it. there are two reasons why;
1 - can not carry hazmat - legally yes (maybe) but safely no.

2 - I worked with a box company to figure out the bulk head and yes we came up with a doable plan but the cost was high to do it right.

 

[bryan]

Hi

I know that the amount and quality of sleep I get greatly effects my attitude and driving ability.I never know how many miles I'll be driving a day or how many hours I'm going to be stuck in the truck waiting for a load.Also the amount of time spent at the customers varies.

I hate when I get pre-dispatched on a load that I know is going to take all night and I can't sleep because its to hot or my back hurts.

 

[ATeam]

IS there some law or regulation
>against this I'm missing ?

There are regulations that govern sleeper design. See FMCSA 393.76

http://www.fmcsa.dot.gov/rules-regulations/administration/fmcsr/393.76.htm

I see nothing in the regs that would prohibit an in-the-box sleeper, though there are a number of design requirements that would have to be fulfilled.

 

[highway star]

I would just like to 2nd LDB. There is great value to having all you need with you. When you empty and you're tired, finding a room could be a hassle. Maybe you're near an airport and $90 is as cheap as it gets. Maybe there is an event in the area that has everything booked up. Sleepers are well worth the investment, IMHO.

 

[rebel75]

I saw a ford f-550 reg cab with about a 10' box attached and a very small custom berth between... this got me thinking (just a thought) Could one get a f-5/6-50 crew cab, delete rear bench seat and convert space to sleeping berth an be within reg's. Might sound stupid but just a thought.

Also if this could be done does anyone think this setup with a 14' dry box being of use to some companies out there or is it to off course for most.

Like I said...Just a thought...

 

[RichM]

Yes I believe you could convert the rear seat area to a approved sleeper. I met a guy in Pittsburgh last year that had a small FL 60 that was set up as a crew cab,he made it into a small sleeper that met DOT regs. Not much in the way of comfort but all he needed was a bunk to sleep in when he was at a dock waiting to deliver.

 

[guest]

I guess what i'm saying is if you had two different box's put on your truck. One that is 13 Feet so you can do the inside of your sleeper the way you want it and another 14 foot for freight.


Drive safe

Dave Mayfield
FEDExCC/Roberts Express O/O Since 3/1/1995
C1847,C2045,D3397,D5047

 

[Mileater]

Used straight trucks without sleepers tend to have low miles and are dirt cheap, while the sleeper ones have a ton of miles and they hold their value so much better. From this thread, it sounds like it would still not be worth trying to convert a standard straight truck into a sleeper truck.

You would think that the manufacturers would wise up and at least include a 28" sleeper at minimum in all their straight trucks.

 

[arkjarhead]

I saw a guy in russellville, ar who had an international. It was an extended cab model that came from the factory as a sleeper. I think it could work for a solo. I drove a freightliner M2 that had a 36" sleeper on it. It was from ICT. It was alright for solo. Just not that comfortable.