When do you Sleep/

[RedBird]

Hello fellow expediters,

This question pertains really to the solo o/o but if you're a team and you once ran solo then by all means please offer your input.

When you're dispatched on a long load (def as let's say from a trip I ran last June from Elgin, IL to Atkins, VA) when do you stop to sleep? During the run?, When you've delivered? Just curious. Also a majority of you guys probably sleep in the van or sprinter or cube..........When do you treat yourself to a motel/hotel?

 

[miker]

I think that the majority on here will tell you that when you sleep is up to you, most have some sort of bunk built in their van, and as for myself I will get a hotel room once in a while but not often

 

[chefdennis]

Sleep? I found out along time ago that sleep is soooo over rated. For the most part I sleep when I am empty. If I have a load in the van, I consider it a "straight thru run". I'll sleep when I get there and have to wait for the consignee to open, or i'll sleep after the load is dropped.

Now if i pickup a load on say weds, and it doesn't deliver till fri and i can cover enough miles so that i can get there in time, i might grab a few hours of sleep. Or if I pickup on a fri and the load doesn't deliver till sunday or monday, yea i'll grab some sleep somewhere along the way.

As for sleeping in a hotel, only if I have the bed folded up and i can't get into it. Other then that, i don't stay in hotels/motels. I have all i need in the van so its not an issue of comfort.

 

[bluejaybee]

As an O/O and solo driver, I sleep when the load has been delivered. If I am on a long run and there is some extra time allowed, I might cat nap to refresh myself. But generally, I make my delivery first. Very seldom do I get a motel room. Once when I was pretty sick and then when I get snowed in.

 

[Turtle]

Well, as the only cure for sleepy is sleep, I sleep when I'm sleepy. If I know that I'm going to need a certain amount of sleep between picking up and delivering a load, and if the load times do not allow for me to get the rest I need, I'll turn the load down. If I know I can get the required sleep during the load, I'll take it and get my sleep in when I need it.

Safe, legal and on time. Can't have any one or two of those without the other. Legal and on time is great, but if you're driving sleepy then you're a danger to yourself and others, and are unsafe. I can't imagine a single load that's worth falling asleep at the wheel for. If you're sleepy and nodding off, a drunk driver will have faster response times than you will.

The only time I get a motel is when I've broken down on the road and the van is getting repaired. Otherwise it's mainly an expense that I'd prefer to not have.

 

[dhalltoyo]

It depends on how much sleep I have had prior to accepting a fairly long run (700+ miles).

Basically, if I begin to feel sleepy, I simply take a power nap.

Motel? I have never stayed in one during the course of my business.

Why? Cost. I am very frugal. I'd rather spend the money on something for the truck that makes the job easier and life on the road more pleasant. (GPS, HDTV, DVD's, Computer Equipment, Software, etc.) Not to say that a hotel isn't pleasant, but once you check out the experience seems so short lived. Creature comforts for the truck satisfy on a continual basis.

 

[miguy1957]

I guess I must be a light weight..Usually after being out 2 weeks I will treat myself to a Motel room for a night just to get out of the truck, and regroup. It does my demeanor and out look alot of good and I dont get so burnt out... I usually sleep after I get to the cons and when Im empty I take a lot of naps so if I get one of those overnighters Im well rested.
________
Laguna Bay Condominium

 

[Suds43]

I guess you sleep when you need it........there are ways to work in a quick power nap. Everyone knows their own limits.
When I was running solo, if I was really tired and had a ways to go I'd simply figure how many miles I still had to go, the time to get there. Most times it was easy to grab a half hour-45 minute nap, get out, stretch, do the restroom, wash up, head back at it. Although it does make dispatch a little nervous to 'see' the truck not moving!! lol
If you 'push' yourself your only inviting disaster. What freight is worth that???

As far as a motel, I"d grab one at every opportunity. The first company I was with would, most times, approve a motel room if you accepted a load that didn't pick up until the next day. They'd reimburse, I think it was up to $45, for the room.
Bro. Dave, I"m surprised you haven't taken advantage of that little 'perk' they offer. Or don't they do that anymore.

 

[cheri1122]

Like Miguy, I like to get a motel room every now & then, (maybe every 3-4 months) just as a break from routine. With the Corporate Lodging Card, I can find one online with everything I want, and the rates are pretty good - why not? In a job where indoor plumbing is a treat, I like to splurge once in awhile.

 

[piper1]

Motels depend on where I am and how long the trip was. If I have just done a long strait thru (1200 miles +) I will get a hotel if it's cheap. A $10 shower at the J is good but if I can get a $30 Motel 6 and have a couple of showers,stretch out, use their A/C or heat. I will. The sleep is better too. If the hotels are expensive or the run is shorter I will bunk in the Sprinter.

 

[chefdennis]

4-5 hrs of sleep at any given time and i am all set. Yeap a power nap is a;ways a good deal if you feel the need and yea from time to time, but not often.

a can of red bull and a bottle of 5 hour energy, and i am good to go even with only a few hours sleep...

 

[Suds43]

LMAO!!

ChefDennis, If I drank a can of red bull and a 5-hr. energy I'd be able to put the truck on my back and RUN it to the delivery!! Chances are good, depending on traffic, that I'd deliver 3 hrs early too!! hahahaha

 

[aileron]

Never got a motel room yet.

As for sleeping, I stop when I am sleepy. On a long run I always end up having 2-3 hours extra. If I don't get sleepy I deliver and then go to sleep. There are some loads that don't deliver until the next day in the morning and I can get to the consignee around midnight, then I just find a truck stop/rest area/wal mart close to the consignee and sleep there. Wouldn't want to end up at the consignee and not having a place to sleep, or the area not being very safe.

 

[layoutshooter]

I just sleep while I am driving. That way I don't have to see how scary it is out there and when I get to where I am going I am fresh and ready for another run. Layoutshooter

 

[flattop40]

Have yet to pay for a motel room.

Did discover in december that a good place I am adding to layover are casino's. Always lots of room, lots of security, and can stay as long as you want with out the hassle. Got a free room from a casino after inquiring about paying for a shower to a pit boss. 20 mins later he came back and gave me a free room for the night then I proceeded to take them for $400. Was a VERY good night.

On long runs use of the power nap is essential. 20-30 mins and I can run for another 2 hours.

 

[RLENT]

When you're dispatched on a long load (def as let's say from a trip I ran last June from Elgin, IL to Atkins, VA) when do you stop to sleep? During the run?, When you've delivered?

Whenever I need to ..... before, during, or after .....

Last night I went to bed at around 18:00 or 19:00 after I dropped and grabbed some chow .... I slept straight-thru until 05:15 .....

Also a majority of you guys probably sleep in the van or sprinter or cube..........When do you treat yourself to a motel/hotel?

Never.

Only reason I'd ever be likely to spend the coin on a motel is if the truck was broke down and it was not feasible to sleep in it (too cold and couldn't run the Espar, too hot and couldn't run the AC, vehicle stored somewhere I wasn't allowed to be - like inside the repair facility) That has never happened yet (knock on wood)

Well, there is one other reason ..... if the wife were with me ..... that's the only time I have gotten a motel room (once) - in her case it would have to be a motel every night .... and that's why she stays at home ..... too high maintenance .....

 

[dodgeboy]

Have yet to pay for a motel room.



On long runs use of the power nap is essential. 20-30 mins and I can run for another 2 hours.

You mean Express-1 now gives "solo" drivers runs over 250 miles? I never had a problem driving tired with Express-1 because they never let me run like that.

 

[Scott101]

I just sleep while I am driving. That way I don't have to see how scary it is out there and when I get to where I am going I am fresh and ready for another run. Layoutshooter

Oh, you have snooze-control on your truck? Nice! That option is at the top of the list of doohickeys for my dream truck.





haha- I said dream truck in a snooze control post!

 

[CharlesD]

I have a simple rule. I sleep when I'm tired.

 

[TJ959]

I plan long runs around one or two 2 hour naps. If the run has no room for those naps I turn it down. I'm usually quite refreshed after a 2 hour nap and ready to roll. I stay in motels when there is no room in the truck or if it's in the shop. The only other thing that may make me get a room is extreme hot or cold temperatures. Laredo in the summer time would be a good example. Fargo in February would be an example of the other extreme.