How Do You Find Cheap Fuel? Which apps and sites do you use?

When I first started driving, it was that type of pressure. After some years in, I am not solely reliant on truck stops to park. Most of the time I sleep at the delivery or as close to it as possible. Anywhere that looks good enough to take a 10, works for me. Over the years, I've learned of numerous places to park. The corporate truck stops are always going to fill up first. There mom and pops that are slept on and always have parking. Exit 117 off 75, the Gas and Go, in Pinehurst GA is an example. It's always parking at that truck stop, and the fuel is cheap. The showers are nice too. Yet everybody fills up the Pilots and Love's all the way down to the Florida line. Speedway in Effingham, IL a lot of times has parking despite being a small truck stop, but Petro, Flying J, TA, and Pilot and they fill up first and quickly. Point I'm saying is, you can find somewhere to park. It's just not always conventional nor will it always be the corporate truck stops. I personally prefer the mom and pops.

 

Im always on CB when i leave a truck stop at night giving heads up on spaces i seen available. Rest areas as well

 

I've been running clean Elogs the last year ... I am really surprised by myself to have been able to do that without any PC or technical "cheats".
I spent $380 this year for reserved parking and I find it very crucial for my trip planning. Even though, on three occasions it was a waste of money...there were free spots available or I found a free vacant spot at a different truck stop. Anyway, I don't think it is too much and I'd be willing to pay even more if needed unless it would be cheaper to find a motel with a decent adjacent parking. So I am also glad that there are pay parking lots and I hope that other carriers find it too expensive and keep discouraging their drivers to park there so that I won't have any problems to book a spot for myself.

As far as booking loads, I thought it would be much worse but I did not have to cancel a load due to detention but I've been very choosy about the backhauls, typically picked those with open window appointments and by now I pretty much know who the receivers are and what to expect. I think that the provisions on using PC while running out of hours at shippers/receivers was the most important change in this new Elog era. Still, the 14 hour limit is just unnecessary and cumbersome rule and the main cause of driving while tired.
Don't anybody tell me that "nobody forces nobody to do nothing" because I am talking real life here, not some perfect world theory!
Why don't they replace it with split sleeper breaking as in old pre 2004 years 2 - 8; 3-7, 4-6, 5-5 and so on? Back then of course it was 10 hours driving and 8 hours resting.


Edit:
the style of my driving/trip planning changed a lot...and for worse. For example, before when going from Chicago to York, Pa I'd just run from 5-6 am until I got close enough and I'd be there on appointment the next morning and at worst case scenario I'd correct on the paper log the duration of the break. Now I can't do that so I have to give it more time and "just in case" leave the night before and often wait over 12-15 hours before approaching the receiver. This is a waste of time and money for me, not to mention life quality: one more night spent in the bunk instead of my own bedroom. Very often the some goes for going back home. So it is two unnecessary nights in the truck sleeper because of ELDs or HOS ...whatever.

 

You didn't answer my question. Believe me I am the king of unconventional parking and making spots. Everyone tries to get as close to the shipper or receiver before a 10 theres nothing new there. EOBR actually prevents common sense scenarios where you can get to the shipper and receiver every single time. It reduces efficiency there. Doesn't improve it. Regardless of whether you will admit it or not the fact is it is a problem.

What happens if you are dispatched on a load that will take 10.5 hours to drive but a big traffic jam delays you and makes that take 11.5 hours? You've never been in that scenario before? Sometimes that little delay right that can cause some unforeseen BS to screw up everything the next day. Not always but sometimes. I would say more times than not on EOBR it does.

 

You're right. That does happen. To be honest I rarely have that problem. I plan my loads in which I try to minimize the chance of adverse conditions. The things I can control I plan around it. The In the event I encounter the scenario you described, what can I do besides adjust? Maybe I shut down sooner. Maybe I pull over and wait it out. If a plan gets foiled all I can do is deal with it and go with a different plan. Ok I don't get to park where I initially planned. So what? I'll park somewhere else. Not everyone tries to get that close to the receiver. The only reason parking is so difficult for some is because everyone wants to run the same window (4 am - 6pm give or take). Most people aren't good adjusting their plan. EOBR to me is not an excuse to not be efficient. It is nothing more than a way to log drive time. I don't run big cities during rush hour traffic unless I'm forced to and 98 percent of the time I'm not. It's all in trip planning, which also includes a few backup plans along the way. A lot of times I run deep into the night so those issues aren't a problem. That's a thing I do like about pulling reefer is the night driving.

 

By the way you say EOBR reduces efficiency, paper isn't any more or any less efficient. Only allows for a driver to get away with breaking a few rules without getting caught. If a driver wasn't efficient on paper, a driver won't be efficient on EOBR.

 

Well let me tell you what happens when you own a truck and cover all the expenses. I lost an $1,100 load going back home Friday because of regulatory and EOBR bull ####. Now in your world a simple adjustment is no big deal. The company will get you another load, right? In my world I ended up deadheading 400 miles home. Now tell me again how that's not such a big deal?

 

it comes to planning, 60 mph average is a good benchmark for me, anything else is extra plus very few customers complain about being there early and gives you a good breathing room for accidents traffic etc etc

 

Oh I forgot the best part. I got home on Saturday around lunch time instead of Friday night. I had to drive against that 14 hour clock again and just barely beat it tired again. So lost $1,100 for nothing and got home 16 hours later. But I was compliant. And that was after 2500 miles in 7 days so I was really pushing the bounds there too, right? #### outlaw. I just love it when company drivers in a cozy hand holding scenario like to tell people running a business it ain't such a big deal to lose money.

 

I'm not a company driver and I will probably will ever be I rather quit trucking but as a O/O who haul hazmat and is on my best interest to plan ahead and keep DOT off my rear and keep the standard of living I'm able to afford for my wife and my son. I agree with you ELOGs before it was mandatory I was making border line 300k now im lucky if I get to the 200k sucks but we do have it better than some countries for example:

New Zealand[edit]
Heavy vehicle work time requirements[8] in New Zealand are:

• A break of at least 30 minutes every 5.5 hours of work time
• Maximum cumulative work time of 13 hours (plus 2x 30-minute breaks) in one cumulative work day before a 10-hour break is required, giving a total of 24 hours.
• After 70 hours of accumulated work a driver must have a break of at least 24 hours
• 
  
• European Union, drivers' working hours are regulated by EU regulation (EC) No 561/2006[6] which entered into force on April 11, 2007. The non-stop driving time may not exceed 4.5 hours. After 4.5 hours of driving the driver must take a break period of at least 45 minutes. However, this can be split into 2 breaks, the first being at least 15 minutes, and the second being at least 30 minutes in length.

The daily driving time shall not exceed 9 hours. The daily driving time may be extended to at most 10 hours not more than twice during the week. The weekly driving time may not exceed 56 hours. In addition to this, a driver cannot exceed 90 hours driving in a fortnight.