Recaps, 34 hr reset and the 70 hour limit?

You are overthinking this really. All that matters are schedules and appointments.
What that means is some weeks running recap is better, some weeks running 11 hours driving every day and taking a reset is best. It all comes down to who you run for and their specific needs that week in whatever lane you are currently on.

 

What zvar said.

I use both. Most of my pickups and deliveries are during the week. So if I am on a tear and am maximizing my time I will run like hell and take the 34 (36 for me) hour reset while under load. Other times, in order to string loads together and where it would be more beneficial to continue working rather than take a reset in the middle of the week, I use recap. In general, on long loads I do more run hard then use reset. On shorter runs I use recap and sort of half ### it every day. Those days I may only do 400 miles and take 14 hour sleeps. It all depends how the appointments fall. With the electronic log, there is no more run it to the customer faster than legally possible then they take 6 hours to unload and by the time you go to the truck stop when empty it all looks legit on paper. If done right, you still accomplish about the same amount of work anyway.

I do things a bit differently than most. I book my own loads and mostly set my own appointments... so I admit I'm a little spoiled in that regard. If you know your loads ahead of time that will sure help you.

 

If you burnt the 70 in 5 days, you sit for 34. Then roll on the new 70. The previous 70 is reset literally washed off.

This does not work well when maintaining the old recap system. If you had any of the previous 8 days with short hours say only 4 hour workday etc you are going to benefit from a reset and rolling.

You are NOT cheating the system in any way you work 70 hours to make your money. Or sit the whole time on duty and waste it all at the dock if you prefer. Your total is still 70.

The reset did not exist in my time. It is usual to have a team on hand to bypass everything with a 140 hour work week. But that truck is still going to sit 28 hours every 7 days one way or another. We ran 6 days usually and spent the 7th taking care of each other. (This was about 2001) because we both were out of hours anyway. We made our money.

 

You will make more doing 34 than recarecapping. You can do you 70 in 6 days and 7th take 34 and be ready 8Th to roll out anouther 14hr day.. Giving you 84 hrs in 8 days of income. Recaping only gives you 70 hrs in 8 days of income... 84 is greater than 70 every time.

 

If the loads and the truck stops line up.

If you are loaded in Milwaukee at 1700 Monday with 3 on the 14, heading to Target in Stuarts draft VA (750 miles), and you can't deliver until 1200 on Wednesday then it makes no sense to slog through Chicago at rush hour. Nor does it make sense to get up at o-dark-thirty on both Tuesday and Wednesday mornings just to sit until you can deliver at noon. You can run the load hard, but will end up in the same time and place as someone driving easy.

It all depends on the freight and the driver.

 

I've been running San Antonio and back lately, I'll take off about 2:30 in the arrive in Lordsburg NM about noon to 1300, leave there at the 10 hour 2 minute mark arrive at the customer in 11 1/2 hours, drop n hook (11 hours drive plus lunch). take my 10 off, pick up my return load, when I get back home Ill have less than 5 hours available. Take my 34 here at the house and do it again.

So I my case the 34 works well

 

Technically, yes..
If you work that hard week after week you will be ready for a day or 2 off.. It will catch up with you eventually.

 

This is really simple. You work the freight. If it is slow do the recap thing. If it is running hot run baby run. Take that 34 and get after it again.