Down time OTR?

How to say this nicely, no you dont always get a 34 hr. restart, depends on how ya run most often not gonna happen. As for free time umm by the time you get done with the drive, hit a shower and get something to eat its time for the bunk.

It all looks nice on paper but in reality you get dog tired most days and IMO if your that into all your activity truckin isnt for you....yeah you can get some but not like your describing...also depends on weather, time of pick up and delivery of your load, truck break down, traffic jams, waiting to get loaded or unloaded..........

 

Ah, the sweet innocence of youth.

Actually, that's not outrageous thinking. But there are a couple of caveats here.

1. depending on what you're hauling, hazmat for example, it's really not cool to go off and leave your equipment unattended for extended periods of time. Especially if you're at or near large cities, etc you may well come back and find a window shattered, your personal goodies gone, your trailer looted or even your whole rig gone. Truck hijacking/theft is on the rise and truckstops, etc are prime hunting grounds for thieves. Not everyone walking around the truckstop talking on a cell is an innocent traveller.

2. you're in an area that is unfamiliar to you. Are you gonna be able to find your way back to your truck? Don't laugh, it's awful easy to get "turned around" in an unfamiliar city or back roads.

3. just supposing you get clipped on your bike or otherwise hurt. Do you have the necessary's in case you wake up in a hospital someplace?

4. how about you get back to your truck to a qualicom message "Where the hell have you been? We've been trying to contact you for hours?"

5. you come back from your "tour" to find the front fenders/hood of your truck in pieces c/o the "newbie" in the next parking slot.

Y'see, when you're with that truck.... especially if you're under a load.... your "time off" isn't really yours. Your responsibility to the truck and load never stops and you will be held responsible for any mishaps.

 

I plan on bringing a laptop so I can chat online with my wife, but other than that, your description is about how I expect it...

 

you need to remember trucking is a way of life not a job! yeah you get paid for doing it, but the minute you pickup a load YOU are responsible for every minute you have it and then when you unload you get another. so you see you are always on the move. people here 11 hours driving, but forget that 14 number. you do 14 take a shower eat now your into the 16 to 17 hour window 8 hrs sleep and back at it.

 

I think the bike thing is an excellent idea for exercise buy like the other guys said you really don't want to go to far out of sight of your truck. There really isn't a lot of time for excursions and stuff like that. If you do find yourself having time then there is something really wrong! You should be able to fit in at least 15 to 30 min. a day of some kind of exercise though. You are definitely one of the hardcore because it is sooooooo hard to want to workout after driving all day and night on very little sleep. It is very important and necessary though. I kept dumbells in my truck and a little workout bench and when I had time a had a little routine I would do. One thing that is good that doesn't take up a lot of time is extreme sprints. Actually my doctor had recommended this and said it was really good for heart and lungs and didn't put the stress on your body like long distant jogging. Just find a grassy area (low impact this way) a truck stop or rest stop and as fast as you possibly can run back and forth. It does not have to be far either. 30,40,50, yards. Do it twice rest, do it twice rest. Build yourself up. Jump rope is good to have in the truck too. Don't beat yourself up if you can't do this right away when you get into trucking. It's going to take you a few months before you know what you are doing and can develop some sort of schedule. As far as the gym membership thing goes, that might be tough. Good luck.

 

Most of my days are 14 hours long. By the time I shower and eat, it's been 16 hours.

So the next 8 are dedicated to rest.

 

Uh... no there isn't such a thing. When the phone rings or the Qualcomm goes off you re back to work... if you are lucky they will give you enough time to make your next pick-up but often it something like..."the shipper is 90 miles away and they close in 20 minutes... do you best but you HAVE to be there"... so you activate your booster rockets and go...

I used to carry my bike with me 30 years ago... I was a produce hauler and had spare time when waiting for the product to be picked or packed or waiting for the skies to clear... mostly used it to run to the Quickie Mart for supplies or to the mall to shop.

Never had much time for recreational riding. Today it's too dangerous to ride with all the traffic and the bad guys out there...

I strapped my Yamaha on the back of my tractor for awhile, too. Didn't put 200 miles on it in a year...