34 hour resets vs recapping

Don't over think it. If your able to do a 34 hour reset. Great. If not, run on your recap. If the loads present themselves, run and make some money. You can run recap until you hit the one day you didn't drive or only drove an hour. 6 in one hand,half a dozen in the other. Good luck.

 

You can only do 10+ hour recaps if you drive 10+ hour days for 6 days and on the 7th day you run 5 or 6 hours, then on 8th day you get 10+ back.

But you need drop n hooks and preloaded trailers. Otherwise your recaps look like 00,00, 09, 10, 10, 7, 9, 10 9

I can't keep it up for more than 11 days.

 

Well, I think you're looking at 8.5hrs on duty/driving combined, in a 7 day window. The 8th day you start picking up the hours from the prior week. I'm thinking maybe it's 8 days, but whatever, some drivers prefer one method, some prefer the other. Like AmericanMadeTrucker said. if you can run on the recap, keep rolling. If you get long runs and have to reset, do that. In the end it's all about rolling down the highways making a living, and your loads will make more of a difference than your preferences. You can make some adjustments along the way, but only so much if you're to be on time at both ends of a load. Do what you can, and enjoy the ride.

 

Its usually easy to get a 34 in on a weekend...so what if you have a few hours left on the clock.
The drivers showing more hours available,will get the longer loads.
I rarely run recap hours,Ill burn up 12 hours minimum a day,and grab a reset,if possible,and start each week with 70 hours,drive time.

 

You will find that it all depends on the week or tour and how the loads fall. If you're regional, and solo and home every 10 days or so, I would not worry about recapping. But if you're running 48 and stay out 3+ weeks at a time, it will just depend on how the loads and any appointment fall what will work out. Sometime it makes sense to get a reset if the situation presents itself at the right time, but like was said, don't "work" towards doing regular resets unless you run a lot of 2,000 mile + hauls.

I like to run hard and burn through my 70 when possible and the appointments allow because I don't like sitting in a parked truck an additional 2 hours a day, every day. I prefer to run hard then have time to play hard

 

Another way to look at it is , it's not "really" a 34 hr reset. .. you're gonna sit 10 anyway, and you're gonna sit 10 on the back end of a driving shift if you DON'T take the reset... Sometimes you just have to look at it "outside the box"

That might sound crazy , but when you analyze it, it's not quite so nuts.

Apply it to fit your needs in what YOU will need to do in the near future.

 

What's infuriating is when your stupid dispatchers won't let you take a reset when you have to sit almost 30 hours because you don't have any recap hours.

 

This should be in the Swift forum.

However...
Do you just accept the loads as they come to you, or do you plan the trip as YOU wish to do it?
That is what mac 9 is for.
If you simply take what is offered the first time they will run you to the bone, and then you will have to take a 34.
That's best case. You could also get service failures because you can't deliver in the time Plus-1 wants you to.

Yes, I am a Swiftie. Have been for 5 years.

There are 2 choices.
You can run as hard as you can for as long as you can, then do a 34.
Hopefully you haven't miscalculated the hours to bring yourself up a few minutes short in the mean time.

Or you can actually plan trips to run consistently each day to avoid as many 34's as possible.
Unless that is your thing, as it is with some.

If you want to really enjoy this job you may want to consider spacing yourself so that you have a little more time off each day.
It is much less stressful that way.

My current load was sent to me with a 1030 delivery time on an 1150 mile load.
I used mac 9 to adjust the delivery to 1400.
It is a drop, not a live unload, so I pretty much know that there is more time built in to the times.
But that gives me 12 hour sleep breaks instead of 10, which I actually need. I like my TV time, and cooking time... plus another 4 hours for regular breaks, showering, doing laundry, construction zones or accidents...

The thing is, that Plus-1 program will try to hose you every time.
Don't worry about it, simply adjust it.
Mac 9 is your friend.
You can use it to adjust the times for pick up or delivery to something you are more comfortable with - because it almost NEVER shows you the actual windows of time provided by the customers.
And you really should have been taught this from your mentor.

If the load is taken off you because of what you try to adjust the times to, you are better off in the long run.
At least you won't get a service failure for accepting a load that has too little time on it.
And another load will be along shortly.

Also, you can always call your DM for the actual pick up and delivery windows.
My DM's have always been true and honest with such things - not like some ECT people.
And that allows me to adjust the times best suited to both me and the load.
I sometimes will do a strict 10 hour break to make a load, if it is my best interest. Not often, but sometimes.