Anyone run a day cab?

Let me know what hotel your staying at and if it's local I'll pee outside your door so you can get the "truckstop" feel when you walk out of your room!

 

Thanks for reminding me...yet ANOTHER reason to stay in motels. No nasty stench left behind by drivers too #### lazy to walk their fat ### inside to use the facilities. The inside of a bullwagon smells better than a lot of truck stop parking lots.

 

To those of you that run day cabs....... Have you experienced any theft or vandalism while you're in your motel room and your truck is left unattended?

 

3rd trip in my own truck....hadn't even started getting paid yet...motel security (off duty city cop) caught some guys attempting to steal my fuel. Back then, I had a pair of 80 gallon tanks & they were nearly full when I parked. That problem is easily solved, though. Since then, I had one tank split 60 hydraulic oil/20 fuel...so I'm down to a 100 gallon capacity instead of 160 gallons. Not only that, but these days I also time my last fuel stop for the day so that I've got less than 1/4 tank. What little fuel I have in the tanks when I park isn't worth their time & effort (not to mention the risk of getting caught) trying to get.

I also pick name brand chain motels....and they usually have an interest in making sure their customers have a good experience at their motel. Vandalism & theft hurts their image...

 

My experience with hotels has been considerably less favorable than Bulldog's. first I have to figure out where I'm gonna be, then I have to look up hotel's in the area and call ahead to see if they have vacancy and truck-parking. Sometimes they will tell you they have truck parking and it means a utility truck or something.

So you find the place, check-in, carry your stuff in. If you're lucky there's somewhere to eat within walking distance or you're stuck ordering pizza.

Don't get me wrong, I love a good hotel if I'm on my 34 hour restart or got a couple days wait. But if I'm just taking a 10 hour break, by the time I shower and eat and stretch my legs a bit, all I want is a good sleep and my bunk provides that. Plus I have everything in there I need or want. For example, I like to play guitar a little. In a hotel, that's an extra trip to carry in and an extra trip to carry out, etc... I will say this, I always upgrade the mattress in the bunk to the best I can get. Those stupid camping mats they come with are atrocious ! Get you a high coil count with pillowtop, nice sheets and pillows and maybe you'll want to sleep in the bunk a little more.

 

When I bought the truck, fuel was spiking upward & approaching $5/gallon.

A class 8 truck will burn approximately 0.8 gallons per hour idling.

10 hours @ 0.8 gallons/hour = 8 gallons...and at $5/gallon, that's $40.

Motel 6 is typically $30-$40/night. Business rates at Days Inn/Super 8/Econolodge/Travelodge/etc. are usually $40-$50/night, too. Granted, some locations are more expensive than others...but you can find decent rooms for the price of a night's fuel if you look for them.

 

.8 gallons a hour is at the high end. Try .5 and fuel at 4
10 X .5= 5 gallons X $4 =20.
You also forgot to add tax as well which easily add 10 to the hotel bill

 

$4/gallon might be where fuel is TODAY...but I didn't buy my truck yesterday. If you read what I wrote, I said "When I bought the truck, fuel was spiking upward & approaching $5/gallon." Notice what the price was doing 4 years ago?



...and you'll spend that $10 three times over just paying for your breakfast, coffee, shower, and everything else included in the price of the motel.....not to mention the wear & tear on your engine and how idling the truck all night affects your fuel mileage and therefore increases the taxes you pay on your IFTA.

http://www.transportation.anl.gov/pdfs/TA/373.pdf

I highly doubt you have ever topped off, idled overnight, and then topped off again just to see how much fuel you used overnight. Even if you did, what measures did you take to ensure that the tanks were filled to precisely the same level? Also, how new is the truck you are using for the basis of your estimation? Newer trucks are going to be more frugal than older trucks. What size engine is in your truck? Smaller engines are going to use less at idle, too. Too many variables....so I went with the generally accepted number. Just like fuel economy standards in cars, your results may vary...but it'll (hopefully) get you close.

 

Your original post was less than a week ago.....this is where you claimed running your truck all night costs as much as a hotel room does. Besides, look at your own chart...do you really think fuel prices three years ago is relevant to this conversation?

Can you make $ running a day cab? Yes you can. But you are not going to do it by staying on the road and paying for hotel rooms. If you OTR for any length of time you will need a sleeper.