Best hours to drive/rest?

Museums? Man, you don't drive truck for a living. LMAO Museums. Happy to find a spot to park that beast, eat some chow from a cooler in pass seat, microwave sitting on a bucket, rub one out, wait in line for shower, hit the rack while qual com dings. Semi parking at museums lol. Let me guess downtown too!
New truckers-museums, picking driving schedules and appointment times...dreaming of becoming a trucker

 

You're right. But if anyone wants a museum, then go to the I-80 truck stop in Iowa. Biggest truck stop in the world and a truck museum. Just the show trucks parked inside the store and the shock and awe of a newbie's face when they first walk through the doors and see ALL THE MERCHANDISE in a Walmart sized store. Priceless.

They also own the Petro in Joplin. Same thing, but without the museum. I try to take a 10 or 34 in either of those locations.

 

Looks like Plan B for me. Waiting to unload in Little Rock. Not quite enough hours to get to OKC. Looks like I'll have to play the Father's Day Poker tournament. Oh darn.

 

First time I was there, I was wide eyed!

 

Me too. Took a 34 there mid winter with -15°F outside. Took in a few movies (they have an actual schedule of movie playing times and a theater), had a steak dinner with actual wine, and spent a LOT of time just ogling all the neat stuff in the store. Stuff that isn't available anywhere else (that I know of).

It was just too darned cold to trudge up the hill to take in the museum and it was closed by the time I was getting ready to get back underway. I definitely want to go back with time to spare.

 

Additional information for first time visitors, the museum is in a separate building out back. While the store itself may look like a museum, there is a much more extensive display and history of trucking in the museum.

 

Your drive schedule will be according to when and what time and day the load has to be across the USA. You don't get to say I'll drive 300 miles and then stop for 10. No way. You will drive night, you will drive the day, you are going to get "Flipped" on the sleep/wake cycle doing it several times a week.

Im a night runner. I can put away 600 miles late night to morning rush without seeing very much. More if I can get away with it. Let that log book catch up.

You will discover that if you force yourself beyond safe limits of your body, your brain is simply going to shut you down. There you are eyes open in a flying dutchman at 60 mph following whoever is in front by reflex unable to adapt or stop when something or someone gets in the way while in Rem sleep/dreams. Ive been there. Coffee and caffinee or drugs are going to fail when you do this long enough. Say 90 hours. Ive done 9 days and 8 nights but required about 30 hours sleep to recover enough to clean up and eat/hydrate and then go hibernate another 15 hours to catch the body up.

It's called a sleep bill. It has nothing to do with macho, strength, willpower (In particular) or your sense of who you are etc. None of that. When the bill is due, your brain will pay it and you will probably have the rest of your life in prison possibly to consider it. Don't be stupid.