Can Anybody Help With a Sleep Schedule??

You'll both need to get on a regular sleep schedule and stick to it 100% of the time in order for you both to get some sleep.

 

We did it a bit different, and we had as close to a set schedule run as you could find.

Left out at night, I’d drive 10pm till the sun came up.

She would drive sun up till 2, 3, 4 pm - whenever she got sick of it.

I’d take over. Stop for dinner, take a nap together late evening if necessary.

Do what YOU like, we ignored the log books, they never quite matched how we felt.

 

That's exactly how my brother and I ran team for about a year pulling dry van and how we run team on occasion pulling flatbed now. You each get night and day driving.

No matter what, split the day into 12 hour shifts. When your 12 is up, turn the wheel over to your team mate. Don't be the hero and try to maximize miles in your shift. That starts "moving the clock" of work/sleep cycles.

When it's your shift stay awake. It doesn't matter if you are at home or arrived 10 hours early for an appointment. Let your partner sleep with the curtains closed and either stay up front and keep yourself occupied or get out of the truck. Stay on your schedule. Doesn't matter if on your schedule you only got an hour of driving. Stay on your schedule.

The only reason to have a team truck parked is for fueling, taking a 30 (great time to get a shower), loading, unloading, taking a piss, or waiting for a shipper or receiver to load or unload. Some companies do a good job dispatching teams and keep the wheels turning. Other companies struggle to keep a team going.

 

I always done 10/10 as a team. Yeah, I know we chased the clock. Especially when there was dock sitting involved. That’s not the case for most teams now.

But your advise is solid. Always stay on schedule regardless of what you choose.

 

Exactly why I would have never been a team driver. I dont trust anyone that much either

 

When youbteqm drive, do you share the bottom bunk? Or does someone sleep in the tip bunk while the truck moves?

 

I trust my brother. But you are right, life can be a nightmare if you are teamed with a bad driver.

One thing I LIKED about teaming is that I have 12 hours in the sleeper berth. I read more books and watched more movies than I do running solo.

 

The top bunk is a no no for teaming. You must sleep in the bottom bunk when the truck is in motion. The top bunk is used only when the truck is stopped. Sometimes if I really had to park and take a nap I would get into the top bunk, careful not to wake my teammate.

I did sleep in the top bunk for a week once when my wife joined us on the road for a coast to coast run. It's hell. The higher you are in the truck, the more violent the motion. You DON'T want to be up there in a moving truck on rough roads.

Also, get a purple mattress or a memory foam mattress topper for the bottom bunk. It really helps reduce road shock.

When my brother and I teamed I did the midnight to noon schedule. Sometimes it was hard to get back I to the sleep cycle for the first two or three days after home time. After suffering through those days the sleep cycle would kick in and I would binge a while 12 hours on the third or fourth day and be right as rain for the rest of our journeys.

 

My fear started because my trainer was a madman. Thought it was funny to hit rumble strips to wake me up. Longest 3 weeks of my life but stuck it out to get through quick. I can imagine with the right partner it wouldn’t be too bad