Carying a tent in a daycab, line 2 or line 1?

Geez man, I had a vision of a tent pitched in front of the truck on the blacktop at a Peelot!
I'd think line one, that's what I think. Line two specifically says sleeper berth.
10 hours is 10 hours on either line or combination there of.

 

If you log it as sleeper and don't have one, you are in trouble. If you log it as off duty it's just your word against his, and usually that doesn't go well either!

 

I doubt they'd make a fuss over him logging off duty on line 1. He'd be doing that at a motel anyways.

 

Log it off duty and get a receipt for the campground. If it's not that kind of campground, grab a receipt book and make one up. Have one of your fellow campers sign it.

 

It has to be logged as off-duty without a sleeper. They can be quite picky about off-duty time in a day cab. I would bet without a receipt to substantiate the entry it won't fly.

If I were doing this I would pitch my tent where I got a receipt for the campsite fee. Then my tent and the receipt would be my proof that I was off duty.

 

I realize this is all an exercise in mental mast... err, gymnastics, however...

You only need to provide a receipt if such a receipt exists. There is NO requirement that you must stay at a commercial establishment. There is nothing saying you can't sleep in a tent on the ground, or a hammock strung under your trailer. What if you visit a friend and sleep at their house, do they need to provide a receipt? No.

As for "his word against yours," so what? If you have a tent with you and you indicate that your OFF-DUTY time included said tent at a location where it is legal to do so, how is the officer going to prove otherwise? There is NO regulation as to how you spend your OFF-DUTY time. The assumption is that you will be sleeping and the only requirement is that you are sufficient rested so that you are not fatigued when you return to ON-DUTY status. If you appear to be well-rested any enforcement officer is going to look pretty foolish if he cites you because you couldn't provide a receipt for sleeping in your tent.

In fact, the FMCSA does not define OFF-DUTY time. They couldn't possibly do it as there is no way to regulate or define what drivers do when they are not working. They do describe what it is (basically, not lines 2, 3 or 4), but they don't define it.

I have been inspected several times with line 1 entries while OTR and have never been asked for a receipt. YMMV

 

Right, just like where I've stayed at my sister's house before... off-duty... had a sleeper truck, still logged off-duty, mainly because I hate drawing lines... and was off for 2 days.

 

I agree wholeheartedly with all these arguements about off-duty being off-duty.

Now what happens when you sleep slumped over the steering wheel in a day cab and the DOT man asks you where you were off duty at? Will he be satisfied if you tell him you stayed up all night watching the TV in the TS lounge? Will he be okay if you tell him you took your off duty time in the cab? How about I spent it at a bar?

If day cabs are okay for OTR, why do companies require sleeper cabs? Is there nobody who has been asked to prove their off-duty time in a day cab? I've never driven a day cab but I was under the impression that you could be asked these questions if you didn't have a sleeper and expected to prove them. Is this not true?