Could this work? Is it allowed

There's plenty of used trucks out there with small flattop sleepers. Shouldn't be too hard to find one that costs roughly the same as a daycab. $50-$60 a night for hotel rooms adds up pretty fast

 

I may be wrong.. but the OP is a student.. and I don't belive has been over the road yet.. as a Newbie myself and having been over the road for the last three months.. That would be a tough gig... When you give up the sleeper you give up a lot more than just a place to sleep.. you give up a lot of storage for your clothes and things that make life on the road easier and less expensive.. like, a refridgerator.. yes, you can use coolers.. but, for me.. I need that space behind the work place (driver seat) for my sanity and well being...

Having that space saved me money on the road.. I had a fridge, cubby of food and some cooking supplies... it was good for the wallet, good for my tummy and for my overall well being.. I could watch movies, read a book, even developed my own little workout station and routine.. it made life on the road much more relaxing and enjoyable for me..

When I was training.. my trainer was one of those.. from the bunk to the driver seat types.. seriously.. he would wake up, put on the clothes he wore the whole three weeks, he would start up the truck if he didn't idle it all night, get out and "check the tires" (pee on them) jump in and go... That is not how I like to roll.. if I want to be driving by 4am I get up at 3am or earlier.. go inside, go to the bathroom, wash my hands, face and brush my hair and teeth if I was not going to shower.. back to the truck where I like to have a cup of coffee and mentally plan and prepare myself.. then Pre Trip and go...

To the original OP.. if you are a student and have not actually been over the road yet.. I would wait and go be out on the road and learn what you need and can do without.. it is not the same for everyone.. and as a newbie, when we are so grren and have not yet been out there.. we really have no idea what we need for ourselves out there... some can do without a fridge, some can not, some can do with out a T.V. or DVD player, others can't.... I know for me, when I first when solo I was in a peterbilt 386.. it was roomy and awesome.. then, they switched my to a Peterbilt 387 because they needed the 386 got a married couple going team.. and it was not as roomy as the 386.. it isn't a big big difference.. but, it was smaller, not as much room between the seats and other things and I missed the extra room of the 386.. yeah, you learn to get use to it and deal with it.. but, truly until you really are out there 24/7 for several days, weeks or months at a time.. you just really don't know what you need for your sanity and well being... and that little space behind the seats isn't much, but it is your home when you are on the road...

I think it is onething for a person who has experience and has been out there to know if they could do the day cab thing and save money.. but, for a newbie.. I just don't think you have enough information to make that big of a decision.. you need to have some time out there...

 

Don't be such a penny pincher,sleep in comfort.

 

This.

Just because I logged 10 off in Oakley, KS doesn't mean I had to go to a hotel. I may have a friend who lives there.

 

I don't believe that it is legal take your 10 in anything other than a DOT approved sleeper, a motel, or your house.

With that being said, even for local work, I would always take a sleeper over a day cab, as long as where you are going isn't too tight.

Even to jump in the sleeper while you are getting loaded for an hour or two, is just so relaxing compared a day cab.

And with an integral sleeper like the freightliner has, there is no back of the cab to hit with the seat. I always hated that!

And if you have a fully reclining seat, it's lile a lazy boy. Use the nice tilt/tele with your captain's chair and it's like being in your living room.

A whole different world than a daycab

 

It is legal to take your 10 anywhere you want.

 

Off Duty simply means you aren't performing any actions on behalf of your carrier, IE driving, loading, pre-trip, baby-sitting the truck, fueling, waiting in the driver's lounge for your lazy-### dispatcher to figure out what you are doing that week, etc., The 10 hour break has to meet 1 of the following 3 criteria: 1) 10 hours consecutive sleeper time. 2) 10 hours consecutive off-duty time (3 Any combination of 1 and 2 as long as it totals 10 hours consecutive. The only exception to this is the split sleeper rule. So yes, it is completely legal to take your 10 hour break at the nudey bar. That doesn't mean it's a good idea, obviously, but DOT man can't nail you for it. Now, there are other regs they might be able to nail you under, such as the one that says no driver may operate a CMV while ill or fatigued.

Edit: BTW, the reason for the new rule on resting in a daycab was because under the old regulations daycab drivers couldn't really log that time as anything but either driving or on-duty since they were, technically, at the controls of the vehicle. I'm sure the fracking companies had a lot of influence on changing this rule.

 

Decades ago, I ran team doing a food service gig. Occasionally, we would get stuck waiting for a restaurant to open. We had one bunk, and so one of us would try to sleep across the seats. I could never SLEEP sleep. I would doze off then wake back up. It begans to feel like some sort of torture.

It's a really bad idea to try to penny pinch and forsake comfort. What are you really trying to save anyway? Fuel costs? Truck costs? Insurance? If you REAAAAAAALLLLY want to keep your costs down to a minimum, go be a company driver. To be a successful driver, company or owner OP, you cannot skimp on sleep. In order to get good sleep, you HAVE TO (there's no way around it, amigo) be comfortable. When it's time to drive, you have to be well rested in order to be alert, even tempered, and patient. Think I'm wrong, and your case is different? All you have to do is look at all the posts by rookie drivers that have been fired for stupid mistakes that were caused by fatigue.

 

If you are going to take your 10, and you are driving a daycab, yes, you can take it anywhere you want- as long as it's not in the truck.