For you Rookies this is how it's done on elogs

It's not about slackers trying to tear down a hard worker. It's about looking at the whole picture.

Parking on ramps is a pretty dumb idea in my opinion. Sometimes needed, but shouldn't be a first choice.

If he runs a 6th day as hard he'll be at 3,900 and need to take a restart. How many of those miles were paid and at what rate? With my pay structure if you give me a choice between a 3,000 mile week with an avg length of haul of over 400 miles or a 2,500 mile week with a length of haul averaging under 200 miles - I want the 2500 mile week because I'll be paid more.

If I'm running coast to coast (assuming open pick up/delivery times), on a three week tour, running a 68 mph truck, averaging 525 miles a day and running 7 days a week will (in most circumstances) result in a higher net income than running flat out and restarting. A very qualified statement but this whole discussion is rather inane.

 

Parking availability will definitely become more constrained as the elog mandate nears.

It's already becoming virtually impossible to find parking along the I-5 corridor at any truckstop or rest area after 9 pm.

I suspect there will be a lot more parking on the off ramps in the near future.

Which begs the question, how do some of these drivers sleep when their truck is angled forward, backward or to the side due to the configuration of some of these ramps?

 

As a follow up, I have a buddy who parked at the end of a street in Rancho Cucamonga near the Home Depot DC the last few years. He frequently delivers lumber there and is on elogs. It's close enough that his log doesn't automatically start when he checks in.

Quiet street, not bothering anyone, blocking any traffic etc. Woke up to a $250 ticket a few weeks ago. Same thing happened to him in Willows, CA awhile back. Parked on the off-ramp late at night on a wide spot with several other trucks. When he woke up, he was the only one left and there was a nice local cop writing him another $250 ticket.

I saw a cop writing a trucker a ticket early yesterday morning on a rest area off ramp near Albany, OR SB. There was a string of trucks parked all the way out onto the emergency shoulder of the freeway.

This will be plight of many as this mandate goes into effect I believe. Guys who will be forced to run (racing against the 14 hr rule) just to get in those miles and then pressed to find a place to park at the last minute.

 

Sorry for your misfortune of having to drive that much and having to park on ramps and having to use your 30 to shower.

 

The op's post reminded me of the first time a driver drives the night shift and parks at 7am , they get on the cb and boast about how many miles they drove and that they're done for the day.
We all have weeks like that from time to time.

 

who the heck wants to run 5-600 plus miles a day?

 

If it's $3/mile, sign me up.

 

And that right there is the mentality of today's steering wheel holders.... all in black and white!!

 

Why not? Now, already he's made his bones for the week. Now, he has 2 days to play with his girlfriend or doing a comfortable reset in a hotel, or enjoying adult beverages at the bar, or out ahead of a winter storm. Meanwhile you're out farting around dealing with traffic, wishing you were home, and/or shut down because of weather, griping about how you're starving to death with piddly weekly miles average.

Ending up empty on a coast with a fresh restart puts you first in line for the longest, sweetest loads.