How do you guys drive coast to coast, what is your routine?

I-78 to NJ-24 to I-287 also works well if you’re coming out of Newark or Elizabeth and trying to get back to 80. 3/46 also works though.

 

Oh I know. I'd always go that way when running bayonne. 80-287-24-78 to bayonne

 

You can roll right thru the toll booths at the 78/95 interchange at 8am now Lol. Pre covid it was backed way up at that time

 

Sure they don't, but then they probably do not have the experience with those roads that you do.
Many times finding the best route is not found through a GPS or the atlas, it is through the experience of driving those roads many times.

 

What's all this garbage state stuff got to do with running coast to coast?

 

The Hudson River over to the Delaware River???

 

When I was doing that as a routine, my routine was simple.

First, I planned my route, with a couple of alternates that I could divert to if necessary. As a company driver, you may have your route planned for you. I would check the weather, ratty weather means delays and slow-rolls. If it looked bad, I would remind my dispatcher -- this links the weather and your route in their minds,

Second, I figured out how many miles I had to make every hour to meet the drop times (earliest and latest). If it was someone I had never run to, I would call to verify that what my dispatcher had told me was what the receiver had meant to say -- and if there were any no-drop times between them (for instance, some docks only take incoming loads at certain times of the day). Knowing when I was able to drop was the most important thing for making these plans.

Third, I figured out when and where I wanted to take my overnights. It will take you a while to know where you CAN remain overnight, and longer to know what the flow is at those places. It's a real PITA to plan your stop at a place that you reach at 2200 and the last space is always taken by 2030!

With all of that figured on a piece of paper, I knew roughly how the trip had to be done, and knew how much time I had for unexpected traffic, breaks, etc.

On the road, I worked to build a buffer of time. This is why I confirmed how early I could deliver -- sometimes I could get there a day or more ahead, but there's no point if you still have to wait until the next afternoon. With a nice buffer, you can stop and sightsee if you want to.

My truck was MY truck, so I had a microwave, rice cooker, satellite and DVD, fridge and a nice assortment of audio books. That meant I could eat and rest when I wanted to, and enjoy the trip more than if I had been forced to eat at restaurants all the time.

By planning my trip by the hour, I was able to be parked early, and avoid driving overnight. I knew at any given time what my times to meet were, and what I had to do to meet them.

Once you run a particular corridor a few times, you will know where and when to get to your rest stops, you will know where you like to eat, etc. More importantly, you will begin to find good places to run out of hours.

 

^ Tru dat.

I actually prefer the coast-to-coast runs--okay, actually, I prefer the coast-to-coast runs when they go from east to west, for the simple reason that I pick up 2-3 hours going west--and plus, depending on where I'm going (which 98% of the time is somewhere in the PNW), the further west I go, the more relaxed the ride gets; that's why I prefer going out west. Going back east, it's the opposite--lose 2-3 hours, traffic worsens, and well...space becomes tighter, so there's that.

To the point of this thread, I do like how some others have mentioned: I've played coastal tennis enough times now to know the better ways to go and where I can shut down if need be, but...like some say, I usually try to get out the truck about every three hours, if for no better reason than just to pop my kneecaps. While out, I stretch and walk around. Do that twice and, depending on how the ride is going, I'll break for lunch somewhere after the sixth hour, in a good restaurant if I can find one, or in my truck if not. If the latter, I combine it with a good 20-40 minute nap and/or shower, and at any case, with a refuel. (This can be a big timesaver--learning to combine fuel and rest stops.) Then, roll out the rest of my clock until I find a place to SiD.

Few things about that: about a year ago I got real vigilant about eyeballing stopping spots out and about neither trucker path nor truck stop directories list; I'm talking about those out-the-way off-the-path back-off-in-the-cut hideaways where I see trucks parked at as I mosey on by and I write them down; those have come in handy more than a couple times especially out west (& some make for a real good peaceful night's sleep, as well). In addition, if I know I have the time to play with, I mix up routes so the trips don't seem monotonous; many hidden treasures to be found once you get off the big road onto those 2-lane 2-ways (again, especially out west--but you better know where to shut it down at back there in case you get stuck.) Speaking of time, I plan my longhauls out in 600-mile increments. That's 10 hours at 60mph; anything over that is an added bonus. (I'm capped at 65, so depending on terrain and location I can get from 630-670 miles on a good day; on a really good day I can hit 680. But I don't beat myself up trying to do that.)

And of course, most of all...I just try to enjoy the trip, and lately I've taken to shooting photos and composing a scrapbook of my travels.

 

I plead the FIF , like Chappelle said.

 

Ditto

I do the exact same thing
I put in my phone areas where I might deliver where I can park on the street. Like Denver , I have a few places I can park since the TS are always full

Others ask me why I run west
Simple. Once past the Midwest. Mn or Iowa area it’s wide open. No traffic until I hit LA
Go east?? And it’s non stop, stop and go

I like to load. Shower and then I’m site seeing for a few days

Some like the short runs but I find it’s like you’re always at work
Maybe if I lived in Ohio it would make sense??