How do you run? Being time efficient and working smarter.

Same here 4-5 hours is all I need I've always had a bit of insomnia which in this profession is a good thing

 

Works out perfect for reefer drivers. Did reefers for 18 yrs. and didn't have a problem at all. In fact, I liked it very much.

 

My first trainer had the same philosophy.

 

I would run until I started getting tired. Take either a nap or just sleep, if I slept five hours so be it. Coffee and some breakfast and I was good to go.
You have to know your limitations.

 

I run a bit different than most. I like to start between 2300 and 0200 or so. I enjoy driving over night and having better parking options. It’s not always possible to run like that due to appointment times, but I’ve been able to do that weeks a time when lucky enough that loads allow it.

 

So does he enjoy doing things that way? We can get two extremes in the driving industry one just like you've described above, the other is taking it way to casually and getting nothing done, or the third is just getting the job done in reasonable time without breaking any rules and causing to much stress along the way. Way back in the early 2000's I'd pull into a Truck stop and just could not believe how many had already called it a day this was usually around 3 pm ( 15:00) one of my theories was that they'd get there early to find a truck space because by 5 pm there were not to many left. I used to wonder just exactly when they did their driving?

 

I have my money budgeted around a 3ish day work week, anything on top of that is extra, I can count on one hand the number of 34s I’ve done in a truck, and while I admit there’s really nothing better then sticking her in the wind and rolling, I’m not doing it week in and week out. But usually I wake up and do something for breakfast, skip lunch and dinner/shower at the end of the day, I shower pretty much every night even on the road. I hate running at night though it’s non stop construction zones doing 20mph here but if I wasn’t tired after dinner I might get a few more hours in, usually sleep/start to get tired mid night to 5-6 no matter how long I’ve been up, since I can’t sleep during the day

 

I do flatbed. I do the minimum 10 hours for a reset if I can help it. This means by the end of the week I will be waking up early, sometimes at 2am. I will run as much of my 11 hours drive time as I can and park anywhere that is legal to maximize drive time. I do my shower on my 30 minute breaks. I do my own cooking in the microwave when I stop for the night. I will take a load at the end of the week that gets me to the receiver on Saturday, 34 reset on Sunday, and deliver Monday morning to start it all over. I stay out between 30-60 days and will spend around 2 weeks at home but sometimes more.

I like running this way. Running the extra miles and making that extra money allows me to be more selective on loads. I don't do 8 ft tarping, and I only do 4ft maybe 10% of the time. I can sit on my butt 70 hours a week and its so easy.

I do start missing being at home after a while, I don't think working easier days will help that. The grind helps me stay motivated. 34 hour resets are when I am the most home sick.

 

I run off dollars per day. I don’t care about miles, locations, stops, pickups, or rate per mile.

You can have a great paying load. But if it picks up in the morning and delivers at night the next day that burns 2 full days. Does it pay enough for 2 days? Some people just look at the rate per mile or rate per load and think they are doing great when in reality they aren’t running very smart.

I also don’t eat breakfast. I eat after maybe the first 4-5 hours and I only try and sleep at rest areas or dirt lots and avoid truck stops.

 

No matter how you run, you're going to have the same 70 hours as the rest of us. Driving 8 hours per day is a lot more relaxing, and you can run off continuous recaps this way without having to take a 34 until you get home... meaning you make the same, if not more than, the guy busting his balls all day every day without showers or meals.