How do you trip plan?

Simple trip planning to me would be taking your miles divided by avg mph to get your driving time. If I drive 60mph, I set my average at 50mph. Take the result and spread it out according to the HoS break requirements.

Advanced trip planning gets into the specifics. Are you driving through metro areas at rush hour? How's the weather? Is there typically parking where and when you think you're going to shut down? Do you have a backup plan for parking?

Some of this stuff you can't really know until you experience it. Some cities have hardly any truck stops, so you should plan on stopping a few hours before you get there, then continuing earlier the next day. Trucker Path app might be able to give you an idea of available parking, but sometimes it might not be up to date.

 

I use my clc app to find my hotels. I run similar lanes so I know where to stop.

When I was OTR I used a truck stop exit guide, and a map to plan.

 

Something tells me you make changes often if planning a week ahead. Lol.

 

Not as often as you might think. This one is based on available hours as I will be running recaps as of Saturday. I know how far I can drive a day, I figure in Mountians and traffic and time of day, so, baring a road closure or other some such calamity, I am pretty much able to stick with my plans.

 

I should note, this is a single pick and single drop load, Lost Hills CA to Windsor CT, so I am not burdened by loading and unloading times along the way.

 

What device is that? I just lookup the places and write it down on a sticky note the hwy and MM

 

My usual runs are 425-500 miles. I turn and burn running 500-650 miles a day. I have too many variables in my day to plan too far ahead. I have a general plan for my day and then usually adjust at 30 min break. I also try to use all available hours per day I can. I burn 60+ hours in 5 days easily.


To the OP trip planning is something that you pick up as you go.

 

RM TND 730.

I usually am running one of three routes from east to west, 70, 80 or 40, and sometimes a combination of 70 and 80, so I pretty much know what's where along the way, just have to figure out times and distances based on my projected times, then plug the stops into the GPS.

 

Figure out how far you need to drive that day, and just search for truck stops on the highway or interstate you'll be on. After a few months, you just kind of memorize where the truck stops are. And get a big laminated Road Atlas that will tell you all of the restrictions for unfamiliar areas. Mostly needed for the Northeast.

 

2 trainers? Are 3 of you in the truck?