How do you trip plan?

Enter the address in my Rand McNally GPS, when it gives me a route I double check it against Google maps to make sure the GPS isn't running me in circles, then I roll out. 2-3 hrs before I am ready to shut down for the day I use the GPS to look for a truck stop and use trucker path to check the size/number parking spots then choose the biggest one to improve my chances of finding an easy spot.

I do the same for a 300 mile run up the road or for 2600 mile coast to coast runs. For the latter, knowing where I am stopping 2 days from now is completely useless information that does nothing to help me today.

 

I mostly bounce around the 81 corridor... so I pretty much just check my hours look on Google maps (it's way more consistent on exact location) double check that with copilot and roll out. I've started learning the parking places on 81 so I really don't need to look for parking much. (Sometimes if I'm in an area I know parking bad I'll try and reserve a spot)


Cross country Im not the best at... ok ill be honest there

 

Planning? Ain't nobody got time for that! Seriously,over my 2 years career I have never planned a single trip.Planning may be useful for oversize loads but for regulars I think it's just over thinking simple stuff.On the other hand I don't have ELD so I can be a bit flexible if I need to.All I need to know is where you want me to go so I can figure what time I need to leave home.That's all the planning I do.

 

I disagree with this. When I am doing an SoCal to FL run on I10, I want to plan what time I am getting to San Antonio and Houston so I am not caught sitting in traffic.

If I plan the trip from start to finish, I pretty much know where and when I will be at each point of concern.

For example on my next load I will be crossing the mountains eastbound in Colorado on Sunday.

If you have never come out of those Mountians toward Denver on a Sunday, remember to take a sandwich with you. It's busy.

I will get my hours back at 1am Local time on Sunday am, and I will be parked at Exit 19, so that makes it about 4 ½ hrs to get to Denver, I plan on leaving at 1am, so I am going through Denver at about 5:30 am when the people in the resorts are just waking up.

To leave at 1am, I need to be parked by 3pm at Exit 19... So I plan to be there by then, meaning I have to leave Vegas, where I will be staying by 7am...

In my world, knowing where I will be every leg of the way helps considerably in maximizing my time, and by extension the miles I run.

 

Wanna trade? You can bounce around the east coast and I'll run coast to coast....

 

Ah...... Well.... Umm.. No

 

I love this coast to coast stuff tho I miss being all over the country

 

I love it

 

Point exactly

 

You trip plan by figuring out the total miles for the trip and how many miles you have to drive every day to make it on time. First you pick your route then you start adding up the miles in each state and write them down. In most states the exit numbers are the same as the miles. So last exit is how many miles are in that state on that road. So you write the miles down for each state.

Then figure on 550 or 600 miles a day from you starting location and find were 550 miles is from you starting spot for every day. If you are going west form Walcott IA it's at exit 284. Well it just happens to be 284 miles to Nebraska. Then from Nebraska to Wyoming just happens to 454 miles.

So let's say you want to drive 600 miles today and you going west from Walcott IA 600-284 is 316 miles into Nebraska. So it 454 miles across Nebraska. So 454-316 is 138 or exit 138. Their is TA at exit 128 in Ogallala NE that would be 610 miles for the day