How do you trip plan?

I punch in the address to the GPS then click on the big picture. Been out here long enough to know roughly where all the truck stops are. GPS says what time we will be there if there are 3 10 hour breaks involved or whatever I just count those as 12 hours against the time the GPS says we will be there.

For examle if the load is 800 miles and the GPS says I will be there at 0100 tonight I know I need a 10 so I know I will arrive at 1300 tomorrow more or less.

GPS has tools to see what truck stops and rest areas are ahead along my route up to 300 miles out. Start looking around then and use judgement against, weather, time of day among other things if it a good idea to stop at particular places.

 

If you are a company driver, or are leased on with a major carrier, you have e-logs with built in GPS. Some carriers require you to follow the GPS routing on their unit AND fuel where they want you to fuel and only as much fuel as they authorize. HOWEVER, you are allowed up to X percentage "out of route" and CAN make major changes to the route if you clear it in advance with dispatch.

In the above scenario use a Rand McNally atlas at the very least. Use Google Maps as well. Compare the company GPS route to recommended routes on Google Maps or your own eyeballs on an atlas to see whether the company GPS gives the safest and fastest route.

USUALLY the company GPS (or any truck GPS) will route you through small towns on two lane highways if it saves even one mile versus staying on the freeway. Don't fall for that trap. Adding a few miles by staying on freeways will almost always be faster AND safer than running through small towns.

I know when I ran for Swift they allowed up to 15% "out of route" miles. When I was established they allowed me a lot more than that. Sometimes closer to 100% OOR miles. One example is getting a load from LA to Pueblo, CO. The company GPS wanted me to run up I-15 to I-70 in Utah, then head east on I-70 to Colorado, then catch US-50 to get to Pueblo!!!??? All this in the middle of winter with a winter storm coming, going over several nasty passes on US-50! No trucker with at least two brain cells and a functioning synapse would go that way. Instead I called dispatch and told them I would run east on I-40 to catch I-25 north to Pueblo. It was a whopping 15 miles longer, but interstate the whole way with far fewer mountain passes. The new route was approved.

In a 62 mph truck I allowed for 600-650 miles for a full day of driving without any pick ups or deliveries. That would be if I was running out west and not tied up with rush hour in major metro areas.

Whenever possible I like to start my clock at around 2:00 am. This way I can blast through major metro areas at the speed limit instead of crawling in rush hour. When I stop for my 30 minute break there's plenty of parking after most truckers start their day at daybreak. When I shut down for the day from 2-4 pm there's plenty of parking before most truckers start filling up the lot after dark.

In addition to comparing your route on Google Maps and the atlas, also consult MyRadar. Figure out early whether you need a major reroute to avoid big storms or heavy winds. Google Maps also has a traffic layer. It can indicate whether a road is closed, like for a major accident.

Last, get and use a CB. Far better to be warned well in advance of an accident ahead and route around it, than to be stuck for hours.

 

ive already told this story but my trainer had me driving into our delivery and when i asked him for directions he said "you better get on the cb and find out if your gonna be able to do this on your own" even without the technology back then there was no reason not to plan. you new drivers that deal with this should give out your trainees truck number so when we see him we can go up and shake the hand of a real life super trucker

 

There was a reason I said Baltimore and Charlotte. Good catch.