Pop Quiz

Answer #1. The optimum is 9:45/day. Run until you get tired.

 

Stop doing guess work and just get a job. Nobody is going to drive 7.5 hrs and then stop just because they want to optimize their 70. Once you get hired by a company you'll need to complete your duties and drive whatever it is you need to in order to make the appointment. Stop reading forums and think that that's all there is to trucking.

 

You are going to learn that it's never that easy. You'll occasionally sit at a warehouse for 5 hours and run your clock down, or be stuck in traffic. No two weeks will ever be the same.

 

The bottom line is every load is different. My rule of thumb was if I have available hours to run today, then run them. The only reasons I would shut down early is if parking, traffic, or weather might become an issue.

If you are paid by the mile then remember you are "selling your 70". Run at the most efficient times of day. Avoid major metro areas during the day if you can help it. Run a extra couple hundred miles out of shortest route if it means you can save time avoiding small towns or avoid bad weather.

Be willing to take a 10 ANYWHERE. If you are only willing to take a 10 at a truck stop instead of a road side pullout or rest area, then you will frequently be stopping well short of maximum miles per day. Some of my most memorable 10's have been in pullouts off two lane highways in the middle of nowhere.

 

Where are these trucking jobs where you can drive however you want 7 days a week 365 days a year? There are no appointments in this world, either?

 

Think of like this,
You're going to average logging 8 and a half hours a day whether you take a reset or run recap hours.