Proper procedure when out of hours on e-logs?

When I was on e-logs I tried to run to about 30-60 minutes of my 11 or 14 if I was unfamiliar with the area. My last stop before shutting down for the day would usually be spent carefully researching where I would stop for my 10. I would use the truck stop book and/or use Google Satellite View to find hidey holes. Don't try to stretch it out to 11 hours unless you are absolutely sure you can make it and have a backup plan.

Edited to add:

Start your day at about 2:00 am whenever possible. That way you will take a 30 and stop for your 10 when there is plenty of parking.

 

• Make sure you take steps to insure you've done all you can to "trip plan" but also understand, that contrary to what some will have you believe, all the "proper trip planning" in the world does not guarantee you will not find yourself in a difficult situation sometimes. Some times when dealing with appointments and limited HOS options, you have no choice but to find yourself needing to break at a bad hour between dark-thirty and 04:00, so don't beat yourself up when you find yourself in a jam in this situations
• Be smart about when you start your clock when you have options. Think ahead as far as necessary
• Think outside the box
• Every different day is a different situation and has it's own unique set of considerations and options.
• Sometimes you will be back-tracking out of your del/PU location ... pay attention and look for parking spots on your way in that may be valuable later. File these little spots in your memory bank for later use.
• have backup plan(s)
• Understand that if you do rarely go over a few minutes every once in a while, it's not the end of the world and you will not be summarily executed at dawn
• When in doubt, plan for and expect the worse case scenario
• Figure on utilizing paid parking when/where necessary. Find out if your company reimburses, if not, it's a tax-deductible driver expense. You begin to sense when parking is going to be problematic after dark in certain areas, buy your spot well in advance when you suspect you may need it, and don't "take chances", pay the $12-15 early, and try and relax the remainder of the day

 

Those reserved spots are a blessing for any driver that needs parking at odd hours.

Tax deductible or not, it will assure a spot for the night - if it is in the area you need.

Playboy sounds like a newbie, especially with so many posts. Why is that? Just the e-logs with a big company?
If you were running legal with paper, e-logs should be no problem at all.

 

Where you work and the type of driving/delivery work you do will determine how problematic HOS rules and eLogs are going to be, or not be. Some driving job applications are better conducive to eLogs then others. Sometimes, the 8-2 split sleeper can help a lot. Some eLog systems allow you to "cheat" them in some situations, up to a point. Learning what your system allows will be very helpful later. Every configuration is different in terms of what you can and can not get away with.

Don't be "the guy" who parks practically in the middle of the main ingress and egress path leaving only inches for others to pass through, and don't otherwise park "stupidly" in an act of desperation. We see so much of this and some of the choices and decisions made are disgusting, often because they did not FIRST fully look for valid spaces that were available if they bothered to look. Most eLog systems allow you to come into the truck stop, stop, change the status to other then driving, then proceed to get parked, halting your drive time and you can then take all the time you need.

 

I always started looking an hour out. Except in Missouri. Then I used my Missouri rule. Figure out the absolute farthest you can go. Then look two stops back (rest areas or truck stops) cause that is where you will stop. Especially if you are heavy thru the mountains or have to run thru St. Louis. Use that rule in all situations id need be.

One time I was lost in downtown Philly trying to find the Turnpike. Missed the turn so had to keep driving as no place to turn around. By this time I am over on my drive. Ended up in historic Gettysburg. Not the industrial part where trucks are allowed. Some how found the Turnpike, but only so many travel plazas there. Had to back track 30 miles. Went over 2 hours on time on elogs. I just used the 2 hour emergency rule with a note to what happened. Never heard anything about it from the logs department. That was a stressful night.

To answer your question if you find yourself getting close to being out of hours just look for a spot. Exit ramp if you have to. I never did it cause didn't know state laws and is dangerous. But it is an option.

Also, once in CT I was about out of hours. I needed a spot. No where in CT to park. Especially 11pm at night. I knew we were close to one of our regular customers. Also, knew they were closed with no security gate. Rolled in there and just parked there. Rolled out next morning, nothing was ever said.

 

What? Nobody going to tell him to park in the fuel isle and move a trash can in front of his truck?

 

I thought that was for showers only.

 

See, and I thought it was only for

THANK YOU! I hate when I finally find a truck stop that has a couple parking spots but can't get to them because people are parked all over the place making it impossible to back in.

 

I always wondered if those guys ever woke up at 10am feeling like a fool because they're parked in the middle of the lot or entrance.

I always try to start early and quit early. And on rare times that I am running later and need to, I have paid for a reserved spot.