Sleeper vs Hotel

in the end, a sleeper truck may be the way to go.

the costs of motel rooms, even with a truckers discount will add up. then you have to find motels with extra parking for big rigs.

you cannot just pull over and nap in a day cab, i know, i did for many years, running from MA to VA, but what i mean is in comfort and legally. and no, a board across the seats is not comfort, and no, leaning over the steering wheel is not comfort either.

you'll also most likely do better at resale time as well, with a sleeper.

and it don't gotta be fancy.

 

Just get an APU for the sleeper truck.

 

Based on all the empirical evidence - no a hotel does not make more fiscal sense than a sleeper truck.

As a for example when I have a female trainee they need a hotel room every night. Often the hotel with truck parking is either off route, requires stopping very early, or is expensive as heck. For the hotels that have 'truck parking', what happens when they have space for three trucks are you're the fifth truck that reserves a room? How long do you spend trying to find that hotel room in the first place?

If getting hotels made any kind of sense financially then all the megas would be going that route. Even with my company's considerable pull we are paying $70 a night for my trainee this week. Over the course of a year you're looking at least $10,000 in hotel costs. That will easily pay for an apu and all associated maintenance.

 

For a 34 reset hotel is a must. You truly feel rested after sleeping two nights in a normal bed.

 

For the record, I hate taking a 34 in the truck.

That said, most hotels don't leave me better rested.

 

I wouldn't drive any sleeper truck without an Apu. People who do, are stupid or bad at math. If you keep your emissions intact, and have no Apu, make sure you get a white Volvo and run the ports until you go broke. Waking up to a dead battery happens. Apu starts on a dead battery at 10 volts. Trucks use almost 1 gallon an hour to idle and provide ac. Apu uses about 0.3 an hour, or less.

Daycab are great if you do short local runs, but the first time you tick beyond your 14 hour, you will curse your life. Get a regional sleeper, at least.

 

We only run day cabs. When we occasionally have to get a hotel, I can tell you hotels are getting expensive. Lots of locations we end up staying in you can figure $100+ a night, unless you don’t mind sleeping with roaches and bed bugs.

 

Guys, put a normal mattress in your truck....

Twin XL fits fine.

Get the most expensive one they sell.

Mine is 16" thick, and is more comfortable than my home bed.

 

Hotels do have some advantages...