Two weeks on our own so far, husband and wife team.

Good luck to ya!

 

I'm surprised you feel every bump. I thought the new body style Cascadia was supposed to be equivalent to a Volvo now as far as sound and ride.

 

Congratulations, continue the good fight. 785k is a big load!

 

We teamed for close to ten years, over 7 was at ODFL, 6120 miles in 5 days, regular route, single screw 63" bunk stripped down Freightliners.

You guys are running regular route, which makes life slightly more difficult.

We developed, or at least I did, an inbuilt 'mercury switch', like a coffee cup on the dash. Learned to drive like there was a bowling ball on a shelf behind your head. I still drive like this, gas off way before needed, very smooth shifts, anticipate lights etc.

There's no real "Healthy sleep" in a semi. We didn't use the bunk restraints, but there were only a couple of times I was near launched out of the bunk due to a collision avoidance by my wife.

In the last 3-4 years, she lost her drive and will for the job, and I don't blame her. I was driving 14-16 hours a day, we both struggled with sleep, she became increasingly agitated at stupid drivers, I took up as best I could.

I typically sleep 8-10 hours at night at home, sometimes 10-12. On the truck was different. I rarely slipped into a deep sleep. I trained my wife, so my mind was geared to wake up if I heard her say anything louder than a low conversational volume. A few times I had to jump up in my underwear and take over in blizzards and icy conditions, and once to land the unit safely in the gravel with overheated brakes.

Our routine was usually (I drove nights) that I took over her shift for her about 3-4pm, we'd fix salads while running, cowboy swap outs to eat, and continue till I couldn't, and if she was having trouble shutting down and sleeping. Then I'd "Put her to bed" - a 90 minute nap essentially, often about 9pm, and drive as far as I could overnight, till about 6am or so if I could.

We were in our 30's, I doubt either of us could do it now, and I'm glad we were wise with the revenue generated in that time.

Main thing to remember, you sleep when you need to, load be darned. You'll harden up, you'll eventually feel the strain.

NyQuil can be helpful to shut off, melatonin can be used. We never used either, plain exhaustion worked for me. When we got home on a Sunday evening I'd sit out on the deck and wait maybe an hour or more till the view stopped coming at me at 65 mph.

Good luck you two.

 

Nope, it doesn't surprise me especially if you're in the sleeper berth. The Cascadia rides better than the International LT but that ain't saying much. I'd rather be in a Kenworth or a Volvo unless the new Western Star is a big improvement over the standard shaker.

 

I could never sleep in a moving truck. When my trainer and I tried to run team freight. I am a fairly light sleeper and I would never sign up for team driving just because of the inability to sleep. Some people eventually get used to it. I've never known someone you couldn't wake up by shaking them. I don't see how anyone sleep in a moving truck, but the only way to know is to try it.

Good idea using the headsets for backing.

 

The first truck I was in was a clapped out Pro star. Felt like Mike Tyson was in the sleeper beating on me.
Then we got a new Cascadia. That thing was like a Cadillac. That was 2012.
Best of Luck