Profile For Highwayman

So as a forklift operator in a factory my primary duties involve loading dry vans and other indoor tasks, but occasionally I get to go outside and load a flatbed with broken pallets. The pic is of the load I did today. It took me an hour and fifteen minutes to get it done because the pallets were stacked so poorly, but I got it done. In the past I have actually been able to unload good pallets and reload with broken pallets in just under an hour, but the pallets were well stacked in that case. I enjoyed loading that junk, but I don't think I'd want to have to haul it.

Thanks Old School. I will read the article.

To clarify my previous question, I was referencing those regional and dedicated jobs that do involve weekly home time as distinct from those that don't (which would seem to be the majority).

Thanks Old School. That was a very helpful post. So I'm guessing that a regional or dedicated job that involves weekly home time is probably going to generally have a smaller geographic area and shorter length of haul? And probably lower potential miles as well? Those are some great miles you are able to run. I would love to hear the details of some of the trip planning that helps make that happen.

Great point about the 30 min break Rob T. I had thought about napping while being loaded/unloaded but wasn't sure how conducive those times would be for a nap. I guess being creative and adapting yourself to the situation would be key to maximizing your productivity.

That's good to hear Old School. I guess my problem is falling asleep when I don't want to What would you say the most important principles a rookie needs to learn about time management are?

Thanks for the reply Brett, I appreciate the advice. I am generally pretty good at falling asleep quickly as well, so I do think I will be able to adapt to the erratic schedule of trucking fairly well. My concern is that I think I probably need 6 hrs of sleep plus a nap. So my question is how badly would I be limiting myself if I did end up having to regularly take an hour out of my clock with a nap?

So I've been lurking on this forum for quite awhile now and have gained a lot of helpful information. My thanks to those who contribute. I've been considering going into trucking for a good while now and have gained a lot of information on the industry. And while I feel that it would be a good fit in a lot of ways, there are some areas that certainly make me cautious. Probably the area that concerns me the most would be sleep.Based on what I've read here and elsewhere, lack of sleep is pretty common place in the trucking industry. I seem to be a person who requires a lot of sleep to function properly. In my present situation I get from 6-7 hrs a night during the week, but more during the weekend. I feel like I need 8 hrs to be at 100%, but I can get by with less by making up some on the weekends. That being said, with only 6-7 hrs I experience middle of the day drowsiness that would prevent me from driving during that time (and that time seems to be expanding as well). My thoughts for dealing with this were 1. Taking a brief nap when necessary ( with sufficient wake up time that still shouldn't burn more than an hour of clock) 2. The judicious use of caffeine. (Definitely not leaning heavily on this option). Is killing an hour of clock on a regular basis really a viable strategy? And if it is, what kind earning potential would I have? I'm a disciplined and hardworking person, and I need to be able to earn enough for it to be worth it for me to be on the road, but endangering other people is not something I'm willing to do. I'm perfectly willing to accept that I may not be cut out for trucking, as much as I would love to give it a go. I would really appreciate hearing everyone's thoughts on this. Especially the experienced flatbed guys like Old School, as flatbed is primarily what I'm looking at. Thanks in advance for the help.