Advice Please! What Would You Do?

Hey all, so I just ended my driving day at 12:21CDT. My receiver is 507 miles away and my appointment time is 23:59 EDT tomorrow. So basically 36 hours away. Since I have 507 miles to go, I fear arriving at receiver with no time to get out of there. I think this is where that vague 8 hour split will be useful but I'm not very clear on how it works. I'm including a photo of two of my Qualcomm screens.

I'm at the TA Gary, IN and I'm going to Buffalo, NY.

This is my VERY FIRST solo run.

I'd appreciate any advice on how to get there without finding myself stuck and out of hours.

Should be able to run 507 miles in one shift as long as you can drive at least 60mph.

So, if it is 12:21central and you have to be there at midnight eastern the next day, which is 11pm central, that gives you a 35 hours.

Take your 10 off from 12:21 to 22:21 then drive, should only take you 9 or 10 hours, shut down near your destination around 9:00 am, take another 10 off and you should be good to roll at around 20:00. From here, you can call the receiver and see if they will take you early, if not, enjoy a few hours of free time 😊

Unless I'm missing something, this is what I would do.

There is a travel plaza near buffalo as well as a walmart that may have parking, also, there is a ta and a pilot about 33 miles east of buffalo in pembroke.

If you get there and shut down around 9:00am, you should be able to find a spot to park.

Thank you so much Sambo. When I started thinking about this at 3 a.m. I didn't think I'd have two shifts left. What you suggest makes perfect sense. Plus I love driving overnight. Cheers!

No problem 😊👍

Should be able to run 507 miles in one shift as long as you can drive at least 60mph.

So, if it is 12:21central and you have to be there at midnight eastern the next day, which is 11pm central, that gives you a 35 hours.

Take your 10 off from 12:21 to 22:21 then drive, should only take you 9 or 10 hours, shut down near your destination around 9:00 am, take another 10 off and you should be good to roll at around 20:00. From here, you can call the receiver and see if they will take you early, if not, enjoy a few hours of free time 😊

Unless I'm missing something, this is what I would do.

This is exactly what I would do. The only difference is that I prefer to trip plan in the time zone of the destination to help me avoid getting mixed up on my delivery time.

I got such a kick out of this little thread! Seriously it brought a big smile to my face.

Nacho B, when I first read through your post I kept thinking to myself, "I don't see the problem here!" Then this all important part jumped out at me...

This is my VERY FIRST solo run.

Man, that changed the whole dynamics of everything. I first read it before anyone had responded, and I was extremely tired. After driving for about ten hours I was going through the new threads for the day that I had not read yet, and saw several that I wanted to respond to, but took a little nap before putting forth the effort required. I had already decided to not respond to yours because I wanted to let someone else take a stab at it, because I wanted to see how they handled it.

Sambo came through with just the right touch! I knew it was a simple answer, but let me just say what impressed me with the way Sambo handled it. Just about anywhere else on the internet you would have probably gotten a slightly snarky answer. Some condescending experienced driver would have tried to show just how dumb you were as a greenhorn rookie. Not here! That is what is so wonderful about watching the interactions among people here, for the most part there is civility and a common effort at helping the newbies find their way through the fog. It is a great atmosphere, and for the most part, very unusual among truckers in general now days. Kudos to you Sambo!

Congratulations on your first solo run! We have all been there, and it is something that we all remember. There is so much spinning around in our heads at that point that we all, each of us, end up doing something that we have to laugh at ourselves over. It is easy to way over think this stuff, especially as a brand new driver eager to do well and show our new driver manager that we are not going to make all the bonehead mistakes that they are expecting us to.

You did the right thing in coming in here for some advice. I always hate it when I see brand new drivers whom we've helped get through school, or training, just disappear from the forum as soon as they go solo. What is even more disturbing is when about two or three months later we see their first post since going solo, telling us that they quit, and are now needing advice on how to get back going again. They have usually got a real problem on their hands at that point that could have been completely avoided had they just asked a few questions and gotten the good solid advice we are known for in here.

Again, Congratulations Nacho B! Hang in there, and please keep asking questions if you need a little help. The next thing you'll know is that you will begin to have the answers for other beginners who are in here looking for help. Carry on brother, and keep those wheels turning!