Dispatch Wants Me To Take A 34 Hr Reset In A Loading Dock?!

I work for Werner Enterprises as an OTR driver. I'm fairly new to the industry and want your take on common practices of dispatchers.

I have 2 hours on my 70 and dispatch wants me to head to another shipper for a new load. They say I can shut down at the shipper in the loading dock for my 34 hour restart.

Not only is it a common occurance that dispatch will indicate on the qualcomm that overnight parking is permitted at the shipper but when asking the shipper they say no. With 2 hours I would not take that risk and declined the load on grounds that no facilities food or water would be available for 34 hours.

I was in disbelief over this so is this a common practice in the trucking industry to treat drivers like pieces of equipment.

Do they really think its humane to make someone sit in a loading dock for 34 hours while at the same time having a policy against using urine bottles in the truck.

Thanks for all of your input

You declined a load? You just created a bit of a setback for yourself. Did you at least confirm if the shipper would allow you to park at their facility before you arbitrarily refused the load? Did you call them? I'll guess NO. I doubt Werner would make this up, so you likely just shot yourself in the foot. Please help us all understand how the above is treating you like a "piece of equipment?" It really isn't. An OTR driver must always be prepared to shut-down darn near anywhere; you should have food and water and seasonal clothing. Be prepared.

A trucker friendly, shipper/receiver isn't that bad of a place to shut down. Nothing to get all flustered about. If the shipper allows a 34 hour break at their facility, all the better. I doubt you can block their dock, so they will probably direct you to some other area to park for your 34. As long as you creep along below 15mph you can probably stay off the driveline. As soon as you arrive, let them know you will need to shut-down. Your point about the urine bottles; I have yet to visit a shipper/receiver that didn't have restroom facilities available for drivers. Chill...you'll live longer.

Welcome to the forum.

Taking a 34 at a customer that allows it really isn't that different than taking a 34 at a truckstop, unless you are in dire need of doing laundry. I wish more customers allowed us to break on their property. Then again, I eat on the truck and hardly ever eat truckstop food. If I were you and if they allowed it, I would have done the 34 at the customer...

Some companies will also allow a driver to drive off duty under certain circumstances. Would they allow you to bobtail somewhere during your 34?

I was in disbelief over this so is this a common practice in the trucking industry to treat drivers like pieces of equipment.

I would say it's more like treating drivers like self-sufficient, well prepared adults who are doing a job that often requires you to go above and beyond what most people would be willing to do. If you're running hard enough to need a 34 hour reset then it sounds like they're taking pretty decent care of you for someone who's new to the industry.

You also have to learn to be creative out there. There are some customers that are just way out in the middle of nowhere, but most of the time there is plenty of things around within walking distance or Uber or a cab to go for entertainment.

Another possibility is to ask dispatch to let you run on recaps. There's no law that says you have to take a 34 hour reset. If you're getting hours back at midnight then run the load.

This is all just part of time management and communication. Things aren't always going to work out perfectly, but most of the time you can work something out by yourself or with dispatch. You knew you were short on hours so you should try your best to plan ahead and discuss these situations with dispatch when you see them coming.

Nobody said you had to do the 34 at the dock. With 2 hrs on your clock there are plenty of options. Wal-Mart, rest area etc. If you don't have to, don't turn down loads if you don't have to.

Not judging you on not wanting to do a 34 at a dock. (All shippers are different, some have lounges, some make you stand in a cage and use uncleaned portajohns)

But in the future, think beyond what your dispatcher says and THINK "How can I make this work"

I appreciate the time you all put into responding. Its clear to me now that this is not uncommon. I'm so surprised about how much bull **** you truckers put up with. As I said I'm new and an outsider to the industry and I all I have to say is not at all surprised why people run fast from this vocation. Yes, Werner is running me hard and I'm making more money than I ever had in my life (late 20s) but it's beginning to be not worth the health hazards, stress, and litigation. I have no qualms with declining loads or "shooting myself in the foot".

Litigation?

Litigation?

Yeah. You know. DOT is "litigatin' on you" when ya gotta abide by their rules. It's the same thing as saying someone is "hatin' on you," or being a "hater." DOT is a "litigator."

I love it when people say "hating ON you" instead of just 'hate.' These people are very clever.

all I have to say is not at all surprised why people run fast from this vocation

Well it really is an extraordinary job for extraordinary people. I couldn't run to the job fast enough when I got started. I was looking for a grand adventure, and trucking was all that and a whole lot more. I absolutely loved it. But then again, I climb mountains and snowboard down them just for fun. So yeah, it kinda takes that kind of person. Someone who is looking for challenges and adventures in their life.

I have no qualms with declining loads or "shooting myself in the foot".

You should probably put in your notice and go home and find something else that suits you better if that's how you feel. It gets a little easier as you get better at it, but in the words of Tom Hanks from the movie "A League Of Their Own":

It's supposed to be hard. If it wasn't hard everyone would do it. The hard is what makes it great

I know a lot of people who have never felt that anything hard was fun. I'm the type that never thought anything easy was fun.

If you think trucking involves a lot of BS, you should climb mountains. You get paid nothing, there's no point to it, no one cares that you do it, and it's always really hard.

Personally I'd love to be able to take a 34 at a shipper/receiver as opposed to a truckstop. I'm very self-sufficient though, most of my meals are in the truck and I carry several gallons of water at any given time. I'd much rather chill in my fold up chair in a lot that doesn't smell like a filthy bathroom.

As someone said, access to bathrooms isn't a problem at most places, and you can still get out and explore the area, same as a truckstop. I'd park in a corner of the lot and make the best of it.

The beauty of it is you'll get to load up without starting your clock, thereby increasing your opportunity to make money and showing your dispatcher you're willing to sacrifice a little for "the big picture".

Those tiny sacrifices can pay huge dividends when the time comes that you need something.