Some Confusion About The Use Of Sleeper Berth At Shippers/Receivers

I was only simply stating that right now the least of the issues for him should be whether he should use the 8/2 rule or not which is not really helpful in my opinion but that is me. I prefer to keep things simple and concentrate more on the issues that are more complicated or deserve more of my attention. Learning these rules at this point where Don is at isn't something that one should really be concerned with. My apologies if I stated the 8/2 rule incorrectly, but it does seem to better suit teams versus solo. Plus the last time I read the rule it states that it needs to be consecutive, plus that is how they relayed it to us in school.

I was only simply stating that right now the least of the issues for him should be whether he should use the 8/2 rule or not which is not really helpful in my opinion but that is me. I prefer to keep things simple and concentrate more on the issues that are more complicated or deserve more of my attention. Learning these rules at this point where Don is at isn't something that one should really be concerned with. My apologies if I stated the 8/2 rule incorrectly, but it does seem to better suit teams versus solo. Plus the last time I read the rule it states that it needs to be consecutive, plus that is how they relayed it to us in school.

Young jedi.... listen to the masters you must....know what they are talking about they do. lol

The 8/2 split is less useful to us team drivers than solo operators in general. We have very little reason to use it unless something really screwy goes on with our day. One of us is always logged into sleeper berth if the truck is moving.

Since we basically have a never ending clock (unless we burn up our 70 hours) we would rarely need to extend a team mates' day by using the split option. In general, once my team mate or I run out of daily hours or stop in order to limit the hours we have used, the other driver takes over and the wheels keep turning.

Figure this out once on the road with your trainer you will....

Confusing other learners must you stop!

Enjoy your training. it's a great life!

My apologies if I stated the 8/2 rule incorrectly, but it does seem to better suit teams versus solo. Plus the last time I read the rule it states that it needs to be consecutive, plus that is how they relayed it to us in school.

i agree he should be concerned with getting the CDL and stated that. i corrected the misinformation and explained for anyone reading who is interested. Simon is correct that teams do not need this because one always has hours, and they can often do rolling 34s to replenish the 70 clock.

heres an example of how it can help a solo:

i parked near my customer at 1500 and went into sleeper. My appointment was for midnight. I drove 10 miles to the receiver after 8 in the sleeper. it took 2 hours to get me unloaded which completed the 8/2 split and i rolled out with an almost full clock less the 15 min it took to drive and check in. otherwise, i would have had to park much further away and anything can happen.

another example;

i got to the customer at 2200 for a 0700 pick up. my trailer turned out to be loaded already but...it had a flat. i called for the tire change but it took 4 hours to get it done. i went 8 sleeper and rolled out at 0600. instead of waiting for the full 10 hour break or rolling out with a very limited clock and then taking another 10 break. that 14 hour clock is always ticking, but you can pause it with the 8 consecutive in the sleeper.

in the above situation, i did not need a full clock because i had one when i rolled in. but the waiting caused the 14 to eat my drive time. usomg the 8 sleeper allowed me to get back my clock minis what i drove to get into the customer.

i hope this helps

My apologies if I stated the 8/2 rule incorrectly, but it does seem to better suit teams versus solo. Plus the last time I read the rule it states that it needs to be consecutive, plus that is how they relayed it to us in school.

i agree he should be concerned with getting the CDL and stated that. i corrected the misinformation and explained for anyone reading who is interested. Simon is correct that teams do not need this because one always has hours, and they can often do rolling 34s to replenish the 70 clock.

heres an example of how it can help a solo:

i parked near my customer at 1500 and went into sleeper. My appointment was for midnight. I drove 10 miles to the receiver after 8 in the sleeper. it took 2 hours to get me unloaded which completed the 8/2 split and i rolled out with an almost full clock less the 15 min it took to drive and check in. otherwise, i would have had to park much further away and anything can happen.

another example;

i got to the customer at 2200 for a 0700 pick up. my trailer turned out to be loaded already but...it had a flat. i called for the tire change but it took 4 hours to get it done. i went 8 sleeper and rolled out at 0600. instead of waiting for the full 10 hour break or rolling out with a very limited clock and then taking another 10 break. that 14 hour clock is always ticking, but you can pause it with the 8 consecutive in the sleeper.

in the above situation, i did not need a full clock because i had one when i rolled in. but the waiting caused the 14 to eat my drive time. usomg the 8 sleeper allowed me to get back my clock minis what i drove to get into the customer.

i hope this helps

Perfect examples...... This is the sort of stuff that helps immensely to clear up the areas of operation that initially can appear somewhat confusing to 'newbies' and even slightly more experienced rookies like myself (being used to the European HOS system).

The flat tire situation is on of those 'screwy situations' I mentioned where we may also have considered doing a split, if only to extend the working week and not waste those valuable hours, so to speak.

Brilliant stuff as ever, Rainy! 👍😁

Don, I would also suggest that you not really worry about this as well. It will be discussed in school when you go and honestly the instructor here at Crowder thinks that the rule should just be a solid 10 hours and that is it since it is less complicated but the 8 and 2 rule has to be consecutive in order to comply with that rule. So meaning that you have to 8 hours sleeper berth and 2 hours in the passenger seat or not driving in order to satisfy the rule which is still 10 hours. So if you run solo you couldn't really satisfy that rule like that in my opinion since if you are gonna sleep or be off duty just simply do your 10 and be done with it. You are unlikely to be even able to do a complete 10 in a shipper/receiver anyways so I would not even worry about that and concentrate on the things that matter to you at this moment. When you are go on the road with your trainer you are going to learn how to do things when you need to do them to satisfy your HOS and be in compliance.

All I can say there is a difference between theory and reality. As long as our coloring books present a pretty little picture is all that matters. I use the 8/2 fairly often. Not as much as some, but often enough I have a firm grasp of its use.

Oh what the heck, I'll jump in this conversation too.

True, for someone not even in school yet this 8/2 process might be better left on the back burner for now. I totally agree with this.

But....

I completely understand the desire for data and knowledge, Don. When first researching this industry, I consumed myself with all things trucking. Any info I could stuff into my noggin was absorbed with great interest. I get it.

This is after all a major life decision, deserving of a little forethought. Sure, the 8/2 may be a little advanced at this juncture. But hey, you sound like an intelligent guy capable of advanced thought. So if you want to try to wrap your mind around it, here's my take on it.

The 8hr sleeper and 8/2 splits gets confusing I think because people tend to bunch it all together, and it gets confusing. What it finally took for me to understand was separating the process into individual components.

First, the 8hr in sleeper. This pauses your clock. Period. Whatever hours you had going into the sleeper, you'll have when you come out. Nothing tricky about it, and it has absolutely nothing to do with the 8/2 split in this sense. You don't need to do an 8/2 to take advantage of the 8hr sleeper berth provision. It's a separate thing by itself.

For the split, think of it as two rest periods that give you a combined 10hr break. One rest period must be at least 2hrs in either off-duty or sleeper berth. The other must be at least 8 hours and must be in sleeper berth only. They can be done in any order. After you complete your 2nd of the two breaks, you have a new calculation point for your 14/11 clock. It resets at the end of your 1st break.

In your above example, you drove 3.5hrs to the shipper. That leaves only 7.5rs left on your drive clock after your two hours off duty (1st break) for loading. So you park at 1930, having exhausted your 11. Spending 8rs in the sleeper (2nd break ) now does two things:

1-Resets your 14/11 calculation point to the end of your 1st break (1200). You then drove 7.5hrs, leaving 6.5 on your 14, and 3.5 on your 11.

2- The 8hr in sleeper paused your clock at 1930 when you stopped. So when you wake at 0330 you still have that 6.5 on your 14 and 3.5 on your 11.

Now let's say you wake up and drive a couple hours to the receiver, then go off duty while being unloaded. Guess what, you just completed another split. Only the 8hr and 2hr are reversed now. Your new 14/11 calculation point will be at the end of your prior 8hr break at 0330. You can keep going in cycle like this. Your calculation point will always be the end of the previous break.

Whew, it's kinda hard to explain this in written form. Now that I've read it myself, it's clear as mud. Maybe that's why it's best left to learn in practice.

This is why I absolutely love running elogs. While I completely understand the 8/2 split rule and know how to do it, I don't have to worry about doing any math as it does it all for me.

I was only simply stating that right now the least of the issues for him should be whether he should use the 8/2 rule or not which is not really helpful in my opinion but that is me. I prefer to keep things simple and concentrate more on the issues that are more complicated or deserve more of my attention. Learning these rules at this point where Don is at isn't something that one should really be concerned with. My apologies if I stated the 8/2 rule incorrectly, but it does seem to better suit teams versus solo. Plus the last time I read the rule it states that it needs to be consecutive, plus that is how they relayed it to us in school.

I'm only stating this again because I feel there is some confusion that needs to be cleared up. What you are referencing, is not what is known as the 8/2 split, which is what Don was asking about. What you are talking about, is the provision that a co-driver is only allowed to be in the front seat area, for a maximum of 2 hours, during his or her 10 hour break. The other 8 hours while your co-driver is behind the wheel, you must be in sleeper berth. That is only a provision that applies to the consecutive 10 hour off duty period, and only for team trucks. Solo drivers are not affected by this provision. Again, that is not the 8/2 split rule.

Your 10 hour break as a solo driver, can be any combination of off-duty, or sleeper berth. You could flip flop, 1 hour off, 1 hour sleeper, 1 hour off, and so on, for the entire 10 hour break and still be legal. As a team driver you cannot do that.

So the 8/2 split which Don was asking about, is you can effectively split that 10 hour break, and have on-duty, or driving time in between the 8 hour sleeper period, and the 2 hour off-duty/sleeper period (in whichever order needed) and still be legal. That's just giving the nuts and bolts of it.

I'm just trying to clarify so that anyone who reads this understands.

"Young jedi.... listen to the masters you must....know what they are talking about they do. lol

Very true. I'll Take G-Towns advice and work more on the pre-trip and the practice tests links he provided. I do want to mention I am not ignoring pre-trip or those things that I will use immediately while in school. I have been watching pre-trip tutorials on YouTube I learn best with visual demonstrations, but I'll focus more on the information in the links.

Turtle, Thank you for your very detailed explanation on the 8/2 split. Sure, I don't need to know this now. but your reply is a perfect example of why I come here.

"Young jedi.... listen to the masters you must....know what they are talking about they do. lol

Very true. I'll Take G-Towns advice and work more on the pre-trip and the practice tests links he provided. I do want to mention I am not ignoring pre-trip or those things that I will use immediately while in school. I have been watching pre-trip tutorials on YouTube I learn best with visual demonstrations, but I'll focus more on the information in the links.

Turtle, Thank you for your very detailed explanation on the 8/2 split. Sure, I don't need to know this now. but your reply is a perfect example of why I come here.

Hey Don.

I was actually sorta aiming that at Chuck and his misunderstanding of the 8/2 split versus the team rest provision... lol

You sound a lot like me; I too wanted to learn all that I could before school. 😜 Its no bad thing.....knowledge never hurts, hey? 👍

I believe this desire to understand will stand you in good stead once you get to class....my experiences with my team mate have led me to believe that a little more thirst for knowledge on his part at school and again at orientation would have done him some good!! lol But it's also been great fun helping him learn and watching his confidence level grow....this is why I believe that I will end up training at some point; I absolutely love it when comprehension dawns and I can see the 'lightbulb' come on.

Anyway, best of luck to you. I'm sure you'll do really well!

Cheers and be safe.