Why Do Some Truckers Try To Avoid A 34-hour Restart?

What's the benefit of spreading your hours through the week? You'll get about the same amount of miles whether or not you take the reset, right?

Maybe, but probably not.

If you are going to be home for 34+ weekly and are young and energetic and can handle busting out 11/14 hour days 6 days a week, great - so long as your dispatch can actually arrange 525-600 mile days for you every day that you work.

For old farts like me, doing 8:45/14/12 hour days many days in a row is much more sustainable. Heck, I did it six months straight once. Currently, I'm doing about 75 days straight, but then this Saturday I'm starting a two week cruise. I'd rather log 8:45 daily a couple of months and then have a sweet vacation than do 70/34 over and over, and I'll bet we can earn more that way too, on an annual and lifetime basis.

But, whatever suits your schedule...what works best for one isn't always best for all.

What's the benefit of spreading your hours through the week? You'll get about the same amount of miles whether or not you take the reset, right?

I'm taking g my first reset in al.ost 2 months. Only because I need 5.5 hours a d I only have 4.57 hours. But is a nice truck stop in Laramie. The water is hot, the food is good and the spot I picked is close to the restroom. I had planned on making my chili tonight, but when I was at Wallyworld I forgot to buy a can opener. And the truck stop doesn't carry one. And as any vet knows, a p38 would come in handy now.

It wasn't that I was avoiding a reset, it was that after midnight, I would always get at least 8-10 hours to drive. But the extra 30 minutes I need will not help this time. So, the reset is taking place. It could be worse, I could be at a rest stop where there isn't a shower, or real food.

Raptor

I should've clarified that I didn't mean taking the 34 at home, I meant just taking it wherever you're ended up.

Maybe, but probably not.

If you are going to be home for 34+ weekly and are young and energetic and can handle busting out 11/14 hour days 6 days a week, great - so long as your dispatch can actually arrange 525-600 mile days for you every day that you work.

I'd rather log 8:45 daily a couple of months and then have a sweet vacation than do 70/34 over and over

Are you saying that if you take 34 hour resets, that takes away from your normal home time at the end of the month?

I embrace my resets. I only run recaps to finish a load, or get into position to pick up a load, and then reset as close to next shipper or consignee , as possible. Our load planners keep that in mind, when planning us out. I have found, that it is more beneficial for me to reset, than running recaps. Plus I like to have an extended downtime, to recharge for the next week.

Resets do not count against hometime.

I could be considered an old fart, however I do resets and the bottom line comes out very nicely. This week is the first time in almost a year I’ll be running on recaps all the way to wa state.

I would prefer to run hard for 6 days, then reset. I don't just take a reset for time off, instead I'll push myself hard for days just to give myself the opportunity to reset and get that 70 back.

I run recaps and take resets when they happen. I try to run as long as I can. As a trainer I reset more often, due to picking up and dropping students off in Joplin. I like to keep moving and try to drive about 10 hours a day to generate good recaps. It is all a personal preference. There are as many ways to run out here as there are drivers. In other words we all do the same job a little differently.

I usually take a 60+hr reset every weekend lol but when over the road I always did a 34. Being regional meant that I was due to be home every friday. So I always wanted to get a reset done so I'd have the hours to get home when it was time. I've only done recaps 2 or 3 times, and they were some of my best weeks. I've also had 3000+ mile weeks with a reset so it depends on how they run you.

I guess I jinxed myself. I am now on a 34 reset. The driver that preloaded my load finally arrived at the yard. I helped him unhook and when I got the paperwork with hit the brakes. He was overloaded by 2100 lbs for my truck. The very first thing I did was checked the BOL for the net weight. It was 47,600. I asked the driver why he loaded so much and he told me it was under 80k so it was good. He was driving a day cab. I sat him down and went through the differences with him and showed him where he went wrong. He is new and really had no clue. I kind of felt sorry for him. Its not my job, and his mistake is going to cost the company extra money to fix, and cost me a good bit, but it is what it is. I made the necessary notifications and told him to just check with his dispatcher in the morning. I got all kinds of calls and texts back from management apologizing for the situation. I told them all its all good on my end. They seemed amazed I was not upset. I thanked them all for their concern, and told them I can now do a reset before heading out west friday. I know in the end it will come back to me, so life is good.