Having Fun With Your Logs

When I was running Walmart Dedicated with Swift, the majority of us invoked the 34 hour reset.

Most of the runs were 12+ hours with the goal of returning to the DC at the end of every shift. On average I’d have at least one day out of 5 that I’d return to the DC with less than 15 minutes remaining on the 14 hour clock. This was the best way to optimize productivity and of course pay.

You know I respect you a ton OS, and I'm not trying to be argumentative here. But in this discussion and others, intended or not, you have implied that resets in general are a "rookie mistake". I accept that I may have misinterpreted what you were saying, and if so I apologize. Just as you desire to educate the others, so do I. That's why I feel it's important to show the other side of the coin.

I find myself being misunderstood in here a lot. I guess that must be my fault. I try to be clear all the time, but I often find myself coming up short. For the record, I do not think taking a 34 hour break is a "rookie mistake." If it were, I have made that mistake many times and ejoyed it. The only thing I think is a mistake would be the common misconception, held by many rookies, believing a driver is required to take a 34 hour break each week.

a driver running resets can exhaust his 70 in five or six days, reset on the 6th and 7th, then have an additional 14 available on the 8th day. Therefore, a driver running resets can have 84 hours available in which to drive in 8 days, a clear advantage.

I honestly don't like to teach this advantage to rookies. I agree with you that you can show a potential advantage on paper. However my experiences show that it seldom really works out that way. We both know we are leaving out the variables. Let me just throw out a few things for people to think about. I know you will have a rebuttal, and I of course welcome it. The discussion is informative, and I am in no way trying to be argumentative either. I also have a lot of respect for you, and consider you to be one of the smartest guys in here. I have followed you since your introduction here, and find many similarities in the way we ran flatbed loads and managed our clocks. You were an independent contractor before you started trucking, much like I was. We both knew the importance of busting our tails to get the job done, and our trucking careers have benefitted from that education we got from our own school of hard knocks.

For a new driver to burn through his 70 hours in five days he could possibly work 14 hour days and take ten hour breaks. That would be an inefficient way of doing it because they can only drive for 11 hours. That means they would have three hours on duty logged each day plus their ten hour break. In that scenario they are limited to only 55 hours of driving time, which is the all important money maker for an OTR driver.

They of course could be doing it differently. Let's say they repeat a cycle of driving 11 hours then take a ten hour break followed by driving 11 hours and another ten hour break. In that scenario they are going to have a little bit of on duty time for pre-trips and fueling, but by holding their on duty time to such minimums they end up after five days with close to 70 hours of drive time. That's more like what you are talking about, but it is almost impossible to make that happen in any type of consistent way. Even if we could, I fear it is exhausting. I know that most new drivers struggle with the unexpected exhaustion they feel from taking on this job.

You and I were both accustomed to long hours in the saddle before we started this. We both love to work hard and play hard. We are wired that way, and it makes our lives rewarding to us. I just don't like to teach a rookie the potential advantages of running that way. Most of them are not prepared for that kind of commitment at the start of their careers. I have found that if I show the new folks a "best way" to do things they think it is the way they need to be doing it from the start.

Continued...

I want to clarify that I don't consider one way or the other as advantageous. I use both methods and find my loads tend to influence me toward one way or the other. Lately, on my dedicated account, the re-caps have been working well for me. Just this past Friday my dispatcher called me again with the same message that inspired this whole conversation. He called and said, "Hey Dale, I want to read my list of loads to you and let you choose which one you want. Once again everyone is doing a reset today. You are my only driver available for a load."

Now let me show how my situation had a downside to it. He had a really nice load from Delhi, LA going up to Rhode Island with two additional stops on the way. I couldn't take that load because my re-cap hours would not allow me to get there on time. It had a tight schedule and it needed a driver with a full set of hours available to make it happen. I ended up taking a load with less miles that went to North Collins, NY. In that situation my hours dictated what load I could run. That's not always the best way for things to happen.

I have a lot of fun out here, and I want each of you to do the same. A big part of that fun is managing things so that I come out enjoying my time out here while making some killer money at it. I hate to see people running and maxing out their hours while being completely exhausted and stressed. Exhaustion and high levels of productivity are not typically good bedfellows in trucking. We tend to run higher risks of having a safety malfunction or suffering from burn out when we try to run too hard before being prepared for such vigorous activities.

Finally, I will concede that there is a "potential" advantage to burning through your 70 and taking a reset. I just don't believe it will make a whole lot of difference in a new driver's results. This month is almost finished, and as a little fun information for people to consider, I will show my total miles run this month. I never took a reset this month. Correction... I actually went home for three days, and that of course reset my clocks. The entire rest of the month was done on re-cap hours and I had to take one full day off at a terminal for a PM on my truck. We will take a look and see how I did. I'd love to hear from others who take a reset each week and compare notes on how we compare. Maybe that will help some of us understand the different ways of doing things and the effects they have on our productivity.

This discussion is why this is the best trucking website/forum that exists. Makes me all warm and fuzzy. Now get back to work.

I honestly don't like to teach this advantage to rookies. I agree with you that you can show a potential advantage on paper. However my experiences show that it seldom really works out that way.

I honestly do like to show it as an option, and my experience has shown it to work out more often than not. Using this method, I rose not just to the top of my board, but also consistently ranked in the top tier of the entire flatbed fleet at Prime. If you put yourself in position to benefit from an advantage, good things will come.

For a new driver to burn through his 70 hours in five days he could possibly work 14 hour days and take ten hour breaks. That would be an inefficient way of doing it because they can only drive for 11 hours. That means they would have three hours on duty logged each day plus their ten hour break. In that scenario they are limited to only 55 hours of driving time, which is the all important money maker for an OTR driver.

I typically ran 6 days, resetting on the 7th, but let's use the scenario you just outlined above.

So if one hypothetically drives 55 hours in those 5 days, they can reset on the remainder of the 5th day and through the 6th. On day 7 & 8 they can also drive 11 hours each, bringing that all important money making drive total up to 77 hours in 8 days.

Yes, I know this hypothetical, and not likely to happen all the time. But I want drivers to know it's possible if they play their cards right, and if in turn the loads play nicely. I came right out of the gate employing this method, and not only survived, I thrived. Other drivers can too, rookie or not.

Even if we could, I fear it is exhausting. I know that most new drivers struggle with the unexpected exhaustion they feel from taking on this job.

Agreed, it can be tough, but it's their choice to make. I believe in teaching all options, so they can make their own informed decisions. I try to refrain from giving anecdotal evidence based on my own individual trips or weeks. The variables you and I both know are out there prevent us from pointing to specific examples to back up our arguments. In general, we can really only point to the potential pros and cons of each.

I just don't like to teach a rookie the potential advantages of running that way. Most of them are not prepared for that kind of commitment at the start of their careers. I have found that if I show the new folks a "best way" to do things they think it is the way they need to be doing it from the start.

I can't necessarily agree with this. Perhaps for some it may be true. Others can run with it. I did, so I know it's possible.

I hate to see people running and maxing out their hours while being completely exhausted and stressed. Exhaustion and high levels of productivity are not typically good bedfellows in trucking.

To be clear, in no way am I advocating that people should push themselves to exhaustion. Again, just like everything else, it comes down to the individual. Do what works best for you.

On that note, personally I enjoyed having the reset day and a half to relax and recharge. As most of you guys know, my wife was with me OTR, so our resets were a chance for a "daycation". We'd go hiking, sight-seeing, touring, or sometimes we just crib up the sleeper and chill. The important part for us was the chance to just get away from the job for a spell. Some folks don't like that downtime, and I get that. To each his own.

Old School says:

That's more like what you are talking about, but it is almost impossible to make that happen in any type of consistent way.

Almost every week, starting Monday, I drive roughly 10.5 hours each day with an average of 1 to 2 hours of on-duty time each day for 6 days.

I then take a reset Saturday night and all day Sunday and then start again on Monday.

While running hard during the week is taxing, I enjoy having all day off on Sunday. Plus usually I'm only driving on Saturday so I can have a little bit more relaxed pace.

For a new driver to burn through his 70 hours in five days he could possibly work 14 hour days and take ten hour breaks. That would be an inefficient way of doing it because they can only drive for 11 hours. That means they would have three hours on duty logged each day plus their ten hour break. In that scenario they are limited to only 55 hours of driving time, which is the all important money maker for an OTR driver.

Something else about this scenario that doesn't quite fit with reality:

Nobody mentioned spending 3 hours on duty each day. More often than not, a driver will bump up against their 11 long before they hit their 14. With pre/post trip, paperwork and other on duty stuff, you'll often have about a 12-hour day. This allows a driver to "back up" their hours, starting earlier each day when possible, further facilitating a reset. I just don't see how you can call this inefficient. To me, this is textbook efficiency, making maximum use of your time and ability out here.

Something else about this scenario that doesn't quite fit with reality:

Nobody mentioned spending 3 hours on duty each day. More often than not, a driver will bump up against their 11 long before they hit their 14.

That's exactly correct. That's why I raised both scenarios. I was trying to show the difference. So far this discussion has been engaged by two of the most highly successful flatbedders I know of. Turtle and Chief Brody have all my respect. They are one of a kind professionals in my opinion.

I am curious if this stuff is a little easier for flatbedders to manage than dry-van or reefer. I have always been a flatbedder. I used to "backup" my hours on a daily basis, and often I still do. Any of you other drivers care to comment on how you prefer managing your logs for efficiency and productivity?

Turtle, Chief Brody, and G-Town are excellent examples of Top Tier drivers who know how to make hay with their techniques. I really appreciate the feedback. You guys are making me look old and soft.

I'm still at the top of our board, and not having issues staying there. I've just been doing things a little differently lately.

Fascinating discussion and I learn much from it. Our loads vary greatly, and at least in dry van , our trailer pool is difficult to get empties, basically, on a day like today, I had a delivery, and a pick up, sometimes a delivery at the end too, those days chew up my 14 hour. I also lollygagged for an hour and got a truck wash. So it's pretty easy to run out my 14 before your 11 for me.

In general, I run on recaps because of a few reasons, one of them being I run basically a split shift in terms of 24 hours. My log in 24 hours will have hours from midnight to 3 am or so, then my 10 hour break and the another 8 hours. Because I run swing shift a lot. Aside from the first day, if I repeat that cycle, I get really nice recaps without putting in so many hours. Invariably though I average it out so that by the 8th day I still have 8 to 10 hours of my 70 left.

If I have the loads to do so, I can tick off 3000 to 3500 mile weeks easily on recaps. Our loads though, especially lately are very erratic. Live loads and unloads that are 500 miles but have 3 days on them, and the times can't be moved, things like that. I ended up doing two resets in one week.

Although in thinking about it, I probably should use more on duty appropriately, in general I cringe using it because it destroys my 14 and 70, I usually only do 15 minutes at the start of each shift for pre trip and that's it. I don't clock on fueling, or anything else. I'm not suggesting people do that and I probably shouldn't be either.

In general, I push my loads delivery time, amd can usually get a day ahead if ibhaveca few loads stacked up. so I may have a day or two where I run 10.5 driving, I'll usually end up with 5 or 6 the next day, so it evens out. Of course that can be an issue for the next week's recaps, but it's almost impossible to get consistent enough load times not to do it that way.

Also most of my loads are 400 to 600 miles. But occasionally I'll get some long ones. I make an extra few cpm on shorter loads so I don't mind, and most other drivers complain so my DM appreciates me taking them.

I also like having the cushion of recaps because they have difficulty getting me home, so it gives me flexibility. It's not uncommon for them to fail home time by 2 to 4 weeks. I've ended up staying out for 4 to 6 weeks past it.

It takes practice to get good at playing the logs game. I started my night with 16 left on my 70. When I logged out of my ELD this morning, I had 13 hours left. I'll have those 13 hours to start my night and after midnight I'll gain an additional 3 hours. I'm Taking all the miles I can while they're available.