Sightseeing while OTR
 

There has been alot of discussion about this, but mostly one saying it's possible, and others saying no way! Those opinions are noted, and often have MORE to do with the attitude of the poster than the actual facts.

Let's have some real examples given, and/or reasons of why it is or is not possible. I'll start.

First of all, I'm not sure whether teaming (as I do) makes it easier to sightsee... or NOT. As I do not spend weeks at a time on the road, alone, I have no idea for sure what I might could have done. But, here's some of what I have (or could have) done:

1) Sitting in Kingman, AZ in the afternoon and not needing to deliver in L.A. until the next morning, I had time to drive 19 miles south of I-40 at exit 9 to Lake Havasu City. There, I parked the truck and walked across the London Bridge where I jumped on a taxi boat and went across the lake/river to a small casino on the Cali side.

2) Arriving in Salinas late one evening, with pickups scheduled for the next morning, I drove the truck down to Monterrey Bay, and wandered around Fisherman's Wharf and Cannery Row.

3) Driving across the Bay Bridge into Frisco one evening, with a delivery the next morning, I parked the truck near the receiver and took a bus for $1 down to (that) Fisherman's Wharf and had a nice dinner and tourist time.

4) Arriving early one Sunday in Richmond, CA, I dropped the trailer (since it would be several hours) and bobtailed to the parking lot on the north end of the Golden Gate Bridge, then walked the distance across and back, stopping on the other side for lunch.

5) Another time, after leaving this same receiver, I parked the truck near a BART station in Oakland, and took the subway over to Fisherman's Wharf area in Frisco.

6) With a layover in Portland, I took a bus/light rail into downtown Portland for the day.

7) Going from Portland to Yakima, with a full day to get there, I took US 12 through Mt. Rainier State Park. Beautiful pictures.

8] After delivering in Kent, WA one morning, I dropped the trailer on their yard, and bobtailed a few miles away to see the house/neighborhood I grew up in.

9) Arriving in Denver one night before a morning delivery, I spent a bit much on a taxi to take me to my favorite "Gentleman's Club."

10) On a future layover in Portland, I plan to rent a car and see the coastline. (Enterprise will come to the truckstop to get you.)

11) I've been through South Dakota a time or two, with time to spare, but it was nighttime, so I didn't drive the few miles to Mt. Rushmore (trucks welcomed!) But, I will do this one day soon.

12) With a little planning ahead, I can sometimes leave a day early, and stop in Williams, AZ and take the train to the Grand Canyon. (not yet, but soon!)

13) Almost forgot the time I "scheduled" a layover weekend in Vegas to attend my niece's wedding! That was super cool!!

Almost ANY major city, where you have a layover, reset, or even half a day, you can usually find rapid transit to take you wherever you want to go, and many have 1/2 day tours on a motor coach.

I've heard MANY on here describe a run of only about 600 miles and 2 or more days to get there! Surely, you could have found time to do something IF YOU WANTED TO!

I'm gonna have about 18 extra hours this week on my way to Cali. Hmm.... should I do Graceland? Or the Murrah memorial in OKC?? Or just shoot straight to L.A. arriving noon Sunday (monday morning delivery) and rent a car and go see the Hollywood sign and Rodeo drive?

Okay.... your turn. What HAVE you done? Or could have done? Or want to do? Tell us how you did it or will do it. Let's not turn this into an OTR bashing thread about how you CAN'T do it. Cuz.... I KNOW you can!!

Honestly, I'd rather use the free time when there is some....so catch up on my sleep.

Thanks Golfhobo
That is exactly the kind of thing we need to know. Planning on team driving with my wife, and hopefully get to see some country while we do it.
It sounds like any other job, its what YOU make of it. Take advantage of what the situations offer, and have fun, or sit there and complain that no one is taking care of you.
looking forward to more of this!
Cheers

I can certainly understand that, Inmate. That DOES seem to be part of the problem with driving SOLO. I get more sleep than I need every day. As I've said before, I have only had a few chances to run Solo for a week at a time, and I always seemed to be behind the clock a bit on the way home! But, I've had some extra time on the way out. Is your dispatcher giving you loads that are "pushing" the HOS?

Have you NEVER spent a 34 hour reset on the road??

Well, I HOPE the thread goes well, myself!! I see you are in Salt Lake. I forgot to mention that I deliver there now and then. Last time, I had 24 hours to get from there to Salinas, so, after delivering, I went to the "J" near downtown, and took a bus/light rail to Temple Square. Didn't have a LOT of extra time, but I got to see the temple and where the choir sings, etc. If I could get there early enough one evening to find parking THERE for the night, I could go downtown and actually take in concert of the Tabernacle Choir! It WILL happen! :wink:

I usually end up overnighting in Toelle, which is a beautiful place! But, I think I can drop my trailer near the receiver and find room for my bobtail at the downtown "J," or at the Wallmart, or wherever!

Funny story, one time while LOOKING for that elusive "J," I took a wrong turn and was headed towards Temple Square! Since it IS a truck route, I drug all 53' right through downtown and in front of the Temple! I got to see it, but I had to keep moving! (And I wouldn't ADVISE it!!) :lol:

My brother and his wife TEAM, and it was HIS daughter who got married. THEY, too managed a weekend layover in L.A. and rented a car and came to Vegas for the wedding! My niece said it was the BEST part of her wedding having us all there!

When delivering to Washington D.C. on "L Street", the workers said it would be a couple of hours before they could get me unloaded, so I shut the truck off, and took a walk a few blocks down to the white house. Very cool.

One time I delivered in Bradford, PA and stopped at the Zippo (lighters) factory on the way back home.

Thats about it as far as "tourist" places go, as I've only had a local job, but have seen many other cool things....Mason Dixon Line, Allegheny National Forest, Allegheny Mountain chain, just to name a few.

I've stopped off at Glacier National Park when I went across Hwy 2 in Montana.

Seen many historic downtowns on off time. Met up with family in San Diego and gone down to the bay and Coronado Island. Went on the USS Midway tour. That was awesome.

If you end up on a reset anywhere near a rail line in Southern Calif, you can take the Surfliner anywhere up and down the coast for a day trip. You can go to Santa Barbara, L.A. and San Diego.

http://www.amtrak.com/images/maps/la...csurfliner.gif

Golfhobo, I'm glad you brought this up. I think a lot of drivers miss tons of opportunities to see the sights. They just sit in their sleeper and never get out and be creative.

Just don't go to J-Town next time you come through El Paso...and yes if you get a chance to see the OKC Memorial it is a must....just awesome and sad at the same time.

Well... I think it's settled. With 18 extra hours on my outbound trip, I think I'll spend most of Sunday seeing the Grand Canyon! Been wanting to do that for awhile now!

Come on folks.... I can't be the ONLY driver having any fun out here!! Let's hear some stories!! :lol:

That train is pretty cool. I've been to the Grand Canyon four times in the last couple of years when I lived in Vegas. I've had the pleasure of going in the winter too. Snow on the rim of the canyon is something to see and no crowds. Never did the train, but I will the next time I go. I love the Grand Canyon. It and Glacier are my two favorite national parks. Have fun!

Nope, dispatch has never me to run hard. I'm a light sleeper to begin with, always have been and I prefer to start my day around 4am and finish early to get me good spot at a TS.

As far as 34's, done plenty but I like to just kickback, and relax and if its in a hotel with a pool, thats even better.

Have done that a few times. First time I actually bobtailed to the South Rim. Got quite a few looks, but hey, who cares. Don't know if they still allow bobtails, but this WAS pre-9/11. :wink:

I usually bobtail everywhere I went. The companies never minded AND it cost me no money for fuel. :wink:

When I get time, I'll write down some of the places I've "toured". :lol:

Just to add a little fire to thread to get things going.
I see a lot of OTR drivers complaining that they dont get weekend layover pay. Do you drivers honestly believe that you should get layover pay when you are sightseeing, sitting in a casino or doing other things like that? I know that everyone would WANT PAY like that, however do you really consider that a reasonable request. Because I just dont see it that way.
Ive had many jobs where I travel weeks at a time. Ive never been in a job where I get paid for sightseeing.

I don't see why companies such as Swift, JB, Schnider, Werner, CAN"T get drivers home on weekends. So why not pay the driver weekend layover, unless it is THE DRIVERS CHOICE to run the weekend.

I will sightsee if dispatch gives me too much time on a load and I cannot drop it anywhere or deliver early. :wink:

If they can't reschedule, then wouldn't that be the planners fault? In other words, the companies fault. In such a case, I'm not going to just sit around some truckstop, because I have too much time on my hands. So yes, in certain circumstances, we should get weekend layover pay.

Rarely happens where I work, due to the ability of being able to deliver most loads early or drop somewhere. Or maybe I'm just an above average driver. :P

BTW-I'd rather be home than sightseeing, but I make the most of my time.

They do but you have to schedule your time off. I work for SNI and I schedule all my weekends off, months in advance. As far as weekend layover, what company pays you to not have the wheels rolling? Thats how you make your money, thats how they make their money by moving freight, not sitting on your *ss complaing.

See the BOLDtype. :roll:
And as for complaing about working weekends, I do complain about having to work saturday at TIME AND A HALF and sunday at DOUBLE TIME. :D

Hey Golfhobo,

All those trips I didnt' hear a thing about a round of gofl?

Golf,

If you're going to ride the rails to GC,..be sure to get there around 9:00am, to get your ticket, there is a wild west show from 9:30 to the 10:00am departure, and you get to the canyon at 12:15 and stay there until 4:00pm.
I highly recommend going down the Bright Angel trail for about an hour, and then heading back up for a great lunch at the lodge.
The rim tours are nice, but going down the trail is the best way to see the canyon. When you are about 25 miles north of Williams (where the train comes close to the road) you will be on my old 40 acre lot (I sold it a few years ago) that the train runs right through the middle (no spitting or throwing of garbage please).
Have fun and you will sleep on the way back to Williams.
It will cost you between $65.00 and $170.00 depending on what car you go in.

Strange, I schedule all my weekends off every week.


Too funny. :lol: There are lots of companies that pay when the wheels aren't turning. They pay holidays, and vacation , all while the driver is at home, doing what he wants. What it boils down to is, SNI and the other coolie carriers get you all to babysit their truck and load for zero $$. It is a shame that many can't see through the more miles = more money scam.
Me? I'll stick to the more money + less miles plan, and spend my weekends and holidays doing what I want, not playing tourist in someone else's truck.

:mrgreen:
Me too, but for some strange reason lately mine have been starting after 1PM on saturday. Must be the $$ I see when I hear, "Want to work saturday? Pays TIME AND A HALF". :D

I guess we never got into the lifestyle trucking thing Double_R.

It really is sad when one tries to point out that there are other trucking jobs besides dwelling, the usual cast of recruiters and Happy Dwellers shoot it down, and claim the poster is a loser that couldn't cut it. You know, that is funny coming from one that sleeps in a box. :lol:

So true :mrgreen:

As for not cutting, most(I said MOST, not ALL)OTR drivers wouldn't last two weeks at my job. Must be way they pay so well, takes that special kind of person to put up with DSD delivers to WALMARTS and grocery stores. :D

Home every night, weekends off. Shift differential pay for working the majority of your hours past noon (7% increase), and past 9pm (13% increase).

Overtime at time and a half, Sundays premium pay, and that includes the shift differential. So Sunday nights would be double time, plus 13%...

Federal Holidays, and a "59er" on the last hour of your shift, the last work day before the holiday. That means, 59 minutes off your shift early, paid.

"In lieu of" days, so, if your regularly scheduled day off happens on a holiday (when everone else is off and paid for it) you get to take a regular work day off at the end of your shift, the days prior to the holiday.

40 hour work weeks.

And I dont even drive a truck anymore! I get to drive my little service truck over Hells Hundred Acres... :twisted:


Now, when I was an OTR driver, I figured in truck shows, excursions around most major cities, historical points of interest, back roads where the view wasnt the same, visits to friends around the country, and many other things that didnt involve sitting in a nasty truckstop with a bunch of un-showered, over weight, orthodontically challenged Billy Big Riggers.

The worst layover I ever had, was about Febuary of 2005. I was stuck (almost literally) at the Crooked Hook in Gary, IN. It was -10 degree's, and snowing like only Chicago lake effect snow can snow. Part Time Dweller didnt even have the courtesy to invite me over for soup... :sad: :sad: :sad:

Just PROMISE you will have dinner in Morris,Il. instead of that rathole of a town called Gary and PTD will show up in no time. :lol:

Here we have another lifestyle apologist. :lol: Guess what? SNI and the other major carriers usually DO get paid for certain layovers and detention. With drivers that think like yourself there is no justification for them to pass any of it on to their drivers. Unpaid weekend layovers are just another part of an industry ripoff.

Oh, sure, like I was going to drive 60 in the snow miles to pick you up for soup. :lol:

Like DD60 said, fair weather, R-Place, no problem.

hey golf ... check this out if your going to Grand Canyon .... I don't know what part of the canyon your going to be at .... but this is One thing I'd love to see the next time I get there ...
http://www.destinationgrandcanyon.com/indexe.html

enjoy :D

Right out of the recruiting handbook. :lol:

Hey, Sheep, I've got news for you, in reality most OTR drivers that work for companies like yours don't spend weekends sightseeing. Most spend it at some truck stop cooking spam in their sleeper.

If you think it no big deal, why don't you spend the weekend in your cubicle for free and get back with us on Monday. :P

But.....But...... It's a lifestyle !!!!!! :lol: :lol: :lol:

"Cooking SPAM in the sleeper"..........now that's funny!

You know, my mom likes stopping in there. She says it is good food, and pretty clean. In all my years, I bombed right past that place going either direction. Maybe someday..... :wink:

Just borrow one of the planes from work, you would be there in what, 2 hours? There is an airport about a mile north of R-Place you could use. :lol:

Maybe I should explain things in simple terms you might understand.
I go through my calendar and schedule in advance the time I want off.
And I get it....I book my time for about 3 months at a time that way when its time to go home.........I go home. I dont take a trailer home, I dont "babysit a load" and you dont know what your talking about.

Now if you think you should be paid for doing NOTHING, join a union or work a govt. job.

I'm not talking about your home time that you have to schedule, and hope they give you. :roll:

I was referring to the weekends you don't get home, or all the other so called free time that you are on the road. On those occasions your screen name is quite fitting. 1577 must be your truck number.:lol:

Well no, its not my truck number, and its so cryptic you wont be able to figure it out.
As far as weekends I dont get at home, I work on those days. What is so difficult to understand? I'm paid to deliver a load, period. If that means I have to wait for the shipper/receiver then so be it. That is part of the job.
If you arrive early for a shipper/receiver on a Sunday, that doesnt have to be delivered til Monday, do you think you should be paid for it.

I dont. Sitting on my ass, eating greasy food and sleeping doesnt consitute getting paid. You want that kind of benefit, go work for a state road construction crew. :wink:

That covers it right there. :lol:

Next thing you know drivers will want extra pay because they have to drive in the rain/snow/ fog etc etc.

The way I look at it you are signed on to drive, not sit on your butt. The wheels aint rollin' you aint getting paid. Period.

That's right. YOU are not getting paid. :lol: