notw

Not sure where to post this one. The Big Rig Forum is pretty slow. Hoping a Hot Shot or OTR driver might be able to give me some advice.

I am transporting a boom truck crane from San Antonio, TX to Anchorage, AK the first week of June. I know, glutton for punishment... This will be the second crane I have brought up for my company, the first was in 07. I have drove truck mostly intra-state in AK for years so log books have been a non-issue for me. I did run a log on the 07 trip but must have been super lucky because the only person to ask for it was a U.S. Trooper in the Canada scale house at the border. He very nicely told me that I should be put out of service until I learned how to use a log book. I told him my story and he made several adjustments and I was on my way. This time I need to run an overweight permit so I want to make sure I understand how to do logs correctly. I have read through the regs several times, but a few things are still unclear.

I leave AK on a flight Sunday June 1. I hope to leave San Antonio by 12:00 on the 2nd then drive to Gillette, WY to see family arriving Wednesday pm. Lay over there for the 34 hours to reset my time. Then head for Washington and up through BC on Friday morning. Alberta says I am too heavy for them in the summer.
Questions:
1. Is it legal to restart my time on a Friday when my week originally started on a Monday?
2. The company I work for, a "construction contractor" only works 5 or 6 days a week. Can I use the 70 in 8 day schedule? Would it do me any good? It will take 60 hours to drive to Anchorage from Gillette according to Google. So I am figuring 65. Alaska allows 70 in 7 days. I would really hate to stop somewhere for 2 days to reset my time again.

I think I have a handle on the rest, but if someone sees something else I should be aware of please let me know.

Thanks

ptm600

Do a little reading on there. They have a lot of good advice. If you don't get your questions answered with a little reading call Gary. He is the site administrator and has his number listed several places on there and is more than happy to talk to you and give you advice. I called him a while back and ended up talking to him for over an hour and got a lot of info out of him.

HMX-1

If only you had asked a couple days ago.

My neighbor across the street from me is an OTR driver here in the Pacific Northwest and I would ask him for you, but he won't be back until late Thursday or early Friday sometime.



-Kris

notw

Thanks. I will check out the website. It is pretty sad, I know at least a dozen drivers but all are like me and don't leave the state. One friend used to drive outside years ago but is unsure about the new regulations.

Scotty

Hopefully someone will correct me if I am wrong on this. There is a new rule...or at least was several months ago that I think is worded like this...irregardless of how many hours or days off you take within your 8 day stretch, you cannot do a reset until the 70 hrs 8 days is past.
I ran into this a few times in the USA. I would come home to Canada after a 4 day run. Do my 36 reset [in canada its 36] then hit the road to the usa again.
Those off duty days are or were only part of my 8 day stretch and not counted as a reset in the eyes of the USDOT. Clear as mud I bet.

DOT would sit at the border waiting to do inspections in ND to see if folks ran the Canadian log HOS and then came across. They used to accept the Canadian log, not anymore. Both these items can throw a curve into a plan.

Your layover in Gillette might not count as a reset. I would confirm that. Just a heads up on what I encountered...as well as others. Very irritating.

notw

Your right Scotty there are new rules and they are ridiculous. Has to be pretty hard to make a living driving anymore. I haven't been to the lower 48 for a while but I am really surprised how few owner operators I have seen from TX to WA.

I ended up getting a Western Regional overweight permit that got me from TX to WA. Worked ok except for Idaho who didn't think it was enough and extorted another $120 out me. Hit rush hour in Seattle on Friday night, a little much for this country boy. Sure glad I hit the can before that mess. 3 hours of stop and go traffic to get to Bellingham.

So that is where I sit in a hotel in Bellingham. Apparently BC is not allowing overloads around FT Nelson or Dawson Creek yet. Sounds like that might change within the next few days. Going to give it one more, store the truck and fly home to AK till they lift. We knew it would be close with restrictions but even the people in the permit office are surprised they aren't off yet. At least the truck is this far.

Scotty

Idaho has always had their hand out. They even tried to write me up for no permit for Montana. I had one.

NE frmhnd

The new rule is that the reset doesn't count as a reset unless you are off duty from somewhere around midnight to 4AM, for 2 nights.

This country is so backsackswards about sleep. Most of the rest of the world sleeps 4-6 hours a night and a couple hours in the afternoon. The sleep "experts" need to justify their jobs so they set up studies that show you need to sleep 8 hours a night every night- and not during the day- and the brilliant people in Washington take their word for it that, that is an absolute rule for everyone, no exceptions.