Sleeper Berth In Ram??????????
Its not written on the DOT book but as off now I have always log sleeper. I was thinking of removing the front and rear seats and placing a bed. I met an old man who has been in the Hot Shot field for a long time and thats what he did on his Ford F350. DOT tried busting him a few times but he said there was nothing DOT could do.
While sitting around the yard this past week waiting for loads the
topic of legal sleepers came up amongst several bored drivers.
Some say that, and swear to it, that if you disconnect your
travel trailer, or 5th wheel, from your truck and have the key
to the inside in your possesion,,, then the unit qualifies as a
legal slepper. But it has to be on private property,, no rest areas, etc.
All my deliveries do have the keys in the paperwork and I stay in Flying J
RV Lanes.
But it has to be unhitched on private property.
Now how picky is that for rules??
I think I'd tell the man I unplugged the power cord too just to be safe.
topic of legal sleepers came up amongst several bored drivers.
Some say that, and swear to it, that if you disconnect your
travel trailer, or 5th wheel, from your truck and have the key
to the inside in your possesion,,, then the unit qualifies as a
legal slepper. But it has to be on private property,, no rest areas, etc.
All my deliveries do have the keys in the paperwork and I stay in Flying J
RV Lanes.
But it has to be unhitched on private property.
Now how picky is that for rules??
I think I'd tell the man I unplugged the power cord too just to be safe.
It doesn't meet the definition of a legal sleeper . How many times does the regulation have to be repeated ? http://www.fmcsa.dot.gov/rules-regul...section=393.76 Just log off duty and sleep in it .
[QUOTE=RickG;1707915]I'm confused.
why wouldn't a travel trailer unhitched from your truck,, if unhitching is
a loophole,,be a "legal place to sleep".
I've stayed in legal places to sleep, motel rooms, etc, that's much
smaller than a 39' 5th wheel.
Are we getting into a semantic thing here as "legal sleeper" and/or "legal place to sleep"?

why wouldn't a travel trailer unhitched from your truck,, if unhitching is
a loophole,,be a "legal place to sleep".
I've stayed in legal places to sleep, motel rooms, etc, that's much
smaller than a 39' 5th wheel.
Are we getting into a semantic thing here as "legal sleeper" and/or "legal place to sleep"?
[QUOTE=jerry61;1707970]
I'm confused.
why wouldn't a travel trailer unhitched from your truck,, if unhitching is
a loophole,,be a "legal place to sleep".
I've stayed in legal places to sleep, motel rooms, etc, that's much
smaller than a 39' 5th wheel.
Are we getting into a semantic thing here as "legal sleeper" and/or "legal place to sleep"?
Exactly . It is not a "legal sleeper" meaning you can't log sleeper berth time there . If you logged off duty a sleeping bag would be a legal place to sleep . Actually off duty doesn't require rest or sleep . A driver could log off duty at a casino , go gamble for 10 hours , come back and get behind the wheel and be legal .
I'm confused.

why wouldn't a travel trailer unhitched from your truck,, if unhitching is
a loophole,,be a "legal place to sleep".
I've stayed in legal places to sleep, motel rooms, etc, that's much
smaller than a 39' 5th wheel.
Are we getting into a semantic thing here as "legal sleeper" and/or "legal place to sleep"?

Actually unhooking would not have much to do with it As I understand the law, to be off duty, you have to be fully released from responsibility of the truck and load that you are moving under authority from FMCSA. In a terminal yard, it would be so. I guess leaving the truck and going somewhere would also do it. Unhooking the trailer would not releive the responsibility.
While leaving the truck and load would not absolve you of legal responsibility, it would releive you of driver responsibility.
While leaving the truck and load would not absolve you of legal responsibility, it would releive you of driver responsibility.
But if one believed everything that sounded good he'd probably be in prison in about two weeks.
Generally what you hear having coffee in the truck stop and in the yard waiting for a load, is not real legal. A good tip off is when you hear "and I told that cop so and so" Get the green book in any truck stop, read up on it. That is the law.
Yup , and a butt load of fines to go with them . And when the auditor shows up it's a whole different deal than trying to get by with things at the scale . An auditor will put a felony charge on you in a heartbeat if you're out of line . http://www.oig.dot.gov/Room?subject=10 Respect the regs and have things in order and there's no problem .
I'm sure that if ANYONE,driving ANYTHING got mouthy with the DOT there would be a ticket of some kind,cause thats how DOT works.
I just answer polite like and things usually work out okay.


