R & R on the road

A little planning and a sense of adventure can turn downtime away from home into rewarding experiences.

Mark Kathrein and Wendy Wing mount a log in a Redwood forest in Northern California.

Many truckers don’t know what to do with themselves during downtime. They may be between loads, waiting for a delivery time or far from home during a 34-hour restart — often in an unfamiliar place. The majority end up hanging around the truck, catching up on sleep, cleaning and fixing their rig, socializing and eating.

Barriers to spending meaningful time on the road are many. Pulling a trailer behind a tractor limits mobility. “A lot of what we do is based on being close to that truck,” says Scott Kinley, an owner-operator leased to Landstar. “If you’ve got a load, you’re not going to wander far from that load.”

Money is another problem. The economic downturn has tightened the belt for many operators and forced them to spend more downtime in or close to the truck.

Joe Fenwick finds inexpensive pursuits when driving, including visiting Virginia mountains and crossing the Mexican border at Laredo, Texas.

Yet some truckers point out that many activities and pleasures cost little or nothing. Walking doesn’t cost anything and offers exercise and a respite from the noise and emissions found at truckstops. Owner-operator Joe Fenwick, leased to Mercer Transportation, spent two days in the Virginia mountains, time which included participating in a tour.