Finally, I made the switch between a city driver to a line haul driver. With the merger, the line haul bid to Cleveland was eliminated, but they did add two Chicago bids. I jumped on that to get me out of the city. I will tell you, it's like I got a new job, and my stress level has decreased dramatically. Being that I did do nine years of over-the-road driving, I do know that a driver's sleeping patterns are sporadic at best. Now, I am experiencing the discomfort of the "Power Nap". I do have fifty minutes to do what ever it is that I like. Driving back to the terminal from Chicago in a day cab during the rough 4:00A.M. to 7:00 A.M. hours, I do not have the luxury to park and crawl in a sleeper.
When I first started, I tried every position possible to rest my eyes. I couldn't lay my head on the steering wheel because the horn is sensitive and activated with any light pressure. I crumpled my coat up and wedged it against the driver's side door with my feet up on the dash, but woke every five minutes with one of my limbs numb and asleep. My legs and arms got more sleep than I did. Not to mention that my back was jacked up when my 50 minutes was over.
I did some much needed research and asked fellow drivers how they managed to accomplish any sleep in a day cab. I heard of a few interesting ideas. One was a hammock that stretched the width of the cab and was knotted on both ends and was hung from the top of the door jams. I couldn't imagine me, a 6'3, 220 pound man, crawling out of that thing. I would flip over and end up with a stick shift where it wasn't supposed to be. I don't want to be that 911 call. The other ideas were things that I had already tried.
After nights of looking at the inside of my cab, I knew I had to come up with something. I drive a new Volvo, and there is an aluminum sturdy box mounted in the middle with a non-skid surface for the driver's radio-C.B. box to sit on. Most of our trucks do not have a passenger side seat in them. So, I measured the distance from the passenger side door to the driver's seat and came up with my own solution. It's called the INSTA-BUNK tm. With the air ride seat positioned to the floor, it was a pretty level to the aluminum box. I drummed up a hinged folding padded upholstered bed. The hinged weak point of the bed rests on the aluminum box. The bed is notched around the shifter and butts up against the driver's seat. Convenient to carry with handles and folds up easily for storage. I can stretch out at 6'3" and I'm low enough in the cab were other drivers can't see me drooling. Now, all I have to worry about is over sleeping.
If you shop around, the vinyl upholstery, foam, and wood, isn't that expensive, and well worth the time. I was wondering if you think this is a marketable idea or if anyone was interested in one. If you are, I will be happy to send you the dimensions and directions for making an INSTA-BUNK for $5.00. Please contact me and I will provide you with my Pay Pal account information. Please comment and give some feedback. If not, I will just enjoy my own comfortable fifty minutes of shut-eye. Nite, nite.
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