Expedite Now Trucking Magazine - Comfort for the Road

Expedite Now Trucking Magazine - Comfort for the Road is a great article.  I have included a brief overview of the article, but click the link to go to the whole article.


The Latest in Custom Sleepers for Expediters


For an expediter, a custom sleeper is much more than a sleeping quarters; it’s a home away from home.

“Expediters tend to spend a lot more time in their sleepers in between loads. So it needs to be more of a living area than just a place to sleep,” says Jim McFerrin, sales manager for Freightliner of Knoxville. “For typical long-haul tractors, most of the sleepers will have a bunk, refrigerator, television, microwave, but they often don’t have a lounge area. For expediters, we’re putting in a bottom bunk that turns into a ‘booth’ with a table and sitting area. Whereas the freight hauler is going to drive his eight hours, get another load and then keep going, the expediter will unload and might sit there for two to three days.”

That’s why sleepers for expedite trucks are designed with comfort in mind, says Bobby Snyder, sales representative for Fyda Freightliner, based in Columbus, Ohio. “The sleeper design is for drivers to be able to stay out on the road a little longer because expediters are having to wait in the cab more often than those just running dedicated freight. Expediters live in their trucks, so they want it to be as comfortable as possible, especially when they’re husband and wife teams.”

A typical custom sleeper for expediter trucks ranges from 96 to 100 inches in length, which allows for up to 22-foot freight box, while staying within the 40-foot overall truck length requirement. But some expediters are requesting larger sleepers, says Brian Callan, president at Bolt Custom Trucks.

“Traditionally, the largest sleeper we install on an expedite (straight truck) is 100 inches long,” says Callan. “However, it now looks like we will be building at least one 130-inch sleeper on a straight truck in 2015. We have another customer talking about doing a 150-inch sleeper on a straight truck. These larger sleepers are not unusual for us to install on a tractor with a fifth wheel, but the longer sleeper takes away from the full potential of freight box size with a straight truck. It’s a matter of striking the right balance to give customers what they want (and need) for their particular application.”


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