All of my weekend trip destinations are a 3-4 hour minimum drive and in order to get there to fish daylight I am waking up at 1:30 or so.  As I get older this is getting harder and harder.  This past weekend I had trouble staying awake on the drive and had low energy throughout the day which affected my fishing and my mood overall on the first day.  The answer is to leave the night before and find some place to sleep close to the lake and then just wake up and fish.  My truck will soon have a cap and I will fix it up with a sleeping platform.  Does anyone sleep in rest areas overnight?  I know states have different laws but is it even enforced?  Doesn't Walmart allow campers to stay in their lot overnight?  Could a truck and boat stay at a truckstop?  Does anyone have any other practical examples?  I don't want to pay for a room somewhere since I am fishing solo and the cost would add up over a year.  Any thoughts are appreciated.  

Well, you need a friend or two. The Three Amigos (Me, Long Mike and ghoti.) fish together 

throughout the year. We live LARGE for about $40 a night which includes cocktails and the

gourmet dinners we make every night. We are too old and crinkly to sleep in a truck, but

you can do that easily and legally.

 

I have been know to spend many a night catching ZZ's in the back of my truck.

I always have an A.R.E cap.

Started several years ago while chasing striped bass up & down the east Coast.

Catches are ruled by the rising & falling tides and and best ones are 6 hours apart - so we sleep. 

My current deal is similar to @Junk Fisherman in that I almost always fish alone however my driving distances are routinely less than 2 hours.

The drive there I'm always good. 

It's the travel home after a long day on the water that's a bear.

Sometimes I'll zz right at the lake for a while before I drive home.

Some trips I will take off knowing that I'm going to hit the first rest area and 'rest'.

My other option is to get off the water early, well ahead of ramp or road traffic

(which can & often does chew up a ton of time) and while I still have

'Plenty of Gas' in my own tank to travel the highways & by ways safely.

Preparation always enhances performance - in this case both coming & going. 

 

Finally - while caffeine & energy drinks can 'help' they are not IMO, a replacement for sufficient rest

and not something I am willing to bet my life on.

The things we do for bass.

Sing it with me . . . .

A-Jay

 

Waking up at 1:30am is brutal.  I thought it was early when I was getting up at 5am to fish locations 90 miles away!  Sheesh.

 

Years ago, when I was younger with more energy, and I could find a couple friends to go with, I would make the 180 mile round trip to start walleye fishing right when the season opened at midnight.  We'd leave around 10pm, stop for bait, beverages/snacks, so we could be on the water ready to drop our lines in right when the season opened.  We'd fish with a lighted bobber until about 5am.  Some years we caught a few fish and some years we slayed em.  I almost always drove home and that was by far the worst part.  Driving home after a night of fishing without any sleep since the day before was brutal.  I never fell asleep at the wheel but there were times where I felt like I might.

 

If you left at a more reasonable time to try and be out there at sunset instead of sunrise, that may help.  Course, then you'd get home at midnight or 1am instead of getting up at 1:30am.  Haha

I have a truck and no-slide Northern-Lite camper.  I’ve stayed in many rest areas or the side of the road the night before fishing.  My rig is fully self-contained and I can do 3 days no problem without running my Honda generator.  It makes fishing those farther away places a pleasure.

For 17 years, we’ve been driving from Virginia to Michigan.  Driving the 10 hours up is no problem but driving home after a solid week of sun up to sun down fishing can be a challenge.  For the trip home we leave at 3am.   I am a driving fool and only once in those 17 years did I have to ask my fishing partner to take the wheel.  It’s an hour to any of my local spots and isn’t a problem.  

Sounds like you need to just sell your place and move ?

When I used to fish tournaments, most of them were 3-5 hours away and I did the same as you, leaving with my partner at god awful hours in the morning. Now that I don’t fish tournaments anymore, I’m super glad that I have literally hundreds of lakes within an hour of my house, and many of my favourite ones within 15 min. 

God, I used to do that bowhunting. Up at 0130, drive to the lower Eastern Shore, hump in a climbing stand, bow, daypack, etc. and hunt from an 1/2 hour before sunrise until legal shooting time expired a 1/2 hour after sunset. Then carry everything out and drive home. 

 

I did that in my 20s and 30s. No way today, Jose. 

Years ago I would leave right after work. The drive would take 5-1/2 or 6 hours depending on where I was heading. 
Since then there have been many smallie trips where I slept in the car. 

As I get older I prefer sheets and a nice mattress. 

Amazing what the body can handle when young, the abuse. 

Slept at the boat ramps coming and going many times. 

 

At 60 yrs old and still the passion for fishing I've found it much easier to take advantage of campgrounds on the lake in an RV.

 

Get a good night's rest and still on the water at Dawn and still back in time to make breakfast for the wife and I. 

7 minutes ago, Bird said:

Amazing what the body can handle when young, the abuse. 

Slept at the boat ramps coming and going many times. 

 

At 60 yrs old and still the passion for fishing I've found it much easier to take advantage of campgrounds on the lake in an RV.

 

Get a good night's rest and still on the water at Dawn and still back in time to make breakfast for the wife and I. 

The “problem” with 60 is you still want to get at it like you’re 30 (well, maybe 40), but while your mind says yes! your body says no! 

4 hours ago, Tizi said:

I have a truck and no-slide Northern-Lite camper.  I’ve stayed in many rest areas or the side of the road the night before fishing.  My rig is fully self-contained and I can do 3 days no problem without running my Honda generator.  It makes fishing those farther away places a pleasure.

I know this is the best solution but I don't want to get a 3/4 ton pickup.  I have looked at just about every camper and 1/2 ton pickup to see if I could make it work and it is just too close to payload limits or it's a truck I don't want to drive every day.  I am resolved to getting a half ton pickup with a cap.   

 

It's good to see that this struggle with sleep is common.  When I am taking longer trips while on vacation I always leave around noon and make it to my campground to get a good night sleep before fishing all day.  It's when I am fishing a quick Sat/Sun trip and want to be on the water at daylight Saturday that the sleep becomes an issue.  I know that my fatigue definitely affected my fishing decisions this past weekend.  I didn't fish very hard and was just too lazy.  I fished much better Sunday after a great night of sleep.  

you might consider a pop up camper, some are made for 1/2 tons.  Google pop up campers, lots of options, Hallmark (probably one of the best), Palomino, etc.

I have slept several nights in the back of my truck in the launch area parking lots.  Wake up take a leek and launch the boat.

Walmart use to allow overnight parking based on the local laws.  I’m not sure if they still are the same or if it’s safe especially if you have a boat.  One of my favorite spots to fish was close to BLM land.  My buddy would head up the night before and crash for a few hours there in the car and fish.  This was before we had a boat.  Another spot we had, you could rent a campsite for 15 bucks.  We would rent a site and crash there.  By this time we had a boat and 1 would sleep in the boat.  The other option we’ve done a few times is crash in a neighborhood close to the lake.  We would drive into a neighborhood and sleep in the car.

Most Walmart locations are subject to local ordinances with respect to overnight parking, that said it's hard to tell a customer pickup from an employee one if all your doing is sleeping, I'm a trifle more noticeable at 13'6x70ftx8'6" but that's my problem not yours, as to rest areas most states these days are going to a 10 hour maximum for the truck parking side, can't speak to the 4 wheelers restrictions, but I'd bet you'll spend many nights as long as your not showing your arse before anybody with authority said a thing about it. Idling your vehicle will have a supremely prejudicial effect on your ability to fly under the radar as it were, if you keep the truck off, nobody will look twice, this includes lot lizards/pickle park attendants, but does not always apply to burglars and thieves, I dare say your a clever enough fellow to figure out how to deal with them in a legal but effective manner. 

Chasing tournaments all over I slept in rest areas, truck stops, parking lots and most often at boat ramps.

I've always had SUV's and I'd put the seat down and blow up a cheap swimming float to sleep on.

I attached Christmas type bells to the boat cover with safety pins inside and out as a warning system.

I always mapped out at least 2 places to try and go as I did get kicked out of parking lots a couple times.

I always tried to park under the lights when I could.

 

I agree having a good night sleep was better for my fishing the next day than pulling the all nighter driving and filling myself up with caffeine.

12 hours ago, Tizi said:

you might consider a pop up camper, some are made for 1/2 tons.  Google pop up campers, lots of options, Hallmark (probably one of the best), Palomino, etc.

I assume it would have to be one that attached directly to the bed of his truck, and not a towable version since he's already towing his boat.

1 minute ago, gimruis said:

I assume it would have to be one that attached directly to the bed of his truck, and not a towable version since he's already towing his boat.

Yes, it's a pop up truck camper, slides into the back of the truck.  There are models made for 1/2 tons. These can be found used too.

23 hours ago, BassNJake said:

Chasing tournaments all over I slept in rest areas, truck stops, parking lots and most often at boat ramps.

I've always had SUV's and I'd put the seat down and blow up a cheap swimming float to sleep on.

I attached Christmas type bells to the boat cover with safety pins inside and out as a warning system.

I always mapped out at least 2 places to try and go as I did get kicked out of parking lots a couple times.

I always tried to park under the lights when I could.

 

I agree having a good night sleep was better for my fishing the next day than pulling the all nighter driving and filling myself up with caffeine.

Nice to hear that this generally works for you.  I am figuring the worst that would happen is you get asked to leave.

 

I have the motion detector alarms from Harbor Freight.  I put a couple sensors under my cover with the alarm in my hotel room or in the bed of my truck to wake me up if anyone is messing with my gear.  Keeps me sleeping without worrying about my gear.  

22 hours ago, Tizi said:

Yes, it's a pop up truck camper, slides into the back of the truck.  There are models made for 1/2 tons. These can be found used too.

I have looked at all sorts of truck campers.  Too much weight with towing a boat.  I have often thought that it would be so convenient if I was a kayak fisherman.  I see you have a PDL.  Considering buying one of those next year.  

A 1/2 pickup should pull a boat no problem with a pop up.  I pulled a full sized bassboat with my camper (which is much heavier than a pop up) anywhere I wanted without issues.  The boat weighed nearly 4,000 pounds full of fuel and gear.  My camper weighs 2,500 dry, 2,600 wet.

23 minutes ago, Tizi said:

A 1/2 pickup should pull a boat no problem with a pop up.  I pulled a full sized bassboat with my camper (which is much heavier than a pop up) anywhere I wanted without issues.  The boat weighed nearly 4,000 pounds full of fuel and gear.  My camper weighs 2,500 dry, 2,600 wet.

For most 1/2 ton pickups you are exceeding their payload limits.  Most 1/2 ton pickups have a payload around 2000 lbs.  Obviously, it worked for you but it's not something I want to do long term.  

I have 3/4 ton.  The pop ups w  Not weigh 1,200.  Not trying to argue, just facts.

Just now, Tizi said:

I have 3/4 ton.  The pop ups w  Not weigh 1,200.  Not trying to argue, just facts.

That makes all the difference but I don't want to drive a 3/4 ton pickup everyday.  

 

And I've looked at all the campers and it is cutting it too close for me with a 1/2 ton pickup.  Most campers would make me exceed the payload limit when I tow my boat or at the minimum have me right at the limit.  I spent a lot of time researching this because it solves my problem.