HitchDaysShort answer
A 28/14 rotation schedule is 28 days at work followed by 14 days off, repeating every 42 days. 42 days is exactly six weeks, so every hitch starts on the same weekday. You work two thirds of the year, about 243 days, and go home about 9 times a year for two weeks each time.
How a 28/14 adds up
| Question | Answer for 28/14 |
|---|---|
| Full cycle | 42 days (6 weeks): 28 on, 14 off |
| Share of the year at work | Two thirds |
| Days on per year, on average | 243.5 (365.25 x 28 / 42) |
| Days on in one calendar year | 239 to 252, depending on where in the cycle January 1 falls |
| Trips home per year | About 8.7 |
| Crew change on the same weekday? | Yes, always |
The calendar-year range is wide because the stretches are long: a year that starts on day 1 of a hitch fits eight full hitches plus all but one day of a ninth, while a year that starts in the middle of a home break fits fewer work days. The average is the same 243.5 days as a 20/10 or a 2 and 1 (14/7).
28/14 compared with 14/14 and 28/28
| Rotation | Days on per year | Days home per year | Trips home per year |
|---|---|---|---|
| 28/14 | 243.5 | 121.8 | 8.7 |
| 14/14 | 182.6 | 182.6 | 13.0 |
| 28/28 | 182.6 | 182.6 | 6.5 |
Against a 28/28, a 28/14 keeps the same four weeks away but halves the time at home, which adds about 61 work days a year. Against a 14/14, it doubles the time away and keeps the same two weeks at home.
A worked 28/14 calendar from November 2026
First hitch day Tuesday, November 3, 2026. Day 28 is Monday, November 30; the first home day is Tuesday, December 1; the next hitch starts 42 days after the first, on Tuesday, December 15. Every hitch in the table starts on a Tuesday.
Swipe the table sideways to see every column.
| Hitch | On hitch (days 1 to 28) | Home (days 1 to 14) |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Tue Nov 3 to Mon Nov 30 | Tue Dec 1 to Mon Dec 14 |
| 2 | Tue Dec 15 to Mon Jan 11, 2027 | Tue Jan 12, 2027 to Mon Jan 25, 2027 |
| 3 | Tue Jan 26, 2027 to Mon Feb 22, 2027 | Tue Feb 23, 2027 to Mon Mar 8, 2027 |
| 4 | Tue Mar 9, 2027 to Mon Apr 5, 2027 | Tue Apr 6, 2027 to Mon Apr 19, 2027 |
| 5 | Tue Apr 20, 2027 to Mon May 17, 2027 | Tue May 18, 2027 to Mon May 31, 2027 |
| 6 | Tue Jun 1, 2027 to Mon Jun 28, 2027 | Tue Jun 29, 2027 to Mon Jul 12, 2027 |
| 7 | Tue Jul 13, 2027 to Mon Aug 9, 2027 | Tue Aug 10, 2027 to Mon Aug 23, 2027 |
| 8 | Tue Aug 24, 2027 to Mon Sep 20, 2027 | Tue Sep 21, 2027 to Mon Oct 4, 2027 |
| 9 | Tue Oct 5, 2027 to Mon Nov 1, 2027 | Tue Nov 2, 2027 to Mon Nov 15, 2027 |
Reading it: Thanksgiving, November 26, is day 24 of the first hitch, and Christmas Day and New Year's Day fall on days 11 and 18 of the second. Memorial Day 2027 is the last day of a home break, and July 4, 2027 is home day 6. With long hitches like this, one holiday season can be entirely at work, which is worth knowing in the summer, not in December.
The same three months, colored the way HitchDays colors them:
November 2026
December 2026
January 2027
- Hitch days
- Home days
Open this example in the rotation calculator and change the first hitch day to yours.
How to work out your own 28/14 dates
Find one first hitch day you're sure of, and settle whether the travel day counts as day 1 or as a day off.
Add 28 for the first home day. The day before it is day 28, the last hitch day.
Add 42 for each next hitch, or simply go six weeks ahead to the same weekday.
Check one past crew change against your list before you share it.
In a spreadsheet, with the first hitch day in B1 and a date in A2: =IF(MOD(A2-$B$1,42)<28,"Hitch","Home").
Common mistakes on a 28/14
- Reading 28/14 as 28/28. The second number is the time at home. Two weeks, not four.
- Counting "four weeks then two weeks" from the 1st of the month. Months are not four weeks long; count days from a real first hitch day.
- Calling the first hitch day day 0. If day 1 is November 3, day 28 is November 30.
- Forgetting the travel days. On long hitches, a travel day at each end can turn 14 days off into 12 nights at home. Your contract says which.
Questions about 28/14 rotations
What does 28/14 mean?
28 days at work, then 14 days off, repeating. It is also called four weeks on, two weeks off, or 4/2 when the numbers are in weeks.
How many days a year do you work on a 28/14?
243.5 days on average, two thirds of the year. A single calendar year holds between 239 and 252 work days depending on where the cycle falls on January 1. The example on this page works 239 days in 2027.
Does a 28/14 crew change always fall on the same day of the week?
Yes. The full cycle is 42 days, exactly six weeks, so if a hitch starts on a Tuesday, every hitch starts on a Tuesday until the company changes the rotation or you are held over.
How many times a year do you go home on a 28/14?
About 8 or 9 times, for 14 days each time. The example on this page has 9 hitch starts in 2027.
Keeping a 28/14 on your iPhone
HitchDays, the iPhone app this site is for, takes a custom rotation of 28 days on and 14 off. Give it one first hitch day and it colors every month and keeps the days until you're home on the first screen, which on day 3 of a 28-day hitch is a number worth not having to work out by hand. The countdown and this week and next on the calendar are free.