Trucker's Supplies For The Road?

Cool beans. I thought so, but as they say I've read some horror stories.......

Which just means I need to stop reading other forums and just stick to this one. You all make everything seem less scary and more...ordinary.

Miss Miyoshi is concerned:

And what happens if you do have a breakdown and the delivery can't get to its destination on time? Are there severe penalties for this?

I've driven for about seven months now. My tractor had about 300k miles when I got it. In the three months I drove that one, it broke down twice, both because the batteries were old. (They froze up in Vermont! Who'd a' thought?) I've had one on-road trailer tire blow-out. (That's where the trailer pre-trip comes in!)

As for driver penalties, no way. If they need to, they contact the receiver with the breakdown news, and plans are adjusted. You may have to camp out roadside for six hours, but they will get a service guy out to you.

As for planning, there's an old joke:

Do you want to make God laugh?

Make plans!

I was figuring that there must be some leeway with things you can't control, but wanted to double check.

And boy this making plans thing is really going to bite me in the rear, isn't it?

Planning is good, real good... just be flexible - stuff happens!

True. I'm joking about it now, but I know how important it will be to be on top of planning, as well as being flexible for when things have to change. I used to tour with heavy metal bands. Life on the road is always about change. I can deal. (In fact, I'm looking forward to it.)

Toilet paper, baby wipes, and disinfectant wipes. Your toilet paper roll in a small Folgers can will be very safe, and pretty waterproof for those crucial moments. Baby wipes help out if a shower wasn't gonna happen that day. The disinfectant wipes are nice to general cleanliness in the truck, and for dirty restrooms when nature isn't gonna quit.

Clipboard and a porta-file make life easier.

A couple of small-ish storage tubs are very handy for your stuff.

At least a half-package of printer paper is good to have when using Transflo systems, also scotch tape. You have to tape receipts to the page to make it scan to your company.

Keep about a full pack of pens. They will disappear over time, like lighters. Also, lighter. Even if you don't smoke, it will become handy.

Consider a RoadPro lunchbox heater for a hot meal to save you money because canned food is cheap at Walmart. Also because even a crap day becomes better with hot food in you.

I also buy big packs of those plastic laundry soap pods for laundry day because no risk of spillage and no need to measure anything.

Have a towel or two, because not every truck shower has enough towels.

A seatback organizer will save you lots of time and space for storing your maps, pens, reg books and random needed items; I got mine on Amazon for $15 and it is a staple for me.

Anything that helps keep your glass and mirrors clean should be a staple also.

Anything that can keep food cold is good too, because sandwiches are fast, cheap, and easy to make.

Bedding: Don't skimp here. Treat yourself the best you can with nice sheets, warm blanket and the best pillow that you can manage, because caffeine is overrated when you're activating your brain's executive function for up to 14 hours a day. NOTHING ever does a person better than good solid sleep, and if it is the kind where you wake up with drool on your face then you've slept well.

Sturdy work gloves, with leather palms. I had a collapsible push broom when I pulled a dry van , and I swept a LOT of trailers to get loaded.

Commercial tire gauge because you need to be sure that your tires are ready to go.

I personally like map markers to mark parking locations that are not in the truck stop guide or the apps, such as roadside pullouts or otherwise unknown safe parking areas.

I also have two of the 2 gallon refillable jugs from WalMart and a couple 1 gallon water jugs, so 6-7 gallons total on board because your A/C & heater will dry you out and I can easily take in a gallon of water a day. Dehydration will impair you.

Safety glasses & hardhat. Usually issued, but always best to have.

Keep basic medical supplies: band-aids, gauze, Neosporin-type cream, and of course whatever works for your headaches if you get one.

I also keep a small trash can with liners because it helps more than putting a bag on the passenger seatbelt buckle.

I also prefer to use a power inverter that has USB ports on it to power things.

I'm sure more things will come along, but these are the basics that I run with and I never seem to need anything else aside from this list.

Yeah, like I said, the daily living/creature comfort stuff I've got down pretty well. It was more the trucking-specific stuff I needed, and you did provide an awesome list for that.

I'm guessing I'll have to have this all BEFORE I go to training? Because once you're done and you've (hopefully) passed, don't companies put you on the road immediately?

Vice grips are a must!! I say that because I seemed to get all the freak accidents back in 2001. I fueled my truck was waiting for my running buddy to finish up so we could make our way to Wisconsin. She tried jumping my truck, everything we could think off. So she left and the fuel attendant gave me a number to call. I had a ground wire break in half under the cab area and had enough slack to shave the coating off the frame, lay the frayed end on it and put a death grip on it when using the vice grips to make sure it wouldn't come off in Chicago traffic.

I find it handy to have some good tough hand wipes that remove grease and grime, handi wipes, shop towels or rags, a flashlight, a rain jacket and pants, assorted tools and zip ties and wire, a few bungee cords the heavy duty black rubber ones, and depending on what and where you end up, a hard hat, high visibility safety vest, steel or safety toe boots, boots with oil resistant soles, comfortable driving shoes like tennis shoes, TP, paper towels, window cleaner, cellphone battery or backup charger, tire thumper, tire gauge, a couple screwdrivers, adjustable wrench, channel locks, and some PB-Blaster along with various assorted over the counter medications. Always carry drinking water like 2 gallons for emergencies and if you're like me and like good coffee, a small stove and dripper with filters and coffee, a thermos, and etc.

Phil

I'm guessing I'll have to have this all BEFORE I go to training? Because once you're done and you've (hopefully) passed, don't companies put you on the road immediately?

Everything that I have seen says NOT to take all that stuff with you because you'll be in a truck with a trainer for a bit, and they don't want all your stuff cluttering up their truck. My husband told me he figures we'll get all that stuff set up the first time I come home in my own truck, other than the stuff that is immediate needs (like an atlas and a hotpot).