Music Trivia Question

Do any truckers here listen to music on the road? What kind do you like? Many feel country is most typical for gear-jammers. It keeps them rolling along like Merle Haggard used to sing about. What audio technology is used on most modern rigs these days to play back music in the cab? In the 1970's there were 8-track tapes, then there were cassettes and CDs. Now music is largely digital: MP3. I have a huge collection of mp3 tunes: thousands of tracks literally.

Is it common for the Year 2017 driver to connect some kind of Apple iPod device to the truck's in dash audio system or maybe even a thumb drive? Do you use Bluetooth technology?

This would be very important to many a trucker on the long haul. Many drivers would DIE without a huge selection of tunes in the cab for thousands if not millions of career miles.

It is not trivial to talk about music and the means of playing it here in the cab at all. What else is there to do to occupy a driver's mind over the road for weeks at a time anyway?

If the truck simply had no audio but just an AM/FM radio, an iPod-like device could be connected to a small Belkin FM radio transmitter through the vehicle's radio. I do that in my 1995 Toyota Corolla now. It is cheap but it works in a pinch. It is rather inconvenient to not have the radio head unit controlling the digital music library and playlists however. I can't see myself packing a binder full of music CDs for the road.

I suspect that modern truck audio systems rival those in many new cars with full digital music playback capability.

You're back!

Many drivers would DIE without a huge selection of tunes in the cab for thousands if not millions of career miles.

No they wouldn't. I very seldom listen to music and I'm a musician. I haven't even come close to dying yet.

What else is there to do to occupy a driver's mind over the road for weeks at a time anyway?

Oh let's see...

Delivery schedules. Learning and putting into practice ways to be efficient. Thinking of ways to increase your productivity. Figuring out how to increase your fuel mileage. Contacting customers so that you can move your delivery appointments up. Running calculations in your head for fuel burn off if you happen to be a little bit on the heavy side on a load. Calculating when your next fuel stops need to be. Communicating effectively with your dispatcher. Communicating with customers effectively.

Oscar, I could go on and on and on.

There's plenty to occupy you out here. This is a job - it is real work that involves commitment and focus. It's not a jam session rolling toward catastrophe.

Bring your MP3, you'll probably need it on the bus ride home.

I really do not like my Pilot PhilMor plastic beverage cup; my feelings toward it are 'extreme dislike,' and I use those words only because 'hate' is such a strong word. I've spilled coffee now on 3 shirts, one of which I was trying to keep looking good. The first occurrence, shame on the leaky cup; the last two, shame on me. As soon as I spy a good deal on a nice travel mug, this one's going in the trash.

You're back!

Many drivers would DIE without a huge selection of tunes in the cab for thousands if not millions of career miles.

No they wouldn't. I very seldom listen to music and I'm a musician. I haven't even come close to dying yet.

What else is there to do to occupy a driver's mind over the road for weeks at a time anyway?

Oh let's see...

Delivery schedules. Learning and putting into practice ways to be efficient. Thinking of ways to increase your productivity. Figuring out how to increase your fuel mileage. Contacting customers so that you can move your delivery appointments up. Running calculations in your head for fuel burn off if you happen to be a little bit on the heavy side on a load. Calculating when your next fuel stops need to be. Communicating effectively with your dispatcher. Communicating with customers effectively.

Oscar, I could go on and on and on.

There's plenty to occupy you out here. This is a job - it is real work that involves commitment and focus. It's not a jam session rolling toward catastrophe.

Bring your MP3, you'll probably need it on the bus ride home.

Old School, I will most likely start as a long-haul (OTR) driver. There will be many LONG hours of just sitting behind the wheel and rolling. There will be mostly no touch loads and long hours waiting at the dock. One is probably not going to be contacting customers or doing paperwork behind the wheel of a truck anyway. It is the driver's total responsibility to maintain 100% control of that vehicle at all times when it is moving and avoid wrecks as much as humanly possible. Even as an army soldier and mechanic, having a radio playing tunes in the shop of my military unit where I did truck repair was quite common. Music is MORAL even on the job my section sergeant once told me.

I am age 53 but young at heart still. Not an old grouch yet.

Old School, does your rig even have an AM radio in it?

I give way to your superior knowledge. Go ahead and teach us about how it's going to be out here.

I give way to your superior knowledge. Go ahead and teach us about how it's going to be out here.

So, music-listening in the cab is not so common even among modern OTR drivers these days? I don't know. I may just find out as I go. It is my understanding that the dispatcher plans and coordinates every load and the driver is just that, a vehicle operator with orders in hand. At least railroad engineers were given "orders" to drive what train, to where and when. The papers given to drivers may have different terminology.

What I do know is it is illegal to drive with a stereo headset on. A driver must hear his surroundings as well as see them.

I love music and grew up in a music family. But, there have been many times I just drive...no music, no radio. I'm not dying. Going a little crazy maybe. 😆 But it ain't 'cause of a lack of music. 😆

It's not illegal to drive with a headset on. The same blue tooth headsets we use for phones can be used for music. Blue Parrot, Blue Tiger etc. I have an mp3 I plug into the radio but only if I lose data reception. I do have a USB port. I use Pandora on my phone. Many listen to audio books, others have Sirius Radio. You can either buy a subscription to Sirius that goes thru the truck radio, or you buy a portable that you can move to various vehicles.

Most drivers I know talk to other drivers. The radio becomes boring, and you can zone out even with listening to it. Conversation can keep you more awake. So in a day, I probably talk way more than I listen to music. I also listen to movies on my phone. Or the news.

It's not illegal to drive with a headset on. The same blue tooth headsets we use for phones can be used for music. Blue Parrot, Blue Tiger etc. I have an mp3 I plug into the radio but only if I lose data reception. I do have a USB port. I use Pandora on my phone. Many listen to audio books, others have Sirius Radio. You can either buy a subscription to Sirius that goes thru the truck radio, or you buy a portable that you can move to various vehicles.

Most drivers I know talk to other drivers. The radio becomes boring, and you can zone out even with listening to it. Conversation can keep you more awake. So in a day, I probably talk way more than I listen to music. I also listen to movies on my phone. Or the news.

Is there a way to talk to other drivers without holding a mic in your hand? I like the idea of total hands-free communication in the cab to keep both hands on the steering wheel at all times. I also like the idea of audio sans headset. I want to be able to hear a fire engine if it is coming up on my rear.

If I were assigned a truck that was not able to have an iPod connected directly to the truck's radio head unit, I might just use the FM transmitter to broadcast my iPod through the truck's FM radio. I don't want to PAY money to subscribe to Sirius Radio unless it is reasonably priced. I want to listen to my own personal music library anyway. I like AM/FM radio too where there is reception and analog local radio is still free of charge!

Anyway, how much is Sirius radio to subscribe to? Can I get baseball and football games? How about Rush Limbaugh and Mike Savage on talk radio?

I love music and grew up in a music family. But, there have been many times I just drive...no music, no radio. I'm not dying. Going a little crazy maybe. 😆 But it ain't 'cause of a lack of music. 😆

Here is a song that makes me believe that American truckers listen to country music to "keep them going" all day and all night long:

Movin' On - Merle Haggard (1973)

Big wheel's rollin'; Big wheel's rollin', movin' on. Big wheel's rollin'; gotta keep 'em goin'. Big wheel's rollin', movin' on. The white line is a lifeline to the nation. And men like Kix and Ronnie make it move. Livin' like a gipsy, always on the go. Doin' what they best know how to do. Jammin' gears has got to be a fever. 'Cos men become addicted to the grind. (The grind.) It takes a special breed to be a truck drivin' man, And a steady hand to pull that load behind.

Big wheel's rollin'; Big wheel's rollin', movin' on. Big wheel's rollin'; gotta keep 'em goin'. Big wheel's rollin', movin' on. Movin' on, yeah.

All night country music keeps 'em goin', Kix and Ronnie keep on movin' on. Hey, big hot cup of coffee, is waitin' up ahead, An' the rhythm of the highway hums along. Jammin' gears has got to be a fever. 'Cos men become addicted to the grind. It takes a special breed to be a truck drivin' man, And a steady hand to pull that load behind.

Big wheel's rollin'; Big wheel's rollin', movin' on. Big wheel's rollin'; gotta keep 'em goin'. Big wheel's rollin', movin' on. Yeah, oh you been drivin' all night long. Movin' on. Why don't you let me take the wheel for a while. What's that? Hey, buddy, aren't you supposed to have your eyes open? We're gone.

To fade.

For decades, I always thought drivers had CB and country western to keep them entertained on the road. I can just see myself over the American road with "I'm a Truck" playing by Red Simpson and "White Line Fever" by Merle Haggard. I suppose hands-free CB is even possible this day unless truckers use another kind of communications to talk between drivers these days.