Equipment On Truck

As a company driver, would you be able to purchase say a " in - motion satellite and have it mounted on the truck"? Naturally, paying for the install and the device. Just wondering if companies allow that..

Not sure about all companies, but Prime allows it. Hell they even have deals with DIRECTV that you can do. They do the install everything.

I am doing something different so I don't know all the details, but I'm sure someone on here can fill in the gaps I have left behind.

Two thoughts;

1. I don't wanna sit long enough to get involved in a tv show or movie.

2. I've found getting involved in video, electronic media makes going to sleep a little more difficult. So I prefer reading.

I hope this helps.

That's going to depend on which company you ultimately work for. They'll each have their own rules. Like Eric said, Prime will allow it, and they'll even install it for a small fee.

I normally read during the week also, but when I'm doing a reset I sometimes like to turn the TV on. I don't bother with the satellite though, I have an over-the-air antenna that I raise up on an extendable pole from my headache rack. I can usually get at least a couple dozen channels on that sucker.

As a company driver, would you be able to purchase say a " in - motion satellite and have it mounted on the truck"? Naturally, paying for the install and the device. Just wondering if companies allow that..

Every Millis truck has a 24" flat screen, satellite dome and DirecTV subscription with NFL ticket, movie channels, etcetera. All free to the driver.

Almost all newer Freightliners come with an over the air digital antenna preinstalled. I use that from time to time, but mostly use Netflix and Prime slaved to my cell. Don't know if I'd want to pay for the equipment and subscription just to watch commercials.

As a company driver, would you be able to purchase say a " in - motion satellite and have it mounted on the truck"? Naturally, paying for the install and the device. Just wondering if companies allow that..

Some companies allow it, some furnish it automatically, and some offer it as an option. The company that I drive for (Pride Transport) offers the equipment and subsidizes or pays for the subscription depending upon monthly performance...but the system that they install is not an in-motion system making the DVR less-useful than it could be, also their required inverter cuts the power off momentarily every time the engine cycles (they don't have APUs), so I opted out of their system and install I figured out a way to wall mount a 32" TV and sound bar (no new holes drilled) and connect to the internet with a Verizon Mi-Fi/Jetpack. It works great for Netflix which is mostly what I use it for, and also works for my other desired service (MLB) until I hit 15GB data for the month, then the MLB doesn't work so well but the Netflix still does.

To those that say they don't want a TV in their truck, I understand their opinion but I drive 6 to 8 weeks at a time and want a TV. Today, I arrived at my customer the middle of Sunday afternoon for a 06:00 Monday delivery, so I'll be watching a couple of movies and enjoying the ability to do that.

As far as Direct TV is concerned, I don't get the appeal...tons of channels that feature a lot of commercials and movie channels that don't allow control of the start time, unless you want to pay a lot per movie for the on-demand stuff. I'd rather use the Internet and access Netflix, Amazon Prime, and YouTube, and watch what I want to watch when I want to watch it - for me that is much more cost-effective and enjoyable. I'm going to become a trainer soon so at that point I'm going to want to add a DVR so that I can store things for times that Internet isn't available driving through rural areas. I very rarely have to park where there isn't Internet but often drive where the signal fails so a DVR is going to become necessary once I'm team driving. I've done a little research on how to make a DVR work with Netflix and will be getting the necessary gadgets soon.

Dave

HOS:

Hours Of Service

HOS refers to the logbook hours of service regulations.

APU:

Auxiliary Power Unit

On tractor trailers, and APU is a small diesel engine that powers a heat and air conditioning unit while charging the truck's main batteries at the same time. This allows the driver to remain comfortable in the cab and have access to electric power without running the main truck engine.

Having an APU helps save money in fuel costs and saves wear and tear on the main engine, though they tend to be expensive to install and maintain. Therefore only a very small percentage of the trucks on the road today come equipped with an APU.

APUs:

Auxiliary Power Unit

On tractor trailers, and APU is a small diesel engine that powers a heat and air conditioning unit while charging the truck's main batteries at the same time. This allows the driver to remain comfortable in the cab and have access to electric power without running the main truck engine.

Having an APU helps save money in fuel costs and saves wear and tear on the main engine, though they tend to be expensive to install and maintain. Therefore only a very small percentage of the trucks on the road today come equipped with an APU.

Keep in mind in motion is WAY WAY more expensive than the regular satellite and only REALLY needed for teams.

I have ROKU to get amazon Netflix and PLEX app which goes to my home computer. I can tether it from phone. Some pay for the flying j or TA subscriptions for WiFi. Never bothered with that.

.... so I opted out of their system and install I figured out a way to wall mount a 32" TV and sound bar (no new holes drilled) .....

Any chance you could post a picture of this setup?