Tips And Tricks For Cab Organization

Can't edit, sorry for auto-correct: small CAB, not small can!

Ha. Another must have item for me, a nutri bullet. I'd love to bring my Vitamix, but that wouldn't be convenient. I drink meal replacement shakes and smoothies and need a powerful blender. My shakes are organic and purchased at Whole Foods, no "slim fast" crap. Very convenient and keeps me fulfilled.

Because I can't have the passenger seat taken out, I'll have to accommodate with a tiny fridge that I will secure on the top bunk, or in the corner of my own bed where I can just move my feet aside a little.

most take out a cabinet and put the fridge I there. Don't bother looking for one until you know that truck size and dimensions. One guy came from another company and his old fridge didnt fit in the new company truck.. it is one the floor taking m9st 9f the space

Ha. Another must have item for me, a nutri bullet. I'd love to bring my Vitamix, but that wouldn't be convenient. I drink meal replacement shakes and smoothies and need a powerful blender. My shakes are organic and purchased at Whole Foods, no "slim fast" crap. Very convenient and keeps me fulfilled.

Trainers here bring them. At Prime's MO and PA terminals there are local walmart and a shuttle runs from prime to the stores. The appliances can be fit in toolboxes outside the truck. most drivers have a few gallons of water on board anyway and all truck stops sell them.

Thanks for that ;) my mom bought me a nu wave oven for xmas. We tried it at her place.. put steaks in it and 20 min later they are perfect no turning. I put a little janes craxy mixed up salt and it came out like a restaurant. my trainer keeps her crock pot and cookware in the toolbox on the side of the truck so it's not taking room inside ;) she always uses the bags in the crock pot for easy cleanup

Have you tried using the nu wave oven in the trainer's truck yet? I'd be interested in knowing how it works.

Also, for your Trainer, has she experienced any "melting" issues with the oven bags being used in the crock pot?

For RV: RJ certainly seems to be addressing the food in the truck business quite nicely. He certainly has a selection. I also like his honesty about the refrigerator remaining empty if he doesn't fill it before leaving the house :-) Did you watch his YouTube Video? I though it was informative.

Ha. Another must have item for me, a nutri bullet. I'd love to bring my Vitamix, but that wouldn't be convenient. I drink meal replacement shakes and smoothies and need a powerful blender. My shakes are organic and purchased at Whole Foods, no "slim fast" crap. Very convenient and keeps me fulfilled.

Trainers here bring them. At Prime's MO and PA terminals there are local walmart and a shuttle runs from prime to the stores. The appliances can be fit in toolboxes outside the truck. most drivers have a few gallons of water on board anyway and all truck stops sell them.

You mean they bring their Vitamix, or nutri bullet? I'd love to be able to bring my Vitamix! There's nothing better. Had to exchange a Ninja because it wasn't pulverizing line I thought it would. The Vitamix literally liquefy everything!

Well, I started building up my necessities tonight. I purchased a Tek towel at Eastern Mountain Sports. It's a ultra fine micro-fiber, super absorbent and fast drying towel made for hikers/back packers. It's very compact and take much less room than a regular bath towel. They are expensive at $27 for a large one, but I think it's worth it specially when I'll be in a trainer's truck and I don't know how much space he will have reserved for me. Therefore I want to have everything I need, but very compact and efficient. Next step will be to dig out in my camping/hiking gear and get some silicone bottles for my hygiene products, a set of pot/pan and serving wear for two which is no bigger than a tub of butter. Bottle of Castille soap which can wash pretty much anything from your body, dishes, clothes, etc. and it's biodegradable. I got lots of super compact gadgets to make life easier while still providing comfort. I'm bringing my super compact, self inflatable mattress to roll down the bunk. Takes no more room than a big beach towel. In the end, I plan on having two duffle bags containing everything I need (clothes, food, boots, gloves, personal hygiene, bed sheets/blankets, Chargers, towels, baby wipes, electronics, etc) and just one if winter is over and I don't need thick layers and warm jackets to come along with me.

Two duffle bags might be a bit much for a trainer. Whatever you bring will be on your twin bed so you will be sleeping on it. A big beach towel is big when you can't stretch your legs Lol.

We were told one soft sided duffle bag blanket pillow towel (you get towels with your showers at all the big truckstops.. also at our terminal). one week of clothes with both warm and cold. It is better to layer to save space. Also keep in mind you can buy stuff on the road... some places were much cheaper than my home. At prime carfhart Workboots are $88 back in NJ they are $150. Same goes for the hoodies and sweatshirts... was cheaper to buy otr.

If you are OTR you will still need the winter clothes. I saw pics of some of these elevated places with snow in july. Mountains of course but cold all the same.

I also suggest work gloves And Workboots.baby wipes are great. As far as the gadgets and food stuff... until you meet your trainer to find what us acceptable I would wait until you get your own truck. Some trainer don't have refrigerator. ...or do not allow their students to use it.

You are moving into their HOME not their truck and you need to show it the respect you would want. If you invited someone to visit your house and they brought their own bedroom furniture wouldn't you get offended or weirded out. each trainer has different truck rules so be sure to ask.

Btw.. I meant the bullet lots of truckers use them... and no I didn't bring the oven onto trainer ers truck for the reasonS I mentioned above. I'll have my own truck soon so in the mean time I don't want to clutter up hers

You definently want to start light, even after training. My husband has been on the job for about 6 months and has been through 3 trucks plus a rental, and even though they are the same make, they were all just a little bit different. The company is supposedly fazing out some trucks and of course the newer drivers got the worst trucks (he does work for a smaller carrier). We will be investing in a fridge, crock pot and oven.

A duffel bag to me might be something else to someone else. I don't mean a duffel bag the size of a hockey bag. Much smaller. I DO and NEED to bring the items I'll be bringing. I CANNOT eat truck stop food. I need to be able to make my own food for health reasons. So if a trainer doesn't have a fridge, or doesn't let me use a tiny space of theirs (??) then I have to bring at least a small soft sided cooler where I can keep ice for some food items that needs to stay cold. A compact sleeping pad is for sanitary reasons. If you drive team, you have to sleep on your trainer's bed while they drive. I don't want to be in contact with their bed sheets. No one mentioned anything about moving in "bedroom furniture" in....lollll A thin mattress of an inch thick is hardly what is called furniture, and you do need to bring your own bed sheets, I'm not sleeping in someone else sheets. If someone was to move into my home for any given amount of time, I would definitely make a little room for them, including fridge space. I've done it multiple times, actually. It's called hospitality. If I was to ever become a trainer, I would expect nothing less than to make my student feel welcomed, and not as if they were invading my space, within reason of course! When your student start to clutter and invade everywhere, that's totally different. I know myself, I'm super clean and I'll want to make myself as small as possible, but not at the price of having to be uncomfortable to make someone else happy. There is common sense here that needs to be implemented by BOTH parties in this. I would not work for someone who makes me feel unwelcomed in their company, and I wouldn't want to share a tight space for weeks with someone who makes me feel like I'm a bother, or a means to an end (only "enduring" students in order to make money).

In the end, we're all different people, and there are things each one of us is willing to put up with, or not. No one is right or wrong in knowing what we want, and our personal limits. :) Really, I've learned over the years to pack really well for hiking and camping. I still don't understand how my posts come off as if I was bringing "too much". I probably have more experience than the average joe when it comes to packing. And with military experience around me, even more so.