Tractor Amenities

I've been looking at YouTube videos as well as surfing the web as well as reading and studying here. We had the thread that talked about healthy eating on the road and I remember reading a slow cooker (crock pot) was mentioned as a possibility to consider trying for meal preparation.

The thing that generated my question was I was watching a video on preparing a meal in a truck. It wasn't so much the food subject as it was a comment he made off the cuff. He said something to the effect of he was in a company truck so there wasn't a microwave or TV or anything like that in it.

So my question is: what kind of amenities did your first company (OTR) truck have? I know it will vary from company to company and it may have changed since you had your first truck. Some companies may buy the bare-bones model and other companies may put some options on them. I just think it would be interesting to hear what kind of gadgets and comfort items the company provided you on your first truck.

Then you could add to the story of what you may have put on the truck (if the company allows you to put stuff in the truck) to make life out on the road more like home.

Hmmmm.... No takers?

The only amenity we have on our trucks is a Sirius radio / cd player. It gets local radio channels only and you need to supply your own CD's. You must subscribe to, and pay for satellite radio, and that starts out at about $17 / month and gets everything from music, talk radio, weather, sports, comedy etc.

Our company will sell you a fridge that fits the hole in the cabinet perfectly. cost is about $400. Get one at walmart cheaper, and it may or may not fit.

You can bring your own microwave, grill, pot cooker, oven, blender, etc etc etc. Just make sure you can stow it away so it doesn't become a missile or distraction.

TV... supply your own. DVD player, supply your own. Gaming system, supply your own ... GPS, computer, cell phone ...well, you get the picture.

The only amenity we have on our trucks is a Sirius radio / cd player. It gets local radio channels only and you need to supply your own CD's. You must subscribe to, and pay for satellite radio, and that starts out at about $17 / month and gets everything from music, talk radio, weather, sports, comedy etc.

Our company will sell you a fridge that fits the hole in the cabinet perfectly. cost is about $400. Get one at walmart cheaper, and it may or may not fit.

You can bring your own microwave, grill, pot cooker, oven, blender, etc etc etc. Just make sure you can stow it away so it doesn't become a missile or distraction.

TV... supply your own. DVD player, supply your own. Gaming system, supply your own ... GPS, computer, cell phone ...well, you get the picture.

Thanks for that, Road Hog. I imagine there are companies that do not even supply the Sirius Radio for you to subscribe to. And to add to the list you started, a CB radio. Do the companies have any heartburn of drivers mounting the CB antennas on the truck? It seems like every truck has CB, so I am assuming they do. Anyone else?

Funny you mention CB radios. My company has TONS of CB radios for sale. Good radios for half price. They will even install them for you (for a fee of course). They have so many CB's because drivers get mad, for some reason or another, turn in there trucks, and leave things in the trucks.... fridges....microwaves....CB radios ..... load locks ....

I think most of the drivers that turn in their keys are lease operators that feel like they were getting screwed.

You've read everybody's thoughts on leasing .... right?

Funny you mention CB radios. My company has TONS of CB radios for sale. Good radios for half price. They will even install them for you (for a fee of course). They have so many CB's because drivers get mad, for some reason or another, turn in there trucks, and leave things in the trucks.... fridges....microwaves....CB radios ..... load locks ....

I think most of the drivers that turn in their keys are lease operators that feel like they were getting screwed.

You've read everybody's thoughts on leasing .... right?

Yeah... I don't want anything to do with leasing or becoming an O/O right now. I feel I need to learn to be just a responsible, dependable driver first. Once I get a year or so under my belt, then I *may* consider those options.

So if the company I end up with to start my OTR driving offers to sell me used appliances and stuff like you listed, it should be a good deal then. Hmmm... stuff left behind by drivers. Could be a pretty good deal and worth checking out.

I have in my truck a satellite radio (couldn't live without it), tv, 12v cooler, and internet. I supplied all of that on my own, but it makes life out here so much easier. For instance today I have to sit all day waiting for a relay load to get down here, so I'll just watch college football all day.

You'll start with nothing usually. You can't come expecting to get a truck that's already decked out. As a matter of fact, your first truck will probably be extremely dirty from the previous driver. So when it comes to having anything in your truck expect to pay out of pocket.

If you're going to have all this good cooking equipment then you'll need an inverter. Lots of companies require that if you buy an inverter that you get one of their "approved" inverters instead of going out on your own and buying one you like. They also charge you an installation fee. So expect to be paying for the inverter and then a few hundred dollars for them to install it for you.

Company trucks rarely have refrigerators so you'll need a cooler. I use a Koolatron and I have it plugged into a power outlet.

So if you want anything you'll have to pay quite a bit for the inverter and everything else that you want. But like I said, you could get a truck that was an O/O's truck but just don't expect it to be clean inside and don't expect there to be anything left inside. The average driver doesn't know how to clean. So when it comes to all these cool gadgets, you'll basically just have to get them one at a time and work your way up.

All that being said, when you go out with the trainer for that training period, is it in the truck you will eventually go solo in? or will you train with the trainer in his truck or a different truck? I imagine it will vary from company to company again. I am just wondering how much time you will have to get some things together to go out on the road with some comfort items before you actually have to start driving.

You're going to train with a trainer in HIS truck. You'll use whatever he has if he allows. You can't bring too many things, the only place you have is pretty much at the end of the bed. So during training just bring important items with you. Then when you get your own different truck you can start buying all the amenities for it. There's most likely going to be nothing usefull in the truck that you get. So you can bet on starting from scratch when it comes to items like a cooler, CB, satellite radio, microwave, etc.