Equipment In Trucks

After reading everything I can about trucking and using Truckingtruth as my number one go to site by the way. I finally have a question I am sure can be easily answered here. I wonder about CB radios, GPS, and other personal techno gadgets installation in company trucks. Do these trucks have mounts installed? As a driver can you expect to have a truck number long enough to justify a semi-permanent install of your radio and such? Or do companies just say "no" ?

The only thing that really needs a special mount is a CB antenna. Depends on your company and position. If you are slip-seating (sharing trucks with everybody else, so you don't always use the same truck), it's not really worth it to try to install a cb unless you don't mind leaving it in that truck at the mercy of everyone else. Pretty much the only people who slip-seat are local drivers and linehaul drivers. Otr drivers usually keep their trucks until they break down or have to trade them in after they've got a certain mileage, so there would be no problem installing a cb in your truck. There are different types of mounts for different types of trucks. Just buy the right mount from a truckstop, install th antenna and hook it up to your cb with a coax cable.

Check with your company once you know who you're going with. Schneider trucks have mounts for cb and antenna already installed. You literally "plug and play" your cb. GPS is built into the Qualcomm.

And YES, you want a cb. Winter weather, traffic and other emergencies make it a near-necessity.

Check with your company once you know who you're going with. Schneider trucks have mounts for cb and antenna already installed. You literally "plug and play" your cb. GPS is built into the Qualcomm.

And YES, you want a cb. Winter weather, traffic and other emergencies make it a near-necessity.

Many of the Swift trucks assigned to my DC are equipped as Steve described. Plug and play. Not perfect, but it works.

I slip-seat on a regular basis and have no problem moving my CB from truck to truck.

I am beginning to dread the rapidly approaching day when I have to change out trucks. I have only been in mine around 3 months. It will be like moving a small apartment. I have clothes, food, water, coffee pot, crockpot, CB, shop vac, cleaning supplies, paperwork, and other mundane items. I can't imagine what is like for those drivers that have the same truck for years then get told to switch homes.

I am beginning to dread the rapidly approaching day when I have to change out trucks. I have only been in mine around 3 months. It will be like moving a small apartment. I have clothes, food, water, coffee pot, crockpot, CB, shop vac, cleaning supplies, paperwork, and other mundane items. I can't imagine what is like for those drivers that have the same truck for years then get told to switch homes.

Try to imagine what it's like for guys that are SWITCHING COMPANIES (and neglect to get home before they go to turn their truck in). Not gonna get all that stuff back on the Greyhound with you.

Most trucks (at least the OTR ones that you will be assigned to) do have a "hard mounting point with power" for a CB radio and an antenna connector. You would DO WELL to spend the $25 (or so) at the local radio shop to make sure the cable and antenna are good and get the thing tuned. A bad antenna or cable could (possibly) fry your CB.

GPS's, phones and the like - can use "suction cup mounts" to the glass - keep them OUT OF THE SWEPT AREA OF THE WIPERS. Lot's of folks are loading up their windshields - some states are getting much stricter on stuff that blocks the drivers view. Double stick tape mounts - I use body moulding tape or Scotch "Extreme" Fastener Tape (kinda like hard plastic velcro) , vent mounts and the like.

What you are NOT ALLOWED TO DO - is DRILL HOLES in the company truck WITHOUT PERMISSION - and ADD WIRING in the company truck. For some things, it's best to ask the COMPANY SERVICE SHOP to do it.

Rick

Just to clarify one point, Asil, you can put whatever you want into your truck, but most companies won't let you physically modify the truck, not even to drill a hole for a bracket.

Thanks everyone for the great responses. I totally understand why a company would not allow any type of physical mods. All these answers were a great help to me and I appreciate it very much. Another thing I learned from this (the obvious) is that the truck will be my home and should always be prepared to move my home to another truck when the time comes.

When I left Prime after a little over a year in my truck it was an all day event to clean it out. I bought a car in Missouri and had it packed to the roof with my stuff. I could have requested home time first to clean out the truck then run with minimal things but I was in need of a 2nd vehicle anyway. But ya it took all day to get my things out.

I am beginning to dread the rapidly approaching day when I have to change out trucks. I have only been in mine around 3 months. It will be like moving a small apartment. I have clothes, food, water, coffee pot, crockpot, CB, shop vac, cleaning supplies, paperwork, and other mundane items. I can't imagine what is like for those drivers that have the same truck for years then get told to switch homes.

Dear Truckers, I read the forum for a while. I like the american truck a lot. A warm greetings to all of you from Europe.

I writing this post because I would like to know about your opinion regarding the on board scales. I am searching for a good one. At my company we have Air-Weigh and Truckmaster teherautomerleg.

Both shows the axle weights and the sum. Has somebody similarstuff? What is the accuracy? Steve