Starting Over Again?

Been out of trucking 10 plus years. Before that did heavy haul in Ca. 5&7 axle Cozads with company Peterbilt. Moved to Alaska and hauled heavy to midsize equipment using company Kenworth. I am currently going to Arizona for Knight transportation orientation and on the road driving training for 2 weeks or more. I was wondering about the new trucks, do they have internet access? while they don't mention to bring your own laptop I wonder? Do they have TV & microwave? And the most inportant question is when I am on my 34 will I need to stay in a hotel/motel?

Thanks sincerely.

Those are pretty much company specific questions. For internet access, are you referring to personal access to the internet?

For my company, if I have to do a 34 on the road somewhere (its only happened once in 4 1/2 months) the first 24 are in the truck and then I can get a company approved hotel. Layovers in excess of 24 hrs are the same. You should check with Knight to see what their policy is.

Forrest, a truck will never come with built-in wifi. You'll have to provide yourself with wifi. Having it on your phone is the best way to go for me. Get a phone that has a built-in hotspot so you can use the Internet on your laptop.

You can spend your 34 hour reset however you would like. You can rent a hotel but you aren't forced to. This is completely up to you. I've personally always taken a reset in my truck.

About the trucks having a TV and microwave. This can vary company to company but the general rule is that you will one supplying your own utilities. Most lease trucks come built with a refrigerator but otherwise you're probably won't be. Companies usually don't provide the trucks with these items. So plan on buying them yourself. And if you'll be having a microwave you'll need an inverter, so plan on purchasing an inverter before anything else.

Most of the time they say just bring essentials because you're going into a trainers truck which is really THEIR living space. Yours will be rather limited depending on the trainer. Most trainer trucks are leases and usually come with a refrigerator (if the trainer leaves room for some stuff for you). They'll only have a microwave if the trainer put one in him/her self.

As far as 34 in a hotel? If Knight is like the rest of the companies than no hotel for you unless you pay for it. However, the truck isn't supposed to stay sitting so if you run out of time, odds are your trainer won't. It's possible that you both run out but unless you're on a dedicated route , it probably won't happen. Trucks have beds for this reason so motels/hotels shouldn't be necessary.

Thanks everyone. Knight Transportation does not let anyone in the sleeper while on the job training. So I was wondering what they do or what I do when the trainers back home on his 34 hour reset. I do not have a home where I'm training. Also I am going to be doing refrigeration. Is that more of a dedicated run because of time and expiration of the product being transported. Howdo truckers feel about the refrigeration work?

Sincerely