Life in North Dakota "Man Camps"?

Thanks for the replies, guys (and gals, if any)! The information is definitely helpful! I'm going to try to pry some more info about the housing from the recruiter before I head to North Dakota. My start date is October 15th. I like advice of traveling light and packing as if I were headed OTR again. If the rooms don't look secure, I can always lock my laptop and electronics in the trunk of my car every day. I might even be able to keep my food in the trunk, too! I hear it gets, and stays, pretty cold!

I hope the rooms/common spaces aren't filthy like one person described. I don't like filthy spaces, and i always kept the trucks I drove OTR exceptionally clean. I did have one co-driver who was nasty. I didn't mind the cigarette ashes (air hose blows them away easily), but he would spill food and soda all over the console, seat, steering wheel and dash. I got frustrated cleaning up after him and said I was going to start charging $25.00 a week for being his maid (and that he would have to stay in the truck stop for an hour or two every week while I cleaned). He stopped making messes, but not because of the money! He was scared I'd find the porn he had hidden behind the seat and under his mattress. I knew about the porn, but I played stupid. I didn't care how he passed his time as long as he was discreet.

I'm not really worried about roommates making noise. I'm "one of those" people who sleeps best in a big rig that's barrelling down the interstate at 70 mph, and I don't mind sleeping next to a noisy reefer at a truckstop. I can sleep through loud music, phones ringing, people yelling, and flocks of roosters crowing next to me. When I'm awake, I love to read, and I can tune out almost anything. All it takes is for me to get engrossed in a good book on my Kindle, and absolutely nothing fazes me. This was a quality about me that my co-drivers greatly enjoyed because they could yak on the phone and know I wasn't listening, or crank their music until the truck shook and it didn't bother me one bit!

I would really like to buy an RV or trailer before I go to North Dakota, but it's just not financially feasible right now. I'm struggling to pay my mortgage on my own, I have funeral expenses from my Mom's unexpected death in late June, and the few months I was off for surgery on my arm (dirt bike injury, and not work related) ate through most my savings. I would even be hesitant to try to buy a cheap motor home in the few weeks before I leave because I wouldn't have time to road test it and have repairs made before I left. And again, it's not financially feasible at the moment. I just have too many bills to pay.

Of course, I'm not stupid... I have left enough money in the bank to get home should conditions in the man camp be intolerable. In addition, I have a cash reserve to cover the deductible on my car insurance should my car get wrecked in, or on my way to North Dakota. I added glass coverage and towing to my car insurance, too, after reading about cars sliding off the roads and cracked windshields in North Dakota. I also put new tires on my car, and they are covered by the manufacturer's roadside warranty... I'll be taking my car to the local shop for the mechanic to go through thoroughly and make needed repairs before I leave. I'm also buying brand new tire chains to take with me.

The focus on my car is because car problems are the only thing that would keep me from leaving North Dakota at will and on my term's (I won't need to beg a company to front me money to make repairs or get home, should I want to leave). Also, I've driven big rigs in the snow and ice, as well as my 4X4, but I've never driven a 2-wheel drive car in inclement weather (snow or ice) before. I'm more worried about me wrecking my car than somebody else hitting it in North Dakota. Short of it being completely totalled, however, I think I'm covered. I wish my 4x4 weren't so old and tired, but she just isn't reliable enough to make a long trip.

Any other advise about the car before I go? I know I have to put different windshield wipers, and windshield washer fluid that doesn't freeze. What else do I need to do to a car from California before I take it to the snow? And, please keep the information about life in North Dakota flowing! Please keep in mind that even info you think is trivial may be new and important to me! I've never lived in the snow, and I've only been driving big rigs for five years! I don't have a world of experience!

Thanks!