not that i'm ready to starting buying stuff... but where can i "window shop" now? is there a good website or catalogs for basics (bedding, porta-potty, etc)?
i'd be interested in knowing what y'all think are some essentials once i start driving... and what are just really good things to invest in early-on.

The flying j has a e store, just do a search on google for flyingj estore.

There a few sites out there with trucking stuff. Even the crst van ex site has a store.

The bedding for most sleeper mattresses is the long or extra long twin, some of the small sleepers use narrower bedding but the length is the same. College dorm rooms use the long twin sheets. What else you need depends on what you do, if you are not home much you need to pack lots of clothing or else do laundry. Porta potty, well if you have a large enough sleeper, go for it I guess. Camp stoves, inverters, sleeping bags, can be what you would use camping and bought in the same places,I try not to buy things in truck-stops unless that's the only place to get them.

AJ

i would buy a "thermal" sleeping bag at the local wal-mart. i like the "coleman" brand myself. try to get a sleeping bag rated to about 0 degree's. or at least 30 degree's, all for warmth. i'd try either a camping store/sporting goods store especially for the porta-potty. they have some nice ones that fold up and store away nicely. they also use plastic bags for (well you know what), but the prices i couldn't say. as stated, try not to buy things at a truckstop, unless you are in dire need. even cb radios, try online searching, use google, type in : cb radio and watch all that come up. there are a lot of good places to buy from. in fact, even though i said DO NOT BUY froma truckstop, most cb radios are in fact cheap at most. especially the Pilot's. always look for sales, and try not to spend more than say $100 for a cb radio like a Uniden, Cobra, Midland. even a radio shack cb will do you just fine, but those prices are a bit higher.

I was told (by a J&R Schugel driver) that the best porta-potty is made by THETFORD, and he got his at Wally world. Pro is right, get yourself a nice warm sleeping bag, and a inexpensive microwave and refrigerator after you're in the truck and see just how much room you have.

thanks! i know buying a refrigerator is a good investment. i hated not being able to have good-for-me-foods on hand (yogurt, cottage cheese, etc). i have a really nice down comforter... will that do to start?

Yeah, the comforter should be fine, I prefer a sleeping bag because you can zip it up and not uncover yourself (good if you run team and your co-driver is a bit shaky ). Remember to run a fridge you will need an inverter. And check with your company to make sure what is the largest wattage inverter you can run, if you get one that's rated too high, the shop people may disconnect it if they find it.

forgot about an inverter. put that on my list. thanks!

See one of my previous forum posts on stuff you'd need for safe winter travel.....
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__________________
Be safe and God Speed,
Reverend Matthew "The Dragon" Koscielski
!!!Proud to be a gear grinder!!!

Faith, Hope, Love. The Greatest is Love 1 Corinthians 13:13

Can anyone tell me what the middle peddle in my truck does, cause i never use it.

That's a pretty good post, I have a 0 degree sleeping bag that I got from the military (if you buy one from a store it will cost you like $400-500 or more) and used that back when I was a new driver trying to get my bonus. Always stayed warm in that baby. You can get a 0 degree sleeping bag from walmart but those really will only get you down to the low 20's before your feet start to get cold. single digits forget about it with a walmart sleeping bag.

Anyways a few thing I found helpful for storage were the things you put on the seat that has pockets on it. you place it on the head rest and it stretches down the back of the seat. those are great.

I see you mentioned an inverter, well just make sure you get it installed by a pro cause many do it yourself find their trucks burned down to the frame due to a bad install. Freightliner charges like $150 to install

Trucks get dirty fast (at least mine does, I have no ideal how it gets that way) constant cleaning. Go to walmart and buy the vent air fresheners. I use Lysol as well. get a Decent dust 12 Vac ( I have a Kirby dust vac that is great) You will also want to get floor mats with deep groves. (helps me keep rocks ext from getting past the seat area.) A decent 12 volt Ioniser helps as well, keep things smelling fresh.

Well I will leave it at that...