Gadgets to have on the truck...

Discussion in 'Swift' started by Hamshoe, Jan 30, 2011.

  1. Hamshoe

    Hamshoe Medium Load Member

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    Jan 12, 2008
    Illinois
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    The day I was handed the keys to my truck was exciting...yet sort of an empty feeling. I loaded my sheets and blanket, about 7 changes of clothes, my atlas, a 5 Ib. sledge hammer and vice grips....that was it. The dream of all the toys was just that...a dream. I was broke and the process of getting thru school and training had drained my resources.

    Now 6 months later i have acquired a few things. OK...I also had a cell phone to start with. First thing I got was a GPS...yeah I know some peeps are scared of them....anyhow after running my first outing and doing it all old school...Qualcom...atlas and actually reading road signs. I decided that the cheapest GPS I could find would be the most important thing I needed at this point. Walmart 99 bucks Garmin 1100 (I think) cheapest one they had. Do I rely on this exclusively? yes...I mean no...of course not. But it is another tool in the tool box for someone who is exceptionally directionally challenged. So for all the nay sayers out there ..no one can rely on any one mapping tool...they all have there shortcomings. But if you combine all of your resources then it is possible to get to your destination with out racking up to many out of route miles.

    Guess what the next most important item you need is....yep...if you said internet access you are a winner...at least in my book! Took awhile to pull the trigger on this one...but Verizon will basically give you a nice little netbook with a 2 year subsciption to their 3G network. It has worked great everywhere I have been and I have not really come close to going over the 5 gig limit

    Now what else could an old man need? Hmm...if you said a TV you are right! Pilot finally had a Naxa 13.3" digital tuner dvd model on sale for $149...with points of my pilot card it made for a nice discount....and you newbies need to get rewards cards at the places we fuel. Had to buy an antenae for about 30 bucks ..so now when planning my trip I need to also consider where I am gonna get some tv signal...no signal in the boonies. Dang...this truckin' gets complicated..all these considerations that go into trip planning...lol..I'm serious.

    Also got a slow cooker which hasn't been used much...seems to take awhile to warm things up. Need to get a fridge/cooler next.

    Anyone has anything they use on their truck that makes life easier ..then let me know.
     
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  3. bluebonn

    bluebonn Road Train Member

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    Texas
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    MY plans are to get the following items once they hand me my keys in about two weeks. I have been saving all my money.

    CB
    TV with DVD
    Refrigerator
    stove
    Tools
    Truckers GPS
    Internet for my laptop


    Maybe a few other small things.
     
  4. WMGUY

    WMGUY Road Train Member

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    Jan 1, 2011
    Nine Mile Falls, WA
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    i have a microwave in my truck and love it i also have an inverter... i don't know what the company's rulles are on that stuff... a cooler or fridge is a must is my book... eating out can get spendy...

    i also have a small butane bbq that i love to use and it gets you outta the truck for a bit and getting fresh meat is easy with all the walmarts around...

    get some tools... sounds like you are going with swift and waiting for onroad can suck so if you can do a temp fix send your macro and tell them you are limping to the nearest town or truck stop they will have you set up to go when you get their... dvd's magazines books are all good as well... keep a good amount of water for you and the truck you never know when a road will shut down or a small leak in the cooling system again keep moving if you can thats how you get paid
     
  5. AZS

    AZS Honk if anything falls off

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    PHX, AZ
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    12v cooler, gps, sirius receiver, burton digital cooker, nook ereader and portable dvd player. Probably do the verizon mifi deal once new ipads come out. Oh nintendo 3ds as well in March or shortly after.
     
  6. WMGUY

    WMGUY Road Train Member

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    Nine Mile Falls, WA
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    yes i have ps3 love it and kills time well
     
  7. Hamshoe

    Hamshoe Medium Load Member

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    Jan 12, 2008
    Illinois
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    yep...fixing some items that break on the truck helps, so acquiring tools is a good idea. If you got a Volvo..get one of those torx wrench tools...the kind that folds up like allen head tool. I have had visor lite go out and a tractor tail lite...even replaced my own clutch pedal return spring. Would have been days in the shop but a few hand tools will fix alot of things.
     
  8. PainNdaNeck

    PainNdaNeck Light Load Member

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  9. The Challenger

    The Challenger Kinghunter

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    East Central FL
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    I have a couple items that will go into my truck that I already possess:

    TV/DVD player combo
    Mini Fridge thats at my dads house unless he sold it
    Microwave
    Cooler that will keep ice for two days
    duffel bag with a first aid kit, chrome polish, tire cleaner, etc...

    Keep in mind we can only have a 400W plug in inverter unless company rules have changed.

    KH
     
  10. Ken

    Ken Couch Commander

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    Grenade launcher.. :biggrin_255:
     
    Joetro Thanks this.
  11. WMGUY

    WMGUY Road Train Member

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    Jan 1, 2011
    Nine Mile Falls, WA
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    yeah i wasn't sure if they had a rule on that or not... what i seen a few people do is get a set of jumper cables and modify one end to hook up to their bigger inverter and hook the other end to the jump start post and use it then put them away when done... may be more troubel then it is worth but it can be done
     
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