If you could improve anything about the interior of your semi truck what would it be?

Which do you prefer? I like a comfortable bed to sleep with room to move. I'm 6'2 and have memory foam topper. Would like to see better quality mattresses in trucks.

 

Here's what I would like to see...
I team with my husband. we use one bed, and utilize the bunk. we have a 2006 Volvo, and I absolutely HATE it! whoever designed this truck had no idea what it was like to live in a tiny space. while a toilet would be nice, being as I'm a woman who drives nights and can't always find a bathroom, I would still sacrifice it for better storage design. as it stands now, we keep our clothes folded up in a large suitcase on the top bunk. then our shower bags next to that, and 4 milk crates for misc. storage, such as extra shower supplies, toilet paper, medical and whatever else we don't use on a daily basis. And behind all of that is my guitar case. it's such a pin in the ##*! instead of having to keep our clothes in suitcases, I would rather hang the clothes up. a simple hanger rod hanging over the top bunk where I could hang the shirts and pants would utilize a ton of wasted space, taking up a fraction. then store the shower bags beneath it, with another little bag to hold socks and such that can't be hung. boom! I have 2/3 left on the top bunk for other storage. well now, besides the crates, what do I need the top bunk for anyway? instead of the bunk, how about a flat shelf on each side of the truck? one side to hold the shower bags, and the other side to store my crates. or take it a step further and make the second side into cabinets to store all that crap? then we have the center above the bed empty? more cupboards! that's where I could store our winter boots, dog food, and maybe even my laptop bag.

I honestly don't know which idea I'd like better, a roll out fridge or roll out cabinet for under the bed. our bed does fold up, but it isn't easy, and the mattress being squeezed between the base and the wall makes it hard to keep up. so definitely one of those two things. and on the cloth walls around the bed? pockets or cubbies to store small things, like the clothes you'll be putting on the next day (we wear our clothes for two days, then shower. less clothes to pack that way), reading materials, glasses etc.

Our volvo has a roll out desk inside a cabinet next to her bed, and while useful to use if I'm on my laptop, I have no back support if I'm sitting there for a long period of time. I would suggest moving the desk to the passenger seat dash. honestly, we don't even use that seat, and I want it gone to make room for the mini fridge my husband just had to have, and being as there is nowhere to really put it, it takes up more than half the walking space in the sleeper, making it #### near impossible to get under the bed or into the cupboard sitting next to our bed at floor level. but that's our problem. the desk should really be installed in the dash in front of the passenger seat. I don't see that the height needs to be adjustable since the seat already is. but having it nicely tucked away is useful. on my nights off, while the hubby sleeps, I'm in the driver's seat with my laptop on the steering wheel. I hate it. press too hard and the horn goes off.

We don't use a TV. we use our phones or tablets or laptop. so it isn't necessary for us per se, but I can see how there should definitely be a mount for today's modern flat screens and DVD players. and for the love of God, PLEASE do the wifi thing! I hate losing cell service and being unable to do my online work (we own our own trucking company), so we have to find a truck stop and pay their stupid prices for a wifi that barely works half the time.

A fridge and microwave option would be so helpful. my husband is on a glutten free diet, and finding food for him at a truck stop that isn't a salad is almost impossible. so we bring our own pastas and breads with us, but they don't keep as well as standard options outside of a cool environment. and oh my God, why anyone thought it was a good idea to have open cubbies in a constantly jostling truck was a good idea, I'll never know. everything should have a door, or some kind of baricade. I'm sick of waking up to my husbands cursing because #### is falling everywhere.

There's a ton more, but I'll end my rant for now...

 

My Kenworth is very cramped, which is fine because I'm basically a regional driver who only goes out a few nights a month.

But the Cascadias which are much roomier inside waste precious space.

Probably the most usable interior was the International 9400.

But then so many trucks are built to spec I can't really judge if the manufacturer is to blame or the company purchasing rep who has to order 50 per quarter and has never set foot in one.

Although everyone has gone to conventional cabs, I can't help but wonder if a "maximized interior volume" design could work. You'd have to start with a new COE (and compliant with whatever reg the Argosy isn't.) and you'd need some sort of engine access. I propose doing away with the passenger seat and door. Replacing it with a lower access panel to get to minor engine repairs. For more major jobs the engine would be removed from the front. If this sounds crazy, I've been looking into this and it's been done before on older trucks.

The secondary bunk would be moved over the driver's head, like on smaller RV's but it would fold up for driver egress. Often that's all wasted space. (Volvo's get a sunroof though)

This would almost double the sleeper birth space without being any longer than an existing conventional. The goal is for the rear bulkhead to be about the same spot.

The next thing is to either have a man door into the catwalk or curbside. This would affect where the primary bunk would go. Maybe it would be an option?

After renting an RV for the summer and finally using a blackwater tank I've come around. There is no excuse for this to not be available on the next generation of sleepers. The time has come to stop pissing in jugs or behind the cab @ 3am or running a quarter mile across a freezing lot but to actually have a proper bathroom onboard. Small sink mounted above the toilet drains directly into the toilet and a 5-10 gallon gravity water tank mounted above the sink. Blackwater tank can be external and mounted near the DEF tank.

Speaking of which, since the DEF systems keep failing and needing replacement, they should be removed from under the truck where they get very hot, and out back where the stack is now. They should get a dedicated inlet vent in the fairing to bring air to cool it off. But the whole thing can be removed and replaced from behind with 6 bolts and a chain lift.

I actually got sidetracked and didn't actually make statements for the interior of the truck but I've increased interior volume by 20% even if you count the bathroom. (Passenger seat is either eliminated, sits directly on the engine access doghouse, or relocated to the sleeper)

So what would you do with 20% more volume? It's all how you lay out the shelves and pockets.

 

The first thing I would do is line the whole inside of the body with copper foil to bond all parts of the body together and to create a nice RF ground for the antenna system before putting any components inside the interior since all of those components would have to get stripped out in order to bond everything together which is a pain in the ### for most company drivers.

 

I would love to have some cup holders. But I think KW rectified that back in '83 with the introduction of the B model cabs.

 

But don't you know that drinking and driving is bad?

 

Only if you spill your drink.

(KW cup holders seem to work better than Freighliners though, even if they're almost on the floor. The M2, straight truck cup holders are pretty much guaranteed to spill. What our guys do is take a roll of packing tape and wedge the roll into the cup holder. Then they put their drinks into the cardboard core of the roll)

 

If you are going to put any type of toilet in, look at incinerating toilets. No holding tank to mess with. You have more options as a solo driver than you have with a team operation.

 

Just get a big hole saw and punch a hole in the floor. Seems to work ok for a small segment of the industry.