Gadgets to have on the truck...

I am just going solo. Hoping to get my own truck in the next week or so. :biggrin

_25525:

Thank you very much.


What I want to get:
-TV/DVD combo
-Laptop or net-book
-Tools of the trade (tire thumper and gauge, air hose, trucker type hd bungees, compact tool set, duct tape, etc)
-CB radio
-Cooler
-GPS
-Inverter
-Digital oven
-Coffee maker

While the TV is at the top of the list, it is not my first step.

Some tools are a very must needs. A tire thumper and pressure gauge are at the top of my list. Next to that would be an air hose that connects between the glad hand and tire (during my training we used that several times on low trailer tires, so I know how important and handy it is to have).

I will probably go with the cooler and oven next, since food on the road can get very expensive. Save there first, and everything else will be easier. The inverter may or may not be necessary for these items, but probably not.

Next would be either a CB or GPS. I'm leaning more to the GPS, since Qualcom directions can be very inaccurate at times (especially close in, going the last couple miles to the destination).

The CB might be more needed for shippers/receivers that broadcast on a certain channel to make things easier, than for anything else, which is the main reason I want one. The chatter and info from other truckers is too often either unintelligible, or just plain annoying.

That makes the TV and computer last on my list. But, it may not go that way. Entertainment, when on the road with little to do on those 34's and other lesser idle times, is just as important as good food and sleep and showers and... everything else.

Just have to see how my miles rack in to see what I can buy, and when.

I guess these first few months will be the most difficult, since I am just starting out. So little $$$, so much I need... so much I want...

 

Someone may have mentioned it already but a 2 pound sledge hammer comes in handy to tap in stubborn tandem slide pins. A ratchet strap is a great tool if you're solo and having trouble holding out your sliding tandem release handle. Wrap one end around the spring hanger and hook it, the other end to the elbow of the release handle and pull all the slack out of the strap and ratchet down to hold the tension. At this point you can 'rock the boat' back and forth to loosen up the pins and/or tap them in and continue ratcheting the strap to hold the release handle out. Once it is all the way out you can keep it on there or use a vice grip to hold it out while removing the ratchet strap.

Empty hair spray bottle filled with water to spray on suspected air hose leaks is a cheap solution. I use that to spray the glad hand seal as well because I don't like spitting in my hand and rubbing the spit on the rubber seal and retouching my hand thereby remixing and reconstituting 1000 other drivers' spit on my own skin. Just a quick spritz is all it takes-- don't want to introduce water into the air system.

A small sheet of tint film from Lowes or Home Depot, cut a small piece and spritz with water and stick it to your too bright displays on your dash for night driving will save your eyes from fatigue.

Black electrical tape to cover up annoying little bright lights on switches like Engine Brake, Cruise Control, Mirror Heater etc also save the tired eyes.

A strip of duct tape over the speaker on the qualcomm helps muffle the annoying 2 AM beeps messages informing you of doing a great job (as if you didn't already know).

Rechargeable batteries and charger that plugs into your inverter-- never have to worry about that flashlight running out of juice again! Truckstops sell a 12" fan that runs on cigarette lighter or batteries, nice to take that and a blanket and lie out under a shade tree at Klamath rest area Northern California. As an alternative you can buy that little 12volt JumpStart red thing (when you see it you'll know) comes with a 12 volt ciggie plug, anyway you charge it up with the truck's 12 volt ciggie plug while you drive and it holds power. You can also charge it up with accompanying electrical plug in your inverter or on hometime etc, anyway both those chargers are compatible and interchangeable with the 12 inch fan described above. So the fan plugged into the Jumpstart will run for hours under that tree as you nap in the lazy days of summer.

 

i forget what the CO2 or compressed air tanks for paintball actually hold, but i do know that if you get the paintball going much faster than 300fps, and it wont shoot straight. I've had that happen before, either it was the air, or a dirty barrel, and when the ball starts to spin, like a bad golfer hitting a bad slice, that is what the paintball will do....just fyi

 

the first film in any company orientation should be "The Wizard of Oz".

 

Scotty got a dimmer dial on the POS KW?

Vice grips for the tandems.

 

Scottie: I have a portable jumpstarter and have used mine with ciggie 12 volt devices also. How many hours does yours last running a 12v fan, etc., before it goes dead?

 

POS KW dimmer switch settings: Bright and Too ##### Bright

Sometimes you can't pull the handle to even get the vice grips on hence the mechanical advantage trick of using a ratchet strap : - )

Goes for quite a while, however plugging your inverter into it will work as well but just over an hour before running out of juice.

 

Did anyone mention the 5th wheel hook for pulling the pin? Mucho needed in the snow and rain.

Calculators, stapler,whiteout tape and pen. Tape for small receipts to put on bigger paper to scan.

2 pair of reading glasses. Serenghetti driver shades. Socket set 3/9th drive, screw driver set, Crescent wrench. Duct tape.

sears sells a heavy duty 2 bag tool bag set. The small one I put my tools in. The big one is for my shower stuff. $22

 

Scotty run don't walk away from that dufus!

 

Try to stay away from the TV/DVD combo if you're going to have a laptop since you can just watch DVD's on the laptop. Why pay for the same thing twice? And with those 12-volt TV's they get pretty expensive and the sound on them is pretty bad.

Also, get a male/male headphone cord. If you're lucky enough to get a truck with an aux input in, you can plug your TV or laptop into that and hear everything through your truck's stereo instead of tiny little speakers.