Refusing a truck

It depends on the company. One company I was employed with I had to clean out each truck I was assigned. When the dispatcher tells you to look it over carefully, especially the inside, that should tell one about the living habits of some drivers. I've refused a truck because it was just too nasty to clean. Well, I had others to choose from. Some drivers are just nasty and like living in their own stench.

Good Luck.

 

The worst people in the world to deal with are people who have quit drinking or quit smoking... I know, I quit smoking in 2000 and I will NOT drive a truck that smells like an ashtray. In the not too distant passed, I refused to get into a truck when the guy on the previous shift had smoked in it (the Company does have a no smoking policy for the truck in question and threatened the driver with termination when I reported that I couldn't drive the truck until the smell aired out).
Most companies like the fact that you don't smoke... the one that I work for now encourages that we quit and even has a program to help the drivers do so (it's a health incentive program that pays).
Request a clean truck... if they don't have one, take the time to clean it before you take charge of it.

If you find anything I say to be offensive, please get over it - all truck drivers have an attitude and I'm no exception.

 

Some non-smokers, like myself, can't even sit in a house where someone has smoked let alone a small, enclosed area. Second-hand smoke, including the residual odor and smell, makes me very nauseated and sometimes causes headaches so bad there is no way I would even try to drive with one. No way am I going to clean another person's tar and smoke from a truck. I understand some companies do a great job cleaning these trucks but there are some posts here where drivers have received trucks that are beyond filthy. My health comes before the truck's health.

 

I team drive. We both smoke a pack a day. I think i will smoke more now.

 

Take the truck, buy a can of room spray and spray the truck everyday. After a while you will probably be issued a better or new truck. Don't seem like a pansy to them or you get on the 'blacklist' right from the start.

 

I was issued a truck which had tar on the walls, and smelled of smoke. It was my first trucking job and my first week with the company. The inside was beat to hell and back, the truck had 610,000 miles on it and I'll tell you what, I loved that truck. I never complained about it because guess what? I'm a company driver and for my first truck I'm not going to complain. I don't smoke myself but the smell went away after a month.

Now if you get sick from the smell then I understand, but to complain about a dirty truck that you receive is just ridiculous. I'll admit I'm a rookie, only 10 months under my belt but by god I ain't afraid to tell someone to buck up and tough it out. That truck will now be your home away from home. Clean it and drive it till the wheels fall off.

Ethan

 

Takes about a week to get the smell out. Lots of elbow grease, ammonia and though cleaning will do it. Whether the company will allow you to request another truck is not the correct question. Whether you allow the company to put you in one is the correct question. You can be hardcore about it, as I have been a couple of times telling them I was going home until they had one or put up with it for the time it takes to get the smell out which I've done a couple of times.

 

My first truck was old and dirty also. The company is not going to issue a brand new truck to an unproven rookie as they don't know who you are. The several times I've showed up for a new job I've always brought a small cleaning duffle bag with me to make it right and let the company know I wouldn't be available for the first day as I was cleaning the truck out. Never had them question that. My present job I told them not to worry about cleaning the truck before I got in it as I would do it myself. It's your home away from home so why not clean it as you like it yourself?

 

Mine is the oldest truck in the fleet with the most miles by almost 100k. It's also one of the cleanest as I keep it that way. As long as it runs well, doesn't break down and gets me home I don't really care how many miles it has or how old it is.