Clothing, boots and misc.

Boots: I wear slip-on Red Wings. Some places require steel toes; I have been out here since 1992 and never had an issue, but it depends what kind of places you frequent. Steel mills vs implement dealers. You get the idea.

Personally I find Carharrt "duck" type jeans too heavy in the truck; summertime I wear Ben Davis work pants and if it's real cold I wear Levis or similar jeans. ALWAYS wear coveralls when loading/unloading/tarping etc. I use Ben Davis or Dickies coveralls. I always wear a collared shirt vs a t-shirt; it just projects a better image in my opinion.

Don't forget GOOD raingear.

 

Probably because i'm a girl but as far as clothing I wear my regular clothes but if ill need to do something that'll get me dirty I have a long sleeve work shirt and a full body work jump suit.

As far as footwear I bought something that you can put on any type of shoe or boot but they keep you from slipping and falling on ice. I've used them alot in the past few weeks because alot of places are icy. They work excellent for me and were $13 from Walmart.

Here's a pic of them on my shoe.



Sent from my DROID RAZR using Tapatalk 2

 

I think what helps me most with comfort is having plenty of clean socks and underwear.

 

Showering at the end if each day gets pricey since most places charge $10 for a shower. I just fuel up everyday and its usually enough (50 gal) to get me a free shower. And when it's not, I break out the $10.

As for clothing, you'll soon learn that having a clean change of clothes is a top priority when tossing chains, binders, tarps and all that good stuff. Even if I'm only gone for 5 days, I have 7 days worth of clothes with me. You basically dirty what your wearing during every load you put on to take off.

In the flatbed world, a good pair of gloves is the most important thing. Not too big and bulky, but enough insulation so u don't freeze. Everyone is different but I'd suggest going to a work clothing store and just look thru all the types they have.

 

For work gear, I wear boots from Walmart. As comfortable as some high dollar ones I have, and dont mind them getting trashed for the money they cost.
Coat is a full reflective 3/4 length item, as the wind sites I deliver to require reflective safety wear at all times. It is also waterproof and washes/dries easily.
Pants, I just wear light weight Khakis anymore. They are comfortable for all day use, and wash and dry super easy in a truck stop machine. If it's super cold out, the long johns come out of the cabinet!
I have a set of waterproofs for chaining up etc, although I rarely put them on with the waterproof coat etc.
I have a shower EVERY day, so it's perfectly doable. I also went without a shower in years gone by, but there is really no reason for it anymore IMHO.
You can of course go shopping at Cabellas etc, but you will probably end up tearing up an expensive item instead of a cheap one, and be mad about it. Coats get hung up on chain hangers, loads, etc, and tear all too easily. Same for pants.
I carry two pairs of boots and snickers at all times. If one pair of shoes gets wet, muddy, greasy, etc, you then have a spare pair at all times.

Martin

 

I love my Redwings!

I've had good luck ordering from getzs.com pricewise but I'm not sure they have Ben Davis. They have good prices on Carhartt.

I found some great, cushy socks, Wigwam's King Cotton. I just ordered again. They're also available in gray, which means they don't show dirt. They're not cheap, but epicsports.com is the cheapest by far, even beats amazon.com on price. http://soccer.epicsports.com/prod/19919/wigwam-king-cotton-crew-sport-socks.html

The best raingear I have found is the stiff military issue stuff. I have the set. It's also pretty cheap now. I used to work with sheetmetal occasionally and I never tore my milspec gear. If you go woodland camo, be sure to get Generation 2 or newer. The new digital camo costs more.

 

I'm currently about two months into a pair of Timberland Pro's steel-toe boots...by far the most comfortable boot I've had in a long time vs. Redwing, Carhartt, etc. They're way lighter, which is a big plus if you're doing any kind of walking or shuffling around. I'd get (as I have for a few years now) steel-toe, just because I'd rather have it and not need it instead of not having and needing. As far as the rest goes, go to your local Farm n Fleet store and pick out some Carhartt outerwear...it's pricey but it lasts.

 

I always found boots to be too clunky to nimbly scurry around the trailer and load like a monkey. Catch a heel on your rub rail and down you go.