Expenses while over the road

Surprising how much those cases of water will save you.
Had I stayed OTR my next purchase would have been a coffee maker.

 

Budget for a 15-20% markup to local prices.

 

Thanks, just what I was looking for.

 

I used my 12v coffee maker two times back to back and it seems to have burned up one of my 12v outlets. It also get's hot as hell, both the 12v plug end and the cord itself. And it uses a lot of power, I find myself having to idle a little on weekends to maintain adequate power. Through the week when it's being driven every day it's not an issue.

Figured I'd share.

I also have an indoor grill I've used to precook meat for the week, but it'll never be taken on the truck unless I start running a generator to power it.

 

I know TA and Loves has a rewards cards is that all who does them ?

 

This'll help, @doglover44 -- http://www.thetruckersreport.com/truckingindustryforum/threads/rewards-cards.202908/

 

The only road expenses an OTR company driver should have is food, phone, and incidentals. Incidentals initially may include necessary tools or clothing to get the job done. Depending on what kind of driving you will do (van, reefer, flatbed, etc) your incidentals can be cheap or expensive.

Don't scrimp on phone service OTR. You don't want to be incommunicado for days if your plan doesn't cover the area. Verizon or AT&T will be the best bet.

Even when you are training you should be able to hit a Walmart at least once a week. That is part of the trainer's responsibility.

I shop at Walmart at least twice a week, since the majority of what I eat is fresh produce. When I first went solo I invested $90 in a Koolatron brand 12v cooler. That was three years ago and it is still going strong.

Even with buying expensive organic produce my food budget is about $120 per week. When I first started over the road I ate a lot of fast food, bought coffee at the truck stops, and was spending over $200 per week, and gained 35 lbs. I lost all that weight within six months after getting the cooler and cleaning up my diet.

I rarely cook anything except whole grains. The Burton cooker is great for this.

I've recently started cold brewing my coffee in a French coffee press with outstanding results. Cold brewing doesn't release the acids and gives you a much healthier cup, and the taste... what took me so long to discover the perfect brew? I figure I save about $20 a week on coffee from when I was buying truck stop coffee, with a MUCH better brew.

 

Regarding expenses like fluids, light bulbs, etc. Depending on what company you go with you should be able to get all that at any terminal parts department. Keep your truck stocked with fuses, glad hand seals, spare bulbs, etc at all times.

Your company should have a Prepass transponder and Oklahoma toll transponder installed on the windshield. That should cover most tolls you need automatically. No money should come out of your pocket.

If you need to scale a load at a Catscale you can either pay that out of pocket or get an advance. Be sure to put that in with your paperwork to get reimbursed.

 

Never pay for a company expense without getting an appproval and the name of the person authorizing it. Always make copies of all receipts to be turned in to keep for your records or in the case that it gets lost after you turn it in. Put your name/or driver number or driver code on all receipts, along with the corresponding trip number so that they will match up. The practice of taking personal cash advances, should be done only in the case on an emergency (even if it means eating peanut butter and ramen noodles for 2 weeks!) advances add up, and at the end of the week, you get a check that is $200.00 less than what you expected and you can't account for the cash you advanced.

 

A crock pot is golden. A bag of beans, a ham hock, a palm of dehydrated onions, pepper and water. Strap in down and roll out. 4-6 hours down the road and super is cooked. With days of leftovers for about $10. Unless I break out my grill? I rarely spend more than 15-30 mins to cook from scratch, clean up and eat. It does help that I was a restaurant owner until my partner and I butted heads and I shut it down. Trust me. The more you do it, the better, more efficient and the quicker you will get. And a lil creativity is always a plus.