To build a starter kit.....

If you get on Mercer's site you can download their info packet & it has a list of the minimum they want you to have. You can use it as a checklist/good starting point.

 

from my point of view, buy nothing now. what if after (say) 6 months you hate the work? you might "think" you love it now, but you really do not know how you will feel in 6 months to a year.

just get the usual crap we use daily, cb radio, under $100, sleeping bag for temps down to about -40, 2 pairs of work boots, (steel toed and insulated), work gloves, work coat/jacket, thermal underwear, thermal socks and rain gear. these things you can use, if you decide that trucking is not working out for you later.

 

He should be able to help you with a "starter kit" then. He'll know what you need & can probably give you his where to get it & how to use it.

 

oh my bad, from how i read it, i thought you were a student at a CDL school, going to mercer.

 

Get the basics then go from there, I've been out here 19 years and I still don't have everything I need. You'll figure it out as you go.

 

Pick up every rubber mudflap or conveyor belting you can find. Makes for great edge protection. In your personal car stop and pick up those flags that are on the shoulder.. LOL Saves $5 a pop.

Chains are cheap, I would start with good quality binders then once those are purchased move on to chains. I can tell you that the racks will hold 14 chains and 14 binders. That would be my minimum for flatbed.

 

Here is a 12 chain rack (the trough at the bottom *should* only hold 12x, 16' 5/16" chains) with 16 chains and binders.


I'd like to say I came up with all this by myself, but I didn't. From hanging the binders from the chains, to hanging extra chains from all the binders, I learned from other drivers who offered tips. I go nuts with bungees to keep the chains from bouncing around and giving me a headache.