Winter Gear

I see the Chicago types still wearing the track suits and flip flops this time of year. So, if it is good enough for them???

 

Inside the truck, it's nice and toasty, but if the engine shuts down and go in do not have an APU, you are going to freeze your lug nuts! If money is tight, see what the local Goodwill store has. Take a look at "semi retired"s avatar. That's what we have three months out of the year.
Cold temperatures are deadly.

 

I have a winter bag I tote along, You never know what this weather is going to throw at you and that wind lately created some bad sleeping.

 

Good call. Bad things happen to folks that are not prepared for the worst. On the other hand, 25 below gets the beer cold real fast!

 

Put a heavy coat over your normal clothes. Even in winter. You will be in the truck or inside s building 95% of the time.

To "thicken up your blood" for cold weather, don't bundle up like an eskimo the first time in drops below 60 deg. F, OR 75 for Californians & Floridians. You won't die if you are slightly uncomfortable while walking from truck to open trailer doors. I wait until temps are below 35F, or windy & cool, before putting on a jacket.

If you dress like an eskimo when it's 60F you will never have enough clothes when it's 0F. Half the battle is psychological. People up north can be comfortable when it's 30F and calm wind. So can you if you "ease" into cold weather.

 

I found my Carthart winter jacket at Academy in Mobile, Alabama! Bought it a size bigger than necessary so I can layer up as much as I need. It's lined with that faux sheepskin , including the hood. I have had it for six years and it's still holding strong.

 

I don’t agree entirely.

Dressing warmly, is a way to ward off sickness from exposure.

Having worked outdoors thru sleet, rain, snow, and bitter cold, I would never say that being ‘chilled’ is ever good.

As you get used to working in colder temps, you may need less layers, but intentionally freezing for days on end to ‘thicken your blood’ isn’t something that has a whole lot of appeal...

I dress very warmly each fall.

Long underwear, carhartts, wool socks, two hooded sweatshirts, insulated bib overalls, gloves and a hat, from now thru April. Unless it dips down to below zero, that doesn’t really change much, and then I’ll add a heavy coat over that mess.

Your body adjusts just fine, without needing to be ‘cold’.

 

I've been using a form fitting base layer underneath the long johns. It breathes and wicks sweat. Otherwise my long johns ended up being wet and I'd have to change after securing a load.

 

Back when I hauled fuel from the tank farm, I kept my Sorel's, insulated bibs, a couple of jackets and several mittens/gloves in the truck. I didn't care to be far from the valve box, so I stayed outside. I like the cold anyhow. No mosquitoes!

 

Invest in good outerwear, a nice weatherproof coat like Carr hart that won’t tear if you brush a trailer. And some good jeans, you won’t be in the cold too often and you don’t want to sweat in the rig cause you have silk thermals on. Good gloves and a mask/hat would do you good too, specially in the winter wind. It REALLY cuts through those 3$ a pair rawhide gloves from Wally World