It's your fault.

Now this is great idea, Peterbilt and Kenworth power wheel type of things, with the proper sound effects of course.

 

You're right, I (as a younger newbie driver) would not last one day in a truck as an OTR driver that had no AC in the summertime in the south or had no adequate heat for winter in the north. You didn't mention AC or heating in your post, but I've heard from old timers that both were non existent or not up to standard in many trucks that they had to sleep in.

Now look - I've done physical labor doing landscaping in the south. Yeah, it gets hot and humid and you better hydrate adequately.

That said, I never slept in that type of heat. At the end of the day, I always went home to AC and slept in reasonable temps of 73 degrees or so.

As an OTR driver, we sleep in our trucks. I'm not going to risk freezing to death in the winter, nor am I going to get next to zero sleep sweating my ### off in the south during the summertime.

It baffles me that people would be proud of working in 3rd world conditions - which that's what they are when talking about trucks that we sleep in, that don't have adequate heating or AC that our country's prison inmates are granted.

 

LOL It isn't a proud thing, except I am proud enough to say we did what needed doing without whining, and worked with what was available. just so you know there was no air conditioning in houses in the south back then either, so just where would you have slept then.
I have had to sleep in a broke down truck at 30 below, no choice, what was I going to do stand outside in a 50 mph blow, and that was in modern truck with good heat, so never say never , but be prepared. I have run service calls out to countless truckers that jump in my service truck as soon as I showed up, with there shorts and t shirts on and half froze. I was always shocked that guys would run cross country with out any cold weather gear, just because the truck had a heater, everything eventually breaks, just some quicker than others.

 

Everybody should have their a.c. quit on them once in awhile, just to remind them things could be worse. If running a truck with no a.c. is third world conditions, what are you going to do someday when you have real issues other than a little sweat and being uncomfortable?

 

I sometimes work in 3rd world conditions because we have old internationals with no AC. I'll dry my tears with that local money I get for working in such horrible conditions lol. I agree with you 100% and @starmac . It's actually not that bad, is ac nicer..yes but I can do without. I grew up in Daytona in a house with window fans because we didn't have ac money and I somehow survived lol.

 

Starmac I understand that, I just don't see the point in looking down on newer and younger drivers who never had to put up with those conditions. Which seems to be the case far to often.

Rubberduck KW, if I have issues they get fixed or I go home. Simple as that. I'm grateful for this profession and always try to perform to the best of my ability. That said, I've said this before on this forum, our industry doesn't get enough back in return for me to put up with to much BS (like no adequate AC or heat to sleep in).

Trucking does not get societal benefits (respect and appreciation), educational benefits, medical benefits nor retirement benefits like let's say, the military does.

Therefore, there's no incentive for me to tough anything out if my company isn't doing a reasonable job to fix it and bring it up to adequate standards.

So someday when I have "real issues" in the trucking world, then my company will fix it in a reasonable time or I'll go work somewhere else.

 

FlaSwampRat, I wouldn't complain about AC if I was local. Some of the old landscaping trucks didn't have AC in them either. My complaint was having no AC to sleep in as an OTR driver who has to sleep in his truck.

 

Your job may not have those benefits but that doesn't mean the industry as a whole is stuck in the same rut. I have a pension, 401k with 7% company match, great hourly pay, great benefits.... There are plenty of guys out there with the same if not better than I have too. Don't let a bad job get ya down and think everything sucks because it doesn't. This industry just like pretty much everything else in life you will get out of it what you put in to it. Keep them wheels turning, stay safe, and find the job that gives you what you want and need because there is probably a truck with a empty seat sitting out there ready to give you those things.

 

My dad just built a brand new house, the tight ### didn't even put central air in the place, but we did insulate the crap out of it so a single window air keeps it about 70.