New driver solo truck essentials/questions.

Your minimum is different from my minimum. My minimum looks like I'm moving to Mexico, with food. What are the things you use EVERY week plus the things you use for certain predictable situations?

I carry clothes for a week, plus rain gear, cold gear, food for the week, tools, water, toiletries, 2 pairs of boots, fuses, gaskets for the lines and hoses for my tanker, credit card, cash, bottle for coins, earplugs, MP3 player, phone charger cords sunglasses, binder clips, GPS RM 740, Roku 3.

 

Get a truck GPS as soon as you can. Its the one piece of equipment i would replace immediately if it broke or got stolen.

 

The higher the numbers on our Interstate system the more easterly you are towards the Atlantic. The northerly border ends past I-90, so start counting them up 1, 2 3 etc. /tease.

Jersey is going to learn you some things.

Anything that says "Parkway" is NOT for you. You are too big. Yes some say they used it. Nuh uh. Never do it with a 18 wheeler. Bridges wont fit. And you become yet another morning news big rig crash yuk yuk yuk.

Bring cash money. American. Or have their transponders from there on your rig somewhere to pay tolls remotely.

Learn to switch your speedometer between MPH and KPH. If you are doing maybe 125 km/hour that works out close to 65 mph. Everything here is pretty much feet inches instead of metric (There is some...) and miles. 5280 feet to the mile.

New Jersey is not the best introduction to America, I can tell you that. No. I guarantee you that. God help you if you are sent into Camden, Bayonne etc. Jersey City is to be avoided. Freehold aint so bad. But other cities you better know where you are about.

Maybe you should invest in a GPS good enough to pick you in the correct alleyway.

A USA Rand Bound Motor Carriers Atlas is the foundation. But it is not the end all be all.

New Jersey has a law, that binds all trucks to the US Interstate system. If you had a 96 inch wide truck and maybe a 48 foot trailer you ran anywhere, especially to save money on tolls. Bypass it all running the woods.

Food.

Bring your own. You will be better off. Especially several cases of quality bottled water. That way you don't risk any problems adapting your gut to local water which is not always a good idea here and there. You will find Jersey charging way too much for food.

Your exchange rate comes into play. Consider carefully what you need in terms of American money equivilant. Your canadian dollars is no good here UNLESS you were able to go inside a major US Bank and exchange it if you need to. But getting a 18 wheeler close to a bank to do this is another problem.

If you are dealing with Jersey, you are going to have to accept the fact that you will probably be sent into NYC or beyond. Let's just accept that a percentage of AMERICAN drivers refuse to go into NYC period. The equivilant would be Toronto, no offense. I spent many years watching your valleys and fields turn into houses 10 feet apart for miles and miles around there selling for outrageous pricing. (That would have been a great investment me thinks. 60K to 800K in 20 years... *Shucks... shows how stupid and slow I am)

Google earth is your friend. Get internet on your phone.

That's yet another issue. I don't know about you. But when we flew into or drove near Canada our cell plans billed hundreds or thousands just for connecting to a international tower not our own.

You could literally purchase a burner phone for nothing on a prepaid plan with just a little bit of time. Save that thing for when you must make the call. I assume your company has a toll free number to call from it. I hope you have satellite communications. There are not many pay phones here anymore. (Drug dealing erased that along with smart phones society wide)

Jersey is not exactly a good place to go. They had riots back in the 60's which destroyed and damaged certain areas. Patterson comes to mind for me personally. To exist in patterson as a white boy means potentially to be killed on the spot. The only reason I got out of there was because that 18 wheeler showed some value to my worthless life there. What a night. Never again. And I grew up in Baltimore and can be pretty able to deal with the world as it were in food terms, culture etc. Because we were a seaport city to the world.

Anyway...

Seems like you got a basic truck. That's fine. Get a new matress. Go over your permits and papers. You are in need of air conditioning down here. You probably have not encountered our Midatlantic heat and humidity yet. It can melt people not used to it. But here in the deep south, the fires of hell are just cranking for 130 in the shade in a few weeks. (Figure of speech)

If they ever send you towards Nevada and the american Sonoran Desert, you absolutely must have cases of water and some food with you. If you have a dead truck, no water etc you yourself are dead between 3 to 5 days from dehydration. You might even run into people who need water. Give them some. It's western courtesy that dates back centuries out there.

My posts are general in nature. But Jersey and NYC are one of three areas in the USA in which I consider myself ready to go into Battle. You must have accurate information where you are going, what you are doing and eyes up looking strong, not weak and looking like prey.

 

Pick up a couple gallons on blinker fluid. You just never know when you'll need it.

 

Your Canadian bank card (visa/MasterCard) will automatically negotiate the best exchange rate. Use it where you can.

 

Instead of a coffee maker I liked to use a hot plate and sauce pan. The two items are easier to stow and clean and take up less space.

Dish soap and a spray bottle is the ultimate multipurpose cleaner. From cleaning the floor, dash, taking a shower, degreaser, window cleaner, laundry, slider lube... it will do the job in a pinch.

Two pairs of gloves so you can swap and let the other pair dry when they get wet.

A beanie and scarf for winter. lots of heat is lost from your head and neck.

A small wad of cash.

 

Absolutely.. great advice.
But don't trust it wholeheartedly
Always check.

 

TV will grow old.
Learn to love reading if you don't already.
Keep a couple good books with you.

Invest in a really good sleeping bag rated to below 0°F
That.. and some other quality bedding will save your tail in an emergency breakdown in Wyoming winters.
TRUST AN OLD FART.

also keep a couple candles to provide extra warmth.