Once you are solo

First thing i bought had two legs and a pretty face.

 

For a CB you can get by with a cobra 29 one with night watch and weather is always good. I personally run a galaxy love the darn thing. Its got a lot of features the clarifier probably being my favorite the ssb is kinda useless but the automatic swr circuit is very handy no tuning never had a problem with it except for when my coax went out easy fix. Still need a kicker but that can wait for a while. My only complaints are not having the 6th digit on the frequency counter, its not backlit, and i would like to have weather but those are all things I can live with.

Mattress is iffy. If you can sleep on what's in there then leave it if you can't change it. I'm not into creature comforts in my truck and I own the darn thing. I'm in it to drive don't need no fancy fridge, t.v., DVD player, etc. When I'm done at the end of the day I go to sleep get up and roll so I have no use for all the creature comforts with the fancy stuff. I will say a good seat is a must! That is not a creature comfort that's a must. You get beat up all day in an uncomfortable seat that's got a million miles on it and you definitely feel it the next day. You deserve to be comfortable when driving and sleeping but if you can sleep on the mattress that's in there no sense in a new one. Only thing a GPS is useful for is getting you in trouble and ifta miles. Otherwise they're worthless. Use a map, when your about an hour out call the customer for directions and tell them which road your coming into town on. LEARN NORTH SOUTH EAST WEST and live by them!!! Unless your in south Carolina or north Carolina then learn your fact food restaurants and right and left! Otherwise when you get directions ask for north south east west. I have had shippers say give me right and left directions and guess what I ended up on the other side of town! If the person your talking to doesn't know north south east west ask for somebody that does. Its not considered rude its a matter of efficiency! I have done it before politely and never had a problem. If you have somebody that you can't understand on the phone ask for somebody else be polite but when you need directions understanding and being clear is everything. And ALWAYS READ YOUR DIRECTIONS BACK TO THE CUSTOMER SO YOU KNOW THEY ARE RIGHT!!! IM IN ALL CAPS BECAUSE I CANNOT STRESS THAT ENOUGH!!! Sometimes when you or they make a mistake it happens thats why you confirm you have it right! There's a lot to it some things you will find are a necessity others you will find are not. CB=necessity GPS=not so much. Be safe good luck and above all have fun!

 

I bought an atlas and a GPS almost simultaneously. My company provides driving directions. I compared them to the atlas, then the GPS reccomended route. Most times they were synonymous. The GPS is a great tool for making sure you do not miss an exit, or to let you know if it is a left or right exit.

Also, the trucker bible, the Rand atlas, only shows major roads. Once you get off the highways and secondary roads you are on your own!

Having "all the tools" is the best tool package.

Mikeeee

 

Flip flops/shower shoes, if you don't then this but foot version.

 

Considering where you're applying to, there will be a new mattress in the truck you take out. You will need a Rand McNally Motor Carriers Atlas, and I'd recommend a copy of the Next Exit- a guide to what's within 3 miles of every interstate exit in the country. A CB is pretty much required, unless you really desire to spend hours in a receivers office waiting on your bills. Don't spend a lot of money on one... you just need enough to get out to the shipping/receiving office. No one seems to talk much on them out on the road any more.

BTW... don't run out and buy this stuff before you get through training. Our company store has some deals on them, and you can price things while you're in training.

 

do what you need to make yourself comfortable on the road. I, for one, hate fast food joints! So, a fridge would be necessary for me.

 

Satellite radio! I don't use a CB. It's just a bunch of cry babies and #### talkers. I get my fill of drama from reality TV. Don't need it on the road. Haha

 

It's already in the truck- Sirius XM/AM/FM/NOAA weather radio and CD player. The Sirius does require an application of your money to get turned on...

 

A GPS is good to have but never, ever depend on it! Its great to use for back up and it does really help but ultimately you should be doing your trip planning the ol'fashion way and like I said, use the GPS as a good back up! Failure to do so could have some really bad results!

Plus if you learn to do things the right way without the GPS you will make for a much better driver and it will be etched in your brain! You ask some of these older professional drivers directions or questions and they can recite the Road Atlas directly from memory!

Besides the GPS and Road Atlas (of which you can get last years version, laminated, on Amazon really cheap) I highly recommend satellite radio! There is absolutely nothing better! If you have a smart phone I would also like to recommend audible.com. (downloadable audio books) You can become a monthly member its way cheaper then buying them. Audio books really make the drive more fun and you will actually look forward to it. There are many other great forms of entertainment to keep you busy, these are just a couple that are a little less expensive. A lot of drivers will put their X-box or playstation in their truck!

A fridge or plug in cooler is definitely another must! Not only will this save you a lot of money but it will help keep the weight off too! Buying all your healthy food ahead of time at Wally World will save you so much more money then getting it a truck stop! If you have healthy food in the truck then you won't have to stop for a pricey, greasy burger that chances are will make you crap your pants before you get out of the parking lot!

Another must have is a small, plug in inverter. This will power all your small electronics and such. No need to go crazy. Try to buy one at Radio shack or Walmart etc... Don't by one at the truck stop. Ebay is another good outlet!

Personally I would skip buying a microwave. If you have the extra room and money then maybe but ideally if you need to heat something up you can use the one in the truck stop. Just about every truck stop and quicky mart has one. You just take your stuff in with you and pop it in there. I'm really big on healthy canned soups and actually eat them cold right out of the can. Same with my oatmeal. I put it in a solo cup and pour a little bottled water in there, mix it up and eat it cold. While on that topic.... Solo cups and ziplock freezer bags (gallon size) are great to have on hand. You can make a great salad in a ziplock bag! Same with fresh broccoli, carrots, cauliflower etc.... put in the bag, add a little dressing and shake it up! I also make my tuna and canned chicken the same way. Dump your can in the bag, add your mayo, spices, or dressing, shake and eat. You can also put on bread or my favorite is to put on a flour tortilla and make a little burrito! Cereal works great in a Solo cup and you won't have any dishes and spills are greatly reduced! Anyway you get the gist of it. Try to limit your eating out meals to one a week. Make it a treat and this will save you tons of money and help keep the weight off! Gaining weight out there can quickly sneak up on you. Along with eating healthy try to squeeze in at least 30 minutes a day of some kind of exercise. Even if its just walking. Its tough because you will be exhausted after driving all day but you really need to push yourself to keep on it!

CB is another must have! You don't have to go wild! Find a good mediocre one. That'll get the job done! Once again, don't buy it at a truck stop!

Small flat screen tv is good to have or you could use a laptop if you have one.

Another thing I always recommend to new drivers (or any driver) is to buy a few of those dry erase markers. This allows you to write all your directions, fuel stops, exit numbers etc.. directly on the window! You can write this stuff down in the corner of your windshield or on your side window. Anything important that you need to write down can be done this way. Phone numbers too! Try to use red or blue. I have found these colors to be more easily readable at night time. Doing it this way keeps you from fumbling around for a notebook while you are driving, especially at night and you can read your writing or notes without taking your eyes off the road!

A small, rechargeable dustbuster or vacuum is great to have in your truck.

A 6' x 6' piece of carpeting can be trimmed to fit nicely in your cab to keep things clean and comfy. Once again, can be found cheaply at Walmart. After a few months when it gets dirty and stained you can throw it out and buy another one. You can pick one up for under $20 and its well worth the money!

There are many other little things you can accessorize your truck with to make life easier out on the road, these are just a few of the more important ones. Once you get going you will find out what best works of you.

Make sure to wait until you are issued your truck before doing any of this! Once you get the keys drive on over to Walmart, take some measurements, and go for it!

Good luck man.... have fun!