What do you do when not driving?

I had to wait seven hours for a load that was supposed to be drop and hook. They didn’t have an empty trailer from my company until I got there with mine (the “drop” part), and they forgot to update their available trailer count after I checked it in until five hours later when I asked them when the load would be ready. So yeah, you’ll do a fair amount of sitting.

As for my “small basic kitchen”, my truck came with an inverter. I had a small fridge that I brought from home, and I use a toaster oven for any cooking (I prefer it to a microwave, but they’re good, too). I also use a hot water pot and a small French press for coffee (hot water for oatmeal, too).

I rarely get food from truck stops, but occasionally I will use Pilot/Flying J points at Subway.

 

I think an Inverter is standard in all Swift Trucks now. A couple of years ago I was issued a brand new 2019 Cascadia. It had a refrigerator and an inverter.

 

As to the clogged fuel lanes, I agree with what's been said, and I would like to add that on duty, not driving time counts towards the split sleeper berth non-sleeper time. I think a lot of drivers don't realize this.

 

I'm a Swifty. To the best of my knowledge all Swift trucks have an inverter in them. In the 3 trucks I have been in, they were all 1800 watt inverters, which is a decent, usable size.
As for kitchen in a truck, well basically with so many things living in a truck it is a matter of compromise. You ony have so much room and the organization and effort to store, utiize, clean and pack away will in up factoring into it. I have a 700 watt microwave, a small coffeepot and a toaster. I seldom use the toaster. I'm kinda leary about the heat it produces and the potential risk that may create. I tend to stay at truck stops where I don't have to break out my coffee pot. But, it is very useful when I'm in a place where coffee is not readily available. Whatever compromise and solutions you end up with, will be based on what you figure out works for you.
My biggest thing is I bought a good 54 quart freezer chest. It sits in my passenger chair, really no other useable spot to put it. But, I can stock up on a couple weeks worth of groceries.
To me, the biggest inconvenience in a truck where cooking and 'normal' living kind of things have to be adapted to, is the lack of a sink! So many things you do have to be adapted and changed from the normal way of doing stuff, because no sink is available. That's my experience anyway.
In general, I'll get out of my truck for a day or two every couple of weeks (I usually go around 2 months between hometime visits). When I do get out of my truck, I try and find a hotel with a kitchenette. It is nice to cook yourself a meal after being in the truck for a couple of weeks.
As for what to do during 'downtime'. If you're just getting going, I wouldn't worry about it too much. If your experence is like mine or others I've talked to, the first few months will be pretty full and the downtime will be minimal anyway. Once things start gelling and being more routine, you'll already know the kind of stuff you'll want to occupy your downtime.
As for me, I'm pretty good at sitting and doing nothing. I'm the only person I know that lists thinking as a hobby. I can just sit and think about stuff and not get bored. Part of why I'm enjoying being a driver, I get to sit and think alot! Lately, I've started reviewing math stuff. I'm weird in that I like math and in college never got as far as I wanted to. I'd like to get through differential equations, which is after 3 calculus courses. I've been out of math for too many years, so got myself some Precalculus and beginning calculus stuff and have started going through those.I'm pleasently surprised that my math skills aren't as rusty as I feared they were. Obviously, I doubt there are too many out there that spend their downtime in such a manner. Point is, we all have different personalities and what we do with our own downtime is unique to each of us. But, don't worry about figuring it all out in the beginning. That kind of stuff will reveal itself to you without alot of effort. It will organically happen.
Anyway, good luck to you!!!

 

After two years with my starter company I got a truck with an inverter & and a small fridge. It doesnt hold much but I can keep drinks cold.

Lots of fast food.

 

Free time is sporatic. I work on a team truck, so often my free time is in the back while the truck is going down the road.

I watch a lot of stuff on my tablet on Netflix and Prime. Watching Black Sails right now.

On my phone there are a few forums I like to visit. I go to investing.com a lot. Lots of reading/studying companies, news, charts, etc.

I get a week off each month. At home during business hours I'm at my computer watching wallstreet do its thing. After hours I play computer games. So I'm always online, always. Lol

 

When this virus thing hit and they started not letting us use our own coffee mugs I got a coffee maker for the truck.
K-cups it uses, so clean and easy.
I had to find one that would fit my coffee cup/mug.

No more truck stop coffee for me now, even though it takes a whole 7 minutes to make my better cup of coffee.

 

Mostly reddit and p hub