What to carry

This could fall under first aid kit, but it might be useful to carry a small amount of several medicines. (ie tylenol, advil, zantac, immodium, benedryl, etc.)

 

Basic tools are a must. Screwdrivers, crescent wrench, wire cutters/strippers, wire nuts/splicers, wire, etc.

Pick up a spare headlight for whatever kind of truck you're in. You'll need it eventually.

 

A good alarm clock i sometimes use my cell phone but i have a small one with the glo-ing time works great in the dark. Also i carry lots of plastice forks and spoons and plastic bowls and paper plates (Dollar store). Works great at some of the shippers to warm and eat your food in there lunch room.

Dieseldon

 

Except for the coffee maker, I've probably got most of what's mentioned here in my truck, plus;

Hammer. I pull tankers, so this is a complete necessity. Mine has a metal whacker and a rubber whacker. This is perfect for making sure that everything is closed up correctly.

Whisk broom for the cab, along with everything else necessary to clean the cab/sleeper including paper and/or shop towels, cleaning agents AND a Magic Eraser or two. I don't know how or why these things work, but they will clean just about anything from every surface in your truck. Yeah, I can't stand a dirty cab/sleeper.

Rug(s). I get the $4 "rag" rugs at Wally World. I keep them folded (clean side in) during the day in case I have to wear my dirty boots into the sleeper, but can just unfold them and have an instant clean place to put my feet.

I keep a Leatherman Wave on my belt that I use the hell out of (gotta like their lifetime warranty!), but like others have mentioned I keep a respectable tool kit under the passenger seat (accessible while standing outside the truck off the road side or from the inside) along with my rain gear, rags, and spill mats.

Rags. Lots & lots & lots of 'em.

SPARE KEY FOR YOUR TRUCK, maybe stashed somewhere outside. Use your own judgment there, but you should always have a spare key.

At least one spare of every light on your rig, plus a coil of wire and electrical tape (liquid electrical tape in cold places).

DUCT TAPE...lots and lots.

Spare flashlight.

Another spare flashlight.

Holsters for different occasions for maximum concealability of my "GET THE #%$# OUT OF MY TRUCK" gun no matter what I'm wearing.

Tanker specific items

Extra gaskets for every hose and fitting size. Also gaskets for whatever Chicago fittings you may use.

Hose clamps, 1" through 6".

Extra gloves, leather and chemical.

Extra caps and plugs for your hoses. I collect these.

Drip mats & rags. Lots and lots of 'em.

Rubber bungee straps. Lots and lots of 'em.

More rubber bungee straps.

Since functioning pressure gauges on tanker trailers can be hard to come by, I put together a few pieces of pipe with chicago fittings on both ends, and a pressure gauge and ball valve. This goes right on my compressor and my air hose attaches to it, and it gets stored IN THE TRUCK so that nobody can find it before I loose it, and it won't get broken. That way I can monitor the pressure in my trailer, with an accurate gauge, without having to climb up on top. Patent pending.

Extra haz mat gear.

Extra safety glasses, including sun safety glasses.

Extra hard hat.

All that crap, and there's even room for me.

 

what's the purpose of these threads? Nobody had to help me figure out what to put in my truck.


That said....if you work for a big company, find out who details trucks that are turned in, and ask him what they use to clean the floor, and if you can have some. I got some from werner, and it is THE BEST CLEANER I HAVE EVER USED. It gets EVERYTHING OUT OF EVERYTHING. Comes out of a 55 gallon drum, so its not like they're going to be in trouble for giving you a little bit.

 

If it's all the same, I appreciate the information. It helps us newbies/wannabes get a picture of what's going on, what might help us and maybe prevent some annoying problems. Sure, we won't be able to enjoy learning what might come in handy on the road the hardway if we get some ideas here, but if it makes anyone feel better, there is no doubt that a few paragraphs at this or any forum can give us any kind of real taste of what you guys have learned and put up with.

What I mean to say is thank you for the information, guys.

 

Most of these are good but I'm going to tell you again in this post about that WD40 on the rails!
WHY??
-waste the money
-the time
-the clothes that are going to get filthy!

Use the water hose found on most fuel islands and if there is no hose pull that 10 footer you have in the side box out and use it. Why would you have a hose on the truck? Well have you ever pulled up to a fuel island and not found a hose there and you need water in your washer bottle or water to clean the windshield or water for a tank you have? Thats why! And no i do NOT waste money for that blue crapola until winter! I have yet to see my washer fluid freeze in 100* temperatures and that blue stuff has NO cleaning properties on oil and bugs!

Fill the windshield tank up most of the way with water, add 1 cup per gallon of mr Clean or some other cleaning solvient and 2 drops of Dawn Dish washing detergent as it's the best grease and oil fighting stuff out there. NO more than the 2 drops per gallon as any more leaves a film on the parts of the window the wiper blades miss!

NOW:
Why do you ask?
That WD 40 is a petroleum based product and even though it "might help you to slide the tandems" it WILL collect more dirt than usual and when it rinces off the metal will rust faster.
You have to "get in to the rails" over tires and axles thus getting dirty when you don't have to.
Spray the rails with water and go slide. They're wet and it will work. It doesn't have to be "oil" to make them slide. Now on to another "little matter with sliding the tandems!"

First do NOT back up to a curb or put something under just one side. You'll force the trailer to get out of alignment! YEP! it can happen by putting to much force on one side and not to many of you are good enough to back up and have both sides or all 4 tires against the curb evenly! Ever see that trailer that's dog legging? Most likely it's because a driver didn't know a few time saving must knows and tried the curb thing to slide!

You've pulled the pins and they are out and locked but the tires still roll when the brakes are set, you say? You need to do a brake adjustment to bring the brakes into adjustment. Once the brakes are adjusted then slide the tandems. ( if they are self adjusting I have posted at least twice somewhere in here how to adjust self adjusting brakes and hopefully someone cam post a link!) If they (the rails) are "rusted" together then wet them down with the water. Just spray them down the sides and squat down and squirt under the trailer and they'll slide like a charm! No WD 40 needed, thus saving you money you worked hard to get and you're not wasting it like this by coating the rails with oil!

The laptop: great idea BUT get the insurance on it! Tiger direct is ok so is Newegg but Best Buy is also in a good pice range and if you're not tech savvy then there is a Best Buy around the corner! You can stop in with that Geek Squad and let them have at it! And if it needs to be sent in for major work send it off at one store and have it returned to one close to home OR one close to your yard. It's up to you!

GET THE RAND MCNALLEY TRUCKERS ROAD ATLAS. If you can't afford it at the truck stop WalMart MIGHT have it or order it on line! But that is a must! NOT just a map book! Get the plastic coated pages! they last longer and you can use a dry marker pen on it to mark a spot or mark your route and wipe it clean when done.

File boxes? Naah get a few manilla envelopes and put everything in them as you've been keeping track of them on the computer on your tax work sheet and they've already been added up and that big envelope will fit in your bag on the bottom when you need to bail and not take up any room! If you need a box to files them you're keeping way to much valuable information in the truck that can dissapear by getting unloaded and trashed by an ungrateful company or lost if the truck burns to the ground (yeah it could happer!) Which also means you are not getting home enough! Take your copies home and file them where they are safe! You have copies on the computer in the truck or should if you have a travel scanner AND you practice safe backups buy having them either on a flash drive on the key ring you keep at all times in your pocker or on an online storage service!

Every night when you are doing your at the end of the day paper work you should be scanning EVERY piece of paper work that you touch into the computer! Thats BOL's, scale tickets toll tickets, repairs to your truck/their truck and anything else that can either bring you money or can be charged to you if for some reason that high dollar receipt for that tire jumped out of the trip pak envelope and commited sucide! Don't laugh! I've seen receipts, logs, BOL's and other things mysteriously just dissapear like that sock in the wash! Yep, gone like a whisp of smoke until you say "HEY I have a copy for just this problem!"

Why do you need a walmart locator guide? Get it on line! PAY for broadband! Either a card or get a smart phone with the wifi built in! Just get the unlimited!

WIFI at any place out there is dangerous! Paid or free! WIFI can be hijacked and you will never know it as you're hooking to what your computer sees and once hooked to what your computer sees as the best signal you will start to give your information! Everything from the truckstops sign on information to any password you type in. I watched a driver get pulled out of his truck at the Pilot several years ago in Des Moines because he was using his lashup in his truck as a pirate WIFI of the Pilot's Wifi! He had an antenna and everything needed to get all the information as the drivers entered it! I couldn't believe the amount of stuff he had in that Freightliner!
Not to mention that 5 dollars a night for oh maybe 15 nights a month is HOW much? And a card costs what? Show me the savings where for less money or the same money you can get access anywhere you want and not have to put up with Billy Big Rigger with big radios causing freeze ups or interfere with your wireless mouse and keyboard!

Next:
That baseball bat tire thumper. If you hit someone in the head hard enough to break the thing you'd better either push the body out of the truck and haul arse or call the coroner as he's dead! Even a pine tire thumper is hard enough to knock someone out without breaking!

Me I use a wire coat hanger! I don't want a body laying in the truck! I want to MARK the moron who's stupid enough to get in the truck with me!
Remember how your dad or mom used to grab a tree branch and tear your hide off? The thinner the branch the worst it STUNG! The fatter it just hurt! Well think of this, A coat hanger across your face. First the OH CRAPOLA! WTF was THAT! And the tears flowing and the sting then another sting across the face and the next thing they want to do is get the hello out of that truck and the parking lot and go lick their wounds! The GOOD thing out of this is you've left 1 to many nice bright lines across his face that he can't hide from anyone! Not his girl or boy friend or his parents a snitch or the cops! AND he'll carry these scars the rest of his miserable pathetic life! There is One in NYC from the early 90's and one in Ontario, CA cira 1998. Both with wonderful lines across their faces from getting the crud whipped out of them!

Or my other favorite, get a bike chain motorcycle or bicycle and even a chain saw and grind most of the blades off! They will work either as a chain or turned 45* turns it into a pipe and this also leaves identifying marks for the cops to find! Especially the chain saw blade BUT they CAN be considered a deadly weapon but then whats the use huh? In fact back in the first 30 issues of Easy Riders Magizine they had a chain wallet for carring your chain weapon in your pocket. To bad my first 30 issues of Easy Riders dissapeared way back when! I even had the imortal Issue number 1!

As I've said many times before unless you own the truck and it's NOT a fleece or company truck limit what you carry! If "something" happens how are you going to get all this crapola home or to your next truck? If it doesn't fit in "the bag" you don't need it unless you can either sell, pay to ship it home or leave it! If you didn't drive yourself to that companies yard, or went home before you gave your 2 week notice and unloaded everything there then you have to get this stuff home! Busses and airlines charge for each extra checked bag. That's on average $50 a piece! Or UPS and you're on your own on that cost as I've never had to "abandon ship" out in BFE when I told them I'm quitting when I get back to the yard or took their bus trip to thew yard!
And that's enough for this time around! I do ramble on at times when bored!

 

I'm a new driver. I wanted to thank you for your list of items you use in your truck. It was very helpful. Thanks

 

Just a little addition here ... dry erase markers are good, but they can wipe off if you close the map. I use markers that the teachers used to use on the old overhead projectors. They sell them at Staples and Office Depot still and don't come off unless you use a damp sponge or paper towel.

I use the dry erase markers on the windshield to help with complex directions or exit / fuel stop reminders.

Just a suggestion.

 

That's actually a pretty good idea. Someone wrote the loaded and MT weights and what the gauges read at those weights with one on the windshield of my last truck. It never occurred to me to write out directions like that. I just keep a spiral bound notebooks for writing everything down. With over a year of running since I bought it, it's only half full.