Yet another Swift recruit

Just found your thread Shamrock. And what he said above is exactly right. Go into this with your eyes wide open and ready to learn. The only thing to add here is to have patience. That's he biggest part of his job. Hurry up and wait. Just when you think it can't get worse, it usually does. But know that it will get better. You just have to have the patience to wait for it.

Remember- the easy part of this job is driving the truck. The hard part starts when you realize that you have to start dealing with more people than the number of folks you see in the mirror every morning.

 

It's definitely better to have a little more money than run out. I had to wait to start training for this same reason.

If you can catch a ride with someone or if you have your car with you hit up Walmart or some place similar and stock up on some food. It's cheaper than eating fastfood or Dominos every night. I noticed a few in my class ate out almost nightly but I guess they had the money. More power to them. I got by on peanut butter sandwiches, waffles, cereal, some frozen mixed veggies and the occasional bag of Babyback Ribs Potato Chips from WAlmart. I also bought a 10 lb. bag of potatoes for like $2.50 at the Cash N Carry that lasted me the whole 3 weeks. Every night I went back to my room, microwaved a few pototoes and added some butter/salt/pepper from the lobby's continental breakfast. I also took advantage of the hotel's continental breakfast every morning eating their cereal and making a waffle to bring with me for later. Saved me lots of money.

 

Doc, when it comes to eating on the road, you are going to be just fine. LOL

 

You can actually live on a 1 pound potato per day.
Add a couple more things and you might even stay very healthy.

To tell the truth, I like it when I have the time to bake a large potato in my little 12V oven.
It takes close to 3 hours to get it just right, but it can be started during the last couple hours of driving time.
Wrap up some veggies in foil with just a bit of water to steam them during the last ~30 minutes.
Add in some chicken strips or nuggets for the final 10-15 minutes.
A bit of salt and pepper, and a healthy dose of butter for the potato.
Result? A very good and healthy meal for about 6 bucks or less.

The biggest expense of that meal is the chicken, which is usually from the fast food at the truck stop.
If anyone can give info on how to store, clean and cook raw chicken on a truck safely - well it would probably cut the cost by a buck or so.
Not worth the $, IMO, considering the risk. Raw chicken (and anything that touches it) is rather dangerous.

 

@Shamrock youre probably going to be going to the in richmond, they just opened it up.

 

I usually grill a bunch of chicken tenders when I'm home and keep a gallon sized bag of them in the truck fridge. That usually lasts about 6 to 8 days. After i run out, ill start hunting down a wal mart to stop at to get some fresh chicken and cook it on the foreman grill or in the lunch box cooker. Ive got a crock pot, but i only put cooked chicken in there when i use it. There is something in the lunch meat section of Wal mart that is chicken chunks. About the size you would find in a chicken burrito. Other than that, I'm out of ideas for you.

you are right though. You have to be real careful about chicken. Otherwise you might get an unwanted 34 hour reset together it out of your system.

On a side note- as far as cooking in the truck, the best expert I've ever seen is that "trucker warren" cat. If it can be done, he looks like he can do it. You-tube him and watch the videos and see if he does anything with chicken. I know he cooks steak in the truck.