Being a long-haul truck driver can’t be easy. There are routes to plan, schedules to keep, hours of driving, and miles and miles of concrete between where you are and where you need to be. Even the world’s toughest truckers wouldn’t say no to a few small comforts given the conditions they put work under.
Making a rig better tailored to the driver doesn’t require entirely reinventing the wheel — or the entire 18-wheeler for that matter. These small improvements could make a big difference on a long trip:
It’s 1:00 a.m. You’ve been on the highway for hours, and at the end of a long day, you’re looking for a place to drop in for a bite. But despite going miles more than you intended for a snack, you haven’t been able to find a place to eat.
How great would a pizza be in this situation?
A portable over and pizza maker can ensure that truckers never get hungry on the road (provided that they had the foresight to buy frozen pizzas ahead of time). The appliance works with any 12-volt lighter/power socket. And it’s not just for pizzas, either. It also works with sandwiches, quesadillas, calzones and just about anything that would taste better after being reheated.
If you’re going to want pizzas on the road, you’re going to need a place to put them — and any leftovers — plus all the cans of Red Bull you’re going to down to keep you alert on the highway.
This is where a TruckFridge comes in handy. And in order to keep food and drinks cool even when you’re not driving, some models can even be built into the wiring of the rig rather than running of the in-cabin power socket.
Rolling over miles of baked pavement in the middle of summer could not only put trucks at risk of overheating, but also the drivers themselves. In-cabin air conditioning works while running a rig, but on overnight stops, drivers can’t just keep their engines going.
In those situations, a portable air conditioner can help a driver get through the night. Since it operates using ice, it doesn’t use very much electricity and works for up to eight hours.
The winter, of course, brings the opposite challenge. A well-heated cabin will ensure a restful night, as opposed to one spent involuntarily convulsing in an effort to stay warm. An electric bunk warmer would work to not only warm up a cold night but also relax tired legs.
Given that any big rig driver is, by the nature of the profession, constantly on the go, technology can play a role in keeping roaming truckers plugged in.
If the need arises to look up an article on Wikipedia or pull up a spreadsheet, a laptop docking station could securely hold your PC so you don’t have to worry about it sliding back and forth across the dashboard on a winding road while you’re waiting for it to boot up.
Of course, using a cell phone while driving could land you a citation and a fine in an increasing number of states pushing through laws mandating hands-free mobile. Operating a laptop while driving is much worse.
If you’re a long-haul trucker who spend most of your time on the road, you’ll want to bring home something special for that special someone. When it comes to jewelry, gold and silver might cut it for folks sitting at their desks in front of computer screens all day. But if you’re a trucker, chrome is the metal of, as your average long haul driver would say, l’amour.
Chrome-plated plastic earrings in the shape of lug nuts can be a thoughtful way of expressing affection for both your sweetheart and your semi.
