after being a newbie for a year, here is what i highly recommend you have on your truck.
1. truck stop guide
2. laptop (even a cheap one) with microsoft streets and trips ( will save your butt a zillion times!) the one with the gps antenna!
3. cell phone
4. a 12v cooler, i have tried several and am very impressed with my current one, the coleman power mate.
5. xm or sirrus radio (tried both, like sirrius a lot!), no need to buy a fancy one, the cheap one plays just fine. also skip the extra cost of the "truck antenna", just put the one that comes with it on your mirror
bracket and and add a couple of wire ties.
6. atlas (but you will find the software easier to use)
7. and if can afford it, wireless internet, the truck stops do a lousy job of providing internet services. I use verizon and with the exception of a few isolated areas, have never had a signal problem.
8. a cb that also receives weather channels (and spend $40 to have the cb tweaked and tuned)
AND REMEMBER ALL OF THIS IS TAX DEDUCTIBLE!

sounds like a lot, but worth every penny!

 

I have the pocket T/S guide and the larger version. I use the small guide for a quick glance but it isnt as thorough as the larger version.

I have a laptop but I dont use routing software, too much of a hassle and the company doesnt allow them for mapping. I use a Cobra NavOne GPS unit.

Have a cell phone

Have sirius, no fancy antenna, never needed one.

Atlas is a must because the software, laptop or GPS could fail

Cooler......waste of money.

Have Verizon wireless plan for laptop.

CB that receives weather channels is kinda overboard. Tune a local station..... get weather.

 

Waste of money? How?

My cooler holds 12 cans of soda. It keeps them right around 40f so they're more than cold enough to drink. A 12-pack costs, what, $5 now, give or take. You'll love yourself for buying one when you end up having to sit in the middle of nowhere (or even at a shipper/receiver) with no vending machine available to spend up to $2 for a single 20oz bottle.

I'd like you to find local weather in my area between 6pm on Friday and 6am on Monday. Just about every single station here goes "national" and rarely, if ever, gives local weather. The weather band is invaluable. Note, however, that most truck stereos have the weather band on them. If the stereo doesn't have it, then, by all means, get the CB that does. Also, the information given on the weather band is a LOT more detailed on what the weather is doing. I've heard the local stations say something like "showers tonight with occasional thunderstorms" when there's actually severe thunderstorms with 60mph winds the entire time.[/b]

 

Because I carry a case of water. Better for ya than soda and it tastes the same whether warm or cold.

 

Warm, I can live with. How about when you're at a location that won't let you idle your truck to keep the cab cool and it hits 120 inside? How's that hot water gonna taste then?

Even if you only drink water, cold water is a whole lot better than warm water.

 

here is a prime example of how wireless internet can save you.
we were in the ok panhandle and there was a tornado warning, so i fired up the wireless internet and went to this web site: http://radar.weather.gov/
there they have almost live weather radar for the whole U.S. we were able to track the storm and stay out of its way!

 

I idle anyway. Its called survival.

 

I haven't eaten in a truckstop since the '90s or so. I keep fresh fruits and veggies, cold cuts, water, and a few sodas in my cooler. I never had room for a refrigerator, so I had to make do with a cooler, and try to keep it iced up with my Driver Rewards points. I never bothered to get an electric one. I figure I've eaten better, and saved literally thouands of dollars over the years with this arrangement. As for water tasting the same warm or cold, it's just not true with this man's palate. Warm water is nasty, something to be suffered only in an emergency. Cold water is delicious and refreshing, even in the dead of winter.

As to the utility of a weather radio, local radio stations don't broadcast weather at predictable intervals, while you can get the rolling weather report off of weather radio any time you want. It's a no brainer. My weather radio has been a great help over the years.

Another thing to add to the list is an inside/outside thermometer. $9.99 at Wally World. I like to know how cold it is out there, even though it's not perfect. Knowing the temperature right here and now can be helpful in all sorts of ways, including helping with winter decision making, and deciding how likely it is you're going to freeze or swelter if you don't leave the truck running overnight.

 

All I'm saying is that you keep the cab light. Get a loaf of bread and a jar of peanut butter, a case of water and some healthy non-perishable snacks. Forget useless junk like TV's and DVD players and anything else that adds weight to the tractor, like a cooler. Weigh your tractor sometime and then empty out useless junk like electric coolers etc..
You'll be amazed at the difference in weight.

Currently I carry only non-perishable items , a laptop, sleeping bag , clothes and thats it.

Its not a home, its not a LIFESTYLE, its just a job.

 

...and all ya have to do is hobble your truck, throw that sleeping bag on a bed of leaves beside the campfire (don't forget...head to the north and feet to the south), sing yourself to sleep at night with a few old trucking songs and wake up feeling like a new man...everyday.

Yep...nuthin' like it. :lol: