luxuries (not necessities) I know, but does anyone know.....
 

Hey drivers :D :D

My husband is out training right now and in 3 weeks we will be out of our apartment and LIVING :shock: in the truck. I have a few questions I hope someone can help me with......
First, do we shower together at the truck stops? I have heard some horror stories about truck stops and sometimes I wish I had never discovered these boards cuz all it does is scare me.
I am guessing it would be best to sleep in rest areas as opposed to truck stops?
Lastly, and most important :roll: to me.....
is there any way to watch TV while on the road? My husband said he has seen trucks parked with little satellite dishes on the roof, how can we do that? Specifically I would like to get TLC, HGTV and Discovery Health channels, do they come in with a dish? I am guessing we'd need one of those things to plug things into also?
Hope I don't sound like an idiot, just want to know if I'll still get to see my shows!! :lol:

Thanks to everyone, drive safe.

I know you can get dish/direct tv in a truck, thing is you wont be able to use it driving down the road. :cry:

Cable is out, :lol:

A regular antenna will be fine but if you're moving you'll be at the mercy of how strong the recieving signal is.
:wink:

Look into something called a slingbox. You would need cable or satellite tv at home, a home internet broadband connection and a laptop. What it does it will stream your cable tv over the internet to your laptop. You will be able to watch anything you want. Keep in mind that whatever channel your home cable box is on is what you will be watching on the road. So if you are at home and your husband is on the road, he would be able to actually change the channels from the road.
Other than that...You could get direct tv or something and carry a dish around and set it up everytime you stop. Kind of a pain in the butt to do it that way. Also, Direct TV makes a moble type dish that will mount on top of the cab or motorhome that will actually follow the signal while you are moving. It works great. Two problems with that though. No company is going to allow you to mount that on top of their truck and they are very expensive.
I would go with the Slingbox

thanks sheepdancer.....

problem is, we won't have a home :shock: We are so far in credit card debt we are going to put all our things in storage for a year or two and drive as much as possible. Atleast thats the plan for now. We do have a laptop but the slingbox won't work without a home signal to feed from.
Anyone else? Sounds like I will only be able to watch while we are parked, is that right?

sorry ... but from the sound of things ... you more concerned about watching TV ...... sorry to tell ya this but there will be areas your not going to get good reception for your TV .... and as for showers .... either do it together or alone ......... I've never had trouble while showering ... being a solo female driver there's not been any problems .... for the most part .... truck drivers are honest people .... they may say and talk alot of trash, but when it comes down to it .... that's all they are - - - talk - - -- harmless.

and sleeping .... there's no reason why you shouldn't sleep in a truck stop ... it's actually safer than sleeping in a rest area .... at least there's a business close by ..... These scary stories :shock: you've been listening to - you need to forget them .............. why don't you concentrate on the postive side of trucking .... the good things that drivers do for others .... We're good people ..... and to think :roll: .... your husband is about to become one of Us :!: .......... is he scary :?: ...... neither are 99% of the drivers out here :idea: ...

If you really want to make good money - - you need to get your CDL too and start driving with him .... your income could almost double :wink:

There is a satellite tv tracker you can buy, but it is quite expensive they run about 3 thousand installed right now. You can check it out http://www.kvh.com/. If you don't own the truck, though, no company is going to let you install one.

You can set up a dish satellite when you stop if you want, its similar to dish at home except you set it up each night.

Or as the other two have mentioned antennas and the slingbox.

As far as truck stops go, it varies. The majority are just fine, a few are on the scarier side. It all depends on the locality and the management. Rest areas are a nice option if there is space, some rest areas can be bad as well.

One thing you might be able to do is when you stay in truck stops a lot of them will have a service called idleair. It provides cable tv. You could pay for that service, watch tv and while your sleeping hook it up to your laptop( you would need a TV tuner card) and use your laptop like a DVR, recording shows while you sleep. That way you could watch those recorded shows while you are on the road.
Either that or just invest in a lot of DVDs.

for4roses.......
 

I am hardly concentrating on the negative side of trucking. My daughter is raised and moved out and now it's just my husband and I. We will be giving up our home in an all out effort to clear our debt, I have no problem with that, I just wondered what ways I can bring a little bit of home with me.
Now.....when I have my husband telling me about "trucker bombs" (plastic jugs full of urine) scattered about, and truck stop bathrooms with sh*t smeared on the walls, and the recent bodies found behind the truck stop in New Jersey, people running a hose with ether into your cab while you sleep, lot trash soliciting you while you sleep, etc etc.....is it any wonder truckers have the reputation they do?
Yes, we are about to become one of you, I am guessing the majority of drivers are decent honest people just supporting their families, maybe yourself included. I only wondered about how I can make living on the road a bit more comfortable.
Anyone else with some good advice it's greatly appreciated

Concentrate on that and just roll with the rest of it.

As far as bringing a little bit of home with you, get yourself some books, some DVD's, some audio books, etc. You might have to do without the TV signals for the most part, but there are plenty of other ways to relax.

I agree that you should look into getting your CDL and driving team. With no children left at home, you are perfectly situated to do that. But if driving isn't for you, then make sure you have some things as stated above, to pass the time.

I don't know of others preferences on here, but the company i worked for gave us options for fueling, i chose Pilots because with 60 gallons of fuel i would get a free shower, and atleast 60 gallons of fuel was an everyday thing, i showered at the end of everyday no matter what time it was, that is the one necessity i wouldn't do without, but anyway back to the cleanliness issue, i never came across a pilot with nasty showers, after each use, and i'm sure this is the norm in most places, a janitor, man or women, would come in and freshen up, the bathroom, shower, sink and towells and when you go in it's all nice and fresh. My only bit of advice would be to try and stop at large chains and not the mom and pops stops, i just believe the larger places have better cleanliness.