One of the biggest perks of being a truck driver is having the opportunity to travel and experience new places. It’s perfect for people who have a strong sense of adventure and aren’t satisfied with sitting around in one place for too long.
Because a job as a truck driver comes with a lot of responsibility, training is involved to ensure drivers are prepared. Here’s what you should expect as a new driver ready for the challenges and rewards of truck driving career.
What You Should Pack
At some point, you will drive your truck and fill it with everything you want. However, while you’re in training, remember you’re a guest, and the last thing you should do is clutter your trainer’s truck with all your personal belongings.
A good start for a truck driver-in-training would be to bring a duffel bag that’s easy to carry and move around. Be smart about what you pack. You’ll be on the road for days; however, this doesn’t mean you have to pack a different outfit for each day you’re gone.
The reality is that you may wear the same jeans and shirt for days in a row. Also, pack clothing according to the weather. Know where you are heading. It could be sweltering hot when you first hit the road; after ten days of driving, you could be somewhere freezing.
Don’t forget to bring a laundry bag or a garbage bag for your dirty clothes. If you’d rather travel light and decide to stuff all your soiled clothes back in your duffel bag, it would help if you separated them from your clean clothes by placing all the dirty ones in one plastic bag.
You’ll be surprised by how many days you may have to do without a shower. However, this doesn’t mean it’s no longer necessary to bring toiletries such as shampoo or deodorant. There are truck stops where you can take a proper shower. Your toothbrush and toothpaste are also essentials; you don’t want to disgust your trainer with your poor hygiene, after all.
Speaking of hygiene, you may wonder how truck drivers deal with the urge to pee or poop when they’re on the road. You’ve probably heard stories of drivers peeing in empty Gatorade bottles. While this is an easy solution, it’s not a very sanitary one.
When packing for truck driving training, save yourself from peeing in an empty bottle by packing portable waste bags instead.
Restop’s portable waste bags are for packing out your pee or poop. Because of their double-bag system, they’re durable enough that you don’t have to worry about puncturing them. Because of the polymers and enzymes the portable waste bags contains, you also don’t worry about your wastes stinking up the truck. They’re also safe enough to throw away in a regular trash can at your next truck stop.
Restop Waste Bags are convenient and sanitary solutions for drivers who are miles away from the next truck stop. With the RS1 and RS2 Waste Bags, there’s no need to hold it which can be very distracting when you need to focus on your driving.