Truck Driving is a profession that comes in many shapes and sizes, but from time to time you may find yourself long-distance driving and do nights out in a truck, What can you do to be prepared for your shift? Below I have listed some Truck Tramping Essentials.
Essentials Built Into The Truck
Firstly let’s look at what the truck itself will provide for you when spending a night in your truck.
Nights out In a truck can be at a service area or parked up in a lay-by so the truck’s built-in tools will really help you out when having to sleep in your truck.
- Night heater – providing truck drivers with a controllable temperature especially handy during winter months.
- Power Supply Ports – 24v/12v power supply points for powering devices and items you may require during your night out.
- Bunk – A sleeper cab is fitted with a bed area and generally comes with a mattress for comfort.
- Fridge – Most modern trucks are fitted with a fridge compartment for keeping food fresh
- Lighting – Interior lighting is essential for nights out and modern trucks even have ambient lighting for your comfort.
- Radio – The radio/CD Player is a way of entertaining yourself during a night out and also keep updated with news and traffic reports.
- Curtains – Sleeper cabs are fitted with curtains that pull around the side and front windscreen so you can have privacy within the cab area.
Tramping Essentials Required for Nights Out in a Truck
So your boss tells you “I need you to do a night out tomorrow” you will know what features your vehicle has but what should you take to work with you?
Trust me preparing yourself properly will make sleeping in a truck a more pleasurable experience, there is nothing worse than running out of tachograph hours and having to park in a lay-by without the items you need as a driver.
Below is a list of essentials for spending the night in a truck
- Sleeping Bag
- Pillow
- Torch
- Food
- Drink
- Change of Clothing
- Mobile Phone with Charger
- Washing and Shaving Kit including towel
- Plenty of water
- Cooking equipment for a hot meal
- Waterproof Clothing
- Portable toilet and loo rolls (just in case)
Note; It is always a good idea if you are parking for the night in a lay-by to try and find services somewhere on route before parking the truck, use their toilet facilities and freshen up as needing the toilet in a lay-by is never a nice situation to endure.
Great Products For A Night Out In The Truck
Sleeping Bag
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Pillows
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Torch
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Water Container
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Cooking Stove (store in an external part of the truck)
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Portable Toilet (for emergencies don't forget loo roll!)
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Other Items You May Consider
Staying out in a truck when you run out of driving hours can feel like a long arduous task but there are some extra items you can consider to make sleeping in a truck a much more enjoyable experience.
Having to do nights out on a regular basis can be made more enjoyable by adding some simple non essential items to your list of things to take with you.
When you park your truck and hit the Tachograph at the end of the day, you will know you will be there for at least 9 hours, and depending on hours worked and how many nights you have to spend in the truck, this could even be 11 hours parked on the side of the road.
Regular Nights out each week call for a bit more planning, so having some entertainment to keep you occupied will make your nights out in the truck much more comfortable.
Below are a few items that will make a night out really great!
Truck TV
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TV Aerial
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TV Aerial Signal Booster
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Travel Kettle
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Power Inverter
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Games Console
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How I Set Up My TV For A Night Out In The Truck
What Is It Like Spending The Night In A Truck?
My first experience of spending the night in a truck was awful! I was totally unprepared with items I had with me and also what the experience itself would be.
I was delivering goods in Gloucestershire around the Cotswolds and for all intents and purposes was supposed to be back home that night.
The phone rang in the cab, it was the office, “there is a change of plan after you deliver in Gloucestershire can you make your way to Tilbury Docks to collect a load first thing in the morning”. I was horrified because I was not expecting to be out in the truck all night, luckily I had my sleeping bag and a pillow which I always kept in the cab with me.
I delivered in Gloucestershire and started to make my way towards Tilbury, I decided to park the truck at Cobham Services on the M25, then I could set off early in the morning.
I parked the truck, put my tacho on break, and paid for the overnight truck parking, I got myself some food and a couple of bottles of water for the night ahead.
I sat in the truck and eat my food listening to the radio, once I had finished my meal I made up my bunk ready for a relaxing evening.
I had no TV with me so it was radio only for me, which to be honest in my opinion does get a little boring after tea time.
I had a very weak signal on my phone so going on social media wasn’t much of an option as the phone was up near the skylight before getting a signal.
As the night drew in I lay back on the bunk turned on the night heater and hoped the radio would send me to sleep.
All was going well and I was dozing nicely when all of a sudden! A truck parked next to me with the noisiest fridge unit you have ever heard.
I could barely hear the radio never mind try and get some sleep.
Eventually, I did get some sleep but all night long it was disturbed by the fridge unit starting up next to me.
I woke the following morning as my alarm clock rang out, I slowly got myself dressed and went to get a coffee to wake me up.
Once I was fully awake I took my tacho off-break and started my morning vehicle checks, as I walked around my truck I noticed someone had slashed the curtains on the side of the truck.
Luckily I had some gaffa tape in my bag and made a temporary repair to the side curtain so that I could continue with my day, thankfully it was not too big a tear.
That was my first night out in a truck, totally unprepared, no knowledge of where I should try to park to avoid a fridge parking next to me, no entertainment in my truck like a truck TV, no kettle totally relying on the Service area, the only good thing was at least I managed to get to the services as a night out in a layby with no kit would have been a disaster.
I hope you found this article “Nights Out in a Truck Tramping Essentials” useful if you would like to comment please do so below would be great to hear all about your night out ideas and things you use to make sleeping in the cab better.
