Help I'm being held prisoner in an 18 wheeler!

[cherokeeprogressive]

Some of you may know that I started my new (and LAST) career recently. For the next three to four years, I'm going to be an Over The Road trucker. Long haul. It took a lot of work and studying to get the Commercial Driver's License and associated endorsements, as well as HAZMAT. Was it worth it? I'm pretty sure it was... more about that later.

I left home on 3/10 for my 28 day training trip. I'm supposed to do 14,000 miles or 28 days, whichever comes first. So far, here's a look back at the itinerary up to this point:

Fontana, CA > Walnut, CA > Dayville, CT > Bethlehem, NH > St. Albans, VT > San Bernardino, CA > Heber, CA > Laredo, TX > San Antonio, TX > Laredo, TX, > Conyers, GA.

Google Maps says that's a total of 9,028 miles. In 10 days. Think I'll make 14,000 in 28? LOLOLOL. Tomorrow morning I'm off to Pensacola, FL, then to Cedar Rapids before going back to the West Coast and back East once more. Tonight I'm in a truck stop outside of Hotlanta. My co-driver is in a motel room down the street. I've got my internet, Netflix, two cold beers, and YOU. Not a bad night.

I am half of a two member "team". I drive while he sleeps; he drives while I sleep. We're on the road 24 hours a day minus fuel stops and stops at shippers/consignees. I've even shown my trainer that by changing his ETA's by 1 hour, he can actually shower every day. He tried to convince me that "real" truckers only showered every 2-3-4 days. He was pretty ripe when I first met him. Now he's not so bad. A little disinfectant and I can't even tell that he used to smell. At first it was near IMPOSSIBLE to sleep in a bouncing, growling, squeaking, rattling 2010 Freightliner, but you know what? I am now used to it. I can sleep on the bumpiest of roads, no matter what. I do it by wearing earplugs.

There are other things that have made it bearable, though my trainer thinks I'm crazy for having them. He's looking at what I have pretty hard though... I have:

A laptop
A Sprint 4G EVO phone
A "lunchbox oven"
An XM radio receiver

The laptop keeps me up to date because it allows me to read the internet. That's possible because of the EVO phone, which is a WiFi hotspot. After getting the phone, I "rooted" it, or "let it out of jail", and now it's a FREE WiFi hotspot, versus the $30 per month that Sprint wants. The phone also has Pandora Radio, and the radio in the truck has an Aux In jack. So I have Pandora Radio while I'm driving, and internet while I'm in the sleeper unwinding after that. All while going down the road at 65 mph. Freaking awesome.

The "lunchbox oven" has probably already saved me $100 in 10 days. It's a little 12 volt gadget that plugs into the cigarette lighter and gets to 300 degrees fahrenheit. So far I've used it to cook chicken breasts, a steak, a fish filet, rice, noodles, stew, and steamed veggies. It's either that, or spend at least $15 a day in truck stops eating that nasty stuff. My favorite meal so far... Uncle Ben's Ready Rice under a nice chicken breast topped with a can of cream of mushroom soup and some fresh broccoli. It took a little more than an hour and a half to cook. I use the little aluminum loaf pans you buy at the supermarket to cook with and don't even need to clean the little oven. I bought a cookbook for it from Amazon and can't wait to try it out more in depth.

The XM speaks for itself. Whenever there is no cell phone reception (which is shockingly seldom) I simply plug the XM into the Aux jack on the radio and I'm good to go!

I can do this. When my training period is over, two other drivers (good friends I met while in driving school, who are clean and LOVE showers!) and I will get a new Volvo tractor and go on a 20/10 program, which is 20 days out followed by 10 days off. It's like having a 10 day vacation every three weeks. Okay, I'll be away from my wife and my home and my pooches for those three weeks, but then they'll have me all to themselves 24/7 for ten days. I'm sure we'll find ways to enjoy a 10 day vacation every three weeks. The cell phone and the internet keep us in touch every day multiple times. The laptop has a webcam built in and before I left I bought a web cam for the home PC. Watching my Golden Retriever watch me watching her watching me makes me laugh so hard I get tears. She wags her tail so hard her whole body shakes. The Chihuaha doesn't even seem to notice me at all. She'll pee herself when I walk in the door though. That's already happened LOL.

Strange, this all came about because I told my wife I wanted a Cessna. She said I'd have to go back to work for a while, and this has always been a sort of bucket list thing for me. We figured it out, and after a few years I can quit this, get the Cessna, and go back to being a bum again.

Been taking some good pictures too. I'll post them when I get home after this training period. I'm supposed to be home four days before starting the 20/10 thing.

Have a Wonderful Evening! More from the road later...

Hasta
Chris

[Gormy Cuss]

1. Driving a truck to save up for a Cessna?

Now I HAVE heard everything.
:hi:

[cherokeeprogressive]

3. I live in Big Bear Lake, if you know where that is.

There are no jobs on the mountain but minimum wage types. I moved there to go into semi-retirement and work part-time, which I was doing as a zip-line Tour Guide. My choices were either to forego a lifelong dream (pilot's license and my own plane) or move down the mountain back to the flatlands with the "citiots" in order to go back to work full-time.

It was actually a no-brainer. Pretty decent pay, perfect off-time, and no requirement that I live down with the masses.

[Commie Pinko Dirtbag]

2. Geekest. Trucker. EVAH.

:thumbsup:

[cherokeeprogressive]

4. I forgot to mention the GPS lol n/t

[GoneOffShore]

5. You can also cook on the engine block.

Real "road cuisine" - think barbecued pork shoulder. Dry rubbed, wrapped in foil. Secure it under the hood.

You could also bake potatoes.

[cherokeeprogressive]

6. Yeah, um... I've heard about that but uh, ah, well...

That's a little old-school for me LOL. The RoadPro works fine. So good in fact, that I might get another one so I can make a second course at the same time.

Besides, engine block cooking forces you to stop twice. When my driving shift is over, I get in the sleeper, and my meal cooks while I'm surfin' the net or foolin' with the wife and pooches. No stops. More miles. More miles, better pay. You get the picture.

[GoneOffShore]

7. That's why you choose something that takes a long time to cook.

Not just wrapped in foil, but think crock pot type cooking. Think chili! Think slow cooked brisket! Baked potatoes!

Think outside the pot!!!

Look up "sous vide cooking"(though that probably takes more equipment than you would want to take on an 18 wheeler, but as I type, I'm thinking you could always prep stuff at home, refrigerate it and then cook it as you drive).

[cherokeeprogressive]

8. Brisket, mmmm damn.

I might have to rethink my aversion just a little bit.

Is there a way to completely seal whatever is cooked so that no outside contaminants can get into the food?

[GoneOffShore]

9. Absolutely.

Think double wrapping the pot in foil. Go to Costco and get a catering roll of aluminum foil. Much cheaper than buying those 10 or 20 yard rolls at the super market.

Brisket, carrots, onions, mushrooms, red wine, thyme, garlic, salt and smoked chipotle pepper flakes.

The smoked chipotle pepper flakes are my new culinary addiction. Friends gave us a 4 oz jar in November 2010 - It's all gone, and we've just gotten 4 MORE JARS by mail order.

http://www.worldpantry.com/cgi-bin/ncommerce3/ProductDisplay?prmenbr=130425&prrfnbr=222157

Sprinkled it on sea scallops before I seared them tonight. So good that we didn't need the Bubble Gum Train Wreck.