Romance Advice For Truckers and Their Wives

Trucking is a lonely life

I know, I've been a trucker's wife for 20 years. My husband and I joke about only being married for one year because he has been gone so much of our married life. When we first started out we didn't have cell phones and we had only been married a short time.

Truck driver Dave and Jill being silly

Being the wife or girl friend of a trucker can be a blessing. Sounds crazy, but hear me out.  Because you are gone so much when you are together it makes that time much more special. And how many times a day do you get to talk with your significant other?

I know people who live with their husbands. You know like they both have jobs and they work all of the time, come home at night they are tired, make dinner and watch tv. They don't really talk during the day and they don't make time for each other in the evening.

As a trucker, especially since the advent of cell phones, you can talk to your wife/girl friend whenever.  My husband and I talk by phone at least two or three times a day. When you talk on the phone it is easy to be encouraging and to explore each other's lives, thoughts and really get to know each other because that is all you have to focus on.

As the wife of a trucker it is a good idea to not pick fights over the phone. Don't talk about money, or pick at the "sore" spots in  your relationship. If you have kids share the good stuff. Leave the troubles until your hubby can do something about it.

A trucker's wife needs to be pretty independent, able to handle most of the things in life that just need to get done and be able to allow their husband to step back into the frey without feeling like they are an intruder in their own home.  This is a skill that takes some doing. As the trucker coming back home, you need to allow your wife space to step back. You need to allow her to feel like she has done a good job holding down the home front.

Being the wife of a trucker allows us to live in the country, I don't have to work outside my home and have been able to enjoy raising and schooling my children. 

Time at home should be special. That is sometimes hard to do with kids and a life, but those of us who have been at this for a while will all tell you, your trucker needs to feel important and everything else needs to go on the back burner when he is home.

...and don't forget to shave your legs



PS there are several groups over on Facebook for Trucker's wives. Low drama, but supportive:
A Trucker's Wife
Truckers Looking At America Through Their Windshield

Choosing a Microwave for Your Truck

One of the best decisions we made in our trucking career was choosing a microwave for our truck. Having a microwave in the truck allows for a much for varied diet.

While some truckers I know prepare their food ahead of time, this works well for people on dedicated runs, those who run OTR need to be able to put things together from ingredients they have available.

Some standard types of items to keep in your truck would be things like spices you like and canned items that can be heated up.  But you are not relegated to simply eating reheated foods even if you aren't a gourmet cook.

When you choose your microwave for your truck, you need to keep in mind how much power it is going to draw and make sure to get an inverter that will handle that much power. (You can check out this article about installing the microwave here).  How much power/wattage  your microwave had will be the biggest obstacle when it comes to choosing what you are able to prepare in the way of food.

The lower end microwaves don't have enough power to pop popcorn or heat water sufficiently to make things like minute rice or boil noodles.  Getting a microwave and inverter that can handle heating for several minutes opens up your menu options considerably.

You might also want to invest in a microwave cook book.  

If you are only cooking for one person, heating up meals is perfectly fine. Make ahead meals can be frozen, or at least portions of them can be frozen, then reheated in the microwave for a healthy meal on the road. We all know that trying to eat on the road, outside of what you have prepared is a) expensive and b) really not good for you.

Here are a selection of microwaves that you might consider for your truck:

Choosing and Installing a Power Inverter in Your Freightliner

One of the first things you will need to know when it comes to having a microwave in your truck is how to connect a more powerful power inverter to your truck batteries.

This is a good over view of how to set it up. A simple way to find the proper cables is to simply purchase some jumper cables. They work fine.



You will also need to know what size inverter to purchase in order to operate the appliances you wish to run in your truck. This following video lays out how to find how much power you will need:

Now that was easy right?  Having a good sized power inverter in your truck will allow you to not only have hot food on demand but also watch tv, run a computer or even have a more heavy duty refrigerator.

Trucking In the Winter

Trucking in the winter is always an adventure. When truck driver Dave (my husband) and I first started driving winter scared the begeezes out of us!

I still have nightmares about the night I drove through the gorge in North Carolina when it was snowing, the ice was packed on the road and the 4 wheelers where trying to get killed.  There is a narrow bridge and a little truck right in the center going way slower than even I was driving.  To this day I'm thinking it was an act of God that I didn't plow right into him.

Some how I managed to slide, and believe me we were sliding, right around him.

These days, though I no longer drive, my husband kind of looks forward to winter. All of the motor homes are safely tucked away for the season, road crews rarely feel the need to wander out to "fix" stuff and snow doesn't usually last too long as one seems to drive though and then out of it.

If you are a trucker, trucking in the winter, be safe, go slow...no load is worth your life.

Staying Connected Cell Phone For Truckers

When we first started in the trucking world, oh so many years ago, cell phones were just starting to make their appearance.  In fact when our son was born, my husband, who was, of course, on the road, called from a payphone to check on the progress.  His timing was perfect, our son had just been born.

As time has progressed we have found that Verizon is probably the best carrier for truckers followed by TMobile. That is just my opinion. Since our change over to Verizon and the advent of iphones while we used to have to have GPS and a laptop, and a tv, all of those "extra" needs have sort of disappeared.

It is actually cheaper for us to use the streaming data from Verizon rather than trying to get truck stop internet, which almost never works.

Love this cell phone for truckers when it comes to staying connected with loved ones.

A cell phone and one that functions as a computer too is almost a necessity these days in the trucking world. Where before there were payphones everywhere, these days it is getting more and more difficult to find one.

Having a cell phone allows you to take advantage of GPS apps, watch tv online and so much more. If you aren't using the best, most up to date technology you are falling behind and it is costing you money.

Best Refridgerator for Trucks Great Gift Idea For Truckers

My husband has been a trucker for over 20 years now. He has driven everywhere in the continental US. Over those years he has used lots of different fridge options for his truck. I think the most popular type of small fridge for truckers is probably this one:

It is inexpensive, plugs directly into a cigarette lighter adapter that most trucks come standard with in a space designed for this type of cooler.

You can either use it standing up or laying down. It works by keeping the stuff you are trying to keep cool about 40 degrees cooler than the ambient temperature.  If you are going to have your truck off for long periods of time, however, you will probably want to make sure that you don't leave food in there as eventually your battery could run down and the stuff will spoil...but then really who drives and doesn't have their truck on pretty much all of the time right?

This is the most popular cooler for truck drivers

It is a wonderful gift idea for truckers on your gift giving list. Or simply a great way for the trucker in your life to be able to keep groceries cold while they are working.

This handy cooler with its 12 volt plug works great for traveling long distance in the car as well. Saves on the need to stop for ice and the mess associated with using ice to keep stuff cold in a car. I can't tell you how many times I've lost food from it getting flooded by the water in the cooler, no matter how careful I am to use baggies for everything.And how careful I am to make sure that those bags are sealed.  Nothing like soggy lunch meat and cheese or those candy bars you have tucked away having their wrappers dissolve. Ick. Since we have been using this Coleman Cooler for our family trips life has been so much easier.

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