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Routerock very good post. You wonder why many of today's trucks have "Clean" sides on the tractor without handrails. That is one of the reasons. The lizards are part of the scenery as well as the bums and such. I dealt with them politely but never ever did business with them no matter how long I was away from home. There were *ahem.. other venues and if you had a girlfriend or a spouse then there was no need to be looking for these lizards. If you pass a truck, look for the stickies that have a symbol of no drugs and no sex and similar. Once you have one of these on your rig near the bottom of both doors the hassle level declines greatly. I have seen a great increase of behavior that I dont approve of among men. But you deal with it and move on. The restrooms in rest areas are filled with graffitti. You think you have seen dirty bathrooms, you try some of the ones Ive seen. I believe down in Mexico the food codes dont cover some of the bathrooms. You had a chemical toilet on the truck. That also frees you in the eyes of the law to inhabit the vehicle for extended periods of time. If you had a inverter that generated 110 volt electricity that was approved by the company and installed by the truck's dealer not anywhere else and inspected for wear on the wires daily you were in good shape. I still advocate gensets. The 5,000 dollar expense will be offset over time by fuel savings by not running the big engine. And they provide a chance to stay hot in winter or cool in the summer if your big engine did fail. The backrow or the party row as it is known is the last row the furthest from the restraunt building of a truck stop. Usually truckstops try best to secure the place and keep "traffic out" but the fact of matter is.. stuff goes on. The most common problem besides lizards was the form of justice that some drivers recieve that no one will ever report to law enforcement. There are some people who insist on being boors or really bad towards fellow drivers and need to be "tenderized" that is all I have to say about that. Another issue was robbery. In the older trucks it was possible to use starting fluid (A specific type of chemical but wont metion it here) where you would spray the can into the air intake of the truck's heating or aircondition system or simply thru a side vent. Wait a while. Use several more cans. Then you are able to get inside the truck and actually root in the drivers bunk while the unconsious driver knows nothing. That was one danger that the engineers design against today. Today's trucks have "Buried" air intakes and reconfigured the vents so it is very difficult to get to them from the outside. Much safer today. You would buy a television set for your rig, vcr's dvd's maybe even a sony playstation video game. Some drivers have hobbies. I built athearn or other car kits in HO during times of extreme waiting. Books, computers, cell phones and the old Park n View system (will describe next paragraph) are really great. Truck stops have video games, store and other things to spend money on. Casinos are the ultimate in fun but cost alot of money. Some places like the Mall of America in MN have truck parking where you can spend your day "Decompressing" from stress. In worst case scenarios a motel (Super 8 or hampton is best) is good for recovering from illness provided you dont need to visit the ER. Being sick on the road is really really bad on everyone. When I was sick with high fever and sweat I usually inform dispatch, trade the load off and work my way towards home and family with a bobtail. The closer to home you make it the better it is for everyone in case you do require medical care. You have a park and view system in the truck stop where your parking space has a yellow cap. Inside that cap is a video line, telephone line hooked into the truckstop's internet, cable TV (Satellite) and telephone system. You purchased a card that would provide service to you personally anywhere in the USA. It took several years to install in the truckstops at great expense and finally the company over extended themselves and was bought out. There are not enough truckers sitting still long enough in the truckstop. Everyone was either late, in a hurry or doing everything BUT watching TV inside the Cab (I know the TV room is packed full on football or sports nights schedules be ***ed but that is something else) Eventually for several thousand dollars you were able to purchase a satellite system that kept you "Locked" onto the TV while on the move anywhere in the usa. Sirus radio and other perks improved life out there. Being tied into the TV set during 9-11 was one of the most difficult times and for two whole weeks that television set was on and I have NEVER EVER EVER lost the channel due to range. I think this was the power of the USA in television broadcasting that is only reserved for wartime. If television service was that good in peace time, I would not have a need for satellite. But oh well.
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