In the Truckers Training article about truck driver gear essentials, we covered the necessities. Now, we look at the niceties, those practical gadgets that add something extra. You may not know you needed some of these accessories because you’d never heard of them.
We looked at some of the most popular trucker accessories and chose our favorites. The list includes a diverse mix of useful trucking gadgets that make life easier on the road. We set the limit at $100 and searched for items that increase comfort, improve reach-ability, and keep you fed on your OTR journeys.
Practical Hand Tools for Truck Driving
The right tool at the right place and time is a beautiful thing. If you’re an experienced driver, you’ve probably found there’s a way you like to set up for the road. It’s always to have a tool or gizmo that makes your day a little easier.
United Pacific Chrome 31″ Fifth Wheel Pin Puller
Having a pin-puller is a matter of safety as much as convenience. This is an unassuming tool that does a simple job. You can find others but this one is longer, less expensive, and it has a better rating.
Pre-Trip Inspection Tool
Not to be outdone, this minimalist tool fits in your shirt pocket. It gives you several tools to complete your pre-drive inspection. It has gauges to measure your tire and brake wear, as well as windshield chip size.
Telescoping LED Lighted Inspection Mirror
This telescoping adjustable mirror has a 360-swivel joint and LED illumination so you can inspect those hard-to-see places in your vehicle’s drive train and suspension. It saves you from clambering around under your truck in darkness and bad weather.
Comfort in the Cab
Anything that makes work easier for commercial truckers is good for everyone. It’s an uncompromising lifestyle with few home comforts. Truckers need all the productivity supporting accessories they can get.
Bracketron Dashboard Gear Rack
Put your devices on a solid foundation with the Gear Rack from Bracketron. Who doesn’t need a rack for multiple device attachments? When your dashboard has a limited area to accommodate GPS trackers, smartphones, and whatever else you want in reach, it helps to have a handy rail that holds them all within an arm’s length.
Trucker-Tough Tablet Mount Holder
The rugged, fold-out arm on this smartphone and GPS device holder makes it work for truck cabs in motion. There are many different device mounts on the market. Not all of these are up to the job. The solid, pivoting arm on this mount makes it sturdy enough to resist the bumps and jostles of the bumpiest roads. This particular model is suitable for GPS devices and large smartphones.
AIRHAWK Trucker Seat Cushion
We covered this one before in the Truckers Training Best Trucker Seat Cushion Review article. Truckers need every possible aid to long periods behind the wheel. After all, if you’re driving ten hours, for years, it takes a toll on your lower back and sciatic nerves. If you are experiencing pain in the driver’s seat consult your medical professional. However, The AIRHAWK Truck Seat Cushion might be the perfect solution.
Mount on Steering Wheel Laptop Desk
The Jeasun Laptop Multi-Worktable attaches to your steering wheel. Use it as an eating table or work desk. The fit depends on your wheel. However, it’s a great idea if you’re short on eating time at the truck stop or filling in paperwork.
Cooking on the Road
These last three apply if you don’t have the latest in sleeper cabs. Finding good food on the road can be tricky. Although truck stops dining options are improving cafeteria fair, you sometimes still need to cook in the cab.
If you travel one route repeatedly over many months or years, the dinners, buffets, and fast food of the same old roadside restaurants don’t cut it. If your vehicle doesn’t have the kitchen facilities of an extended sleeper cab, these portable inventions can help make the most of what space you do have.
RoadPro Portable Stove
It’s like a lunch box that heats your food. It’s literally the size of a tackle box, but it serves a purpose. The RoadPro does an excellent job of heating frozen food, soups, stews, or assorted leftovers. It plugs into truck 12-volt power outlets and reaches 300 degrees on its highest setting. Foil liner pans that fit atop the heating element keep the stove interior clean (Packs of 30 liners available).
Portable 12V Frying Pan
If you love a cab-full of the smell of bacon and eggs in the morning, wherever you are, this is your frying pan for the road. It’s small but suitable for the trucking lifestyle, specifically designed to use inside a vehicle cab.
Knox Gear 27 Quart Electric Cooler and Warmer
OK, so, if you have a fully modern sleeper cab, it probably has more accessories than a Winnebago. But, if your ride isn’t quite a mobile palace, you might want to store food in a cooler and then heat it. If you’re making trade-offs for space, The Knox Gear 27 Quart Dual Cooler and Warmer is a single-unit solution for both. It works both with domestic AC and vehicle 12V DC, with power chords included.
Bonus: Product Space Saver Cab Desk
This fold-away desk and mini-cabinet rates highly with users. It gets an honorable mention because it’s over the line at $161.20. It’s ideal for delivery or work vans and small-cab semi-truck cabs.
Other Gadgets to Consider
What Useful Trucking Gadgets Work for You?
These may not be essential to professional trucking, but each one might help out in a pinch. Trucking is a solitary profession. Unless you’re in a driving team, you need every labor-saving device you can get.
Truckers Training is proud to bring useful ideas and tips to you. We’re trucking enthusiasts like you, and we want to help our readers start successful careers and have excellent driving experiences. Let us know what accessories and useful trucking gadgets you’ve found along the way.
Geoff is a freelance writer with 20+ years of experience in driving trucks and buses, dispatching, supervising, and training commercial driving teams. His expertise is writing topics on the transportation and trucking industry, and information technology trends.
I like the idea of buying a handheld mirror with a light on it so you can see the hard to reach spots of your truck better. This also seems like a way for truckers to do easier maintenance on their vehicles. It can help eliminate the need for someone else to look at something while you’re working on something else because you can just see it with the extended mirror.
I’m just about to start a truck driving career and getting the correct accessories seems to make sense
Can you email me the full catalug book