Hi. Should be starting work in 7 days and am wondering what comes in useful or is essential. Ive ordered an hour guard thingy.
Ill buy some up to date maps (recommendations please) and intend to get a satnav setup if it seems worthwile. Ill initially be working for an agency so could be going anywhere.
Thing is , do i need a modern 400mhz pda or is a 300 ok. Probably tomtom software with cf reciever and an aerial.
Any extras (flask etc) would be gratefully recieved.
I’ve got one of those ‘truck driver’ atlases, that list all bridge heights. Ideal for me as I have a 14’6" curtainsider, has saved my bacon on many occassion. 
It’s a well laid out map book and has detailed plans of major towns.
The Phillips OS range are brill, but if your only going their once, get the cheapest you can find (unless the gaffer pays for 'em).
im in the 21st century now! got a laptop, now all I got to get is the maps for it. All my maps are way out of datew except the atlas. I say, get what you want and what you can afford.
The AA Truckers map with bridge heights on is usefull regardless of what you are doing, you can buy this from W H Smiths etc.
As for other bits of use what type of driving are you going to be doing ?.
Gloves, Hi Viz vest are of use regardless, as are pens.
I have the Truckers bridge height atlas, as well as the Phillips Ordnance Survey Atlas, over the years the Phillips one has stayed at £20, whereas the Truckers one has steadily gone up. I did suggest to Phillips that they include bridge heights, but they haven’t as yet.
As for the OS county street atlas’s, I must have almost every single one, dirty great box in which to carry them, next I need to get one of those weightlifters belts.
Weight and space, as far as I am concerned, is the only drawback to paper maps.
The Huge advantage that paper maps have over the laptop, is that the power supply doesn’t fail, and the things won’t crash. I’m not a technophobe, but even if you get the laptop, you need the paper maps as back up, just in case, so why bother with the extra expense of the laptop.
Being an agency driver, the number of times I have climbed into a truck and found the power points don’t work.
Blimey. what speedy responses. 
Must admit that the pens and gloves are obvious but not something id considered. Im hoping to do nights initially whilst i get the hang of this as i expect traffic will be easier with less difficult/fiddly to find drops. Plus, as its school holidays ill see the kids a bit more as i only see them at the weekends at the moment.
Ill certainly get the truckers atlas. It must be called “truckers” for a reason. Surely it hasnt got every street in every town listed tho ?
Ill look into the Philips os range as well. Might be worth building up a library via birthday or Christmas prezzies.
Still itching to get a sat nav though… as even with maps(cheap ones) ive gone the wrong way on holiday drives. 
Agency bloke gave me a hi-vis vest and said to wear toe-tector boots.
He also asked if id mind wearing a shirt if required. (lorry chauffeur perhaps)
Regret to say it but the two most important things you need you can’t buy
common sense and a good sense of direction, everything else is relatively easy.
Good luck on the roads.
I’ve got the AA Truckers Atlas as well. Its pretty good but the Navigator is actually an even bigger scaled map. The ring binder type is the easiest to use but falls to bits quite quickly. I manage to keep mine usable for 2 - 3 years, but some of the guys seem to wear them out in 6 months.
Gloves, steely toed boots and a glo-in-the-dark vest are essentials, some places won’t let you in the gates without them. Depending on the job, a hard hat comes in useful sometimes as well. Your agency should supply you with all of these (or pay you for them when you produce itemised receipts).
I have been collecting city street maps as I needed them. I think the Philips range are the best, they cover a much wider area than just the city you want, but they are a bit more costly than most of the others. The AA ones seem to miss quite a few streets. I mainly try to get directions and a hand drawn map from the people who have been there tho’. Another option is to have a look at a street map in the services just before the town or asking at a petrol station. Saves a bit of money that way, till you need the map, for several drops in that town.
I got an AA truckers atlas too, but get yourself some A to Z of the bigger villages like Manchester, Birmingham, London etc. They are worth their weight in gold dust.
If you end up going abroad get the maps in the country you are in, they will be cheaper and probably better.
If you have a map in the language of the country you are going to it makes it easier to follow road signs.
some places require hard hats,but why go to all this expence,your an agency driver and shipped from one company to another,why don’t you wait till you find out where you are going and then get to that said area and if need buy a map then,if its small towns and villages your delivering to.obviously maps with bridge heights will be an advantage to you,so get one of them.but you say that your going to be working nite’s,so most of the journey will be motorway’s and most likely hub to hub.and most hub’s are never that far from the motorways.so wait till you get dayshift work and your delivering to towns and villages b4 spending money.you’ll also find that most depots have a-z’s of there places so just ask traffic department for a lend of it.
Truck Atlas
Laptop with MS MapPoint (better than Autoroute, especially for Europe, but costs more).
Garmin Street Pilot Sat Nav (with UK/European maps).
Other than bridge heights, no paper map or software is ideal for picking the route for a truck.
If you’re doing agency, it’s worth carrying a volt tester to check if the ciggy lighter is 12 or 24, and a dropper that plugs in to 24 to give you 12.
And always carry some cash and a credit card. I did an agency job where they gave me an expired fuel card, so I had to fill up on my visa and they reimbursed me (before they got the truck keys back!).
Brilliant. Blinkin Brilliant.
Just the sort of stuff i was looking for. Certainly could have come an expensive cropper with the voltage thing. 
What a splendidly helpfull bunch you all are.
Asking people for advice on how to get on and do a better job in engineering where i am now usually illicits just a grunt and “waste of time, youll just get more work to do,” or a “'aint got time to show you properly, this is good enough for now”. Seems they want to keep any knowledge secret, or any ignorance.
Its nice to get an “I prefer this or that” response instead of “thats rubbish” do it this way only.
Thanks.
tomtom has bridge heights but no weightlimits and it wont avoid the bridge either yet copilot and desinator dont have custom pois yet hopefully this will be addressed in there nest releases next year
paulwalldall:
Brilliant. Blinkin Brilliant.
Just the sort of stuff i was looking for. Its nice to get an “I prefer this or that” response instead of “thats rubbish” do it this way only.Thanks.
Paul, thats what this website is all about, we all moan at times, we have a good laugh, sometimes at each others expense, but most importantly, we are here to help each other out.
There are daft questions, but any question worth asking, is worthy of an answer, and if you don’t ask, you won’t get an answer, better to look an idiot, than be an idiot.
Mal:
im in the 21st century now! got a laptop, now all I got to get is the maps for it. All my maps are way out of datew except the atlas. I say, get what you want and what you can afford.
Well almost if you can call iveco 21st centuary 
Sean, the motor is got to go M8! Im missing the cruise control so bad I thoiught about jacking Friday. So I’ll stand it till the acki’s tarted up! LOL
L.M.F.D.I.A.K 
north surrey haulage:
L.M.F.D.I.A.K
LMFDIAK!! thats a new one on me M8!
This might seem a bit obvious, but since you are working nights, a decent torch (preferably with a stand) is handy, I have a 5,000 candle power torch, which is rechargable (12v cig lighter), ideal for looking for road names, breakdown etc. etc.
Also carry a large pack of baby wet wipes, ideal for a quick wash of hands and face, especially after unloading!
Good luck.