After getting 18 months class 1 experience under my belt, I fancied a change and have taken a job on general haulage ,I know it’s gona be a massive change , but I am young and have no commitments so thought I’d give it a go .
So basically wondering if anyone has any tips about anything or advise on what to take ?
Do a search on here…Because you will need just about everything you can think of to make life comftorble for yourself…Get yourself a coolbox to if your vehicle has’nt got a fridge…
You’ll need a certain amount to be comfortable and for it not to feel like a miserable camping out ordeal. You’ll want some proper comfortable bedding and pillow, rather than a crappy sleeping bag and a rolled up coat for example. As mentioned above, get a cool box if there isn’t a fridge and a means of heating up food. A mircowave might be too much hassle so get a small gas stove and pans etc. There would be few things worse than being forced to park up for the night in a layby or industrial estate and then not being able to have a decent feed. If you have the basics to make yourself comfortable and well fed the rest will fall in place later. You’ll perhaps want to take a laptop with you for entertainment, you’ll either need a small inverter or you can buy laptop power adapters that fit straight in to a cigarette lighter socket.
Another consideration as to how much gear you carry is if you’re the only one to drive the truck or not. You can pile a ton of stuff in to a truck, but if someone else is driving it on the weekend or whenever your days off are, you might not want to risk things being stolen or used/abused etc. I always used to take my gear to work in one of those large collapsible boxes, put it all away in the truck where it belonged and fold the box flat and slide it up on the top bunk until Friday when I’d pack all my valuables back in to it again and lift it out and in to the car in one go. I was the only one to drive the truck but all the keys were in the drivers room on the weekend in case anything needed moving (it was quite a small yard) so it was always possible for things to be stolen that way, so never leave valuables in your truck even if you are the only driver.
Decent bedding and pillows
Gas camping stove with spare bottles
A pan, plate, bowl, mug and cutlery
Camping kettle
5 litre bottle of water
Pot noodles/porridge pots or similar for quick snacks
Tins of soup, stew, curries, veg etc and some packs of microwave rice (a couple of mins in a pan dry fried they taste just as good)
Bread and milk
Tea/coffee/sugar/whitener
Charger for your phone/tablet/laptop (inverter for the latter)
Spare clothes/undies etc
Cool box if you don’t have a fridge
Cold meat/salad/etc whatever you like to eat
Stock up on ■■■■/baccy/eliquids if you smoke (or get a mortgage to buy from garage 
)
Trucker atlas
Diary/pens/tacho rolls
Toiletries/towels etc
Obviously this list isn’t exhaustive but it’ll give you a starting point, also as others have said it depends if you will be using the same truck all the time on how much kit you carry.
I’ll add other stuff later as I think of them, there’s bound to be something obvious I’ve missed 
Wetwipes are a must too.
Just a bit of safety advice reference gas .Once called to a breakdown ,driver had a gas stove which he used in the vehicle.1of his gas bottles was leaking ,he says he couldn’t smell the gas ,strange but that is what he said ,windows where shut ,and he lit the stove …He looked like a cartoon character ,but the cab was totalled,as everyone knows a XF is a nice big square cab ,well it had curves after his gas explosion…So morale of the story ,maybe open a window a bit 10 mins or so before lighting a gas stove if you plan on cooking in the cab…
There was a lad on here who confronted some lads I think there where stealing his diesel, with bad results …So don’t be a hero ,if you are doing regular runs try and get the local police phone numbers,that way if you hear something just call them,fuel can easily be replaced.Locking fuel caps are useless as most standpipes come out with a twist 
And there will always be more than one of the thieving scum…And don’t forget you are a huge baseball fan ,so when you get the bat don’t forget a ball 
…steel toe caps are good for when you open the door ,as you generally find a head just at the right height…
If you can park near a mac donalds they have free wifi 
As you say you are young no comitments and this is the time to do it…Just make sure your hygene is up to scratch ,the amount of trampers vehicle I have had to repair and I can only drive them in to the workshop with my head out the window 
I did 12 years in the army and the hygene part is really paramount ,would you like a delivery from a rancid smelling driver ■■ There is no excuse
This isn’t meant to be a downer thread ,just realistic
Hope you enjoy it (Though you will enjoy it more in a DAF I await the abuse now )
Yeah how is Steve? Hope he is alright, they squirted something into his face and he could here a lighter clicking. He was well shaken up by it. 
dont be daf t lol gd luck
Wet wipes, anti perspirant, tooth brush, tooth paste, bottle of water. Nothing worse than feeling like a tramp.
Oh yeah wet wipes…knew I’d forgot somat
Try and park on busy industrial estates if you can, plan ahead and try and allow extra time in case you can’t find a space.
If your company pays for parking (unlikely) then alls good, if not try and make one of your breaks at a services to get a shower and bail out before parking up, nothing worse than being parked with no facilities, and getting caught short!
Plastic carrier bags to put your crap in during the day, easy to tie up and dispose of.
stevejones:
dont be daf t lol gd luck
shocking pun
Tins of sardines in tomato sauce. I stock up at Lidl.
Tris:
Tins of sardines in tomato sauce. I stock up at Lidl.
Eeeewww I bet there is a haze coming out of that cab in the morning. Stand clear everyone 
alder:
Yeah how is Steve? Hope he is alright, they squirted something into his face and he could here a lighter clicking. He was well shaken up by it.
it was harthill services up in jockland X amount of years ago …I wouldn’t know his name …or are you takong the ■■■■ …though now you have replied you know someone will mention agency 
ha ha ye with the sardines u just might need them carrier bags m8
The wet wipes are not for what you think hey are for
norb:
The wet wipes are not for what you think hey are for
They are useful for all kinds of things, very versatile
norb:
alder:
Yeah how is Steve? Hope he is alright, they squirted something into his face and he could here a lighter clicking. He was well shaken up by it.it was harthill services up in jockland X amount of years ago …I wouldn’t know his name …or are you takong the ■■■■
No not taking the ■■■■ I think it was Steve666 on here was held up against his cab when he got out to investigate some yobs after his diesel. They put a liquid in his eye and face and were clicking a lighter. He was terrified and did not want to stay out anymore having trouble with his nerves. I thought you were referring to that incident
alder:
norb:
alder:
Yeah how is Steve? Hope he is alright, they squirted something into his face and he could here a lighter clicking. He was well shaken up by it.it was harthill services up in jockland X amount of years ago …I wouldn’t know his name …or are you takong the ■■■■
No not taking the ■■■■ I think it was Steve666 on here was held up against his cab when he got out to investigate some yobs after his diesel. They put a liquid in his eye and face and were clicking a lighter. He was terrified and did not want to stay out anymore having trouble with his nerves. I thought you were referring to that incident
sorry I thought you where talking about the gas explosion… the steve incident was in Chelmsford ■■?
norb:
alder:
norb:
alder:
Yeah how is Steve? Hope he is alright, they squirted something into his face and he could here a lighter clicking. He was well shaken up by it.it was harthill services up in jockland X amount of years ago …I wouldn’t know his name …or are you takong the ■■■■
No not taking the ■■■■ I think it was Steve666 on here was held up against his cab when he got out to investigate some yobs after his diesel. They put a liquid in his eye and face and were clicking a lighter. He was terrified and did not want to stay out anymore having trouble with his nerves. I thought you were referring to that incident
sorry I thought you where talking about the gas explosion… the steve incident was in Chelmsford ■■?
The gas explosion sounds funny (assuming driver was OK) but Steve666’s experience sounded far from funny. I hope he’s doing better now…