Friends of ours recently had a scare that made us rethink our safety equipment.  They had a generator fire and thought they had put it out using one fire extinguisher.  As soon as the fire was out they headed to the store and purchased two more fire extinguishers before heading to get their load.  On the way the generator started on fire once again and this time it took both of the fire extinguishers to put out the flames.  The damage was severe enough they needed a tow truck.
 
We carry a fire extinguisher on the driver’s side of the truck that is easily reached when outside.  What would happen if the fire was in the sleeper of the truck or on the passenger side of the truck?  We were not prepared for this type of emergency so we added a fire extinguisher that is easily accessible from the inside of the sleeper.  Next we added another fire extinguisher to the passenger side of the truck so that if there is a fire on either side  both of us can grab a fire extinguisher and subdue the fire. We are hoping we never have to use these fire extinuishers.
 
All of our trucks have had a carbon monoxide/smoke detector mounted inside the sleeper.  When the weather is nice we often sleep with our windows open and also have our fantastic vent on pulling in the air from the outside.  We rest comfortably knowing the carbon monoxide detector is testing the air quality.
 
We also have a small First Aid Kit mounting in one of our cupboards.  This has the basics that would be needed if in an accident and is easily accessible from inside the truck or outside the truck.  One again we hope that this kit is only used for the occasional Band-Aid. 
 
We have an Interlift lift gate that has imbedded on the gate two flashing lights that blink when the gate is powered.   These work great when someone is coming up from the rear.  We also carry orange cones that we set out to the sides when we use our lift gate.  One of our cones has a flashing light that is very handy when we use the lift gate at night and works great if we are next to a traveled road way. 


When washing clothes a couple of months ago I noticed that I had a very thin spot of material on my left shoulder.  First this puzzled me then I realized that my seat belt rubs here.  While I am not pleased my favorite uniform shirt is about worn through I looked at this worn spot as a badge of honor, there is no doubt I always wear a seatbelt when driving.  We have since purchased a sheepskin covering for the seat belt and I hope that my next shirts will last longer.
 
What else do you carry in your truck?

Comment (1)

Linda Caffee

Bob and Linda started their driver careers after their children left home for college in 2000. Bob started as a driver for a large motor carrier with Linda as a rider. They decided to enter the Expedite industry as team drivers in 2005 and purchased their first Freightliner. Both, Bob and Linda have had their Class A licenses since the early 80's starting out driving in the oil field and hauling grain as fill in drivers where Bob worked as a diesel mechanic. Linda worked at the local country courthouse in data processing.

Read These Next...

 
 

I carry the basics in regards to safety equipment. 10 lb ABC fire extinguisher, 25 person first aid kit ( I don't understand how the classify those because its pretty small), highway triangles and a new generation fire shelter that is commonly known as a shake and bake. While I don't smoke, a smoke detector would drive me nuts and either the smoke detector or I would have to be put out of misery. Fortunately I haven't had to use any of the items yet.

August 17, 2013 22:26:02 PM