Are you a lean-thin-and-fit OTR driver?

[JohnPrestonBailey]

What is your secret to being a hard-body like a young Marine in this generally lethargic occupation with seemingly very few semi-accessible gyms/fitness centers and precious-few roadside semi-accessible "lean cuisine" restaurants that cater to the Jack Lalanne/Euill Gibbons types of 18-wheels?

A truck cab and sleeper berth is not a KITCHEN or gym!! It's not a HOUSE or even a Winnebago motorhome for living space.

As a driver, I would want to know where each and every semi-accessible gym and semi-accessible full-service restaurant with healthy menu choices is located wherever I may be tasked to take my loads. It would be nice to have GPS technology to even locate these kinds of places on trips like a heat-seeking missile.

I understand some mega-carriers are actually committed to driver health and fitness.

 

[Electric Chicken]

I do 25 reps with each box of Twinkies before consuming them.

 

[Ontario Outlaw]

What is your secret to being a hard-body like a young Marine in this generally lethargic occupation with seemingly very few semi-accessible gyms/fitness centers and precious-few roadside semi-accessible "lean cuisine" restaurants that cater to the Jack Lalanne/Euill Gibbons types of 18-wheels?

A truck cab and sleeper berth is not a KITCHEN or gym!! It's not a HOUSE or even a Winnebago motorhome for living space.

As a driver, I would want to know where each and every semi-accessible gym and semi-accessible full-service restaurant with healthy menu choices is located wherever I may be tasked to take my loads. It would be nice to have GPS technology to even locate these kinds of places on trips like a heat-seeking missile.

I understand some mega-carriers are actually committed to driver health and fitness.

It’s just one of the sacrifices we choose to take
There are drivers that try to stay fit and active while OTR

 

[Rigjockey]

Eating right on the road is not that difficult it just takes some planning. Bring your own food from home. Truck stops do have plenty of healthy options, Salads, hard boiled eggs, yogurt and other options. most drivers just do not chose to take advantage of the options available to them.

 

[Ontario Outlaw]

Eating right on the road is not that difficult it just takes some planning. Bring your own food from home. Truck stops do have plenty of healthy options, Salads, hard boiled eggs, yogurt and other options. most drivers just do not chose to take advantage of the options available to them.

I can’t figure out why my power inverter won’t turn on

No power inverter means no fridge and no microwave....

 

[mndriver]

I get all the exercise I need getting my butt chewed, being given the run-around and taken for granted.




Now you want to make me feel guilty for enjoying chicken fried chicken and biscuits and gravy?

 

[GAnthony]

What is your secret to being a hard-body like a young Marine in this generally lethargic occupation with seemingly very few semi-accessible gyms/fitness centers and precious-few roadside semi-accessible "lean cuisine" restaurants that cater to the Jack Lalanne/Euill Gibbons types of 18-wheels?

A truck cab and sleeper berth is not a KITCHEN or gym!! It's not a HOUSE or even a Winnebago motorhome for living space.

As a driver, I would want to know where each and every semi-accessible gym and semi-accessible full-service restaurant with healthy menu choices is located wherever I may be tasked to take my loads. It would be nice to have GPS technology to even locate these kinds of places on trips like a heat-seeking missile.

I understand some mega-carriers are actually committed to driver health and fitness.

i never was a lean, mean fighting machine....

i was always taken to the "huskey dept" at most stores for clothing.

i try to eat smaller portions, but ocassionally i'll over do it

each night at work, i walk the area, i say close to 2 miles worth of walking during the nice weather and about 1/2 to a full mile in the cold weather.

i stay away from most weets and high sugar soft drinks. i watch the carbs as well.

as we age, we find it difficult to stay trim, and many oof us "cheat" once in a while.

but given the choices from our doctoors, either lose a few pounds and cut the sweets, or end up with health problems.

i choose to stay alive and healthy(er) than most others.

 

[JohnPrestonBailey]

Eating right on the road is not that difficult it just takes some planning. Bring your own food from home. Truck stops do have plenty of healthy options, Salads, hard boiled eggs, yogurt and other options. most drivers just do not chose to take advantage of the options available to them.

But I have to have at least two hot square meals a day.

At home its: oatmeal with skim milk for breakfast, eggs, deli ham and fresh potatoes fried in a skillet coated with PAM.

For dinner, it's George Foreman grilled chicken, lean hamburger patties and pork chops, with sides of pinto beans, boiled white rice and pasta: grated cheese for pasta dishes and steamed vegetables.

Which full-service tractor-trailer accessible restaurants and cafes along the way of any American OTR driver in the Lower 48 are going to have grilled meats, poultry and fish dishes or otherwise lean menu items on their menus? I can't see the interior of a tractor's being utilised as a full-on kitchen. When I cook at home, I need a kitchen sink with hot running water, a microwave, a chest freezer, a refrigerator, a stovetop, lots of counter space, a toaster, a blender, food pantry space, occasionally a conventional oven, an electric grill (or a gas one) and cabinets to store dishes, pots and pans.

Traditionally, most American truck drivers ate full hot meals served by waiters/waitresses at roadside establishments. Roadside businesses adequately supplied the everyday living needs of drivers. The healthy snacks and sandwich supplies would be gotten at Walmarts nationwide wherever an 18-wheeler can park there. Travel centers are horribly expensive for all types of unprepared foods as well as junk foods and I would avoid them like the plague for these items. The idea of becoming a driver is to put money in my own bank as much as possible, not make Love's, TA and Pilot much richer.

Yes, you make $50-$80 K per year with a mega-carrier, please don't let big-box travel centers take all that money away from you. I'm not the fast-food/Subway/Denny's type. An occasional hamburger/fries/soda is a treat, not the daily staple. A healthy salad or sandwich is OK for lunch but not supper too.

I like cold cereals, bran flakes, corn flakes, rice krispies for breakfast too with skim milk and no sugar/sweetners. I'm sure plug-in electric coolers/small refrigerators in cabs can accommodate some perishable food items for on the go. I buy frozen fruits in bags at Walmart and serve those with plain non-fat yogurt and vanilla for dessert adding no sweeteners. I like to drink chilled bottled water bought in one-gallon jugs and poured into sports bottles frozen in the freezer. I like Lipton instant iced tea with lemon juice and no sweetners bought at Walmart.

 

[Ontario Outlaw]

But I have to have at least two hot square meals a day.

At home its: oatmeal with skim milk for breakfast, eggs, deli ham and fresh potatoes fried in a skillet coated with PAM.

For dinner, it's George Foreman grilled chicken, lean hamburger patties and pork chops, with sides of pinto beans, boiled white rice and pasta: grated cheese for pasta dishes and steamed vegetables.

Which full-service tractor-trailer accessible restaurants and cafes along the way of any American OTR driver in the Lower 48 are going to have grilled meats, poultry and fish dishes or otherwise lean menu items on their menus? I can't see the interior of a tractor's being utilised as a full-on kitchen. When I cook at home, I need a kitchen sink with hot running water, a microwave, a chest freezer, a refrigerator, a stovetop, lots of counter space, a toaster, a blender, food pantry space, occasionally a conventional oven, an electric grill (or a gas one) and cabinets to store dishes, pots and pans.

Traditionally, most American truck drivers ate full hot meals served by waiters/waitresses at roadside establishments. Roadside businesses adequately supplied the everyday living needs of drivers. The healthy snacks and sandwich supplies would be gotten at Walmarts nationwide wherever an 18-wheeler can park there. Travel centers are horribly expensive for all types of unprepared foods as well as junk foods and I would avoid them like the plague for these items. The idea of becoming a driver is to put money in my own bank as much as possible, not make Love's, TA and Pilot much richer.

Yes, you make $50-$80 K per year with a mega-carrier, please don't let big-box travel centers take all that money away from you. I'm not the fast-food/Subway/Denny's type. An occasional hamburger/fries/soda is a treat, not the daily staple. A healthy salad or sandwich is OK for lunch but not supper too.

I like cold cereals, bran flakes, corn flakes, rice krispies for breakfast too with skim milk and no sugar/sweetners. I'm sure plug-in electric coolers/small refrigerators in cabs can accommodate some perishable food items for on the go. I buy frozen fruits in bags at Walmart and serve those with plain non-fat yogurt and vanilla for dessert adding no sweeteners. I like to drink chilled bottled water bought in one-gallon jugs and poured into sports bottles frozen in the freezer. I like Lipton instant iced tea with lemon juice and no sweetners bought at Walmart.

Good luck, chief

 

[JohnPrestonBailey]

Good luck, chief

Good luck is often an insincere remark.

It sounds like my expectations to be a fit-and-trim professional OTR driver are unreasonable.

It sounds like the private/independent roadside services economy of the United States of America is not willing to accommodate the health and well-being of those employed in over-the-road travelling occupations given the special gypsy-like lifestyles such occupations entail. It seems like the mega-carriers themselves should own and operate roadside living accommodations for their driving employees as showers, laundry facilities, full-service dining facilities and gyms. If motor freight employers themselves ran the roadside facilities for their very own, it would probably lower the driver cost of living as well.

Here is the military analogy: when you are a soldier in the army, your employer, the federal government, makes living provisions for your total lifestyle, not just your occupation, as:

1. living quarters; barracks
2. food service; mess halls
3. showers
4. laundry facilities
5. on-post/base weight rooms/gyms
6. MREs/rations while on field maneuvers
7. mess personnel to provide troops hot, square meals in the field
8. medical personnel even in the field
9. dieticians if the soldier is overweight
10. issuance of clothing/personal gear to perform mission: truck drivers also may need special clothing and gear do their jobs and live their lives day to day: refrigerators/coolers/microwaves should be standard equipment in company-owned rigs; I did not have to buy a refrigerator for my barracks room as a soldier, my supply sergeant issued me the appliance; I was issued cold/wet weather gear, boots, gloves and so on

Truck driving like military service, is not just a job, but a total way of life.

I would like to see more collaboration among the various government entities that regulate motor freight transportation nationwide, the roadside services entities, and the freight transportation entities to make driving a healthier occupation. The big-box travel centers are literally murdering truck drivers with all the unhealthy crap they offer drivers and robbing them of their paychecks as well. Truck drivers need a major change in infrastructure as well. The highway system needs to be more freight accommodating. Roads need to be sensibly engineered and well-maintained. There needs to be big-rig parking galore nationwide at little or no cost out of the drivers' pockets. We need national formal established truck routes. America demands so much from truck drivers. America should appreciate drivers and give back to them, making a healthy and affordable lifestyle even possible for them.

Walmart could be more helpful too by offering an expansion of more tractor-trailer-accessible stores nationwide along truck routes.

We know what the problem is: lack of big-rig-accessibility of products and services that are conducive to healthy living.

The solution to national truck driving woes is TOTAL ACCESSIBILITY built into our national highway system. Redesign the infrastructure to make them fit trucks and drivers well. Our highway system should be reengineered to be centered around the trucking industry. Trucks, not automobiles, should be priority one.

Perhaps, we need to elect more people to political office who were ex-truckers. We need government to see the trucking point of view from the driver seat.

 

[Ontario Outlaw]

Good luck is often an insincere remark.

It sounds like my expectations to be a fit-and-trim professional OTR driver are unreasonable.

It sounds like the private/independent roadside services economy of the United States of America is not willing to accommodate the health and well-being of those employed in over-the-road travelling occupations given the special gypsy-like lifestyles such occupations entail. It seems like the mega-carriers themselves should own and operate roadside living accommodations for their driving employees as showers, laundry facilities, full-service dining facilities and gyms. If motor freight employers themselves ran the roadside facilities for their very own, it would probably lower the driver cost of living as well.

Here is the military analogy: when you are a soldier in the army, your employer, the federal government, makes living provisions for your total lifestyle, not just your occupation, as:

1. living quarters; barracks
2. food service; mess halls
3. showers
4. laundry facilities
5. on-post/base weight rooms/gyms
6. MREs/ratons while on field maneuvers
7. mess personnel to provide troops hot, square meals in the field
8. medical personnel even in the field
9. dieticians if the soldier is overweight


Truck driving like military service, is not just a job, but a total way of life.

I would like to see more collaboration among the various government entities that regulate motor freight transportation nationwide, the roadside services entities, and the freight transportation entities to make driving a healthier occupation. The big-box travel centers are literally murdering truck drivers with all the unhealthy crap they offer drivers and robbing them of their paychecks as well. Truck drivers need a major change in infrastructure as well. The highway system needs to be more freight accommodating. Rods need to be sensibly engineered and well-maintained. There needs to be big-rig parking galore nationwide at little or no cost out of the drivers' pockets. We need national formal established truck routes. America demands so much from truck drivers. America should appreciate drivers and give back to them, making a healthy and affordable lifestyle even possible for them.

Walmart could be more helpful too by offering an expansion of more tractor-trailer-accessible stores nationwide along truck routes.

We know what the problem is: lack of big-rig-accessibility of products and services that are conducive to healthy living.

The solution to national truck driving woes is TOTAL ACCESSIBILITY built into our national highway system. Redesign the infrastructure to make them fit trucks and drivers well. Our highway system should be reengineered to be centered around the trucking industry. Trucks, not automobiles, should be priority one.

Perhaps, we need to elect more people to political office who were ex-truckers. We need government to see the trucking point of view from the driver seat.

Walmart already does a good job of giving us places to park

 

[Shreck]

Good luck, chief

Is that you Jeff?

 

[Ontario Outlaw]

Is that you Jeff?

I’m Darrel. My brother is named Darrel too. Our oldest brother is named Darrel too

The other guy is Jeff

 

[mndriver]

Good luck is often an insincere remark.

It sounds like my expectations to be a fit-and-trim professional OTR driver are unreasonable.

It sounds like the private/independent roadside services economy of the United States of America is not willing to accommodate the health and well-being of those employed in over-the-road travelling occupations given the special gypsy-like lifestyles such occupations entail. It seems like the mega-carriers themselves should own and operate roadside living accommodations for their driving employees as showers, laundry facilities, full-service dining facilities and gyms. If motor freight employers themselves ran the roadside facilities for their very own, it would probably lower the driver cost of living as well.

Here is the military analogy: when you are a soldier in the army, your employer, the federal government, makes living provisions for your total lifestyle, not just your occupation, as:

1. living quarters; barracks
2. food service; mess halls
3. showers
4. laundry facilities
5. on-post/base weight rooms/gyms
6. MREs/rations while on field maneuvers
7. mess personnel to provide troops hot, square meals in the field
8. medical personnel even in the field
9. dieticians if the soldier is overweight
10. issuance of clothing/personal gear to perform mission: truck drivers also may need special clothing and gear do their jobs and live their lives day to day: refrigerators/coolers/microwaves should be standard equipment in company-owned rigs; I did not have to buy a refrigerator for my barracks room as a soldier, my supply sergeant issued me the appliance; I was issued cold/wet weather gear, boots, gloves and so on

Truck driving like military service, is not just a job, but a total way of life.

I would like to see more collaboration among the various government entities that regulate motor freight transportation nationwide, the roadside services entities, and the freight transportation entities to make driving a healthier occupation. The big-box travel centers are literally murdering truck drivers with all the unhealthy crap they offer drivers and robbing them of their paychecks as well. Truck drivers need a major change in infrastructure as well. The highway system needs to be more freight accommodating. Roads need to be sensibly engineered and well-maintained. There needs to be big-rig parking galore nationwide at little or no cost out of the drivers' pockets. We need national formal established truck routes. America demands so much from truck drivers. America should appreciate drivers and give back to them, making a healthy and affordable lifestyle even possible for them.

Walmart could be more helpful too by offering an expansion of more tractor-trailer-accessible stores nationwide along truck routes.

We know what the problem is: lack of big-rig-accessibility of products and services that are conducive to healthy living.

The solution to national truck driving woes is TOTAL ACCESSIBILITY built into our national highway system. Redesign the infrastructure to make them fit trucks and drivers well. Our highway system should be reengineered to be centered around the trucking industry. Trucks, not automobiles, should be priority one.

Perhaps, we need to elect more people to political office who were ex-truckers. We need government to see the trucking point of view from the driver seat.

Sounds like a vet that misses having a 1SG control his day to day life.

 

[ironpony]

Good luck is often an insincere remark.

It sounds like my expectations to be a fit-and-trim professional OTR driver are unreasonable.

It sounds like the private/independent roadside services economy of the United States of America is not willing to accommodate the health and well-being of those employed in over-the-road travelling occupations given the special gypsy-like lifestyles such occupations entail. It seems like the mega-carriers themselves should own and operate roadside living accommodations for their driving employees as showers, laundry facilities, full-service dining facilities and gyms. If motor freight employers themselves ran the roadside facilities for their very own, it would probably lower the driver cost of living as well.

Here is the military analogy: when you are a soldier in the army, your employer, the federal government, makes living provisions for your total lifestyle, not just your occupation, as:

1. living quarters; barracks
2. food service; mess halls
3. showers
4. laundry facilities
5. on-post/base weight rooms/gyms
6. MREs/rations while on field maneuvers
7. mess personnel to provide troops hot, square meals in the field
8. medical personnel even in the field
9. dieticians if the soldier is overweight
10. issuance of clothing/personal gear to perform mission: truck drivers also may need special clothing and gear do their jobs and live their lives day to day: refrigerators/coolers/microwaves should be standard equipment in company-owned rigs; I did not have to buy a refrigerator for my barracks room as a soldier, my supply sergeant issued me the appliance; I was issued cold/wet weather gear, boots, gloves and so on

Truck driving like military service, is not just a job, but a total way of life.

I would like to see more collaboration among the various government entities that regulate motor freight transportation nationwide, the roadside services entities, and the freight transportation entities to make driving a healthier occupation. The big-box travel centers are literally murdering truck drivers with all the unhealthy crap they offer drivers and robbing them of their paychecks as well. Truck drivers need a major change in infrastructure as well. The highway system needs to be more freight accommodating. Roads need to be sensibly engineered and well-maintained. There needs to be big-rig parking galore nationwide at little or no cost out of the drivers' pockets. We need national formal established truck routes. America demands so much from truck drivers. America should appreciate drivers and give back to them, making a healthy and affordable lifestyle even possible for them.

Walmart could be more helpful too by offering an expansion of more tractor-trailer-accessible stores nationwide along truck routes.

We know what the problem is: lack of big-rig-accessibility of products and services that are conducive to healthy living.

The solution to national truck driving woes is TOTAL ACCESSIBILITY built into our national highway system. Redesign the infrastructure to make them fit trucks and drivers well. Our highway system should be reengineered to be centered around the trucking industry. Trucks, not automobiles, should be priority one.

Perhaps, we need to elect more people to political office who were ex-truckers. We need government to see the trucking point of view from the driver seat.

What was your reaction the last time you got behind a slowly moving semi, when you were on a mission for an over priced cup of fancy coffee?

Bet something like, "Get the #$%%@&*$## outta my way!!"

Access for big rigs? Well, there's truck stops, the occasional abandoned shopping mall, highway rest areas, entrance/exit ramps to highways, deserted industrial complexes... assuming physical barriers or a cop with a batch of $500 parking tickets isn't present.

Your "requirements" are unreasonable considering the state of the industry, and the general disrespect displayed by the general public towards truck drivers and our vehicles. Anywhere your "requirements" can be met, are generally off limits for truck parking. Cost-wise, eating multiple meals in a restaurant every day will bankrupt you eventually. Even Wal-Mart Inc is busily banning us from their properties, largely due to the behavior of truckers. Either learn to be self sufficient, or you will have a difficult time of it.

 

[Electric Chicken]

Parking at friendly grocery stores/Walmarts to shop for food and preparing it in the truck yourself wherever you're at is essentially the only affordable way to live in a truck.

So it boils down to what it groceries you buy, and keeping some basic exercise equipment in the bunk, doing some push-ups in the yard beside your truck, and walk around.

You'll have to take the initiative though because there's no mess hall cooking for you and R Lee Ermey won't be banging a trash can to wake you up for PT.

 

[Electric Chicken]

It’s just one of the sacrifices we choose to take
There are drivers that try to stay fit and active while OTR

Yup I'm sacrificing my body for the greater good.

I could be hot, but I'm fat because I love my country.

 

[JohnPrestonBailey]

What was your reaction the last time you got behind a slowly moving semi, when you were on a mission for an over priced cup of fancy coffee?

Bet something like, "Get the #$%%@&*$## outta my way!!"

Access for big rigs? Well, there's truck stops, the occasional abandoned shopping mall, highway rest areas, entrance/exit ramps to highways, deserted industrial complexes... assuming physical barriers or a cop with a batch of $500 parking tickets isn't present.

Your "requirements" are unreasonable considering the state of the industry, and the general disrespect displayed by the general public towards truck drivers and our vehicles. Anywhere your "requirements" can be met, are generally off limits for truck parking. Cost-wise, eating multiple meals in a restaurant every day will bankrupt you eventually. Even Wal-Mart Inc is busily banning us from their properties, largely due to the behavior of truckers. Either learn to be self sufficient, or you will have a difficult time of it.

What is per diem for then?

In a way truck drivers are a large part of their own problem.

Why doesn't the public school system teach America's children the importance of motor freight transportation as the nation's life blood then?

I don't drink coffee, just tea, iced. When I did drink coffee years ago, it was the cheapest stuff I could get at Denny's or a convenience store.

How does a driver become self-sufficient with limited living space inside the tractor? Many drivers on these various trucking forums make them sound like they are as spacious as a Winnebago. To maintain a thin physique and save money on roadgoing meals, do I have to resort to a bag of carrots, rabbit food and a couple of cold hard-boiled eggs as my sole diet? I'm a meat-and-potatoes man although my meat is lean and grilled and the potatoes are baked or fried in a thin coat of PAM. Does any driver here have a George Foreman grill inside his cab?

Back in the 1980's a barber told me about the truck stops that had all the ham, hash browns and eggs you could eat for $3.99. Classic country music truck songs, 1950s-1970's, are about roadside cafes, waiters and waitresses in the lyrics. Does modern driving fit the old country music and Hollywood stereotype anymore? Are there still roadside choke-n-pukes with a bunch of unsavory cats on motorcycles?

When they hire you as a rookie driver it's like they expect you to fly to the moon while flapping two chicken feathers for "wings". It sounds like a driver's life is simply IMPOSSIBLE. Like they expect you to make gold out of sand inside your magic "CAT Diesel Power" beanie hat.


You rig jockeys are lacking total support on the road from American society. Why doesn't somebody get angry and make a protest? Who and/or what is the driver's best friend over the road? Who is your personal saviour? The Lord Jesus Christ? What is being done to make things better? What can YOU do about it? What can I do about it? You all need to organize and bring about a motor carrier's union.

 

[r3gulator3]

Why doesn't the public school system teach America's children the importance of motor freight transportation as the nation's life blood then?

Because, they want to indoctrinate your children to live off the government. That’s how socialism works. If you teach them to work hard and be successful at something. They don’t need the government to take care of them.

 

[JohnPrestonBailey]

Because, they want to indoctrinate your children to live off the government. That’s how socialism works. If you teach them to work hard and be successful at something. They don’t need the government to take care of them.

I don't think young Americans are being trained to be thin, fit and health-conscious also. Look at all the fatness and laziness today. I'm afraid that many roadside establishments dish out fattening/sugary crap to drivers because the majority of them are tubs of lard. The fat stuff (hamburgers, fries, shakes, spareribs, fried chicken, pizza) should be a treat once in awhile, not the daily food staples.

If more drivers were to become health-conscious and demand sensible wholesome meals, then more roadside food establishments will follow suit. Grilled lean meats/fish/fowl, steamed vegetables, steamed/boiled rice, baked potatoes, beans, pasta, parmesan cheese, red pasta sauce, and steamed vegetables are the fit-n-trim types of table fare. Truck stops need more "George Foreman Grillin n Chillin" types of menu offerings. The Chester's fried chicken, mashed potatoes and gravy (they are rather chintzy on the gravy at the one in southern Colorado Love's off of I 25) is an occasional treat.

It seems very tough for a driver these days top "get ahead in the game". Bank as much money as you can over the road but don't die of a stroke or a heart attack by the same token. I want to make the money as a driver to squirrel away for older age and actually live to enjoy the fruits of my several years of double-clutching then migrate toward an office job in the motor carrier freight field.

Truck driving sounds to me like a JOB with little or no fun time off, not much fun at all. Even soldiers in the army have the weekends off for R&R, most of the time, unless they are at war, training, on the weekend CQ duty roster or on maneuvers.

Walking a nice man-size German shepherd dog in the park or training a nice retriever in the field for ducks or birds, hunting, fishing and boating all sounds like FUN to me.

There is probably no probably no single/bachelor company OTR driver here that ever enjoys hunting, fishing, boating and camping.