Capt._Chaos
08-13-2005, 06:23 PM
Well, well! Congratulations!
You just got done with driving school, orientation, road training with a trainer, and now you've successfully made it to where your first assigned truck will be waiting for you on the company yard.............or anywhere else they may send you to pick one up!
Often, a company Operations Manager will simply assign you to a truck that's on the yard. In other cases, you may be sent to go pick up an abandoned truck, or one that may be parked at a driver's home after he became sick while there and got word to his/her dispatcher that he/she may not be going anywhere for awhile as per Doctor's Orders.
Before you move all of your stuff (sleeping bag, cooler, CB radio, TV, etc) into that pre-occupied truck, do yourself a favor and CLEAN IT UP ON THE INSIDE!
Most of the time, a vacuum cleaner, roll of paper towels, glass cleaner, some Simple Green, Ozium Air Freshener Spray, Lysol, antibacterial wipes (Wet Ones), and an hour or two of your time will be all you need to clean out the inside of a truck, detail it, and make it feel like home.
Every now and then, you might be assigned to a truck that the previous driver had smoked like a chimney in without ever cracking open a window! :yikes: These trucks may need more work, and if you're on a company yard, it might be easier to let the Operations Manager know about it and see if they can have the truck professionally cleaned & detailed, or assign you to a different tractor altogether.
If that doesn't work, the company should (and may offer to) pay you for your time to clean it up, and/or reimburse you for your cleaning supplies.
Since odors can end up everywhere in a truck (especially in the A/C and heating system), it will take a bit of work to get the smell out.
Once you have cleaned up the inside of the truck, it's advisable to:
*Clean the area under the bunk thoroughly. Spray it with Lysol to kill any foul odors.
*Locate the air inlets for both the cab & sleeper A/C systems, and with it turned on in "recirculate" mode, spray liberal amounts of Ozium Air Freshener spray toward the passenger side floorboard in front of the seat. This will pull the air freshener spray through the cab ductwork. Do the same for the sleeper A/C as well. Make sure that you DO NOT place your face in front of the A/C vents while doing this.
*Ask the company shop if they can give you a new mattress for the sleeper once you have cleaned everything. These usually hold a LOT of odors, and are very hard to clean thoroughly.
*Take some antibacterial wipes, and clean off all switches, levers, the steering wheel, seating surfaces, and the entire dashboard. The idea here is to "sanitize the truck" as much as possible.
*Take the glass cleaner & clean up all windows & mirrors.
Once this is done, then even the oldest truck in the fleet that you have just been assigned to will feel much more comfortable for those days & nights away from home. :)
Besides, when your curious family members get to see your truck's interior for the first time, they will be much more impressed. :)
BE SAFE!
You just got done with driving school, orientation, road training with a trainer, and now you've successfully made it to where your first assigned truck will be waiting for you on the company yard.............or anywhere else they may send you to pick one up!
Often, a company Operations Manager will simply assign you to a truck that's on the yard. In other cases, you may be sent to go pick up an abandoned truck, or one that may be parked at a driver's home after he became sick while there and got word to his/her dispatcher that he/she may not be going anywhere for awhile as per Doctor's Orders.
Before you move all of your stuff (sleeping bag, cooler, CB radio, TV, etc) into that pre-occupied truck, do yourself a favor and CLEAN IT UP ON THE INSIDE!
Most of the time, a vacuum cleaner, roll of paper towels, glass cleaner, some Simple Green, Ozium Air Freshener Spray, Lysol, antibacterial wipes (Wet Ones), and an hour or two of your time will be all you need to clean out the inside of a truck, detail it, and make it feel like home.
Every now and then, you might be assigned to a truck that the previous driver had smoked like a chimney in without ever cracking open a window! :yikes: These trucks may need more work, and if you're on a company yard, it might be easier to let the Operations Manager know about it and see if they can have the truck professionally cleaned & detailed, or assign you to a different tractor altogether.
If that doesn't work, the company should (and may offer to) pay you for your time to clean it up, and/or reimburse you for your cleaning supplies.
Since odors can end up everywhere in a truck (especially in the A/C and heating system), it will take a bit of work to get the smell out.
Once you have cleaned up the inside of the truck, it's advisable to:
*Clean the area under the bunk thoroughly. Spray it with Lysol to kill any foul odors.
*Locate the air inlets for both the cab & sleeper A/C systems, and with it turned on in "recirculate" mode, spray liberal amounts of Ozium Air Freshener spray toward the passenger side floorboard in front of the seat. This will pull the air freshener spray through the cab ductwork. Do the same for the sleeper A/C as well. Make sure that you DO NOT place your face in front of the A/C vents while doing this.
*Ask the company shop if they can give you a new mattress for the sleeper once you have cleaned everything. These usually hold a LOT of odors, and are very hard to clean thoroughly.
*Take some antibacterial wipes, and clean off all switches, levers, the steering wheel, seating surfaces, and the entire dashboard. The idea here is to "sanitize the truck" as much as possible.
*Take the glass cleaner & clean up all windows & mirrors.
Once this is done, then even the oldest truck in the fleet that you have just been assigned to will feel much more comfortable for those days & nights away from home. :)
Besides, when your curious family members get to see your truck's interior for the first time, they will be much more impressed. :)
BE SAFE!