OTR Trucking and Vaping

[Vapor Fiend]

I'm going to be attending a trucking school and going straight on the road for OTR trucking soon. I'm curious to see if there are any truckers who vape here and to ask them how they go about it.

Specifically:

What devices you use, your charging situation, your juice situation, etc... basically, how do you stay stocked up and ready to vape for those long hauls? I'll be doing roughly 4000-6000 miles a week when I start, so I'd like some advice on how to stay fully ready to vape on the road.

Currently I have a couple riva 510 batteries, a cylon 6v variable voltage, cartos, plenty of pre-fab and diy juice and I'm expecting an A2-T to arrive sometime soon (hopefully).

 

[DerekUrban]

Get yourself a passthru, a usb input for your cigarette lighter, and a bunch of cartos, that should have you going good for however long you need with no worries. Refill your Cartos whenever you stop, your battery will never die as long as it's hooked up.

 

[cskent]

I've seen posts from truckers over the last year or so. Most were coming here for advice on what equipment they should consider purchasing. Perhaps one of them will see your post and give you some answers.

 

[okwithit]

i was an otr driver for about 4 years, i used the map tanks from cov and a battery of your choice, i used the ego batteries from liberty flights. i loaded 3 tanks a day and changed them up as my taste during the day changed. i am presuming if your getting 6000 miles a week your a team opperation (as a single driver can't do that many miles a week) so you'll have a few awake hours to change juice and clean your tanks as your partner does his 11 hours of driving.

 

[Vapor Fiend]

i was an otr driver for about 4 years, i used the map tanks from cov and a battery of your choice, i used the ego batteries from liberty flights. i loaded 3 tanks a day and changed them up as my taste during the day changed. i am presuming if your getting 6000 miles a week your a team opperation (as a single driver can't do that many miles a week) so you'll have a few awake hours to change juice and clean your tanks as your partner does his 11 hours of driving.

Yeah I'll be starting off doing team driving. I hadn't really considered tanks but now that you mention it, that may be the most convenient way to vape on the road. I'll also have my a2-t, but it's not the one with the tank. So at least I can use that as a back up..

 

[six]

may be the most convenient way to vape on the road.

I was done driving truck otr before I started vaping, but I do a 650 mile round trip weekly (including today) and a couple of 300 mile round trips a few times a month. Sometimes that's in the company Kenworth - sometimes a 2 ton - sometimes just my pick up. --->>> Get a REO (or another quality feeder). A REO Grand with an 18650 and a 6 ml bottle of juice is good for the day.

Charging batts - About half the trucks I've been in have at least two cigarette lighter ports and an inverter built in to the dash. The other half had at least one lighter port but no inverter. All of the rigs I drove that had sleepers had an inverter in the sleeper. This charger comes with a cigarette lighter jack. If the trucks you'll be driving have an inverter built in, then any charger will do.

 

[Foxfur]

Nice charger.

 

[Gabe1291]

I drove OTR for a 5 years or so, and still do on occasion to cover for an Owner Op friend of mine that has a dedicated run when he goes on vacation or needs a break. I use a PT while driving with the carto tank on it. The rebuildable will come in handy as well since you can fix it if need be while you are out.

Just make sure you plan ahead and carry enough juice and spare carts for the tank and a2-t supplies for your time out. Oh, and a good back-up as well. I also have a Puck I keep for that since you can get the NiMH batteries pretty much anywhere if need be.

 

[XDoctor]

I never did trucking exactly, but I used to run a limousine service and would commonly spend 20 hours a day behind the wheel of a car.

I hate HATE cartos. I went that way at first, but there are much better options. One of the first purpose built mods I got for work was a Big Kazoo from Kalamazoo Vapor Shop. I put a gooseneck on it, and then a tank on that. Worked great for a long time. It was big enough that it was hard to lose in the car and the tank held enough liquid for a full day of driving without having to change anything out.

Then I got a Reo Grand and it was as though the clouds parted and the light of heaven shined down upon me. The Reo has an excellent feed system, a reservoir that will last at least a full day, usually two, a battery that will last a full day and its built like a tank. I can operate it with one hand without taking my eyes off the road. I consider it the perfect PV if you spend a lot of time driving. Reosmods.com

 

[mace bewley]

8 year OTR driver here.

TANKS are the way to go. I keep a couple already set up in case a carto goes south. As far as batt's and charging I use a stock Trustfire charger plugged into a cheap A/C power inverter. I have a Provari running 18650 batt's so I can make a full 11 hour run on one batt, and make sure to put a fresh one in before I start out driving. As far as juice I keep a 30ml bottle for every week I am going to be out. Now I don't vape 30ml a week, but as you will learn if they say you will be out 2 weeks it will actually be 3-4. Hope that helps!!

Any more questions feel free to PM me!

 

[Chinner]

I'm a driver as well. Nothing beats the Reo. I bring a spare battery or two and an extra emergency carto and I can go for days!

 

[okwithit]

i did not know the dot would let limousine drivers drive for 20 hours at a time, very interesting to say the least.

I never did trucking exactly, but I used to run a limousine service and would commonly spend 20 hours a day behind the wheel of a car.

I hate HATE cartos. I went that way at first, but there are much better options. One of the first purpose built mods I got for work was a Big Kazoo from Kalamazoo Vapor Shop. I put a gooseneck on it, and then a tank on that. Worked great for a long time. It was big enough that it was hard to lose in the car and the tank held enough liquid for a full day of driving without having to change anything out.

Then I got a Reo Grand and it was as though the clouds parted and the light of heaven shined down upon me. The Reo has an excellent feed system, a reservoir that will last at least a full day, usually two, a battery that will last a full day and its built like a tank. I can operate it with one hand without taking my eyes off the road. I consider it the perfect PV if you spend a lot of time driving. Reosmods.com

 

[Gabe1291]

If I recall right, they don't have to keep track of their time with the blasted swindle sheets. Those are the only thing stopping some truckers from running 20 hours straight....and even then it doesn't stop all of those, they just keep 2 or 3 log books. I know with a day cab running local you aren't required to keep a log, so I would assume the same would apply for a limo.

 

[DeviantDe]

If I recall right, they don't have to keep track of their time with the blasted swindle sheets. Those are the only thing stopping some truckers from running 20 hours straight....and even then it doesn't stop all of those, they just keep 2 or 3 log books. I know with a day cab running local you aren't required to keep a log, so I would assume the same would apply for a limo.

With federal law they don't have to keep log books if within 100 air miles as long as they don't go over state lines (same as local/short haul trucking) but state law can require it if they so choose.
And I do believe fed regulations say passenger carriers can't be on duty more than 15 hours even though they don't have to keep log books, that doesn't seem to stop a lot of bosses from having their employees work longer than they are supposed to though.


And to the OP- Tanks are your friend! There are many out there to choose from, but most hold quite a bit of juice. The other best option would be a bottom feeder like a Reo Grande as suggested already.
For charging, if the truck you will be in doesn't already have an inverter built in you can get a portable version, lots of the drivers I work with have them, I even have a small one for my car.

 

[MickeyRat]

I'm not a trucker but, I have taken long drives (>10 hours) with my PV. I use generic batteries and I have a charger that can plug into the cigarette lighter and I use either a Reo or a Buzz Pro with a DOD. Both of those will allow me to go a long way without having to add juice and allow me to get what is the equivalent of dripping without having to look while topping off the atomizer. However, if you don't mind filler (I do), something like a go-go or a map tank would be better.

One suggestion, keep a spare within easy reach. Sooner or later you're going to drop your PV and it's going to fall in a hard to get spot. You don't want an extra stop to retrieve it or to do without till your next scheduled stop.