Trucking: The Hidden Expenses of Life on the Road

Trucking has a lot of extra expenses. Whether you are a company driver or an owner operator you will have to pay for many things that most people working normal jobs will never have to. Some truck jobs pay well but once you back out all of the expenses for living on the road out of your truck it can take a substantial chunk out of your earning power if you are not careful.

Parking Fees

There will be times when you simply will not have a place to park your truck without paying a fee at a truck stop. I try to avoid paying for parking, but it is not always possible. You may be running short on your hours of service for the day or there is just not a truck stop with any available parking nearby. Both are common occurrences. A lot of times if you get to a truck stop after 7PM there will be no available free parking spots, but truck stops often have empty pay to park spots. Expect to pay anywhere up to $20 to secure a spot for your truck. Most truck companies will not reimburse you for having to pay to park at a truck stop.

Parking Fees During Home Time

A lot of truck companies will tell you that you can take the truck home but sometimes this simply means that you are left up to finding a parking spot for yourself. In a lot of cities including my own it is a challenge to find a safe and secure spot without having to pay for it. So, when I visit the house, it is common to have to pay for each day I will be home. I have never had a company reimburse me for this expense either.

Windshield Wiper Fluid

Every company I have worked for would reimburse me for buying oil for the truck. However, they would never cover the cost of me paying out of pocket for windshield wiper fluid. Expect to have to buy this yourself. I try and use my fuel points whenever buying windshield fluid but sometimes you simply just have to pay for it out of your own pocket.

Showers

A lot of drivers like to stay clean including myself on the road. If you are someone who likes to take a shower more than a couple times a week there is a good chance you will paying to wash up. While fuel points on your truck stop loyalty card will give you free showers there may be times when you are out of a free shower credit or simply unable to do your 10 hour break at that particular truck stop chain. So, when you are dirty and smelly at a truck stop where you do not normally fuel up expect to pay around $12 for a shower. Your company will not reimburse you for this expense.

Cleaning Supplies for Your Truck

Trucks get dirty. It is just the nature of the job. Your floor, windows, dash, and everything else will accumulate dirt and grime if you are not cleaning them regularly. I liked to keep a clean truck, so this involved having to keep a stock of microfiber cloths on hand and cleaning fluids. These are not free and will come out of your pocket to keep your truck spick and span.

Work Gloves

Gloves are an essential part of trucking. You are going to be doing a lot more than just holding the steering wheel including your pre-trips, fueling, opening and closing trailer doors, cranking up and down landing gear and even touching freight. All of these activities require work gloves to help protect your hands and make the job easier. You will go through quite a few pairs because they will get dirty and wear out. The cost of the gloves will be on you.

Miscellaneous Tools

Trucking requires extra tools that most companies will not provide. This can be anything from a wrench, screwdriver set, funnels, duct tape, knee pads, shop rags, rubber mallet, zip ties to name a few. All of this equipment will be on you to have on hand.

Overpriced Truck Stop Food

If you decide to eat your meals at a truck stop expect a huge chunk of your weekly pay to disappear. If you bring your own food great but expect to run out occasionally and have to head into the truck stop and buy your meal. In my experience everything out of a truck stop just costs a lot more versus a grocery store or a stand alone fast-food joint. So, unless you like throwing away your money you will always want to pack your truck full of groceries from the house. Most people working a normal 9-5 job have options outside of eating at a convenience type store. Truck driver’s often do not.

Work Shoes or Boots

You will require a specialized pair of work shoes or boots do your job right. When I was a tanker driver, I had to buy my own steel toed work boots. When I drove dry van I could wear any type of shoe I wanted. I went with a comfortable pair of black running shoes. Whatever you wear these will become your trucking shoes and they will get dirty and wear down fast. I always washed mine out once or twice a week with soap and water to keep them clean. The bottom line though is your work shoes will be coming out of your own pocket.

Safety Vests

Not all companies will provide you with a safety vest not to mention the one you have will get dirty with grease stains eventually and start to fall apart over time. You are going to have to purchase your own safety vests.

Hard Hat

A lot of shippers and receivers require a hard hat to be worn at all times. Some may provide you with one and others will not even let you on their property without one. Unless you want to wear a hat that a hundred other drivers’ have worn you are going to want to buy one. Most truck companies are not going to provide you with a hard hat so you will have to buy one.

Safety Glasses

As the same with the hard hat, you are going to be required to wear safety glasses at various customers. Prepare to have to buy these yourself.

Driving Glasses

There is a reason pilots wear aviator glasses. Because they are subjected to the sun for many hours every day. The same goes for a truck driver. Unless you want eye damage due to UV exposure you are going to need to buy a pair of sunglasses that will help protect your vision. Your company is not going to purchase these for you.

Extra Expenses Summary

There are more items you will have to buy that I have not listed here but this should give you an idea that some of your paycheck will already be gone before you get it. Some of these items are a one-time purchase while others will be a constant weekly or monthly expense. Of course, you are going to want to keep your costs down out there as much as possible but at times you simply are going to have to buy some overpriced item or food at the truck stop.