Stuart was ready to quit OTR after his back gave out on I-90. Then his buddy Kenny wouldn't shut up about a seat cushion. This is what happened next.
I've been OTR for 23 years. My back's been through worse than most guys half my age. This affordable cushion is the first thing I've tried that actually made a difference past the first week.
I ran both cushions across 3,000 miles of OTR runs. One costs four times more. Here is whether that price difference buys you anything real.
Your OEM seat is built for the liability department, not your lumbar. A good memory foam cushion fixes that for about the cost of one truck-stop lunch.
Stuart was ready to quit OTR after his back gave out on I-90. Then his buddy Kenny wouldn't shut up about a seat cushion. This is what happened next.
Practical steps every long-haul driver can take to manage lower back pain on OTR runs, from seat setup to stretching to the gear that actually helps.
Nearly 28,000 reviews and a 4.5-star average sound convincing. But most of those reviewers sat on this cushion for two weeks, not two months. Here's what happens after the honeymoon is over.
Stuart ran the RoadPro RPSL-350 every haul for three months, cooking chili, stew, and pulled pork off his cigarette lighter. Here's what works, what burned, and whether it earns the cabinet space.
One cooks raw ingredients from scratch on a 12V cigarette lighter. The other reheats whatever you packed in a box. Here's which one earns cab space and which one ends up at a yard sale.
Truck stop food is expensive, usually lousy, and you eat on their schedule. The RoadPro RPSL-350 12V slow cooker plugs into your cigarette lighter and fixes that affordably.
No microwave, no truck stop, no drive-through. Just a 12V slow cooker, a cooler, and whatever my wife packed in a grocery bag Friday night.
Truck-stop food is expensive, mediocre, and always on someone else's schedule. Here is a practical system for eating real cooked meals out of your cab using nothing but your 12V outlet.
Cook time is longer than home slow cookers. The lid seal matters. And don't try chili on a rough stretch of I-80. Here's the full picture from someone who's burned through three truck-stop burritos too many.
Eight months and 60,000-plus miles later, Stuart breaks down what this dual dash cam gets right, what it doesn't, and why he stopped worrying about false claims on the road.
Both are budget dual cameras. One was built with commercial vehicles in mind. The other is a solid consumer pick that falls short in a few places where truckers can't afford for it to.
One false claim from another driver can cost you your CDL, your insurance, and your truck. A dash cam is cheaper than a lawyer and it does not lie.
Stuart got blamed for an accident he didn't cause. Thirty seconds of footage changed everything. Here's what happened on I-40 and what he bought the next day.
A practical step-by-step guide to mounting, wiring, and configuring a dual dash cam in a Class 8 cab. Covers windshield placement, A-pillar cable routing, hardwire vs cigarette lighter, SD card setup, and first-run testing.
The 4K footage is genuinely good. The parking mode needs a hardwire kit. And the app takes some figuring out. Full breakdown from an OTR driver who learned most of this the hard way.
I replaced three cheap CB radios in six years before I bought this one. Two years later, it's still on the dash and I haven't touched the settings since November.
Both radios have loyal followings. One of them has SSB sideband and NOAA weather scan. The other is cheaper and familiar. Here is where each one wins and which one belongs in a working rig.
That cheap AM-only box on your dash is leaving range, clarity, and real road intelligence on the table. Here's why serious OTR drivers run SSB.
Stuart spent six years buying budget CB radios and replacing them every 18 months. Then he did the math and bought a real one. Here's what changed.
A wrong antenna mount or skipped SWR check can kill your radio in a week. Stuart Holler walks you through every step the right way, from picking your gear to your first clear conversation on channel 19.
The BEARCAT 980 is a genuinely capable CB radio. But the reviews that gave it five stars skipped the part where the antenna matters more than the radio, SWR tuning is not optional, and SSB is a ghost town on half the lanes you run.
Six months of daytime sleeping in a Freightliner Cascadia. Flying J lots, sun coming over the cab roof at 10 AM, and parking lot floods at midnight. Here is the honest report.
One blocks the windshield. The other seals off your entire sleeper. If you're losing sleep to light leaking in from every direction, here's why these two solutions aren't even solving the same problem.
If you're sleeping days and running nights, bad light management is costing you hours of real rest. Here's why a set of blackout panels is the fix most drivers overlook.
Stuart ran nights for three years and never slept right during the day. A set of blackout panels changed that. Here's the story.
A practical window-by-window guide to blacking out your cab for real daytime sleep, from a driver who spent years doing it wrong first.
They're not made for semi trucks, but they work in a semi truck. Stuart explains the sizing headaches, what happens to the tension rod on a rough stretch of I-70, and the smell nobody warns you about out of the box.
I've been OTR for 23 years. My back's been through worse than most guys half my age. This affordable cushion is the first thing I've tried that actually made a difference past the first week.
Nearly 28,000 reviews and a 4.5-star average sound convincing. But most of those reviewers sat on this cushion for two weeks, not two months. Here's what happens after the honeymoon is over.
Stuart ran the RoadPro RPSL-350 every haul for three months, cooking chili, stew, and pulled pork off his cigarette lighter. Here's what works, what burned, and whether it earns the cabinet space.
Cook time is longer than home slow cookers. The lid seal matters. And don't try chili on a rough stretch of I-80. Here's the full picture from someone who's burned through three truck-stop burritos too many.
Eight months and 60,000-plus miles later, Stuart breaks down what this dual dash cam gets right, what it doesn't, and why he stopped worrying about false claims on the road.
The 4K footage is genuinely good. The parking mode needs a hardwire kit. And the app takes some figuring out. Full breakdown from an OTR driver who learned most of this the hard way.
I replaced three cheap CB radios in six years before I bought this one. Two years later, it's still on the dash and I haven't touched the settings since November.
The BEARCAT 980 is a genuinely capable CB radio. But the reviews that gave it five stars skipped the part where the antenna matters more than the radio, SWR tuning is not optional, and SSB is a ghost town on half the lanes you run.
Six months of daytime sleeping in a Freightliner Cascadia. Flying J lots, sun coming over the cab roof at 10 AM, and parking lot floods at midnight. Here is the honest report.
They're not made for semi trucks, but they work in a semi truck. Stuart explains the sizing headaches, what happens to the tension rod on a rough stretch of I-70, and the smell nobody warns you about out of the box.
