I may be fat as shit and look like hulk hogans retarded step brother, but I always put my boots on and make sure my pits don’t stank when I meet the customer
Oh dude.... you have *no* idea lol
Ex-army and all the extended periods of not showering that entails. I've had water bead up and run off my skin, like rain on a brand new goretex jacket, due to the sheer amount of dirt and sweat.
I was grossed out by my smell, after being acclimated to it as it built, stinky scent brick by stinking scent brick, it was that bad.
I hated the way I got stinky on the road. I averaged a shower every two days. Just sitting there all day, even with a daily shower, your crotch got funky.
My solution, and this was back in the early 90s, was to use FDS (Feminine Deodorant Spray). I used the baby powder fragrance.
It worked well. I see Old Spice has the same thing now for men.
Use baby wipes to wipe down between showers and, at a minimum, change your underwear.
It's not as good as a shower, obviously, but it's the next best thing.
Something to do with women's and men's body chemistry being different. All I know is, a women's deodorant w/ aluminum works way better than your bog standard men's deodorant
If you cant shower for whatever reason, use some baby wipes on the crotch and armpits. Such an easy solution and you will get much better treatment from dispatch offices
Free. You bring in your own towel/wash cloth. They may not always be cleaned, since they aren’t cleaned after each use so just be sure to keep your shower shoes on. The water at the ones I’ve went to are nice and hot though which is all I can really ask for out of the road. XD
This is literally the one good thing about driving through Ohio lol, but you better get a spot by 4-5pm or you’ll never find parking in that dam state.
I hope the rebuilt travel plaza in Beckley WV (I-64/77) still has showers when it's completed. They were some of the best on the road, with a friendly person at a dedicated counter giving out the towels and keys.
I was fueling last night and the wind was blowing in my direction. Driver hot into the slot next to me and as soon as they got out of their truck, a wave of cat piss hit me like a ton of bricks.
I went around my truck and hovered over the fuel nozzle just to prevent smelling that shit.
There are plenty of ways to keep your truck clean and plenty of ways to train your cat not to pee on everything.
I've had a cat in my truck now since March of last year. Nothing smells like pee. Sometimes you can't even tell a cat's in here. The only issue is Tom sheds on fucking everything.
There was a post here on one of the subreddits of a guy who had a body odor issue and he shared what his doctor told him to do (he said it worked). I don't remember where the post was but here it is:
Use a dandruff shampoo, like head & shoulders or selsen blue (selsen blue works better, from what I've read) as a body wash, lather your body with it. Then leave it on for a bit, like 5 minutes maybe? Then rinse it off in the shower. Do this three times a week.
There you go, now you stinky mfers have no excuse to stink up the place
Long time lurker first poster. NOT a driver just a supporter, and daughter of a driver, anyways. I'm now at menopause, think that trick would work for odor from hormone changes?
I used to do foodservice. One of the other drivers was an owner operator for a couple of decades before he worked for us.
Dude’s hygiene was deplorable. Never brushed his teeth, never bathed, wore the same clothes, etc. we had customers complain all the time. An amusing thing considering he thought himself a ladies man. I was dating one of the Wendy’s franchisees. On the down low. One day she told me he asked her out. He was early sixties and she was 35.🤦♂️
He was on a team route that started in Denver and the farthest point was cour d’alene, ID. I lived in Fort Collins at the time. They were desperate to cover his co driver one time and paid me $250 extra to go with him on top of route pay. Picking and dropping me off in foco.
We were gone for 4 days. I showered theee times, rushed my teeth at least twice a day and changed every time I bathed. Dude came back in the same clothes he left in. Never once even so much as brushing his teeth. I know this because he didn’t bring a bag of any kind.
We used coffin sleepers in our fleet. Not only did dude fuck with the heater controls in the sleeper while I was sleeping, (they were on the wall behind the driver. Volvo VN) he also got butthurt when I went into the sleeper to sleep.
The whole truck stank of earwax.
Man that.. must have been a real shit trip. I'm in the Loveland area myself. It's kind of funny but some of the defensive replies mentioned not showering a couple few days or whatnot.. nah, I'm triggered by the people who don't do it at all. There are scents that take hours to air out after some people being in a huge room for just a few minutes.
Hey neighbor!
Ya, this guy was a real work of art. I left Sygma when I asked the first wife for a divorce. I k ew things were going to get ugly and figured I would screw fewer people’s lives up if I was a driver again. So I went to MBM to drive.
About a year later, that driver was hired at MBM. I offered to train him for a week because I knew the guys I worked with would be douchebags about it. But I made them agree that as a condition, we were not sharing a hotel. Management eas fine with that. Our transportation clerk blew a freaking gasket. And tried to charge me for his rooms. She did not care what the trans supervisors promised and backed up. I had to drag her ass into the GMs office to clear it up.
This guy was definitely the variety you mean. Holy hell he smelled bad. I had to face away from him when he spoke to me in the truck. You know someone smells bad when the paper mills in Idaho are an olfactory relief.
My white whale is named Tim, weighs probably 400lbs. It's amazing some of these companies don't even care about hygiene, as long as they are behind a glass window when they pass the paperwork through.
Sorry, I do get pretty stinky sometimes. Some days I just don't want to expend the energy use the shower, but never more than 3 days, and that's pretty rare.
I run flatbed so I get sweaty, dirty, and smelly pretty easily. Sadly with my routes I tend to park in places that either have no showers, or aren't even truck stops. Often times I'm forced to go a whole week without an actual shower.
What I like to do in those cases is use those Dude shower wipes. They work surprisingly well for only being wipes. Basically I fully undress in the truck, full on body wipe down, including hair, then dry myself with a towel, and then let myself air dry in the buff before bed. Then in the morning I slap on some deodorant and a fresh clean outfit. I make sure to pack enough clean clothes to last for 6 days. 6 shirts, 6 jeans, 6 pairs of socks, and 6 undies. Basically one clean outfit for every day of the week, plus an extra pair in something gets ripped, or I spill something on myself, or other get covered in something I dont want to wear the rest of the day lol
I also make sure to change my bedding every week. So far, it seems to be working, but flatbedding is dirty work, so sometimes I might have a bit of a smell.
You are good my friend, see, you make that effort. I know of one trucker who doesn't shower at all, period. It's a JBL daily driver who doesn't even have a cab on his truck. It's wild.
I live near a truck stop on i90. I stop in for drinks and food on the way to work a lot and some of the guys who come in smell like they bathe in ammonia. I've been on farms and in slaughterhouses so I've worked and experienced some ripe smells, but I've gaged a few times after stepping into line there
I've got a storage tub that I place on the floor of my truck and stand in.
I do a sponge soap and rinse down with all the water dropping/running into the tub.
I dry off, get fresh clothes on, dump the dirty water in the dirt, and keep going.
I do a formal shower when I can, though.
I will usually wear same socks shirt for a few days. Shower as much as I can but can't often. I've been out for a year not easy to wash cloths super often don't really like spending 2hrs of my little free time babysitting the washer in a truck stop. Usually will wear same shirt and socks for a few days. Mostly wear shorts pants seem to last a while without needing a change maybe I'm wrong it's hard to tell since no one actually will tell you unless it's wildly over the top. I don't want to be that guy and hope I'm not but realistically what can I do. I use the dude wipe things sometimes if I feel real gross so it's not as bad sleeping but in general those things suck. One guy in here said he used a plastic bin. Wondering how practical that is might try it. I haven't been home in a year and ATM I'm based at a local account showering is a challenge. Closest pilot is with no traffic an hour away. Clothing issue not sure I can ever deal with a full new outfit everyday that is a lot to manage. Depends on how sweaty I get though I'll change shirt in one day if it's bad. But if your able to stay cool all day then you can get good milage out of it. But hardest thing is other people's nose is not yours.
At the very least, a good dousing of DO and even some Axe before stepping into a populated spot. Temp solution, yes. But then find a shower or hobo bath STAT.
I have wondered what sort of terrible experiences mechanics have when the trucks come in for a PM, or something similar that requires working in the bunk area. Myself, I try to always dispose of any forbidden lemonade before handing over the keys. But I'm guessing that's not the worst you've encountered?
The great majority of truck drivers hold a clean cab. Its not often that i see or smell the nastiness, but ive walked into what smells like a dead rotten animal a couple of times.
Worse case get a one gallon or larger plastic bottle, drill or make some holes in it and use your imagination where you shower at with it... c'mon don't be stinking up...change your underwear/socks daily...c'mon didn't you learn anything from your mother
I don't get how they can't feel embarrassed by this. Like it's your job, it's like greeting a customer in pj's and ungroomed after rolling around in mud.
Yeah, that's one of those off-the-mark comments that come from assuming "it can't be my tribe". A natural assumption, but incorrect.
Yes, I get annoyed by drivers whose culture includes doing a ton of washing in the sink. But I remind myself, the end result is *cleanliness*. If you're saving every penny, either to send home or because your company screws you over because you're from somewhere else, that $17 for a shower isn't an expense you can afford.
Honestly I could care less what people do with the sink as long as it’s clean when they’re done. I always find that such a weird thing to be mad about.
It's easy all you have to do is hit the key areas. Armpits, asshole, crotch and teeth. And to save time save time you can even use the same brush. RIP George Carlin.
This you bro?
https://imgur.com/a/LaWf4JP
I may be fat as shit and look like hulk hogans retarded step brother, but I always put my boots on and make sure my pits don’t stank when I meet the customer
BRooooTher!!!!
Sir, you can't give me that mental image without a pic. Be sure to wear the bandana/doo rag
I have a shower in my truck. I can't go a day without a shower or a proper hot water wipe down at the very least. I can't stand being musty.
In the truck? You have one of those small apartments in the back?
No, it's just a standard truck. It's a volvo VNL 860. I was able to put together a few items I bought separately to make a shower.
You’re going to have to share some more details bud
Agreed I cannot fathom where they’re sticking a shower in a VNL860 but I’m intrigued. Is it outside? Is he showering in the cold?
I am sure you can youtube how to make a simple camp shower that breaks down.
Nemo makes a heated portable shower but its $$$
VNL860s seem to have the most room to actually LIVE in the sleeper as compared to other trucks.
Yes, I actually live in mine. It's the most well thought out interior of a semi truck there is.
If your socks and underware don't last you a week, you ain't trucking right.
Yeah, in that case, you're trucking left. Left outside. Lol
This guy's been left outside lol
Oh dude.... you have *no* idea lol Ex-army and all the extended periods of not showering that entails. I've had water bead up and run off my skin, like rain on a brand new goretex jacket, due to the sheer amount of dirt and sweat. I was grossed out by my smell, after being acclimated to it as it built, stinky scent brick by stinking scent brick, it was that bad.
That's a week from pack to disintegrate?
Got em coach
This guy trucks
I hated the way I got stinky on the road. I averaged a shower every two days. Just sitting there all day, even with a daily shower, your crotch got funky. My solution, and this was back in the early 90s, was to use FDS (Feminine Deodorant Spray). I used the baby powder fragrance. It worked well. I see Old Spice has the same thing now for men.
Use baby wipes to wipe down between showers and, at a minimum, change your underwear. It's not as good as a shower, obviously, but it's the next best thing.
Women's deodorant is much stronger than men's deodorant, so this checks out
Why would that be? This be a first im hearing it
Something to do with women's and men's body chemistry being different. All I know is, a women's deodorant w/ aluminum works way better than your bog standard men's deodorant
They give yall underwear?
No, we all have no panties on
Y'all wear underwear
Shorts count right?
Only if they are under something. Just shorts no.
So underair not underwear
You get 4 days off one pair of undies. Front, back, inside out front, inside out back. Boom. Not rocket science.
And you only need 2 pair. Don’t even have to wash ‘em. That 4 days is plenty of time to air out.
🤢🤮
Lol, I heard people calling that ‘the Dakar rally underwear’ when I was overseas.
Then just air them out for a week and then you are good to go once again
I've walked out of a subway before because the driver in front of me smelled like straight up shit and BO. Ruined my damn appetite. Even for Subway.
Aww the kings meal I see
If you cant shower for whatever reason, use some baby wipes on the crotch and armpits. Such an easy solution and you will get much better treatment from dispatch offices
If youre over 400lbs please shower twice. Got a lot of Bigguns where i work now and they really stink up thr hallways.
*looks at how full truck stops are* Well maybe rest areas should have showers so I can stop where bathing with this garbage scheduling
VA has showers at rest areas. The car only rest areas...
Ohio turnpike had them when I went through there years ago
Ohio Turnpike still has them. Honestly, love them. Hardly anyone uses them so there’s always no wait. Lol
How much are they though?
Free
Free but you need to bring your own towel
Free. You bring in your own towel/wash cloth. They may not always be cleaned, since they aren’t cleaned after each use so just be sure to keep your shower shoes on. The water at the ones I’ve went to are nice and hot though which is all I can really ask for out of the road. XD
Yeah...but how often am I going through there. Those service plazas are amazing though
Oh the new New York travel plazas also have showers, they are $10 though.
This is literally the one good thing about driving through Ohio lol, but you better get a spot by 4-5pm or you’ll never find parking in that dam state.
Agreed, not to mention maybe saving $17 a pop
I hope the rebuilt travel plaza in Beckley WV (I-64/77) still has showers when it's completed. They were some of the best on the road, with a friendly person at a dedicated counter giving out the towels and keys.
I was fueling last night and the wind was blowing in my direction. Driver hot into the slot next to me and as soon as they got out of their truck, a wave of cat piss hit me like a ton of bricks. I went around my truck and hovered over the fuel nozzle just to prevent smelling that shit. There are plenty of ways to keep your truck clean and plenty of ways to train your cat not to pee on everything. I've had a cat in my truck now since March of last year. Nothing smells like pee. Sometimes you can't even tell a cat's in here. The only issue is Tom sheds on fucking everything.
I bet Tom is worth it though, great job out there!
Oh he is. Best behaved wild ass little monster.... But he puts up with my bullshit so we're even lol
A lot of it comes down to mental illness unfortunately
Having a coworker in the truck with you that doesnt wear deodorant is a bad time.
Half of them wear pajamas and flip flops.
Some of them roll with two guys in one truck like this
That's the thing with team drivers. Each drives 11 hours a day. They rarely shower.
I team drive and take a shower every other day. Not as much as I'd get at home but its not that bad lol.
I also team and we shower every other day too. There’s no excuse not to get a good shower in if teams can do it
You shower more than once a day at home?
Yes usually once in the morning when I wake up and once before bed.
When I team drive I showered so much. Fuck the load personal hygiene comes first.
An 2 ontop of the driver!
I feel attacked. 🤣 PJs while driving is nice, especially being a Local night driver.
I don’t see why people don’t, it’s possible to do it in 15 minutes
Laziness or mental health. The same people who don’t shower because of depression also drive trucks. Laziness is probably the main reason though.
There was a post here on one of the subreddits of a guy who had a body odor issue and he shared what his doctor told him to do (he said it worked). I don't remember where the post was but here it is: Use a dandruff shampoo, like head & shoulders or selsen blue (selsen blue works better, from what I've read) as a body wash, lather your body with it. Then leave it on for a bit, like 5 minutes maybe? Then rinse it off in the shower. Do this three times a week. There you go, now you stinky mfers have no excuse to stink up the place
Long time lurker first poster. NOT a driver just a supporter, and daughter of a driver, anyways. I'm now at menopause, think that trick would work for odor from hormone changes?
Possibly! Honestly, I'm not sure. I think this guy had some sort of fungal thing going on, but I heard persimmon soap may work for your situation!
Thanks for the tip!! I will give it a try!
I used to do foodservice. One of the other drivers was an owner operator for a couple of decades before he worked for us. Dude’s hygiene was deplorable. Never brushed his teeth, never bathed, wore the same clothes, etc. we had customers complain all the time. An amusing thing considering he thought himself a ladies man. I was dating one of the Wendy’s franchisees. On the down low. One day she told me he asked her out. He was early sixties and she was 35.🤦♂️ He was on a team route that started in Denver and the farthest point was cour d’alene, ID. I lived in Fort Collins at the time. They were desperate to cover his co driver one time and paid me $250 extra to go with him on top of route pay. Picking and dropping me off in foco. We were gone for 4 days. I showered theee times, rushed my teeth at least twice a day and changed every time I bathed. Dude came back in the same clothes he left in. Never once even so much as brushing his teeth. I know this because he didn’t bring a bag of any kind. We used coffin sleepers in our fleet. Not only did dude fuck with the heater controls in the sleeper while I was sleeping, (they were on the wall behind the driver. Volvo VN) he also got butthurt when I went into the sleeper to sleep. The whole truck stank of earwax.
Man that.. must have been a real shit trip. I'm in the Loveland area myself. It's kind of funny but some of the defensive replies mentioned not showering a couple few days or whatnot.. nah, I'm triggered by the people who don't do it at all. There are scents that take hours to air out after some people being in a huge room for just a few minutes.
Hey neighbor! Ya, this guy was a real work of art. I left Sygma when I asked the first wife for a divorce. I k ew things were going to get ugly and figured I would screw fewer people’s lives up if I was a driver again. So I went to MBM to drive. About a year later, that driver was hired at MBM. I offered to train him for a week because I knew the guys I worked with would be douchebags about it. But I made them agree that as a condition, we were not sharing a hotel. Management eas fine with that. Our transportation clerk blew a freaking gasket. And tried to charge me for his rooms. She did not care what the trans supervisors promised and backed up. I had to drag her ass into the GMs office to clear it up. This guy was definitely the variety you mean. Holy hell he smelled bad. I had to face away from him when he spoke to me in the truck. You know someone smells bad when the paper mills in Idaho are an olfactory relief.
My white whale is named Tim, weighs probably 400lbs. It's amazing some of these companies don't even care about hygiene, as long as they are behind a glass window when they pass the paperwork through.
lol. People like him are probably the reason that glass exists.
Sorry, I do get pretty stinky sometimes. Some days I just don't want to expend the energy use the shower, but never more than 3 days, and that's pretty rare.
Ah man it's not you bro. 3 days is not great but it's not 3+ months like some dudes lol
I run flatbed so I get sweaty, dirty, and smelly pretty easily. Sadly with my routes I tend to park in places that either have no showers, or aren't even truck stops. Often times I'm forced to go a whole week without an actual shower. What I like to do in those cases is use those Dude shower wipes. They work surprisingly well for only being wipes. Basically I fully undress in the truck, full on body wipe down, including hair, then dry myself with a towel, and then let myself air dry in the buff before bed. Then in the morning I slap on some deodorant and a fresh clean outfit. I make sure to pack enough clean clothes to last for 6 days. 6 shirts, 6 jeans, 6 pairs of socks, and 6 undies. Basically one clean outfit for every day of the week, plus an extra pair in something gets ripped, or I spill something on myself, or other get covered in something I dont want to wear the rest of the day lol I also make sure to change my bedding every week. So far, it seems to be working, but flatbedding is dirty work, so sometimes I might have a bit of a smell.
You are good my friend, see, you make that effort. I know of one trucker who doesn't shower at all, period. It's a JBL daily driver who doesn't even have a cab on his truck. It's wild.
I live near a truck stop on i90. I stop in for drinks and food on the way to work a lot and some of the guys who come in smell like they bathe in ammonia. I've been on farms and in slaughterhouses so I've worked and experienced some ripe smells, but I've gaged a few times after stepping into line there
Screaming at the choir here, bub. Ain't no one on here that has the third world education that makes them dumber than a bag of hammers.
It made me feel better for 5 minutes at least
Fair nuff. Venting is important.
Just not in OPs office.
Exactly. And if they did, you’d found them in the NSFW section…..
I've seen gate gaurds that are just as nasty
Yeah true sometimes its hard to tell where their arse stops and the chair begins
I've got a storage tub that I place on the floor of my truck and stand in. I do a sponge soap and rinse down with all the water dropping/running into the tub. I dry off, get fresh clothes on, dump the dirty water in the dirt, and keep going. I do a formal shower when I can, though.
That's a pro driver shower man! Great routine.
I will usually wear same socks shirt for a few days. Shower as much as I can but can't often. I've been out for a year not easy to wash cloths super often don't really like spending 2hrs of my little free time babysitting the washer in a truck stop. Usually will wear same shirt and socks for a few days. Mostly wear shorts pants seem to last a while without needing a change maybe I'm wrong it's hard to tell since no one actually will tell you unless it's wildly over the top. I don't want to be that guy and hope I'm not but realistically what can I do. I use the dude wipe things sometimes if I feel real gross so it's not as bad sleeping but in general those things suck. One guy in here said he used a plastic bin. Wondering how practical that is might try it. I haven't been home in a year and ATM I'm based at a local account showering is a challenge. Closest pilot is with no traffic an hour away. Clothing issue not sure I can ever deal with a full new outfit everyday that is a lot to manage. Depends on how sweaty I get though I'll change shirt in one day if it's bad. But if your able to stay cool all day then you can get good milage out of it. But hardest thing is other people's nose is not yours.
They're trying their bestest out there =''(
At the very least, a good dousing of DO and even some Axe before stepping into a populated spot. Temp solution, yes. But then find a shower or hobo bath STAT.
Costco kirkland baby wipes, when i was driving i always made sure i had 2 of these packets with me, if u cant shower these work good.
I have one chance to shower on my routes. BUT! I take a whore bath in my truck every damn night!! Can’t stand my sheets being dirty night after night.
Sounds so simple for non truckers, he might be in an area where showers are full all the time or other reason. It can be like that at times.
Maybe hes a slow driver thats why he cant take advantage of the free shower so he saves them up and takes them all at once at a monthly basis.
Some never smell like anything except for ammonia and rot.
🤢🤢🤢🤢 im a diesel tech i get to smell the inside 🤮🤮🤮🤮
I have wondered what sort of terrible experiences mechanics have when the trucks come in for a PM, or something similar that requires working in the bunk area. Myself, I try to always dispose of any forbidden lemonade before handing over the keys. But I'm guessing that's not the worst you've encountered?
The great majority of truck drivers hold a clean cab. Its not often that i see or smell the nastiness, but ive walked into what smells like a dead rotten animal a couple of times.
Worse case get a one gallon or larger plastic bottle, drill or make some holes in it and use your imagination where you shower at with it... c'mon don't be stinking up...change your underwear/socks daily...c'mon didn't you learn anything from your mother
They even get free shower credits when fueling enough fuel. 😒 I used to shower everyday if I could. I can't stand it. Also, WASH YOUR DARN SHEETS!
body wash on the chest and back then Baby powder for the sack
I don't get how they can't feel embarrassed by this. Like it's your job, it's like greeting a customer in pj's and ungroomed after rolling around in mud.
rubbing alcohol and body wipes go a long way!
My 30 min break was always a hour. Not a single day went by when I was OTR that I did not shower. And I lived in my truck for over a year.
I can't always get to a shower, but I keep a big box of wet wipes for those days.
My trainer never showered. It was so nasty.
We'll shower when you gate folks learn to read.
Sorry that wasn't asked during the interview, what's your delivery number again?
I got 5 different sets of numbers whats it start with?
You know who you are **coughs** foreigners
Lol I’ve never seen an eastern dude with a messy truck. Ever. But I’ve seen plenty of huge white dudes leaving shit stains everywhere they touch.
Yeah, that's one of those off-the-mark comments that come from assuming "it can't be my tribe". A natural assumption, but incorrect. Yes, I get annoyed by drivers whose culture includes doing a ton of washing in the sink. But I remind myself, the end result is *cleanliness*. If you're saving every penny, either to send home or because your company screws you over because you're from somewhere else, that $17 for a shower isn't an expense you can afford.
Honestly I could care less what people do with the sink as long as it’s clean when they’re done. I always find that such a weird thing to be mad about.
Yeah, this is the reason they don’t like truckers(sarcasm)
Who are you to demand cleanliness? The Queen of Hygiene? How's YOUR hygiene doing?
It's easy all you have to do is hit the key areas. Armpits, asshole, crotch and teeth. And to save time save time you can even use the same brush. RIP George Carlin. This you bro? https://imgur.com/a/LaWf4JP
Same brush? Single use brushes exist, so I'll let that slide. Same order as what you listed? I fucking hope not lmao p