Everybody has their pre-trip rituals. Sometimes that means stocking up on hygiene essentials, replenishing your nonperishable foods, or maybe catching up on this month’s reruns.
Oh, and don’t forget, ensuring that you and your truck are ready for the road.
Obviously, inspecting and maintaining your vehicle are top priorities, but there are a few other concerns to watch out for.
Skimping out on Truck Inspections
Now, this goes without saying… but don’t skip over your pre-trip inspection. They’re designed not only for your safety, but to save you money as well.
I mean, it’s a lot cheaper to fix a problem when you’re parked than it is to have a flipped over trailer.
Yeah, that was one of the harder parts of getting your CDL—it’s a lot of memorization. But as a transportation professional, it’s what sets you apart from the rest.
You Ride Without Trip Planning
Experience is the best teacher you can have in this field. And the experienced truckers know you need to plan your trip ahead of time.
Download a trucking management program like TruckLogics, and use ProMiles for precise trip routing. ProMiles only chooses routes appropriate for heavy vehicles, eliminating costly mistakes, detours, and out-of-route mileage.
With TruckLogics and ProMiles, you can quote services to clients with more accuracy, instead of just rough estimations.
Plus, your recordkeeping afterward will increase thanks to one-click Trip Sheet generation!
Your House is in Disarray
We’ve mentioned tidying your cab before, but what about your house? Maybe you didn’t get to mow the lawn before heading out, or you know it’s time to do some Spring cleaning. Or on an even more personal note, someone in your family needs you.
Remember, downtime is important. Not just for your mental health, but for your financial livelihood, as well.
You’re Just Going to Eat Fast Food Again
Come on, guys. We’ve talked about this. We know you don’t have a lot of time to plan meals, but with just a little bit of planning, you can eat a nutritious diet that keeps you away from the Big Mac.
You’re gonna spend most of your day sitting as you drive, so eating healthy enough to keep the pounds away will offset the decrease in calorie burning activity. And besides, you can always just do a trucker workout when you get off the road.
You Don’t Have a Plan for Tax Filing
We hate to remind you of this ourselves, but your IFTA filing deadline is just around the corner.
That’s right, IFTA is coming!
And planning is everything when it comes to generating your IFTA report. Get ready for the upcoming deadline by calculating your IFTA tax amount ahead of time with the Fuel Tax Calculator.
And you remember all those Trip Sheets you generated with TruckLogics? Yeah, adding Trip Sheets to ExpressIFTA is easy.
Proactivity is the key to being a successful trucker. Ask yourself if you’re ready for the road!
As far as your IFTA report goes, if you run into any questions, the dedicated customer support team over at ExpressIFTA is ready to help! Give us a call at 704.234.6005 or shoot us an email at Support@ExpressIFTA.com.
What are your pre-trip rituals before hitting the road? Are you ready for every occasion?