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Truck drivers of the 1990s can look forward to a relaxing evening in a cab equipped with anything from compact disc players and videos for entertainment, to a microwave oven in which to cook a meal.
A mobile phone ensures drivers are never out of touch with home, so help is even at hand when the radio disc jockey poses the inevitable question: "Which year was that?"
It was in 1976 that the anthem Convoy helped popularise CB radios and helped put accessories on the truck driver's shopping list (can you remember who performed it?) but by this time, the stereo cassette/radio was the established professional driver's entertainment. Drive-along songs like 2-4-6-8 Motorway (remember whose band was behind that one?) could be listened to with crystal clarity on local FM stereo, albeit in nose-to-tail traffic. With the growth in the home hi-fl market, it is no surprise that in-cab hi-fl systems have also moved on significantly Bosch, through its Blaupunkt brand, pioneered the availability of Radio Data Systems technology which can provide instant local travel reports if the CB network lets you down.
Disc player
If you prefer CDs, the new CUM S600 from Alpine could be for you. It's the smallest and fastest shuttle/six-disc changer on the market (with a price tag of £319.20). Although designed for the car market, Alpine says it's perfect for the cab of a truck. It has an anti-vibration mechanism, siliconeoil dampers and fits neatly into the glove compartment—unlike most contemporary alternatives—to give added security. You'll need a step-down for the power supply.
Blaupunkt is planning to introduce the first full range of 24V audio equipment early next year with a promise that it will be "competitively priced". The company is poised to release a steering wheel-mounted remote control for its audio equipment, which is a welcome move from a safety point of view and could also come in useful for a quick fast-forward through the less exciting sections of Margaret Thatcher's taped autobiography. Read by the Iron Lady herself, this is one of the planned summer releases from Harper Collins Audio Books. Other taped books in the
Handican is just E1.50.
pipeline to help reduce the motorway
0 tedium include Along came a Spider from James Patterson, and
an opportunity to find out why Martin Amis was paid so much to write The Information. Bernard
Cornwell's Sharpe series is also now available on tape.
And if you're stuck out in the boondocks, with 12 hours to go before customs will when it's hot. raise the energy to stamp the paperwork, try a sucker-mounted satellite dish on the roof to pull in Sky movies, sports, light entertainment channels as well as MTV and 24-hour coverage from CNN. Worcester-based RT Marshall offers a complete Mini-Sat package for £349.
There is certainly plenty of demand for the equipment that makes the cab of a truck a more comfortable, efficient place to work, rest and sleep in but drivers are canny shoppers and mail order has helped keep prices competitive. For evidence one need look no further than the business run by David Fairweather in Bury St Edmonds.
"We started CDC Truck Accessories 19 years ago," he says, "selling flags that the drivers put in their cabs to look a little different. That has evolved into a 100-page catalogue, with over 3,000 product lines. Most truckers will have a kettle, whether it's to boil water for tea, to wash or to have a shave. It's the most important mobile item (£12.95), but you wouldn't believe the number of coffee makers we sell." (Petite-Cafe, 5-cup capacity, £25.95).
Other popular lines from CDC include heavy duty toasters (.C27.95); mains/portable colour televisions (10in screen £199.00); and Slimline videos (179.00).
Hauliers, like other consumers, buy according to the season. In the winter, it's cab-heaters and blankets. With the summer market upon us, suppliers like Hella of Banbury have launched a range of compact cool boxes. They operate on the fluid-free "Peltier" principle with an aluminium heat dissipator removing the heat which is in turn dispersed by a fan (this system can be used to heat the cabin). The biggest box, the 28-litre "Road" (161.38) automatically switches from 24V to 12V as required. It can also be used as a fridge—and can even heat food (up to 65°C).
Electric fan
The company also offers a range of mobile electric fans for drivers who aren't blessed with an air-conditioned cab: models include the jet (£14.67) and the turbo (60.58).
The Electrobox Company also offers cool boxes but has a range of freezers too. The 24V Coolmatic FF-20 fridge/freezer (£436.0) has a 20-litre capacity. To defrost and cook the contents Electrobox offers the 24V/17-litre/400W Mobitherm microwave oven (£303.00). However, if you feel that all of this is going a little too far, there are cheaper ways of keeping the temperature bearable.
"Spot Shades" (£6.00) from Cosmic Automotive offer a variation on the car sun blind. It fits on to the window rather like a large licence holder but can easily be folded and stored when the weather changes. Accessory specialist Summit offers the "Handican" drinks holder (£1.50) which clips on to the rubber window surround to hold your can or bottle at the ready. It might not keep your drink cool, but you can always direct the side air vent towards it.
The desire for in-cab extras has not been lost on the vehicle manufacturers. Although trucks arc dispatched from the assembly lines with a healthy menu of fitted accessories: "There is a definite aftermarket demand for others, as well as for improving used vehicles that might have been added to the fleet," says Renault. "We have a list of items which are available through our dealers. These vary from fold-away tables which go in the Magnum, through to the map reading lights which go in smaller vehicles."
If you need more space for those extra home comforts Cab Design Airflow can raise the roof on most cabs with a high-roof kit. They also offer a wide range of cab accessories including cooking gear. Much of the company's turnover comes through supplying the various dealer networks. "Dealers can really improve their margins," says the com
pany's David Fairweather. "It's a very healthy business for those dealers that get involved. I wish more of them would."
Of all the extras and accessories that can be bought, perhaps the one that can provide the most durable comfort is a new seat. The latest releases from Northampton-based Pioneer Seating include an air-conditioned version with special foam inside through which air is sucked. This reduces the contact temperature by at least 10°C, according to general manager Archie Jackman, making the seat a boon on long hot continental runs. Other models include an integral three point seat-belt, which in the event of an accident might prove a useful means of "stayin' alive" (which is appropriate for a seat range known as the BE-GE!).
Which brings us back to the musical theme and the trivia answers that some readers might still require from the introduction to this review: CA' McCall sang Convoy; the Tom Robinson Band hit the Motorway trail. 0 by Steve McQueen