Safe haven, music room, or study centre—however you style the
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inside of your cab, we have the latest word in interior design. Browse through the
CM survey of the hottest selling in-cab
accessories this summer, to see if your life on the road is as cool as it can be.
n recent years manufacturers have extended the number of accessory options available with new trucks and many are now being fitted as standard. Consequently, basic cabs are more comfortable as a whole, which has changed the market to a degree. However, there are some highly entertaining ways to customise your very own workspace.
For example, you can announce your arrival with an air horn from CTC Autofashion, terrify the gate man with a chrome bull's head fitted to the front of the cab (yours for just L75) or emphasise your indignation with your hank manager with a L5 set of bullfighter's spears. Curiously, the spear set is selling extremely well this year. Feeling homesick on those nights on the road? Unique Car Mats can now emboss an image from any photograph you supply onto a set of in-cab mats (140 a pair). Any colour or quantity can be reproduced at an affordable price, but choose carefully—your spouse or boss might not be particularly flattered to find that you keep their image underfoot.
The top selling accessories continue to include fans and coolboxes. This year Serck Intertruck has a new 24V dashboardmounted fan that shifts up to 95 litres of air a second. However, if shifting cool liquid is more your style, 'FTC has a new electric cool box that might fit the bill. A swift cir cuit change enables the coolbox to keep things warm when the weather turns chilly. TTC has a summer holiday promotion on a wide range of in-cab accessories, so check out the 18, 2,8 and 32-litre capacity coolboxes.
If you think the coolbox would improve your quality of life, take a look at the latest microwave oven in the new catalogue from Road-Pro priced at L4°°. Not only does it deliver a healthy 5ooW of cooking power for those M&S dinners; it has electronic controls and timer. It also features a 13A plug on the front panel so you can whip the cream for the dessert with the food mixer you brought from home. Afterwards, you can always plug in your iron and press the company uniform for a smart getaway in the morning.
And if you're no Jamie Oliver and tend to over-crisp the dinner, then one of Hella's new range of fire extinguishers could prove useful. The Gloria range includes an external storage case and an optional mounting kit is available. It includes 2kg of foam and 9kg of powder.
Music while you work is provided in continuous fashion with the latest in CD changers from Blaupunkt. Five CDs are loaded and changed at your fingertips. The stylish high-gloss fascia panel of the IDC-A 09 has five separate CD slots, rather than a single five disc magazine. This means discs can be changed independently even when one disc is playing. Discs can be selected on the changer unit or via the changer control on compatible head units. It costs 1199.
Route guidance
While you think on, why not program the route guidance system with your drops for the following day? Blaupunkt says its TravelPilot will be available from July and that it will guide you along the dearest routes and through the most complex intersections, with the help of a "control assistant". Apparently it speaks dearly but never asks questions.
This ability would be a boon for drivers who prefer to use the time away to cram for the next CPC examination. The all-new revised CPC self-study packs from Los Training are divided into 30 sections, with one to io covering the Module one syllabus and ii to 30 covering the module two (freight national) syllabus. It also includes test questions and provides advice about how to study effectively. The national pack costs 180; the international pack is £6o.
It's easier to study with a good quality reading light. You can get one of these from Road-Pro for 119.95, with a flexible swan neck and an onoff switch on the head. Its designed to be wired in permanently, and comes with fuse holder and terminal connectors.
This year's best safety offering looks to be the Stop Camera Action kit (112.99). It includes a reflective jacket, accident report forms, a pen and a flash camera all in a tidy box. Even if you can't prevent every accident, you can be prepared in the event of one.
Of course you could simply use the camera to take pretty pictures of your truck, but first spruce it up with Poko's bug and tar remover This new spray contains a special run-resistant formula and allows stains to be treated in isolation. It will dear those squashed bugs off your paintwork, plastic, vinyl and runner trim.
But if you are now cooking, eating, relaxing and studying in your new home from home, comfort is paramount. The CuFlex Driver's cushion is made from foam and impregnated with thousands of particles of pure copper. The company claims that this combination produces a warmth which quickly dispels pain and discomfort for just 155. And finally, if you get lost despite the best efforts of TravelPilot, the first WAPcompatible Internet phone may come into its own. Available from Telecommunications Direct from the end of July, the Motorola Talkabout T2288 will keep you in touch with your e-mails, cab-accessory web-sites and au, ially, with loved one who can guide you all the way home. It
comes with a choice of tariffs.
In recent years, finding the right incab accessory has become more difficult as a result of the closure of so many truck stops. However, the search is about to get easier.
Next month's initiative by Brown Brothers is like to be particularly welcome. It has developed a new product range called Truck Stop that will be sold at motorway service stations through their diesel forecourts.
A range of more than roo in-cab accessories will include the most frequently requested items including kettles, items of worlcwear, clocks, tachograph charts, and the latest in coolboxes and fans.
Web sites
And with the ever buzzing websites eager for your custom and the pages of CM to browse through, every trucker can soothe the stresses of the job with a little retail therapy.
• by Steve McQueen