What are the best gifts for truck drivers? Interviews with real truckers

Suggestions include GPS, multi-tool kits, and fuel cards
By Mary

A Navigation System is No. 1

Like everyone else, truck drivers love to get thoughtful presents they can really use. We surveyed and interviewed some real CDL drivers to find out what gifts they want the most.
Of the more than 100 survey respondents, 86 listed a GPS navigation system as one of their suggestions.
“I need to know where the hell I’m going,” said Jody J, one of the respondents.
GPS systems designed specifically for truck drivers are desired gifts because “they don’t send you down the wrong road,” she said.

Another trucker, Herman A., said, “Believe it or not, there’s a lot of truckers out there that really don’t know how to read a map. So, the GPS gives them another avenue to let them know where they are going.”

Herman said he personally doesn’t need GPS to get him from one city to another, but once he is there his navigation system can guide him to the customer’s exact location.
Another advantage of a GPS system, according to Herman, is it gives truck drivers a time frame for when they can expect to arrive at their destination. He also said it alerts them if they are likely to experience a slowdown because of traffic or bad weather.

 

Power Inverters Make Semis Feel Like Home

Other gift ideas for truck drivers, in order of popularity, were a power inverter, a heavy-duty phone mount, a comfortable seat cushion, a multi-tool kit, a fuel card, high-quality headphones, a portable coffee maker, a personalized trucker hat or keychain, and a fitness tracker.
Truck drivers say they use power inverters to convert the DC power of their rig to the AC power needed to operate TVs and kitchen appliances such as the above-mentioned coffee maker, an air fryer, a microwave, or a mini-fridge.

Speaking of fridges, Karl P., one of our survey respondents, said one of those would also make a great gift for a truck driver.
Karl, who drives cross country, said, “I basically live on the truck, so a fridge is very convenient. It’s somewhere you can put snacks so you don’t have to keep stopping at truck stops, which is very expensive.”

 

Must-have Phone Accessories For Truckers

If you plan to give the trucker in your life a phone mount, sturdiness is critical, according to Karl.
“They make some cheap ones, but they don’t hold the phone,” he said. “You need something to hold it because otherwise you can’t drive and talk on the phone at the same time.”

Another important phone accessory is high-quality headphones, according to Jody.
“It’s mandatory if you want to talk on the phone while driving,” she said.

A multi-tool kit is something truck drivers love because it can save them lots of money on small repairs.
“It’s kind of ridiculous to get charged $100 just to have a light bulb put in,” Jody said.
Her ideal tool kit includes various sizes of sockets (both metric and standard), screwdrivers, pliers, and adjustable wrenches.

Fuel cards are also great presents for truckers, according to Jody. She said she likes getting them because she doesn’t like to carry a lot of cash with her on the road.

Another trucker, Jeffrey M., said he doesn’t have any particular favorites when it comes to fuel cards.
“Anything from one of the major truck stops such as Love’s, Pilot, Flying J, would be awesome,” he said.

The table below shows how many truckers mentioned particular gift items in their survey responses. Respondents were allowed to choose multiple gift ideas from a list of options and/or add their own.

 

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