Tips from the Truck is a new series I'm starting now, where I talk about the various little things you can do to make truck life easier.
I briefly mentioned in this post that eating out all the time can quickly cut into your truck savings. Why would you be eating out all the time, you ask? Because you can never, under any circumstances, keep food in your truck. Even non-perishables, you don't want to keep any vaguely organic, edible substances within like a 100-foot radius of your abode. You might be saying to yourself, "Brandon, doesn't that seem a little excessive? What if I get hungry at night and want a Clif Bar or something?" To which I say, Too BadTM.
As I've mentioned before, my place of work extends many benefits to me, one of them being free meals. While certainly helpful, free meals are not a requirement for living in a truck. Aside from the benefits of being physically removed from the possibility of late-night eating, there's a much more practical reason I don't keep food in the truck: lions, tigers, and bears.oh my! Okay, maybe not actually those three animals in particular, but the literal last thing you want to deal with is an infestation/intrusion of any kind. I keep nothing even remotely edible in the truck, aside from maybe a small, tightly-sealed bag of protein powder. The remainder of truck-residing items include a bed and a Velcroed-shut dresser full of clothes and various cleaning products.
And you know what? Despite not having anything for bugs or animals to eat, I still occasionally have to deal with bugs. I reluctantly disposed of two HUGE* spiders yesterday, and became acquainted with more than a few moths while washing my sheets. I'm sure it's mainly due to my door setup, which I'll without a doubt discuss in a future "Home Improvement" post, but basically I keep my door slightly open at night for fresh air and so that nobody can lock me in here and subject me to a pretty embarrassing death. Back on topic, I can only imagine what critters I'd find myself face-to-face with if I actually had something enticing for them. I saw a stray cat walk by a few nights ago, who's to say it wouldn't have decided to move in if I had some sweet treats just laying around? And it's hard enough to clean things in here, with limited access to waste disposal, you want to generate as little trash as possible, the absolute last thing you want is a raccoon rummaging through your things because you threw a candy bar wrapper away three weeks ago. The main, and really only, takeaway from this is that if your setup is even remotely like mine, or you plan on having a setup even remotely like mine, don't bring food in it, the results may take away your appetite.
*They weren't actually huge, in fact, they were tiny. But they looked super menacing in the sub-standard truck-lighting.
Final Note: I added a Question box to the site, so if you have any burning questions, you can anonymously submit them, and I'll do my best to answer them in future posts.