CDL Driving: Keeping Cash in the Truck

It is awful when you run out of cash on the road. It always seems to happen when there is no ATM nearby. Or, the only ATM in the truck stop is out of order. It isn’t the money. It’s the hassle of stopping everything and tracking down a machine that will take a card—usually when you are in a hurry.

As a driver, here are some bonehead things I have done because I had no cash:

• The toll plazas on the Oklahoma Turnpike take big bills. The toll takers will make change. But, the little booths, on the minor exits, have machines that only take coins. Having paper money won’t get the gate arm up. Once, I had to wait until someone came behind me who had 65 cents in change I could buy so I could pay the toll. It was quite a long wait.

• There is a shower in a campground in Coastal Oregon that costs 8 quarters for 6 minutes. The coin machine doesn’t take credit cards and won’t take 20 dollar bills. I had to drive back to town to find a shop clerk who could sell me quarters.

I don’t want to think about the amount of time I have wasted because I didn’t plan ahead.

So, it is advisable to keep, at a minimum, a hundred dollars in twenties, fifty in small bills, and a roll of quarters with you at all times.

It isn’t only cash. Plan ahead for other needed supplies, as well. Think about what you will need for the next couple of days or weeks. Write a list, if it will help. Next time you pass through a grocery store, pick up everything that you need. Everything is much cheaper in a grocery store than it is in a truck stop. You could buy something at the grocery store and throw half of it away and it would still be cheaper than buying it at the truck stop.

Not only will a little planning make your life a lot easier—a little planning will make your life a lot cheaper.