Trucker Michele Rusher

When you’re a team truck, our wheels don’t stop. So legally I’m allowed to drive 11 hours. We do 9½ to 10. This is basically like a little studio. It’s got bunk beds in the back. I’ve got a refrigerator, coffee maker, I have one of those really cool microwaves that have come out that’s a microwave, an air fryer, and an oven. I also have an Instant Pot. So we cook and all that stuff. The only thing we’re missing, obviously, is a bathroom. If I have to wash dishes, I usually do it when it’s shower time. It’s like camping. When I’m driving, my driving partner Emily is back there sleeping. She legally has to sleep, she has a 10-hour rest break. Then I give her a wake-up call 30 minutes out, we swap drivers, and I go to bed. A solo driver has to stop and park somewhere for 10 hours, and then they can drive.

The biggest part of preparation is make sure you have an extra jacket, blanket, food, water. Even if it’s snacks! You don’t have to necessarily have a full-blown Salisbury steak that you can cook underneath your hood. Keep that stuff in your trunk, just like you’d have a spare tire. If you’re not in Southern California, if you’re in an area that gets snow, you should have that stuff.

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