Live, Work, Haul Lots of Stuff
When our stuff is stationary there’s no reason to get rid of it. The force of gravity can support the biggest mess from the worst hoarder. But when our stuff is put in motion, either supported by the force of our muscles or even the force of an internal combustion engine, we start quickly getting rid of unnecessary stuff in hopes of reducing mass. Locomotion is almost always a catalyst for efficiency. We’ve seen this phenomenon with people who tow their stuff on bike or van or RV. One other demographic that fits into this category is semi truck drivers, many of whom live in their cabs much of the year. While semi trucks can haul countless tons of goods, there is still a necessity to keep things light and compact lest the cab compromise fuel economy or payload.
NBC recently profiled a couple companies specializing in making high-end sleeper truck cabs. One company, Bolt Custom Trucks, has packed interiors with kitchens, satellite TV’s and their own bathrooms–they’re essentially mini RV’s affixed to a semi truck. Needless to say, everything is a paragon of efficiency: dining areas become beds, tables fold into walls, there are storage nooks everywhere. But with hardwood floors and quartz countertops on some models, the sleepers have a luxe feel (why you’d choose quartz over a lighter material beats the heck out of me).
Apparently, there’s a huge shortage of qualified truck drivers. When purchased by truck fleets, these sleepers are designed lure and keep drivers in the field. For independent long-haul truckers like Linda and Bob, profiled by NBC, the deluxe trailers allow them to stay out 2-3 times longer since they are not longing for the comforts of home.
If you were to live in one of these trailers, it could make for a pretty edited life: you could live where you work, which is very efficient from both a spatial and financial standpoint; needless to say, possessions would be very few even with a deluxe cab. The only thing that might not be so edited is the fact your job often entails hauling a bunch of crap around the country…someone’s gotta do it I suppose.
H/T J. Marlowe