Fuel for Thought

That Smell

I don’t have to tell you that truck drivers spend a lot of hours, days and weeks inside their trucks. As many of you know, it can be a never ending challenge to keep up with cleaning inside your truck. For those who keep a filthy, garbage ridden cab and sleeper, just stop reading now and move on, the following will not interest you in the least. All those hours spent living in a truck means you have to be diligent about cleaning, vacuuming and just general upkeep to have a nice, clean environment to work out of and sleep in.
Keeping the truck clean is easy enough but for years I have been trying different ways to keep the truck smelling nice. Some of you like to hang pine tree shaped air fresheners, I never cared for those short lived scented cardboard cut outs and some of you seem to have a forest of those little trees in your cabs. Those little liquid filled vent mounted air fresheners work well, but they do not last very long and constantly replacing them can get costly.
If you cook meals in your truck like so many drivers do these days, those smells seem to linger for quite a while in the enclosed space of a cab and sleeper. Then there is the diesel fuel that may have gotten on your shoes or pants at the last fill up. I didn’t want to mention the amount of methane that can escape some folks more than others and then wafts around the interior of the truck, but it is a reality.
Vent air fresheners and scented trees can only work so well for a short time. Sprays like Febreze and Lysol only work while you are spraying them. Recently, I decided to try a new approach to keep the truck smelling fresh to go with the cleanliness.
You may or may not use these at your home, but they work very well in the truck. The refills for plug in air fresheners, but without the warmer part that plugs in. It turns out, if you just remove the cap from a refill, place it in your truck where it will not fall over and if it is near an air vent that will blow across it, it works very well for keeping the truck fresh. No electricity needed. You can really notice it on a hot day when the truck has been sitting for a while. I tried a few different locations in the cab to get the most out of it and I found that when I used velcro or dual lock fastening tape (like the one you mount a transponder to your windshield with) to mount it to the dash near a vent, it worked the best. I tried placing it in the passenger floor near the intake for the HVAC recirculation vent, but it seemed to lessen the effect.
These refills are relatively inexpensive and last longer than any other vehicle style air freshener I have tried. One of these refills can last for months instead of weeks or days. Find a scent you prefer and try one in your truck. You will be surprised at how long it will last. You can also put the cap back on anytime to make it last longer or if you are going on vacation and will be out of the truck for a week or more.
The one I am currently using (in the picture) is a dual scent (two separate scents in two separate bottles) and you can uncap one or both depending on how much scent you want released.

Smell is a potent wizard that transports you across thousands of miles and all the years you have lived.
-  Helen Keller

See you down the road,
Greg