I need a solution for music in the truck.

[Tobin S.]

I'm a trucker and I'm in the truck 10 hours a day 5 to 6 days a week. I really like satellite radio, but I'm in 4 or 5 different trucks a week (that's called slip seating in the industry) and I don't really want to bother with installing and uninstalling a tuner every day. That just adds more time at work to an already long day.

I'm not very technologically proficient, so I'd appreciate it if you can offer details on what I can do.

I have a smart phone that I stream music on, but I'd quickly run through my data allowance doing that all night at work. We have CD players in the trucks, but half of them don't work. They just spit the CD right back out at me without playing anything. Besides, I like to listen to a wide variety of music and I don't have the cash to invest in a ton of CDs.

Right now I listen to commercial radio. It mostly sucks, but it's better than silence. Do I have any other options?

[roscoeroscoe]

1. Boombox

And CD's

Go old school! 📻

[Tobin S.]

4. Batteries are probably more expensive now days than going over my data plan.

I suppose I could buy an inverter...

[roscoeroscoe]

6. Sure

An inverter is a great little investment

Or get, is it T-Mobile? Free streaming?

[ret5hd]

2. Vocal lessons!!! Go DIY! Just don't pick up innocent hitch hikers.

[Tobin S.]

3. My singing is so bad that I don't even like it.

The last time I sang, I started hearing wolves howling in the distance.

[ret5hd]

5. I'd try an iPod with a big selection of music...

along with a good number of podcasts.

[Tobin S.]

8. Can you buy an external speaker for an iPod?

Those wheels hum pretty loud. I can't do ear phones.

[LeftInTX]

20. My son bought an external speaker, I hook it up to my mp3 player

My MP3 player doesn't have bluetooth, so I use a USB cable. The speaker is fairly loud.

Here is an example. There are better models on the Best Buy site

http://www.bestbuy.com/site/jam-classic-2-0-portable-bluetooth-speaker-black/5158403.p?skuId=5158403

My husband has a bluetooth speaker that he uses for his audio books. It is loud.

[Mendocino]

14. Bad singing

When I sing people from the nearby quarry and rock crushing facility call to complain.

[discntnt_irny_srcsm]

7. I got one of these

Basically it connects to a phone, tablet or mp3 player with bluetooth, or 3.5 mm wired jack and plays over FM. Pick an unused part of the FM band and set the device to that frequency. Tune the truck's radio to the same FM frequency and listen the same as you would to a regular FM station.

This is a new Bluetooth MP3 Player FM Transmitter Hands-free Car Kit Charger, which support USB driver and Micro SD card and can automatically play and transmit the MP3 files of USB driver and Micro SD card after matched with your radio by the frequency.
With 3.5 mm line-in jack, support external audio devices. Wireless transmit phone call from Bluetooth mobile phone to the car FM stereo system.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0140SG7G8/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o04_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

[Tobin S.]

9. Hey, that's nifty. Thanks for the suggestion.

[discntnt_irny_srcsm]

10. You're welcome

[moriah]

13. That's very nifty, if there's no auxiliary input on the radios.

I used an FM converter before, and it definitely helped before I got a car with an Aux port.

[OriginalGeek]

21. well that might be the coolest damn thing I ever saw

well, as far as car stereo tech where I have an older truck with no fancy bluetooth stuff built-in but want an easy way to play all the weird loud music I like without having to burn a million CDs and also hear gps (from phone) and phone calls (also from phone) goes.

just added it to amazon wishlist and texted link to my wife so she can surprise me with one.

good lookin out!

[littlemissmartypants]

26. Cool. eom

[alarimer]

11. If you subscribe to Google Play or Spotify, you can download music to your phone.

It doesn't count against your data allowance (but it does take up space, so I use an external micro SD card).

You do have to pay for this. It's 9.99 a month (I think) for Google Play. Similar for Spotify.

There are other services as well.

[Major Nikon]

16. Amazon also has a similar service

The basic version of it is included if you have a prime membership, and if you pay a bit more you get a music library expanded from about 2 million to 10 million songs, IIRC.

[alarimer]

19. I also enjoy a radio station called Radio Paradise, which allows caching of song for offline play.

Radioparadise.com.

If you use the app, you can download blocks of music up to 12 hours long to play offline. I like this because many streaming services are blocked at work.

[moriah]

12. I'm an Amazon fan, so I have the Amazon phone and Prime.

I got it on Ebay for $50. Prime is $90 a year I think, but the Prime Music app I think can be downloaded from Google Play.

Most of the time when I'm driving I listen to already-downloaded Ebooks and the data comes from the GPS/mapping app.

But I have all my playlists downloaded, and thrown on random with an Auxiliary cable connecting the phone to my car stereo, it works very well. You might have to download several gigs of playlists for how much you drive, but it rocks (literally, I'm a rock fan).

Not all songs are available on Prime Music free. Stairway to Heaven I had to buy. But...

[fNord]

15. I need a truck....Warren Zevon

https://m.

[Generic Brad]

17. You'll just have to pick up hitchhiking hipster folk musicians

They will play for hours if you promise them an IPA and a vintage fedora.

[fNord]

18. .............

[Hula Popper]

22. we have a tupperware

container behind front passenger seat on the floor. In it are 3 100 disc cd packs.
In one pack are 50s through 80s oldies, blues, country.
The next pack contains big band swing, vocals, easy Mancini type and show tunes
Last pack is jazz from 40s through 70s, Broadway, opera and classical.

When I drive I have what I feel like having, if someone comes with for a ride, I state "they choose music, driver controls volume! "
enjoy the day Tobin.

[Alex4Martinez]

24. The Sirius system has an app, so you could use your phone

If the other rigs you drive have an audio input, which I know might be a stretch.

[Hassin Bin Sober]

25. I had an XM/Sirius unit with a tape deck adaptor before I went installed in dash.

I just popped in to the tape deck adaptor and played over the radio.

I kinda wish I still had it. We pay for two subscriptions and neither of us use it much. It would be nice to go to one subscription and transfer back and forth depending on which car we take on a road trip.

Come to think of it we should just ditch it all together. We both now have Bluetooth and stream from phones or iPods.

But 10 hours in the truck might be different

[ms liberty]

27. Milwaukee M18 Jobsite Radio/Charger Model 2792-20

My husband has one that he uses in his truck at work. He was turned on to it by a coworker. It has a radio, auxiliary for an Ipod or phone, USB, Bluetooth, and a built in charger. It easily lasts thru a 12 hour day, and can be heard over truck noise. He loves it; he went thru 3 or 4 different types of radios before he found this. Right now they're running about $180 to $200, but it is well worth it because you'll never need another one. Check pricing on the Internet, because when he got his he found a deal at one site where he got the battery free, and it usually runs about $150. It isn't the cheapest solution, but you'll never need another one. Check it out.

[LuvLoogie]

28. There are several portable satellite radio recievers on the market.

scroll down on this Amazon search.
https://www.amazon.com/s/?ie=UTF8&keywords=portable+satellite+radio+receiver&tag=googhydr-20&index=electronics&hvadid=177176982660&hvpos=1t1&hvnetw=g&hvrand=4565036760218554045&hvpone=&hvptwo=&hvqmt=e&hvdev=c&hvdvcmdl=&hvlocint=&hvlocphy=9021746&hvtargid=kwd-19689608607&ref=pd_sl_58v6yutn28_e


Get yourself a nice bluetooth speaker, too. The JBL Flip is decent.
https://www.amazon.com/JBL-Splashproof-Portable-Bluetooth-Speaker/dp/B0145KILPG/