truck driving

I am an over the road driver. I try to keep my machine in pristine condition so every morning I unplug and unhook everything and put it all back in the carrying bag that came with it. I also have to take it in with me every weekend at home. I know I'm not the only driver with sleep apnea using a machine. I'm curious if any of you have come up with some ingenious idea for carrying and protecting your machine that is an easier idea that what I've been doing. Thank you all for your time.

At a minimum you have to take out the water chamber and empty it and then put it back.

But if you didn't disconnect the hose from the machine or disconnect the power cord from the machine, the reassembly process would be quite short. You could even use the machine in place in the case described below. Set it next to you, open the case, plug in the power cord in the wall socket, pull out the hose to the bed where you will be sleeping, and away you go.

So .. have you thought about a small suitcase that would fit the whole machine all connected up?
Thinking in terms of a Respironics machine, the suitcase would be front to back about the same as the width of the machine, top to bottom no higher than the hose connection, and side to side about two times the depth of the machine.

So the case would be about 6" x 12" x 12" in size and everything would drop in all connected. You might need to have a small pillow to pad things so they didn't move around but keep the pillow in the case and not use it as a pillow for your head to keep it clean.

Just a thought.

If you can afford it, having 2 machines would help. One in the truck, one at home. That way each could be set up as you want it, and you wouldn't have to keep packing & unpacking. That is unless your company keeps switching trucks on you, then that's a whole different matter.

Since DOT compliance usage might also fall into home hours....I don't know that I would recommend the 2 machine thing. When it comes to DOT regulations and possible inspections out on the road...they might be inspecting you shortly after you had been home for 2 or 3 days and your machine in your truck won't have those hours of use on it unless you bring the SD card from the home machine and the DME actually looks at the data on the SD card.
Often they just look at compliance hours of use on the machine's LCD screen.

Your routine is close to what I would do if I was in your shoes and my husband is an over the road truck driver (no OSA though) and it is what I would suggest that he do if he did have to use the cpap machine.
While you probably don't really need to put the machine in the bag daily while in the truck...it does offer a little extra padding in case something unfortunate would happen...sudden stop causing the machine to go flying around in the cab maybe.

I wouldn't unhook everything though. No need really. Dump any water in the water chamber and slide it back in the humidifier. No need to unhook the hose from the humidifier or the mask. They all will fit in the carrying case in one unit. Even the ResMed could fit in the case and closed up fairly easily. Not a perfect fit but it doesn't have to be a perfect fit.

Maybe a hard case? I use a lot of Pelican cases for electronic equipment and weapons. Expensive but solid as a rock and will never wear out.

I'm OTR, as well. My CURRENT (as opposed to my near future) program is to dump the humidifier water, disconnect the nasal pillow and shorty connector hose, wash them and lay them on a clean towel in the bunk. I also disconnect the main hose from the machine, and leave the humidifier tank on the towel to dry. The machine may get unplugged from the outlet, but I leave it sit (I drive a 2014 Freightliner Cascadia, there's a nice cubby area near my head when I sleep) where it is. At night, I plug everything back in, add water, slide out the little desktop a bit, rest the CPAP there, then shove a jar of Vicks behind the air intake and push the drawer closed enough to pinch the jar. Aroadatherapy.
My NEXT plan...since I'm out for 5-6 days and home weekends, is that I have ordered a whole new headgear, several main hoses, nasal pillows, etc. I will have 2 sets of everything that plugs into the unit, from the hose to headgear. I also plan to leave the cig plug cord in my truck, where it belongs, and leave the home charging cord at home. This way, I will tote the bag with just the unit/humidifier and small accessories. Much less hassle, plus we have 4 large dogs at home. I've found out over the years that dog hair sticks to everything EXCEPT the dog. So my gear in the truck will stay fur free.
Hopefully my rambling made some sort of sense...? It seemed brilliant to me, til I typed and read it.

Tatooed Lady wrote:Aroadatherapy.

I see what you did there

Can't get one by palerider.
DOT is like anyone else...ALL hours count. Don't bother with a second machine, IMO. Unless the main unit is on the blink. Then run it over with your truck, and blame someone else.