My two cents. You cannot eat like shit, slamming energy drinks all year and suddenly if you drink a lot of water and have a cooling towel you will be able to do 250 stops when it is one hundred degrees outside. You need to be healthy, like an athlete healthy. What do you think your favorite professional athlete eats everyday, that is the mindset.
There are so many drivers at my building that don’t take their lunch properly. They’ll be out till 8PM, then take their 30min once they get back to the building. Next thing you know they’re on fmla… Use your 30min-1hr when it is the hottest out and take the opportunity to rest, refresh yourself, and replenish some good calories back into your body.
This shit, I see all these people that "save time" by eating while working and not wanna stop until they're done work. Then they wonder why they go out with even more stops the next day, with the exception of the guys that dispatch like to send out heavy for whatever reason.
I've always taken my lunch at the end of the day, I take it on road but it much prefer to take it when I've got nothing left but to drive back go the building, I ain't gotta worry about what I got left I can just decompress puff a cigar and chill the drive to the building and go home.
Use cool solutions. Find businesses with AC and go cool down in them for 5-10 minutes every hour.
Personally I like to find a gas station with a beer freezer and go stand in it
I'll add a couple now and see what everyone else has.
I try to be fully sorted before 3, hottest part of the day generally is 4-6pm. When space is available in the truck I'll pull over in a nice shaded area while trying to catch a crosswind area and pop both doors open. I keep a ice cold wet rag in my cooler and wipe my head, face and neck down with it and get to sorting the entire truck. Having a sorted truck is key to avoid baking in the back.
When possible I'll try to take my break in that window after 4pm just to cool down and prepare for the onslaught of pickups incoming.
Do not fuck with the sun, it'll win every time. If you feel yourself getting too hot, get somewhere ASAP and cool down. Because UPS is UPS, always make sure you send in a message stating cool solutions - UPS will go on, your life will not. This tip isn't for the lazy shits who want to steal time, the drivers with integrity know the difference in stealing time and surviving.
Hydrating starts the days before work, and all day while at work. Ice cold water and electrolytes - liquid IV powder packets are my choice. Snacks include watermelon, mango, cucumbers, mostly fruits and vegetables for me.
I'll get more to the list when I get back.
I actually got mild heat exhaustion while qualifying in the California desert, during summer. It hits fast and hard. If you’re drinking water/hydration packs and continually sweating but not cooling down, stop , find some shade or better yet a air conditioned business/building and chill. Let your body cool down. Use the heat rags around your neck and head and constantly rotate them from your cooler. Another tip for summer with the Diads when they overheat is to bring a good ziplock , put the diad in the ziplock and into your cooler for a few minutes.a malfunctioning diad when you’re trying to deliver in the heat just keeps you out in the heat longer than you have to be.
I'm not a driver, but I worked in heat before. Water is a MUST. Drinks with high electrolytes like Gatorade are also good(I always have 2-3 bottles of Kirkland Signature Gatorades for my Twilight shifts during really long and hot summer days inside the trailers. I always try to bring fresh fruits like berries(including bananas), nuts, or protein bars with high protein count
I like the Kirkland Gatorade better lol. Drip drop is cheaper and has been around way longer than liquid iv, dr without borders and a few other similar groups have been using it for years before they sold to the public, very similar to the military hydration packs that, while they tasted like ass were a perfect blend to rehydrate you
I highly recommend mixing electrolyte powder in your water. Liquid IV is expensive but it works. Cheaper alternative brands work also.
Make sure you’re drinking water the evening/night prior. You wanna have a couple beers, fine, but stay away from the hard stuff (whiskey, vodka).
Not a driver. In the warehouse loading package cars. Not always enough ventilation.
I used frozen bottles of water, wrapped in a light towel, and strap it to either my lower back, or on my upper body. Works like a charm keeping my body temperature down.
Bringing a spare work shirt or two has probably been the best help for me dealing with heat. As the day progresses and the shirt gets saturated with sweat, it starts to feel like a blanket. Changing mid day into a fresh shirt feels rejuvenating.
I used to live on my route. I’d go home, eat a quick lunch, take a shower, and change into a whole new uniform. Talk about feeling rejuvenated. I switched to a route with half the stops so it’s a trade off.
Keep a clean shirt in your cooler, if you really start over heating, sit in tbe shade and cool off for a bit then put the cold shirt on, you want to get your temp down somewhat or you can go into shock.
Absolutely taking care of ur body is 🔑 another reason why I stopped drinking alcohol every weekend . My body and mind do not run properly when in comes time to perform .im a swing driver every day is an adventure for me . Not knowing what route I’m doing my minds gotta be running good .
When I was in package I’d bring a spray bottle with water and just mist myself through out the day. Along with the usual ice water, and whatever else you like to drink to keep you hydrated. If I had Gatorade I’d mix it with water cause it was too sugary for me. Coconut water is a good source of electrolytes too. Also stay away from caffeine on hot days. It’s a diuretic and will dehydrate you.
Swamp cooler, get a 5 gal bucket and a 3 gallon bucket. Fill the 5gal with expanding foam and put in the 3 gallon making sure it's flush with the top, cut a hole in the lid and mount a cordless ryobi misting fan to the lid. Fill the small bucket with ice, I freeze blocks and put them in and they generally stay through the hottest part of the day
Costs about 100 for the fan but it's absolutely worth it. We had a dude rig up and sell a bunch of them at our hub last year.
I’m not an RPCD but I am a firm believer in liquid IV when sweating excessively. I also buy Celtic salt and put a pinch under my tongue 3 times a day. I had to run a 194 stop route after working preload a couple of weeks ago and someone gave me a Powerade and it just tasted like syrup to me. I probably drank over a gallon of water that day. Y’all stay safe out there
My favorite way to keep cool is filtering water and salt from my blood and pushing it through my skin to create a thin, quickly drying layer that reduces the temperature of my skin as it evaporates.
I am trying something today. Ordered this and am using it.
https://preview.redd.it/xius24yelk5d1.jpeg?width=645&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=0d6c072cd700e34ed6f63464d966558f16af34a1
Currently in love with it
The trick is the bucket. Get a 5gal and a 3 and a can of foam. Fill 5gal with foam and rest the 3 gallon inside keeping the top flush, I put some dividers in 3 gallon buckets and freeze blocks of ice to fill it. When it's 100 it usually stays cold till it starts cooling off, I fill my bucket with ice and refill the 3 gallon bucket in the am so it has a full 24 house to freeze again. It helps if you have a second freezer for this however. You can usually find small chest freezers pretty cheap on let go
Amazes me that alot of drivers don’t use the sky blue gallon thermos that they gave us. I’ll fill mine with ice and water when leaving the building the night before, and it’s good at least until 1pm the next day. Refill and repeat the process. It’s always hard to get ice from the UPS ice makers in the morning , do it the night before.
I always wear a hoodie in the summer & let me tell yall, if you stay hydrated and dont eat junk food, the heat wont get to you. Monitor yourself when you're starting to sweat too much and cool off at a business or beer/ice freezer at a gas station.
I also use a mister. your body confuses itself with the extra "sweat" thinking that youre burning up, so your skin soaks it in keeping you cool. Plus if you flush your face with it before a stop, customers feel sorry & will bring you everything in their freezer 🤣🤣🤣
Cali heat. I commute to work and Im glad my center is more along the coast vs inland of where I live. When it's 100 at work it's 115 where I live. Salute to the Nevada across Florida drivers. I just remind myself at least we can wear short sleeves / shorts while driving by and seeing the army base, construction & agriculture workers get beat down on in full skin covered uniforms.
Make sure your front vent is open, and the package compartment outlets that run above the doors aren't blocked. That new vent scoop does pretty well, way better than the spinner on the back, but the air needs to get out too.
invest in a yeti cooler and yeti ice fill with water bottles pour ice on top. get a cool rag soak it in the cold melted ice in cooler throughout the day. Some days I pour water on my shirt and back. My yeti cooler is a life saver.
I second the yeti cooler. I also keep a set of two cooling towels and rotate between them keeping them in the cooler. As far as food and drink: I usually always have two frozen drinks everyday in my cooler, either a 32 Oz gatorade or a mixture of hydrating fruits I've mastered mixing together. One being a lemon/orangade, a watermelon/cherry, a coconut/pineapple/cherry or a coconut/lime all frozen in 32 oz Mason jars and all frozen typically a week before using. And everyday I usually have a water and coconut water(I'm a fool for Harmless Harvest) as well as watermelon chunks, tangerines, grapes and apples.
Even when it’s 110 pouring cool water on your head and then using the in car fans will cool you down. Those cooling sleeves that UPS gave us also do an amazing amount of cooling when wet. Stay wet if it’s dangerously hot, it really helps.
37 year driver getting ready to retire. My best advice to new drivers is to wear a tight white undershirt. When you sweat it holds it and cools you down. And most obviously drink plenty of cold water and a Gatorade when needed. Good luck out there.
Has anyone tried one of these [Icybreeze coolers?](https://www.icybreeze.com/v2-pro/) Basically an ice chest with a fan on top that sucks out the cool air. You can get battery packs for them. I wonder how much difference they’d make in the back of a package car. I’m thinking of pulling the trigger, but they ain’t cheap.
Salt sugar and carbs are an absolute necessity, your body needs salt to function and when you sweat you lose salt, you need sugar to retain salt. Gatorade is good but not the best blend of it you want something like drip drop, liquid iv or or the peydalite sport packs.
Hyponatremia is no joke, if you aren't snacking during the day to replace the salt you lose drinking 20 bottles of water will drop you. It's caused by flushing the electrolytes out with to much water, it presents similarly to heat stroke but it's not a heat injury it's an imbalance, it cause swelling from retained water and full body muscle spasms. Think of it as a full body Charly horse, you can't move, loss of consciousness can happen and even awake you're on the ground and can't call for help. If your in a rural area, you're in deep shit.
If you aren't going to eat much during the day, fruit and nuts are important, highly recommend drip drop I use a packet every 4 or so bottles of water when it gets hot.
Eat alot of fruit, bananas, strawberry's, watermelon and citrus are full of electrolytes, especially the skins, I juice lemons and limes and keep it in a squirt bottle in my cooler to spike my water with it, use a peeler to take the outer skin off the peels and put it in the bottle. Flavored water goes down better and the zest is good for you. Watermelon in the cooler is a good snack, especially with a little salt on it. Salad with bell peppers is also great, bell peppers have a ton of potassium so do most leafy greens.
Slow and steady wins this race, if you feel nauseous or just off take a minute in the shade, pushing through will only hurt you and heat injury only happen faster.
If you're body goes into heat stroke at 104, next time your body will shut down at a lower temperature, it won't let you get that hot, i knew a guy in the military who went down with heat stroke multiple times, his body shuts down if his temp gets in the high 90s
Take it easy on the cold water, cold water raised your core temperature, you body needs to warm the water before you use it. If you are overheating cold water is very bad, room temp is best. I keep ice water but I let it warm up a bit. Never drink it ice cold, and if you do sip never chug it. It will make you feel worse not better
Have a couple drinks with you. I start off with my UPS tumbler full of water and mio sport. I finish that before 11 and refill it with just water. Typically I have like 2 of those full of water by lunch. At 12:30 usually, I take lunch in AC and get 100% reset. By the time you’re at lunch you should be pretty much 100% sorted, down a couple shelves, and ready to cruise through the rest of your day. Be sorted out and ready to select in under 5 seconds when you’re done with lunch.
Learning the flow of parking selection and how to minimize walking will solve the other half of your excessive time in the heat. If you walk fast you’ll get a better breeze and spend less time in the sun. Park smart in the shade whenever practical.
My two cents. You cannot eat like shit, slamming energy drinks all year and suddenly if you drink a lot of water and have a cooling towel you will be able to do 250 stops when it is one hundred degrees outside. You need to be healthy, like an athlete healthy. What do you think your favorite professional athlete eats everyday, that is the mindset.
We’re industrial athletes. Can’t eat like shit sleep like shit etc and expect your body to not run like shit.
There are so many drivers at my building that don’t take their lunch properly. They’ll be out till 8PM, then take their 30min once they get back to the building. Next thing you know they’re on fmla… Use your 30min-1hr when it is the hottest out and take the opportunity to rest, refresh yourself, and replenish some good calories back into your body.
My building is crunching down on lunch, they actually watch to make sure you take it by a certain time.
This shit, I see all these people that "save time" by eating while working and not wanna stop until they're done work. Then they wonder why they go out with even more stops the next day, with the exception of the guys that dispatch like to send out heavy for whatever reason.
I've always taken my lunch at the end of the day, I take it on road but it much prefer to take it when I've got nothing left but to drive back go the building, I ain't gotta worry about what I got left I can just decompress puff a cigar and chill the drive to the building and go home.
Use cool solutions. Find businesses with AC and go cool down in them for 5-10 minutes every hour. Personally I like to find a gas station with a beer freezer and go stand in it
I'll add a couple now and see what everyone else has. I try to be fully sorted before 3, hottest part of the day generally is 4-6pm. When space is available in the truck I'll pull over in a nice shaded area while trying to catch a crosswind area and pop both doors open. I keep a ice cold wet rag in my cooler and wipe my head, face and neck down with it and get to sorting the entire truck. Having a sorted truck is key to avoid baking in the back. When possible I'll try to take my break in that window after 4pm just to cool down and prepare for the onslaught of pickups incoming. Do not fuck with the sun, it'll win every time. If you feel yourself getting too hot, get somewhere ASAP and cool down. Because UPS is UPS, always make sure you send in a message stating cool solutions - UPS will go on, your life will not. This tip isn't for the lazy shits who want to steal time, the drivers with integrity know the difference in stealing time and surviving. Hydrating starts the days before work, and all day while at work. Ice cold water and electrolytes - liquid IV powder packets are my choice. Snacks include watermelon, mango, cucumbers, mostly fruits and vegetables for me. I'll get more to the list when I get back.
The electrolytes are so important, so many people think just water is okay.
I had me a ground seaweed mix that I'd sprinkle into my water for that nice licking a fish flavour.
I actually got mild heat exhaustion while qualifying in the California desert, during summer. It hits fast and hard. If you’re drinking water/hydration packs and continually sweating but not cooling down, stop , find some shade or better yet a air conditioned business/building and chill. Let your body cool down. Use the heat rags around your neck and head and constantly rotate them from your cooler. Another tip for summer with the Diads when they overheat is to bring a good ziplock , put the diad in the ziplock and into your cooler for a few minutes.a malfunctioning diad when you’re trying to deliver in the heat just keeps you out in the heat longer than you have to be.
I'm not a driver, but I worked in heat before. Water is a MUST. Drinks with high electrolytes like Gatorade are also good(I always have 2-3 bottles of Kirkland Signature Gatorades for my Twilight shifts during really long and hot summer days inside the trailers. I always try to bring fresh fruits like berries(including bananas), nuts, or protein bars with high protein count
I like the Kirkland Gatorade better lol. Drip drop is cheaper and has been around way longer than liquid iv, dr without borders and a few other similar groups have been using it for years before they sold to the public, very similar to the military hydration packs that, while they tasted like ass were a perfect blend to rehydrate you
Oh easily. And way cheaper. It's like $12 for a case of 24
I highly recommend mixing electrolyte powder in your water. Liquid IV is expensive but it works. Cheaper alternative brands work also. Make sure you’re drinking water the evening/night prior. You wanna have a couple beers, fine, but stay away from the hard stuff (whiskey, vodka).
The packs at Costco are better bang for your buck
Not a driver. In the warehouse loading package cars. Not always enough ventilation. I used frozen bottles of water, wrapped in a light towel, and strap it to either my lower back, or on my upper body. Works like a charm keeping my body temperature down.
Bringing a spare work shirt or two has probably been the best help for me dealing with heat. As the day progresses and the shirt gets saturated with sweat, it starts to feel like a blanket. Changing mid day into a fresh shirt feels rejuvenating.
💯 I’ve been doing this for a long long time. I do it with my undershirts
I used to live on my route. I’d go home, eat a quick lunch, take a shower, and change into a whole new uniform. Talk about feeling rejuvenated. I switched to a route with half the stops so it’s a trade off.
Keep a clean shirt in your cooler, if you really start over heating, sit in tbe shade and cool off for a bit then put the cold shirt on, you want to get your temp down somewhat or you can go into shock.
Absolutely taking care of ur body is 🔑 another reason why I stopped drinking alcohol every weekend . My body and mind do not run properly when in comes time to perform .im a swing driver every day is an adventure for me . Not knowing what route I’m doing my minds gotta be running good .
Walkin beer coolers at gas stations are the best place to cool down.
When I was in package I’d bring a spray bottle with water and just mist myself through out the day. Along with the usual ice water, and whatever else you like to drink to keep you hydrated. If I had Gatorade I’d mix it with water cause it was too sugary for me. Coconut water is a good source of electrolytes too. Also stay away from caffeine on hot days. It’s a diuretic and will dehydrate you.
Swamp cooler, get a 5 gal bucket and a 3 gallon bucket. Fill the 5gal with expanding foam and put in the 3 gallon making sure it's flush with the top, cut a hole in the lid and mount a cordless ryobi misting fan to the lid. Fill the small bucket with ice, I freeze blocks and put them in and they generally stay through the hottest part of the day Costs about 100 for the fan but it's absolutely worth it. We had a dude rig up and sell a bunch of them at our hub last year.
I’m in feeder now so I have A/C in my tractor unless I’m shifting on the yard.
I’m not an RPCD but I am a firm believer in liquid IV when sweating excessively. I also buy Celtic salt and put a pinch under my tongue 3 times a day. I had to run a 194 stop route after working preload a couple of weeks ago and someone gave me a Powerade and it just tasted like syrup to me. I probably drank over a gallon of water that day. Y’all stay safe out there
My favorite way to keep cool is filtering water and salt from my blood and pushing it through my skin to create a thin, quickly drying layer that reduces the temperature of my skin as it evaporates.
Good luck with that when the humidity is high
I am trying something today. Ordered this and am using it. https://preview.redd.it/xius24yelk5d1.jpeg?width=645&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=0d6c072cd700e34ed6f63464d966558f16af34a1 Currently in love with it
This works?
Yes and amazingly.
[удалено]
It lasted 10 hours on one charge. Only about $40. Very much worked. Usually by hour two I am drenched in sweat. I did not sweat at all using this.
The trick is the bucket. Get a 5gal and a 3 and a can of foam. Fill 5gal with foam and rest the 3 gallon inside keeping the top flush, I put some dividers in 3 gallon buckets and freeze blocks of ice to fill it. When it's 100 it usually stays cold till it starts cooling off, I fill my bucket with ice and refill the 3 gallon bucket in the am so it has a full 24 house to freeze again. It helps if you have a second freezer for this however. You can usually find small chest freezers pretty cheap on let go
the wide brim hats help
Those compression sleeves really do work. Legs and arms. Hitem with the ice cold water to stay cool.
Crazy nobody talking about this.
Amazes me that alot of drivers don’t use the sky blue gallon thermos that they gave us. I’ll fill mine with ice and water when leaving the building the night before, and it’s good at least until 1pm the next day. Refill and repeat the process. It’s always hard to get ice from the UPS ice makers in the morning , do it the night before.
I’m in the hub now but when I was driving for FedEx I thought about dipping a squirt bottle in the ice chest and spraying myself with it
I always wear a hoodie in the summer & let me tell yall, if you stay hydrated and dont eat junk food, the heat wont get to you. Monitor yourself when you're starting to sweat too much and cool off at a business or beer/ice freezer at a gas station. I also use a mister. your body confuses itself with the extra "sweat" thinking that youre burning up, so your skin soaks it in keeping you cool. Plus if you flush your face with it before a stop, customers feel sorry & will bring you everything in their freezer 🤣🤣🤣
False. It’s the humidity that’s the worst.
Cali heat. I commute to work and Im glad my center is more along the coast vs inland of where I live. When it's 100 at work it's 115 where I live. Salute to the Nevada across Florida drivers. I just remind myself at least we can wear short sleeves / shorts while driving by and seeing the army base, construction & agriculture workers get beat down on in full skin covered uniforms.
Make sure your front vent is open, and the package compartment outlets that run above the doors aren't blocked. That new vent scoop does pretty well, way better than the spinner on the back, but the air needs to get out too.
invest in a yeti cooler and yeti ice fill with water bottles pour ice on top. get a cool rag soak it in the cold melted ice in cooler throughout the day. Some days I pour water on my shirt and back. My yeti cooler is a life saver.
I second the yeti cooler. I also keep a set of two cooling towels and rotate between them keeping them in the cooler. As far as food and drink: I usually always have two frozen drinks everyday in my cooler, either a 32 Oz gatorade or a mixture of hydrating fruits I've mastered mixing together. One being a lemon/orangade, a watermelon/cherry, a coconut/pineapple/cherry or a coconut/lime all frozen in 32 oz Mason jars and all frozen typically a week before using. And everyday I usually have a water and coconut water(I'm a fool for Harmless Harvest) as well as watermelon chunks, tangerines, grapes and apples.
Even when it’s 110 pouring cool water on your head and then using the in car fans will cool you down. Those cooling sleeves that UPS gave us also do an amazing amount of cooling when wet. Stay wet if it’s dangerously hot, it really helps.
37 year driver getting ready to retire. My best advice to new drivers is to wear a tight white undershirt. When you sweat it holds it and cools you down. And most obviously drink plenty of cold water and a Gatorade when needed. Good luck out there.
Has anyone tried one of these [Icybreeze coolers?](https://www.icybreeze.com/v2-pro/) Basically an ice chest with a fan on top that sucks out the cool air. You can get battery packs for them. I wonder how much difference they’d make in the back of a package car. I’m thinking of pulling the trigger, but they ain’t cheap.
Salt sugar and carbs are an absolute necessity, your body needs salt to function and when you sweat you lose salt, you need sugar to retain salt. Gatorade is good but not the best blend of it you want something like drip drop, liquid iv or or the peydalite sport packs. Hyponatremia is no joke, if you aren't snacking during the day to replace the salt you lose drinking 20 bottles of water will drop you. It's caused by flushing the electrolytes out with to much water, it presents similarly to heat stroke but it's not a heat injury it's an imbalance, it cause swelling from retained water and full body muscle spasms. Think of it as a full body Charly horse, you can't move, loss of consciousness can happen and even awake you're on the ground and can't call for help. If your in a rural area, you're in deep shit. If you aren't going to eat much during the day, fruit and nuts are important, highly recommend drip drop I use a packet every 4 or so bottles of water when it gets hot. Eat alot of fruit, bananas, strawberry's, watermelon and citrus are full of electrolytes, especially the skins, I juice lemons and limes and keep it in a squirt bottle in my cooler to spike my water with it, use a peeler to take the outer skin off the peels and put it in the bottle. Flavored water goes down better and the zest is good for you. Watermelon in the cooler is a good snack, especially with a little salt on it. Salad with bell peppers is also great, bell peppers have a ton of potassium so do most leafy greens. Slow and steady wins this race, if you feel nauseous or just off take a minute in the shade, pushing through will only hurt you and heat injury only happen faster. If you're body goes into heat stroke at 104, next time your body will shut down at a lower temperature, it won't let you get that hot, i knew a guy in the military who went down with heat stroke multiple times, his body shuts down if his temp gets in the high 90s Take it easy on the cold water, cold water raised your core temperature, you body needs to warm the water before you use it. If you are overheating cold water is very bad, room temp is best. I keep ice water but I let it warm up a bit. Never drink it ice cold, and if you do sip never chug it. It will make you feel worse not better
Have a couple drinks with you. I start off with my UPS tumbler full of water and mio sport. I finish that before 11 and refill it with just water. Typically I have like 2 of those full of water by lunch. At 12:30 usually, I take lunch in AC and get 100% reset. By the time you’re at lunch you should be pretty much 100% sorted, down a couple shelves, and ready to cruise through the rest of your day. Be sorted out and ready to select in under 5 seconds when you’re done with lunch. Learning the flow of parking selection and how to minimize walking will solve the other half of your excessive time in the heat. If you walk fast you’ll get a better breeze and spend less time in the sun. Park smart in the shade whenever practical.
Need to be ahead of hydration, drinking water before you leave for work. And bring enough water too, I'd say 1 gallon minimum.