I didn’t drive 19 years ago but I was a truck mechanic that long ago. Most companies switched from manual transmissions to automated transmissions, a lot of the big companies are governing their trucks at 65 or 68 mph. There are a handful of truck stops with restaurants still like one in Ohio I’ve been to has a buffet. Most others with sit down restaurants have Denny’s or Embers. You have a lot of fast food options but some places don’t even have that but you can get some nasty chicken from some places, a little bit better chicken or meatloaf or pizza from Pilot, loves usually has a fast food restaurant but they also have little tacos, burritos, macaroni, breakfast bowls, and salads besides the normal gas station stuff. Sheets has its own brand fast food restaurant. Road Ranger usually pizza and subway. Kwik Trip with a K pizza, chicken, cold food you can heat up like prepped meals. Quick Trip with a Q may have a variety restaurant with sub sandwiches and hot dogs and burgers.

I can do paper logs (my step dad used them, I’ve had to do them when my ELD broke) but I like the ELD. If the company is doing it legal and not going back and editing your drive time as break time they can’t fuck you over on sleep and it’s automatic so you don’t have to think about it or go back and finish it up before the DOT officer looks at it. I am not a fan of the transmission but my truck is governed at 75 which is good enough for me. I’m not a crazy asshole going through the mountains at 90+ mph or through Chicago at 105. I just do the speed limit and only a few places is the speed limit actually higher than 75 and so many trucks are governed between 57 and 73 that when it’s 75 or 80 or more I’m close to out front except for the cars and the less than 1% of trucks that can go faster driven by people who don’t give a fuck about fuel or safety. At 60 in a 55 or something big deal but 80+ isn’t particularly necessary.

Paperwork at the customer isn’t bad. Get all the loads digitally on a PC in the truck cab, in a company app on my phone, and in a text message. After delivery just write the in and out times on the BOL and take some pictures and send them in. Very little use for a CB but I might wind up buying one for the 3 companies in 50 states that tell drivers to tune into a specific channel. Weather and traffic alerts sent to truck PC, weather channel and AM radio if you want that stuff over the radio. Sirius XM radios come stock. Trucks have “safety” features more likely to cause an accident than prevent one like when they slam on the brakes because they see their own shadow - which can be prevented if you slam the accelerator to the floor with the cruise set or let all the way off and then press the accelerator again with cruise turned off.

Otherwise it’s DEF plus a bunch of stuff you already had 19 years ago. Basically same driving regulations, they still load the trailers the same way as always, live load means dock and take a nap. And the DEF is another stupid invention from like 17 years ago. Rather than your exhaust going from your turbo to a y pipe to a pair of mufflers standing upright it now runs through a catalytic converter and an afterburner that’s supposed to collect pollutants until it clogs and uses DEF to burn off the soot right into the atmosphere for the low cost of about $20 in diesel and a noise pollution ticket.