Tools and Equipment:
A Guide to Professional Truck Driver
Use and Savings

• borrow them (as long as you give them back to the person who loaned them to you),
• rent them (especially if the tools are very expensive and you'll only use them once or a few times),
• share them with others (but only if you and the person you're sharing them with don't need them at the same time),
• buy them second-hand (such as at yard sales, consignment stores or online auction websites),
• buy them on sale (timing the sale to the best discounts), or
• buy them with gift cards, customer loyalty rewards, or bonus points.

One source on the best time to buy everything stated that tools are on sale in February, June (around Father's Day), November and December.

Unless it is an absolute emergency, you might want to avoid buying tools and equipment in a truckstop or travel center, since prices there are generally higher than you can find at retail stores.

Be careful about buying a tool, the quality of which is questionable or inferior to a name brand tool. Some establishments may throw a bunch of generic or second-quality tools in a "clearance" display at greatly reduced cost. It will not save you money if you have to replace it after the first or second use.

On the other hand, if in comparing tools you find that the specifications are the same between a name brand unit and a generic or lesser brand unit, you can, at times, save a lot of money by buying the latter. Sometimes, you pay for the name. Sometimes, you pay if you don't pay for the name. The name generally stands behind its quality.