[north tex]

Something that you'll have to keep in mind. If you do deliveries and pick ups on federal installations you are subject to search on entry and exit. If THEY find a firearm you will be arrested. Can you fight it...maybe..but it will cost you many dollars and hours. States such as Ca, Il, NY, NJ, Md, and Ma will make your life miserable if they find a firearm in your truck (even with the federal regs saying you can carry in certain conditions). If you are driving for a trucking company, most will almost certainly have a no firearms policy. So it would cost you your job also.

I drove OTH for many years and never carried anything other than a tire thumper. Many locations I wished for more but had to balance my needs with reality and try to avoid stopping in real bad locations. Sometimes it took some planning and hedging the logbook a little. But now with the automated log books and satellite tracking many options are no longer available. That was a primary reason for me to retire from trucking.

I drove locally for the last 6 years and still found myself in locations that were bad, I was driving for a company that had a very strict no gun policy and moving to automated logs. They wanted 70 hours a week and when I left my hourly equivalent was down to less than $10. It got to the point that it was no longer worth it when you are fighting 450-550 miles daily in metro traffic.
Good luck on your new career. Be careful and judicious.