Get a cell phone with an unlimited talking plan. Gone are the days of having to call people late at night or on the weekend if you want to stay in touch while on the road. Cell phone service plans are available for a flat fee, and you can talk to your friends and family whenever you want. You can also use a free service like Twitter to post text messages to a web page where your friends can see what you're up to, and you can receive their messages on your cell phone when they update their Twitter page.

    Bring some things from your home that help you feel close to your family. A favorite outfit, your most-loved music, and photos can make your rig feel more like your own home. A digital photo frame can hold several of your favorite pictures and is sturdy enough for road travel.     If your sleeper has a refrigerator, stock it with some food from home or from your favorite restaurants.

If you have your own laptop computer, consider getting a low-cost web cam or digital camera. Snap some pictures during your road trips and send them to your family and friends so they can share some of your adventures. Try posting them to a personal blog or a photo sharing site like Flickr. If you have children at home, make sure you take some pictures of yourself so they can see you and understand what you're doing while you're away from them. Try using your web camera and a free video chat service like Skype to spend some quality time with your kids. You can even read them a bedtime story using Skype.

Get some audiobooks and listen to them while the miles go by. Better yet, get audiobooks from a site like Audible, put them on CD or an IPod, and agree to listen to them while your spouse or friend listens at home. You can talk about what you're reading together.

Take an online class, using your time at truck stops to connect to the web for assignments and to post your homework. Most large freight carriers offer training videos about various aspects of trucking. Many drivers use online university programs to get their degree while on the road. Others take classes to help them pursue a hobby like web design or antique restoration.

Finally, consider teaming up with a friend or spouse for long-haul work. Many husband and wife teams are already on the road, and that trend is growing each day. Driving with someone you already know and like makes the time and miles seem more like an adventure than work. Having a friend along can also help you prevent burn-out and ease the boredom and loneliness of being on the road for weeks at a time.