Like many over-the-road drivers, George Hartline worried about his retirement. He didn’t think it would ever be possible. He missed his family and horses in Fort Payne, Ala., and didn’t see a better future anytime soon.
But three years ago, Hartline retired at the age of 58, and now he spends all of his time at home. His retirement fund is padded with the profits of his invention – a portable shower for truckers.
Hartline is one of several drivers that Truckers News profiled who put his time, experiences and ideas on the road to good use.
“I prayed to God to send me something for retirement because I was a trucker and didn’t have much social security,” Hartline says.
His prayers were answered, he says, when he designed the shower in 1999. By trusting in God, Hartline says he was able to come up with the design, find a manufacturer and make payments.
“Geraldo Rivera has one,” he says. “Some people put them in their office buildings. People in horse shows use them.”
The list of users also includes campers and the military, says Hartline.
The shower, which folds into a 36-inch round plastic casing, comes with two six-gallon water tanks, a shower curtain with hooks, feeder and discharge hoses, a heating element and two water pumps. The shower extends to almost seven feet tall and fits in the back of most condo cabs. Water is heated and pumped through the first tank by two external adaptors. After it runs through the shower, water is pumped into the second tank. No tools are required to set up the shower.
