New tramper and loving it

Bit of a random one but just decided to say after 2 years trying to rush about in a max hours job trying both nights and days ive finally gave in to the exhaustion and started tramping. I couldnt do it anymore trying to go all week with 9 hours off three nights in a row then getting left on break for over 3 hours at a tesco depot and having the company getting me to do another 15 because “it will count as a split daily rest”. Dont get me wrong I have plenty of employer options but as im the sole earner at the moment while the kids are still in nappies its not so bad for the bank balance but I really cant take the lack of sleep just to come home and be a grumpy git. So i decided to miss the kids and just keep the fuel money for the weekends but to be honest im really loving it. Im going further to places ive never been. Im not stressed about not getting home and having to sleep under a jacket again. Im eating better and watching the sun go down in a country side layby while watching tv and in the summer im looking forward to going for walks or exploring some of the pubs or villages im always passing through.

I dont really no why im posting this but I just wondered why other people do tramping and I dont mean the guys who just do it for the money but the ones who just do it for the love of it.

Wait while the novelty wares off and your maxing out hours and running out of time and roughing it in a layby 1/2 mile from were you’ve just loaded or tipped the honeymoon period bless, and in 15 years time when youre home and you don’t recognise the kids coz you’ve missed them growing up itll hit you like a hammer, sorry for being blunt but tramping is not what is was and if you think its all watching the sun go down youre in for a big ■■■■■■■ shock
Andy

Wait till next week when your night heater breaks down and it’s -7 out side

I don’t tramp but do night out. As you say I enjoy seeing different places that you won’t get on day work. I spent 20 years working in shops so its nice to see a bit of the country for a change

My lad loved it when he first started. A year later, far less. Saving up for house deposit then once that’s done he’s packing tramping in.

Keep your positive attitude, and make the most of opportunities. As you say, youll get around a bit more than in a day job. Some drivers become hermits or cab-rats. It aint compulsory to pull your curtains the second you stop, and isolate yourself, but it seems youve discovered this. As with everything theres ups and downs, just grab the ups.

blue estate:
Wait till next week when your night heater breaks down and it’s -7 out side

Thats why were provided with a secondary night heater.
Admittedly the 6 cylinder heater isn`t as economical, but it still does the job.

I say good luck, in finding the work you love, , yes there are always sacrifices when away from home…missing the kids pantomime, school plays,and growing up…been tramping all of my life, and chasing money too, but my work took me all over europe, scandinavia, eastern bloc, middle east, etc…and i loved every minute…stopped in some nice places, weekended in even better ones, learning new languages, and currencies, met some nice people…some great fellow drivers, a lot of foreign ones too…i did miss home at times and the kids growing up, being stuck on a mountain for xmas and new years…but i enjoyed every minute…still doing it as well, but i own 2 homes incl one abroad…i dont have to work now…but i do…all of my 5 girls grown up and settled, and all went to uni as well…so i am well happy…got a lovely wife i met in Bulgaria 30 years ago, and she helped me achieve what we have, both have a Mercedes, me the 320 E class…her a 220 C class…mortgage and debt free, so life and trucking has been good to me, and i couldnt ask for more…carry on fella for as long as the family allows, it has its ups and downs, and i`ve been through 2 marriages before this one, so if your wife is understanding, then carry on…if not, dont sacrifice your career for the sake of losing the wife and kids…believe me…you will regret it…good luck.

Jwalsh8:
Bit of a random one but just decided to say after 2 years trying to rush about in a max hours job trying both nights and days ive finally gave in to the exhaustion and started tramping. I couldnt do it anymore trying to go all week with 9 hours off three nights in a row then getting left on break for over 3 hours at a tesco depot and having the company getting me to do another 15 because “it will count as a split daily rest”. Dont get me wrong I have plenty of employer options but as im the sole earner at the moment while the kids are still in nappies its not so bad for the bank balance but I really cant take the lack of sleep just to come home and be a grumpy git. So i decided to miss the kids and just keep the fuel money for the weekends but to be honest im really loving it. Im going further to places ive never been. Im not stressed about not getting home and having to sleep under a jacket again. Im eating better and watching the sun go down in a country side layby while watching tv and in the summer im looking forward to going for walks or exploring some of the pubs or villages im always passing through.

I dont really no why im posting this but I just wondered why other people do tramping and I dont mean the guys who just do it for the money but the ones who just do it for the love of it.

I tramped for 30 years and for all the same reasons. I don’t do it now because I’m winding down towards retirement but if I had my time again I wouldn’t do it any differently. It’s just a shame for the youngsters that they don’t get the chance to go all over Europe as we did. I never minded getting two days’ pay for spending a weekend laying on a beach in Spain or sightseeing in Athens.

Always have an exit plan

Retired last year after 40 years tramping, both in Europe and Uk. loved it most of the time
In fact still do a bit now, this week did a trip to Inverness and still enjoy getting about.

frenchflyer:
Retired last year after 40 years tramping, both in Europe and Uk. loved it most of the time
In fact still do a bit now, this week did a trip to Inverness and still enjoy getting about.

Retired ?

I don’t mind tramping as long as trucks set up by the firm and clean.good on you pal enjoy …

I still like doing nights out. I’ve tried a few times going back on days but get bored and miss having ‘my own’ truck very quickly. As already said getting to see a lot more of the country is another plus point if you get bored of familiarity as I do.
My youngest is 14 now so they’re pretty much doing their own things now and as I got the balance right, I.e I’ve always only done 2-3 nights out a week I don’t feel we’ve missed out. My plan now I’m single is to wait another few years until my kids are fully grown up then try to do some Euro work if I still fancy it. We’ll see.

Good luck with it and enjoy.

Jwalsh8:
Bit of a random one but just decided to say after 2 years trying to rush about in a max hours job trying both nights and days ive finally gave in to the exhaustion and started tramping. I couldnt do it anymore trying to go all week with 9 hours off three nights in a row then getting left on break for over 3 hours at a tesco depot and having the company getting me to do another 15 because “it will count as a split daily rest”. Dont get me wrong I have plenty of employer options but as im the sole earner at the moment while the kids are still in nappies its not so bad for the bank balance but I really cant take the lack of sleep just to come home and be a grumpy git. So i decided to miss the kids and just keep the fuel money for the weekends but to be honest im really loving it. Im going further to places ive never been. Im not stressed about not getting home and having to sleep under a jacket again. Im eating better and watching the sun go down in a country side layby while watching tv and in the summer im looking forward to going for walks or exploring some of the pubs or villages im always passing through.

I dont really no why im posting this but I just wondered why other people do tramping and I dont mean the guys who just do it for the money but the ones who just do it for the love of it.

Nothing wrong with tramping mate as long as you do it right.
Don’t be going like ■■■■ all day, driving to the last second, and parking in some ■■■■ lay by on 8.59 mins, and taking your time off until the next gruelling endurance excercise, …leave that to the heroes and ■■■■ idiots among us, and you will steer clear of your heart attack.

Don’t listen to the day men either who all think we never wash, call us ‘‘unpaid security men in our tin boxes’’ , and think we live on a diet of pies and Mars Bars.
I would sooner tramp any day than have to rush home to bed after 15 hours work, just to make my way back again within 12 hours…no thanks.

It has it’s downsides you miss your Mrs (depends btw ) and kids, but at least you aint joined at the hip,.and have a level of independence in your life.
Watch those countryside lay bys you mention, try and avoid remote places where you are the only one parked, or better still avoid lay bys full stop, try and find a well lit ind est or retail park on edge of town facilities, or some places you tip/load let you park there, even better if they have shower facilities.
Use the MSAs late afternoon for showers but avoid parking there overnight because of financial ■■■■ and too bloody much noise anyway.

You’re right about summer being the best time for going out for a pub meal, beer garden in the sun etc, but many on here won’t know wtf I’m talking about.

Would not go as far as you say about ‘‘loving it’’ but I try and make the best for myself out of a ‘not as good as it once was’ job, so stick at it mate if you’re enjoying it, until you get like me.

I went tramping for six months just to give it a try about a year after passing my class 1 and see how it goes as my missus said. Money was tight every week. I was terrified of where to park, get a shower, where to eat and everything else in between. My beloved is a Careers Adviser so knows how to motivate. She said at the time “do you know how many people I have coming in to see me who want to do what you do? No, well go out and do distance work. And don’t come home til Friday.”
The problems were on the phone every night…
Son “Dad this is no good, you’ve took all the clean socks and boxer shorts”
Daughters "Dad this boy I’ve been seeing…Dad can I have…Dad will you tell her…

I’ve been doing it for nearly twelve years now and every Monday morning still look at as a big adventure for a young lad. I look at as paid tourism, Angel of the North, Houses of Parliament, Glencoe, Stonehenge, seen them all through a windscreen! Parked overnight in towns where there is still a lorry park (Dumfries) and once slept in the cab bogged down to the axles on a farm in North Wales, got woken one night by the cab shaking when parked on Southampton dock, a massive container ship leaving the port.
Been in a lot of pubs too. Met a guy in Tyndrum in Scotland who was a colleague of one of my former colleagues. Oban, met a guy who lived three doors from me years ago. Battersea, the guy who made Princess Diana wedding dress. Newcastle, all I understood was “Eeee pet!”
I’ve blagged customers into letting me use their shower. Addenbrooke hospital in Cambridge, the hot water is boiled by the incinerator and the same at Wolverhampton council. Found a shower in Unilever Purfleet and used the gym at B&Q Redhouse Doncaster so clean every day.
I’ve tried being home and the 11 or 12 hours at home is a complete nightmare for me with the travelling from and to work and the change of routine for the family. In regards to parking, I will not park ina layby so don’t even ask. That’s what the public expect us to do. Use the council lorry and put a few quid in the pay and display so that the council don’t close it!
As for the money, I would not be in a decent house now if I had stayed on day work.
The kids are grown up, two married, one with a little one. One at university and one at college so once the mortgage is paid, maybe I’ll stop tramping. In the mean time I’m really enjoying and would recommend it to a young driver to earn a few quid but don’t be exploited.

Jwalsh8:
Bit of a random one but just decided to say after 2 years trying to rush about in a max hours job trying both nights and days ive finally gave in to the exhaustion and started tramping. I couldnt do it anymore trying to go all week with 9 hours off three nights in a row then getting left on break for over 3 hours at a tesco depot and having the company getting me to do another 15 because “it will count as a split daily rest”. Dont get me wrong I have plenty of employer options but as im the sole earner at the moment while the kids are still in nappies its not so bad for the bank balance but I really cant take the lack of sleep just to come home and be a grumpy git. So i decided to miss the kids and just keep the fuel money for the weekends but to be honest im really loving it. Im going further to places ive never been. Im not stressed about not getting home and having to sleep under a jacket again. Im eating better and watching the sun go down in a country side layby while watching tv and in the summer im looking forward to going for walks or exploring some of the pubs or villages im always passing through.

I dont really no why im posting this but I just wondered why other people do tramping and I dont mean the guys who just do it for the money but the ones who just do it for the love of it.

I do it for both the money and love of it. Dont be put off by the doom and gloom mob, if youre happy with what youre now doing then good luck to you…

Beanie’s excellent post illustrated my point, that tramping can be enjoyable, and does not have to be the combination of a drudge and an endurance test that the ‘’ Heart attack brigade’ make it
OR the dreaded pain in the arse job that should be avoided at all costs as described by the daymen…‘‘I like to sleep in my own bed/living in a tin box/unpaid security guard brigade’’ .

It can be as good bad easy or hard as YOU make it, and depending on how much hassle and pressure YOU allow ‘them’ to put you under.

I’ve said before I would not last a week tramping doing it the way that many do it, instead I have done it for the thick end of 30+ years…in my own way.

Just like Beanie I still get the… ‘‘She said this to me Dad’’ or ‘‘Sort him out will you Dad’’ off my 4 ‘‘grown up’’. kids after arguments with each other on the phone to this day , but I always look forward to weekends at home,.and I think that is how me and my Mrs still get on so well together after all the years we’ve been together, rather than living in each other’s pockets.

Jwalsh8:
Bit of a random one but just decided to say after 2 years trying to rush about in a max hours job trying both nights and days ive finally gave in to the exhaustion and started tramping. I couldnt do it anymore trying to go all week with 9 hours off three nights in a row then getting left on break for over 3 hours at a tesco depot and having the company getting me to do another 15 because “it will count as a split daily rest”. Dont get me wrong I have plenty of employer options but as im the sole earner at the moment while the kids are still in nappies its not so bad for the bank balance but I really cant take the lack of sleep just to come home and be a grumpy git. So i decided to miss the kids and just keep the fuel money for the weekends but to be honest im really loving it. Im going further to places ive never been. Im not stressed about not getting home and having to sleep under a jacket again. Im eating better and watching the sun go down in a country side layby while watching tv and in the summer im looking forward to going for walks or exploring some of the pubs or villages im always passing through.

I dont really no why im posting this but I just wondered why other people do tramping and I dont mean the guys who just do it for the money but the ones who just do it for the love of it.

Good luck to you if thats what you think suits you.
When the novelty wears off or the Missus starts moaning about being left on her own all week to run the house and look after the kids without your help,you might change your mind