Trucking facilities in the UK

Hi, I’ve watched plenty of trucking vlogs in Canada and the US and they have flying J, Petro Pass, Travel Centre etc. These are what I’d consider full facilities with pretty much everything you need for OTR trucking. Does the UK have similar truck stops / facilities dedicated to truckers where you can have showers, proper food and laundry services etc?

I’m guessing because the UK is nowhere near as large as north america, there isn’t really much demand for these kinds of services? I’ve heard of UK truckers having to wash themselves with wet wipes and take a crap in a bucket because they just park alongside the road and not at a dedicated truck stop, is this true?

I don’t bother with a bucket, try and find a tree or hedge. If it’s loose just perch over a drain in the layby.

Aww jesus, here we go. It’s the school holidays again, isn’t it?

TruckerWannabe123:
I’ve heard of UK truckers having to wash themselves with wet wipes and take a crap in a bucket because they just park alongside the road and not at a dedicated truck stop, is this true?

Hmmm ok, genuine post or wind up…
I reckon option 2, but I’ll humour you anyway.
All I’ll say to you is don’t believe everything that you have heard.

robroy:

TruckerWannabe123:
I’ve heard of UK truckers having to wash themselves with wet wipes and take a crap in a bucket because they just park alongside the road and not at a dedicated truck stop, is this true?

Hmmm ok, genuine post or wind up…
I reckon option 2, but I’ll humour you anyway.
All I’ll say to you is don’t believe everything that you have heard.

Yes it’s a genuine question. If truckers just park alongside the road during the nights then where do they wash and do their business? Are there dedicated truck stops with laundromat, showers, canteens etc in the UK like in north america? In north america is virtually unheard of to just park on the side of the street.

Can you tell me of some truck stop companies like Flying J or Petro Pass?

You can also use the wet wipes to wipe your backside after you wash with them
A bucket is a bit modern, the plastic bag is your man less messy easier to dump

TruckerWannabe123:

robroy:

TruckerWannabe123:
I’ve heard of UK truckers having to wash themselves with wet wipes and take a crap in a bucket because they just park alongside the road and not at a dedicated truck stop, is this true?

Hmmm ok, genuine post or wind up…
I reckon option 2, but I’ll humour you anyway.
All I’ll say to you is don’t believe everything that you have heard.

Yes it’s a genuine question. If truckers just park alongside the road during the nights then where do they wash and do their business? Are there dedicated truck stops with laundry mats, showers, canteens etc in the UK like in north america? In north america is virtually unheard of to just park on the side of the street.

Can you tell me of some truck stop companies like Flying J or Petro Pass?

Wimpy

TruckerWannabe123:
Yes it’s a genuine question. If truckers just park alongside the road during the nights then where do they wash and do their business? Are there dedicated truck stops with laundromat, showers, canteens etc in the UK like in north america? In north america is virtually unheard of to just park on the side of the street.

There are a few truckstops in the UK but generally facilities are very poor. I’ve never been to the US so I can’t comment about that, but in mainland Europe it’s a totally different world when it comes to driving a truck, with excellent facilities everywhere, Centre Routiers in France, Autohofs in Germany etc.

I’m not sure why it is so different in the UK, possibly the price of land makes it uneconomical to operate a truckstop?

I can say for certain that I won’t do nights out any more, not because facilities have become any worse but simply because I have become too old to tolerate them.

Harry Monk:

TruckerWannabe123:
Yes it’s a genuine question. If truckers just park alongside the road during the nights then where do they wash and do their business? Are there dedicated truck stops with laundromat, showers, canteens etc in the UK like in north america? In north america is virtually unheard of to just park on the side of the street.

There are a few truckstops in the UK but generally facilities are very poor. I’ve never been to the US so I can’t comment about that, but in mainland Europe it’s a totally different world when it comes to driving a truck, with excellent facilities everywhere, Centre Routiers in France, Autohofs in Germany etc.

I’m not sure why it is so different in the UK, possibly the price of land makes it uneconomical to operate a truckstop?

I can say for certain that I won’t do nights out any more, not because facilities have become any worse but simply because I have become too old to tolerate them.

Thank you for being the only person to actually answer my question. As a trucker living in the UK, is there much opportunity to do OTR trucking in Europe?

Harry Monk:
There are a few truckstops in the UK but generally facilities are very poor. I’ve never been to the US so I can’t comment about that, but in mainland Europe it’s a totally different world when it comes to driving a truck, with excellent facilities everywhere, Centre Routiers in France, Autohofs in Germany etc.

I’m not sure why it is so different in the UK, possibly the price of land makes it uneconomical to operate a truckstop?

Land prices obviously have an effect but mostly I believe it’s the difficulty of getting planning permission. This is from a report after someone tried, several times I believe, to try and develop a truckstop on the A55 :-

“They said the proposed site, largely on brownfield land next to junction 31 of the A55, was ‘not a suitable place’ for the development.”

Err. next to a junction is not suitable

To be fair that was from a councillor, not the planning officer, who I think recommended approval. Still got refused though.

TruckerWannabe123:
Thank you for being the only person to actually answer my question. As a trucker living in the UK, is there much opportunity to do OTR trucking in Europe?

No, the British continental transport industry is pretty much dead in the water nowadays, obviously there is as much cross-Channel trade as ever but these days it’s all done by eastern European hauliers.

TruckerWannabe123:

robroy:

TruckerWannabe123:
I’ve heard of UK truckers having to wash themselves with wet wipes and take a crap in a bucket because they just park alongside the road and not at a dedicated truck stop, is this true?

Hmmm ok, genuine post or wind up…
I reckon option 2, but I’ll humour you anyway.
All I’ll say to you is don’t believe everything that you have heard.

Yes it’s a genuine question. If truckers just park alongside the road during the nights then where do they wash and do their business? Are there dedicated truck stops with laundromat, showers, canteens etc in the UK like in north america? In north america is virtually unheard of to just park on the side of the street.

Can you tell me of some truck stop companies like Flying J or Petro Pass?

As Harry says, the facilities are crap over here compared to mainland Europe, and presumably the US.
There are a few truckstops around, but most are below average to what would be considered ideal, …but that is depending on your own personal standards I suppose,…some are better than others, put it that way.

There is an acute shortage of proper parking places as well as proper truckstops.

Not ALL truckers as you said… ‘just park beside the road’
The ones with more initiative, imagination and idea will make the most out of a bad situation, and find their own ‘little places’ near facilities, such as ind ests near a town, retail parks and the like, where they can buy a decent meal, and for shops pubs etc, and get a shower at one of their delivery points, or use an MSA for such.

The ones with little initiative, imagination and idea just settle for over expensive poor food MSAs, or unsuitable lay bys as a first and only option,( neither being option for me personally unless I find myself totally desperate,).so I cannot answer your question on how they deal with toilet and washing issues, you best ask one of those guys.

Have not got a clue what you are referring to in your last paragraph…and still not fully convinced you are genuine tbh.

manski:
Land prices obviously have an effect but mostly I believe it’s the difficulty of getting planning permission. This is from a report after someone tried, several times I believe, to try and develop a truckstop on the A55 :-

“They said the proposed site, largely on brownfield land next to junction 31 of the A55, was ‘not a suitable place’ for the development.”

Err. next to a junction is not suitable

To be fair that was from a councillor, not the planning officer, who I think recommended approval. Still got refused though.

But a euro garages site was built on the opposite side of the junction, hmmm I wonder if there was a reason to refuse planning.

Alba1876:
Aww jesus, here we go. It’s the school holidays again, isn’t it?

I’m sure it’s just coincidence that the OPs other posts were in the Easter school holidays and now we’re in the summer school holidays

Sent from my mobile.

I would suggest that communal living and toilet training to be included in the DCPC syllabus. Yes, most of us know we’ve taught our toddlers to be more advanced, but a lot of Lorry drivers don’t grasp social skills as easily as infants.

Oh…

FFS!

.

brace-yourselves-school-5bd13d.jpg600×549 49.9 KB

tachograph:

Alba1876:
Aww jesus, here we go. It’s the school holidays again, isn’t it?

I’m sure it’s just coincidence that the OPs other posts were in the Easter school holidays and now we’re in the summer school holidays

Sent from my mobile.

Yes, I’d noticed that too.

The pathetically poor quality of the material is a real giveaway!

chester:
a lot of Lorry drivers don’t grasp social skills as easily as infants.

Sadly I cannot disagree with that point, and unfortunately for those of us who do not act like tramps and pigs whilst out on the road, we are all unfairly tarred with the same brush.

One of the many reasons, (if not the main one,) why there is an acute shortage of parking places, and an explanation as to why there is a reluctance amongst the powers that be to provide new ones.
Just look at all the crap, rubbish, ■■■■ bottles and general mess left in lay bys and ind ests, which illustrates my point.

TruckerWannabe123:
take a crap in a bucket because they just park alongside the road and not at a dedicated truck stop, is this true?

Totally untrue
You crap in a plastic bag and throw it out the window