Alright folks, I am thinking about what is a reasonable distance/time to travel to work for tramping. I live in the west coast of Scotland and the nearest big city is Glasgow and its about 2 hours away. Looking at the jobs within about 1 hour away the rates are under £10ph. So in order to get a better paying job I would have to travel, but this is the sticking point, do I want to add 2hours to my first and last day? Cheers
From my own…
Experience, Wakefield to Waltham Abbey every 4, sometimes 5 nights out was worth it. (approx 3 hours but waaaay less if I hoofed it at night)
Now I do ten minutes there, ten minutes back on days.
NPABU:
Alright folks, I am thinking about what is a reasonable distance/time to travel to work for tramping. I live in the west coast of Scotland and the nearest big city is Glasgow and its about 2 hours away. Looking at the jobs within about 1 hour away the rates are under £10ph. So in order to get a better paying job I would have to travel, but this is the sticking point, do I want to add 2hours to my first and last day? Cheers
In my area the South Wales Valleys the wages are an insult.I used to go Avonmouth Monday to Friday.After my boss came to our area to see he got a parking place near my house.Its less than 5minutes walk .If its worth it go for it .
Just now I do days, starting at 5am and doing over 13hrs each day. It flat bed delivering anything really and the odd time we might do timber if asked, pay isn’t great and take home about £550 pw just not sure if going further for a job will result in better pay but then I will be tramping and staying out all week
For tramping I don’t think I’d be overly worried as long as it wasn’t a ridiculously early start on a Monday and late finish on a Friday if the money was significantly better. My brother whilst not a lorry driver used to do agency work in council housing and could earn a ■■■■■■■■ more money in the Midlands than East Yorkshire, £200+ a week more, so every Monday morning he’d travel 2-3hrs to work, stay in a B&B all week and drive back Friday evening and was happy doing that for several years.
If you’re home every day it’s a different story and 30-45 minutes is about the limit.
I’ve never started or finished work (either day work or weeks away abroad at a time) more than ten minutes from my house 
toonsy:
I’ve never started or finished work (either day work or weeks away abroad at a time) more than ten minutes from my house
Nor me. In my first job (where I worked for 10 years) it was a 3 minute walk 
Anything over 10 minutes would be alien to me!
ezydriver:
toonsy:
I’ve never started or finished work (either day work or weeks away abroad at a time) more than ten minutes from my houseNor me. In my first job (where I worked for 10 years) it was a 3 minute walk
Anything over 10 minutes would be alien to me!
Thank god. I had started to wonder if I was a bit… “yokel”
To be fair I probably am but at least I’m not the only one who has stayed close to home for work :mrgreeen:
to be fair toonsy why would you travel when you live next door to a transport hotspot…
p.s hows the new gig going mate…
NPABU:
Alright folks, I am thinking about what is a reasonable distance/time to travel to work for tramping. I live in the west coast of Scotland and the nearest big city is Glasgow and its about 2 hours away. Looking at the jobs within about 1 hour away the rates are under £10ph. So in order to get a better paying job I would have to travel, but this is the sticking point, do I want to add 2hours to my first and last day? Cheers
Are you really adding 2hrs each way? If you`re prepared to go an hr to work for a poorer rate, is an extra hr that bad? Monday mornings can e a bit gutsy, but it may be worth it.
m.a.n rules:
to be fair toonsy why would you travel when you live next door to a transport hotspot…p.s hows the new gig going mate…
Going well mate. Easy in fact. Just have to wait and see what a full payslip looks like though before I can properly sit back
good, i’m sure the payslip will reflect well in comparison to the old place, maybe not so much variation day 2 day but as you have said it suits the family life…
Franglais:
NPABU:
Alright folks, I am thinking about what is a reasonable distance/time to travel to work for tramping. I live in the west coast of Scotland and the nearest big city is Glasgow and its about 2 hours away. Looking at the jobs within about 1 hour away the rates are under £10ph. So in order to get a better paying job I would have to travel, but this is the sticking point, do I want to add 2hours to my first and last day? CheersAre you really adding 2hrs each way? If you`re prepared to go an hr to work for a poorer rate, is an extra hr that bad? Monday mornings can e a bit gutsy, but it may be worth it.
Sorry I think you picked me up wrong, I mean all the jobs within an hour of where I am are all paying under £10ph, so in order for me to get a better paying job I would have to travel over 2 hours to get nearer Glasgow. Just now I work days but if I was travelling 2 hours I would need to start tramping as couldn’t do 4 hours to and from work
I can only speak personally but the 1 hr commute I did to rugby could often be 2 hrs , qued up m1 to Leicester & often a car park across a46 To hobby horse r/o ( this was pre covid .on a Friday afternoon )
I remember leaving Grantham at 8 am to work at Tesco donny & after doing a 9 hr hr shift I arrived home at midnight , a1 was closed when I went & still closed when I returned
It’s fine saying Glasgow is a 2 hour journey but in reality is it , you only need roads closed for accidents , maintenance and it could easily be a 3/4 hr journey
Yes it maybe 2 x times a week but you’ll find it grates , sat there trying to get home will soon wear thin on a Friday
I’ve recently turned down derby , money they offered was unreal , but getting there is just to much hassle , I just did a job 5 mins up the a1
Packed up with ForFarmers at the end of July after nearly 16 years; mill was less than ten minutes drive from my house, if a public footpath had been in better nick i could have walked it in the same time. Unfortunately the company got far too corporate for me, ended up getting heartily sick of being messed about by jobsworths, the planning was non-existent, the pay stagnated and it spiralled down from being a very happy ship to a downright poisonous atmosphere.
Now tramping for a firm in Swansea, 40 minute drive each way once a week. Good employer, small family firm with about 15 well kept lorries; if I sleep in the yard (which is immaculate) there’s a kitchen and shower available 24/7 both spotlessly clean. I 'm paid four nights out (full tax-free rate) per week whether I stay in the yard or not, and he pays parking if you have to. Better off by at least £100 per week and that does not include night out money, which you shouldn’t factor in anyway.
For me it’s a no-brainer; I save money on running my house, probably use less fuel overall to commute, I sleep better and am less stressed. I also find that I tend to eat better; not snacking on sarnies all day and can have a decent meal in the evening, I batch cook stuff like shepherds pies and pasta meals then freeze portions, taking two or three a week with me. On the other hand, I’m single and have excellent neighbours who keep tabs on my house while I’m away.
If anyone from Swansea area is reading this, he’s after at least one more driver for tramping. Inbox me for details.
I used to tramp with a 2hr commute each way. If you work it out over the week, it equates to 24mins each way per day. Sounds reasonable to me
58 mile round trip for me everyday,£45 a week in fuel,been at the same spot for 19 years,moved to where I live now 10 years ago and didn’t want to leave the job so just stuck with it,no problems going to work as usually no traffic but can get caught out on way home as it involves the M62.
Pay and conditions in my eyes are worth travelling for though,nothing up my neck of woods that gets near it really which is good because I’m one of those who doesn’t like change 
Living on the west coast of Scotland has some lifestyle benefits, housing costs and pleasant environment being 2 of them, finding well paid work is not one. However if you commute 2 hours to Glasgow and spend 5 or 6 days tramping the UK, sleeping in the cab you’re not really living on the west coast anymore are you? I’d be looking for a local job, not working too hard and enjoying life - just my thoughts.
dekka:
Living on the west coast of Scotland has some lifestyle benefits, housing costs and pleasant environment being 2 of them, finding well paid work is not one. However if you commute 2 hours to Glasgow and spend 5 or 6 days tramping the UK, sleeping in the cab you’re not really living on the west coast anymore are you? I’d be looking for a local job, not working too hard and enjoying life - just my thoughts.
Good point well made. It’s similar in west Wales where I am; when I first moved down here I was still working for Haulfast and driving up to Derby every week. To be fair they did look at outbasing me but the costings didn’t stack up; so I packed in and went to work for Owens, less money but I was at least home some nights. After 18 months there I landed my job at BOCM (now ForFarmers) and for nearly 16 years had the best of both worlds, decent money and work/life balance. Looking to downsize now so will eventually move closer to my current workplace; at the moment it’s a bit too far to bother going home for one night, hopefully if I find the right house I can have it both ways again.
Where I live there isn’t any truck companies as such, well large ones anyway. There’s some big companies about 45 minutes away.
At the end of the day some people have no choice in commuting, but an hour each way would be my limit I think.