Having followed the various treads and read all the popular Middle East books ,i have to say i like the romance and the tales and admire all who did the business , however just reading of customs hassle and police backhanders ect , it would not be for me due to lack of patience, My question is this, was it the Adventure or was the money that was the attraction or perhaps both?
well, I never did the run sadly but I would say it is a fair bet it was the adventure and challenge.
Wouldnt know about how much money the drivers were paid or what they made up from the running money but I dont think they were “well paid” as such 
Hopefully one or two may come on and give you a more definitive answer!
Back in the mid 80’s I was an owner driver ‘doing’ Spain while a mate of mine was an O/D doing Middle East and I can tell you that financially, overall I was doing much better than him. He bought a new Volvo in 1983 and before it was 18 months old it had been ‘snatched back’ by the finance co, the poor bloke ‘went skint’ and blamed it all on the time it was taking to do a trip.
Ross.
It was mostly trip money on ME & the only ones that made money out of it were the usual suspects. I lived the life of Riley on a good salary plus expences doing E,P & MA. I used to listen to all the horror stories like when the Shah got kicked out & about a thousand trucks were stuck at the Turkish /Iran border & the lads were breaking into the trailers to get something to eat & so on. I had already been down that way years before & they would have had to pay me megabucks to do that job .The ME is ■■■■■■■■ skcollob compared to the West. This is not taking away the thunder of the lads that risked their lives doing it but Wonga was scarce.IMO
Trick of life is do something you like & get paid for it 
.
I spelt skcollob backwards because I thought it would come out z b
Hi Givover
During my time as an owner driver, I pulled for Astran during the 80’s and 90’s, and the rate was good. It got even better when you topped up over 20 tons in Rotterdam and when the Gulf War was on we got a bonus.
I was single and only had a studio flat, so the rent was cheap. I would complete a trip in about 5 weeks, sometimes quicker and sometimes longer and I got a pretty good rate for my backloads which was normally multi collections in Rumo or wine from Bulgy.
I could do a round trip for about 3800 quid. I had big tanks and a big belly tank so all that red and cheap eastern fuel made the trip cheaper.
I did it because I enjoyed being away , a long way from home. I used to have a day off here and there, a day on the beach at Kavala sometimes, a day of in Istanbul to service the truck, experience some of the cultural aspects, like the Grand Bazaar, the Topkapi Museum and the Blue Mosque, have a ride on the Bosporus Ferry to the Asian side or maybe even a boat trip upto the Black Sea, and have a drink and a meal or two with the lads.
I would have a couple of days in Doha staying at a mates house after I had tipped, and would visit the Souk and buy some bits and pieces really cheap. Then head back West pretty quickly. Most of the time my time off in Istanbul would be on the way home, whilst waiting for re-loading instructions.
After all the running expenses, I would deposit some pretty good cheques in the bank, so I wouldnt say that the money wasn’t any good. But that may have been because I was working directly for Astran and not subbing second or third hand.
I had pretty old trucks which were paid for so I didnt have the finance to worry about, or the road tax. We had 16 days to get to Doha and I would usually get there and put my papers in on the 14th day. Some blokes did it alot quicker because they had to, but I was happy with my 8-10 trips a year, and I didnt have to chase ferries !!
So that is my reasoning for doing the Middle-East for so long.
GS
Outfits like yours were few & far between GS. Most of the guys that did it started because there was very little work in the UK & then it got in their blood. It attracted a whole army of petty crooks that would rob each other & anything they could lay their hands on including wonderful insurance scams. Truck goes over ,take different shots ,with different plates & claim for three trucks - until the ins coys caught on & insisted the wreck had to be brought back to UK before the claim was paid. When ME was cream crackered the same mob descended on Spain etc & it was a case of bolt yer doors.
I believe their offspring are now working in banking or politics?
Surely there is more to it than money or adventure! Sometimes we do things to earn a living and sometimes for adventure, sometimes we do things just because they fall in our path and sometimes as a result of a chance meeting in a sandstone quarry near Lancaster, but I doubt anybody ever did M/E purely for the money.
GS OVERLAND:
Hi Givover
During my time as an owner driver, I pulled for Astran during the 80’s and 90’s, and the rate was good. It got even better when you topped up over 20 tons in Rotterdam and when the Gulf War was on we got a bonus.
I was single and only had a studio flat, so the rent was cheap. I would complete a trip in about 5 weeks, sometimes quicker and sometimes longer and I got a pretty good rate for my backloads which was normally multi collections in Rumo or wine from Bulgy.
I could do a round trip for about 3800 quid. I had big tanks and a big belly tank so all that red and cheap eastern fuel made the trip cheaper.
I did it because I enjoyed being away , a long way from home. I used to have a day off here and there, a day on the beach at Kavala sometimes, a day of in Istanbul to service the truck, experience some of the cultural aspects, like the Grand Bazaar, the Topkapi Museum and the Blue Mosque, have a ride on the Bosporus Ferry to the Asian side or maybe even a boat trip upto the Black Sea, and have a drink and a meal or two with the lads.
I would have a couple of days in Doha staying at a mates house after I had tipped, and would visit the Souk and buy some bits and pieces really cheap. Then head back West pretty quickly. Most of the time my time off in Istanbul would be on the way home, whilst waiting for re-loading instructions.
After all the running expenses, I would deposit some pretty good cheques in the bank, so I wouldnt say that the money wasn’t any good. But that may have been because I was working directly for Astran and not subbing second or third hand.
I had pretty old trucks which were paid for so I didnt have the finance to worry about, or the road tax. We had 16 days to get to Doha and I would usually get there and put my papers in on the 14th day. Some blokes did it alot quicker because they had to, but I was happy with my 8-10 trips a year, and I didnt have to chase ferries !!
So that is my reasoning for doing the Middle-East for so long.
GS
Sounds like a very good reason to me and you did and can proudly wear the t shirt!!
Money no ,it was a job,to keep the wolf from the door, freedom to do what u liked when u wanted to like grizzley Adams in the mountains or a wondering nomad ,I enjoyed my time in the ME I had several trucks in my time as an owner driver ,my favourite was my trusty old 1978 f12 purchased new and sold in 1994 16 years and several million klms,12 years with Astran picturs in The Long Haul Pioneers for thoes who know me not ,I saved my money and now own two houses one in UK and one in Sweden ,I would love one more Trip but my health is not so good now ,I think the stress would be to much ,I can only now dream of days gone by, freinds I have lost touch with and them that are gone for good .Some like me were lucky to be born at such a time in life ,so them born now or a few years ago make what u can of life as its so short ,I you get Deisel in your blood keep your engine running its a wonderful life and dont let any ■■■■■■ tell u otherwise god speed to all you truckers ,old and new .Looking forward to the next reunion .
Roger Haywood
sinbin31:
Money no ,it was a job,to keep the wolf from the door, freedom to do what u liked when u wanted to like grizzley Adams in the mountains or a wondering nomad ,I enjoyed my time in the ME I had several trucks in my time as an owner driver ,my favourite was my trusty old 1978 f12 purchased new and sold in 1994 16 years and several million klms,12 years with Astran picturs in The Long Haul Pioneers for thoes who know me not ,I saved my money and now own two houses one in UK and one in Sweden ,I would love one more Trip but my health is not so good now ,I think the stress would be to much ,I can only now dream of days gone by, freinds I have lost touch with and them that are gone for good .Some like me were lucky to be born at such a time in life ,so them born now or a few years ago make what u can of life as its so short ,I you get Deisel in your blood keep your engine running its a wonderful life and dont let any [zb] tell u otherwise god speed to all you truckers ,old and new .Looking forward to the next reunion .Roger Haywood
Money no ! and a house in Sweden (Did you win the lottery ha ha )?
A little like the Armed Forces, it becomes a way of life, and appealed to many because of the freedom, and then, there were many who were on the run from Wives and sometimes the Law. 
I first came here in the 70’s and am still here …but not because of the Wife or the Law so it must now be the 100K
givover:
sinbin31:
Money no ,it was a job,to keep the wolf from the door, freedom to do what u liked when u wanted to like grizzley Adams in the mountains or a wondering nomad ,I enjoyed my time in the ME I had several trucks in my time as an owner driver ,my favourite was my trusty old 1978 f12 purchased new and sold in 1994 16 years and several million klms,12 years with Astran picturs in The Long Haul Pioneers for thoes who know me not ,I saved my money and now own two houses one in UK and one in Sweden ,I would love one more Trip but my health is not so good now ,I think the stress would be to much ,I can only now dream of days gone by, freinds I have lost touch with and them that are gone for good .Some like me were lucky to be born at such a time in life ,so them born now or a few years ago make what u can of life as its so short ,I you get Deisel in your blood keep your engine running its a wonderful life and dont let any [zb] tell u otherwise god speed to all you truckers ,old and new .Looking forward to the next reunion .Roger Haywood
Money no ! and a house in Sweden (Did you win the lottery ha ha )?
I was much later and never went as far, but the life was good, the money was regular and I enjoyed every trip, even the bad ones. I would love to have done it sooner, I wish I had saved some of the money too but I now have shares in EFES and Ouzo
sinbin31:
Money no ,it was a job,to keep the wolf from the door, freedom to do what u liked when u wanted to like grizzley Adams in the mountains or a wondering nomad ,I enjoyed my time in the ME I had several trucks in my time as an owner driver ,my favourite was my trusty old 1978 f12 purchased new and sold in 1994 16 years and several million klms,12 years with Astran picturs in The Long Haul Pioneers for thoes who know me not ,I saved my money and now own two houses one in UK and one in Sweden ,I would love one more Trip but my health is not so good now ,I think the stress would be to much ,I can only now dream of days gone by, freinds I have lost touch with and them that are gone for good .Some like me were lucky to be born at such a time in life ,so them born now or a few years ago make what u can of life as its so short ,I you get Deisel in your blood keep your engine running its a wonderful life and dont let any [zb] tell u otherwise god speed to all you truckers ,old and new .Looking forward to the next reunion .Roger Haywood
u on the way out roger? old saying , u only remember the good trips (when u r in the bozzer) not the bad one’'s.
Interesting thread,
The money wasn’t the reason most did it, if you look at any of the old pics you’ll see most of the lads were in their 20’s and early 30’s, apologies to any who were over 40 at the time like Norman. Initially I did it for the adventure , it was a little different from shunting around the UK. However you look at it most truck drivers don’t start in the industry because they want a ‘normal’ job, most perceive it to have a of smidgeon of ‘glamour’ in their early days, this soon gets knocked out of them, usually by the unreasonable requirements of the job. ‘sic transport managers’. I’ve always loved driving but for me it was the further away the better.
As to the money it might have been a little above the average, unless you were on specialist work, ie. heavy haulage, car transporters etc.
Trans UK paid trip money and the map of Europe through to the Middle East and Pakistan was marked up in concentric circles, each band paid £200 in 1975, so an Istanbult for example paid £400, Antalya £600, Tehran,Kuwait,Qatar etc £800, Bandar Abass £1000 and so on. My personal favourite was Amman as it just fell into the £800 circle and could be done in 19 days with a good run and a following wind. Most jobs were time assessed and should you get delayed through no fault of your own, ie weather, an extra £65 a week would be paid. Istanbul was assessed at 14 days, Tehran and any job of a similar distance (8000 miles round trip) was 28 days, Trans UK was an excellent company to work for as no pressure was put on to complete trips in a faster time. Obviously from the drivers perspective quicker meant more trips so there was the potential to earn a better weekly rate.
As an aside I remember our company were paid £4000 plus ferries for the first few trips…
PROWLANDS:
Interesting thread,
The money wasn’t the reason most did it, if you look at any of the old pics you’ll see most of the lads were in their 20’s and early 30’s, apologies to any who were over 40 at the time like Norman. Initially I did it for the adventure , it was a little different from shunting around the UK. However you look at it most truck drivers don’t start in the industry because they want a ‘normal’ job, most perceive it to have a of smidgeon of ‘glamour’ in their early days, this soon gets knocked out of them, usually by the unreasonable requirements of the job. ‘sic transport managers’. I’ve always loved driving but for me it was the further away the better.
As to the money it might have been a little above the average, unless you were on specialist work, ie. heavy haulage, car transporters etc.
Trans UK paid trip money and the map of Europe through to the Middle East and Pakistan was marked up in concentric circles, each band paid £200 in 1975, so an Istanbult for example paid £400, Antalya £600, Tehran,Kuwait,Qatar etc £800, Bandar Abass £1000 and so on. My personal favourite was Amman as it just fell into the £800 circle and could be done in 19 days with a good run and a following wind. Most jobs were time assessed and should you get delayed through no fault of your own, ie weather, an extra £65 a week would be paid. Istanbul was assessed at 14 days, Tehran and any job of a similar distance (8000 miles round trip) was 28 days, Trans UK was an excellent company to work for as no pressure was put on to complete trips in a faster time. Obviously from the drivers perspective quicker meant more trips so there was the potential to earn a better weekly rate.
As an aside I remember our company were paid £4000 plus ferries for the first few trips…
Interesting to read the rates you were paid on Trans UK in '75. I take it that you didn’t have to pay for your own fuel out of those rates? On Simons we did and I recall rates were £650 for Istanbul, £1,000 for Tehran/Baghdad etc. £1,250 for Bandar Abbas. I would therefore conclude that you would have had more cash in your pocket at the end of the day than myself (assuming that you didn’t have to pay for your own fuel). Belly tanks made a lot of difference for me in those days! No time limits were put on us regarding trip times but as you say, more trips meant more money.
The challenge and the freedom…Saudi Internals in the 70’s paid 1000GBP per month + food and accomodation and my overland days were 70 / 75 GBP per week + 20 / 25 GBP per day to get around the tax man, plus of course the bits and bobs, Coffee from Austria into Yugo, Cigs into Turkey a drop of scotch into Kuwait and the normal fiddles in Iraq and elswhere …
last istanbul i did was in 1991.it took 3 weeks (problems with tir carn. matching up to manifest at ipsala.) but we were not on trip money then. weeks wages was £295 (5 days) £25 n/o. £45 sat £50 sunday, so no pressure. ron u had to pay your own derv then, so u had to get on well with the raiders (cantrells out of bow) one pipe for smoking the other for sucking. ron was u from the southall middx. manor?
Hi Ron, Name rings a bell, reckon we’ve met at D/T in Tehran. No we didn’t have to pay for diesel. It was DKV and £250 running money if I remember correctly. First 2/3 trips had no belly tank, most probably a good job as well, coz at Kirrikale on first trip all the side boxes rentco had welded on to the trailer fell off! They obviously hadn’t taken into account the amount of trailer flex on some of those Turkish roads…
PROWLANDS:
Hi Ron, Name rings a bell, reckon we’ve met at D/T in Tehran. No we didn’t have to pay for diesel. It was DKV and £250 running money if I remember correctly. First 2/3 trips had no belly tank, most probably a good job as well, coz at Kirrikale on first trip all the side boxes rentco had welded on to the trailer fell off! They obviously hadn’t taken into account the amount of trailer flex on some of those Turkish roads…
dkv card, wow ,best card a lorry driver had. we ran on dkv. bit like american express. if u worked it right . rentco trailers ( yellow. rentco in black) prob. the first rental trailers to come out. then came t.i.p.
where r u:
PROWLANDS:
Hi Ron, Name rings a bell, reckon we’ve met at D/T in Tehran. No we didn’t have to pay for diesel. It was DKV and £250 running money if I remember correctly. First 2/3 trips had no belly tank, most probably a good job as well, coz at Kirrikale on first trip all the side boxes rentco had welded on to the trailer fell off! They obviously hadn’t taken into account the amount of trailer flex on some of those Turkish roads…dkv card, wow ,best card a lorry driver had. we ran on dkv. bit like american express. if u worked it right . rentco trailers ( yellow. rentco in black) prob. the first rental trailers to come out. then came t.i.p.
TIP or Transport International Pool started trading in 1957, they opened in the UK and Rotterdam in 1969.
Crane (Fruehauf) of East Dereham started a subsidiary company called Rentco Nationwide in 1970