Well the job was certainly differant than plodding up and down the M6 everyday, once I had left the yard it was up to me how I did the job but safety and profit was still the bottom line. At the time I used to dream of having a cab phone but like they say be careful what you wish for 
. The only contact with the office was after I had telexed for reload instructions, I would make a telephone call as soon as I arrived back into Austria or West Germany with the manifest details so that they could book me on a ferry and arrange a clearing agent and a telephone call from the port of entry to tell them that I had been cleared. The money was good but I am sure that I could of earned more if I would of put in the same amount of hours driving in the U.K.
where r u:
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 ÂŁ295 (5 days) ÂŁ25 n/o. ÂŁ45 sat ÂŁ50 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?
Yeah! Simons did have a bit of a reputation and often resulted in being given a wide berth when it came to parking up time. 
I was one of a rare breed on the firm by being one of the very few drivers that hadnât done time. I didnât get caught!!!
Not far from Southall âwhere r uâ. in fact I used to be on H&R out of Southall before joining Simons. I lived at the top of the Greenford road just round the corner on the Harrow road, so just inside the Wembley border.
givover:
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?
Many Thanks to all who are joining this Thread i thought it may be interesting and for me it is as it shows what made people tick some lucky ones with decent rates some just having a do to make ends meet.
Youâre so right about DKV card âwhere r uâ , like having the use of your rich uncleâs credit card! found that out first time pulled into Propsteier Wald, (now Achener Land)services to fill up after âtankscheinâ at border. Picked up beer, loads of drivers accessories,âproperâ â â â â âŚnot Titbits! went to the till ready to pay and the guy said everything on cardâ. Well yes please mateâŚWas down in Istanbul month ago and a lot has changed, most notably how much it has increased in size. Do you guys remember when you entered any big town the sign that showed height above sea level and population. Back in the 70âs Istanbul was 30 metres above sea and pop, of fâour million. Now itâs still 30 m above the sea but population is 12 million!! Where did they come from?..Had a drive down the old road into the city, Londra looks a bit run down and forlorn, but Pudding shop is still there and looking very touristy, all been pedestrianised. The one bit of âgood newsâ is Serbia(Yugo)/Bulgarian border is even worse than I remember it, still single track and queues of 6kms either side, all Turks. But still enjoy it.
Hi Steve, yeh your right about being careful what you wish for, I recently met up with an old friend of mine John Reid who did M/E for many years and we talked about the lap tops, mobile phones, skype etc. enabling drivers these days to keep in touch with home on a daily basis, he said âyer it must be a nightmareâ
Money comes a very close 2nd to happiness, health is wealth ( but if you have loads of money you can have both) 
mushroomman:
Well the job was certainly differant than plodding up and down the M6 everyday, once I had left the yard it was up to me how I did the job but safety and profit was still the bottom line. At the time I used to dream of having a cab phone but like they say be careful what you wish for
PROWLANDS:
Youâre so right about DKV card âwhere r uâ , like having the use of your rich uncleâs credit card! found that out first time pulled into Propsteier Wald, (now Achener Land)services to fill up after âtankscheinâ at border. Picked up beer, loads of drivers accessories,âproperâ â â â â âŚnot Titbits! went to the till ready to pay and the guy said everything on cardâ. Well yes please mateâŚWas down in Istanbul month ago and a lot has changed, most notably how much it has increased in size. Do you guys remember when you entered any big town the sign that showed height above sea level and population. Back in the 70âs Istanbul was 30 metres above sea and pop, of fâour million. Now itâs still 30 m above the sea but population is 12 million!! Where did they come from?..Had a drive down the old road into the city, Londra looks a bit run down and forlorn, but Pudding shop is still there and looking very touristy, all been pedestrianised. The one bit of âgood newsâ is Serbia(Yugo)/Bulgarian border is even worse than I remember it, still single track and queues of 6kms either side, all Turks. But still enjoy it.
hi prowlands didnt know there was a new m/e book out i will buy it
I never did M.E. but I was asked more times than I can recall as I was running into Europe ( this was late 60s and through out the 70s ) for Pickfords so I was away quite a lot but the money on offer was not much different than what I was earning and most of the offers were from people who were just starting or wanting to run out there but having a young family, mortgage and a good job I always refused and I do not regret it as it would not have been the right time for me but I always enjoyed European work better than domestic U K work and I could get home every week if I wanted or needed to.
cheers Johnnie
Wheel Nut:
where r u:
PROWLANDS:
Hi Ron, Name rings a bell, reckon weâve met at D/T in Tehran. No we didnât have to pay for diesel. It was DKV and ÂŁ250 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 hadnât taken into account the amount of trailer flex on some of those Turkish roadsâŚdkv 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
ooopâs sorry wheel nut, no good at dates ( must be the years of fs getting in the brain)tip, we had the rentcoâs first think tip took them over, but you would know. our main yard for tip traliers was in hayes middlesex.
sammyopisite:
I never did M.E. but I was asked more times than I can recall as I was running into Europe ( this was late 60s and through out the 70s ) for Pickfords so I was away quite a lot but the money on offer was not much different than what I was earning and most of the offers were from people who were just starting or wanting to run out there but having a young family, mortgage and a good job I always refused and I do not regret it as it would not have been the right time for me but I always enjoyed European work better than domestic U K work and I could get home every week if I wanted or needed to.
cheers Johnnie
ok sammyopsite, was that pickfords out of enfield (up the a10) bump into few of your lads over the years was told it was a good job at the time? if i remember they were blue motors, are they still going?
mushroomman:
Well the job was certainly differant than plodding up and down the M6 everyday, once I had left the yard it was up to me how I did the job but safety and profit was still the bottom line. At the time I used to dream of having a cab phone but like they say be careful what you wish for
eeerr cab phoneâs. that was the best part of the job there wernt any. load here tip there simple. mushroomman have you spoke to barry lately? i spoke to a guy called micky bryant the other day (barry will know him and fred ) also he said he knows i guy called micky chinniok quite well,think you bump into him once? once was it ehh?
where r u:
eeerr cab phoneâs. that was the best part of the job there wernt any. load here tip there simple. mushroomman have you spoke to barry lately? i spoke to a guy called micky bryant the other day (barry will know him and fred ) also he said he knows i guy called micky chinniok quite well,think you bump into him once? once was it ehh?
I think there is a completely different thread about Mr Chinnock.
Some thought he was dead,
Some wished him that way and others simply avoided him