What makes a lorry driver??
Right at the top of my list when I answer this is not whether a man can drive the wagon or pass it through the eye of a needle etc.
But right at the top of my list is whether or not they are happy with their own company.
DISCUSS
Lonewolf Yorks:
What makes a lorry driver??Right at the top of my list when I answer this is not whether a man can drive the wagon or pass it through the eye of a needle etc.
But right at the top of my list is whether or not they are happy with their own company.
DISCUSS
Love my own company and always have done although that makes me sound like a loner haha but sometimes other things in life contribute to us not having a big group of mates and for myself I can count on one hand my mates, at school I had plenty of friends then when they went down the route of experimenting with drugs etc I backed away and I personally think that because of that experience I can deal better with being in my own company day in and day out, we all have different experiences and views about own company but that is mine personally. (Bloody hell reading that back that seems very deep 
)
I am most happy in my own company,.
I’m not anti-social, I just prefer not to bother with folks.
I prefer my own company, though driving offers a lot more than solitude, there’s a few jobs where you sit alone and have minimum contact with muggles.
I enjoy my own company. Dont get me wrong, I enjoy family life too, I wish I could be home more than I am currently with a nearly 2 year old at home and a loving lady! I am one (of the few?) Who genuinely enjoys my job, I enjoy driving a big rig, I enjoy the solitude and the scenery and the places I go and personally, I sleep better in the back of my tractor than I do in my own bed! (Missis must never know this) sure I have the occasional crappy day and have to deal with occasional rain and constant snow in the winter as well as the really crappy times when I have to throw chains just to get moving but generally I am happy and being alone all week gives me plenty of opportunity to reflect on my day or week or things happening etc and I believe I am as happy and a placid person as I am because of it.
I think other attributes include patience, respect and self sacrifice since we all have to deal with stupid on a daily basis and it is a pretty big self sacrifice to be out on the road all week or for weeks at a time, missing out on quality time with the family, working bamk holidays etc but we all gotta do what we must to provide for the family hey!!!
That’s my take on the matter anyway
Scraggy88:
I enjoy my own company. Dont get me wrong, I enjoy family life too, I wish I could be home more than I am currently with a nearly 2 year old at home and a loving lady! I am one (of the few?) Who genuinely enjoys my job, I enjoy driving a big rig, I enjoy the solitude and the scenery and the places I go and personally, I sleep better in the back of my tractor than I do in my own bed! (Missis must never know this) sure I have the occasional crappy day and have to deal with occasional rain and constant snow in the winter as well as the really crappy times when I have to throw chains just to get moving but generally I am happy and being alone all week gives me plenty of opportunity to reflect on my day or week or things happening etc and I believe I am as happy and a placid person as I am because of it.I think other attributes include patience, respect and self sacrifice since we all have to deal with stupid on a daily basis and it is a pretty big self sacrifice to be out on the road all week or for weeks at a time, missing out on quality time with the family, working bamk holidays etc but we all gotta do what we must to provide for the family hey!!!
That’s my take on the matter anyway
You’re ok with being away from your lass and your 2 year old, yep so was I, along with my other 3 kids, enjoying my job and the lifestyle.
However in about 20 to 30 years time, and your 2 yr old has suddenlly grown up …(unbeliveably rapidly so btw 
) and you look back on just how much of the valuable time you lost with her/him (that you can never get back ! )… and the same applies if you are still in love with your Mrs after all that time, then you’ll have massive regrets about doing the job mate …
Trust me on that one, I know what I’m on about on this.
Diplomacy. You are going to meet muppets, wherever you go. The challenge is to A. stay cool and not let them wind you up and B. get them on your side. It’s quite entertaining to turn into a game and when you go back the second time, the ground work is done.
Only place I really failed was Hotpoint Llandudno. 30 years later and I still harp on about how miserable they were. 
If you can’t enjoy your own company your not capable of enjoying anyone else’s!!
Or words to that effect
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robroy:
Scraggy88:
it is a pretty big self sacrifice to be out on the road all week or for weeks at a time, missing out on quality time with the family, working bamk holidays etc but we all gotta do what we must to provide for the family hey!!!That’s my take on the matter anyway
You’re ok with being away from your lass and your 2 year old, yep so was I, along with my other 3 kids, enjoying my job and the lifestyle.
However in about 20 to 30 years time, and your 2 yr old has suddenlly grown up …(unbeliveably rapidly so btw
Trust me on that one, I know what I’m on about on this.
While others like me moan about the wasted years stuck on boring home every day/night type jobs because too many drivers want too much of a good thing in the form of the scenery and going to different far flung places.They’ve really only got themselves to blame for that.So what’s wrong with balancing the downsides against the upsides of all the different types of work such as rotating between 3-4 years on distance/tramping and 3-4 years on local deliveries/trunking home every day type jobs,for example.Bearing in mind that the latter type of work usually far outweighs the former ‘if’ anyone wants it.On that note try walking into any agency and asking for a job involving a week or two away on international work for example.Only to invariably be met by blank looks along the lines of we can offer you plenty of temp,to permanent if you want it,local building deliveries etc in which look on the bright side you’ll get finished by around 5 pm every day.
robroy:
Scraggy88:
I enjoy my own company. Dont get me wrong, I enjoy family life too, I wish I could be home more than I am currently with a nearly 2 year old at home and a loving lady! I am one (of the few?) Who genuinely enjoys my job, I enjoy driving a big rig, I enjoy the solitude and the scenery and the places I go and personally, I sleep better in the back of my tractor than I do in my own bed! (Missis must never know this) sure I have the occasional crappy day and have to deal with occasional rain and constant snow in the winter as well as the really crappy times when I have to throw chains just to get moving but generally I am happy and being alone all week gives me plenty of opportunity to reflect on my day or week or things happening etc and I believe I am as happy and a placid person as I am because of it.I think other attributes include patience, respect and self sacrifice since we all have to deal with stupid on a daily basis and it is a pretty big self sacrifice to be out on the road all week or for weeks at a time, missing out on quality time with the family, working bamk holidays etc but we all gotta do what we must to provide for the family hey!!!
That’s my take on the matter anyway
You’re ok with being away from your lass and your 2 year old, yep so was I, along with my other 3 kids, enjoying my job and the lifestyle.
However in about 20 to 30 years time, and your 2 yr old has suddenlly grown up …(unbeliveably rapidly so btw
Trust me on that one, I know what I’m on about on this.
Robroy is right, time is something you never get back, I missed my kids growing up, first steps, first words, first day at school, birthdays, graduations, and they do grow up fast 3 of mine have moved in with their partners and started families of their own, my youngest daughter will be next moving on to Uni, just leaves my youngest at home but at 17 it won’t be long before he wants to cut his mums apron strings.
While the job is what it is, tramping is very different to the other fields of the industry, and while it’s often said haulage isn’t for everyone, it’s more of a case everyone isn’t for haulage especially tramping.
I like to be left on my own, I can’t work with others and driving suits me, I’m left to my own devices and get the job done, I’m never bothered by anyone, apart from visually impaired tossers behind the wheel who only see what’s in front and nothing else around them.
robroy:
Scraggy88:
I enjoy my own company. Dont get me wrong, I enjoy family life too, I wish I could be home more than I am currently with a nearly 2 year old at home and a loving lady! I am one (of the few?) Who genuinely enjoys my job, I enjoy driving a big rig, I enjoy the solitude and the scenery and the places I go and personally, I sleep better in the back of my tractor than I do in my own bed! (Missis must never know this) sure I have the occasional crappy day and have to deal with occasional rain and constant snow in the winter as well as the really crappy times when I have to throw chains just to get moving but generally I am happy and being alone all week gives me plenty of opportunity to reflect on my day or week or things happening etc and I believe I am as happy and a placid person as I am because of it.I think other attributes include patience, respect and self sacrifice since we all have to deal with stupid on a daily basis and it is a pretty big self sacrifice to be out on the road all week or for weeks at a time, missing out on quality time with the family, working bamk holidays etc but we all gotta do what we must to provide for the family hey!!!
That’s my take on the matter anyway
You’re ok with being away from your lass and your 2 year old, yep so was I, along with my other 3 kids, enjoying my job and the lifestyle.
However in about 20 to 30 years time, and your 2 yr old has suddenlly grown up …(unbeliveably rapidly so btw
Trust me on that one, I know what I’m on about on this.
Absolutely spot on!!!
You can go out in a job in a truck anytime, but those years (especially the early ones) of the children are irreplaceable. Once they are gone, they are gone for good.
Carryfast:
robroy:
You’re ok with being away from your lass and your 2 year old, yep so was I, along with my other 3 kids, enjoying my job and the lifestyle.
However in about 20 to 30 years time, and your 2 yr old has suddenlly grown up …(unbeliveably rapidly so btw
Trust me on that one, I know what I’m on about on this.While others like me moan about the wasted years stuck on boring home every day/night type jobs because too many drivers want too much of a good thing in the form of the scenery and going to different far flung places.They’ve really only got themselves to blame for that.
I’m fully aware of that, my choice, my fault, and I deal with it and live with it.
Does not stop me regretting it though.
It’s all very well having regrets about the past, the hours we’ve had to work, the time spent away from loved ones etc.
What gets forgotten is that except for a few isolated cases, most people working away were often the sole breadwinners in their homes, and depending on where you lived not many normal working class bods could earn enough on the fabled 39 hour week to keep their families decently, and most drivers loved their families dearly and wanted to do the best they could for them, which meant providing as best one could.
Lorry driving, like working on oil rigs, meant ordinary working people could earn a decent crust, but with all things there are penalties and you can’t be hundreds of miles away working 60 hour weeks and be home at the same time, it doesn’t compute.
Things are different now, with the various income supplements that those in the know can claim, this wasn’t the case years ago, and we’re applying the decisions we made years ago to the realities of today.
What attributes does a lorry driver need, well again thats changed over time too, skills required are different, sheer strength and the ability to rough it arn’t vital any more.
Only being doing the job 6 months or so but before hand I was a single dad, now my daughter is a teenager I’m fortunate to be able to go driving whilst enjoying my own company, guess I was lucky enough to have it the other way around.
Juddian:
It’s all very well having regrets about the past, the hours we’ve had to work, the time spent away from loved ones etc.
What gets forgotten is that except for a few isolated cases, most people working away were often the sole breadwinners in their homes, and depending on where you lived not many normal working class bods could earn enough on the fabled 39 hour week to keep their families decently, and most drivers loved their families dearly and wanted to do the best they could for them, which meant providing as best one could.
Lorry driving, like working on oil rigs, meant ordinary working people could earn a decent crust, but with all things there are penalties and you can’t be hundreds of miles away working 60 hour weeks and be home at the same time, it doesn’t compute.Things are different now, with the various income supplements that those in the know can claim, this wasn’t the case years ago, and we’re applying the decisions we made years ago to the realities of today.
What attributes does a lorry driver need, well again thats changed over time too, skills required are different, sheer strength and the ability to rough it arn’t vital any more.
Different ball game nowadays mate, I can’t see how anybody could go for it for the money, nor consider it good money now.(apart from those who are a bit dim and fail to see they are working a week and a half for a week’s wage in real terms) and it certainly does not equate to jobs on oil rigs either.
Grumpy Dad:
Robroy is right, time is something you never get back, I missed my kids growing up
But that has nothing whatsoever to do with ‘the job’.It really is all about the choices and priorities of those whingeing about having obviously wanted too much of a good thing.At the expense of others then getting none of it.On that note there really is absolutely nothing stopping anyone from doing an 8 am - 5 pm home every day job for as long as they want it with just a phone call to an agency or any of the usual suspects involved with local work especially building supplies deliveries.While even night trunking allows for home every day family life between at least the hours of 7 am - 8 am and 4 pm - 7 pm which is more than many other types of jobs can provide.
To which the answer is often ‘trampers’ think they are too special to want to job share including a truck and ‘local’ work isn’t good enough for them and only good enough for ‘inexperienced’ drivers.Also bearing in mind that tramping can mean just having to stop between lots of relatively local deliveries v home every day bulk deliveries within 4.5 hours driving radius but which involve nice scenic distance routes.
Thinking about this and reading the comments and without wanting to edit anything I’ve previously posted, I think the main attributes needed to be a driver especially a tramper, is a strong and understanding wife who can deal with the lengths we are away, without that then the difficulties at home soon become difficulties in the cab, the job becomes a bind and a hard slog.
robroy:
Carryfast:
While others like me moan about the wasted years stuck on boring home every day/night type jobs because too many drivers want too much of a good thing in the form of the scenery and going to different far flung places.They’ve really only got themselves to blame for that.I’m fully aware of that, my choice, my fault, and I deal with it and live with it.
Does not stop me regretting it though.
But my point is and which needs to be got across for the benefit of new starts is that it was and is all so bleedin needless.From those whingeing about too much time away to those like me moaning about not enough/any.The job isn’t one of a binary choice between ‘tramping’ v local.It can just as easily be a case of mix and match to choice ‘if’ we can only get all away from the idea of elites wanting to hog too much of a good thing,at the expense of others lumbered with a career of boring zb.
Grumpy Dad:
Thinking about this and reading the comments and without wanting to edit anything I’ve previously posted, I think the main attributes needed to be a driver especially a tramper, is a strong and understanding wife who can deal with the lengths we are away, without that then the difficulties at home soon become difficulties in the cab, the job becomes a bind and a hard slog.
I’d go with that, along with a wife you can trust without question, and who will stand by you when maybe sometimes you don’t deserve it.
I won the lottery on that score. 
as soon as i was 21 i wanted to be a truckie,hence passed the test and from there on it was mad for tar.
that outweighed any family or marital issues as i was away from a week to a month at a time for years.
although the wages were good,then i went for the job on trip money with the best truck as even crappy jobs like that usually came with a grunter of a truck and that suited me fine.
although i never saw them,then i provided handsomely for my wife and family,(even after the amicable divorce) 
people are only having regrets because it wasnt the route down lifes path that they took.
its easy to have regrets nowadays but thats only because you can always see the other side of things.
if i only,i wish i had done different,ectect.
selfishly or otherwise i did what wanted to do to suit me at the time and having driven to saudi a few times and all round europe in the 70s and 80s constantly,then apart from making fortunes,then i have some wild and mental memories of great times.( plus a good few memories of greif and disasters).
the wages were mega which was a big carrot unlike nowadays,you were on your own with virtually no contact from work and just had to get on with things,and you could work to suit yourself.
there would be none of that attraction now though the jobs a doddle compared to years ago.
you made your decisions that best suited you at the time for whatever reason so you just need to live with them.
looking back you see it differently,but if i was 21 again with a new licence and could get euro job tramping on trip money not knowing any better,then i would be going out on tonights boat anyway.