Hello …just joined.
I’m an aspiring driver planning to re-locate in the u.k. I have absolutely no knowledge of the British roadways. Will that hamper my chances of procuring employment? Or can I pict it up soon enough .
I haven’t even got a car licence yet, but plan to get it along with the Cat C and Cat C + E as soon as I get back to Britain next year.
Any tips guys?? Please help
Welcome to Trucknet 
You may be jumping he gun a little bit, but my advice to you is to hang around here and pick up any information you can and if you have any questions then feel free to ask.
Hi kaizad johnston welcome to
TruckNet UK and good luck 
Hello kaizad johnston. You will soon learn our major roads once you start using em a bit. Ive been driving commercial vehicles for a year now & still dont know where Im going half the time. 
A sat nav system & a decent road atlas will see you on your way. Good luck with your car & truck lessons, stick at it. 
Thanks a lot for the inspiration guys. Will try to stick at it.
Can anyone tell me about the average hours you spend away from home in total. Are most of the jobs in the day or night?
Is the G.P.S. an excelllent device to get to places? do they mention truck stops and fuel stations etc.?
Also how do you manage your meals? Do you always find a truck stop on the road or do you miss meals at times if you don’t come across any food joint or stopping place?
kaizad johnston:
Is the G.P.S. an excelllent device to get to places? do they mention truck stops and fuel stations etc.?
Some will tell you no, some will swear by them.I think they work well alongside a decent map. Dont know about them showing truck stops, but yes you can see “points of interest” close to your location.
These POIs can be anything from petrol stations to bowling alleys. As for your other questions, I will let someone more experienced answer. Ive only done one run in a truck so far.
get a road atlas while your here or get one from Amazon and then study it …if any of us mention a place look it up plan a route say from Leicester to ■■? …somewhere on this site is a list of cafes start looking them up…
oh and keep reading this site…cos between if we dont know it we man a man that can
kaizad johnston:
Thanks a lot for the inspiration guys. Will try to stick at it.
Can anyone tell me about the average hours you spend away from home in total. Are most of the jobs in the day or night?It all depends on the type of job, some drivers work on a 4 days on/off situation some work nights some work days,
Or if you take a tramping job you could be away from home all week or possibly much longer on International workAlso how do you manage your meals? Do you always find a truck stop on the road or do you miss meals at times if you don’t come across any food joint or stopping place?
There are times when you will miss out on food and ablutions, it is just a case of planning your stops better. Although you will not starve because of all the 24 hour garages selling charcoal, beach balls and Ginster pies
I’m not very clear of the difference between agency work vs. company work.
Do agencies have their own trucks or do they receive assignments from various companies, which they subsequently pass on to drivers.
If so, do drivers report directly to an agency or do they have a different venue to go to depending on which company they get assigned to?
I think I’d prefer trunking jobs. Anybody know if they are they more common, or easy to get, in the Leicester area?
Also how do you manage your meals? Do you always find a truck stop on the road or do you miss meals at times if you don’t come across any food joint or stopping place?
I self cater, and rarely eat in truckstops etc. It’s amazing what you can do with a camping stove and a pan…although I’m lazy and tend to eat out of a lot of tins/packets (those Uncle Bens rice pouches are great with a tin of curry…), there are people who make more effort and eat really quite well. Having a fridge helps, too. I’m out all week in the normal run of things, and it saves me a fortune. I carry the wherewithal to stripwash in the truck every night too, so I never get caught out on that front either. I’m lucky to have a big cab to do it in, but my previous unit was like a rabbit hutch, and I still stayed clean.
Even if that’s not your main plan, I’d still carry some means of eating and washing with you, just in case.
kaizad johnston:
I’m not very clear of the difference between agency work vs. company work.
Do agencies have their own trucks or do they receive assignments from various companies, which they subsequently pass on to drivers.
If so, do drivers report directly to an agency or do they have a different venue to go to depending on which company they get assigned to?I think I’d prefer trunking jobs. Anybody know if they are they more common, or easy to get, in the Leicester area?
Companies contact agencies for temporary drivers.
Temporary can mean anything from half a day, to half a dozen years (yes really). The jobs an agency driver can do range from driving a sprinter type van, to a 44t artic and anything in between. It could be a multi-drop day job or weeks away.
Usualy, a new driver will be put on local multi-drop work, until they become a known quantity. After all, would you be happy to give the keys to a £60,000 piece of equipment, possibly loaded with another £60,000s worth, to someone nobody knew anything about?
Trunking jobs are, in my opinion, boring. OK for a short period, but to know that, every weekday night for the next however many years, my job will be to drive up and down the same stretch of road? No thanks.
Wow Lucy! How do you manage to do that? What equipment are you talking about…what about the winter? (Please clarify…sounds interesting)
kaizad johnston:
Wow Lucy! How do you manage to do that? What equipment are you talking about…what about the winter? (Please clarify…sounds interesting)
Tramping is more interesting than Trunking and you will get to see more of the country, but it’s not everybody’s thing. Winter is in someways better than Summer, Trying to sleep in a truck in hot temperatures were the sun has been blazing through the window all day and the engine is pushing loads of heat into the cab and you all hot and sticky is not nice, in Winter you have a night heater and it already dark when you park up, just watch you step when you get out of the cab. 
I’ve been trying to explain living out of the cab to others were I work and get the answers that you should always find the services and get a proper shower, they really haven’t got a clue. 
The Kit you need for night out, think of camping without the tent.
Sleeping Bag or bedding.
Stove, cooking equipment, When I do it I use Ex forces Mess Tins, Small Gas stove, Knife fork spoon.
Food, a few tins ( amazing what the put into a tin ) and a few nice bits, biccies, cakes, (I’ve got a sweet tooth ) and fruit. Basically whatever you think you can cook and store in a truck. More Scoff and Escoffier.
Brew kit, (essential) I have Small Kettle, Mug, teaspoon, Sugar, Tea, Milk,
I don’t mind tea without milk, but powdered milk might be a good back-up.
Also a second mug if you like to be sociable and make somebody a else a brew. A Brew kit is also great to relieve the manotany of waiting and save suffering vending machines
Wash kit.
Water, I used to carry a 5 litre container and fill it up when I could.
My Method of washing in a truck, Use the Second Mess Tin, (Others use a washing up bowl, I’m a minalmist )
Sit in passenger seat towel over legs, strip to waist, fill mess tin with warm water and wash, (water goes everywhere hence towel on legs). Refill with water and Shave, to wash hair, lean out of cab throw a couple of cup of water over head, shampoo, rinse by throwing more water over head. Wave at rubberneckers on road. quicker drying with short hair. then just brush teeth.
It’s all down to planning and keeping organised, I personally hate a cluttered truck, so everything has it’s place and is stowed after use.
to wash hair, lean out of cab throw a couple of cup of water over head, shampoo, rinse by throwing more water over head
See now, that’s no good for me as my hair comes down to my backside. A couple of cups on it would be like you putting a thimbleful on yours. For me, the aforementioned large water container is vital at this point.
Oh…and personally I shut the curtains before stripping.
Lucy:
to wash hair, lean out of cab throw a couple of cup of water over head, shampoo, rinse by throwing more water over head
See now, that’s no good for me as my hair comes down to my backside. A couple of cups on it would be like you putting a thimbleful on yours. For me, the aforementioned large water container is vital at this point.
Oh…and personally I shut the curtains before stripping.
Skin heads the way to go for tramping.
I also close the curtains, but in my case it’s to protect those of a sensitive disposition.
Trust me, it’s the same in my case…I’m a container driver for heaven’s sake, we carry our spare tyres about our person to avoid having to get out of bed when we get a puncture.
