when we had our 2 i was away all week so missed everything right up until them leaving school, now the daughter has a little lad of her own and they still live with us, now i,m home nearly every night and i realise what i missed out on all those years ago
looking at it from the other side, my dads away all week, aint done me no wrong, understand its gotta be done + get the advantage of going with him whenever possible, if he hadnt been a driver i probably wouldnt be posting this now 
sam
A few years down the road most of these lads will be looking back and regretting their decision to put money first rather than their family. I know it seems like doing the right thing at the time but it won’t be in the end for most. 
phantom309:
looking at it from the other side, my dads away all week, aint done me no wrong, understand its gotta be done + get the advantage of going with him whenever possible, if he hadnt been a driver i probably wouldnt be posting this nowsam
Not being funny guys, but sam here is like he said other side of the coin as it were.He knew growing up that’s how it was and kids accept it, women might not, but kids will go along with whatever goes. Again like sam said it’s not done him any harm his old man not being at home every night, and I know each situation in everyone’s lives is different, but if it worked in this case then it can work in another, not saying it will, but there is a good chance of it 
garnerlives:
phantom309:
looking at it from the other side, my dads away all week, aint done me no wrong, understand its gotta be done + get the advantage of going with him whenever possible, if he hadnt been a driver i probably wouldnt be posting this nowsam
Not being funny guys, but sam here is like he said other side of the coin as it were.He knew growing up that’s how it was and kids accept it, women might not, but kids will go along with whatever goes. Again like sam said it’s not done him any harm his old man not being at home every night, and I know each situation in everyone’s lives is different, but if it worked in this case then it can work in another, not saying it will, but there is a good chance of it
I see from your signature you’re 23 Garner? I never listened to my old man then either. When you get to my age I’d bet a weeks wages you’ll look back with regret if you don’t spend time with your family. Now get to your bed and no supper!
Well I have two children and a good lady to provide for myself, I’ve seen the children’s first steps, words, laughs etc, so I’ve not missed out on those, now I’m/we’re at a point where really we need some more money coming in, not a massive amount, but just a bit more, I know that might mean getting a tramping job and being away for the week, my wife is fine with this, she knew when I did my licenses I might get a job being away, and she was fine with that. Yes being away from the kids will be hard [i’d imagine] but if needs must, then it has to be done, it’ll just be a case of spending the quality time I’d gets with them, with them
my eldest son who is now 30 once told me I never knew you till I was 7 thats when I changed job and did class2 work home every night and took both my 2 sons to work with in the school holidays and saturdays they loved it cost me a fortune but have a very close relationship them both have a 2 year old grandaughter now and told my son spend as much time with her as you can because they grow up so quick, I knew a lot blokes who would rather have a night out a few pints and sleep in the lorry instead of being at home, put your family first mate you will not regret it in the future money is not everything
garnerlives:
Well I have two children and a good lady to provide for myself, I’ve seen the children’s first steps, words, laughs etc, so I’ve not missed out on those, now I’m/we’re at a point where really we need some more money coming in, not a massive amount, but just a bit more, I know that might mean getting a tramping job and being away for the week, my wife is fine with this, she knew when I did my licenses I might get a job being away, and she was fine with that. Yes being away from the kids will be hard [i’d imagine] but if needs must, then it has to be done, it’ll just be a case of spending the quality time I’d gets with them, with them
Simple question then. How much extra do you need?
tashlad666:
How do you lot go on with your families? is it accepted? is there much strain? did you have to change your work for the family?I really can’t see me doing just day work, and it would be a drop in money as well, but if it comes to it then it’ll have to be done, and I really can’t wait for my first young un as well, suppose it’s just what ya have to do!
No1 son would scream his head off every time I picked him up on a weekend for quite a while from when he was born because I was hardly ever at home for the first couple of years of his life and I was basically a stranger.
Vowed never to do that with No2 son.
Its up to you but I learned the lesson and put family before work. My agency were under no illusions that in the scale of importance in my life, work came below wiping my arse.
have to agree there I know it is easy for me at the age of 57 ( old ■■■■) but get on so well with my 2 having said that work is not easy find and everyones circumstances are different but if you can put the kids first and get involved with them don`t be a stranger and as conor said work does come way down the list and I have been a butcher,milkman,lorry driver,builders labourer,bank messenger, lover on rare occasions and I never found an employer apart from2 that was worth anything good luck with it never know you might a boy who becomes a superstar for Arsenal I bet I get a lot of flack now from man u and chelsea boys 
Conor:
tashlad666:
How do you lot go on with your families? is it accepted? is there much strain? did you have to change your work for the family?I really can’t see me doing just day work, and it would be a drop in money as well, but if it comes to it then it’ll have to be done, and I really can’t wait for my first young un as well, suppose it’s just what ya have to do!
No1 son would scream his head off every time I picked him up on a weekend for quite a while from when he was born because I was hardly ever at home for the first couple of years of his life and I was basically a stranger.
Vowed never to do that with No2 son.
Its up to you but I learned the lesson and put family before work. My agency were under no illusions that in the scale of importance in my life, work came below wiping my arse.
We agree on something… 
Didn`t someone once state elsewhere, that tramping & being away from home all week is only good for old men, or single men??
Because you`ll end up 1 or the other if you regularly night out
Hi,i’m the partner of Alix776 our little one is next week 1
When they still small sleep when the little one is in sleep,Its not easy to do it all at you own if partner is away all week only home during the weekend.Alix leave me always in bed in the weekends so i can catch up.Even when the little one is a bit older like the ours just ask your parents out her parents to have him/her for a night so u both can spend a night together that is how we diong that sometimes 
not very often trough .
she can pm me everytime
it’s a hard life for the families at home. we have no kids and the wife is perfectly happy for me to be away all week but if she ever changed her mind i’d give up the tramping tomorrow. its only a job!
i was full time with the company im with at mo, and regulary away a full week or even 2wks, when mrs had our latest addition,
things wer coming to ahead with me being away all the time and worse wen id think i was homeward bound only to get the fone call telling me i was to get parkt up for 24hrs,
it was really hard and playing on my heart strings everytime i got home and saw the change in the wee manie, after coming home one time and seeing the wee fella with his 1st tooth i decided i wasnt going to miss out on seeing my son grow up ie wanted to b there for his 1st steps and words,
so foned the boss up and said im no longer in the position to be full time as my family means to much to me (plus wife threating to kick me out everytime)
so now i do sunday to wednesday with a average takehome wage of £375 and home thur-sat =3 1/2 days work and 3 1/2 at home, only downsight to this is have to cart all my gear in and out all the time, but still 90% of the time get the same 09 unit
every now and then i do a full week or fortnight (wen in laws are up visiting) just coincidence HONEST
im known in the company as the full time casual driver
due to wee fella being so cute and being my world … i decided to be a fulltime dad instead of fulltime driver (past relationship i had with my oldest sons mother broke down due to my committment to my work ) and as much as i like being part-time i DONT like being a part-time DAD
I have spent a lot of time working away from home. This winter was the first one I have spent at home for a while; previously to that I worked away for 6 months (Sep to Mar) for three years in a row. It wasn’t by choice and it wasn’t nice but it was a non-negotiable part of the job. It also paid a bit more while I was away.
My wife coped, quite well actually, but I think it was more a case of having to than wanting to. I was quite ‘busy’ and often didn’t have time to think about how much I was missing the wife and kids. When I did allow myself to think about it, it was depressing but I had no choice so it was a case of ‘get over it, get on with it’!
I’m now approaching the end of that job/career/contract but may well need the level of money (just bought a new house) that is only usually earned by working away, be it tramping or on ‘contract’, again away from home. Thankfully, Mrs Tandy is now a seasoned veteran at running the house in my absence and is quite cool about me working away again, whether that will be weekly or 6-monthly. I do get itchy feet if I’m home for too long but have also had such a good time with my youngest lad (now 20 months) since being back home from the last ‘6 months working away’ spell.
In summary, some halves of the relationship can handle it better than the other. You can develop a tolerance but it can be hard getting there. There’ll always be things that you miss at home but remind yourself why you do it i.e. paying the mortgage etc.
This time around it will be me that struggles . . . . . . .
I used to be away a lot, the mrs knew that before I married her so she knew what she was taking on. When my son was born 25 years ago I barely saw him until he was a toddler, but thats the life of a trucker. It takes a good woman to accept the lifestyle, if they cant hack it then they’re not suited to being the wife of a trucker. Just my opinion for what its worth
Tiger.
Id pick being at home all the time but the only way to really top up wages is with nights out…im lucky i have a Mrs indoors who understands this is my job she grew up with her dad away for 6 months at a time when she was a kid so a week/fortnight/month is good going as others have said we have a pact that if she didnt want me to do it any more she only needs to say and il try look for something closer to home
Good luck with whatever you choose mate
I grew up with my dad being away a lot, be it nighting out in the UK, or 2 weeks at a time when he was doing Euro work. From a childs angle, it ruined my parents marriage, and had a massive impact on me and my brother and sisters.
I dont thnk i’d ever do nights out/euro work if i had a family, having experienced what it’s like first hand
This is gonna sound daft, but I stopped tramping because we had a new kitchen . I figured we had spent 6+ grand on it, and I would be spending 4-5nights a week cooking over a poxy gas stove in me cab, the missus was fine with me tramping though cos she did it as well. The decision was mine and I went on agency doing days, Have since found out we are having a sprog, and would defo have finished tramping once I knew this.