Has anyone ever had a dodgy night out miles and miles from home and wondered how the hell am I going to get back here in the morning? I remember being in Birmingham and I was talking to another driver who was with me tipping in Sparkbrook, can’t remember his name but he was on for Hunwicks. He says I will give you a lift to Manchester and I took him up on his offer, I lived in Bolton. I got home OK but then my tiny brain started thinking how the hell am I going to get back to Brum for an 8.00 tip the following morning. I stood on the top of the A666 freezing my nads off at 6.00am the following morning thinking I am going to get a major bollocking here when a Snaylams motor pulls up and asks where am I going, I says anywhere near the M6 will be great, he says hop in mate I am going to the freightliner in Birmingham. I could have kissed him, well maybe not but I had a huge cloud lifted from me.
You were very lucky there.
Not something I’d recommend without a backup plan though 
Backup plan is right. 
I’ve had dodgy nights out all over when working out of Sheffield but the backup plan came into operation once or twice when the wagon was parked up at Stockport/Hyde/Ardwick/Belle Vue and it had snowed during the night,leaving Woodhead blocked.
Down to Sheffield Victoria Station and the 0600 ish train to Manchester Piccadilly,then another to Stockport or a bus to Hyde or wherever.Never failed but they were ar*e twitching times. 
loads of dodgies when I was on the Habitat contract , nothing better than being paid to get your leg over the wife , you do worry about the wagon though 
I only ever had a couple, too much agro for me. I was either frightened the lorry would have gone walkabout or that I would still be stood on Howden roundabout when the gaffer drove past 
As Chris Webb will testify we had hours if not days to kill on the BP contract. I parked at Ferrybridge (the old brickyard where the MSA is now) and got a lift home to Accrington, no problem, home by 5PM.
Got back easily but found I had left the keys at home for the old Scammell. The driver who ran me back to my lorry stayed with me and took me to a local garage where they gave me a big bunch of old keys, one eventually worked, I took the bunch back to the garage and went on my merry way. I tipped at Spondon, reloaded caustic at Runcorn and parked at Bury on my way back to Hull, another dodgy.
After that I always left a spare key in the battery box.
I recall a Brs driver doing a dogie on christmas eve and running back in on a christmas day , later on he got sacked for a similer dodgie .
Tankerman:
As Chris Webb will testify we had hours if not days to kill on the BP contract. I parked at Ferrybridge (the old brickyard where the MSA is now) and got a lift home to Accrington, no problem, home by 5PM.
Got back easily but found I had left the keys at home for the old Scammell. The driver who ran me back to my lorry stayed with me and took me to a local garage where they gave me a big bunch of old keys, one eventually worked, I took the bunch back to the garage and went on my merry way. I tipped at Spondon, reloaded caustic at Runcorn and parked at Bury on my way back to Hull, another dodgy.
After that I always left a spare key in the battery box.
That BP Saltend job was hard work Russell. 
You only got three days to load at Hull,run to BICC Helsby,tip and back to Hull. Dodgy at Flouch and another at Doncaster. I’m breaking into a sweat thinking about it. I think you got four days for a P and G Purfleet,Pirelli Southampton and various Scottish drops.
Carlc:
Has anyone ever had a dodgy night out miles and miles from home and wondered how the hell am I going to get back here in the morning? I remember being in Birmingham and I was talking to another driver who was with me tipping in Sparkbrook, can’t remember his name but he was on for Hunwicks. He says I will give you a lift to Manchester and I took him up on his offer, I lived in Bolton. I got home OK but then my tiny brain started thinking how the hell am I going to get back to Brum for an 8.00 tip the following morning. I stood on the top of the A666 freezing my nads off at 6.00am the following morning thinking I am going to get a major bollocking here when a Snaylams motor pulls up and asks where am I going, I says anywhere near the M6 will be great, he says hop in mate I am going to the freightliner in Birmingham. I could have kissed him, well maybe not but I had a huge cloud lifted from me.
Hello caric.
If one of snaylams picked you up you would have had a lift in a well turned out motor,i used to work for fred and his motors[not all new]were always kept and turned out a1.
regards dave.
I was going home on a dodgy and stopped at the local chippy to get something for tea, whilst in the queue in walks the boss I thought you would be on a night out he asked, I am I replied, oh well say no more I haven’t seen you was his reply
He called me in the office the next day 
but all he said was " I don’t care where you have a night out but if you scrape home come in early the next day and do me an extra local "
I broke down one friday afternoon in Swansea 1976,had a Mandator and the compressor was shagged. Rang our local rep who brought me the train fare to CV Sales where the motor was. The train left Swansea at summat like 2000 hrs to Sheffield with a change at B’Ham New Street arriving Sheffield after midnight . Shoved the train fare in the skyrocket and log-booked it back to Sheffield in 8 lifts.It was either Griff Fender or George Beer to the A48 from Morriston,yer man from Jamaica Road London with the brown AECs - what was his name? - to Newport,a Corona artic to Ross,a green F86 artic from Cambridgeshire with an empty flat,having delivered cattle fodder to a drough hit Wales (1976) to Tamworth where he was staying with relatives,a GKN motor up the A5 to Lichfield .Then a Burtons the Tailors artic to Trowell Services where the Leeds man was waiting,a couple of Park Drive and a brew and then to Tinsley Sheffield. I was setting off from Tinsley to the all night bus stop on Attercliffe when I heard a wagon coming towards Shepcote Lane which was one of Sam Longsons/Hansons going back to Buxton empty after tipping limestone at SPT.Log book up and a lift to Gleadless Townend for about 0100,walked in the house about 1/4 hour later,fresh as a daisy and money in me pocket.Also got paid a night out and 8 hours travelling saturday.
I still feel guilty about that after all these years.
The only wagon that passed me was one of either S Protheroes or Illtyd Thomas at Ross,I can’t remember which,but one of them was running to a storage place in Lichfield where I think they do parcels from now,Palletline maybe?
You couldn’t do that now,those days are long gone. 
The only thing tha feels guilty about Mr Webb sir is you didn’t do it more often.
If you had been on a bonus for all the miles you did on dodgies you would own the I.O.M. not just live there.
Tankerman:
The only thing tha feels guilty about Mr Webb sir is you didn’t do it more often.If you had been on a bonus for all the miles you did on dodgies you would own the I.O.M. not just live there.
I’m a long way behind you Russell,I’ve spent all my dodgy money,you must have oodles of it stashed under t’floorboards.
No point in spending money on grotty digs when you could get home with a bit of tax free in the pocket,tha knows.
I’d be struggling for a dodgy night out over here though.
Done it many a time, always managed to get back.
Tankerman:
As Chris Webb will testify we had hours if not days to kill on the BP contract.
I remember at least one driver on that contract who used to load the first day and drive to Woodside and get a lift home
in time for lunch.
The next day, he would do the whole run but only back to Woodside.
Start at lunchtime on the third day, lift out to Woodside and back to Hull for early afternoon and he was still well inside
the time allowed.
Regards,
Nick.
Hi all,
Cool thread.when I was a kid a mate of the old mans drove a foden s80 sleeper cabbed artic for boc in margam.regular runs were gas to Spain,Sweden and holland.he used to hide the lorry in p&o’s yard in Pyle for three days when he went on a Spanish trip after several years boc lost the overseas gas work to air products
Regards andrew.
P.s. I can remember giving many joint motorways drivers a lift from the yard or the abbey to the caldra,seems incredible now to be able to do all of those dodgy’s and get away with it
Regards Andrew.
Remember having one on a Friday night from strencham services, one of e parks from macc picked me up in a b series erf, but the lights kept blowin the fuse, spent the whole journey pushin the breaker in with me finger. Got us home though, he even come off the a500 at porthill and dropped me on roundabout, about 500 yards from home, can’t remember his name now but all good fun
Hundreds of dodgies in me time, never cut the day short or took the P though, always purely to be in my bed and not another night in the tin shed.
Best paying dodgy of sorts was in another lifetime, told to take the train down to Devon from Northants to collect another drivers tractor unit after a previous breakdown, Buffallo engine rebuild, now there’s a surprise .
Got the ticket price from the station, then up really early and took me chances with the good old log book, made it to the garage in 5 hours with good lifts, quicker than i could have driven it in me own Gardner engined plodder, and quicker than the train, and £25ish railfare…kerching…
Sounds a bit mercenary?, well the driver (well in) who had broke down was sent out in another motor so still earning, and seeing we were only paid percentage of earnings with no basic, i, who have never been well in, would otherwise have been doing this job for free, a good weeks wages was about £90 to £100 then in 1977.
The Wellingborough/Rushden/Kettering area was great for lifts, Alumasc/Weetabix/Whitworths/Eales/Lilleys/Clarks/Abbotts/BFI/Ferrymasters etc, even BP tankers out of Northampton, all would stop instantly as soon as the log book was raised, very rare would one of those pass you by early hours heading out…always appreciated Chettles (De Mulders offal wagons) lads stopping too despite the stink, always a fast lift didn’t matter if they were doing 80mph the old bill never went near 'em cos of the stink.
The funniest lift i gave back was when on Clarks of Wellingborough, heading empty out via Stamford for one of coal pits near Blyth, collected 4 of JSM’s platers on the way, so there we are doing exactly 60, hmm might have been more like 70 come to think, up the A1 when a bloody pheasant pops up, hit the front panel of the Sed Ack one side of the grill that hard it pushed the thing in, course the 4 lads were gassing away and never saw it coming, the bang was deafening, nearly had 4 heart attacks to cope with… 
Better days.
Tankerman:
As Chris Webb will testify we had hours if not days to kill on the BP contract. I parked at Ferrybridge (the old brickyard where the MSA is now) and got a lift home to Accrington, no problem, home by 5PM.
Got back easily but found I had left the keys at home for the old Scammell. The driver who ran me back to my lorry stayed with me and took me to a local garage where they gave me a big bunch of old keys, one eventually worked, I took the bunch back to the garage and went on my merry way. I tipped at Spondon, reloaded caustic at Runcorn and parked at Bury on my way back to Hull, another dodgy.
After that I always left a spare key in the battery box.
Hi Tankerman, I had a similar do with bloody keys ! Parked up on the A614 at Ollerton just off the A1. I was on my way to Nottingham with 20 tons of bagged sugar, it was 5.00pm and I was blinded by the fact of a lift home comming the other way. So I dumped the lorry an S83 Foden of Flowers of York in a layby and was home in an hour and half. Next morning I was back at the lorry just after 7.00am no problem easy peasy until I put my hand in my pocket for the bloody keys and they weren’t there ! I couldn’t believe it stupid sod fancy leaving the ■■■■ things at home, it took me a good while to realise that I had left them in the door where they’d been all night !! It was a miracle that the lorry was still there at all never mind about worrying about lost keys. Like you I made sure a spare key was hidden on the motor after that episode but more importantly I made double sure I had the ■■■■ things before I set off !
ncooper:
Tankerman:
As Chris Webb will testify we had hours if not days to kill on the BP contract.I remember at least one driver on that contract who used to load the first day and drive to Woodside and get a lift home
in time for lunch.
The next day, he would do the whole run but only back to Woodside.
Start at lunchtime on the third day, lift out to Woodside and back to Hull for early afternoon and he was still well inside
the time allowed.Regards,
Nick.
I wonder who that would be Nick, I knew most of the lads on the BP contract from about 1970 to 1987. I also remember a driver called Nick who worked for Foreman, or P&O as they became at Saltend. His previous job was driving a car with a blue light on top.
They used to say there were more John Foreman tankers parked at Woodside than in the yard at Saltend.
I often used to have five nights out at Bury. Run to Hull, back to Bury monday, tip and load ex Runcorn and back to Bury, tip BP reload and back to Bury.
Monday afternoon I would walk into our yard at Accrington for my car. Our boss never bothered as long as we booked of where the motor was.
BP paid the expenses and the mileage, if we ran into our depot it was 16 miles each way of route so the gaffer lost out.
We got a little slip with our pick up on and ETA back at Hull when we set of from BP. We always got 10AM ETA to give us time to get over there.
A Montrose would be, load Monday, ETA Hull Thursday 10 AM. Back empty. Monday night dodgy from Ferrybridge, night out Dundee Tuesday and dodgy at Ferrybridge Wednesday. All that with a Marathon which was no slouch.
Chriss Webb probably did it up and down in the day and had three dodgies, reyt pal.