hi all im starting a job on mon going all over europe double manning!
has anyone double manned if so what should i expect etc…
thanks in advance…
lo geoff, i presume you now the tacho side of things regarding your hours etc? if you get on with the right partner it can be ok, if you dont its hell! a good point is that you rarely get weekended, the companies that ive done it for had to pay too much to sit two drivers all wkend! what kind of work will you be doing geoff? ive got two mates working for eddie stobbart out of warrington and they love it, although to be fair they have only been on for a few months. you can generally earn a high wage but its not all roses, trying to sleep while the motors moving isnt always easy, and i found that sometimes your expected to do superhuman feats, “well theres two of you!” … yes but it still only does 90k!! you`ll either love it or hate it, theres rarely an inbetween. good luck-jon
I did double manning for a week once, that was more than enough for me. Two people living in a cab, just about big enough for one?
As its a double man job, I would assume that time is of the essence. That would point to, driving all possible legal hours and stopping for the minimum.
If I remember right that would be 18hrs/day with another 4hrs for tipping/loading and you must be parked up for 8hrs in 30. Breaks can be taken when rolling but you have to stop for your daily rest period.
You have to hope that your double-manning partner is easy to get on with. Ladytrucker had a bad experience recently which is detailed on this thread.
If the double-manning suits you, you’ll enjoy it, sight seeing in Europe from the co-pilots seat. If not 
well as im 6ft 6 i dont think im gonna get any hassle from my partner!
the work is urgent stuff, greece, sweden, germany, all over really!
a mate of mine works there and is single manning he left today for a mon morn tip in paris! so cant see it being that pressurised!
2 trucks just came back from greece they were there for a month on an exhibition…
i will just have to wait and see…
Whether you get on or not, 30 hours work with 8 hours sleep is ZB stupid as in that 8 hours you are lucky to get 6. The normal shift is split into 2 or 3 hours driving each with the other one sat in the passenger seat.
If you work on a normal shift you drive in the day and sleep at night or vice versa.
Double manning you are working right throgh, Can you manage to stay awake 30 hours per day, every day?
Of course that is the Maximum, if the company is relaxed and needs a double man crew for setting up exhibitions or security, then 8 hours each per day can still get you a long way.
I will never do it again, with anyone! I did Greece for three months as a team and a couple of spells last year to Italy and Spain back to back.
Ask Neil46 when he gets back
i understand your point!!
i did a trip to italy last year and followed another truck!
have had 3 job offers in the past 6 months and turned them all down due to lack of euro knowledge!
this for me is the ideal oppertunity to learn the ropes etc…
the job is local and the money is ok…
i do double manning now and again and it’s all down to the person you are with. It’s not for driving time reasons but for the work involved in the delivery when we get to our destination and in fact a few of the people I double with don’t even have a C+E so they do no driving and get paid for sightseeing for most of the trip. 
It’s OK in small doses but i couldn’t do it week in, week out and I’m not so keen on being week ended when double manned as you can’t please yourself so much as you have to consider the other person.
Coffeeholic:
as you can’t please yourself so much as you have to consider the other person.
Sorry Coffee… couldnt resist it, 
lol lol lol lol
maybe I should rephrase that…nah can’t be bothered. 
I used to do the odd double man trip to Sweden,but as we had a double bedroom at the company,sleeping when you finish your trip was no problem.
However,trying to sleep when someone else is at the wheel is another matter.
If you get a partner who is considerate and smooth then it’s not too bad,but I have double manned with a driver who didn’t consider that I was trying to sleep,and would brake at the last minute so I almost landed up on the dashboard and would also throw the truck into a bend as if he was at Brands Hatch!
Another important consideration is whether you are both smokers or non-smokers.There’s going to be arguments if only one of you smoke!
Whilst I realise it would be a foot in the door to International work,if you don’t get on together,it can be a nightmare.
Coffeeholic:
i do double manning now and again and it’s all down to the person you are with. It’s not for driving time reasons but for the work involved in the delivery when we get to our destination and in fact a few of the people I double with don’t even have a C+E so they do no driving and get paid for sightseeing for most of the trip.It’s OK in small doses but i couldn’t do it week in, week out and I’m not so keen on being week ended when double manned as
you can’t please yourself so much
as you have to consider the other person.
That explains your gasthof in Austria then… .
A while ago I did a french course and was told that in france if you double man the time that the second spent in the cab was spent as working and therefore under french regs there is no advantage double maning as you can only do 10 hours,eu rules state that if do a international journey its eu rules that over rule the host country.
I love to get new experience for double manning and driving over the europe but look at Willi Betz, they does have double manning and they are together for three months without goes home, What a brave chap!