Put it this way I’d rather do distance and have the same truck every day than do day work and end up driving 5 different trucks (usually a tip empty of fuel and Ad blue) in a week and have to keep swapping my stuff over every shift 
switchlogic:
I’ve just gone the other way, local work, short days Tesco store deliveries was doing my head in, so now I’m plodding round Europe again and despite not having done any European work for 18 months the first trip out sort of felt like coming home in a way Tesco work never could
+1…theres not much claim to fame chugging toscos beans about like a h&s lemming compared to a job where you crack on,use your own initiative and make a living doing something that resembles the job description…i.e truck driving.
i like running my own way tangstyle usually on fridge work,i dont really fancy that other dudes work crawling about in mud with chains and dwangs securing awkward flatbed loads etc,but at least theres some job satisfaction in doing a skilled job to suit yourself. and id do that before id lower myself back into anything resembling a tesco truck…a steering wheel attendants life,is just one of the reasons as to why local work seems so meaningless especially for the agency type firms and main players.
I had 30 years of long distance work, and have been away for three and a half months before. At the moment I start work at 0600, finish at 1730 and spend the evening at home on my boat, and that suits me fine. I may not do it forever, but to my mind distance work in the UK has all of the problems of distance work in Europe, with none of the pleasures.
Harry Monk:
I had 30 years of long distance work, and have been away for three and a half months before. At the moment I start work at 0600, finish at 1730 and spend the evening at home on my boat, and that suits me fine. I may not do it forever, but to my mind distance work in the UK has all of the problems of distance work in Europe, with none of the pleasures.
Seems to me that distance UK is way worse than distance Eu. Inadequate parking, densely crowded roads, more “just in time”, more over management.
In the better jobs one is still allowed to get on with it as one wants. I think there have been studies that show those with control over their jobs are happier and more productive. Over management produces workers who get a buzz from “working the system” and “stuffing the management”. Some distance jobs still allow some autonomy. For myself: Im given a set of drops & collections, and then I get on with it. Start/finish times, routes, etc are down to me. In case of problems Ill ring in, otherwise it`s down to me. May not be for those who want no responsibility, but it suits me better than being a steering wheel attendant.
For me it all comes down to pay. There’s no incentive to do distance anymore. If you’re paid by the hour, pound to a penny everything will go spot on and you’ll only get an 11 hour day in, if on day work it’ll all go breasts north and it’ll be a 15. Where I work you can knock out 3 local jobs and be parked in the yard within 8-10 hours, earning the same as a driver that spends 13 hours going from Felixstowe to the midlands and back again. And I know that’s not long distance, but it is where I work
danalex84:
What is becoming of this once proud industry?
People have discovered there is this thing called having a life and that getting up, going to work, parking up, going to sleep, getting up, starting work, parking up, going to sleep, rinse and repeat 5 days a week, where your daily total conversations with other members of the human race consists of “I’ve brought this load, where do you want it?” and “pump 5 mate”, maybe getting a day and a half a week at home is a pretty sad existence. Whats the point in earning money if you never get to enjoy it? Whats the point in being married if you never get to see the missus, whats the point in having kids and grandkids if you’re never at home to see them? Plenty of divorced trampers, plenty of trampers who regret missing seeing their kids grow up, many of them have few friends outside of work colleagues. Plenty of them retire at 65 and end up dying within a couple of years.
Sod that, I have more intelligence than to want to live a life where I exist for work. Remember Pat Nicholson of PDA fame? She used to be a tramper and I always used to bleat on about how much of life she was missing and she would argue to her last breath I was wrong. And then she was forced to stop driving and within weeks she admitted to me I was right and she hadn’t actually realised how much she was missing out on.
Sometimes you need to have a forced change to realise that where you are how you’re existing. Effectively living to work, no matter how good you think it is, is actually a bit crap.
beefy4605:
robroy:
McGurke:
Most drivers aren’t real truckers anymore most have been lured into the industry with promises of big wages for doing next to nothing, then the reality hits and their stuck because of debts bills that need paying etc.Nail on head mate.
Once over this job was virtually vocational, those that started it (including me) wanted to do nothing else, and/or your Dad was a driver before you (again like me) or your mate was, who you spent time away with (and again)
Nowadays many drivers are car drivers who happen to have taken a course to get a licence, but it is just another job type.
That is why there is very little driver to driver empathy, and virtually no cameraderie any more…not to mention a lot of ■■■■ poor truck drivers.Sorry in advance to offend some on here (really!) but as I have said before, to me being a day man and going home is just like playing at it, a bit like being in the Army and not going on tour but home every night.
I look upon being away from home as part of the job, but can see it not suiting everybody, so fair do.s.The tramping job is as good or as bad as YOU make it, a work/sleep only pattern, sat in your cab in [zb] lay bys, minimum rest and away again, is an existence bordering on an endurance test, and has never been for me, …I would not last 6 months let alone the time I have done it.
I used to actually love all of it, but nowadays just crack on and make the best out of a bad job, in as pleasant a way as possible.Im our yard we have guys who know that they are going to be out 3 nights a week . They have no way of making themselves a bite to eat - no coooker no kettle no nothing . As a result for the 4 days 3 nights out they rely on KFC/ McDonalds Burger King etc . I have the gas stove , kettle pans fridge in the lorry and a coolbox for the summer time and all the bits and pieces to make MY life as comfortable as possible - its no luxury but when I’m hungry I can at least heat up a tin of soup , make a cup of tea / coffee . Nothing worse than not being prepared for what you know is going to happen .
That’s exactly what I meant mate, I too have all the comforts of home (well, nearly all 
) in my truck.
I would not do it any other way.
I also spend time out of the cab many (not all) nights, have a meal and a pint, or I have often went to the pub in summer and had refreshing non alchohol drinks, or even just a walk.
The guys you mention who just generally rough it as a matter of course, and sleep in lay bys etc are the ones that have the worst time tramping, so are not necessarily the right ones to give a true account of what the job is like. 
…if I listened to them as a non driver, even I would be put off it.
switchlogic:
I’ve just gone the other way, local work, short days Tesco store deliveries was doing my head in, so now I’m plodding round Europe again and despite not having done any European work for 18 months the first trip out sort of felt like coming home in a way Tesco work never could
Has Bertie come out of semi retirement too lol
just bedding and brewing tackle in my cab.I like to get away from the lorry at night…so pointless filling it with stuff I don’t need.
Conor:
danalex84:
What is becoming of this once proud industry?People have discovered there is this thing called having a life and that getting up, going to work, parking up, going to sleep, getting up, starting work, parking up, going to sleep, rinse and repeat 5 days a week, where your daily total conversations with other members of the human race consists of “I’ve brought this load, where do you want it?” and “pump 5 mate”, maybe getting a day and a half a week at home is a pretty sad existence. Whats the point in earning money if you never get to enjoy it? Whats the point in being married if you never get to see the missus, whats the point in having kids and grandkids if you’re never at home to see them? Plenty of divorced trampers, plenty of trampers who regret missing seeing their kids grow up, many of them have few friends outside of work colleagues. Plenty of them retire at 65 and end up dying within a couple of years.
Sod that, I have more intelligence than to want to live a life where I exist for work. Remember Pat Nicholson of PDA fame? She used to be a tramper and I always used to bleat on about how much of life she was missing and she would argue to her last breath I was wrong. And then she was forced to stop driving and within weeks she admitted to me I was right and she hadn’t actually realised how much she was missing out on.
Sometimes you need to have a forced change to realise that where you are how you’re existing. Effectively living to work, no matter how good you think it is, is actually a bit crap.
You make some good and relevant points Conor, and a lot of what you say is true.
However as I said before, tramping can be as good or as crap as you make it.
I can admit to a couple of your points that do apply to me, mainly missing the kids growing up,… although I did see a lot of them in the school hols where they came all over UK and Euro with me…one at a time btw
I certainly don’t ‘live to work’ far from it, and I am neither cab happy or one of these truck fanatic types by any means.
As for the tramping marriage thing, you are right to a point, but it all depends on what kind of wife you have, both me and my mate have about 60+ yrs tramping between us, and are both on original marriages. Not to each other I hasten to add. 
I also have many mates outside of the job, but who knows, maybe I’m an exception to a rule.
Everybody is different, your night job suits you, but it would bore the arse off me after a week (that is even if I could manage to sleep through the day) as I am sure, judging by your synopsis of the tramper, my job would have the same effect on you.
I have cut my hours down a bit, do not max out, and only do UK now, and I now have a 2 and a half day weekend off,…so I am trying to wean myself off it a bit.
Conor:
danalex84:
What is becoming of this once proud industry?People have discovered there is this thing called having a life and that getting up, going to work, parking up, going to sleep, getting up, starting work, parking up, going to sleep, rinse and repeat 5 days a week, where your daily total conversations with other members of the human race consists of “I’ve brought this load, where do you want it?” and “pump 5 mate”, maybe getting a day and a half a week at home is a pretty sad existence. Whats the point in earning money if you never get to enjoy it? Whats the point in being married if you never get to see the missus, whats the point in having kids and grandkids if you’re never at home to see them? Plenty of divorced trampers, plenty of trampers who regret missing seeing their kids grow up, many of them have few friends outside of work colleagues. Plenty of them retire at 65 and end up dying within a couple of years.
Sod that, I have more intelligence than to want to live a life where I exist for work. Remember Pat Nicholson of PDA fame? She used to be a tramper and I always used to bleat on about how much of life she was missing and she would argue to her last breath I was wrong. And then she was forced to stop driving and within weeks she admitted to me I was right and she hadn’t actually realised how much she was missing out on.
Sometimes you need to have a forced change to realise that where you are how you’re existing. Effectively living to work, no matter how good you think it is, is actually a bit crap.
Don’t agree with you often Conor but that is spot on.
You’re probably confusing zb nights out work with ‘distance’.I did nights out on general haulage and never drove further than from Surrey base to South Coast,London,Kent,Essex or the Midlands.While on day bulk pallet work and night trunking I was often running all over the country either to a 4 hour + radius of base and/or around 2,000 miles per week.
On that note nights out are ok ‘if’ it’s real full load/bulk distance work and necessary in the form of runs which can’t be done within driving time limits.
Everything else is just short haul work tramping around between relatively short haul destinations with too many drops/ collections and too much waiting/loading/tipping time to fit into a day to get home to base.I’d suggest it’s that which you’re describing and which many drivers are avoiding wherever possible.IE not wanting nights out isn’t always the same thing as not wanting distance work.
HOLY THREAD DIVERSION!!!..lets see where this one goes now…your wakened a bit early today c/f…weekend mediation now or what?..
I’d agree with that.
A long distance run where you have 15 hours to do 8.5 hours driving.
Aka cream
dieseldog999:
HOLY THREAD DIVERSION!!!..lets see where this one goes now…your wakened a bit early today c/f…weekend mediation now or what?..
Blimey DD sorry if I upset you because you’re a short haul tramper.As I said been there done that.Zb work. 
commonrail2:
I’d agree with that.
A long distance run where you have 15 hours to do 8.5 hours driving.
Aka cream
To be fair 12 hour shift preferably less to call it a cream job. 
I blame “No Overtime” and “drivers thinking it’s illegal to be on duty more than 10 hours at a time”.
If I’m offered a “Longer run” than normal, I just ask “Am I going to get paid?” and if there’s any umming and ahhing then I’ll suggest someone just starting their shift rather than me halfway through mine - does it instead. 
I can’t see the attraction to be away all week now, not for somebody who hasn’t done it all their working life and doesn’t know any different.
Going over the water was a bit of an adventure and because of the distances involved, you were having night’s out, you’d meet up with drivers and sit down to a nice meal and a few beers, have a day on the beach here and there, see some spectacular scenery and maybe take in a bit of culture. But really it was an escape, while you were galavanting around the wife was stuck at home being mum and dad and the kids were growing up without you, the father in law was doing all your DIY for you and all your input to your family’s weekly life consisted of was a wage, a bag of dirty washing and 200 cheap ■■■■. Bit of a selfish existence really.
UK night’s out were even worse, they had the same effect on family life, but you never had the decent food or cheap ■■■■.
Who in their right mind would want to do it now, living in a lay by, eating ■■■■ out of tins? Yes I know you can cook up some gastronomic delights, but most don’t.
There’s just no such thing as long distance UK work, at 847 miles you could drive from Land’s End to John O’ Groats in two shifts. 
I prefer a bit of distance, see more and much less stress, I hate local work, driving around cities all day, no thanks
We have our own wagons and out a few nights a week often at short notice.
Most of us have our telly and microwave and the wagons are quite highly specified so well comfy.
But one guy has no telly no microwave or kindle (he may have an old sticky copy of razzle) and buys take away or butties to live off and his wagon (a bit minging) is just as bare as factory delivery.
Sod that, mine is full of everything, clothes, food the lot just in case.
Oh and beaver repellant