European driver

UK PROFESSIONAL DRIVERS FORUMS EURO DRIVING FORUM (INTERACTIVE)
1

Hi,
I often see posts on here from lads wanting a job running europe, I wonder how many REALLY would stick it nowadays, so much has changed in the last few years, the 90hr rule is a complete bugger, if you have a long and busy 2 weeks you could find yourself parked in a services from friday till midnight sunday, the eastern block drivers cope, but could you?, you will never earn the kind of money you would get driving for stobart, all the truckstops shut at noon saturday. The digi tacho has put an end to ‘private mileage’ for nipping to the beach etc,all in all I just think there aint that many guys left that would do it long term, to work for a small haulier running running europe all the cards would need to be maxed out meaning you could end up in a services in belgium in the blistering heat from friday till monday, would you really want that, the pl, lt, ro guys will do.it but would you?

Posted from bloody belgium on a bloody long and boring saturday night…
(also a shameless plug, muppets need not apply!)
Lrm

2

Would go back to it tomorrow given half a chance(as long as the money is right) :wink:
With a bit of forward thinking, there would be no reason to be weekended on a services in Belge would there?
Get off the services.even Belge isnt that boring.

3

LRM:
Hi,
I often see posts on here from lads wanting a job running europe, I wonder how many REALLY would stick it nowadays, so much has changed in the last few years,

True enough, it’s changed a lot in the last few years.

LRM:
the 90hr rule is a complete bugger, if you have a long and busy 2 weeks you could find yourself parked in a services from friday till midnight sunday,

Only if forget you’re running out of hours.

LRM:
the eastern block drivers cope, but could you?, you will never earn the kind of money you would get driving for stobart, all the truckstops shut at noon saturday.

Stobart has drivers running Europe.
They ALL shut? Oh dear, I must’ve been imagining drinking that wine the other weekend then. The aching head seemed so real as well. :wink:

LRM:
The digi tacho has put an end to ‘private mileage’ for nipping to the beach etc

Again, only if you make a hash of calculating your hours. You’ll have to run direct to the beach and stay there, but if that’s what you fancy you can still do that.

LRM:
all in all I just think there aint that many guys left that would do it long term, to work for a small haulier running running europe all the cards would need to be maxed out meaning you could end up in a services in belgium in the blistering heat from friday till monday,

Even a small haulier shouldn’t expect you to spend a long weekend on a services. Even if you max out your hours, stopping somewhere pleasant for the weekend 30 minutes (ish) short of max shouldn’t be a major problem. Besides which, who has control of the keys? If your likely to get fired for it, I’d be lining up another job already.

LRM:
would you really want that, the pl, lt, ro guys will do.it but would you?

Nope, I’d make sure I parked up at one of the truckstops which are open for the weekend, or find an alternative before my hours ran out. I’ve weekended in Crecy La Battaile (the site of the battle of Crecy), Salamanca, Pisa, Milan, Paris, Rome, Monaco, Barcelona, Salou and many other places.
Anywhere other than a service area, unless I especially wanted to have a quiet weekend.

LRM:
Posted from bloody belgium on a bloody long and boring saturday night…
(also a shameless plug, muppets need not apply!)
Lrm

Bad planning :question: :open_mouth: :grimacing:

4

I thought the same Simon, there are still some smashing places to be weekended and Belgium is not one of them. :laughing: Unless you know where to go. :wink:

5

Simon, don’t pick on him - he’s having a bad couple of days… :wink:

6

The Sarge:
Simon, don’t pick on him - he’s having a bad couple of days… :wink:

I gathered that, I just thought I’d rub it in a bit :smiling_imp: :smiling_imp: :smiling_imp:

7

And I always thought Mod’s were s’posed to be nice…

8

Its not always as simple as you say, 30 mins can make all the difference in catching a boat for your booking time to tip, I know stobarts are abroad, I see enough of them, (i heard the contract renewal was last week, wonder how they got on), my point is a lot of lads seem to want the job in theory but when it comes to the reality of it they last a month and give up, you obviously know the job inside out and im sure you have a wonderful time every weekend but some dont, and there aint that many doing the job to meet up with any more…

Lrm

9

Been there and done that unfortunately, the esso drongen on the A 10 E40 , was a crap place , faggots cruising the truck park all day, theres something seriously wrong with some of them over in belgie , plenty of clandestines frequent it too, mind you they frequent other places to, i belive that the town drongen is ok though, it’s got a few pubs , the lads that i had to swap trailers with got a lift into drongen by the guy who was working in the shop, and got a taxi back, i suppose getting p*ssed up in a boozer is better than being stuck in your cab, at least no (zb) will break in your cab & rob your kit ,

But yeah, i would go back to euro work again if the money was there, as for being stuck where you don’t want to be for 24-48 hrs, i’m sure that you are allowed to deviate from the rules to find a safe and suitable place to take your weekly rest, but if your not familiar with the area then you could run into probs, once off the main routes

10

tommy t:
Been there and done that unfortunately, the esso drongen on the A 10 E40 , was a crap place , faggots cruising the truck park all day, theres something seriously wrong with some of them over in belgie , plenty of clandestines frequent it too, mind you they frequent other places to, i belive that the town drongen is ok though, it’s got a few pubs , the lads that i had to swap trailers with got a lift into drongen by the guy who was working in the shop, and got a taxi back, i suppose getting p*ssed up in a boozer is better than being stuck in your cab, at least no (zb) will break in your cab & rob your kit ,

But yeah, i would go back to euro work again if the money was there, as for being stuck where you don’t want to be for 24-48 hrs, i’m sure that you are allowed to deviate from the rules to find a safe and suitable place to take your weekly rest, but if your not familiar with the area then you could run into probs, once off the main routes

Yeah, the only thing to remember about Belgium, is don’t park lorries on cycle lanes, otherwise almost anywhere else is tolerated, there are some good bars and shops in Belgian towns & villages and the villages tend to have less ■■■■■■ action, that only happens on the services and in laybys

11

we were weekended recently in st. ghislain and its a lovely town with plenty to do on a sunday especially seeing as it was the weekend of the town fair.
if you know you’re going to be long weekended away from home time it right that you park up for the weekend somewhere thats open like a decent french routier, there are plenty of them open on a weekend.
there is a book available for 20 euros lists all the routiers :bulb:
then do a bit on sunday night if you’ve parked up sensibly before your 90 hours is up.
last week on my way to slovenia i parked near venice saturday afternoon, i could have got to the border at gorizia but venice is a better option then a border crossing :laughing: :laughing:

i agree thats its a different type of lifestyle though, after all i’ve seen posts on here where a driver wants to do europe from the north of the UK and be home every weekend, well its one or the other i’m afraid

12

Last weekend I was weekended in a layby south of Aberdeen - I had to get 45 hrs break in asap to enable me to get my reloads and then the boat home.

It wasnt too much of a problem as Id stocked up on fresh food from Asda just up the road, I had plenty of beer and some good books.

Parking in laybys isnt my preferred way to weekend, however sometimes there is little alternative. its part and parcel of the job, and to be honest if you cant hack it, which many cant - then long distance/international is probably not for you.

13

Hombre:
Last weekend I was weekended in a layby south of Aberdeen - I had to get 45 hrs break in asap to enable me to get my reloads and then the boat home.

It wasnt too much of a problem as Id stocked up on fresh food from Asda just up the road, I had plenty of beer and some good books.

Parking in laybys isnt my preferred way to weekend, however sometimes there is little alternative. its part and parcel of the job, and to be honest if you cant hack it, which many cant - then long distance/international is probably not for you.

There is a special clause in the regulations which allows you to exceed your hours in order to get 3 hours from Aberdeen. Obviously as we are talking about Aberdeen this clause has been inserted into teh regulations on grounds of safety and decency. You can count the time spent getting away from that craphole as rest.

14

Exactly my point hombre, its easy to say as simon did that you plan ahead, but it doesnt always work out like that, if you go to a factory with 4hrs spreadover left then it takes them 3hrs to load you may only make the next services, what im trying to say is that guys want euro jobs without thinking through the realities of it. 24hrs of is easy but 45 or more can be tedious no matter where your parked. I have been speaking to 2 poles that are on with nolans today, real nice lads, good grasp of the english language, they do 12 weeks then home for 3, how many brits would be willing to do that nowadays, you cant blame nolan for giving them jobs, from a business point of view its makes perfect sense.

Lrm

15

Im regularly away for 3 or 4 weeks at a time with maybe, if im lucky, a flying visit home for the night. Its not ideal being away so long, but thats the job and until something comes up better then Im stuck with it.

Over the years ive seen dozens of drivers desperate to be going “over the water”, but once the realities of turnrounds, late or cancelled loads and the other million and one things which conspire to keep you away from home have become painfully obvious many jack it in.

16

Hombre:
… and to be honest if you cant hack it, which many cant - then long distance/international is probably not for you.

I’m +1 to this. ^^

The risk of being weekended unexpectedly is an integral part of being a Euro driver and has been ever since UK trucks first ventured abroad. It’s all about being prepared for it. :wink:

17

If the company that you work for provide the right kit for you to be away for 2-3 weeks at a time that certainly can make the job a lot easier, by the right kit , i mean a space cab,lockable storage box on your trl(with 24v power)unit fitted with air con or a pod, and things like a built in fridge/freezer and a microwave would be an added bonus, plenty of space to store your clean clothing and laundry, along with somewhere to put your food and gas bottles and cookers ect, so you have the cab uncluttered,
I have done weeks away at a time in a Daf CF double manned with next to no space to put your kit, most of it had to live in the trl if it wasn’t sealed , not ideal, having said that our boss was a tight ■■■ he wouldn’t have us out long enough to need a 45hr,lol he had still has more drivers than vehicles , but i have ended up sitting around for 2 days waiting for a reload in same type of cab, no air con bog standard unit,

18

I had to do 4 days non-movement in Italy last week. 40 Degree heat all day. 30 At night in a Sprinter van.
A factory where you couldn’t stay on site, a manky hole in the ground so you could cack.
A shower next to the cack hole. Nowhere local to buy fresh milk food etc…
Yeah come on over! :open_mouth:

19

tommy t:
lockable storage box on your trl(with 24v power)unit fitted with air con or a pod, and things like a built in fridge/freezer and a microwave would be an added bonus

whats that for? if you’ve got a built in fridge/freezer? :confused:

20

True the fridge could be in the box, but i prefer it to be in the cab, handy for grabbing the odd bottle of nice ice cold water as your rolling, and also handy when your parked up ,for the cold beers,lol no need to get out the cab getting eaten by them mozzies in the summer,and getting wet through and cold in the winter,lol A side locker on the trailer could also be used as somewhere to cook food and add a couple of fold away chairs somewhere to eat it too, just as johnny foreigner does out there , the power supply could be used for a light, so i could see what i was doing if it was dark,