Was wondering if any ex Middle East drivers are still driving for a living (must be one or two) and if so, do you get anywhere near the (presumably) huge amount of job satisfaction in your current job?
Or, has a lot of the bad things about the m/e run been forgotten about with the aid of rose tinted spectacles 
Roverman:
Was wondering if any ex Middle East drivers are still driving for a living (must be one or two) and if so, do you get anywhere near the (presumably) huge amount of job satisfaction in your current job?
Or, has a lot of the bad things about the m/e run been forgotten about with the aid of rose tinted spectacles
There are hundreds of ex Middle-East drivers posting on these forums, some retired, some doing local work and some still doing The Run! If you go to the Old Timers forum and read the Astran /Middle-East drivers thread, the Middle-East - Not Astran thread and dozens of others, you’ll read about the ins and outs. The subject of the Middle-East run comes up in most threads at some or another, especially threads dedicated to certain makes (like the Scania 140). Hope that helps. Robert 
Chris Hopper/Hooper has hung up his keys from M/E driving.
I saw him in Habay truckstop Belgium a long time ago with a white Scania on Dutch plates with In-transit in Arabic on the front grille.
He wrote in the Truckstop news a few months ago saying he had bad health problems.
Yeah, my old mate Chris Hooper ( hooper man ) has packed it in so I`m told, he had a stroke ( and believed he got over that ) but has called it a day.
And yes Robert there are still quite a few of us working, and still doing international work too, its in the blood you know ha ha maybe if the government directed the Immigrant handouts to us pensioners, we could retire ( not gracefully ) but to live the life we did whilst on the road…lol
Yeah still doing a bit, came off the road when I packed in m/e and went into engineering for 18 years but kept up my licence, then when I retired at 60, after 2 weeks retirement I was bored so got on to ANC as it was then, now known as FedEx, doing two night trunks a week with no intention of parking up as long as I keep passing the D4. Just passed recently that will see me through to age 72!
There will NEVER be any job to compare with that of the m/e, it’s difficult to put into words, and no job you ever get now will be the same. Even guys doing it now will not have the freedom that we had back then, with tacho’s, cab phones, political situations etc.
I have a better truck to do my job in now than was ever dreamed of 40 years ago, when it was the dream to spend weeks or months in the cab of an F88 no night heater or aircon.
Now it’s just a way of keeping in touch and stealing money. No one stops to help anyone these days, all trucks are driven by faceless souls.
Driving to the m/e was almost like being in the army again, we looked out for each other, and you know no one would ever leave you stranded.
Sounds a world away from today’s truck driving. I think (if done properly) a documentary based on Ashley Coghill’s book with more m/e hauliers and drivers could be a really successful documentary/series (I know destination doha covered some of it but the failed trips would be as interesting as the glorious ones) . To me its a story that should be brought to a wider audience
Thanks Ian
I did 5 trips in late 70s,dont know if that counts.1 in a guy j4…3 in a transcontinental,and 1 in a marathon…the marathon was a bigger dog than the guy !!! took the hump and wrapped it in thanks to the marathon being the best of british… been away and back from trucks over the years,and now playing around over here in northern paddyland where its still 1980. I thought it was great job,when I wasn’t kakking myself thinking it was madness wanting to work like that.but then again,when your young,its on the to do list,and its done and dusted now. the nearest I get now is running on the wire all day so I can go out on the boat at night…( but don’t tell anyone I said that,because nobody on here does anything wrong,never),…
I drove to the ME during the 70s and 80s and for the next 2 decades all over Europé,North Africa ,USSR and Northern Scandinavia.When i moved up here to Lappland 6 yrs ago i decided to work less and live more.Now i drive partime[mostly summer]with a tipper [60t]in the mine and relax as much as i can.Having spent 40yrs ‘‘living to work’’ i now ‘‘work to live’’.I have been offered diverse work ‘‘long distance’’ but have vehemently refused to even consider it.I consider i have ‘‘seen the best’’ transport had to offer.In the so called ‘‘old days’’ you could go almost anywhere in a truck and the only restriction was your own ability.Mike