Just been asked to do a night out tomorrow. Now this is the first time i iwll have done this as a driver so a couple of quick questions. 
2)what in your opinion do i need with me. Rubbish timings for drops really first drop in Norwich for 11.00 (out of york) then ipswich following morning. Leaves a big big gap to kill time!. Its also a bit late in the day to be going out buying loads of stuff!
Think that should cover it 
hi bones
parking in norfolk click here.
if you can make it as far as ipswich there is parking at the back of tescos which is at the junction of the a14 and a1214.
im sure that a few of the container bods will be able to point you in the right direction down that way.
as regards what you need a towel and wash stuff sleeping blanket pillow tv books any thing to keep you entertained,also a big iron bar in case anyone trys to get in your cab 
best of luck mate
jon
Hi there, you could park at Tescos at the junction of A14/A12 get there early as it gets full! ( there is a lorry parking area next to the filling station) choice of Tescos restaurant, B/king or Pizza hut. Iām not sure if there is a parking charge though!. Or, you could travel down the A12 a couple of miles to Copdock lorry park, not sure of parking charges but i`ve heard that the food is reasonable.
Cheers,
royā¦
thanks for the replies. Also just been looking on tāinternet and seen a lorry park just after orwell bridge (nacton i think) any of you been here before?
If its any good it should be ideal because i think thursdays drop is very close to it (makroās)
thanks again.
If thatās the one on the eastbound side just newly built the facilities look good and there was a varied menu available,more space for parking here,donāt know what parking costs,but of the ipswich stops mentioned itād be my choice.
Orwell crossing on the A14 'twixt Ipswich & Felixstowe.
Ā£10ā¦00 per night including shower & Ā£3.00 meal voucher.
Place is as clean as a whistle and food is great.
Hope this helpsā¦
Take a sleeping bag, pillow, towel, washing stuffs
Water container, camping stove or kettle, jar of coffee (as the garages charge a fortune) Bread, cheese, marg, cool blox, knife, mugā¦ !!
(I always take an extra flask full of boiling water aswel as a flask full of coffee, as you can get the kettle boiled up alot faster with already warm water )
Mags, TV, CDās, alarm clockā¦
Phone/laptop charger if you need / have one
And most importantlyā¦
A Teddy bear to snuggle up toā¦
Luv
Chrisieā¦ 
Between Norwich and Ipswich thereās very little.
Stop in Norwich, or Ipswich itself at any of the above listed stops if at all possible.
I have updated the post a little, since I missed a few off. But I canāt recheck any of the details from here.
Thanks for the advice. I stayed at the new place Just after Orwell crossing as per advice and must say it was Well worth a visit. 
Ā£10 included shower in brand new power shower. And Ā£3 off meal had a choice of about 5 main meals and its open 24hours.
Theres a shop and a bar with big screen and sky (good for the footie!)
At the bottom end of the park theres also a mac dās
Whole place is well run and very clean and looked after
Anyone down there looking for parking should try it.
Only downside is i pulled in there at 13.00 yesterday and had a hell of alot of time to kill till 05.30 this morning and you can only read a paper so many times!!
Shouldāve lay-byed it like us hardened trampers do and got a wash at the side of the truck
Layby my [zb], Rob.
Iāve been tramping for a year or two and only use a layby as an absolute last resort.
Do you enjoy trying to sleep in a wagon which bounces around like Zebidee on crack, every time another wagon goes past?
Do you enjoy trying to sleep in a wagon, worrying about every noise possibly being that [zb] Zorro, gaining entry to your trailer by the use of his sword (or stanley knife), or even someone deciding whether or not to try to get into your cab?
I use truckstops or lorry parks on every occaision possible. Motorway services are slightly further down my list, of suitable parking places, just after the old BP Truckstops and closely followed by Lymm.
I slept in laybys many a time. Even if it was refunded in the end, I donāt like paying out 15 quid for the privelage of parking up for the night. But itās a bit safer if your truck (as mine did) had curtains proclaiming that the contents were unlikely to be worth nicking, unless your family had a need for 15 tons of shrinkwrap 
Fact I did general haulage 90% of the time didnāt matter a jot
A friend of mine who drives a truck, told me a story the other day.
She said that she is scared of parking in truckstops or even some service areas. One of the tales she told me was while parked up, she had had a meal and a shower and then gone back to the truck.
During the night she said that there were several drivers knocking on the cab, and calling out things like " get your kniickers off" She told me that drivers attitudes changed in these places and felt they have to show off to their mates!
Mind you she gave the old trout at Wolverhampton some stick when she was woken up for business 
I have to say, Iām in total agreement with your friend, Wheelnutā¦
ā¦I try to park in laybys and industrial estates, only calling into MSAs and T/stops for a shower during the day.
Itās partly a hangover from my subbying jobs, but a good deal about safetyā¦if youāre in a T/stop everyone sees you walking back and forth to pay/shower/use the toilet etc. They see which wagon your in, that youāre on you own, and where itās parked.
In a layby/ industrial estate (the latter being the first choice) I can draw my curtains as soon as I stop and the chances are no-one will be any the wiserā¦even if I get in and out through the evening they donāt know if Iām alone or with a 6ft 6 Glaswegian.
Whilst weāre on the subject, it is utterly beyond me why some girls think itās a bright idea to leave obviosly female nameplates in the window overnight. Sure, during the day it makes no oddsā¦but if you wer going to break into a wagon in a truckstop, which would you pickā¦āDelboyā, "āMalā. āNeverhomeā or āSuzieāā¦ā ā ? 
Which is why Iām happy my nick plate is pretty gender neutral. Once my curtains are closed Iāve never been hassled. Though I have been hit on pretty hard a few times while in the truck park. One parking attendant at an unwelcome break tried to chat me up whilst I was eating my supperā¦ ewwwā¦
Touchwoodā¦
Other than being pestered by the parking attendantsā¦ (Usually foreignersā¦) I havenāt had anything untoward happen to meā¦ YETā¦
Gettin chatted up at RDCās is one thing, but once the curtains are drawn I donāt wanna knowā¦
Lucy - Iāve left my āIām to ā ā ā ā for my truckā disc up everynight, without realisingā¦ 
ā¦ Thanks to you, I wonāt be anymoreā¦
Luv
Chrisieā¦
On the subject of parking etcā¦i was wonderingā¦there must be lady truckers out there who like to save a few quid and therefore park in laybys or industrial estatesā¦now for a male driver he can when nature calls open the door slightly or get out and use the nearest treeā¦or the wheels/mudguards etcā¦but what do lady truckers doā¦just a thought!!
have a nice day
Easy. Park with the bit of the trailer between the back of the unit and the legs over a drain, making sure there is a wall or other camoflage along that side of the truck. 
Best unit I ever had was Penfold the P-cabā¦he had the tank on the nearside removed which left a perfect built in hiding-place between the back of the cab and the drive-axle.
If you can park with proper bushes nearby, even better (vital if youāre in a rigid, but I didnāt do that for long enough to explore many other possibilities for the trailer-less).
If you canāt achieve eitherā¦then itās fingers crossed, pick your moment and hope no-one spots you!!!
(Iāll let you take turns bribing Rikki with beer if you want him to tell you about when I was in the roadworks on the A1 when they dug up the bit near Stibbington last autumnā¦even Penfold wasnāt fool-proof in standing traffic!!! 
)
Ragtop:
Touchwoodā¦
Other than being pestered by the parking attendantsā¦ (Usually foreignersā¦) I havenāt had anything untoward happen to meā¦ YETā¦Gettin chatted up at RDCās is one thing, but once the curtains are drawn I donāt wanna knowā¦
Lucy - Iāve left my āIām to ā ā ā ā for my truckā disc up everynight, without realisingā¦
Luv
Chrisieā¦
Rags, did they take smERF away from you after all or did you get a reprieve in the end? Sorry to be asking so long after you posted about this but I can be a bit slow sometimes
Noā¦ SmERF is joblessā¦ Iāve been out 4 times in as many weeksā¦ 
had to drive the 7.5 tonnersā¦ 
so I re-signed up with Driver hire yesterdayā¦
Theyāre gonna sell SmERF and buy a 26 ton reefer (when they find one)ā¦ Which is niceā¦
The curtainsider was a mistakeā¦ It was bought for a contract that never materialised, and now we have a single truck in a very competitive marketā¦ Hopefully, seeing as theyāre chilled specialists, the new reefer should get plenty of workā¦
I went in today and striped her of my personal bitsā¦ 
Just incase sheās sold tomorrow along with my stereo, telly, etcā¦ Not a nice moment, but iām sure it wonāt be the first in my trucking careerā¦
I completely filled the back of my car with towels, sleeping bag, pillow, blanket, telly, mags, tissues, etcā¦ !!! Itās amazing how much you can cram in a cab, and how little you can get in a cab----rioletā¦ !!!
Luv
Chrisieā¦