Jef,that is not a stupid question,if you dont ask,how will you know.Waberers are hiring international drivers,18 year olds is no problem,they have about 6000 trucks all over europe and beyond,so is Edy,a Romanian firm,the only draw back is getting there for an interview,then going back to bring all the cab kit with you.
It may be a case of nothing in the cab,you will need battery jump start cables,two warning triangles,a decent tool kit,with spare bulbs,all the sleeping gear of duvets,pillows,and sheets,so then hiring a car would be an option,then there is your cooking kit,gas stove,washing up kit,the list is endless to make life comfortable on your time off at weekends,can you stay in the cab for 45 hours,in some area that is not what you like,the boss may keep you turning around,so you do not go home much,the eastern euro lads are out all year in their cabs.
I’m sorry Toby that suggestion is fairly nuts. You’d have to be a very brave 23 year old to go and work in Romania or Hungary straight from driving tippers. Not to mention one that can live on peanuts.
Point taken Luke,what about Austrian firm that is called Trawoger is something like that,the kit looks decent,or that Nottheger in the Tyrol valley,i got offered a job there,they do bulk tanker work,juice and pulp,and general haulage,Russia and Scandinavia,a family owned firm,near Waidring.
Stop Trans lda,seem to have dominated the uk market,Portuguese outfit,Ukrainian and Brazilian drivers.
toby1234abc:
Stop Trans lda,seem to have dominated the uk market,Portuguese outfit,Ukrainian and Brazilian drivers.
so if they employ ukrainians and brazilians how is a young english lad going to get a start 
he’s looking for help and advice not a list of who works for who and where he’s not going to stand a chance
if you wannna do it then go for it. I’ve done it for a while and everytime i stop and go on UK work I just wanna get back over there. Sure times change and the job changes but still worth doing
Jeff, have you considered getting out and about some of the larger industial areas of Belgium and Holland and knocking on doors? Maybe look at work that doesn’t involve coming to the UK at all, that may widen your possibilities. If you don’t have commitments then I reckon you’d be on a winner if you be willing to stay out for several months as the dutch drivers MUST be home at the w-e!! Tip, avoid the blinged up truck firms and target the plain jane type instead. Best of luck with it.
i’m 60 and still enjoy it Jeff. Don’t get discouraged. As one of the others said if you’re there at the right time you’ll get the job. Whatever any employer says, if you turn up when he’s got a truck with a load to go and no driver…Be warned though; if you start it’s hard to to anything else. When I went back to it after a few months on UK work and was chatting to the Greek who had Cluses, then Modane (now defunct) he said, once you start doing it you’re contaminated: Welcome to our world.
I’m another Euro-tramper getting long in the tooth. I was getting the advice to stay out out of transport and especially European transport when I started. The same old ‘the job aint what it was’. No job is. Old engineering turners will say the exactly same thing. Things move on, the equipment moves on, the expectations move on etc etc.
The Bears advice on getting a foot in the door is about the best you’re going to get.
If you want it, go for it. Go job hunting with your passport in your bag and enough gear to keep you going for 2 or 3 weeks. You can always do a bit of washing, in the shower if your desperate, a lot of big truckstops open over the weekend have laundry facilities. A pack of t-shirts is cheap enough too.
I still enjoy tramping around the bit of Europe my company covers. I’ll still be there when I retire, if they are still going, as long as I don’t get fired 
Lukes post that starts -
switchlogic:
Lots of pointless advice from old men who are fed up because it’s not like it was in their day. Get out of transport isn’t good advice.
is all good stuff.
So again. If you want it, go n get it.
It may take a while to get it n you might hate it once you get that start. Lots do.
A lot of us still love it too. There’s only one way to find out …
Harry Monk:
Nice choice of pic, Harry.
I see what you did there 
dar1976:
Time to look stupid now…But what is meant by ‘tilt work’?
the tilt equivalent, of side loading
they can be loaded thru the roof as well
Good fun to be had dodging the toll roads,national road all the way to Milan and back.
It seems to be a lot harder to avoid the French peages now, lots of National roads have 7.5 tonne weight limits at regular intervals forcing you back onto the motorway.
I see that they are quite sneaky like that,one could waste time and fuel coming off one exit to join the national,then 10 k`s down the road another weight limit,they have stopped the short cut to get to Nantua,where the big viaduct is.
It is a shame,as when you travel on the national,you see places that you could stay at when in a car or camper van.
A lot of places on these roads are shut due to no passing trade.
Boulogne Sur Mer is an example,i used to risk the ban after leaving the port to head south west.
I started doing Euro work at 23…Royal Mail put me through my HGV at 21 but I had to stay 2 years(unless I wanted to pay back cost of training ).
As soon as the 2 years were up I started badgering the local International hauliers (granted in the 80’s there were lots more off them).
I came off the road in 97 following the misguided dream of “working in the office”, thinking it was a step up the proverbial ladder.
after that went ■■■■■ up i went back to driving in UK only, due to having met my wife and “settled down”.
There isnt a day goes by that I dont miss the thrill of heading for the ferry to travel to places most people have either never heard of or at most been there for a week on holiday.
If you really want it Jef go for it, its better to try and find out its not for you than to live the rest of your life wondering…“What if”
toowise:
If you really want it Jef go for it, its better to try and find out its not for you than to live the rest of your life wondering…“What if”
That sums it up perfectly. My dad was having a clear out yesterday and found a load of my old school reports. I joked that they all pretty much said ‘good but could do better’! My dad said if I’d tried harder in school I’d probably be a lawyer now (I admire his optimism!) instead of two years into a law degree. I replied by saying no matter how well I would have done, no matter how much money I could have been earning I would never have been happy till I drove trucks. Specifically in a truck heading for Dover to go to Italy or somesuch. I often get messages from chaps who watch my videos and always wanted to drive trucks, or truck drivers that wanted to do europe, but never did and regret it now. Listen to your heart and you can’t go wrong.
That sums things up perfectly I’ve had acouple of chances to do things I’ve wanted to do and regretted them. I’ve taken chances some have worked out some have gone wrong but at least I’ve tried.
Me and my wife had a major scare when she became Ill not long after we got married and it was touch and go wether she would pull through and she was only 27 do since then we have both been a bit follow your heart.
Nothing worse than older and bemoaning not having done it and becoming bitter.
I bet if you asked 99% of the guys on here even the ones who have advised against it would they change what they done they wouldn’t.
Luke and kr’s posts about sum it up for me too. Never regretted it and still do it 