Most firms I know expect the trampers to work a 6th shift on Saturday, or at least run in the on the saturday morning 1/2 day, on at least 3 out of 5 weeks. Some I know insist you work every other Saturday providing youve got enough driving time available
dafdave:
cliffton 27:
Thetaff:
If you think you are going to be home by tea time every Friday tramping then someone’s been telling you porkies,if you run out on a Sunday you may well be but not mon-fri.o i will be my friend my rota is monday to friday so come every frinday evening il be sat at home with my feet up come hell or high water il only stop out if i decided to do an extra day
When i tramped there was no such thing as a rota,unforseen cicumstances,traffic holdups,loads not ready,etc has seen me come home on saturdays many a time.
regards dave.
i know what your saying if i break down or get caught in traffic then obviously il have to stay but i wont stay out due to a load not being ready or held up at a tip first thing friday morning it will be made clear im coming home that day so planning know not too run me too late
after a week in a truck all im gonna wanna do is go home spend a couple of days quality time with the family
cliffton 27:
dafdave:
cliffton 27:
Thetaff:
If you think you are going to be home by tea time every Friday tramping then someone’s been telling you porkies,if you run out on a Sunday you may well be but not mon-fri.o i will be my friend my rota is monday to friday so come every frinday evening il be sat at home with my feet up come hell or high water il only stop out if i decided to do an extra day
When i tramped there was no such thing as a rota,unforseen cicumstances,traffic holdups,loads not ready,etc has seen me come home on saturdays many a time.
regards dave.i know what your saying if i break down or get caught in traffic then obviously il have to stay but i wont stay out due to a load not being ready or held up at a tip first thing friday morning it will be made clear im coming home that day so planning know not too run me too late
after a week in a truck all im gonna wanna do is go home spend a couple of days quality time with the family
its being made clear at our depot at the moment,if you DONT LIKE IT THERES THE DOOR, 
i hope your more succesfull clifton when you tell your planner what you intend to do
Thetaff:
If you think you are going to be home by tea time every Friday tramping then someone’s been telling you porkies,if you run out on a Sunday you may well be but not mon-fri.
id agree taff,i always started on a monday morning tramping ,back fri dinner,then leave sun dinner,back some weeks sat,never got back some weeks,always told mrs ill see you when i see you
cliffton 27:
dafdave:
cliffton 27:
Thetaff:
If you think you are going to be home by tea time every Friday tramping then someone’s been telling you porkies,if you run out on a Sunday you may well be but not mon-fri.o i will be my friend my rota is monday to friday so come every frinday evening il be sat at home with my feet up come hell or high water il only stop out if i decided to do an extra day
When i tramped there was no such thing as a rota,unforseen cicumstances,traffic holdups,loads not ready,etc has seen me come home on saturdays many a time.
regards dave.i know what your saying if i break down or get caught in traffic then obviously il have to stay but i wont stay out due to a load not being ready or held up at a tip first thing friday morning it will be made clear im coming home that day so planning know not too run me too late
after a week in a truck all im gonna wanna do is go home spend a couple of days quality time with the family
Best of luck with that then
^^^^^^^^ what he said,be prepared for a little wake up call my friend cos if you tell your planner you ain’t sticking around cos the load ain’t ready and your running out of time to get home,he will run you back empty making no profit whatsoever. 
My experience of laying the law down to planners is it earns you a lot of getting messed about in later weeks (some planners can bear grudges even longer than that!).
Cliff if i was you mate i would take notice of the replies on here from experienced trampers,its not all a bed of roses.We cant all be wrong can we?
regards dave.
My advice - If you want to tramp - tramp . Don’t expect to get home at all and be prepared to spend up to 3 weeks or longer at a time in your new home (your truck). I hope you have a very understanding wife/ partner/ girlfriend/significant other because the brown stuff will hit the fan on a regular basis . What about a load not ready on a Monday/ Tuesday/ Wednesday/Thursday morning - that all adds up and keeps you back not just the Friday morning load . You will be expected to weekend every so often - it could be once in six months or 3 weekends in a row .
With all due respect it sounds like you have your rose tinted glasses on friend - time for a reality check .
3 weeks worth of clothes
cooking gear ,fridge,coolbox,microwave,coffee maker.gas stove , pots and pans
tool box and spare bulbs ,suzies.oil and fuel filters ,gallon of oil .wheel brace,cable ties
at least 2 sets of bedding and washing kit and towels
first aid kit
books ,magazines ,mp3 player .dvd player /tv /playstation - don’t see the need for DVD/TV/ playstation myself - never had them in the cab but I was always happy to get parked up and get to my bed not sit up half the night watching a tv screen.
cash and credit/debit cards ,fuel cards, toll cards /money for tolls
hi vis / rain gear / gloves
notebooks /pens
phone and charger
maps/satnav
dafdave:
Cliff if i was you mate i would take notice of the replies on here from experienced trampers,its not all a bed of roses.We cant all be wrong can we?
regards dave.
+1
Twelve years later and I, too, have learnt the hard way…
LMAO @ this thread. Naive person is naive. 
cliffton 27:
Thetaff:
If you think you are going to be home by tea time every Friday tramping then someone’s been telling you porkies,if you run out on a Sunday you may well be but not mon-fri.o i will be my friend my rota is monday to friday so come every frinday evening il be sat at home with my feet up come hell or high water il only stop out if i decided to do an extra day
If your planned out of Appleton! Good Luck! All I’m gonna say is it’s Stobart HQ! So expect to do extra on a Friday! They can replace you mate! 
Oh I nearly forgot! Your new! They will run you to the max for up to 12 months!
good luck with your new shift pattern
ady1:
fire extinguisher,smoke alarms
or a balaclava, matches/lighter and a drop of petrol 
Give the guy a break!!! All he asked for was a bit of advice on what to take.
To all you guys and gals who say trampers work 6 days and max hours, well I’ve been tramping with my present employer for nearly 4 years and I have never worked a Saturday or a Sunday or any bank holiday, have a good pension excellent sick pay and we are paid way above the national average.
It’s no wonder people don’t like posting on this forum…
I left Stobarts about two weeks ago and went on the agency, I’m starting permanent at Wincanton full time on Monday.
I was Tramping out of Appleton and lasted about 8 weeks. It was the worst job I’ve ever had. To be fair, Tramping isn’t for me so I wouldn’t have liked it at any company but Stobarts were bad.
Different start times at the beginning every week because work was slack. Some weeks they’d park you up after a 10-11 hour day so you had 12-13 hours off in the cab. Then they’d hammer you with a 15 hour day on your last one.
Dessy’s right, the planners at Appleton are mostly ■■■■. They change your work without telling you and expect you to just notice it on the isotrak then if you ring them, they don’t answer or ring back. One or two are ok but most are tossers.
I know 8 weeks isn’t giving it much chance but sometimes you don’t need longer to see what it’s like. I’m so happy now I’m not there, looking forward to Wincanton and being home every day.
Deepinvet:
Give the guy a break!!! All he asked for was a bit of advice on what to take…
I wasn’t have a pop at the guy,far from it,I wish him all the best with being away all week.
He just seemed a bit naive thinking that he will be home every Friday tea time,as most trampers on here know that ain’t the case.
Thetaff:
Deepinvet:
Give the guy a break!!! All he asked for was a bit of advice on what to take…I wasn’t have a pop at the guy,far from it,I wish him all the best with being away all week.
He just seemed a bit naive thinking that he will be home every Friday tea time,as most trampers on here know that ain’t the case.
+1
Rob K:
Thetaff:
Deepinvet:
Give the guy a break!!! All he asked for was a bit of advice on what to take…I wasn’t have a pop at the guy,far from it,I wish him all the best with being away all week.
He just seemed a bit naive thinking that he will be home every Friday tea time,as most trampers on here know that ain’t the case.+1
Jezz, just cause your tramping doesn’t mean you have to work six days or max your card.
I might not earn top dollar, but then it’s rare if I do any w/e work or run to the wire, and if I tell ‘em I started at 4 then I’m home by “tea time” on a 13
Would be different if I was hourly though 
It depends how you define “tea time”, though, doesn’t it. I don’t officially work weekends in my current job and have only run in a handful of Saturdays in the 7+ years I’ve been here, but it doesn’t take much for something to screw you up and force your hand, usually when you least want it to. And finishing Friday quite often means Friday NIGHT, not tea time. The reality of the situation is that even the most amenable planner can’t force customers to load on time, cars not to crash and reloads not to appear on his desk at the last minute marked “urgent”. It’s just not that kind of work, it isn’t that rigid and it can’t be that easily dictated, least of all by the driver. Just ask any tramper who’s tried to get to a 5pm Friday doctor’s appointment three weeks in a row and still not managed it…