hi all i am a newbe on here and i need some advice if possable i have contract with my company which states that i am employed as a hgv driver so i rolled in the yard on friday afternoon put me notes in just come back from norway .e want you to drive a sprinter van to spain on monday i ask about sleeping arrangements oh sleep in van what for 4 nights is this legal or what cos of driving van they droped my hourly rate from £8.50 to 7.00 p/hour the goods are machine parts any advice please
If it has a bed in then yes you can sleep in it if not NO simple as that this has been around for a while now
Yes they can drop your wages as well that is normal practice within a company. The company I used to work for payed Cat C & under £6.5 p/h Cat CE £7.00 p/h
animal:
If it has a bed in then yes you can sleep in it if not NO simple as that this has been around for a while nowYes they can drop your wages as well that is normal practice within a company. The company I used to work for payed Cat C & under £6.5 p/h Cat CE £7.00 p/h
thanks for that should i ask him about booking me in a hotel or what i am not a youngster i m a 44yr old
I would guess that you have a company card and are no stranger to Euro work if you have just come back from Norway, there are plenty of Formula 1’s or ETAP’s along the route so just be sensible and stay at the nearest one on your route - use the card as most of these places accept virtually everything except an ASDA saver card 
brados:
I would guess that you have a company card and are no stranger to Euro work if you have just come back from Norway, there are plenty of Formula 1’s or ETAP’s along the route so just be sensible and stay at the nearest one on your route - use the card as most of these places accept virtually everything except an ASDA saver card
yes we have company c/c the office boy told me this but the silly thing about it is not to use card ? will hav to ring boss at home refuse job not sleeping in van not allowed
dont refuse the job if there gonna book you a hotel,
Your contract of employment should state your rate of pay and the company are obliged to pay that, they cannot just drop your pay rate because they want you to drive a van 
As far as sleeping in the van is concerned the vehicle should have “suitable sleeping facilities” but what rates as a suitable sleeping facility is arguable.
tachograph:
Your contract of employment should state your rate of pay and the company are obliged to pay that, they cannot just drop your pay rate because they want you to drive a vanAs far as sleeping in the van is concerned the vehicle should have “suitable sleeping facilities” but what rates as a suitable sleeping facility is arguable.
i know a fella who runs a sprinter all over europe and he has a double bunk sleeper thingy that slides away from the seats if you get my drift , it looks one hell of a contraption when you first see it but it works quite well and carries his considerable bulk … he’s quite chunky ya see . ( ok he’s a bloater )
i’ve never seen one before and i dont suppose many have them but i’d be happy to sleep in it …
if they ask you to drive to spain and back in a van with no bunk or no hotels just ask for it in writing.
" yeah no problem il do that, but could you just put in writing what you expect me to do and sign it please. "
il doubt you will be doing it.
What has happenned to the world ■■? I used to spend more time asleep on a bench seat in a transit/sprinter than i did in my own bed at home
Express van deliveries means just that not bunking down in hotels , and 4 nights ■■? Did he say Africa or Spain 
And yes before the H&S Brigade jump in and have a go i am more than aware of the domestic daily driving hours laws and regs throughout europe , i just think its a shame these days that we have all turned into a bunch of prima donnas
young trucker:
What has happenned to the world ■■? I used to spend more time asleep on a bench seat in a transit/sprinter than i did in my own bed at home
Express van deliveries means just that not bunking down in hotels , and 4 nights ■■? Did he say Africa or SpainAnd yes before the H&S Brigade jump in and have a go i am more than aware of the domestic daily driving hours laws and regs throughout europe , i just think its a shame these days that we have all turned into a bunch of prima donnas
I have spent many night sleeping across the seats of a sprinter ( well the 2 passenger seats ) in a layby & yes I also know the domestic driving hours
But you are now not supposed to 
Which way are you being routed to Spain and where are you delivering to?
Shipping via Calais and delivering Cadiz will be a completely different trip to shipping into Santander or Bilbao and delivering to Zaragoza for example.
It wouldnt bother me to be driving a van, it’ll make a change not having to worry about weight limits etc, if you wanna go sightseeing in your spare time (if you have any !!)its hell of a lot easier in a sprinter than a FH.
Wouldnt be too happy about a drop in wage though 
But if hourly paid you can easy make as much on a sprinter as you can when tacho if clever bout it
animal:
young trucker:
What has happenned to the world ■■? I used to spend more time asleep on a bench seat in a transit/sprinter than i did in my own bed at home
Express van deliveries means just that not bunking down in hotels , and 4 nights ■■? Did he say Africa or SpainAnd yes before the H&S Brigade jump in and have a go i am more than aware of the domestic daily driving hours laws and regs throughout europe , i just think its a shame these days that we have all turned into a bunch of prima donnas
I have spent many night sleeping across the seats of a sprinter ( well the 2 passenger seats ) in a layby & yes I also know the domestic driving hours
But you are now not supposed to
We never used to have air in the tyres, but we do now!
there was once no law to stop children being sent up chimneys, but we do now!
times change, I’ve slept across seats before, but hell, remember while you are geting a hunchback and being paid peanuts, your boss is at home in his luxury extra king size bed.
I have no problem driving a sprinter van for a change, but I’m paid for my licence so i get class 1 rate or they get someone else.
before you all start…
ive used to do leeds to peterboro to perkins pick up a couple of stillages then on to coventry and tile hill for some turbos then on for the midnight ferry to calais. after that non stop to thann las vorges to tip then reload somewhere else normally germany then one hit back to leeds all in one stint and its no laughing matter at all. so if the fella dont want to do spain and back without a break i dont blame him.
tachograph:
Your contract of employment should state your rate of pay and the company are obliged to pay that, they cannot just drop your pay rate because they want you to drive a vanAs far as sleeping in the van is concerned the vehicle should have “suitable sleeping facilities” but what rates as a suitable sleeping facility is arguable.
excactly. if it was me… tell him to f off.
I’m sure Orys will have some input on this when he catches up with this thread. This is his game.
Sounds a bit like GBA they used to try it on, finish a shift in a truck and ask you to go out in a van, or after you had been awake all day waiting for a job out, at their depot (camp iver) then ring you at 9-10pm expecting you to jump in a van and drive it thousands of miles, i done it in the past, wouldn’t do it now though,
I think you might find that in some counties, in the winter, no night heater, no sleep in truck or van, and that does’nt mean running the engine all night long,as that is illegal to run the engine while you are sleeping, and boy does that get cold at night in some of those countries
Driveroneuk:
I’m sure Orys will have some input on this when he catches up with this thread. This is his game.
Well in my company I can go to the hotel wherever I want and claim it back, but then 8 hours is taken off my wages (as we are paid from the moment we left the yard to the moment we come back). 8 hours times my hourly rate… You know what? I think that sleeping across the seats is suitable enough for me 
(off course there is a third solution. Go to the Formula 1 hotel without informing office and pay for it from my own pocket, formula 1 hotel costs about 3 hours of my work, so I am still 5 hours pay en plus 
Don’t tell my boss )
Being more serious: in my company is clearly said that I can go to the hotel every time I want, but sleeping across the seats is really comfy for me, so it’s no problem (it seems to be no problem also for drivers aged 60+ who work with me). Also it saves you hassle of driving around and looking for digs. Actually my boss even knows about my “secret possibility” and he don’t care as long as I will not leave the loaded van in insecure place. So in practice it looks like if I feel like I want to go to the hotel, I do that, but I simply don’t like to waste my time for driving around and looking for one or for searching for some free wifi to find one on-line.
Off course I always observe every driving regulations 
, but my mate told me that the common practice in this industry is just to drive as much as you can and then just stop when you feel tired. This is just another argument for just sleeping in the van, as it’s hard to predict when someone will be tired, and if you feel you have to stop, further driving to the nearest hotel might be danger. It’s much safer just to sleep and take a kip
I give you some tricks: buy yourself a few drinks in 1,5 - 2 l bottles and keep the bottles in the left doors pocket. That will prevent your pillow from falling into the gap between the sit and doors. Put some (for example pair of jeans) between driver and passenger seat, on the handbrake handle and lower driver’s seat as much as you can - now it’s quite comfortable. If you are higher than 180 cm, as it is in my case, you will find that you can’t stretch, but it’s not a problem for me, as I always sleep with my legs bent anyway. And even if you have a bunk fitted the problem will be still the same, unless you have your cab widened or sleeping box on the roof as we have in some of our vans (that’s much more comfy than you can expect, I really like to sleep in it
The problem is if you don’t have a night heater and it’s cold (say, Norway in winter). You have then keep your engine running all night long, and due to some stupidness in Sprinters you will have a fat chance, that in the morning your van will be in emergency mode.
But we also have a berlingo in our place, and then for obvious reasons sleeping across the sits is out of question
As for the police etc, I see it’s a common practice to sleep across the seats, everyone do it. Britons, French, Germans, Eastern Europeans, Spaniards… I see vans parked with drivers sleeping across the seats on the motorway car parks everywhere in Europe and I never seen or heard that someone has any troubles with the police for that.