As a new member but a driver of 35 years with limited euro experience what would the consensus of opinion be amongst the “old timers” of what is the best. On reading many of the posts which I have been doing pretty much nightly I see that some are saying,“I know a great hotel at only 35/40 euros a night”. Surely this is eating into any money that you can get from your employer that helps boost your wages, in these tight times . Might I add that i’m only raising this topic as I find it very interesting reading about all of the experiences from you guys. Please add the good the bad and the down right rotten, so if and when I go to Euro I can eat and sleep well. ha ha.
Never done Euro work but I would think that if your out week at a time the odd weekend in a hotel or something would be a good break from the cab with time to get washing etc done…
I was talking to a driver on here who knew guys taht do nothing but trampin all year never home so the odd break away from the cab seems a must just to have that rest from it all and feel human
Personal preference when running around Europe tramping would be to stay in the cab every time.
Apart from the expense of paying to go to sleep in a hotel bed as opposed to the perfectly good one in the truck there are also the issues of finding a suitable space / area for parking, safety of your vehicle while you are away from it in the hotel, how much of your kit (you would be surprisd as to how much stuff you accumalte) do yo take with you, how safe is what you leave behind etc, etc, plus, its all part of the job.
Sure, its nice to be able to grab a clean shower in a private bathroom but I would still live and sleep in the cab when away from home.
I have never done it in Western europe but it was always a nice treat to have a proper bed in midwinter in a commie hotel, sadly these are no longer cheap as chips and trucks are probably not wanted. They used to welcome us with open arms to use the telephones, fax or telex. They also encouraged us to use the bar with our Western currency
It was quite common to park in a Novotel for 2 or 3 days, but I have only ever stayed in a Hotel once in Italy although we didn’t pay for the room.
I think most general haulage driver stay in the cab most of the time, but I would have thought if you were away for a long period of time the odd night in a hotel would make a change and allow you to sort your kit out.
However I always stay in hotels as it’s normal for trucks drivers working in motorsport, all the hotels are paid for by the team as are the meals. As of yet we’ve had no problems parking the trucks, but then you would only stop at hotels just off the main routes and not in the centre of a town. Most of the hotels we use you can get the truck into the coach parking bays or we park out on the road nearby. We have had problems in the past when on a new route trying to find somewhere suitable to stop or not booking ahead because it’s a quiet time of year and then finding that the town where we wanted to stop at has some sort of convention going on and all the hotels are full.
Got to say thoug I’ve found some pretty cheap hotels in Spain about 20euro a night for a room with a shower and loads of parking for trucks, so I can only assume that some driver use these from time to time.
about the only time I would use a hotel would be if my truck was off the road and in a dealers, in all the time I have been doing Europe that would be a grand total of 2 times…
I did once book into a hostel in Seville for a weekend, it was 50deg C and I just wanted somewhere cool to sleep, the truck was in secure parking and all my valuables were in my room with me, but to be honest it was more hassle than it was worth
Have used hotels or hostels on may occasion when stuck away for long bank holiday weekends.
Never had much of a problem parking safely as there is usually a transport company nearby who if approached in the right manner will often let you leave it in their yard and probably even give you a lift to where you want to go or at the very least they will phone the taxi for you.
I moved into my truck full time three and a half years ago with the intention of maybe staying in a hotel 1 or 2 nights a month. I haven’t. I’m occasionally on long boats 15-24 hours from Ireland to France and Italy to Greece and to be honest I’m glad to get back to my little house.I even sleep in it outside my parents house when I visit, beats the sofa bed.I also cook for myself all the time and eat very well with M&S and Waitrose foods! It helps that its my dream job, I drive a fantastic truck for a fantastic company and love being alone. I much prefer being in my truck cooking dinner watching a dvd than in some truckstop talking rubbish.
Have done a fair few hotels when I’ve been on roadshow work, they don’t let the driver sleep in the cab because the smell of urine puts the punters off.
I did a three-month roadshow for Xerox once and stayed in 4 and 5 star hotels all the way, $250 a night in St Pete, and that was 13 years ago… I’d still rather sleep in the cab!
Apart from a breakdown I wouldn’t have thought many use a hotel in Europe, you don’t park long enough to get the benefit, during my time over the water, apart from one night in a cold winter when my night heater packed up & I got a room in Carisio, I cabbed it every night, unless I was too ■■■■■■ to get up the steps into the cab, then any old bush would do
Now I’m running Canada & the US I use them if I ever have to have a log book reset (36hrs) while I’m on the road, they have a truck driver rate, parking is no problem & the best part is I get reimbursed through my tax rebate, or so my tax preparer told me, that makes it a kind of saving plan
As for self catering, I had the odd fry up or pot of camion stew (complete with tinned peaches ) mostly when in a crowd & it was more for the laugh (not craic, I ain’t Irish) than the quality of food, but mostly I used to eat out, it was all part of the experience as far as I’m concerned & if a job didn’t pay enough for me to eat out I didn’t work there, I never ate pot noodles & tinned ■■■■■ at home so why should I eat it at work
newmercman:
but mostly I used to eat out, it was all part of the experience as far as I’m concerned & if a job didn’t pay enough for me to eat out I didn’t work there, I never ate pot noodles & tinned [zb] at home so why should I eat it at work
I get the point but surely you wouldn’t eat out every night your at home either. My truck is my home, and I eat very well in it, better than truckstops or ferries can feed me. I don’t live on tins and I’m proud to say I’ve never ever had a pot noodle. Last night I had pork chops with parsnip and parmesan mash and steamed green vegetables. All it takes is a bit of organisation, some very good non stick pans with lids so you dont need to cook with oil (it’s more like grilling), a fridge and not essential but handy, a microwave. I spend £60/£70 a week on food in M&S or Waitrose, so only £10 or so a day for fantastic food and the knowledge that especially at this time of year you don’t have to go wandering round looking for (often second rate) food. I love parking in those little Aire’s in France on my own for the night with nobody to give me angry looks because my fridge is running. I also suppose it helps that I like cooking.
Cab every time. I know who slept in there last night, I can’t say that about hotels and once, in Le Mans, the Hotel I was in (not driving at the time) looked like a post Mortem had been carried out on one of the lads beds. Never again if I can help it.
newmercman:
but mostly I used to eat out, it was all part of the experience as far as I’m concerned & if a job didn’t pay enough for me to eat out I didn’t work there, I never ate pot noodles & tinned [zb] at home so why should I eat it at work
I get the point but surely you wouldn’t eat out every night your at home either. My truck is my home, and I eat very well in it, better than truckstops or ferries can feed me. I don’t live on tins and I’m proud to say I’ve never ever had a pot noodle. Last night I had pork chops with parsnip and parmesan mash and steamed green vegetables. All it takes is a bit of organisation, some very good non stick pans with lids so you dont need to cook with oil (it’s more like grilling), a fridge and not essential but handy, a microwave. I spend £60/£70 a week on food in M&S or Waitrose, so only £10 or so a day for fantastic food and the knowledge that especially at this time of year you don’t have to go wandering round looking for (often second rate) food. I love parking in those little Aire’s in France on my own for the night with nobody to give me angry looks because my fridge is running. I also suppose it helps that I like cooking.
No I wouldn’t eat out every night at home, but things have changed a bit since I went to Europe, for a start cabs are a lot bigger, more room to put stuff now, I used to do 4 weeks away in a flat top F12, after putting eveything you need to cook decent food, the food itself, clothes, maps, tapes etc in the cab I would have nowhere to put myself. Also in those days a good 3 courses with wine would set you back less than a tenner in France, Italy, Spain, Portugal or Greece, that was good food & good value, I did used to make my own cups of tea & sandwiches for a snack during the day, that saved a lot of money & also time.
I would probably do what you do now if I was still doing Europe, too expensive to eat out now & as you say there’s no need for pot noodles & cold beans with sausages anymore, I like cooking too, not so keen on doing it in the cab, but if you set your stall out properly then I suppose that’s not so much of a problem.
switchlogic:
I get the point but surely you wouldn’t eat out every night your at home either. I spend £60/£70 a week on food in M&S or Waitrose, so only £10 or so a day for fantastic food and the knowledge that especially at this time of year you don’t have to go wandering round looking for (often second rate) food
when i see what you spend a week on cooking your own food i don’t see a saving.
i eat nearly every night ina french routier or spanish restaurant and i take 80 euros a week with me for night expenses and my truck doesn’t smell like gordon ramseys kitchen in the morning
but i bet you don’t see a problem with parking for free in somewhere like say castets or vivonne and not contributing towards the costs of tarmac and lighting for the parking or even the small amount of security that some provide.
nothing annoys me more than seeing parking spaces taken up in routiers or restaurants and the driver sitting there cooking away happy that someone prepared to help keep these places open can’t find a parking space.
you must be the only trucker who shops in waitrose do you own the truck most of the cabcookers shop in lidls or at least thats the carrier bags they use when they use the showers
as newmercman says if the job doesn’t pay enough for a decent meal you’re in the wrong job
back on topic if i have to take a 45 weekend away from home which is thankfully rare sometimes i book 1 night in a hotel just for the simple luxury and as a treat but then its back to if you can’t pay you can’t do
Newmercman I see your point there, if I drove a truck with the space of an F12 I’d probably think twice about cooking in the cab.
Welshboyinspain, that post comes accross as a bit of an angry one! Your missing the point on cost. Its not about how much it costs, it about the quality. For that amount of money I get 3 hot meals a day, at least at this time of year, and all other bits and pieces such as snacks, I eat a lot of fruit for instance. For £10 or so a day I eat what I want, when I want and it’s great quality, probably better than most truckstops . Money is not an issue for me, thats why I shop at M&S and Waitrose. Trying to to sound like I’m not boasting, I probably get paid more than most British truck drivers doing Europe, and it seems I spend more a week eating than you do, and probably eat better. As for your other point I think I made it fairly clear where I like parking. I don’t, ever, park in routiers, restaurants, truckstops etc. I don’t like parking with other trucks and most of the time I park in small motorway rest areas. So don’t worry I won’t be depriving you of a space anytime soon.
Depending on what firm I work for I get 17 euros a day meal allowance when on nights out.Which is more than enough for a good feed.Normally there is a fixed menu del dia/menu de jour for less than 10 euros with wine/beer etc .Always keep a few days worth of grub with the cooking gear just in case if I end up in the middle of nowhere.
Maybe I should start up a new thread but the best meal I had was in Celra just north of Gerona while waiting to be load,8.50 three courses with wine.The place was full, workers drivers and bosses all eating there.
