Whilst coming back on the train the other night, Some gentlemen on next row of seats was talking about a recent post on here. And it got me thinking as well (Whilst we was surrounded by Polish and Hungarian men and woman) If people are willing to work for £60 a day doing European work (Without mentioning names or hauliers) Why don’t they work for a Polish or Hungarian haulier? The wage for a days work over there has to be around £50/£60 don’t it?
Least your being doing “proper international” work and not the odd job to Spain and Holland once in a while
I’ll wait for you all to shoot me down now for making such a ridiculous thought…
forever_cruising:
Whilst coming back on the train the other night, Some gentlemen on next row of seats was talking about a recent post on here. And it got me thinking as well (Whilst we was surrounded by Polish and Hungarian men and woman) If people are willing to work for £60 a day doing European work (Without mentioning names or hauliers) Why don’t they work for a Polish or Hungarian haulier? The wage for a days work over there has to be around £50/£60 don’t it?
Least your being doing “proper international” work and not the odd job to Spain and Holland once in a while
I’ll wait for you all to shoot me down now for making such a ridiculous thought…
Not ridiculous at all, indeed you are right on the button. These are the same guys that want to do Euro work but don’t want to be away for more than a couple of days or don’t see why they should start Saturday night or Sunday in order to get down the road for Monday.
Certainly if you get the train on a Saturday or Sunday night there will be plenty of right-hand drive trucks going out - most of them Irish I conceed - but they are all going out.
I wouldn’t go so far as to say its a myth that the Euro work has dried-up as far as UK trucks are concerned, but there are still plenty of UK trucks going across the water. Perhaps owners like myself are being abit more selective as to who we put behind the wheel.
I think anyone who has owned trucks has had the call at 2am saying that I don’t want to do this anymore and am on my way back, where do you want the keys!
The owner of a Northampton based company told me he had one guy come back empty from Italy because he didn’t want to be away any more!
I even had one member on here come back from Hamburg - where he’d been staying in a Hotel on an exhibition job - and leave the truck at the services with the keys in it. He’d been away for a total of 8 days !!!
I regulalry get PM’s on here asking for help or advice in getting into European work but they don’t want to work weekends. don’t want to do more than a couple of nights out a week, they must be home by Friday afternoon as they go out with their mates Friday night and so on. I usually just tell them Euro work isn’t for them.
Coffeeholic:
I regulalry get PM’s on here asking for help or advice in getting into European work but they don’t want to work weekends. don’t want to do more than a couple of nights out a week, they must be home by Friday afternoon as they go out with their mates Friday night and so on. I usually just tell them Euro work isn’t for them.
I have been in transport a long time and still have the job isn’t finished until the job is done mentality
it has never been 9 till 5 job my family understood that it was what i did
my wife only moaned once because i had not rung her for two days because i was having to much fun
my boss offerd to fly me home and he would take my place
but she understoods the work i did was a way of life
now i do agency work and most drivers only want 8 hours a day and go home and dont they ever whinge
It goes without saying that you need to be prepared to spend a lot of time away if you do continental work, if you do anything other than channel-hopping you need to be prepared to be weekended, and more importantly you need to be prepared to unexpectedly get weekended when a Friday load falls through.
For me, my best trucking memories are of being weekended- not of some poncey Scania or Volvo with bells and whistles on, but of visiting the Blue Mosque in Istanbul, Red Square in Moscow, taking my boy up a mountain in Switzerland in a cable car for Sunday lunch, and all of the other wonderful sights I would never have seen had I been a shopping trolley driver. Even a weekend of beer and camion stew somewhere bleak with half a dozen of the lads has made for some of life’s more memorable and enjoyable experiences.
It’s just not like that any more though, I know of bosses who wouldn’t tell you if your mate was parked five miles away from you in Spain or Italy because the pair of you spending a weekend alone and bored would save him a tenner’s worth of diesel.
I would do it but I have to be realistic, nobody will ever pay me £500+ to drive to Milan or Barcelona again when Stanislav and Piotr will do it for £200.
Totally agree MR M.I was routinely doing 2weeks away,but prepared for 3-which I did a few times.If you’re in the groove,go for it.Swapped trailers in Ashford plenty of times.Never quite managed £500/wk though : could be because of where I’m located.Shame the job’s gone to hell and back in a handcart though.
Harry Monk:
It goes without saying that you need to be prepared to spend a lot of time away if you do continental work, if you do anything other than channel-hopping you need to be prepared to be weekended, and more importantly you need to be prepared to unexpectedly get weekended when a Friday load falls through.
For me, my best trucking memories are of being weekended- not of some poncey Scania or Volvo with bells and whistles on, but of visiting the Blue Mosque in Istanbul, Red Square in Moscow, taking my boy up a mountain in Switzerland in a cable car for Sunday lunch, and all of the other wonderful sights I would never have seen had I been a shopping trolley driver. Even a weekend of beer and camion stew somewhere bleak with half a dozen of the lads has made for some of life’s more memorable and enjoyable experiences.
It’s just not like that any more though, I know of bosses who wouldn’t tell you if your mate was parked five miles away from you in Spain or Italy because the pair of you spending a weekend alone and bored would save him a tenner’s worth of diesel.
I would do it but I have to be realistic, nobody will ever pay me £500+ to drive to Milan or Barcelona again when Stanislav and Piotr will do it for £200.
oh Harry how true, shopping trolley driver has never been for me! Yeah I miss the 9 to 5 (well all right 0200 till 1000) routine that could have been but when you are in different locations life is SO much more interesting. Since the New Year I have been to Berlin and the Alps on different trips. Next week its Scotland. I moan about being away from home but when retirement looms in a couple of years I bet I will get itchy feet once I have all the jobs put off at home are completed!
We all have trackers in truck and could see where other drivers were UNTIL some stupid drivers complained to traffic office saying why did so and so always get Spain etc! All access to driver locations was then then forbidden.
Years ago we had free rein to ring home but drivers abused that too so that too was curtailed!
Too right there Harry,i used to love my weekends off,i would plan my hours to land at a good spot,if you look at some maps,there is a green high light to show a picturesque river/old mill/old town ect,i would aim for that,then cycle about 20 to 30 kms per day,it did not matter if i was parked on a motorway,as they all have a small gate for the staff to use,and for me too,to get away from the truck,i had a great weekend in Aosta,biked to the cable car,good views,there were two Dutch lads that were parked at the Auto Port that made an effort to go up the mountain too.
On the French side,near Frejus,i did the same,up the cable car.To find an out of the way bistro/cafe was ideal,visit a museum/chateau/forest/medieval village,and on returning back to the truck,would see the drivers that had sat in their cabs all day,drinking home made moonshine,watching dirty Bulgarian movies,that was their thing,and they were happy doing that.My last firm would not tell other drivers where other drivers were weekended,miserable lot,there is no camaradie,pre customs times were the best,hand in papers at TER TIR or Alverca,on Friday,too late to clear customs,agent says come back Monday,they used to lie,having us coming back every two hours,then still sat there for days on end,"Mister,there is problem with ze paperwork."I had many weekends at Estoril and Cascais,park the unit behind the shopping mall,to watch films in English.The old F1 racing track,down there to see a race too.
Well I have been trying, or at least looking to get a job " doing european work " for the last couple of years. I was offered a position with a company running refrigerated trailers some time ago, and, unfortunately I made the mistake of asking a " friend’s " advice about the company as I knew he was an ex employee of said company. Needless to say, I was informed that I would be expected to run 28 hours a day, 9 days a week, and I duly talked myself out of it. Low and behold, I have heard through the grapevine that my ex friend is now back working for them! I don’t have any problem running on a Saturday/Sunday, I don’t expect an all singing/dancing truck, I don’t expect to work 37 hours a week, and I don’t expect to be parked up by lunch time. Hey ho, life’s a ■■■■■ eh, having said that, if any body want’s to give a euro-virgin a chance pm me .
pete-b:
Well I have been trying, or at least looking to get a job " doing european work " for the last couple of years. I was offered a position with a company running refrigerated trailers some time ago, and, unfortunately I made the mistake of asking a " friend’s " advice about the company as I knew he was an ex employee of said company. Needless to say, I was informed that I would be expected to run 28 hours a day, 9 days a week, and I duly talked myself out of it. Low and behold, I have heard through the grapevine that my ex friend is now back working for them! I don’t have any problem running on a Saturday/Sunday, I don’t expect an all singing/dancing truck, I don’t expect to work 37 hours a week, and I don’t expect to be parked up by lunch time. Hey ho, life’s a ■■■■■ eh, having said that, if any body want’s to give a euro-virgin a chance pm me .
I went to a few local companies saying just that! “Give me a chance please, I’ll even work for free to prove myself” Luckily the man saw i wasn’t all talk and no walk (Like so many wanna be drivers) And its paid off. But just dont be taking for a mug about the free thing
forever_cruising:
Whilst coming back on the train the other night, Some gentlemen on next row of seats was talking about a recent post on here. And it got me thinking as well (Whilst we was surrounded by Polish and Hungarian men and woman) If people are willing to work for £60 a day doing European work (Without mentioning names or hauliers) Why don’t they work for a Polish or Hungarian haulier? The wage for a days work over there has to be around £50/£60 don’t it?
Least your being doing “proper international” work and not the odd job to Spain and Holland once in a while
I’ll wait for you all to shoot me down now for making such a ridiculous thought…
Not ridiculous at all, indeed you are right on the button. These are the same guys that want to do Euro work but don’t want to be away for more than a couple of days or don’t see why they should start Saturday night or Sunday in order to get down the road for Monday.
Certainly if you get the train on a Saturday or Sunday night there will be plenty of right-hand drive trucks going out - most of them Irish I conceed - but they are all going out.
I wouldn’t go so far as to say its a myth that the Euro work has dried-up as far as UK trucks are concerned, but there are still plenty of UK trucks going across the water. Perhaps owners like myself are being abit more selective as to who we put behind the wheel.
I think anyone who has owned trucks has had the call at 2am saying that I don’t want to do this anymore and am on my way back, where do you want the keys!
The owner of a Northampton based company told me he had one guy come back empty from Italy because he didn’t want to be away any more!
I even had one member on here come back from Hamburg - where he’d been staying in a Hotel on an exhibition job - and leave the truck at the services with the keys in it. He’d been away for a total of 8 days !!!
Thanks for your reply.
And glad you thing am on the button
Is’nt there any laws or something about a driver leaving a job half done? I hope you did’nt pay them
1st of all I have never heard of someone wanting to do European work and wanting to be home after 2 days?
Reminds me when I was talking to a Wolfe European (the red 1’s) driver and he was boosting he’s just come back from a international job! After I asked him where he’d been he said Belgium after I picked myself up of the floor laughing and told him I just got back from Belarus he got a bit arsey and walked off
I work for a few local companies doing European, but I couldn’t work for them full time as they give u a bit of European and bit of uk to make it fair on everyone (which is fair enough) but I HATE driving in England, to some it up its…… CRAP! And a little degrading, Even the new truck stop at junction 11 (Hythe turn off) whys the truck park got NO lights on? And you have to walk a 10 minute walk to the facilities? Ashford truck stops always packed when I come home, if you park opposite it, your get a ticket, Maidstone parking have a TIGHT space if your lucky and there’s always vosa who pounce on you and so on and on and on…. Where as you come of boat the other side there’s several truck stops with spaces (free) and a short walk to have something to eat! (sorry for the essay ).
To be honest its something I have been thinking for a while. There’s a company from Poland who do middle east work “Periba” who ill try and contact Monday. Hopefully they’re speak English I have seen 3 of there trucks coming of the boat last week, so who knows…
Lastly…
I don’t mind spending 3 or 4 + months away from home, I don’t have no ties (gf, kids, house or anything) And without sounding like a “jumped up little p##ck” id class myself as a “old school driver” I don’t mind changing tyres, and doing mechanical work. And doing a proper days work.
Forever reply - I would agree with all you have said.
Although I dont do much HGV driving anymore (yes, im one of those t*ssers in a suit organising the trucks! lol), I was lucky enough to do a stint doing international work - yes it was only France/Germany/Spain and near Eastern Europe (Hungary, Poland, Romania etc) on an ocaision when I needed to keep my hand in and keep my sanity!.
The work I did was on behalf of various Eastern European hauliers, with me travelling to their depots in northern France, and doing the “local” jobs for them - the pay was not great - but at least I got good experience, which stood me in good stead when I had a time working for a UK operator doing time sensitive Euro work.
For anyone with a bit of initiative I would say “go and try it” - you could be suprised, and any experience will prove useful!!
And a little degrading, Even the new truck stop at junction 11 (Hythe turn off) whys the truck park got NO lights on? And you have to walk a 10 minute walk to the facilities? Ashford truck stops always packed when I come home, if you park opposite it, your get a ticket, Maidstone parking have a TIGHT space if your lucky and there’s always vosa