robroy:
^^^^^^
Maybe the o/p should ‘‘Take notice ’ of this more?
Maybe our mate reckons this is the way forward in spending nights out seeing as the alternative is ‘’[zb]’’ ?
This is a bloody good argument to do day work.
WARNING … Anybody seeing this for the first time may get the urge to ■■■■■ their wrists. [emoji38]
youtu.be/Sv5kHyQWGzY
How tf did the Beeb get away with making any program named “The MEN who…” In this day and age [emoji15][emoji43][emoji94]
stu675:
robroy:
^^^^^^
Maybe the o/p should ‘‘Take notice ’ of this more?
Maybe our mate reckons this is the way forward in spending nights out seeing as the alternative is ‘’[zb]’’ ?
This is a bloody good argument to do day work.
WARNING … Anybody seeing this for the first time may get the urge to ■■■■■ their wrists. [emoji38]
youtu.be/Sv5kHyQWGzYHow tf did the Beeb get away with making any program named “The MEN who…” In this day and age [emoji15][emoji43][emoji94]
They identified as something else but it made the title too long so they went with ‘men’.
Maybe should have went,…
''Men,.women, non binary, gender fluids, ethnic minorities, gays, lesbians,.transsexuals, transvestites able bodies and disabled people who sleep in trucks ‘’.
Reckon every angle would be then covered. 
I’ll look out for some of em in Wetherspoons whilst I’m ‘being cool’ . 
Neetsneets:
I’ve been driving on days for about a month now but will be looking to tramp for a year or two to save money as quickly as possible. I’m not feeling brave enough just yet, especially while I still practise my reversing, but I’m hoping to make a switch before Xmas.
I would love to hear your opinions (but I’m not looking to be convinced not to do it at all - I already tried it and liked it, it was just a bit too early for me)
What made you think it was a bit too early for you? If you already tried it & liked it crack on… It’s the only way to learn. If you’re already doing days (you don’t say what exactly) then you’re already doing the job really just with the stress of having to get back to base every night, with tramping it’s just different stresses, ie where to park for the night & what you’re gonna eat etc…
As for saving money doing it well yes it’s possible, specially if you can stay with family at the weekend & not have to rent somewhere, although that can have negatives also depending on the family
Obviously you need to select the tramping job carefully as well, no good taking a job that is salary if what you want is max money!
You can easily earn just as much money doing supermarket work if not more, granted you still have the accommodation problem to solve, but if your doing 12+hrs everyday it doesn’t leave much time for annoying housemates
robroy:
^^^^^^
Maybe the o/p should ‘‘Take notice ’ of this more?
Maybe our mate reckons this is the way forward in spending nights out seeing as the alternative is ‘’[zb]’’ ?
This is a bloody good argument to do day work.
WARNING … Anybody seeing this for the first time may get the urge to ■■■■■ their wrists.
youtu.be/Sv5kHyQWGzY
Thanks for that Rob!! Just watched it for the first time and I now realise I’ve being doing it wrong for 40 yrs. I shouldn’t have been parking in scenic areas and going for a walk/cycle ride or parking near civilization, looking around the place and having a decent meal and talking to people. As for being married for 48yrs and still getting on really well with each other, where did I go wrong.
In reply to the OP, I started doing day work for the company, but we gradually started going further and further and then doing loads out of other factories in the group and eventually ended up being away all week, every week, but finding new places etc was the same in both cases. Most of our deliveries were one offs every day was a school day as they say.
drover:
As for saving money doing it well yes it’s possible, You can easily earn just as much money doing supermarket work if not more, granted you still have the accommodation problem to solve, but if your doing 12+hrs everyday it doesn’t leave much time for annoying housemates
So I’ve heard, but if it’s delivering to places like Sainsbury Local than I’ll pass, too much stress. I would be happy doing trunking, is that well paid too? I’m currently delivering bread to RDCs, easy work, unless you get Lidl, but i don’t actually mind getting some steps on my Google fit.
Instead of going tramping to pay for a house , find yourself a bloke who’s well paid to pay for the house for you !!! I went that route though the opposite direction to you , I married a girl who had a good job , has always earnt well so my life finically wise has been relatively easy ( though life with me has not very often been a bed of roses for her ) .
It might come over wrong , but why struggle all your life married to a council worker , lorry driver ,find a bloke with prospects , earning a good wedge , if your a lesbian the same applies , if your anything else I’m 60 and struggle to understand all this modern carry on with being a bloke one week & a women the next , so can’t help
Doubt your be tramping delivering to Sainsbury’s locals etc anyway.
I’d just try it your soon get into the swing of it.
Be a mixture of RDCs warehouses etc.
And maybe better just go for it before you get stuck in a rut and forget about it.
Plus better tramping in summer anyway . You start In winter have all the weather hazards darkness etc . Plus the rain cold forcing you to stay in your truck to keep dry and warm.
Go for it end day if don’t like it you can soon go back to days
robroy:
You can count your n/o money to whatever you like, but if you count it as wages, it gives a false impression of what you are really on…but there is nothing to stop the o/p using them as savings you’re right.Why should the o/p ‘‘take no notice’’ exactly?
Maybe rather than being ‘’[zb]‘’ it’s a way of salvaging bit of enjoyment out of the job, and evidently a different way to how you do it.
It’s basically an alternative to making it a routine drudge of spending 11 hours in a [zb] lay by 4for 5 nights a week armed with a pot noodle …but I think everyone has explained that already, albeit unsuccessfully apparentlly.
I personally don’t spend EVERY night in Spoons, nor any other pub chain, nor consider it ‘‘cool’’ to do so, it’s about personal choice,.and also about the previous point I made about the job, and how to make it actually enjoyable.
Btw like minded trampers quite often meet up to socialise together believe it or not, so not a case of spending time on your own…just saying.
It doesn’t give a false impression of what I earn If I take home £800, I’m more than capable of working out that £100 of that is night out money but I’ve still earned £800 that week.
And you’re right, it’s personal choice but I can make my choice without berating others and calling anyone who does it a different way to me a hermit or comparing them to somebody in a YouTube video. My choice is to not spend the majority of my night out money while I’m away because I’d rather take it home and spend it on my kids. You do it differently and that’s fine. And there isn’t only your way of doing it or spending the night in a layby with a pot noodle either (I get parking paid on account for a start).
I feel that if I spent 5 days away from the Mrs and kids every week, spent all my night out money and went home with the same money that I could have earned on days, it would make me a bit of a ■■■■ to be honest. And personally I don’t see why anyone would do nights out if it wasn’t to earn a bit of extra money. But unlike you I appreciate that everybody is different!
And if that is the only way to make the job enjoyable as you say - then why do it?
crunch13:
robroy:
You can count your n/o money to whatever you like, but if you count it as wages, it gives a false impression of what you are really on…but there is nothing to stop the o/p using them as savings you’re right.Why should the o/p ‘‘take no notice’’ exactly?
Maybe rather than being ‘’[zb]‘’ it’s a way of salvaging bit of enjoyment out of the job, and evidently a different way to how you do it.
It’s basically an alternative to making it a routine drudge of spending 11 hours in a [zb] lay by 4for 5 nights a week armed with a pot noodle …but I think everyone has explained that already, albeit unsuccessfully apparentlly.
I personally don’t spend EVERY night in Spoons, nor any other pub chain, nor consider it ‘‘cool’’ to do so, it’s about personal choice,.and also about the previous point I made about the job, and how to make it actually enjoyable.
Btw like minded trampers quite often meet up to socialise together believe it or not, so not a case of spending time on your own…just saying.It doesn’t give a false impression of what I earn
And you’re right, it’s personal choice but I can make my choice without berating others and calling anyone who does it a different way to me a hermit or comparing them to somebody in a YouTube video. My choice is to not spend the majority of my night out money while I’m away because I’d rather take it home and spend it on my kids. You do it differently and that’s fine. And there isn’t only your way of doing it or spending the night in a layby with a pot noodle either (I get parking paid on account for a start).
I feel that if I spent 5 days away from the Mrs and kids every week, spent all my night out money and went home with the same money that I could have earned on days, it would make me a bit of a [zb] to be honest. And personally I don’t see why anyone would do nights out if it wasn’t to earn a bit of extra money. But unlike you I appreciate that everybody is different!
And if that is the only way to make the job enjoyable as you say - then why do it?
Ok well done for being able to differentiate between your wage and night out subsistence, some can’t/don’t,.especially when you get job adverts saying ‘‘Our drivers earn x no of pounds’’ which in effect includes potential 5 nights out money, then you get drivers boasting about their ‘‘Good money’’ but when you deduct the 150 quid for their 5 nights out…not so great…
As for beratng, I’m sorry if my point was a bit close to home for you, but it’s more my personal opinion of somebody sitting all week in a cab on their own.
As for the You tube vid, it kinda makes my point,
If you prefer to live that way, fill yer boots, but as you say everybody’s different,.I’ve always looked upon nights out as part of the job, they don’t bother me, and I’ve always tried to make a positive of most of tramping and nights out, especially weekends away abroad in past times, sitting in a cab for 2 days and nights just to save money would have me climbing the walls, life’s too short,.again in MY opinion…
As for your veiled implication of me being a bit of a ■■■■ towards my wife and family, 
… well cheers for that, but I have a good wife who would not, and does not expect me to sit thoroughly bored all weekend or at nights, .and accepts that my subsistence was mostly my own pocket money…oh yeh.m and fyi my kids were never deprived at the expense of anything I did mate, trust me.
Btw I also get parking paid on account, but msa parking does nothing for me.
Why do I do it?..Maybe because I enjoy it and make the best out of it…here’s a curveball for you maybe partly because I used to enjoy the social aspect of it which was largely prevalent when I started it.
It’s never too early if you have the drive & ambition.
All truck driving is a massive learning curve. Spending longer driving one vehicle only will speed up your confidence & comfort.
New locations bring about challenges whatever shift pattern you are on.
It is in people’s nature to want to help. Just yesterday I was assisted in reversing into a yard by a coach driver (by him standing in the road to stop the traffic) without a request for assistance.
I am no longer youthful but remember well receiving masses of help & advice when I was clearly young & inexperienced.
Don’t try to push too hard whilst you learn & accept you will fail to make the delivery/collection sometimes. A failed delivery/collection is always better than an accident caused by pushing too hard. A reputation built on honesty, reliability, & no damage is worth far more to both driver & employer than getting every single load delivered/collected on often crazy schedules.
I passed my class 1 from a car licence at 21 & my first tip was in Romania. I repeated that trip multiple times without any accidents. I couldn’t reverse the thing into the tipping location when I arrived, but that was surmountable.
I’m also a self acknowledged hermit & loved the solitude trucking can provide; if that is your desire then feel free to ‘hide away’. Extroverts can rarely understand how introverts can be happier when alone or with only one special person.
Go for it.
robroy:
:?crunch13:
robroy:
You can count your n/o money to whatever you like, but if you count it as wages, it gives a false impression of what you are really on…but there is nothing to stop the o/p using them as savings you’re right.Why should the o/p ‘‘take no notice’’ exactly?
Maybe rather than being ‘’[zb]‘’ it’s a way of salvaging bit of enjoyment out of the job, and evidently a different way to how you do it.
It’s basically an alternative to making it a routine drudge of spending 11 hours in a [zb] lay by 4for 5 nights a week armed with a pot noodle …but I think everyone has explained that already, albeit unsuccessfully apparentlly.
I personally don’t spend EVERY night in Spoons, nor any other pub chain, nor consider it ‘‘cool’’ to do so, it’s about personal choice,.and also about the previous point I made about the job, and how to make it actually enjoyable.
Btw like minded trampers quite often meet up to socialise together believe it or not, so not a case of spending time on your own…just saying.It doesn’t give a false impression of what I earn
And you’re right, it’s personal choice but I can make my choice without berating others and calling anyone who does it a different way to me a hermit or comparing them to somebody in a YouTube video. My choice is to not spend the majority of my night out money while I’m away because I’d rather take it home and spend it on my kids. You do it differently and that’s fine. And there isn’t only your way of doing it or spending the night in a layby with a pot noodle either (I get parking paid on account for a start).
I feel that if I spent 5 days away from the Mrs and kids every week, spent all my night out money and went home with the same money that I could have earned on days, it would make me a bit of a [zb] to be honest. And personally I don’t see why anyone would do nights out if it wasn’t to earn a bit of extra money. But unlike you I appreciate that everybody is different!
And if that is the only way to make the job enjoyable as you say - then why do it?
Ok well done for being able to differentiate between your wage and night out subsistence, some can’t/don’t,.especially when you get job adverts saying ‘‘Our drivers earn x no of pounds’’ which in effect includes potential 5 nights out money, then you get drivers boasting about their ‘‘Good money’’ but when you deduct the 150 quid for their 5 nights out…not so great…
As for beratng, I’m sorry if my point was a bit close to home for you, but it’s more my personal opinion of somebody sitting all week in a cab on their own.
As for the You tube vid, it kinda makes my point,If you prefer to live that way, fill yer boots, but as you say everybody’s different,.I’ve always looked upon nights out as part of the job, they don’t bother me, and I’ve always tried to make a positive of most of tramping and nights out, especially weekends away abroad in past times, sitting in a cab for 2 days and nights just to save money would have me climbing the walls, life’s too short,.again in MY opinion…
As for your veiled implication of me being a bit of a [zb] towards my wife and family,
Btw I also get parking paid on account, but msa parking does nothing for me.
Why do I do it?..Maybe because I enjoy it and make the best out of it…here’s a curveball for you maybe partly because I used to enjoy the social aspect of it which was largely prevalent when I started it.
I was explaining why I don’t spend all my night out money and count it as part of my wages.
I would never talk about someone else’s family.
^^^^
OK,.and I was pointing out it does not make me a ‘‘bit of a ■■■■’’ towards my family for spending much of my subsistence rather than saving it…,.as you said you would feel if you did the same.
Sorted.
Neetsneets:
I’ve been driving on days for about a month now but will be looking to tramp for a year or two to save money as quickly as possible. I’m not feeling brave enough just yet, especially while I still practise my reversing, but I’m hoping to make a switch before Xmas.
I would love to hear your opinions (but I’m not looking to be convinced not to do it at all - I already tried it and liked it, it was just a bit too early for me)
None
Neetsneets:
drover:
As for saving money doing it well yes it’s possible, You can easily earn just as much money doing supermarket work if not more, granted you still have the accommodation problem to solve, but if your doing 12+hrs everyday it doesn’t leave much time for annoying housematesSo I’ve heard, but if it’s delivering to places like Sainsbury Local than I’ll pass, too much stress. I would be happy doing trunking, is that well paid too? I’m currently delivering bread to RDCs, easy work, unless you get Lidl, but i don’t actually mind getting some steps on my Google fit.
It really can depend alot on your start time in the supermarkets, alot of trunking is done overnight, but if you can pick up late afternoon in asda/tesco (depending on depot) you can avoid the ■■■■■ little places.
If you’re delivering bread to rdc’s then try to speak to some of the drivers in those places & see what the crack is.
Neetsneets:
I’ve been driving on days for about a month now but will be looking to tramp for a year or two to save money as quickly as possible. I’m not feeling brave enough just yet, especially while I still practise my reversing, but I’m hoping to make a switch before Xmas.
I would love to hear your opinions (but I’m not looking to be convinced not to do it at all - I already tried it and liked it, it was just a bit too early for me)
Some people can literally dive in straight away if they are a natural at it / have a family lineage of haulage etc.
Took me a few months to build up the confidence and flow of it before I went into tramping or roving / roaming as its known now. I think if you are agency tramping for rando companies it’s probably more challenging as you’ll be going in ‘blind’ unlike for a company where you are more used to repeat locations?
Just bear in mind if you do go Tramping, many companies out there often plan for you to finish at the yard during the week from time to time, so some weeks you may be out all week, other weeks 2 or 3 nights out, and occasionally, no nights out at all, so you have to be prepared for that. Also the the bean counters would take a dim view if you did a night out not too far from the yard just to bank night out money when you had the time to get back to the yard.
Tramping - you’ll either love it or hate it - only you can decide that .
I tramp - I make it an enjoyable experience , I have my own truck and I have my creature comforts in it . It(Volvofh, xl globetrotter ) came with a fridge and as an extra my boss got an extra taillift lead installed in the passengers side locker . To that I have a 3000 watt inverter and a small extension lead into the cab with the plugs at the side of the passenger seat . From that I can run a microwave , tv with a amazon stick , toaster, kettle and charge my phone if need be .
Total cost was -
Inverter £300
Microwave - £50
Kettle -£20
Toaster - £20
Tv - a hand me down from the daughter who wanted a bigger smart tv
A plastic cup ,knifes , forks and spoons , a couple of tea spoons , a tin opener, wooden spoon and a couple of sharp cutting knives complete the setup
I still have a gas stove with a kettle and a saucepan as a back up or for when I’m going to cook something “exotic” on a night out . That said if I’m parked near a good pub that serves food I will go for a meal if it takes my fancy . Searching google maps for takeaways that deliver is also an option on an evening when I just can’t be bothered to cook or walk to a pub .
If as you say you want to save money - you can , batch cook food at the weekends and portion it up freeze it and take it with you for through the week . That said don’t forget to get out of the cab and socalise as well.Try to eat out at least one night a week .
Parking
Biggest and best tip on this - stay out of laybys that are right on the side of the road - you know the ones where you have to pull in your drivers mirror so the traffic dosent take it off .Look for those big laybys that go in off the road with either trees or grass seperating the running lanes from where your parking - you’ll get a much better nights sleep. Of course paid parking with something like SNAP is better but again the good sites fill up fast so never depend on them unless you can book or reserve a spot .
If you do end up in a layby either make time in the evening to get a shower before you park up or take the time the next morning for a shower and make sure you have a boss /traffic planner who knows why and don’t be pressured into skipping this because the load has to be somewhere at a certain time .
You will find because your tramping you may be able to manage your time a little better -I like to push on in the evening time after the rush hour (18.00 - 21.00) as I find that theres less traffic on the road , if I can get close to my destination at night the morning rush hour can be mostly avoided if your tipping or loading during that time - things like this will make a huge difference when your tramping , you have to find out what works for you
Harry Monk:
Back in the day, loads of us used to pass the HGV test then be off to Germany or Italy a day or two later.
Yes, and you only had a map to guide you to the address on the CMR that you read backwards. My first trip was to West Berlin, via East Germany, but then nowadays Drivers would get lost trying to find it, I doubt there are few Nav/Sats where you could find the DDR. Oh yer and don’t forget if you had a blow out you changed the wheel yourself no Cell Phones back then. Although there was a comradeship that is none existent now, it seemed to die when the Tacho was introduced, and Sleepers became everyday common accessories.
Regardless of what people say about the old days, they were full of experience’s and learning. I think modern day Drivers have an easy life in comparison, but then the real oldies would say our time in the 60’s and onward were easy…
Question, How many Drivers now a days know how to Sheet and Rope ■■
