Hey guys and galls , i am french Canadian and i work as driver in Montreal since 1998 class 1 , i do can-Usa only and i have a decent living with this , now i will get married in Italy in jully 2007 and establish there with my new family . I need some information please in how is trucking in Europe especialy Italy .
I drive now a 2oo5 Freightliner Coronado with a 475cat and 13sp ,i do mainly refeer loads to Florida , I make 48-53000$ (40cents by mile) by year here and i work usualy 5 days a week and from 20 dec to 10 january i am in vacation.
I wonder how much a truck driver earn in italy net by year or month with 5 days a week work in international transport , how much the vacation is , etc.
I bought already Microsoft Autoroute 2007 wich i will use as GPS in my 12’ laptop but i wonder what software or maps do i need to buy who will tell me the low brdiges , roads to avoid , fuel prices,truckstop location ,etc,…(something like our pcmiler truck )
Also please be kind and explain to me how is trucking in general compeared to Canada as after a look in Autoroute 2007 is clear that is impossible to drive 5000-6000km a week there .
Thx very much for your time and explications , they highly appreciated .
Regards,
martin
first point, how good is your italian,as you will need this to get a good job
i do not know how good the wages are in italy but ,thi´s will depend on
where you are liveing and working as in the north is is better payed as further south,HAVE YOU LOOKED INTO THE TRANSFER OF LICENCE;S AS
you may have to take a new test, you will not be able to do legaly 5-6,000km
in europe, it would be worth your while to go through the sites on this forum
and read the posts as regards drivering and working hours,
you will not make as much in italy i belive as you do in CANADA,
average wage in GERMANY AS A DRIVER WITHOUT EXPENSES
AND before TAX is around 20,24,00euros,this is on the increase
but so are the liveing costs,IN the UK wages are not bad but again it depends where you live and what work you do,
have you looked at ITALIAN TRUCKER SITES; TO SEE WHAT THEY CAN OFFER AS the drivers on the site will then be able to help you out with
answers straight from the people who are doing the work,
i have not answered all of your questions buthope that some points
have been answered, one point here from me is why not stay where you are as CANADA work from reading your post and also posts from people who have left GB to go and live and work in CANADA is the better option, and belive me you wil hear this from other members of this site as well.
Right when you have more questions just post them as some one wil help you out,and let us know after you have looked throughthe site and taken a look at a italians truckers site as to what you will be doing,
Remember check if you licence is valid for ITALY as a truckdriver ;
THAT IS VERY IMPORTANT;
Thank you very much for the reply , Canada is not an option for me now , i need to establish in italy because my next wife have a son and he can’t leave Italy, so i am kinda forced to move there , my italien is a mess , just now i start to learn the language in my truck while i drive with ASSIMIL metod .
I will move in Modena wich i guess is in North after a look in Autoroute.
what you mean by ““DRIVER WITHOUT EXPENSES
AND before TAX is around 20,24,00euros”” ,…what expenses and how much is the tax ?
I mean at the end how much net you can earn in a month ? ,…omg 2000$ before tax is kinda scary !
I had no ideea that we are so well payed here ,…uff.
As for Italian forums i know none and so far my italien is a big “0” right now .
They told me that i can drive one year with my CDL and after this i need to change for italian CDL (maybe give exam , i dunno)
A year as a driver on a Canadian CDL sounds a bit dodgy to me. Your car licence I would agree will do for a year (though I thought it was 6 months), but I’m pretty sure that a vocational licence (ie.CDL) isn’t valid at all. I’ll have a look and post back, but don’t get your hopes up. If my memory isn’t playing me up, you will have to do an LGV test, probably both, before you can start driving a [truck over here.
You will need to know our HOS rules and how to use Tachographs, if you don’t it could cost you your new licence and a lot more money in fines.
HOS Rules and further explanation of them. Unfortunately your timing couldn’t be worse because we are just about to have some changes to those rules. The official European document is HERE, but it’s very official and hard work to get to the bones of, I would recommend leaving that one till the rules come through. The other 2 links will be updated as and when needed, hopefully they will be easier to understand.
To cut them down a bit, we normally do a 6 day week, unless your lucky, the 7th day we take our legal minimum of 24 hours rest, or preferably more. General Haulage in most of Europe parks up on a Sunday because the law forces it. So a normal week is Monday morning to Saturday midday ish. Its possible to do an Italy - UK round trip in that time, but you don’t want to be hanging around for long.
We can drive for a maximum of 9 or 10 hours in a day, trucks are limited to 90kmh, but many countries, like Italy, have a max speed of 80kmh. That gives you a theoretical maximum of 800km a day. So no employed driver with any sense will work for mileage rate. We mainly work on an hourly rate, paid all hours at work, possibly less legally required breaks. Some companies pay a mileage bonus. We all expect to work 8 hours a day, who doesn’t. But after 8 hours work, we expect the rate to go up to time and a half. On top of that we also expect to be paid an allowance to cover our expenses for be away from our warm comfy beds and wives (or husbands). In the UK that’s in the region of £25 a night. for European work, that’s a tax free allowance, up to £25, any more and you pay tax on the extra. Any expenses involving the wagon, bridge tolls, parking charges etc are down to the boss. Some of us pay it and get the money back, some of us get an advance on expenses and the boss tops it back up every week. Receipts have to be produced of course.
UK taxes take roughly 1/3rd of our wages, but taxes vary enormously from country to country.
I’m quite lucky, I only do 5 day weeks normally (although I’m on a salary rather than hourly paid, so if I’m out for 6 days I don’t get extra). I live in Scotland where the cost of living is relatively low and I spend 2 of the 4 nights I’m away from home on ferries, with 2 meals and a cabin paid for each time.
I take home, after taxes but including my night out money, roughly £25,000 per annum. Wages in Italy are at about the same level, possibly lower. There where quite a few British drivers working for Transnoli, from Milano. Have a look for them on the net, see what you can find.
For POI’s of low bridges and truckstops, have a good look through the Useful Links Forum and the Computer Forum, then have a look through GPS Passion. You’ll find a lot of useful info in there about Autoroute. You’ll also find a nice little applet called AR Keys. Installing that will make using Autoroute for in-truck navigation a lot easier.
Oh, and welcome to TruckNet UK.
You really can’t stay in Canada? I came out to Manitoba because Europe is a mess. It’s horribly congested, you have dozens of languages to get accustomed to (and believe me, Canadian French is very different to French French), To earn a decent living in Europe you have to compete with every other haulier and drivers will not stop for you or call on the radio to make sure you are ok if you are on the shoulder.
Driving standards are lower in mainland Europe because everyone is in a hurry. Trucks are largely despised by normal people, you would get in terrible trouble if you stopped on most fuel station forecourts as you can here.
As for the CDL, I don’t think there are any reciprocal agreements between Canada an Italy. I think this includes your car licence, too. You would need to do 3 tests at least and general rule of thumb is that you can use a vocational licence for up to 3 months providing a reciprocal agreement exists.
I am English & therefor a EU citizen. I worked for an Italian reefer company a few years ago. The foreign lads were paid peanuts compared to the Italian drivers. The route was South Italy to Berlin,Berlin to Athens, & then all over again.I left after three months & that was the first time I got home altho the company did regular trips to UK. Choose your firm carefully ,maybe get your wife to go to the interview. Also most Italian firms can speak English.
look back through my posts. you will see what you have to do to be a italian resident and what documents you need. its a indepth reply to either john boy or jb cant remember. i still have my house there so i can keep my documents as took 2 years to get the whole kit+caboodle. the italian papertrail is not known for its speed.
Can’t help much with any specifics Martin regarding Italy but in my experience as a foreigner setting up abroad tells me that it is essential to have a reasonable command of the language.
Now I know that Modena is about 500k from Grenoble but, as you are a French Canadian, have you considered looking for work this side of the border? Despite what Bob says French Canadians are well known and understood here and it may well be that strong French nationalism makes it easier for you with regard to employment, licences, and other paperwork. Certainly you would be able to understand it better. As far as wages are concerned I can’t advise. Mainly because I have been retired for 4 years but also because I live in a very rural and high unemployment area (SW France) and rates were pressed to the minimum.
Bienvenue à Trucknet quand même, et continues de parler ici. On voudrait de savoir comment tu réussis.
I didn’t say he wouldn’t be understood, David, but the pronunciation is very different and takes a little getting used to. Italian is a really awkward language to learn compared even with immersal.
Also, Italy is a tricky place to start European driving. There is no doubt that he is used to traffic. Montreal, Toronto, Detroit et al are awful places to drive, but the Italians hang their rosary in the rearview and trust God to keep them safe while they try stunt driving.
Why anyone would choose to leave here to go over to Europe is beyond me, but I have to say your suggestion is probably far more sound.
Thank you guys very much for your time and kindness , thank you Simon for all the info you gave me,omg where are the good news then ,…i guess no good news for me , lol , 
,
It took me alround 4 years to learn all the tricks , truckstops, fuel , papers and roads here and now i must start over with everything again , also i am 6.7 and i refused here a new Volvo 670 because i was not 100% confy in the seat , as i look the Scanias and Daf , omg they so small inside , i wonder if the seat is ok for a 6.7 guy ?
Anyway, these maybe details for others but to drive 10 hours in a bad position can be extremely ugly for the back and legs.
I might go in a trip today so i will read all the info from “r slicker” later , thank you for your help m8 .
Yes indeed french from France is very different from our french wich somehow is mixed wit local accent and a lot of english words but c’mon i can still understand well everything they say and they understand me as well .
I guess that is better then to earn a bit more money here before i go to Italy and to buy my own truck there , i wan here a OO for alround 2 years , was not bad but the place i work here as driver was so good that i sold the truck and get back as driver again .
It is better if i buy my own truck and pull vans from big Transporters ?
Is this maybe a better option for me ? ,…is alround 40.ooo Euro a good start ? ,…i know good the mechanichs and how to take care of a truck .
Thx again for everything .
Do not buy your own truck in the EU. Its the best way of losing a lot of money fast. ( ex-Commie Bloc firms will wipe the floor with you on service & price ) If you are an employee you will always get your money. As an OD there is no protection what so ever. Be warned about that one.
what Harry has posted is very true the rates you will get will not be very good andto get your own worh ,ie dealing directly with the customer, and even then
they may be very low rates, the suggestion of working for a french firm is
not a bad idea or for the swiss, , as you have the language advantage
go into the French or Swiss trucker sites, and have a look around to see
if there is any information which can help you,
I don’t know about being an O/D, I’ve never done it.
If thats the way you want to go, then go for it, but before you do, get on the net and do your homework. You’ll need to know European prices and rates etc. You know the kind of thing from your previous experience so I won’t spell it out for you.
Things in Europe are different to the US and Canada. The basics are the same, it’s in the detail that things differ. It’s knowing the detail that makes the difference betwen floating or sinking.
One thing I do know about OD’ing in EU ,if they don’t want to pay you,you go broke.It can be a very expensive lesson. Stay away from that area until you know the ropes ( Or the spaghetti ,in this case ) 
Transmec are in Modena
they come to England
It is better if i buy my own truck and pull vans from big Transporters
Europe does not operate owner drivers like the USA/Canada lease drivers
here you must have your own authority,(operators licence) you cannot operate on some one elses.