Been driving about 18 months now on nights and have never had to night (or day) out. With 3 kids at home I don’t really want to. Would be a different story if I was single though, would do a bit of tramping for a couple of years (get to see the country and all that) but I wouldn’t want to do it forever. I currently work Sunday-Thursday on nights, start around 7pm and finish before 6 most mornings if I can help it. Get home take the kids to school, have a sleep and see them in the afternoon. Only trouble is I don’t get to see the wife much (she works weekends too). I could consider 4 on 4 off but the pay and conditions would have to suit, quite like the idea of having 4 days off in a row.
Wouldn’t mind getting back on days but at my place they tend to do longer hours and the chance of a night out is increased (and the pay is lower).
Tarrman:
Been driving about 18 months now on nights and have never had to night (or day) out. With 3 kids at home I don’t really want to. Would be a different story if I was single though, would do a bit of tramping for a couple of years (get to see the country and all that) but I wouldn’t want to do it forever. I currently work Sunday-Thursday on nights, start around 7pm and finish before 6 most mornings if I can help it. Get home take the kids to school, have a sleep and see them in the afternoon…
I can’t fault you for that mate, I missed most of all my 4 kids growing up, but they all came with me tramping on school hols ( at different times not all 4 together) and they, and me enjoyed it, especially the trips abroad. As for the wife, I was tramping when I met her so she knows nothing else.
Maybe given my time again I would do things different.
Janos:
Had years of it, and would recommend it nobody. The ‘real’ truckers are welcome to my spot in the layby and can fill their boots with as much [zb] food as they like. .
I’ve also had years of it, but if I stopped in bloody lay bys and ate [zb] food all the time I wouldn’t have lasted a week. Maybe that’s where you were going wrong
Oh no, I was wondering when one of the “real men” was going to turn up here I was hoping that you didn’t see this thread robroy
Thanks for acknowledging I’m a real man, you deffo got that right , but I admit when I saw your post aimed at me I nearly spilled my nail polish on my crop top q
I am going to bring a complete [zb] storm around my lugs here, but I have always thought that tramping was part of trucking, and if you were not a tramper then you were just playing at it. A bit like joining the Army and saying I want to be a soldier but don’t want to go on tour, I want to stay at home instead.
Ok a lot of you will think that is pure ■■■■■■■■, and maybe you are right, but it has always been how I saw it.
Before I get all the stick it is not a pop at day men, in fact I can certainly see the attraction of being home every night, it is just that I have always tramped and rightly (and most probably wrongly ) thought that way. s
So go easy on me as I’m a delicate soul and get upset easy
I agree with most of that, not sure about the nails though. It came with the territory years ago. So you just had to get on with it. Now a driver has a lot more choice, and is not seen as a shirker if he wants to keep it local/middle distance.
Routy22:
Christ… I must be the very few that actually want to tramp! Lol
I used to love it, but now I have no licence for a few more yrs I am not so sure, I have got used to being " retired" and sleeping in my nice bed at home …it may be nice to go when I want rather than every week , but Euro work is screwed so I bet I never drive to Spain again and doing local work would bore me I think.
Ask me again in 3 1/2 yrs time.
I was a tramper on general haulage, curtains and flats etc then fridges then containers. Finished tramping in a flat roof Scania 113 with no room compared to today. I didnt feel I was ever a proper driver. i just did it to save cash. I enjoyed it as was young and didn’t see myself doing it forever. It was a means to an end and made the most of the adventures, I was saving money and rarely stayed in services as cooked for myself. Memories of waking up with scottish mountains, some lovely spots like outside little cornish pubs in Summer.
3 years of 5/6 days a week living in every layby going it had had its day. I don’t miss the tramping side one bit. It did occur to me when doing it, there’s no way I would’ve wanted to still living like that at 60. I live out of hotel rooms now and that’s ■■■■ too. Tramping on steroids in some ways with the hours and time away. Very lonely destructive life and I want to change it but stuck.
Never did any nights out in 20+ years of driving either, I always managed to scrape home as we had plenty of long days on tippers. Those extra-large tacho discs came in handy at times… My old chap did it for years back in the fifties running from Reading to Fort William and back which was a full weeks work then but his lodgings were pre booked for him, all he had to do was get to them.
I was hoping that you didn’t see this thread robroy 
Thanks for acknowledging I’m a real man, you deffo got that right 
, but I admit when I saw your post aimed at me I nearly spilled my nail polish on my crop top 
) thought that way. s
My old chap did it for years back in the fifties running from Reading to Fort William and back which was a full weeks work then but his lodgings were pre booked for him, all he had to do was get to them.
