hi all just found out ive got a job that i went for. im coming off uk tramping and going on to europe for first time so a tad nervous now. ive been told ill be going as far as greece at times and all other euro countries as required. has any one got any usefull hints that will maybe calm my nervces a little.
also can anyone recommend a decent sat nav that would be good for euro.
thanks all
I’ve got a Garmin nuvi 250 £99 from Amazon delivered.
Street level mapping of western Europe including greece also good mapping for the rest of europe, built in safety cameras.
Good luck with the job, make sure you have access to cash, plenty of clothing your going to be away for weeks at a time.
Most of all enjoy it and don’t be afraid to ask questions, there is a lot more to driving in europe than the uk.
yes a navi is good but you will not beat
a good road atlas as this will show
even more detasls than a navi, for
germany the FALK BUS AND TRUCKER ATLAS
is the best, for france amichelien atlas,
and for Italy the 3 books which cover all of italy
well worth it, take a look at the euro sticky and the two posts below this as here is lots of info for use abroad
Okey-Didley-Dokely:
I’ve got a Garmin nuvi 250 £99 from Amazon delivered.
.
this a brilliant little tool.
pinguu:
has any one got any usefull hints that will maybe calm my nervces a little.
diazapam 7.5 mg works for me. 
has any one got any usefull hints that will maybe calm my nervces a little.
le grand cafe and a couple of pan au chocolate if you go on the train
the coffee will keep ya awake and the pan au chocolate will keep ya fed all day 
goodluck bud youll enjoy it
If going through Germany by road…
1: Start ultra early so…
2: Park up early or you won’t get a spot. 3-4pm CET is good.
Most autohof will charge you to park, get a parkschein (sp?) and give you a voucher to spend in their restaurant etc. They don’t often use it to make money, just to make sure you don’t self-cater on their parking.
If you’re not doing Lux, the best ■■■ prices are in Holland in northern Europe, spain or the south-eastern areas like greece etc. Get used to Euro brands as most UK ones won’t be available.
Get a fresnel lens from a HA womble before you go if you’re taking a right ■■■■■■ over the water, or bringing a left ■■■■■■ into the UK.
Germany is expensive (25c tax on all plastic bottles for example)
Don’t try and use a UK mobile data stick in Europe unless you bank with the Bank of England…
Get a MAUT OBU if one’s not fitted, it just makes life easier.
Otherwise, get a list of MAUt toll stations from somewhere… most garages on or near the autobahns have them tho.
Get a prat-nav and downlaod to it a list of truckstops for all the various nations you visit. It’s all on mine, and it’s a life-saver.
Learn how to say you speak their language badly in a variety of tongues, I can do it in french and german, which helps, you’ve made an effort.
If you drive in Belgium, spain, italy etc, watch out for crazy drivers.
If you thought the polish were bad drivers, wait until you see the russians and turkish… 
They make the polish look professional.
That should do for now.
… actually it won’t…
If you’ve been on the road a while, you’ll know those rare junctions over here that make entering and exiting traffic merge and sort themselves out on slip roads…
like the A14/M11 junction and the M5/M4 at Almondsbury… Get used to that kind of thing, it’s very common in Euroland.
Also very common are crazily tight curves on motorway exits. Get used to those too. Having your prat-nav on helps, you can see the shape of the exit as you approach in those occasions some pillock of the community has removed the warning signs.
The dutch and Belgians have been known to have interesting lit or hologramatic chevron markings to show bendy roads. Once your eyes stop spinning you’ll get used to those too.
If you see a sign that says “Radar controle” or “Radar” then it’s the warning for a speed camera. Take it seriously, they don’t plaster them all over like here.
Don’t sit on the tail of another truck, leave 50 meters, especially in Germany, they will nick you for tailgating.
There are daytime overtaking bans in various places all over europe.
Belgium: 6am-7pm local (I think)
Holland: 7am-8pm
Germany: 6am-7pm
Plus others.
These times are rough memories, and will differ in some spots.
Most of the German ones are marked on the overhead signs as reminders, usually on a 3 lane autobahn you can overtake.
Hint: If the road behind is nice and clear in the outside lane, you can sometimes “bend” the ban and go round a really slow vehicle, otherwise, get used to staring at the back end of the truck in front.
Roadworks:
The belgians and dutch like them tight, windy and occasionally have flag waving “men” shaped things on them.
The germans like theirs tight too, but love throwing in adverse cambers to make sure you’re awake.
thanks for that everyone. ive just been given a tom tom go 720 as a present and was wondering if anyone can help. just want to know any good things like truckstops loke alikat suggested i can download on it and anyother usefull things i can put on it. thanks for your help guys. i cant wait now. still nervous though ha
Have a poke around the computer forum mate, I found the link somewhere on there, and used the software from my GPS to upload them as POI.
I have a Garmin nuvi 250w, which is pretty good in a lot of ways.
pinguu:
thanks for that everyone. ive just been given a tom tom go 720 as a present and was wondering if anyone can help. just want to know any good things like truckstops loke alikat suggested i can download on it and anyother usefull things i can put on it. thanks for your help guys. i cant wait now. still nervous though ha
Yeh go online connect your TomTom to their website and go thru the poa downloads there is one called Truckstops 2007 which is quite useful. Also get a Multiscale map of Europe and use it to double check where TomTom is trying to send you.
If you do Greece have plenty of cash on you for port taxes, cards not taken. Typical run to Greece and back you’d be looking at between €100 and €150 in cash expenses. You also have to pay for food on most ferries to Greece. Both things caught me out first time I went.
oh, and good luck. Its a bit of a nervous experience at first but you’ll soon get into it and its a fantastic job compared to UK work. Totally different way of life. Enjoy
And take a camera, we want a diary when you get back.
Try to speak a little of the language, it really does help. The Dutch will laugh at you trying and help you, they will show off how good they can speak English. The French will appreciate you, the Spanish will not ignore you. No one expects you to speak Greek but if you can speak to them in German they will understand.
There is a language called Tranglais which incorporates all the well known words you may use.
Avez vous a cuppa?
Facture
Rechnung
Repas
Mange
Bateau
Laden
Lossen
Chargement
Dechargement
Bascule
Feu
Links
Rechts
Immer Geradeaus
A Gauche
A Droite
Rondpoint
Biftek
Frites
Mayo
Bitte
Danke
Sil Vous Plait
Merci
With Tranglais you can hold a conversation in a bar with many drivers all from different countries, its fun too. If you get stuck just order more beer 
Be warned no overtakeing in germany
means exactly that, the fine is around
€100 plus points for the driver, also
the same goes for keeping your distance
the fines and points plus driveing ban
if required are ones that do make
you sit up and listen,
malc i’m ashamed of you - you forgot biere/bier/ol/cerveza/cerveja/birra/piwo/pivo/kalja/sor
liked the rest though
what sort of work you doing pinguu - and who for if you don’t mind me asking?
Wheel Nut:
And take a camera, we want a diary when you get back.Try to speak a little of the language, it really does help. The Dutch will laugh at you trying and help you, they will show off how good they can speak English. The French will appreciate you, the Spanish will not ignore you. No one expects you to speak Greek but if you can speak to them in German they will understand.
There is a language called Tranglais which incorporates all the well known words you may use.
Avez vous a cuppa?
Facture
Rechnung
Repas
Mange
Bateau
Laden
Lossen
Chargement
Dechargement
Bascule
Feu
Links
Rechts
Immer Geradeaus
A Gauche
A Droite
Rondpoint
Biftek
Frites
Mayo
Bitte
Danke
Sil Vous Plait
MerciWith Tranglais you can hold a conversation in a bar with many drivers all from different countries, its fun too. If you get stuck just order more beer
you will learn all these words fairly quickly.
always bring a pen and paper into the bar or restaurant with you.
at least,if you cant speak or explain yourself in other languages,this will be your method of communication.i am serious,it does work.
if you meet dutch/most belgians/swedes/norwegans/danes.
these will speak english,some of the younger germans will also.
the french will/wont[no politics here]
someone else can explain this to you
italians cant,except for an odd one.
spanish are not good either.
its a great life and very addictive.
i think most of us who have done it,would still like to do some more.
i am off it at the minute but going to italy on sat for a guy
just a quick trip.
it never leaves the blood.
good luck on you first trip.#any idea where you are heading yet?
thanks for all the help guys.
ive still not found out wereim away to but heading off on monday.
main thing worrying me is procedures at dover etc and the german maut
Dover is easy, just get weighbrige ticket, follow signs to check in and thats it. Maut is something I found bewildering at first but its easy once you’ve done it once. There are machines at the border where you can pay with cash or card. Put in where you are and are going to and it gives you a route. Stick to the route and keep the ticket. It also has a time limit. There is a link in one of the euro help posts above where you can download all the machine locations as once in the country they can be hard to find. Mainly in the Truckstops, signed “Autohof”.
Wheel Nut:
There is a language called Tranglais which incorporates all the well known words you may use.Avez vous a cuppa?
Facture
Rechnung
Repas
Mange
Bateau
Laden
Lossen
Chargement
Dechargement
Bascule
Feu
Links
Rechts
Immer Geradeaus
A Gauche
A Droite
Rondpoint
Biftek
Frites
Mayo
Bitte
Danke
Sil Vous Plait
MerciWith Tranglais you can hold a conversation in a bar with many drivers all from different countries, its fun too. If you get stuck just order more beer
Some more:-
Carry carry
Scarry carry
Descarga
Manyana
Dimanie
Bis Morgan
Sinistre
Adestra
Avanti
semaphoro
Grazie
praego
rotunda
Demi rouge/blanc/rose
medio rosso/bianco/tinto
There’s more 
Once the various alcoholic beverages have worked their magic and the drivers from all these different countries start chatting together, if you can’t find the correct suitable word, try similar words, someone will probably ‘get it’ and supply the proper tranglais word
(French Routiers are good for this, they don’t like people sitting on there own at a table)
If in doubt about any language problems just shout the words louder and slower, works every time…Bleedin foreigners all over the place…
But seriously, just relax and enjoy it, and take your time…