I’ve been asked if i would consider it, well I’ve been offered it but i told the company i wasn’t keen and they have asked me to consider it.
does anyone have any experience of it
working nights and being at home i can get up go to the gym maybe the shops, see my mum and sister all sorts really but waking up in the truck during the day and not being able to go back to sleep and being stuck there will give me the right hump.
also where do you park to try and get a decent kip
Parking is the biggest problem as you might expect. The amount of people who think it’s ok to knock on your door is shocking. This time of year is a bad time to get accustomed to it with the daylight hours being quite long.
That said, if you’ve got a decent motor that’s going to be just yours and you jump in at the deep end maybe it’s worth a shot to see if you like it or not. The better money bit is what I like the sound of!
I do it and don’t mind it.
It can get a bit warm trying to sleep in the summer though. I got some all ride sunblinds for about £20 which help to keep the cab cool, some of our trucks have air con pods but most don’t
We tend to do the same jobs and know places to park near them which helps. We start any time between 8pm and 4 am so its usually nights and day work however we always park up before most so get parked no problem. Self catering helps as most places closed at night as well, also keeps costs down.
Sounds like my ideal job. Love nights and enjoy Tramping if the units got some gear, Fridge and Microwave.
I can sleep through WW3 if need be
Can you give it a go for 4 weeks and see how you get on? If you don’t like it give me a call
Done it for 4 and a half years! I loved it!
If you have trouble sleeping when it’s very hot during the day then not recommended! I never had problems parking during the day I have to say! Unless on industrial estates!
If your already happy as you are Alex! Why change? I’m not sure the extra money justifys the being away from home these days!
I sort of do it now. I run a lot of night runs, driving through the night and parking up daytime and I find it hard to get proper sleep. There is always enough parking places during the day but it’s just natural to sleep at night, this is why I can’t frive for more than a few hours during the night before stopping to get nap. On the plus side … You acn always get a shower at a truckstop and it’s actually quieter trying to get your head down.
I still find that when I run days I sleep a lot better.
I did it for about 12 months. Try to get your body clock adjusted by 12 hours. If you park up at 6 try to hang on til 10 before you go to sleep. It’s no good sleeping at 6 and then waking at 2 if you don’t start til 6 again. One of those concertina’d reflective blinds will help keep it dark and cool. Facing East when parking is a good idea too as the afternoon sun can be hard work. A set of ear plugs is handy.
Most lay bys are chocka during the night so taking a 45 is not always easy. When you get home after your last shift go to sleep straight away but only for about 4 hours. You’ll feel crap when you wake but force yourself up and you’ll be tired at the appropriate time in the evening. On the 1st day back in, wake early and then go back to bed around noon.
Having said all that it’s not bad just different. Roads are quieter and parking generally easier. Night people are more easy going too. And the extra money is always welcome. Hope this helps
Is this how one achieves these top wages we keep hearing about, but no one we know seems to get?
Since there are jobs out there on perm. nights that are already paying in the £30k’s, I would expect this kind of job to be approaching £40k at least.
I would be surprised if the basic were more than £27k though - isn’t that what the tanker drivers are on, and with all the add-ons they’re supposed to be on £45k right?
At least it does down here, where we don’t feel obliged to work for minimum wage because it’s somehow a good work ethic!
Parking to get a 45 has never been a problem on nights for me, you just need to plan in advance and get used to what areas are chocka at night that’s all, if the doo doo hits the fan you can get away parking places you wouldn’t dream of on days as well, bus stops, double lines, exit ramps from services etc, you really need to try it and see if it suits you tbh, I love nights personally.
I did it and loved it, having said that as an earlier post stated self catering is a big must. I spent omost of the summer sat outside from around 1pm so made sure where I parked up that i could get my sun lounger out. The money was good - very good helped by the fact that I worked thursday to tuesday and there wasn’t many weeks i had less than £750 a week in to the bank!! I was always parked up by 6am sometimes earlier and I only ever had the minimum rest required as after 5hours kip I have had enough. It meant i didn’t have to worry about walking the dog, then breakfasting with the kids, then the school run so not getting to bed til 930 when I had finished at 6am made my life so much easier.
i would do it, for the simple fact that the (planners) on days at our place can’t run a bath, but the guys on nights run the office and the runs very well, so i would jump at the chance
I did it here in Canada for about 4 months and didnt think much to it. I was working on a 4 on 4 off system which sounded great to begin with, but as Canadian truckers get paid by the mile it just doesn’t cut it. Doing 4 16hr night shifts but potentially only getting 400km some nights due to lack of freight and waiting around meant that working nights and rotating onto weekends etc and I was on less than the minimum wage when money was devided by hours. In fact it was the worst paying job I’ve ever had, with the longest and most anti-social hours.
Thankfully the UK isn’t still in the stone age when it comes to wages so I would imagine it to be much better there. I always found it very difficult to adjust back to being awake during the days on my time off, especially if I was only having two days off. It wasn’t such a problem on the 4 on 4 off.
The main problems I can see would be the lack of parking during the night to take 45 min breaks, though that would depend on what you’re doing, and where you are. Then theres the potential problem of trying to sleep in the day with all the noise going on. Industrial estates can be noisy, with factory noise or constantly passing vehicles and services can be little better when you get drivers having a natter next to your truck etc. But like anything else, you get to know where to park at certain times and in certain places, same as if you’re working days and sleeping nights.
As long as you’re getting paid for those 4x16 hours, things shouldn’t be too bad. Do I detect an aspect of flat rate here, where 16 hours for 8 hours pay is expected out of you then?
Winseer:
As long as you’re getting paid for those 4x16 hours, things shouldn’t be too bad. Do I detect an aspect of flat rate here, where 16 hours for 8 hours pay is expected out of you then?
The work is going to be lucrative winny but I’m just a tad concerned about having to kick my heels. I will do it just so I can I have.
I’ve just started a similar job at Dpd. I’m a relief driver so i cover drivers holidays at depots around the country. The runs are mainly night trunks to the hub in Oldbury and then back again. This means I stay in the truck for the week, usually in or near to the depot. So far, I haven’t had any problems sleeping during the day, but it hasn’t been very warm or sunny! The extra cash is a great incentive…
Winseer:
As long as you’re getting paid for those 4x16 hours, things shouldn’t be too bad. Do I detect an aspect of flat rate here, where 16 hours for 8 hours pay is expected out of you then?
In my case the pay for the 4x16 hours was milleage based. Like most things in Canada the potential to earn good money is there but drivers are not in control of what work they are given, or not given and that potential almost always goes out the window due to poor planning, lack of work/too many trucks and favouritism. One night I may get 1250km and the next night 450km, despite being up, awake and on duty for the same length of time. Needless to say I didnt stay long on that job.
Double post!