Right, well I think I made my point, had to post it three times to get it through to some though… 
robroy:
Don’t believe all the crap…Tramping can be and is easy.
It only becomes hard if you allow it to be, and the way you do it.
The way some of you treat it like an endurance test aint for me, I would not have lasted a week at it, but managed the thick end of 30+ years doing it my own way, making it as pleasant comfortable chilled and social as possible…and still achieve my workload.
Try it.
No thanks, being disabled means spending life away from home and having to exist in a space which is less than your average broom cupboard, doesn’t suit me.
Reef:
Of course this is just my opinion you’re free to disagree, you can show your maturity and intellect by disagreeing without hurling insults if you really like!
If you’re happy tramping good for you. I wouldn’t want you to work in a way you don’t want to. I would hope we’re mature enough to see each others point of view.
As for hurling insults I’ll leave that to the more childish elements on here.
ThrustMaster:
robroy:
Don’t believe all the crap…Tramping can be and is easy.
It only becomes hard if you allow it to be, and the way you do it.
The way some of you treat it like an endurance test aint for me, I would not have lasted a week at it, but managed the thick end of 30+ years doing it my own way, making it as pleasant comfortable chilled and social as possible…and still achieve my workload.
Try it.No thanks, being disabled means spending life away from home and having to exist in a space which is less than your average broom cupboard, doesn’t suit me.
I see your point mate, I wasn’t taking into account guys with disabilities.
Reef:
Myself, I love tramping if I was single I’d gladly take those three week away euro jaunts, but unfortunately the Wife said I signed a clause in the marriage certificate that states I have to spend at least some time with her, so I always had to settle for weekly 3 to 4 nights away tramping, no commuting other than Sun night/Mon morning and Fri evening (or Sat if you did a run in), no panicking and clock watching with the “must get back to the yard for the night driver” left to your own devices pretty much (assuming you’ve established with the office you do in fact possess a brain and can get the job done without being micro-managed)I’ve also done night trunking, easy money! Set start time, hang around drinking coffee waiting for that last “must go on tonights trunk” pallet to come in then saunter up to Rugby (or wherever) and join a queue, unload then park up for four hours whilst the depot forkies rush round like headless chickens on amphetamines, queue back up to be loaded and then mosey on back home to your yard. The only negatives with this job are sameness leading to boredom for some and trying to sleep during the day when your neighbour decides that his lawn suddenly needs mowing every other day and the hedges need strimming on the alternative days.
Shunting (both local and site specific), again you know your start times, very rarely run to max hours so should never be asked or expected to take a 9 at home, tend to rush your socks off whether it’s moving trailers about all day and in and out of the cab like a yoyo or having to assist with trailer prep (opening and closing curtains, strapping and even sheeting/de-sheeting if working with flats) at least the day tends to go by quickly and it’s knocking off time before you know it.
Day driver (day runs) Evil personified if you ask me, start times ranging from 2am to “ooh I get a lay in tomorrow, I don’t have to start till 04:30”, more often than not your doing the same runs as a tramper yet they can relax and park up once delivered or reloaded whilst your still sat on the M whatever in traffic, s[zb]ing it because your hours are nearly up, phone calls every half hour asking what time you’ll be back because “we’ve got a driver waiting on the truck (or trailer)”, trying to explain to the office that you’ve already done two 10’s (and it’s only Wednesday) oh and only have one RDR left too. Nah, no thanks.
Of course this is just my opinion you’re free to disagree, you can show your maturity and intellect by disagreeing without hurling insults if you really like!
Ironically I did a general haulage job which involved the worst of all worlds of medium distance ( less than 200 miles radius from base ),multi collections/drops including lots of London work,which the guvnor wanted done on the basis of seperate day work.All to get more jobs done not because anyone was waiting for the wagon when I got back to the yard.You should have heard the zb moan every time I parked up at around 5 pm for another night out after running to and a day of collections around the Midlands.Instead of running straight back to London to deliver it all for example and then back to the yard ready for another shift of same next day as he wanted. 
But seriously as I’ve said day work doesn’t have to be as you’ve described and continental work doesn’t have to mean 3 weeks away living in a truck.Distance full load/bulk deliveries/collections type work being the key and which easily beats uk night trunking which I wouldn’t bother with if I had my time again.Because the downsides mostly outweigh the upsides certainly since the introduction of limiters and hub system type operations.
As for the removal of the flexibility of being able to park up in any suitable place as/when required I can foresee that defeating the object of sleeper cabs.To the point where many operators will then go for day cabs thereby putting more pressure on drivers to do whatever it takes to ‘get back to the yard’ at the end of a shift.With the lose lose of having to go backwards in being lumbered with zb cramped cabs again.With it being obvious that the agenda is all about making distance operations even more awkward and forcing yet more trucks off the road.
Why does everything on the internet have to end up in slanging matches and battles?
It’s simple, day driver, night driver, tramper, multi drop driver, heavy haulage, fridges, flats, roping and sheeting or curtain siders etc, none of these jobs makes anybody a more ‘proper’ truck driver than anybody else, or a less ‘proper’ driver either.
The only thing that makes any difference is the individuals attitude, skill, pride and professionalism in their chosen field. Get that right and a rigid multi drop day driver is just as ‘proper’ a driver as someone driving to the Middle East or to one of the far flung Staan’s on the far side of Russia.
I personally preferred to be paid to see lots of Europe for weeks at a time, but then I was single with no ties, but I also have a deep appreciation of the lads and lasses who prefer more of a home life and very kindly make sure my local petrol station has fuel for me to put in my car, those that make sure my latest eBay and Amazon purchases get to me, and shock horror, I even appreciate those who chose to trundle along holding everybody up in their supermarket trolleys and keep the shelves at my local supermarket stocked for me.
Are any of these more or less ‘proper’ truckers! Maybe, but that’s down to them and their attitude to the job, its most definitely NOT defined by the job they do.
personally I don’t mind sleeping in a truck, they’ve improved no end since I started and that not nearly as long as other on here, but I can understand it’s not for everybody the same as day or nights isn’t for everybody, although in some parts of the country you’d struggle to get any HGV driving job that didn’t involve at least the odd night out each week.
As for the OP, I can see your point, but if a few more companies started demanding thier drivers use proper parking places, and they’re willing to pay for that, it might encourage people to open truckstops and generally improve things for the drivers in the UK. Although a change in planning permission that meant these large distribution parks had to provide an area for HGV parking would also help.
As for drivers needing to plan to have thier rest before getting on the boat, so they don’t park in Kent, not only is it unadvisable to park near Calais, most of the parking areas within an hour or so, are now closed for parking and sometimes the best planning goes to ■■■■ when you turn up at Calais and find you have to wait hours for a boat, so you find yourself getting off the boat with little or no time to find parking.
ThrustMaster:
AndrewG:
daftvader:
.But its more a way of life than just a run of the mill job.Sent from my SM-G950F using Tapatalk
^
Nail on head.
Those getting homesick after getting 200km down the road need to find something else to earn a crust. Ill never understand the thinking behind having to be home every night, the missus/kids/house will still be there when you get back, what really is the big deal with 3-5nights out…It may be horses for courses and all that but ask yourself that question again when you’re on your death-bed.
Me? I prefer life on Easy Street.
What i do really couldnt be easier, one destination to another just 2K km apart, it really is life on easy street. Ill have no regrets on my death bed. The only thing ill ever wish for is my kids outlive me 18 girls and 19 boys… 
AndrewG:
ThrustMaster:
AndrewG:
daftvader:
.But its more a way of life than just a run of the mill job.Sent from my SM-G950F using Tapatalk
^
Nail on head.
Those getting homesick after getting 200km down the road need to find something else to earn a crust. Ill never understand the thinking behind having to be home every night, the missus/kids/house will still be there when you get back, what really is the big deal with 3-5nights out…It may be horses for courses and all that but ask yourself that question again when you’re on your death-bed.
Me? I prefer life on Easy Street.
What i do really couldnt be easier, one destination to another just 2K km apart, it really is life on easy street. Ill have no regrets on my death bed. The only thing ill ever wish for is my kids outlive me 18 girls and 19 boys…
bloody nora, 37 of the little buggers, those few night’s you’re home you don’t waste any time do you
Juddian:
AndrewG:
What i do really couldnt be easier, one destination to another just 2K km apart, it really is life on easy street. Ill have no regrets on my death bed. The only thing ill ever wish for is my kids outlive me 18 girls and 19 boys…
Four marriages and a roving eye when i was younger mate…
Our lot pay parking so dinner only ever costs me about a quid.
Did sedgemoor the other night and it’s 2 x£5 vouchers so it’s Burger King this month when passing 
AndrewG:
Juddian:
AndrewG:
What i do really couldnt be easier, one destination to another just 2K km apart, it really is life on easy street. Ill have no regrets on my death bed. The only thing ill ever wish for is my kids outlive me 18 girls and 19 boys…
Four marriages and a roving eye when i was younger mate…
.
That’s a lot of Christmas and birthday presents to buy.