Don’t know what all the fuss is about, it’s only a bit of weather 
Had this and my truck has no lagging on the pipes, no additives in the tanks, no wodka in the screenwash, the only preparation I make is to turn the heater up a bit 
Its a 2007 Peterwrecked Driver not a 1979 F12…plus it was colder in the mid 90’s 
fly sheet:
Its a 2007 Peterwrecked Driver not a 1979 F12…plus it was colder in the mid 90’s
Exactly, a 79 F12 is a technological marvel compared with my 05 Peterbilt, you’re getting soft in your old age drive, time to MTFU, you should go out and tarp something before you lose it altogether 
Mind a 79 F12 looks more modern than a Rattling Peterbuilt…
Anyway this needs to get back on topic its 2012 & some poor Chaps going to Mockba…
Vot beda, nichevo, davai vstali i poshli!
im of to kiev in febuary iv put an extra duvet in my truck is running on parrafin so no waxing problems lol o and a 6 pack of all day breakfast lol im going in a red dot scania it returnes hot derv to the tank anyway bit like the old ■■■■■■■ so i aint worried about the fuel freezing just me being a m/east man iv only got flip flops il have to pack me dealers boots
Harry Monk:
newmercman:
Harry Monk:
Consider getting a Thermoline fuel line heater fitted.eberspacher.com/products/thermoline/
Otherwise be very wary about turning the engine off for any length of time if the temperature falls much below -25f.
Surely the problem will be the batteries losing power due to the cold temperature and the oil in the sump thickening, putting even more strain on them that will be the biggest issue with shutting the engine down
Rather than a fuel gelling problem
That’s what happens in Canadian -25deg anyway, maybe the Russian version is different
Maybe Russian diesel is different.
Russian diesel has more water in it. I know. I bought some in Bulgaria 
Wheel Nut:
Russian diesel has more water in it. I know. I bought some in Bulgaria
I was told never to buy the bargain diesel from the small tankers in what passed for service areas because of water content.What puzzles me though is why doesn’t it freeze in their tank and become impossible to dispense?
I once got a tip off about a garage that had ‘good diesel’ just delivered. Had to queue, filled up and set off for home the next day -24deg. No problems.Daresay things have changed by now.Keep your wits about you and you’ll be ok.
Sir +:
Wheel Nut:
Russian diesel has more water in it. I know. I bought some in BulgariaI was told never to buy the bargain diesel from the small tankers in what passed for service areas because of water content.What puzzles me though is why doesn’t it freeze in their tank and become impossible to dispense?
I once got a tip off about a garage that had ‘good diesel’ just delivered. Had to queue, filled up and set off for home the next day -24deg. No problems.Daresay things have changed by now.Keep your wits about you and you’ll be ok.
It didn’t freeze in their tanks because it was good diesel, but they topped it up with water and sold it to us 
I expect the £40-a-day trade-plating Reject from the World of Van Driving will be quick to denounce this as willy-waving on his latest fake Facebook page, I just see it as talking about old times with people who have had similar experiences to mine so I’ll say it anyway.
Russia in December means, to me, having to light a bonfire beneath the diesel tank, carrying a blowtorch as standard kit, wrapping rag around the tips of Silver Birch twigs, dipping them in the diesel tank, setting fire to them and using them to free off a valve etc, scraping ice off of the inside of the windscreen… though strangely enough the really cold days weren’t the worst, because the air would be still, -10 with a strong wind was far worse.
It is still possible to get very good paying work to Moscow, but only for specialist work like exhibitions and roadshows which is, of course, what I ultimately hope Southern Star will be doing- many exhibitors have gone down the cheaper route in the past and then found that an exhibition stand which took six blokes ten months to build has been turned into matchwood after Voicek or Stanislav have loaded 20 tonnes of groupage on top of it.
As for general work, as has been mentioned an eastern European would go to Moscow for 1900 euros, in 1994 Kepstowe were paying their subbies £3,000 one-way I believe, and diesel in Russia then was £12 per 100 litres at the time. If I were to quote for a round trip, which is what exhibitions are, I would be looking at about £10,000 plus standing costs. If the client wasn’t happy with the quote I would just carry on bimbling up and down the A303.
rigger69:
Hi off to Moscow in mid December first time so any advice would be gratefully appreciated
Put a new fuel filter, just to be on the safe side, maybe do a service on your night heater, if your pulling a fridge do change the fuel filter on that aswell.
If your going via Lithuania → Latvia then get a 5l drum of diesel antifreeze fuel additive, you can get them in STATOIL, LUKOIL or NESTE fuel stations, that should sort your fuel freezing problem. If your going mid december(and youre crossing the border at Terehova) then try to reach the border on friday usually its less busy than weekdays or sundays(at the moment there is a queue of 480 lorries, yesterday it was 250, last sunday there were 920 lorries in the queue)
About the prices, if you dont have any idea how much they are keep your comments to yourself, Riga - Moscow is minimum 1700 euros and thats only 900km, ■■■■■■ are cheap(probably cheapest in EU) but they are not stupid, and at the moment you are the ones who are proving to be stupid, by spreading information that you dont have proof to, the only source of your intel is - one guy told me.
If the guy told you that if you jump out of a driving car and wouldnt hurt yourself would you do it or use your common sense?
I stated that Poles where doing UK-Moscow for £1900 gbp before I left The UK 9 months ago its not a myth.
I also stated Kazakstan rate in Euros.
Its not a joke or idle talk I used to amuse Myself with finding out every few months.
And as an aside if hauliers are doing Riga - Moscow for 1700 euros then they are fools, what are they doing London - Moscow for as Your clearly in the know? and with this being a public forum I will say what I want when I want to Squire as thats what its all about.
I used to get London - Moscow - London £3500 plus 1 boat Harwich - Helsinki & 1 boat Zeebrugge - Dover traction only carnets & visas paid plus all additional mileage, it used to cost Me around £800 to round trip, I pulled for Spedition Services Ltd.
Happy safe travels.
When did you do Moscow back in the wild nineties? That was a different game back then things have changed now, even 4 years ago before the whole credit crunch prices were higher than they are now what now pays 1700 used to be minimum 2400.
As for ■■■■■■ no way they would do a full load for that money, knowing the fact that they are in a shortage of permissions to enter Russia( in Russian they are called dozvoli)
Would tend to agree with you Riho. For the last couple of years we’ve been paying about 8000 euro to ship a load over from Ireland and about 6K from southern UK area. We generally look for direct shipment due to tight construction schedules here in Russia (Moscow). We usually use the same Polish firm, not really due to cost just that no UK and Irish firms are set up to do the runs for us at short notice. This year was very difficult to get direct deliveries due to the permit issue you mentioned and loads are trans shipped in Poland onto, mainly, Belarus registered trucks. I would suggest the OP goes onto the IRU website or one of many Irish and UK government trade related sites to get more accurate info on what documentation is required. Make sure you have your visa before you leave. The Russian company you’re delivering to or the freight forwarder should organise. If you don’t like hanging around borders or customs make sure the CMR, TIR carnet and all other documents accurately match the load especially weights and more importantly match each other. A good company with correct paperwork can do Ireland Moscow in 8-10 days. It rarely drops below -10 in December and if you buy your diesel in a reputable garage you should have no problems down to -25. Don’t forget your winter tyres. Snow chains won’t be needed. Roads coming to Moscow from Europe are in good nick and well maintained.
Yes in the mid nineties your right, I shall bow to your more recent knowledge for dedicated timed freight the Kazack freight was trailer via rail & slow.
How much is fuel in Russia now? I never had problems with Russian fuel from wherever I bought it from, I seem to remember colder temps than quoted in December.
I never purchased a visa at the border only a Belarusse transit visa my Russian visas where obtained by the forwarder, I tried once in the embassy in Helsinki & was refused there too.
I used to usually buy fuel from other sources in Russia if I could find it cheap as it was cheaper in Belarusse. The Statoil & the like garages where appearing in the Baltic countries then but I dont remember any flash gaeages in Russia.
I think to start doing adhoc work as a British Haulier would be nigh on suicide as it happens last quoted 5200 for a flat to Kaunus & got undercutby 3000gbp that was in 2011.
Why are permits in limited supply & when did this quota system begin?
jeez, undercut by 3k
bonkers.
chilistrucker:
jeez, undercut by 3k
bonkers.
When did Gregory’s start doing Russia 
fly sheet:
Yes in the mid nineties your right, I shall bow to your more recent knowledge for dedicated timed freight the Kazack freight was trailer via rail & slow.How much is fuel in Russia now? I never had problems with Russian fuel from wherever I bought it from, I seem to remember colder temps than quoted in December.
I never purchased a visa at the border only a Belarusse transit visa my Russian visas where obtained by the forwarder, I tried once in the embassy in Helsinki & was refused there too.
I used to usually buy fuel from other sources in Russia if I could find it cheap as it was cheaper in Belarusse. The Statoil & the like garages where appearing in the Baltic countries then but I dont remember any flash gaeages in Russia.
I think to start doing adhoc work as a British Haulier would be nigh on suicide as it happens last quoted 5200 for a flat to Kaunus & got undercutby 3000gbp that was in 2011.
Why are permits in limited supply & when did this quota system begin?
Hello Flysheet I think these permits are in place for 10-15 years. Along with an ECMT permits you must have a bilateral permit as mentioned by Roho. There has been a political fight for the last 2 years over the amount of Permits Russia issues to European countries, but mainly Poland, for transporting goods into and out of Russia. Polish companies were also taking advantage and coming in to Russia doing internal work with them and breaking Cabotage rules. So last year Russia just cancelled thousands of them. Despite what people think of the place, Russia are only trying to create a level playing field for their own hauliers as the system was, for a long time heavily weighted, in favour of European hauliers. This was also related to the difficulty of Russian and Belarussian drivers obtaining visas. Russia tends to make things easy for citizens of any country that makes it easier for their citizens to get into. For example, a couple of years ago, Ireland ( I’m Irish by the way) voted to stay out of the Schengen agreement under pressure from UK so the Russians in turn made it difficult for Irish to get a visa although things have relaxed on both sides. Diesel in Russia is about 75 Cent (Euro)/litre at the moment. Agree that December in Moscow can drop to below minus 20 but rarely since 2005/6 winter. Was looking at some Russian job sites. Jobs for Russian Drivers on international work tend to be from 80 to 110,000 Rubles a month net of tax. All jobs here quoted net of tax as theres a flat rate of 13% no matter what your situation or marital status (A good reason to live/work here). That’s about 2,000 to 2,700 Euro a month, so they’re not that far behind. It’s also a historically prestigious job as, prior to satellite tracking, it was one of the few jobs that afforded some freedom from under the watchful eye of big brother…
Here’s a link on the permit issue but there’s loads of other articles on line if you search-
automotivesupplychain.org/fe … uro-Trade/
Sorry for the long winded posts but a life long trucking fan (although only mid-thirties so there’s still time!), electrician by trade, and a construction manager in Russia for nearly 10 years.
I think we all know what’s gonna happen now
billybigrig:
[quote"moscowflyer"]
There has been a political fight for the last 2 years over the amount of Permits Russia issues to European countries, but mainly Poland, for transporting goods into and out of Russia. Polish companies were also taking advantage and coming in to Russia doing internal work with them and breaking Cabotage rules. So last year Russia just cancelled thousands of them.
I think we all know what’s gonna happen now
[/quote]
We have a good idea what may happen Mr Big Rig…