Off Tramping soon, equipment recommendations please?

UK PROFESSIONAL DRIVERS FORUMS OLD TIME LORRIES, COMPANIES AND DRIVERS (INTERACT
61

Quick update.

So I’ve been tramping now for Stobarts since November. Yes, tramping. it may not be the same as it was 40 years ago but then the world has changed. Tramping means “sleeping in your cab”. It is 2011 and we’re lucky enough to have trucks with beds in.

Anyone new to the job may have read this post and had a bit of a laugh but may also have been looking for some advice on what sort of things are required to make the job a little more comfy.

For a start, despite what Stobart trainers may tell you, a gas stove is a must. We’re not spose to have them but we all do. Grab yourself a flask and a decent flask-mug for making brews. Lot’s of tinned food, like curry, corned beef hash, anything that you can heat on a stove. Mess tins, forget frying pans and that, they’re far too messy.

Also, assuming you have a satnav, I use a tomtom with truck maps, download relevant POI’s like truck stops & MSA’s and if ya start with Stobs you can get POI’s for Stobs depots and delivery destinations.

Take plenty of water with you, i get through at least 2ltrs a day and buy the no frills stuff from the super markets, its about 17p a bottle. Just easier to manage than taking a big water barrel or similar.

And lastly, for all those who have slagged off Eddie Stobart, you’re just jealous. Truck & Driver magazine, one of the best selling trucker mags, in a recent poll showed Stobart to be the No 1 haulage company and, I hasten to add, the votes came from T&D readers which one would presume, aren’t all ES employees.

I’m proud to be a stobart driver & love my job. I’m earning more money than I’ve ever earned and it’s great feeling to work for one of Englands well known branded top 100 companies.

Cheers

62

Looks like you have found the right job for you,if your happy and obviously you are i wouldn’t be to bothered about people slagging off your employer. Just remember your the one that matters . :smiley:

63

mfm - cheers m8, you’re spot on fella

64

mfm:
Looks like you have found the right job for you,if your happy and obviously you are i wouldn’t be to bothered about people slagging off your employer. Just remember your the one that matters . :smiley:

I wonder if it was a “toss up” between the Army and ESL,and he lost the toss!!!

65

Simply put, a few good quality carrier bags and a plastic bottle with a wide neck (well in my case anyway) :stuck_out_tongue:

Give us ring in a couple or three days and let us know what you are up to.

66

for what its worth the way the job market is at present its a good thing you have got wages coming in be it working for stobarts or anyone else good luck with it I never worked for stobart so have no opinion on them, cheers fred m

67

akacheesy:
Quick update.

So I’ve been tramping now for Stobarts since November. Yes, tramping. it may not be the same as it was 40 years ago but then the world has changed. Tramping means “sleeping in your cab”. It is 2011 and we’re lucky enough to have trucks with beds in.

Anyone new to the job may have read this post and had a bit of a laugh but may also have been looking for some advice on what sort of things are required to make the job a little more comfy.

For a start, despite what Stobart trainers may tell you, a gas stove is a must. We’re not spose to have them but we all do. Grab yourself a flask and a decent flask-mug for making brews. Lot’s of tinned food, like curry, corned beef hash, anything that you can heat on a stove. Mess tins, forget frying pans and that, they’re far too messy.

Also, assuming you have a satnav, I use a tomtom with truck maps, download relevant POI’s like truck stops & MSA’s and if ya start with Stobs you can get POI’s for Stobs depots and delivery destinations.

Take plenty of water with you, i get through at least 2ltrs a day and buy the no frills stuff from the super markets, its about 17p a bottle. Just easier to manage than taking a big water barrel or similar.

And lastly, for all those who have slagged off Eddie Stobart, you’re just jealous. Truck & Driver magazine, one of the best selling trucker mags, in a recent poll showed Stobart to be the No 1 haulage company and, I hasten to add, the votes came from T&D readers which one would presume, aren’t all ES employees.

I’m proud to be a stobart driver & love my job. I’m earning more money than I’ve ever earned and it’s great feeling to work for one of Englands well known branded top 100 companies.

Cheers

Glad you’re enjoying it mate, that’s all that matters really. You were asking for a tough time by posting on the ‘dinosaurs’ thread.

These guys had it tough years ago, so they’re bound to be scathing when someone in a modern, heated comfortable box wagon calls the 21st century version of what they used to do ‘Tramping’, things are much easier now, but that’s progress.

I wouldn’t want to be away from my family 5 days a week, even with all the mod cons things can still be difficult, so good luck with it.

68

Can’t understand why your taking all that gear, I used to have an empty flask and fill it with hot water when ever I got the chance so I could at least have a hot brew, can’t understand this cooking lark IN BRITAIN! The road side cafes might be few and far between thesedays but have we not got any shops in this country anymore, the amount of gear in a cab these days must overload the front axle and as for satnavs it just proves to me map reading skills and a sense of direction are something that is dissapearing quicker than a rat up a drain, I know people want to be as comfortable as possible but don’t make it sound as if these things are indispensable to do a weeks graft in a country where your never more than ten miles away from civilisation! Franky.

69

Bender:

akacheesy:
Quick update.

I wouldn’t want to be away from my family 5 days a week, even with all the mod cons things can still be difficult, so good luck with it.

Hiya …i can name 4 companyies in the uk who have 2 and 3 weeks away from home in the uk. they get on with the job. needs must.
I ve worked with chaps who,ve been away from home for 10 weeks at a time with work, they have days off but don,t go home.
thats in the last 5 or so years.
John

70

3300John:

Bender:

akacheesy:
Quick update.

I wouldn’t want to be away from my family 5 days a week, even with all the mod cons things can still be difficult, so good luck with it.

Hiya …i can name 4 companyies in the uk who have 2 and 3 weeks away from home in the uk. they get on with the job. needs must.
I ve worked with chaps who,ve been away from home for 10 weeks at a time with work, they have days off but don,t go home.
thats in the last 5 or so years.
John

I don’t know who these drivers might be, but I’m guessing that they don’t have much of a home life, and possibly don’t want to go home.

I can remember reading an article in one of the mags - maybe T&D - some years back, it was about an owner driver, he had the most beautifully kept tractor unit, all chrome, lights and flash paintwork, velvet and tassels inside, and his wife and kids lived in what looked like a Portakabin with net curtains.

Draw your own conclusions on that one, but I know what I think…

I’ve always worked to live, but if people want to live to work that’s their choice. I enjoyed driving up to a point, but I was usually happy to lock the door and go home at the end of the day.

71

I have to agree with bender I would sooner sleep in my own bed than a lorry no matter how comfortable it was thats why I prefered class 2 work years ago you went home every night, but if thats what rocks your boat good luck we do what we want at the end of the day although I recall a few drivers I met who were on the road for a while and you would not want to get down wind of them, I used to see an old guy in the 80s when I picked up from “paynes poppets” in purley way croydon he was an OD can`t recall his motor but had a fridge trailor for the choclate and his wife was always with him and we were chatting one day and I asked him how he got on with hours and sleep he told me his old girl had a class 1 and did the motorway driving in the night or when it was quiet and he did the town and tricky stuff, not sure that would work for all of us hey 24/7 in the cab with your old girl :laughing: fred.m

72

when i first went tramping was with a big j 205 ■■■■■■■■ first class top of the range wagon only been round the clock twice with the trunkers

had to steam clean the inside of the cab due to 24 hour running on trunk with all sorts of drivers and shunters made a few quid selling the old holburn on th floor left by the trunkers

ok needs day cab …

1… cardboard boxes for curtains

2… cushions (or any other that stops the gearstick or handbrake breaking your ribs)

3 breadboard

3 grans wooly blanket

4 good local pub (so you can get that ■■■■■■ you can get a kip)

5 alarm clock …you do this when you do your planing where your next stop will be
(example doncaster cattle market )
wake later than 6am and forget a days work …unless you want to mow down the stalls with all the old ladies

6 ok you got through that you tipped your load ( lol sorry that was your night in doncaster )

7 phone the gaffer from a box (always have to keep change and find a phone box~)

ok cut to the chase

where are you …in a phone box■■?

no are you still in the fens ■■?

yes

nothing to pick up there

phone this number see if you can get a back load

rang that number

■■?

73

Wheel Nut:
Simply put, a few good quality carrier bags and a plastic bottle with a wide neck (well in my case anyway) :stuck_out_tongue:

Don’t forget the toilet roll :grimacing:

And some Nurofen.

74

ok where was i mmmmmmmmm

got ropes and sheets…yes

got a skin…yes

got a bottle sheet…yes

got chains…yes

got dwangs…yes

got timbers…yes

got scutches…yes

got drumsticks…yes

got sleepers…yes

got bulbs and lenses…yes

marker boards…yes

marker lights…yes

goal posts…yes

headboard on your trailer…yes

twistlocks…yes

WELL WHAT F***K YOU PHONING ME YOU HAVE A LOAD

75

bogieman:
ok where was i mmmmmmmmm

got ropes and sheets…yes

got a skin…yes

got a bottle sheet…yes

got chains…yes

got dwangs…yes

got timbers…yes

got scutches…yes

got drumsticks…yes

got sleepers…yes

got bulbs and lenses…yes

marker boards…yes

marker lights…yes

goal posts…yes

headboard on your trailer…yes

twistlocks…yes

WELL WHAT F***K YOU PHONING ME YOU HAVE A LOAD

Only able to load 15 ton though as I weigh 17 ton un-laden mate!

76

Having being retired a while now I would expect to be earning between £40 to £55k per annum plus exspences tramping now to what was the going rate for tramping 15 to 20 years back as that is when I came off distance work and went onto Sainsburys supermarket deliveries to be home most nights and not drop money
cheers Johnnie

77

hiya,
The two most important things for a proper tramper are the little black book and a pile of coppers for the phone the book should be filled with names and phone numbers of hauliers and clearing houses who after years in the game you’ve found to be dependable and they paid a fair rate for the job, and it did’nt matter whether the load you put on took you away from your home base or up and beyond the same so long as the motor was making money the guvnor was happy and it payed us to keep him happy, in my early years i’ve worked for gaffers whose work was dependant on other hauliers local to him to get you out of the yard it was up to the driver then to keep the ball rolling usually being away all week and getting a backload for home on a Friday usually to drop the trailer in the yard for a local driver who had loaded you a trailer for away again on Sunday, now that’s being a proper tramper, i also had a second book a good digs guide which had addresses for accomodation for just about anywhere, if a lorry could get there, i could get a bed for the night.
thanks harry long retired.

78

sammyopisite:
Having being retired a while now I would expect to be earning between £40 to £55k per annum plus exspences tramping now to what was the going rate for tramping 15 to 20 years back as that is when I came off distance work and went onto Sainsburys supermarket deliveries to be home most nights and not drop money
cheers Johnnie

40-55k?? Highly unlikelyto get that. 40k at a push. Anything over 42k you’d be paying 40% tax, don’t like the idea of handing over that much to the Government. I already give them enough.

Personally, I consider job satisfaction to be priceless and I enjoy my job a great deal should earn around 35-40k’s this year, hopefully a pay rise may come along soon but as we’re all still bailing out the banks not sure thats gonna happen.

The world is a different place from 15-20 years ago, the only way for most people to enjoy a high standard of life is having a dual income.

79

akacheesy:

sammyopisite:
Having being retired a while now I would expect to be earning between £40 to £55k per annum plus exspences tramping now to what was the going rate for tramping 15 to 20 years back as that is when I came off distance work and went onto Sainsburys supermarket deliveries to be home most nights and not drop money
cheers Johnnie

40-55k?? Highly unlikelyto get that. 40k at a push. Anything over 42k you’d be paying 40% tax, don’t like the idea of handing over that much to the Government. I already give them enough.

Personally, I consider job satisfaction to be priceless and I enjoy my job a great deal should earn around 35-40k’s this year, hopefully a pay rise may come along soon but as we’re all still bailing out the banks not sure thats gonna happen.

The world is a different place from 15-20 years ago, the only way for most people to enjoy a high standard of life is having a dual income.

£35-40k? Really?

I thought someone on these boards was saying that William pays low wages!

I’m a senior council manager with a team of up to 140 to manage, and that’s on a par with what I get…

Do they need any drivers in Kent?

80

Yeah but then you probably do half the hours I do and are home every night. But yes, I’m making around £700 a week at the moment, give or take. It does vary depending on how many hours you work but you are guaranteed 50hrs. If, of course, you can call it work.A great deal of time is POA (Period of availibilty) i.e. waiting around. You get paid but it doesn’t count towards your working hours, to keep within the Working Time Directive.

Stobarts wages seem to be quite a discussion point on these boards. The hourly rate isn’t brilliant but there are other perks that increase your wages, such as tax free meal allowance and overnight payments. There is also a daily driving bonus. Agency will probably pay you a higher hourly rate but you have no guarantee of hours and personally I prefer to be a full time employee.

According to Truck & Driver magazine, there is a national shortage of drivers again. As the economy starts to recover, people start buying things therefore goods need to be moved.

Personally I decided to take up driving for a living because I enjoy it, not to chase the money. Of course we all like money but it shouldn’t ever be your main motivation (not trying to give you a lecture). I’ve been really quite lucky getting a job with ES as I only passed my class 1 in Sept and got a start with them in November with no class 1 experience. I think that is quite rare. It has taken me 2 years to get to where I am now so if you are considering a career in driving then you could expect to be earning not much more than minimum wage for a while until you gain experience. I was working for a builders merchants driving a class 2 with HIAB on £7.30 an hour and around £320 a week, not even close to enough money to live on.

Good luck though, if you are considering it you’re on the right website for advice.