Just curious about what the money was like. I hear drivers saying they slept twice a week etc. Not judging just interested as it was just before my time driving.
Tacho discs were a lot larger back then, and they also had a nasty habit of jumping out of the clock near the end of the day… 
Pete.
windrush:
Tacho discs were a lot larger back then, and they also had a nasty habit of jumping out of the clock near the end of the day…Pete.
but how much were you earning?
Suedehead:
windrush:
Tacho discs were a lot larger back then, and they also had a nasty habit of jumping out of the clock near the end of the day…Pete.
but how much were you earning?
Myself, around 14 grand on a three axle rigid tipper in 2000-2002 paid on percentage but I didn’t do any bent running. On our work you had plenty of breaks waiting to load/tip, sometimes more break than actual driving! Occasionally you would be stuck on a job and exceed your daily hours but you just wrote on the card that you were held up on resurfacing work and we never had a problem. At one time, with Tilcon, we were paid on hours off of the tacho so no point us fiddling as we would lose money, some companies did though and occasionally their office would accidently set alight! Of course pre tacho it was easy to run bent and I would think that a lot of the older drivers on here would admit to having done that if only to get home at night.
Pete.
When I first started as an o/d I was working for a container shipping line called OCL. You could make good money then. If you were going down to say Felixstowe after loading somewhere, you would be paid the local rate for the load, and then the trunk rate down. There was always a backload, and you would be paid the same way, trunk rate plus the job rate. They would also save local work for you to do when you got back too. It was a great job, and fuel was about 33ppl, if my memory serves me. The backload job was nearly always an early booking for the next day, so if there were any delays on the way down, it was card out in the dock until you got your box on, and out the gate and park up. This was the accepted practice back then, and being new I went along with it for a few months.
At the same time, there was an infamous copper by the name of ‘Robbo’ who haunted the East Lancs, who, legend had it, had a thing against truck drivers. If you were stopped by him, you could expect no mercy. For years previous to being an o/d I had been up and down the Lancs and never seen him, or got stopped by anybody. One morning I had tipped in Haydock after a red eye trip up from Felixstowe and was heading back into Liverpool along the Lancs when a Police car came out of nowhere, and forced me into a layby. He left it so late I nearly ran into him. I finally got to meet the mythical Robbo. He asked for my cards, and then spread them out along the dashboard. He then scooped them up, handed them back to me, and told me…if I ever stop you again, and the distance traces don’t match, then he would ‘do’ me. He then jumped out the cab and roared off in his jam butty. Not sure why he just slapped my wrist…but never did it again. Never knowingly run bent since that day either.
I have got a weekly wage packet envelope dated from a week in August 1982 here for £485.75. That was for doing two trips to Hamburg.That does not include the night out money of £8 a night for 5 nights out.
Not a regular occurrence by any means, but blagging an extra day out of the week was, but we got paid well by some standards. It was nothing unusual, most firms in the area were keen to get the work done.
Worked for a fridge firm in the early 00’s. Wages were ■■■■. £320 in the bank plus £23 a night out. But you got paid for “favours”. £50 for an hour with the fuse out, £35 for tipping or loading off the card and £100 for a red eye on a blank. All cards went on the bonfire at the end of the week. Didn’t touch my bank account for a year
Me ? never run bent in my life Officer but I have been reliably informed that when we, sorry they were running on log books to Aberdeen from Felixstowe you could just make Dundee in one days driving time then carry on up and tip reload and be back in Dundee in time to book on again for the run back to Felixstowe. This was in a small 10 ton gross Bedford TK, ‘‘They’’ had been known to do 2 a week over a 5 day period with a semi local 150 radius chucked in the middle for good measure.
worked for a fridge firm paid £60 a load to Glasgow from Aberdeenshire and £60 back if loaded only £30 if not loaded. a london paid £150 down and £150 back, a sheffield paid £110 down and £110 back in the early 90’s
worked for 1 Aberdeen firm on multi drop and ran the north east 7 days a week, £1200 per 2 weeks work in the mid 90’s
worked for another Aberdeenshire firm on machinery and general haulage, £800 a week for 90 hours a week in the early 00’s
another Aberdeenshire firm i was at for 3 Great Yarmouth’s a week paid me £650, if you did 4 it was a £1000 for your 6 days in the early 00’s
went on bulkers for nearly 10 years paid me £450 a week with an extra £150 cash added on after for washing, servicing, repairs.
now with a south yorkshire outfit that pays poor hourly rate but leaves you alone too get on with the job, for 60 hours takes home just over £400 excluding night outs thats another £80 on top
windrush:
Tacho discs were a lot larger back then, and they also had a nasty habit of jumping out of the clock near the end of the day…Pete.
they were good on the beach for frisbees 
offered £500 cash to get back to hull asap from s/spain
burnley-si:
windrush:
Tacho discs were a lot larger back then, and they also had a nasty habit of jumping out of the clock near the end of the day…Pete.
offered £500 cash to get back to hull asap from s/spain
as above brindisi to Southampton 4hours on 4 off double manning was quite a regular thing.
its a shame those days are gone as really enjoyed it despite being worked hard, don’t know if its rose tinted specs but don’t seem to recall as many hgv accidents either (probably is rose tinted).
windrush:
Tacho discs were a lot larger back then, and they also had a nasty habit of jumping out of the clock near the end of the day…Pete.
Which then left ‘issues’ like ‘lost mileage’ without going to all the other aggro of disconnected tachos etc etc.The reality is that in most cases tachographs did their job in enforcing the rules and trying to run bent by tampering with a tacho,just like today,involved a lot worse implications,if caught,than just showing the bent hours on the record.
While ironically using log books under domestic regs as in all cases usually meant more rest time in the driver’s favour than less.Either in terms of being able to get back to the yard,finished and home or being able to stop for an ‘unauthorised break’ on the road without the guvnor knowing about it.Which is why the unions were ( rightly ) originally against the introduction of tachos.Until they lost the plot. 
Correct me if I’m wrong (I’ve no doubt) but I feel the questioner wants to show earnings from 80’s & 90’s and compare them to present (for some reason) BUT those earnings then (80’s) went a hell of a lot further than what current wages do, take diesel for instance 33ppl. How much was a pint of beer?
Double cabbed with the ex missus to Malaga and back with a tanker loaded both ways paid £1200 per trip early 80’s 'done in just over 4days.
Oh the good old days !
around 6-8k depending on what and where we loaded on uk - spain - Greece- uk triangle runs.
paid about 400ish a week (never touched my wages on euro work as made more than enough selling asos cigs to my mates).
I past my test in 1991 and was on the same if not more money than i am now,plus everybody always had some sort of fiddle on ,one thing i do know it was a good laugh and all drivers were bang on 
Grossed around 1500 to 1700per week in 83ish running UK only as an owner driver. Direct work out sub con back. Reckon at a guess fuel would be about 25p exc vat at that time. Used a couple of casuals but a lot of time done it myself . I remember working straight through 25 hrs tearing down Southwaite bank and nearly locking up for a bloke walking his dog across M6, I got to him and he disappeared… I was either part asleep and dreaming or hallucinating through being tired. 24 yrs old young and ■■■■■■ stupid but not short of a few quid.
What’s RUNNING BENT? Is that where u run about gay or something for the day.
Other ■■■■■■ preferences are available.
I ll get ma coat now.
Honestscott76:
Correct me if I’m wrong (I’ve no doubt) but I feel the questioner wants to show earnings from 80’s & 90’s and compare them to present (for some reason) BUT those earnings then (80’s) went a hell of a lot further than what current wages do, take diesel for instance 33ppl. How much was a pint of beer?
I was just interested if it paid that well, not the exact wages. I like the history of the trucking game before I started, I liked reading books about the Middle East runs etc.
One thing tho an old boss of mine reckoned it set him up with a few businesses for his time running bent.
I started in “83” and running produce out of Cornwall. 2 of us would go out and handball a full load of cabbage & brocolli or spuds then I would go north that night doing up to 5 markets between Birmingham & Leeds, then reload fertiliser from Immingham and straight back home. 3 trips one week, 2 trips the next.
We got paid £180 basic, taxed, £30 a trip and £30 a day loading cash.