Sorry its a long one
So since my last diary I have been on the sick, but got so sick of being stuck in the house I decided to get myself a job. Was speaking to a friend who had recently got on with a courier firm based in wakefield and asked if they had any jobs and as it turned out they did. So I was told to turn up on monday morning for a sort of interview. I say a sort of interview as though I have never worked for this particular firm I have worked for the owner before at another firm some years ago. So sort everything out and he says he will be in touch during the week once he has sorted somethings out.
Friday
Well on thursday I get a call asking me if I want to start this week as they have a load for Cattolica nr Rimini, Of course the answer is yes and he tells me to be in the office for 9am to pick up a van.
As I will normally take a van home I decide to get the bus to work so as not to leave my car stranded at work. I arrive at the office and am told I have to load at Crosshills in Keighley before 1pm, The van in the yard is an 06 VW LT but am told that I will not be using this van as it has a drink problem and instead I will be taking a 55 reg Merc Sprinter, the particular van just happens to be my mates as he is on holiday next week. My mate takes a whole different stance then me when it comes to tarting up ones van, so this van comes with all the mod cons, A home made bunk, Curtains, CB Radio, extra interior lights and some rather awful merc window transfers on the side windows but as I’m only in the van for a week so I will have to live with it.
From Horbury I need to head to Bradford as my mate is waiting for a load to Basildon that is due in from Ireland, On the way there I sends me a message that as I’m taking his van off him I can get the coffees in. luckily there is a van near by so I get the coffees in.
Vans swapped I head to Keighley via Denholme, I could have gone through Bradford and Shipley but I prefer the Denholme route. I arrive for 11am and am quickly loaded with just 15 rolls of fabric. I have to deliver it by Monday morning so I decide that I will leave Saturday morning and take a nice easy trip down.
Saturday
8am and I’m on the road heading for Dover via Tesco’s at Ashford for Supplies and Harbour Shipping to change money. On this trip the gaffer has deposited £100 to cover the cost of Tolls in italy and tax in Austria.
As a first for me I am shipping out on DFDS to Dunkerque so it will be nice to try this crossing for the first time. I arrive at dover at 1pm and am soon booked on the next sailing at 2pm. Load is quick and easy and I make my way up stairs. As I have never been on any of the DFDS ships I follow a couple of drivers hoping that they are making their way to the commercial drivers area which on DFDS is called Road Kings.
I am pleasantly surprised at the the area with seperate dining and seating areas and decent views, In my views its a lot better then P&O (though I haven’t been on the the new boat yet) and the quiet recliners are a nice touch, as is the free wifi. The crossing is soon over and I’m back on dry land and I head to Veurne to fill up for the first of many times on this trip. The van has a range of around 525 miles if driven properly but I decide that I will fill up every 400 miles, so next fill up will be around Stuttgart. From Veurne I head towards Mons via the N8 and Ypres and the E403 which I take all the way to the E42. This is also where my first problem of the trip rears its head. For some reason which I work out later the EDC warning light comes on. I send the gaffer a message and he says if its orange it will be ok if its red we have a problem. Its orange so I’m told to carry on. Later my mate rings me to tell me how to clear the fault light which is simply to stop and turn the engine off for a few mins. EDC light out I get back on the road and head to wards Namur where I will join the E411 to Luxembourg, Its a boring road but one that takes very little time to get down and I’m soon cross Lux into germany where the A13 soon becomes the A8, Past the Ford factory at Saarlouis I head for Pirmasens where I take the B10, now the satnav all ways to take the A5 to Kaiserslautern but I always find the B10 a quicker road and there are plenty of areas to pass slow movers. Even though its dark I always enjoy this road, its also gives me ample chance to use the spot lights on the front of the van. From the B10 I join the 65 and head for karlsruhe where I will rejoin the A8 and head for Pforzheim services where I will stop for the night. When I arrice the carpark is full of Little curtainsiders all with polish plates, seems Pfrozheim is being invaded.
Sunday
The suns out and the sky is clear its going to be a nice day today. First job of the day is to get diesel and with the dodgy card I have, I have to go hunting the nearest is in Stuttgart so of I go in search of the place I need, though miles from the Autobahn its easy to find and i’m soon dieseled up and on the road. Back on the A8 I head for Munich, the satnav wants to send me down past Garmisch but I opt for what I know and head for the A93 I also buy a 10 day Vignette for the van, whilst at the services I also decide to grab something to eat and opt for a Burger King and watch a little of the korean grand prix which is on the TV.
I’m soon in Innsbruck and I follow the signs for Brenner, Like Switzerland the views in my opinion are stunning beats Birmingham anyday. I hit the first of many tollbooths and pay the Brenner toll, though the views are great and I’m in no hurry I resist the urge to stop at the europabrucke and plod on I’m soon into Italy and on to the A22 as I head towards Brescia which will be my next fuel stop. I leave at the Affi junction and use the short cut to join the A8 at Pescaria at the truckstop at Brescia Est junction on the A8 autostrada, with the van now full again I get back on the Autostrada and head to Cattolica which is on the A14 just south of Rimini. I arrive after dark but struggle to find where I need to be as the satnav wants to take me down a road that is closed but I eventually find my drop off point and manage to park up across the road. While there the police come passed stop give me a look to which I wave and they smile back and are on there way to leave me to my own devices Spend a bit of time on the phone to the wife and watch a film on the laptop then its bedtime as tomorrow will be a long day, though I had no idea how bad it was going to be.
Monday/Tuesday
The delivery point opens at 0830 so I am ready and waiting when the staff start to turn up. Below the company name it says that they specialise in Model and Product Develoment, theres me thinking they make models for bigger companies when the first of a long line of fit looking women. I’m soon tipped of my light load and I make my way to Rotella west of Turin. I will need to fill up on the way there and with luck the garage directory says there are 2 out of the 3 in italy. The first is in the town of Tortona, it is an unmanned site and when I get there I try my card in the machine to find that it doesn’t work. I have just under half a tank so enough to get me to the pick up point but not enough to get me to Brescia so I decide to try the last site at Novi Ligure only to find that the owners are the same as the previous site and this site doesn’t accept EDC so I’m in a bit off bother. I contact the office and they deposit some money into my account and I put some diesel in.
I’m soon in Rottela and loaded with a pallet of flanges for a waterworks near Chelmsford, I’ve been told I have 24hrs to deliver it so I best crack on. Before anyone starts the courier is a different game to normal haulage and there are times when a job must be on time.
I pass Turin and then Milan and arrive at Brescia Est again to fill up, I’m soon back on the A22 and as I pass Trento I notice the van starts to slow and become sluggish the dreaded EDC light comes on as does the fuel filter light, the van then goes into limp mode and won’t go over 50mph I phone the gaffer and he says the best I can so is try and get as far as I can. For the next 400 miles I trundle along at 50 as truck after truck passes me on the Autobahn, I fill up at Aichelberg and carry on until I reach the B10 where I take a break. After a break I crack on and head for Habay just north of Lux where I fill up again I also notice as I join the E411 that the van has come out of limp mode and is able to pick up speed again so I put the foot to the floor and make good time.
As I near the junction of the E411 and E42 I notice a load of what looks like light at low level on either side of the motorway and begin to wonder what they are for.
I am soon in Calais where I get on the train which is lightly loaded despite the long queue at passport control. Once back in Blighty I make my way to Chelmsford which takes less then one and a half hours from the tunnel and Im soon tipped and ready for my bed. So I head for the A1 and park up for the night. In the morning I will head for the office and then take the van to the mechanic to work out what caused the van to go into limo mode. Though the thinking is that it was dodgy Italian diesel.
In all it was a good trip out and will be the first of many I hope.