rocky 7:
At my age its a pleasure just strolling about, a lift is a bonus.
Rocky thats a great attitude, more power to your elbow Sir!
i,m 47 now, working and living in canada for the last 5 yrs, so you don’t see them here,being from northants i used to see lots of platers and give them lifts, a regular was 3 guys from kettering plating to grimsby/immingham etc . used to be a good laugh, plus that was when you might go home on a dodgy so the you never knew when you might want a lift yourself!
who remembers those guys on plates driving the bus chassis with no cabs at 60mph plus plus down the m’way, and it was always raining!!
what a job that must have been.
Harry Monk:
Sometimes I’m just not in the mood for sudden company.I’ve hitched a lift in the past by holding up a box of tacho cards- more than once- and I have always had a truck stop straight away and I think I would always stop and give a truck driver a lift.
I’m with Harry on this one, and like Harry I have also had the need for a lift.
I was weekended at Colmar early Friday afternoon (parked outside the Cora supermarket) when a mate on his way home from Swiss pulled, in so after his ‘45’ I got a lift from him to Luxembourg to stay with my sister.
On the Sunday night she dropped me off at the Dudelange border (pre 93 so permit days) and I spoke to a couple of drivers at the head of the queue who were waiting for the office to open at 10pm, the first couple said “not going that way mate” so I just hung around for a bit and got into conversation with the drivers waiting. Once it became obvious I was a driver (from the ‘BS’ we all talk) one said “jump in with me mate”, once moving he told me he never picks up hitch hikers but once he realised I was a driver he was more than happy to give me a lift.
So the question, how many of us have picked up a ‘driver’ holding a tacho disc only to find that the ‘hitch hiker’ was just using the disc as a tool to get a lift by taking advantage of the camaraderie between us lot, and I believe gaining entry to a truck under false pretences? I chucked one out at the next services once after it became obvious he wasn’t a driver, when I asked him he said "no, I just saw how easy it was to get a lift with one of these “circular tickets” so scrounged one!!! He couldn’t even see why I was so put out■■? (it was him that ‘got’ put out though!!)
Ross.
STEVE OWEN:
who remembers those guys on plates driving the bus chassis with no cabs at 60mph plus plus down the m’way, and it was always raining!!
what a job that must have been.
I certainly do Steve, sat in the third lane, wrapped up like the Michelin Man and wearing a pair of goggles looking like Snoopy the Dog with a leather helmut. Those guys must of had balls of steel flying down the M6 on their way from Leyland, they always reminded me of Biggles in a Tiger Moth for some reason 
.
[who remembers those guys on plates driving the bus chassis with no cabs at 60mph plus plus down the m’way, and it was always raining!!
what a job that must have been.
[/quote]
My old man (no longer with us) was an HGV driver but I remember at one time he shunted those coach chassis around at a coach builders in Hendon London !
I seem to recall him saying that this method of transporting the chassis by road was stopped after a driver died of hypothermia – don’t vouch for the authenticity of this story but I do remember being told it back in the '60s when I wore a young mans clothes !!
G’day,
when I was still living in the UK in the mid 90’s I used to hitch around quite a bit. I was doing my time as a diesel fitter and hadn’t much cash,it was cheep and I liked it because you never quite knew what the day would bring.
I used to hold up a tacho card and would always get a lift from a truck before long. I used to get some dirty looks from other hitchers though who had been waiting in the same spot before me when I had just got out of one truck and into straight into another all because of the card.
One time hitching out of Wales I was dropped by a truck at a large roundabout,it was a long walk up a steep slipway to the next point where I needed to stick my thumb out,now no one likes to stop on a hill let alone a truck and at speed. I waited for about half hour with no joy when I started to need the toilet,not stand up type either!
Not good when you stood in the middle of nowhere by the side of a busy road,just at this point I noticed some poor bugger had writen in black felt pen on the armco barrier “This is the worst place in the world to hitch” Not wrong mate,so I’m hopping about on one leg trying to make the ‘I need the toilet feeling" go away and also thinking jeese I hope no one stops now.
Over the armco and up the embankment I went into some bushes and got myself sorted,while looking around for some nice wide flat soft leaves,yeah right, I noticed an old builders glove,that’ll do I thought,but should I put it on? or just wipe me bum with it?
Anyhow jobs right,scrambled back down the embankment over the armco,card up thumb out and a Sed Atki Strato artic pulling hard up the slip way pulls over,“where you off to”? yells the driver across the cab
"Outa’ here thanks mate"
Cheers Jamie
I wont say which line I was on for obvious reasons, but the other day I was on a train, when the conductor reached me \i showed him my senior rail card to get my discount. He looked at my backpackwith the plates sticking out and asked me where I was going to.when I told him said its ok theres no barrier there, you wont need a ticket I looked at him quizically and he winked and said,“I used to be a plater, have a nice day”… worra good do.
Hello I ve never been a trade plater but used to hitch hike lots in the sixties in the UK when I was going through my student days.I found having spent my formative years with my dad in the haulage business helped me incredibly basically knew the routes I was on where to stand and most importantly how to behave correctly.I could get around easily having a clean cut appearance generally helped too…drivers at this time mostly loathed hippy types and refused to pick them up.Never had a bad experience but other than the ride wasnt out to scrouge cigs cash etc from the driver who was good enough to pick me up.However the world has changed in canada you dont see many hitch hikers also its a different game with distances being great you dont generally want someone with you for days on end.The company I worked for in Calgary made the decision for you no hitchikers under any circumstances.
Since starting this topic I have had people queing up to give me lifts ,and they say advertising don,st pay thanks guys !!!
rocky 7:
Since I retired from General haulage at 65 I have been on the “plates”,I use my bus pass more often than not but sometimes I am forced to hitch out of some of the more out of the way places.I have to smile at some of the drivers who make an obvious point of looking the other way before they will stop for me.I know most firms will not allow lifts but I cant be doing with the [zb] who stick two fingers up , or worse still stop and then drive off when you run up to them, or shout abuse at you as they pass.There are still afew decent drivers out there who will stop.To those few I say thank you.
Rocky I have posted this story some where else on Trucknet but not under a Tradeplaters thread. 45 years ago I picked up a trade plater which led us to be friends to ths day.
I had been to Stratford on Avon Canneries and stopped to pick up a plater, his name was Bill Redhead and over the next few weeks I could not go round a roundabout or pull
out of a Transport cafe without seeing Bill there with his plates held high. We are still good friends to this day and I never regret stopping to give him a lift. I tried my hand
at plating myself in the early 80’s but it was not for me. regards Big Al
to ;Big Al. Its not really my cup of tea, I,v only been doing it since I “retired” but I am enjoying it to an extent.
Its surprising how many younger drivers dont realise that you need a class one to move stuff about on plates.
I was asked the other week why I didnt get a proper driving job, If I held a class 1. this was asked me by a lad about 25/6, I hadn,t the heart to tell him i,v probably spent more time at traffic lights than he as driven miles, but you get to see and hear allsorts it is an education. have a nice day Al, hope to see you around.
Just to drift away from tradeplates for a mo. but still on the subject of lifts, quite a few years ago I was coming home through Germany. I stopped for a brew at Propstier Wald just before Aachen. I was approached by a lad in RAF uniform desperate for a lift to Calais. Imagine his delight when I took him not only to Calais{actually it was Zeebrugge} but I dropped him right on his doorstep in Stockport.
In canada truck delivery firms generally have a fleet of small vehicles usually half ton trucks or smaller equipped with a drawbar on the front bumper.These are towed behind the larger vehicle being delivered.At the destination unhook and drive home in style no need for lifts etc.
robinswh:
In canada truck delivery firms generally have a fleet of small vehicles usually half ton trucks or smaller equipped with a drawbar on the front bumper.These are towed behind the larger vehicle being delivered.At the destination unhook and drive home in style no need for lifts etc.
If there is enough of us in the same area it is cheaper to hire a small car .the furthest one, off hires it at his pick up the following day.
How many of you would give this poor chap a lift in a warm cab. Its the best i could do I know its not a coach or horse box.It may suprise someone.It is’nt Russian either it gave me hell getting it from a…b.
John
3300John:
How many of you would give this poor chap a lift in a warm cab. Its the best i could do I know its not a coach or horse box.It may suprise someone.It is’nt Russian either it gave me hell getting it from a…b.
John
Sod that, If I had to move these things I WOULD retire., At my age I am looking for warmth…hahaha.
3300John:
How many of you would give this poor chap a lift in a warm cab. Its the best i could do I know its not a coach or horse box.It may suprise someone.It is’nt Russian either it gave me hell getting it from a…b.
John
John give us a clue, what is it ? and is that you driving ? regards Big Al
I’ll bet the steering was nice and light though !!! 
Sorry Al its not me. I’d have a go at it. The photo was taken in 1970 I was young and daft then so like you no problem. I’ve done a day or two with no windscreen so i’d be up for this. The firm in question worked with Bedford so it might be something that turned into AWD. This will have some umph
it got a V16 supercharged two stroke Detroit with 635bhp. It dose say this is a prototype vehical so the chap on board would of done a few hundred miles
on her.It is a delux model you can see a peice of perspex for a windscreen. That would stop his hat blowing off HA HA. I only put the photo on for the young ones to see, when i left school i worked at Jennings body builders In Sandbach their was always chassis coming in to be made into horse boxes fire engines and so on. ERF would assemble a chassis it would go to Scotland to be fitted out with pumping equipment or a hoist and come back to Sandbach for the bodywork all with no weather protection.I’ve had a nosie and the truck photoed was for airport recovery.