Had an interview and indicated my preference for nights, but 2nd preference went for night tramping since the day shift doesn’t pay quite enough to be worthwhile.
So, for those who do, or have done tramping - what’s the pros and cons of life like that? I’ve done trade-plating where I was away for a week at a time every week, but obviously never had my own unit to get proper comfy in and had to use B&Bs now and then so doesn’t really compare.
youll either love it or hate it, but i doubt youll find that out till you try it.
personally i cant get on with it, id rather be able to walk away from the truck after 10-15hrs and return to my home life, a bit like clocking off in the factory.
I found the greatest dis-advantage was at the weekend, trying to cram a weeks worth of home life into 48hrs at the weekend, even less if your expected to work at least 1 saturday am in 3
is night tramping sleeping in the cab during the day 
the pro,s are usually banging on the cab between the hours of 7 pm to 2 am
the con,s are usually after your diesel and start around midnight till 4 in the morning 
tramping you either love it or hate it, but it does get better the more you do it as you learn all the best places to park up for a decent nights kip or the one with decent places to eat / drink nearby etc.
you will also find out how extortionate parking fees are in the services. 
NIGHT TRAMPING new one on me all i can say is in youre first week youll problaby see all 24hrs on the clock night tramping reefers i take it to be
I night tramp, the only con is finding somewhere decent to park, a quiet layby in the middle of the night can be a nightmare during the day.
I try to avoid truckstops & MSA’s, the constant drone of traffic is not as bad as cab doors slamming & engines idling.
No worries about getting curtains slashed or fuel nicked
Tramping doen`t do much for your ■■■ life, unless you get the missus to turn up where your parked 
or entertain the services of a lot lizzard banging on your door 
I know they make a MAN truck, but could you imagine if they made a WOMAN truck, they`d be cited in more divorce cases, as the blokes would be spending more time with the WOMAN than with the wife
you can do it or you can’t
if you can do it ,it means you need very basic stuff
water to wash in an to drink from (pref 2 seperate containers
a bowl
a towel
soap
deodrant
toothbrush
toothpaste
shaver etc
bed stuff (ie sleeping bag (not best) quilt an pillows(best) )
kettle
cool box/fridge
cooker
PLEASE dont read LUCY’S LIST COS YOU NEED A TRUCK TO CARRY HER STUFF LOL
tv/dvd player
basicly you need a few hundred quid to set you up
and ontop of that food to take
so for first week about £500 then after then about £30 per week if you shop at tesco and cook your own food.
thats my estimate sorry if im quids out
I would try the job out first before you invest in expensive kit like tv/dvd of fridge/coolbox.
you can make do without until you know it is definatly for you.
you can store milk etc in a coolbag (maybe £5) tied to the air deflectors on the roof.
take a few good books to start
you get the idea. It is a lot of money to spend if the job is not right for you
In another thread, Lucy:
Of course, if you really want to go the whole hog, you could get into self catering and self- sufficiency like me. Then you will have a truck filled with…Two pillows, quilt, doss bag as bottom sheet, teddy bear…high viz waterproof jacket, hard hat, gloves, spare gloves, hi-viz vest…two scaff bars of varying weight, clawhammer, crowbar, bit of welding rod pulled out of a skip just handy for jammed integral ratchets, plastic bottle for filling radiator and screenwash up…big bag of clothes and undies sufficient for fresh every day and a couple of changes if I get covered in grease/dirt or soaked through…day box with huge quantites of babywipes, stove, deod, body spray, shoe spray, coffee, kettle, coffeemug, toothmug, kitchen towel…big box containing 50-plus A-Zs covering 90% of the UK (the rest are out on loan at various times)…another box with pan, chopping board, cutlery, sharp cooking knife, freezer bags, spare mug…spare gas cans, washbag with towels of various sizes, shampoo, shower gel, women’s exfoliating scrubby thing, armpit razors, pumice stone…laundry bag hung up in corner…two big scatter cushions and one small one for comfort of an evening…screwdrivers of various sizes, spare airbrake winding key, bulbs of all shapes and sizes, gaffer tape, insulation tape, cable ties, various ratchet straps and ratchets…shower shoes (flip flops)…water supplies for washing, cooking, drinking etc., couple of bottles of pop, various tins and packets of edibles for when my fridge gets empty towards the end of the week, cereal bars for snacking, spare supplies of kitchen towel…proper chinese-style noodles plus a spare pack, spares of coffee, toothpaste, deod, body spray, etc…seals (bolt and strip), first aid kit, telly and voltage dropper, E45 cream, supplies of just about every over-the-counter medicine known to man, blank collection notes, tachos, tacho envelopes, spare timesheets, defect book, “female” supplies, truck manual, fuel card directory (3 years out of date), fuel card, pens, hairbrush, toothpaste and brush, stanley knife, chewing gum, spare rizlas and baccy and lighters (lots of), ketchup sachets, phone and charger, cab phone plumbed in, cb which I still haven’t got round to plumbing in…fridge full of fruit, fresh pasta and sauces, freshly cooked and chopped chicken, bread rolls (in a panini phase at the moment) and couple of pots of deli-fillings, marge, tomatoes, other nice edible stuff…special pressure cushion for sitting on when driving…washing up stuff…various kids photos, drawing, valentines cards, business cards, chemical works passes, mascots and trinkets tucked in the headlining or stuck to the walls or hanging off various places…warm coat…spare safety boots for when my main pair give me blisters…a month’s supply (for a normal person, lasts me about a week) of paperback books…fire extinguishers inside and out, set of ladders strapped on catwalk, ADR gloves just in case. Haven’t actually got ADR, like, but you never know…
I think that’s all of it.
Moral of story. No matter how big a cab you get, you will fill it, so keep it as simple as you can for as long as you can else you’ll end up like me and clearing the truck out for MOT will be a major removals exercise…Plus when you have to make it fit for someone else to drive during your week off you’ll have to spend an hour negotiating with your fleet manager to just stash most of it because it won’t actually fit in your car…
Pro’s if you like your own company like I do its great and also the money is better and you get to spend the week away from the missus. 
Cons-miss the kids,dont get the time to do jobs around the house.Groundhog WEEK as in the weeks and months just fly by and all you seem to do is WORK.
I think you are either cut out for it or you are not.
bikemonkey:
Groundhog WEEK as in the weeks and months just fly by and all you seem to do is WORK.
Very true - When I started tramping, I thought the weeks would drag by - but quite the opposite, I don’t know where they go!
Pro’s: Not far to travel to get to work (especially in a small cab). If you get stuck in traffic at the end of the day, you can just stop at the next suitable place rather than getting stressed trying to get home. Everything you need is either on or under your bunk. Each day is different. Ocassionally sociable, depending on where you park!
Con’s: Spending your weekend washing clothes, filling shampoo bottles and re-packing for the next week. Banging your elbows and knees on the truck walls. Having a fridge parked next to you. Having 2 fridges parked next to you. Having 3 fridges parked next to you. If you’re single, you’ll probably stay that way cos there’s very few men willing to put up with only seeing you at the weekend, and then just watching you fall asleep in your dinner (from a female point of view - obviously! )
From a fridge magnet 
peirre:
Tramping doen`t do much for your ■■■ life, unless you get the missus to turn up where your parked
or entertain the services of a lot lizzard banging on your doorI know they make a MAN truck, but could you imagine if they made a WOMAN truck, they`d be cited in more divorce cases, as the blokes would be spending more time with the WOMAN than with the wife
try supermarket work whats a ■■■ life i was better off on the road
dont forget a psp comes in handy when uve no books,seen all your dvd’s and cant get a reception on the tellly , you will also need to enquire about taking out a second mortgage to cover future costs of msa parking!
Not sure all all that I’d like the idea of being on nights AND tramping.
One thing I found to be a pain in the arse about the whole job when I was younger, with small child, was the going to and coming home part of the day. If you live say, half an hour (■■) from the yard and have just done a 15 and taking only 9 off. By the time you’ve driven home, bounced the kids on your knee, patted the wife on the head, ate, showered, chilled out for half an hour; you’re left with about 5 or 6 hours. Then you have to go to bed and “do your duties” before getting up to do all your morning stuff before starting all over again.
I’m lucky in that “wive” MkIV will often drive out to see me for an hour, I have friends scattered around the country where I can “showerstop” AND - if I load somewhere up north for tipping out at Felixstowe, the only call “they” have on me is that I’ll be there sometime tomorrow - typething. So I’ll set my own route and night out location. If that happens to be parking on a truckstop near home, or a friend - then so be it.
Then come the weekend, I’ve found that I’m able to Switch off to a greater level than I did when I was doing “day work”
But as others have said, you’ll either love it or hate it, and you probably won’t know until you try it.
Let us know how you get on.
cons?well in a company vechicle in maybe company uniform,whilst techinically speaking’off duty’ YOUR solely responcible for the vechicle and goods in transit,for if your lucky…£20-£25 pound for every hour of your 11 off (reduced to 9) twice a week…i could be wrong thats my current knowledge oh thats not your hourly rate THATS THE WHOLE BLOODY-NIGHT.
PRO’S
Maximum hours worked per day.
Night out money,you will have change left over.
You’ll feel like a real trucker.
CON’S
You are away for a week.
You are away for the next week and the week after.
You only come home weekends.
No ■■■, or very limited opportunity for ■■■.
You only get to speak to truck drivers during the week.(you can only listen to some goon wafling on about i had a pallet for here, two for there and three for everywhere for so long before you crack and say ■■■■ off away from me).
You’ll stink.
chrisy boy:
cons?well in a company vechicle in maybe company uniform,whilst techinically speaking’off duty’ YOUR solely responcible for the vechicle and goods in transit,for if your lucky…£20-£25 pound for every hour of your 11 off (reduced to 9) twice a week…i could be wrong thats my current knowledge
? ? ? ? ?
Insurance.