What can a brit with class 1 licence and six years of reasonably varied domestic experience do these days for a true trucking adventure? The middle east era is never coming back, the ice roads, as far as I understand, generally tend to go to exprienced Canadians and European looks difficult to get now.
So where in the world can a British driver go for some proper trucking experiences? Running up and down the M1 at night with my auto box and excessive and empty locker space is killing my soul. Please suggest regardless of how good or bad wages are, whatever country it is - even if it is the UK - and also if anybody knows of one-off volunteering opportunities. Anything interesting would help inspire me get away from domestic work for a while.
Hi all.Ezydriver if you want some '‘proper’'ice road trucking forget Canada.Ispent i winter inTuktoyaktuk.Ok its challenging,but for '‘normal’'throughout the winter ice road driving you can’t beat northern Norway or Lappland.This winter lasted from October until May.And if your not driving a truck you can spend all winter driving snowscooters and quads with tracks. Mike
Ice roads? What, driving at very slow speeds, up and down the same piece of road/ice is adventurous? If you came to Canada for adventure you’d be far better off doing the normal work and travelling coast to coast in both Canada and the USA and down to the Mexican border. I find the idea of the ice roads to be extremely boring. I’ve got 39 of the lower 48 US states and I’m starting a new job in a week or so and I’m going for gold.
robinhood_1984:
Ice roads? What, driving at very slow speeds, up and down the same piece of road/ice is adventurous?
Compared to the monotony of driving up the M1 to tip 1/4 mile off a junction and then go back again… yes, that’s somewhat adventurous. Come on young Robinhood, don’t be shy, give us a worthwhile suggestion!
ezydriver:
Compared to the monotony of driving up the M1 to tip 1/4 mile off a junction and then go back again… yes, that’s somewhat adventurous. Come on young Robinhood, don’t be shy, give us a worthwhile suggestion!
Come to Canada but head south instead of north. You’d have to do that for ages before being considered for the ice road any way, so kill two birds with one stone!
Adventure…sure…get yourself to Syria…Afghanistan…Pakistan…strap a sandwich board to yourself reading Alquieda, Muslims, this is my land, and im not moving`…then wait for the adventure to begin…
you’ll find ice roads in scandinavia, and russia. the british were using them commercially well before the canadians.
i still find european work an adventure. you don’t get sick of seeing the alps. and as long as the company you work for has varied work, then you won’t see it all in your lifetime.
Try some R&R work . Weeks/months away in Europe and beyond . Decent money too . It’s something I can’t get out of my head but you need to be single really . Iv’e discussed it many times with Mrs Shade ,if my circumstances ever change , and if it wasn’t for my current job being so easy and convenient , I’d be off !
What about Stobarts , you can race trains, get the chance to drive their mobile bomb, get piped out of the gates after every Scotch drop, get your autograph hunted, and if you’re lucky end up with a creamy mess around the back, what more adventure do you need.
ezydriver:
What can a brit with class 1 licence and six years of reasonably varied domestic experience do these days for a true trucking adventure? The middle east era is never coming back, the ice roads, as far as I understand, generally tend to go to exprienced Canadians and European looks difficult to get now.
Running up and down the M1 at night is killing my soul.
Been there done that and it’s always been an adventure in itself trying to find somewhere,that’s doing something interesting,that would be prapared to take on a driver with just uk experience.But look on the bright side night trunking beats local multi drop.
The conclusion which I reached was that working as an owner driver doing euro work or finding a job doing distance work in North America would probably be as good as it gets in that situation and if it wasn’t for the start up capital issue and immigration issues that applied at the time that’s what I’d have done.So 15 years of nights running on uk motorways it had to be instead although that was a lot more interesting with the old type wagons without limiters.
With the easier immigration rules of today it’s the North American option which would be the most realistic choice.
Hi all.It’s funny,so many dream of going to Canada to drive the ‘‘adventure’’ but noone thinks of first trying in Northern scandinavia where you have almost the same life as Canada but no immigration problems and if it doesn’t work out you just change companies or go back home.
You want adventure.Drive a 700hp Scania 25mtr roadtrain for Northland Resources this winter in Lappland.
No i’m not recommending you for the job,thats your responsibility.Mike
hutpik:
Hi all.It’s funny,so many dream of going to Canada to drive the ‘‘adventure’’ but noone thinks of first trying in Northern scandinavia where you have almost the same life as Canada but no immigration problems and if it doesn’t work out you just change companies or go back home.
You want adventure.Drive a 700hp Scania 25mtr roadtrain for Northland Resources this winter in Lappland.
No i’m not recommending you for the job,thats your responsibility.Mike
The problem is that most of us who come to Canada dont really like the severe winters and enjoy the work heading south in to the warmer parts of the US, especially when its cold in Canada.
hutpik:
Hi all.It’s funny,so many dream of going to Canada to drive the ‘‘adventure’’ but noone thinks of first trying in Northern scandinavia where you have almost the same life as Canada but no immigration problems and if it doesn’t work out you just change companies or go back home.
You want adventure.Drive a 700hp Scania 25mtr roadtrain for Northland Resources this winter in Lappland.
No i’m not recommending you for the job,thats your responsibility.Mike
The problem is that most of us who come to Canada dont really like the severe winters and enjoy the work heading south in to the warmer parts of the US, especially when its cold in Canada.
The US has the larger distances and variations in conditions and scenery that Scandinavia doesn’t have so much of.
But who needs the Scania drawbar outfit when they’ve got their own.
Hi all.I agree with you about not liking the winters there[yes i have lived and worked there].My point was that many people go there without understanding the magnitude of the challenges they are facing.
If you want '‘adventure’'or a change of life you can have almost the same in Scandinavia,but without all the stress of immigrating and being at the mercy of ‘‘dubious’’ companies.Yes there are sharks here,as there are anywhere in transport,BUT if it doesn’t work out it’s much easier to change companies or countries or just go home again.
Yes the distances are greater and the scenery is beautiful.But so is scandinavia.If you want distance and beautiful scenery drive from Tromso to Spain,you have the whole spectrum then.
Carryfast.As to the roadtrains this is a special dispensation in Lappland to facilitate the transport of iron ore from the new mine in Kaunisvaara by road with 90ton trucks until the railline is built in about 4yrs.It’s not a Detroit but they are double drive
hutpik:
Hi all.It’s funny,so many dream of going to Canada to drive the ‘‘adventure’’ but noone thinks of first trying in Northern scandinavia where you have almost the same life as Canada but no immigration problems and if it doesn’t work out you just change companies or go back home.
You want adventure.Drive a 700hp Scania 25mtr roadtrain for Northland Resources this winter in Lappland.
No i’m not recommending you for the job,thats your responsibility.Mike
What about speaking the language over there in Northern Scandanavia mate ? Is English widely spoken ?
Hi all.James.In the north of Sweden English is widely spoken also in the north of Norway.The people are very relaxed and very helpful and patient.Obviously you will have to learn the language at some point but people help you a lot.Underground in the mine it is compulsory to speak some Swedish as all communication is via truck radio.This is for safety reasons,rockfall,fire or such.
Northern Finland is very much more difficult for English speaking.
And of course if you are working in rural areas more local dialect is spoken.
I personally found Lappland to be the most laid back and easiest in which to integrate.Mike
hutpik:
Hi all.James.In the north of Sweden English is widely spoken also in the north of Norway.The people are very relaxed and very helpful and patient.Obviously you will have to learn the language at some point but people help you a lot.Underground in the mine it is compulsory to speak some Swedish as all communication is via truck radio.This is for safety reasons,rockfall,fire or such.
Northern Finland is very much more difficult for English speaking.
And of course if you are working in rural areas more local dialect is spoken.
I personally found Lappland to be the most laid back and easiest in which to integrate.Mike
I used to travel to Sweden and Finland a lot onboard ship and always found the Swedes much more likely to speak English than the Finns. I liked both countries but Sweden was definetely the more lively of the two. Never been to the north of either country though. Furthest north in Sweden was Gavle and furthest north in Finland was Vaasa.
Are you from the UK Mike? If so, how long have you been there?
Hi Robinhood.Yes i am originally from Colchester.From about 1965 i started travelling,first in military then in 70s to M.E with trucks.In 1977 i moved to Holland where i lived for almost 30yrs,except for 2yrs in Afghanistan and § year in Canada[Quebec],and N.W.T,my wife was Quebecois.As my dream was to retire in Canada,when my wife died we were still working in Holland and driving alot to North Norway.As i felt too old to try to go to Canada alone i decided to move up here to Lappland,as within Europe,it’s the nearest you will get to Canada,people,climate,nature,mentality,etc without actually going there.Also being EU it’s easier to move and work here.I feel very content here,i’ve got my dream second hand.I feel more at home here after 4years than 30yrs in Holland.I work 7days,have 7 days free and bank about £2300 net each month.Whats not to like.Ihave quality of life,you can’t ask for more.Take care winter will be here soon Mike
Mike
, you can race trains, get the chance to drive their mobile bomb, get piped out of the gates after every Scotch drop, get your autograph hunted, and if you’re lucky end up with a creamy mess around the back, what more adventure do you need.
