the microwave is a great tool,but its also a treat to get out the gas bottle and incinerate a nice heart attack on a plate every now and again when conditions dictate… 
harrawaffa:
I wouldn’t work for a firm who won’t spec a fridge in the unit but expect you to live in it 4/5 nights a week.
Me neither.
Wouldn’t go for a job that wasn’t a top spec V8 Scania either, it’s all about standards.
A.
Fridge or not …
Last two trucks (Volvo fh v3 ) had a fridge in the top locker.
My new Fh4 has the underbunk fridge .
I do in or around 3 nights out a week and find it a very usefull piece of kit .
Would I walk away if I was given a new truck with no fridge ?
Not sure on that but I’d have to look at the overall package. as I work for a company that has a man in charge and not a company run by beancounters I can’t see it being a problem as he knows who does what - those who don’t mind stopping out get well rewared for doing so and the trucks we drive are well specked for what we do .
Microwave or nor ?
Don’t mind either way - would be a nice option to have but it wouldnt be a deal breaker for me .
Where would this stop ? Drivers complaining about a fridge yet happy with ■■■■ wages 
OK, i get it, and i know times have changed…a bit…motors are better etc, but back in the day…when we complained the heater doesnt work, we were told…your lucky to have a heater. 
then the loose mirrors, held back from the wind with a piece of string…no night heaters, fridges,microwaves etc, they hadnt been invented…but if i was a boss again, i would tell the driver hes not wanted IF he asked for any of the luxuries theyre expecting today…an old fashioned view maybe, but i supply the work, the truck and spec what I want, and not what drivers want…if you want it, you buy it, but i have paid very good wages…but if you want me to pay for the luxury, and a good wage, forget it, one or the other…you choose. When i go looking for a job…i look at the wages, then the truck, then the work.
truckyboy:
OK, i get it, and i know times have changed…a bit…motors are better etc, but back in the day…when we complained the heater doesnt work, we were told…your lucky to have a heater.
That’s a great view to have, was fine in the 70s so it’s fine now. You sound like a proper crap boss, sacking drivers because they ask for “luxuries” such as a fridge. Complete ■■■■■■.
I’m sure you wouldn’t go home to a house with no fridge, you’ll expect someone to live without one though.
A.
Trucks should be kitted out fit for purpose, if your a day/night man why should there be a fridge fitted?
But then again I wouldn’t class having a fridge as a deal breaker, wages are priority a fridge doesn’t put food on the table.
Otherwise we’d be pulling trailers with camper vans 
Adonis.:
harrawaffa:
I wouldn’t work for a firm who won’t spec a fridge in the unit but expect you to live in it 4/5 nights a week.Me neither.
Wouldn’t go for a job that wasn’t a top spec V8 Scania either, it’s all about standards.
A.
If I was there all the time,I’d be the same. .no fridge no job.
harrawaffa:
I wouldn’t work for a firm who won’t spec a fridge in the unit but expect you to live in it 4/5 nights a week.
Me neither. I don’t have a fridge in the truck I drive, but I don’t do nights out any more. If I did then I would expect to be given a truck with a fridge. The argument that night-out money is supposed to pay for restaurant meals falls down on three counts, firstly that I might need to eat or drink when there is no restaurant within easy reach, secondly I prefer to prepare and cook my own meals and thirdly night-out money has traditionally been a way of making up a crap wage to a half-decent one.
harrawaffa:
I wouldn’t work for a firm who won’t spec a fridge in the unit but expect you to live in it 4/5 nights a week.
Exactly
snapper711:
harrawaffa:
I wouldn’t work for a firm who won’t spec a fridge in the unit but expect you to live in it 4/5 nights a week.Exactly
To my mind, it goes far deeper than whether the driver can keep some provisions cooled, it is a barometer of how much respect a haulier has for its drivers. A fridge may add £300 to the cost of a new truck, but if the haulier keeps the truck for four years, then that would add less than £1.50 a week to the repayments (and that’s without factoring in the higher residual value when sold) and if a haulier doesn’t consider his drivers’ comfort to be worth £1.50 a week then he’s going to be a poor employer in every other respect.
Harry Monk:
snapper711:
harrawaffa:
I wouldn’t work for a firm who won’t spec a fridge in the unit but expect you to live in it 4/5 nights a week.Exactly
To my mind, it goes far deeper than whether the driver can keep some provisions cooled, it is a barometer of how much respect a haulier has for its drivers. A fridge may add £300 to the cost of a new truck, but if the haulier keeps the truck for four years, then that would add less than £1.50 a week to the repayments (and that’s without factoring in the higher residual value when sold) and if a haulier doesn’t consider his drivers’ comfort to be worth £1.50 a week then he’s going to be a poor employer in every other respect.
That’s spot on right there Harry.
A.
nsmith1180:
Conor:
snapper711:
Q.should tramper wagons be fitted with a fridge by law?..I think so.makes a big difference to the drivers moral,so to speak.Spending the subsistence allowance you’re given on meals in cafes etc would be an idea.
^^ Good Answer ^^
Its what its paid for after all, to cover the extra expenses of being out on the road.
And of course you’re guaranteed top quality fresh grub in any cafe…why not just go onto 4 on 4 off and the extra wonga will buy you a Jag as well as a bloody fridge! 
truckyboy:
OK, i get it, and i know times have changed…a bit…motors are better etc, but back in the day…when we complained the heater doesnt work, we were told…your lucky to have a heater.
Aye but in the 70’s you were earning better money! And these things weren’t such a practical proposition as they are now. Fridge and microwave for drivers who are out all week should be the norm although I prefer the gas stove on the whole.
Sorry no fridge no night out.Im not eating junk because some tite ■■■■ boss thinks Its not worth looking after a driver properly .If it has a bed it needs a fridge .
Harry Monk:
snapper711:
harrawaffa:
I wouldn’t work for a firm who won’t spec a fridge in the unit but expect you to live in it 4/5 nights a week.Exactly
To my mind, it goes far deeper than whether the driver can keep some provisions cooled, it is a barometer of how much respect a haulier has for its drivers. A fridge may add £300 to the cost of a new truck, but if the haulier keeps the truck for four years, then that would add less than £1.50 a week to the repayments (and that’s without factoring in the higher residual value when sold) and if a haulier doesn’t consider his drivers’ comfort to be worth £1.50 a week then he’s going to be a poor employer in every other respect.
Excellent post.
I’d like to bet that the majority of those who ‘‘Wouldn’t do the job without a fridge’’ wouldn’t do the job anyway, as they are more than likely the ‘‘Sleeping in a tin box’’ 
, contingent of day men. 
so it doesn’t really matter a ■■■■ what they think cos nights out aint on the cards.
As said by others it’s an illustration of the co’s attitude towards their drivers, and as I work for the tightest arsed of firms, I supply my own fridge. 
Whether it would make me leave?..
No,.as I have a good little number sorted for myself.
I agree, all trampers SHOULD be supplied with fridges, same as all drivers SHOULD be on a good wage and wage structure, and I SHOULD be Holly Willoughby’s bit of rough…but as Mick Jagger once said ‘‘You can’t always get what you want’’.
I don’t know if it’s gospel or drivercrap, buy I’ve heard DVSA are clamping down on fridges on passenger seats, so maybe firms will stump up for their drivers if that happens, who knows…
robroy:
I don’t know if it’s gospel or drivercrap, buy I’ve heard DVSA are clamping down on fridges on passenger seats
I think I could take a pretty accurate guess on that one.
Conor:
snapper711:
Q.should tramper wagons be fitted with a fridge by law?..I think so.makes a big difference to the drivers moral,so to speak.Spending the subsistence allowance you’re given on meals in cafes etc would be an idea.
And eat fatty salty artery clogging ■■■■■■ 90% of the time i do my own grub for very good reasons…
Harry Monk:
robroy:
I don’t know if it’s gospel or drivercrap, buy I’ve heard DVSA are clamping down on fridges on passenger seatsI think I could take a pretty accurate guess on that one.
i heard the only exemption for having a fridge in the cab was if you were taking a long weekend 45 in the cab… 