This isn’t a competition and a hard man contest about who’s ran bent the most but what is the longest shift you have ever done? it doesn’t have to be logged and if you’ve slept in between it doesn’t count.
My first day in this job I started at 08:30pm on the Sunday, then after a breakdown finished at 3:30pm on the Monday. Didn’t even get chance to eat my sandwiches!
Wasn’t fun, but after that most days seem easy!
19 hrs due to a break down.
28 hours!! When working as a shopfitter, was on £30 an hour as well!! How I miss the money doing that… Off to check the Internet now see if there is any jobs going!!!
Other than breakdown I used to run Manchester to Dundee and back to Manchester in the 90s not proud of it but the truck had to be back in Manchester same day.
I was only young and did whatever I was asked and my boss wasn’t one you would argue with
All the recovery guys will know about obscene shift lengths. Three years ago when I was at it the weather was particularly bad in Lincolnshire and I did over 40 hours non stop at one point. Not all driving of course, various bits of ditch work included in it, but definitely no sleep.
In 2000 when I fancied a change from trucks I bought a Sprinter and regularly used to do two Barcelonas from Stockton each week. I was heavily into my bike racing then so I normally drove the 22 hours down, tipped and got six or seven hours North before stopping for 40 winks, just so I could get two trips in and be back for Friday practice at Cadwell, Oulton etc. never again though.
Started work on a Thursday morning as a steel erector finished work at 5pm, at 5:30 pm was in a truck from Ipswich to Grantham for a delivery of cat food, then back to Ipswich drop truck off back to work on Friday 7am to 5pm as a steel erector. 34 hours. First break into Truck driving with Fred Archer!!
19 hours including travelling to gig and back.
When I first got my licence I was in a 9-5 job at a woodyard doing mainly office work with a bit of 7.5t driving. On Friday whilst at work got a desperate agency call, work tonight for a Stratford - Stockport. 9pm start at Spitalfields market, get to Stockport and spend an hour unloading & reloading before driving back to Stratford. Finally back at Stratford about 7.30am just ready to get in my car and drive home to Chelmsford. On reflection not very clever.
21 hours, double manning from Newhaven-Dieppe ferry to Portugal nonstop (20hours drive,1h to change cards and grab something to eat).
On my own never done more than 15h30.
Binas:
21 hours, double manning from Newhaven-Dieppe ferry to Portugal nonstop (20hours drive,1h to change cards and grab something to eat).
On my own never done more than 15h30.
How difficult was changing the bloody card■■? 
27 hours.
It was Midday Monday to 3pm Tuesday. Midnight till 3pm was on £27ph. (overtime night rate)
I used to work for a company that built temporary grandstands.
Monday at midday I clocked on.
Drove a crew bus with 2 others to the docklands arena (demolished now apparently)
Got there at 3pm. Checked the stand. 5pm, the audience started coming in (Mobo awards 2002 or 2003. Whichever had Tony Blackburn and Tara Palmer Tomkinson dishing out an award)
Watched the filming until Midnight.
Midnight till 7am started stripping the stand.
7 till 8 am. On site canteen for breakfast.
8am relief crew arrived with driver to drive us back to yard. But there was a tube strike on. Docklands to Hammersmith took 5 hours. (To be honest, I slept for most of this)
Back to yard at half 2, clocked off at 3.
£496 I got paid for that shift.
15hours @ £27
8 hours @ £6.50
4 hours @ £9.75 (time and a half)
That was also the week of my highest pay packet of £1,300
When doing non tacho recovery work a few years ago I would regularly do a late shift in the workshop friday 1400-2200 and before the shift ended I’d be out doing recoveries and relays, work straight through the weekend and then do an early shift 0800-1400 on the Monday. Mental hours, drinking redbull and relentless like it was water.
Now it’s ski season it will be take the kids up the mountain in the morning on the final day, try but fail to get some sleep in the “9 hours off” and then bring the kids back down the mountain and home to the uk. Regularly do 36-38 hours awake. It’s legal just not “right”.
dew:
Binas:
21 hours, double manning from Newhaven-Dieppe ferry to Portugal nonstop (20hours drive,1h to change cards and grab something to eat).
On my own never done more than 15h30.How difficult was changing the bloody card■■?
It takes up to 10 minutes to change driver 1 to slot 2,and driver 2 to slot 1.Change it 3 times because of driving hours and you are left with 30mins in a 21hours shift to do everything else.Another one of the wonderful,well made tacho rules.
Havnt really had a long day/trip, longest was 15hrs on then 5 off 20 on. Two off my mates have run non stop in a van from essex to south of spain 
, thats pretty good going i think!
Into truck Started on a Sunday afternoon finished 8am Tuesday morning …was on standbye shift ploughingsnow/gritting in the early 80s…thats the legal one .
Monday mornings 4.30am ------------- Wednesday afternoon ish ,a couple of unloads and ferry crossings in between an no more than head on steering wheel ,did this for a few mnths then tried (without any joy ) to legalise the run …so moved on !.
jimmy.
When we had the scrapyard we did a couple of 30-40 hour shifts when cars had to be broke quicktime to make room, this was pre RedBull days so it was Pro-Plus and Whizz,
Killer shift as you were done in through fatigue but couldnt sleep because you were whizzing, then when you did sleep you had a comedown to follow, did you in for near on a week doing that.
Never again.
27 hours whilst working in an industrial sprayshop prepping and painting a 4 metre high fabricated, aluminium, internally illuminated set of asda letters. The company owner came in on his day off especially and bought and everyone a huge fried breakfast each, from his own pocket as a thank you and triple time all round. That was over 20 years ago and would not happen nowadays.
Driving wise i delivered a Citroen Berlingo from Shipley to St Austell and drove his part- ex straight back, complete with knackered clutch and gearbox, all in 18-19 hour round trip, no tacho and plenty of black coffee and red bull consumed. Bizarre as it was i really enjoyed it, paid all at double time for getting them out of a jam.
When I was a Chef, I did a couple or three 18 hour shifts, mostly on the feet and organising others (Head Chef) As a driver I have only done 1X 15 hour shift.
No mean feat when a Chef, as the environment is electric, but as a driver, it is just boring and tedious, so felt sleepy.
Running my own business, I try not to work more than 35 minutes in any one day 
When on recovery, the worst 1 was 1300 friday to around 4ish sunday morn… Had a kebab from in the town with the ■■■■ heads (1 being the missis) took her home, got in bed thinkin they would give me a rest, must of fell sleep 4 about half hour and ‘ring ring’ then that was it till about 9ish sunday night,fell straight in 2 bed did 2 hrs wrk that night (2 seperate jobs, both jump starts) slept then till my shift started at 1400 on the monday… I was f***ed, it was that day I decided I was gonna make my self ill doing that job so went bk to driving lol!
Enough respect to any1 still doing that job… Legends!