Real long haul
Discussion
Anyone on here done or doing long distance stuff anymore?
I spent the late 90's going back and to to Russia, Ukraine and the Baltic states with a Scania rig. I'd go as far as Ufa in the Ural mountains and Zaporogia in Ukraine. Once got down as far as the Black Sea. Ufa was nearly a weeks drive the other side of Moscow.
I was always in awe of a friend's father as a kid, I went to see him the other day and he dug out some photos, I was amazed to see one in the early 70's in Baghdad. He remembers it as a friendly vibrant place.
Good old days for sure.
Is anyone from the UK still doing this stuff or has the EU killed it?
I spent the late 90's going back and to to Russia, Ukraine and the Baltic states with a Scania rig. I'd go as far as Ufa in the Ural mountains and Zaporogia in Ukraine. Once got down as far as the Black Sea. Ufa was nearly a weeks drive the other side of Moscow.
I was always in awe of a friend's father as a kid, I went to see him the other day and he dug out some photos, I was amazed to see one in the early 70's in Baghdad. He remembers it as a friendly vibrant place.
Good old days for sure.
Is anyone from the UK still doing this stuff or has the EU killed it?
Ain't the same astrans, it was brought out and the Kent freight depot was shut, they still send up to 200 trailers a year but not from the UK, f
k all to export, all owner drivers as well now, I think most of the overseas work is channel hopping nowadays, who were you on for Ralph'ys if so do you know Alan pellow, or Rocky, like I say, UK trucks can't compete now, used to be some firms near me, sadly all gone now
k all to export, all owner drivers as well now, I think most of the overseas work is channel hopping nowadays, who were you on for Ralph'ys if so do you know Alan pellow, or Rocky, like I say, UK trucks can't compete now, used to be some firms near me, sadly all gone nowI saw one of Ralph Davies' trucks this morning near Runcorn, I knew loads of his drivers including one called Alan, not sure of surname. There was a Mike too who married a girl in Minsk.
I was on for Eagle Freight Terminal in Ipswich, we turned around in Europort and headed back for more!
I was on for Eagle Freight Terminal in Ipswich, we turned around in Europort and headed back for more!
Doing those sorts for trips would probably be great fun for a couple of trips. Do/did people do them regularly and can they stay sane?
I spoke to a guy years ago that used to go east of Moscow in ERF's. He had some quite interesting tales, one of which was breaking down (frozen brakes IIRC) in the middle of a multi-lane road and burning an entire tank of fuel keeping his cab warm before help arrived.
I spoke to a guy years ago that used to go east of Moscow in ERF's. He had some quite interesting tales, one of which was breaking down (frozen brakes IIRC) in the middle of a multi-lane road and burning an entire tank of fuel keeping his cab warm before help arrived.
Willy Nilly said:
Doing those sorts for trips would probably be great fun for a couple of trips. Do/did people do them regularly and can they stay sane?
I spoke to a guy years ago that used to go east of Moscow in ERF's. He had some quite interesting tales, one of which was breaking down (frozen brakes IIRC) in the middle of a multi-lane road and burning an entire tank of fuel keeping his cab warm before help arrived.
I did them regularly. Did right through one winter and while it was 'Character building' I decided that the money I'd earned (paid by the trip) didn't warrant the hassle so used to work then March to November spending the other months in India or Africa.I spoke to a guy years ago that used to go east of Moscow in ERF's. He had some quite interesting tales, one of which was breaking down (frozen brakes IIRC) in the middle of a multi-lane road and burning an entire tank of fuel keeping his cab warm before help arrived.
Your guy was lucky he had help coming. You need methanol in the air lines to prevent the brakes locking, a bit of petrol in the diesel to stop it waxing, oh, and don't turn the engine off even long enough to check the oil because if the batteries freeze you're in a world of s
t.JohnnyJones said:
Anyone on here done or doing long distance stuff anymore?
I spent the late 90's going back and to to Russia, Ukraine and the Baltic states with a Scania rig. I'd go as far as Ufa in the Ural mountains and Zaporogia in Ukraine. Once got down as far as the Black Sea. Ufa was nearly a weeks drive the other side of Moscow.
I was always in awe of a friend's father as a kid, I went to see him the other day and he dug out some photos, I was amazed to see one in the early 70's in Baghdad. He remembers it as a friendly vibrant place.
Good old days for sure.
Is anyone from the UK still doing this stuff or has the EU killed it?
got any pics.I spent the late 90's going back and to to Russia, Ukraine and the Baltic states with a Scania rig. I'd go as far as Ufa in the Ural mountains and Zaporogia in Ukraine. Once got down as far as the Black Sea. Ufa was nearly a weeks drive the other side of Moscow.
I was always in awe of a friend's father as a kid, I went to see him the other day and he dug out some photos, I was amazed to see one in the early 70's in Baghdad. He remembers it as a friendly vibrant place.
Good old days for sure.
Is anyone from the UK still doing this stuff or has the EU killed it?
i'm taking a break from my regular job at mo, due to some ill health in the family, so need to be uk based at mo. but when i'm working the company i work for, still go anywhere. last year i certainly got about, from athens, to lisbon, to oslo, stokholm, helsinki, moscow, madrid, milan, zurich and more
I was generally taking rolls of cloth etc to former Soviet factories and bringing back hanging garments. There was other stuff too, I loaded tyres one night out of an Antonov cargo plane on a runway somewhere east of Moscow.
When the EEC started to let the east europeans drive their trucks here we were doomed, they'd work for $20 a day. I went to India for Christmas in 2001 and came back to literally no work.
^^I tried to get into the likes of Redburn transfer and Stagetruck but found I needed a referral really and it kind of stalled there. Meantime I was offered a year in Spain moving a mobile exhibition around from town to town, so off I went.
I will get some pics scanned in, been meaning to do it for ages.
When the EEC started to let the east europeans drive their trucks here we were doomed, they'd work for $20 a day. I went to India for Christmas in 2001 and came back to literally no work.
^^I tried to get into the likes of Redburn transfer and Stagetruck but found I needed a referral really and it kind of stalled there. Meantime I was offered a year in Spain moving a mobile exhibition around from town to town, so off I went.
I will get some pics scanned in, been meaning to do it for ages.
it certainly has had a very big impact with the influx of drivers from the east.
we used to do all the tractors out of basildon where we were based, good little number, then a huge dutch firm moved in with there tranporters. they had all polish drivers, who to be honest on the whole were good lads trying to make a better life for themselves, but that eventually came at my guvnors lose, as he couldn't compete on the "dutch" companies rate for the job. the poles were earning a third of what we were getting, such is life eh. there firm treated them like crap, but they were only in it for the money to send home.
i've never been further east than moscow, although it is starting to happen, we do a gig now about 900kms east of moscow. i've done st.petersburg a few times and to be honest, once you get used to the horrendous driving and the dire state of the roads i actually don't mind it
yeah the music firms can be a little bit closed shop, but i was just in the right place, at the right time for once.
i'd have been happy with your tour of spain, after doing european work for the last 17 years, its still my fave place to go with work. are you still doing it?
we used to do all the tractors out of basildon where we were based, good little number, then a huge dutch firm moved in with there tranporters. they had all polish drivers, who to be honest on the whole were good lads trying to make a better life for themselves, but that eventually came at my guvnors lose, as he couldn't compete on the "dutch" companies rate for the job. the poles were earning a third of what we were getting, such is life eh. there firm treated them like crap, but they were only in it for the money to send home.
i've never been further east than moscow, although it is starting to happen, we do a gig now about 900kms east of moscow. i've done st.petersburg a few times and to be honest, once you get used to the horrendous driving and the dire state of the roads i actually don't mind it
yeah the music firms can be a little bit closed shop, but i was just in the right place, at the right time for once.
i'd have been happy with your tour of spain, after doing european work for the last 17 years, its still my fave place to go with work. are you still doing it?
sneijder said:
I left Oslo airport a few months ago, and saw a Turkish truck with an Istanbul address on it. He was heading north too.
Saw a vid a few weeks back of the Turkish border with Bulgaria. Has anyone trucked there? Was on youtube, and some people were commenting saying it takes up to 2 days to pass that control. I'm sure someone counted 120+ trucks queuing.
Sorry can't post link - in work and YT is blocked.
chilistrucker said:
are you still doing it?
Nope, the only trucking I do now is helping a mate who mends horseboxes and doesn't have an HGV licence.I really miss it. I miss getting off the boat in Europort or Calais with 2 or 3 thousand miles to drive and that feeling of adventure on me.
Edited by JohnnyJones on Friday 13th April 06:00
GC8 said:
Ive always liked the idea of driving cross-continent, although opportunities for that with only a C entitlement seem to be non-existent.
plenty of van work goes to europe, alot of panic stuff.when we do the tours, they sometimes send the swag supply, (t-shirts etc) in a l.w.b transit/sprinter type van, and thats anywhere in the e.u.
think the firm work out of reading.
GC8 said:
Thanks. I suspect though, that while plenty of people who drive a van would like to drive an HGV, there arent many people who can drive an HGV whod like to drive a van... 
ha,ha, depends what your gonna pay me?its a good foot in the door at some places. i started on vans, and worked my way in from there, but i was lucky, you could do a class 1 hgv as it was straight from a car licence back then.
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