robroy:
There are ‘‘pro’’ lion tamers, …doesn’t say I’d encourage and watch my Mrs stick her head in a lion’s gob.
Yes, but would the Lion be brave enough to stick his head in your Mrs’ mouth? 
cav551:
robroy:
There are ‘‘pro’’ lion tamers, …doesn’t say I’d encourage and watch my Mrs stick her head in a lion’s gob.Yes, but would the Lion be brave enough to stick his head in your Mrs’ mouth?
That’s a very good point, and well made.
Regarding the opinions on safety and suchlike, I agree in some ways and indeed, in all the time that I was a UK driver I never carried an airline or even a pressure gauge for that matter.
For one thing, I was a company driver and got paid an hourly wage and for another, in the UK you are never likely to be very far from an ATS or some other tyre depot at any time.
Nowadays I am running my own truck and hauling between Canada and the Mexico border cities. It is a totally different scenario altogether.
Last time I broke down was a few years ago when I had my Volvo and a hose split and dumped all 10 gallons of coolant out in the middle of the Mojave desert, California.
Probably as simple a snag as it is possible to imagine but none the less it took 8hrs for a repair shop to bring some hose and coolant out and the bill was nearly $1,000.
In a similar way, if I was to stop for a routine check around and I saw a soft tyre I am not going to continue onwards with it loosing air and I am certainly not going to call someone out to put air in it for me if that was even possible.
By the same token, I keep all of my tyres in good condition and at the right pressure. It would be nice and convenient to always do that chore when I was at home but that doesn’t work very often for me. Right now I am writing this from Nogales, Arizona having been out since late January. By the time I ever get home this trip will have been over 20,000kms.
wire:
Nowadays I am running my own truck and hauling between Canada and the Mexico border cities. It is a totally different scenario altogether.
Last time I broke down was a few years ago when I had my Volvo and a hose split and dumped all 10 gallons of coolant out in the middle of the Mojave desert, California.
Probably as simple a snag as it is possible to imagine but none the less it took 8hrs for a repair shop to bring some hose and coolant out and the bill was nearly $1,000.
In a similar way, if I was to stop for a routine check around and I saw a soft tyre I am not going to continue onwards with it loosing air and I am certainly not going to call someone out to put air in it for me if that was even possible.
By the same token, I keep all of my tyres in good condition and at the right pressure. It would be nice and convenient to always do that chore when I was at home but that doesn’t work very often for me. Right now I am writing this from Nogales, Arizona having been out since late January. By the time I ever get home this trip will have been over 20,000kms.
I’ve tramped most of my life all over the ■■■■ place, but even I ain’t in the same league mate as what you do. 
I would imagine the work you do is similar to what the Middle East guys in the 70s and early 80s did. (Incidentally I had a chance in 82 to run to Baghdad following behind an experienced bloke, when my own truck I owned was off the road, it has always been a big regret that I did not do it 
)
So in your case it will be all about decisions, ability and initiative I would imagine, whilst stuck out in the middle of a ■■■■ desert, so bearing that in mind, your comments are wasted on here mate.
The biggest decision with some of em on here is how long to wear their hi viz whilst driving down the motorway, and their use of initiative consists of when to ring their planner to get a call out for a trailer bulb that is out.
It is not so challenging as it may appear really.
No language barriers of course and Free trade agreements keep the border crossings and customs procedures relatively straightforward.
The facilities at the truck stops are in a completely different kind of league to the UK, especially in the United States and in most respects free.
The working hours are much longer than Europe though and company drivers usually get paid by the mile.
wire:
It is not so challenging as it may appear really.
No language barriers of course and Free trade agreements keep the border crossings and customs procedures relatively straightforward.
The facilities at the truck stops are in a completely different kind of league to the UK, especially in the United States and in most respects free.
The working hours are much longer than Europe though and company drivers usually get paid by the mile.
Sounds like something I would have loved to try when I was younger and keen, dressed in my cowboy boots and shades, sat behind the wheel of a Kenworth conventional pretending I was Chris Christofferson in Convoy. 
But as I said, it’s like comparing apples, not to pears, but to coconuts with guys doing the same trunk to Tesco and back, everyday, but still using their sat nav.
It’s like The Beatles and Jedward, both musical performers, but worlds apart.
The ironic thing is Robroy, I would have loved to have done European work. I kind of missed the boat if you will pardon the awful pun. By the time that I had enough experience or at least confidence to have given it a go, the golden age of European trucking for UK companies had passed by and it all seemed to be foriegn trucks doing it. I have listened to all the stories from other people though. It sounds like it was a good craic. Some of the time anyway.
Certainly I will never find out for myself now.
Certainly I will never find out for myself now.
Here’s a picture from yesterday (Friday). Parked in the street waiting to unload frozen French fries to be trans shipped into a Mexican truck.
Yep, even though I don’t get excited about trucks anymore, whilst being on a bit of a downer with the industry in general today, and how it has been reduced to it’s present state, I would still love to have a week or two out in that motor.
I don’t know how long you’ve been in the job, but I was still getting Euro jobs up to about 12 years ago, but I went down the route of seeking work from firms in Europe who ran over here, but you’re right, the Euro job regarding UK firms is virtually ‘‘rubber ducked’’…how apt, all puns intended. .
Today I’m on UK only, but I do miss the old life sometimes, I’m on a bit of a downer also with drivers (as I implied in my last comments, and the other thread I put on here) , whereas in the old days I met a lot of Brits abroad who were on the same wavelength to myself, different type of guys to your usual f/whit that infests the job today.
After saying that, there was a lad called ‘Robinhood’ who used to come on here, he was also a Brit based in the States, he one day shattered my illusions about US trucking and some of the drivers,.I used to think it was all '‘Will and Sonny Pruitt’ on ‘Movin on’.over there. …Google it if you ain’t of a certain age.
youtu.be/6_cS5iZl_TI