I’ve been doing it for 5 years, 4 on the same run. I think it’s like Marmite - you either love it or hate it. The driving is easy - the roads are quiet and there is very little little difficult reversing or hard to find drops. It can be boring, but keep a good selection of music/audio books and that is sorted. You get to know what’s on the radio - when, and you can develop a keen knowledge of international business, medical matters and all sorts of topics from the World Service. (Yes - it can make you boring I suppose )
I’m lucky because the two of us doing the trunk a couple of hours apart have free calls on hands-free, so we can have a chat when we get bored. I’ve also got a mate doing nights on tankers who calls from time to time.
Sleep can be a problem, either when you’re driving or when your in bed. You need to get into your own routine (whatever works for you). Red Bull or Pro-Plus can help, but don’t ever resort to them as a regular solution. Best of all - stop and have a “power-nap” or a good run around to get your system awake. I have a kettle in the cab and make coffee while I’m at the hub. That keeps me going for the rest of the night. (I’m thinking of opening my cab as a “tearoom” as a sideline!)
I live above a Cafe, and I thought at first that sleep would be a real problem. Now they can have a party downstairs and I sleep through it. Again, you need a routine, and once used to it you cope. Get dark curtains and train the family to be quiet! You can always pin a note on the door saying “night worker - please sod off”
If you can get into a routine it is easy work for good money. If not it can be hell!
I work from 7p.m. to 3.30a.m. and get up at about 10.30. I’ve got all day to myself
See if you can give it a try - better more than a week to get time to aclimatise.
just come back onto days after 3 yr on nights,yes the drivings easier traffic wise,but mway trunkin is mind numbing at night!plus yr on the same one all the time,if its time sensitive too,u cld find yr wide awake when yr stopped n knackered at a certain point in the night drivin.warrington-bellshill rtn leg penrith to tebay always killed me?if wife n kids gettin up as yr 2hrs into a kip,u will get psd with it…trust me.black out blinds a must for bedroom too.it takes a good couple o weeks to get into it,eatin a roast dinner at 2am etc.i found goin back to days far easier,but there are blokes who wld never do days,individuals choice.see if u can do a month of it,thatll give you a good insight to the dark side
Never seen owt like that - I think its another urban myth
i always thought it was till last week when i seen a bloke inbetween his girls legs with head while someone else was driving that was about 2am on the 61 look out for the black x5 if your up there on a night
If its in and out of a TNT hub then expect delays, pain in the arse of a job, i did it for 3 months and got bloody cheesed off with the constant delays, and extra loads being pushed infront of your slot.
That was running into atherstone, cant comment on any others.
Done it a few years ago and without a c.b in your cab it’s bloody boring. same thing night after night.
if you choose to accept it good luck but i would want more money than that for nights. only good thing is you dont have to get up at silly oclock in morning
I always used to do night trunking. As has been mentioned its all very relaxed, usually very easy work. All the big bosses are asleep so nobody on your back all the time. Quiet roads, although they often close motorways down to 1 lane for barrier repairs e.t.c. You can actually enjoy the experience of driving, rather than getting stressed over it!
The only way to see if night trunking is for you is to try it. Some hate the unsociable hours but many love it and never do anything else.
I did a week of it just after Xmas this year and thoroughly enjoyed it, granted it was only a week but it was a lot more relaxed than I thought it was going to be. All the bosses at the hub were relaxed and not stressing over things when it didn’t go to plan.
The only thing I had trouble with was sleeping during the day but on the third or fourth day exhaustion at the end of the shift kicked in and I was out like a light then it took some getting used to sleeping at night again when I finished the week. All the lads were sound and the traffic was nonexistent between here and Coventry.
I did find it a bit boring but could have dealt with it I guess but surely there is more money in it than what they are offering?
Try it and see what you reckon. It might be the ideal job you have always searched for! You never know
been on night shift this week and what a breeze. leave dumfries, into manchester fish market, wash out fridge, run to heinz /wincanton at wigan, load for scotland, back to dumfries. usually a flat 9hr spread time. driver that usually does it was on holiday and he wouldnt give it up without a fight. dont blame him either…
I’ve recently went back on the night shift and as JT says “i’m lovin it!!” roads are quieter so less stress, you just need to be careful on your mobile cos it lights the cab like blackpool haha your money isn’t bad but when I worked for malcolms of brookield their night shift drivers took home £390. i take home £340 for 4 nights double manned, Fife to Birmingham. If you haven’t already then atleast give it a try. Oh and when your sleeping in the daytime buy arplugs from boots, big help
Guess sleep can be a problem, luckly isnt for me. As soon as i hit the pillow i crash out, could be stereo playing full blast in the room wouldnt bother me.
I’m back on trunks at the moment, start at 6pm finish about 4.45am, home asleep by about 5.30am usually wake up midday. Works for me.
I like the radio at night, like Mark Radcliff, like Colin Murray, like Radio 5 live, time flies by. Most trunks i do are from Glasgow or Bellshill down to Warrington, Manchester areas.
One thing that makes a difference to me, is the speed limiter. If its a really slow truck 50-52mph does my head in a bit everyone overtaking you. 54mph is a bad as well since your the same speed as most trucks, going done some nights its like running in a convoy. The trucks doing 56-57mph are nice because you pass a lot of things and keeps you a bit more alert.
Even better if you running a NI truck, doing 60-65mph, fly past everything and really feel as if your moving.
allikat:
Night trunking is easy money, you get to know the people at the depots, and it’s very relaxed. If you’re a night time person, and don’t mind doing the same thing every night, go for it.
If you like variety, and don’t like driving at night, then stay clear. Simple really. Some people are cut out for trunking, some aren’t.
definately! i like the occasional trunking job but i couldnt do it for any length of time. its the easiest work to do but its boring and as its all routinely set out there is very little scope for overtime. it is down to personal preference though. some people prefer knowing what they are doing every night, others prefer a variety. i wouldnt criticise anyone for trunking but its not for me
been working nights for about 8 years now, its all about what suits you , i always used to star at 4 am, don’t think i could do it now, when its a cold wet dark morning, there just getting in and i’m going home to bed. as i say you do whats the best for you.
The more i think about it, the more i like night trunking.
Dayshift can be more interesting, but i aint a morning person, starting work at 6am in the middle of winter is no fun at all trying to get outta bed.
If you get hit with RDC they can be boring as hell as well. Its great if you go somewhere get into their depot, park up and are told gonna be hours, no problem get your head down catch up on some sleep, or lie back watch a dvd.
But places like Somerfields EK, sitting outside in a Q, 30mins later move the length of an arctic, then another 30mins same thing again. When this goes on for hours it can be mind numbing, never get to properly relax.
Even worse is going somewhere like Morrisons where you can’t even stay in the cab, feel like slitting your wrists when your stuck in some tiny room for a few hours.
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