lee27:
I dreaded nights out when I started this job. Now 14 months in and happily doing 4/5 a week. Young family etc too, pays well and provides for them,and makes weekends that bit more special.
Each to their own I’d say. You either like it or you don’t.
Exactly that, different strokes for different folks, I’ve been doing 4-5 nights out a week since 1986 and still do them- I’m parked on an industrial estate in Basingstoke right now- my children have been acclimatised to it since the day they were born and the £5,000 a year tax-free in night-out money have paid for some fantastic experiences for them, I’d say that I’m closer to my children than 99% of fathers so it’s certainly never harmed my relationship with them.
I did split up with their mother several years ago but that was nothing to do with working away all week, more just the old adage of “Women marry a man expecting that he will change, and he doesn’t; men marry a woman expecting that she won’t change and she does” 
gezt:
stesuv1:
jobseeker:
I love nights out because there’s no commute to work and i get paid for it, it’s win win for me anyway 
Exactly ^^^^^
so neither of you is married with a young family 
I’ve been tramping, sorry I mean doing nights out, for about 9 years. I have a young family. It’s not an issue to a strong family relationship.
Do you think that the tramping lifestyle works better for rural-living families rather than townies? 
I’m thinking that if your nearest workplace is over 50 miles away, then you really don’t want to be doing that for every shift do you?
Darrn sarth here, we townies expect work on our doorsteps, and being able to go home every shift because it’s easy to do…
What do you plan with your family if you unexpectedly get home a day early? Are they all around “Her sisters”, thus you don’t rush home to an empty house, or is she going to have sent the kids around her sisters whilst she stays at home sporting her latest Ann Summers wear, standing on the doormat with a rose in her teeth when you get home always at the expected time? 
tallboy:
I hate my current job. I’ve been doing it for 3 months and it’s deffinately not for me. I want to get back into class 1 work. Most jobs seem to involve nights out but I’ve never done them. How do you guys deal with them.
I’ve got a young family and I very much love my wife. Will I survive a job with nights out?
Hating your job is one of the worst things to deal with in life if you ask me.
Take Mary Jane with you on a night out & you won’t even notice you’re in a wagon.
Missing the family will be tough but I would guess that’s a tad better than hating going to work every day. If you can get a job with only 3 nights out a week it’s better than 4 or 5 obviously.
i’ve been driving artics for well over 20 years of my 34 years on HGVs,and only had 4 or 5 nights out,which i volunteered for,so there are day jobs out there.a lot of the quarry artics are home every night…around here anyway!
Hi folks I’ve just passed my class C + E after a number of years of being a van driver. I’ve got myself a job but until a vehicle becomes availble that I can have, I’ve got to go out in whatever is in the yard. This will be invaluable experience for me which I so desperately need.It is a full time position which is great, the only thing I’m a bit unsure of is, what personal things do I need to carry / buy ? What gadgets should I look at buying ? And what do I need to take with me for a night out ? I’m absolutely thrilled to be offered this role without the need of an employment agency but I’m also a little nervy about not really knowing what to carry. The role will include driving both class C and class C + E trucks, and the driving experience this will offer is priceless to me. I’ve been told to expect at least 1 maybe 2 nights out. Thanks for reading this post and I really look forward to reading any advice you folks have to offer
Best wishes all
Wanderers Wolf;
A decent wash bag, and large kit bag or sports bag to haul it from the car to the cab.
It is best to have two of everything needed so it all stays in the car or cab when needed.
For example two toothbrushes,one left at home,the other in the cab.
A high TOG factor thick duvet for winter when the night heater is broken.
A low TOG slimmer duvet for the summer.
Foam ear plugs for noisy laybys.
Hand sterilser to go on the steering wheel.
Tupperware box for bits and bobs.
Spare bulbs/fuses/cable ties and bungy cords for the susies.
Phone charger.
Copy of free mag Truckstop News that lists good truckstops.
Enter them in the sat nav.
Battery jump start cables.
There is a temptation to fill the car up to the roof with night out kit for the truck.
Pack light to commence with.
If cooking to save money or brew up,a camping gas cooker will do.
Powdered milk as it does not go off.
A decent Thermos,not the cheap ones,some places charge about 50p to fill up the Thermos.
A truck sat nav that has a TV in it,low bridge routing,Adr routing,multi drop routing,my Snooper S7000 has this.
Do not drive a truck with a car sat nav,
If the Police or Hato divert you off a road,you have no clue if there are low bridges ahead with a car sat nav.
Or end up in weight limits and get a fine for £1000.
Aldi or Lidl have good cans of food,noodles,rice pudding and cheap bottled water.
A large water container for washing up or a shave or wash.
Baby wipes are a must.
Cab polish.
Mirror cleaner.
I work freelance and whether I work for half a day or not I always carry a rucksack with every eventuality covered. I get some comments when doing a local run and turning up with a large rucksack. Better to be prepared. Change of clothes. Towel and wash kit. Cheapo £12 eBay 12v kettle. Cupasoups. Atlas. Sat nav. Chargers. Also I always carry a £100 cash float.
Then if plans change you have basic needs.
There is nothing worse when the boss says it is a day run and you will be back tonight.
Then delayed at a RDC,tyre blow out,breakdown or road closures and you have no night out kit.
Sleeping with work clothes on,no wash kit.
Wake up smelling like a badgers armpit.
That’s great advice,I am really new to this. I’m 40 and after 18 yrs at a company (14 yrs as the delivery/collection driver) redundancy forced my hand, I did my class C back in 02 but have never used it. Passing my class C+ E and getting this job is a real lift for me and my family. I really appreciate all the useful advice and tips that you folks have to offer.
I fully intend to do this job now until retirement, and i don’t mind starting right at the bottom of the ladder. If anyone has any advice I’m really grateful of it. I’ve read everything you guys have suggested and made notes.
Thanks Again
Wanderers Wolf
There are still plenty of jobs which don’t require nights out; the problem will be if they have any vacancies. Supermarket, Bakeries, Milk, Pallet network delivery, Parcels, Fowler Welch and many of the other RDC delivery companies have day drivers, Brick and Block companies, most of the own account sector. All these have class 1 work on days.
I was doing nights out for years but just recently started with one of the supermarkets.
I liked doing distance work and nights out for the same reasons as others have stated, loads of sleep, no commuting, wages were a bit better than day work, etc and I got to see most of the UK and Europe. However, I thought my mrs was 100% but in the end it cost me my marriage and I missed out on my kids growing up too.
I’m loving the supermarket work and being home every night now, I feel like I’ve got a life 
. The company are without a doubt the best employer I’ve ever had. I get a good hourly rate of pay, enhanced rates if I go over my contracted 40 hours and a regular shift payment too. Pension, good bonus, sick pay if I ever need it, subsidised food a work, DCPC is provided by the company as well as a reasonable staff discount if I shop in the stores. The work isn’t hard, I get three days off a week if I don’t want to do overtime, only work a 15 hour day if I want to and best of all get treated like a human being 