kr79:
As my boss says usually at last knockings on a Friday. You can do anything if you try hard enough so how comes you never found a way to get there?
Your boss obviously never had any dealings with Canadian,let alone US,immigration and asking them for a work permit during the 1980’s.
Are you telling us you tried properly then? You don’t even have to balls to go for a euro job so I’m not sure I believe you tried to move to the US
Your wrong the euro jobs just weren’t avalible in the uk in the 80s
(probally the heyday for British international hauliers)
The fact is the so called ‘heyday of the British international haulage sector’ wasn’t a lot different to what it is now with the exception that the east europeans weren’t a factor at that time.I think you’re putting the 2 + 2 ( of what you’ve heard by owner drivers at the time and/or those employed drivers who were just lucky in being able to either bs their way into the job or already had the experience required that the employers wanted at the time,just as is the case today) together and coming up with 5.For the average uk driver,looking to get off uk work and get onto international,it was about as difficult as doing the same would be today.Although having said that the actual types of work left over,after the east europeans have cherry picked most of the long distance full load traffic,probably makes the job less attractive to anyone with any sense now anyway.
:
That’s it old bean you keep telling yourself that just to make yourself feel better for not having the balls to do it. Still as clueless as ever. You sure do talk about sense a lot for someone who doesn’t have any.
robinhood_1984:
The problem with these Turnpikes/A Trains is that there is absolutely no infastructure for them to function properly as things stand now. Wether or not they are the most cost effective way of transporting goods is irrelivent when they’re not fit for purpose.
The fact is the idea is nothing new over there though and if the advantages didn’t outweigh the disadvantages the laws of natural selection would have consigned the idea to history long before now.
robinhood_1984:
The problem with these Turnpikes/A Trains is that there is absolutely no infastructure for them to function properly as things stand now. Wether or not they are the most cost effective way of transporting goods is irrelivent when they’re not fit for purpose.
The fact is the idea is nothing new over there though and if the advantages didn’t outweigh the disadvantages the laws of natural selection would have consigned the idea to history long before now.
Short doubles yes CF but full sized ■■? Natural selection is nothing to do with it, powerful lobbying from those who can do so and will benefit however…
kr79:
As my boss says usually at last knockings on a Friday. You can do anything if you try hard enough so how comes you never found a way to get there?
Your boss obviously never had any dealings with Canadian,let alone US,immigration and asking them for a work permit during the 1980’s.
Are you telling us you tried properly then? You don’t even have to balls to go for a euro job so I’m not sure I believe you tried to move to the US
Your wrong the euro jobs just weren’t avalible in the uk in the 80s
(probally the heyday for British international hauliers)
The fact is the so called ‘heyday of the British international haulage sector’ wasn’t a lot different to what it is now with the exception that the east europeans weren’t a factor at that time.I think you’re putting the 2 + 2 ( of what you’ve heard by owner drivers at the time and/or those employed drivers who were just lucky in being able to either bs their way into the job or already had the experience required that the employers wanted at the time,just as is the case today) together and coming up with 5.For the average uk driver,looking to get off uk work and get onto international,it was about as difficult as doing the same would be today.Although having said that the actual types of work left over,after the east europeans have cherry picked most of the long distance full load traffic,probably makes the job less attractive to anyone with any sense now anyway.
:
That’s it old bean you keep telling yourself that just to make yourself feel better for not having the balls to do it. Still as clueless as ever. You sure do talk about sense a lot for someone who doesn’t have any.
It’s not a question of ‘balls’ when it’s just one of either the requirements of employers,as in the case of how many jobs for international work have there ever been that didn’t require international experience and in which the guvnors would compromise on that requirement in the case of applications without any .Or,in the case of a new start owner driver,it’s no good asking the TC if the reserve capital requirement can be reduced that’s even if there’s any money left at all after allowing for all the other start up costs although there’s been plenty who’ve gone bankrupt trying when the figures didn’t add up to start with.Although all that is off topic.
kr79:
As my boss says usually at last knockings on a Friday. You can do anything if you try hard enough so how comes you never found a way to get there?
Your boss obviously never had any dealings with Canadian,let alone US,immigration and asking them for a work permit during the 1980’s.
Are you telling us you tried properly then? You don’t even have to balls to go for a euro job so I’m not sure I believe you tried to move to the US
Your wrong the euro jobs just weren’t avalible in the uk in the 80s
(probally the heyday for British international hauliers)
The fact is the so called ‘heyday of the British international haulage sector’ wasn’t a lot different to what it is now with the exception that the east europeans weren’t a factor at that time.I think you’re putting the 2 + 2 ( of what you’ve heard by owner drivers at the time and/or those employed drivers who were just lucky in being able to either bs their way into the job or already had the experience required that the employers wanted at the time,just as is the case today) together and coming up with 5.For the average uk driver,looking to get off uk work and get onto international,it was about as difficult as doing the same would be today.Although having said that the actual types of work left over,after the east europeans have cherry picked most of the long distance full load traffic,probably makes the job less attractive to anyone with any sense now anyway.
:
That’s it old bean you keep telling yourself that just to make yourself feel better for not having the balls to do it. Still as clueless as ever. You sure do talk about sense a lot for someone who doesn’t have any.
It’s not a question of ‘balls’ when it’s just one of either the requirements of employers,as in the case of how many jobs for international work have there ever been that didn’t require international experience and in which the guvnors would compromise on that requirement in the case of applications without any .Or,in the case of a new start owner driver,it’s no good asking the TC if the reserve capital requirement can be reduced that’s even if there’s any money left at all after allowing for all the other start up costs although there’s been plenty who’ve gone bankrupt trying when the figures didn’t add up to start with.Although all that is off topic.
You always seem to be trying to convince yourself these were the reasons more than anyone else. There were chances, lots of them, and you didn’t take them. We all had to start on Euro work with no experience some how, be it in the 70s, 80s, 90s or now. British international transport peaked in the 80s and that’s a fact. You missed the boat.
Anyhow, back to turnpikes. Why are they called turnpikes?
robinhood_1984:
The problem with these Turnpikes/A Trains is that there is absolutely no infastructure for them to function properly as things stand now. Wether or not they are the most cost effective way of transporting goods is irrelivent when they’re not fit for purpose.
The fact is the idea is nothing new over there though and if the advantages didn’t outweigh the disadvantages the laws of natural selection would have consigned the idea to history long before now.
Short doubles yes CF but full sized ■■? Natural selection is nothing to do with it, powerful lobbying from those who can do so and will benefit however…
robinhood_1984:
The problem with these Turnpikes/A Trains is that there is absolutely no infastructure for them to function properly as things stand now. Wether or not they are the most cost effective way of transporting goods is irrelivent when they’re not fit for purpose.
The fact is the idea is nothing new over there though and if the advantages didn’t outweigh the disadvantages the laws of natural selection would have consigned the idea to history long before now.
Short doubles yes CF but full sized ■■? Natural selection is nothing to do with it, powerful lobbying from those who can do so and will benefit however…
They’ve always been around in certain restricted applications and places but not on general. I’ve got a pic somewhere of a horses team pulling 2 wagons in the 1800s
kr79:
As my boss says usually at last knockings on a Friday. You can do anything if you try hard enough so how comes you never found a way to get there?
Your boss obviously never had any dealings with Canadian,let alone US,immigration and asking them for a work permit during the 1980’s.
Are you telling us you tried properly then? You don’t even have to balls to go for a euro job so I’m not sure I believe you tried to move to the US
Your wrong the euro jobs just weren’t avalible in the uk in the 80s
(probally the heyday for British international hauliers)
The fact is the so called ‘heyday of the British international haulage sector’ wasn’t a lot different to what it is now with the exception that the east europeans weren’t a factor at that time.I think you’re putting the 2 + 2 ( of what you’ve heard by owner drivers at the time and/or those employed drivers who were just lucky in being able to either bs their way into the job or already had the experience required that the employers wanted at the time,just as is the case today) together and coming up with 5.For the average uk driver,looking to get off uk work and get onto international,it was about as difficult as doing the same would be today.Although having said that the actual types of work left over,after the east europeans have cherry picked most of the long distance full load traffic,probably makes the job less attractive to anyone with any sense now anyway.
:
That’s it old bean you keep telling yourself that just to make yourself feel better for not having the balls to do it. Still as clueless as ever. You sure do talk about sense a lot for someone who doesn’t have any.
It’s not a question of ‘balls’ when it’s just one of either the requirements of employers,as in the case of how many jobs for international work have there ever been that didn’t require international experience and in which the guvnors would compromise on that requirement in the case of applications without any .Or,in the case of a new start owner driver,it’s no good asking the TC if the reserve capital requirement can be reduced that’s even if there’s any money left at all after allowing for all the other start up costs although there’s been plenty who’ve gone bankrupt trying when the figures didn’t add up to start with.Although all that is off topic.
You always seem to be trying to convince yourself these were the reasons more than anyone else. There were chances, lots of them, and you didn’t take them. We all had to start on Euro work with no experience some how, be it in the 70s, 80s, 90s or now. British international transport peaked in the 80s and that’s a fact. You missed the boat.
Anyhow, back to turnpikes. Why are they called turnpikes?
Firstly no I don’t need to ‘convince myself’ of anything because I was there and knew the difference between the answer no v yes by those employers who I’d applied to not surprising though considering that so called ‘peak’ didn’t reduce the amount of experience required by employers to actually get the job.
I think the term turnpikers refers to the type of roads and routes they are mostly limited to compared to ordinary single trailer outfits.However as I remember it in the 70’s/80’s they were more often referred to by the correct terms as A trains or B trains depending on wether the trailers were connected by dolly or fifth wheel.Or road trains v B doubles in Oz.
robinhood_1984:
The problem with these Turnpikes/A Trains is that there is absolutely no infastructure for them to function properly as things stand now. Wether or not they are the most cost effective way of transporting goods is irrelivent when they’re not fit for purpose.
The fact is the idea is nothing new over there though and if the advantages didn’t outweigh the disadvantages the laws of natural selection would have consigned the idea to history long before now.
Short doubles yes CF but full sized ■■? Natural selection is nothing to do with it, powerful lobbying from those who can do so and will benefit however…
They’ve always been around in certain restricted applications and places but not on general. I’ve got a pic somewhere of a horses team pulling 2 wagons in the 1800s
I think that was about as ‘full size’ as it got in Canada in 1979 and certainly not a short doubles outfit.
Carryfast no offence just had a couple of pints with my dad he done his first euro trip in 1983 at 24 years old his previous experince was fly tipping muck round south and east London. No favouritism or mates involved just got off his arse and chanced his arm. To be fair That’s how most of us get on in life.
robinhood_1984:
The problem with these Turnpikes/A Trains is that there is absolutely no infastructure for them to function properly as things stand now. Wether or not they are the most cost effective way of transporting goods is irrelivent when they’re not fit for purpose.
The fact is the idea is nothing new over there though and if the advantages didn’t outweigh the disadvantages the laws of natural selection would have consigned the idea to history long before now.
Short doubles yes CF but full sized ■■? Natural selection is nothing to do with it, powerful lobbying from those who can do so and will benefit however…
They’ve always been around in certain restricted applications and places but not on general. I’ve got a pic somewhere of a horses team pulling 2 wagons in the 1800s
I think that was about as ‘full size’ as it got in Canada in 1979 and certainly not a short doubles outfit.
Couple of 40’s, at best,with a COE. 10 or so foot longer than mine with 2 x 28’s A good 30 plus foot short of turnpikes
Carryfast, you do have a rather blinkered viw of things, there is a world outside of the one that you inhabit you know
For the record I did my first trip abroad in a 307 Merc luton at 17yrs old, went down to Heidleberg in Germany and continued doing that for a year, until at 18yrs old, I did my first trip in a artic, that was not strictly legal, owing to the fact that I never had a licence, but it does kind of shoot your no jobs theory down in flames I was regularly going over the water and I got a brand new 95 Daf in 1987 and had a year of going over the mountains to Italy under my belt already, even though I was only 19yrs old, so not really an experienced continental man was I
At 23yrs old I got a job on Solstor (at the time probably the best continental job in Britain) even though my experience of fridges was limited to the one in my kitchen
There were a ton of jobs going over the water, some good, some bad, but it was easy to get a job, you just needed to pick up the phone and a day or so later you could’ve been off to the sunshine. The same thing applies to Canada (the USA is different) there are British lorry drivers that have been here for 20yrs, all they did was pick up the phone, write a few letters, whatever, and they came and lived their dream
So quit ■■■■■■■■ about how hard done by you are, the opportunities have always been there, some people took them, you didn’t
Oh and to get back on topic, turnpikes are a PITA, efficient, but nevertheless they’re still bad for drivers
kr79:
Carryfast no offence just had a couple of pints with my dad he done his first euro trip in 1983 at 24 years old his previous experince was fly tipping muck round south and east London. No favouritism or mates involved just got off his arse and chanced his arm. To be fair That’s how most of us get on in life.
Exactly. I remember in 1991 when my dad applied for his first continental job, he was told in no uncertain terms that there was no UK work available as the company only go to Europe and nothing else. By all accounts it seems that it was easier getting a continental job back in those days than even a semi decent UK only job. Rates were good, companies made good money going abroad so everyone was trying to do it and they struggled to find enough drivers to not only do it, but stick at it. A lot of guys I know who started driving in the 80s and early 90s, the only people who would give them a start were the continental firms. More than one friend of mine can claim his first ever day in a truck after passing his test was driving to Dover on the way to Milan.
newmercman:
Carryfast, you do have a rather blinkered viw of things, there is a world outside of the one that you inhabit you know
For the record I did my first trip abroad in a 307 Merc luton at 17yrs old, went down to Heidleberg in Germany and continued doing that for a year, until at 18yrs old, I did my first trip in a artic, that was not strictly legal, owing to the fact that I never had a licence, but it does kind of shoot your no jobs theory down in flames I was regularly going over the water and I got a brand new 95 Daf in 1987 and had a year of going over the mountains to Italy under my belt already, even though I was only 19yrs old, so not really an experienced continental man was I
At 23yrs old I got a job on Solstor (at the time probably the best continental job in Britain) even though my experience of fridges was limited to the one in my kitchen
Now that’s a CV and hopefully all those who’ve ever been caught in the no experience-no job-no experience trap will now realise where they went wrong.
I didn’t even bother with getting my class 1 until I was around 25 because before that I’d already been turned down for enough jobs on wagon and drags on uk work let alone international,of which there were more than enough,because under 25 was considered a liability let alone before they even got onto to asking any questions concerning experience.Now if only I’d have known that there would have been more chance of them employing me if I’d have been 19 and only had a car licence I might have got somewhere.
You’re right there is obviously another world outside the one that I know but it would have needed Catain Kirk and the Starship Enterprise to get there.
kr79:
Carryfast no offence just had a couple of pints with my dad he done his first euro trip in 1983 at 24 years old his previous experince was fly tipping muck round south and east London. No favouritism or mates involved just got off his arse and chanced his arm. To be fair That’s how most of us get on in life.
Exactly. I remember in 1991 when my dad applied for his first continental job, he was told in no uncertain terms that there was no UK work available as the company only go to Europe and nothing else. By all accounts it seems that it was easier getting a continental job back in those days than even a semi decent UK only job. Rates were good, companies made good money going abroad so everyone was trying to do it and they struggled to find enough drivers to not only do it, but stick at it. A lot of guys I know who started driving in the 80s and early 90s, the only people who would give them a start were the continental firms. More than one friend of mine can claim his first ever day in a truck after passing his test was driving to Dover on the way to Milan.
Somehow none of that seems to tie in with all those adverts by even (very) experienced international drivers in the mags like Truck and Truck and Driver etc etc in the situations wanted lists.Maybe if I can’t find some that I might have kept someone else can dig a few of the old ones out from the 1980’s and show you a few pages of what it was really,mostly, all about at the time.The examples that you’ve written there about going straight onto international from passing the test would have been,at the very least,‘unusual’.
Carryfast:
You’re right there is obviously another world outside the one that I know :
Finally he admits it.
Fact is Carry old bean is you just didn’t try hard enough. Nobody is born an experienced international truck driver, we all have to start somewhere. Myself I started on buses at 19, then moved to coaches at 21. Got my HGV at 21 too but it was a further three years of desperately trying to get a job driving trucks despite driving coaches all over Europe. But I did at 24 then I wasn’t satisfied till I found a job doing Europe. So I tried and tried and tried and eventually landed at HSF, a infamous Dutch crowd. But that wasn’t good enough as I wanted long distance European work so I kept trying and trying and trying till eventually Virginia gave me a job and before I knew it I was heading to Portugal in a year old V8 Topline. Trips to Italy, Sweden, Greece and the Greek islands followed. And I’m still here. Anyone can do it Carryfast, but it often takes a lot of perseverance, patience and calling around. Coming back round to this topic I often think about Canada. In fact when Virginia rang me to offer me a job I’d just been offered an interview for a Canadian company who’s name escapes me now. But I picked Virginia because proper long distance european work was my dream and I’ve loved every minute so far. Maybe one day Canada will call again but I’m happy here for now.
And as for those job wanted ads I’m not sure who posts them but even at the height of the driver shortage when you could, and I did several times, leave a job in the afternoon and start a new one in the morning they were in the magazines. So I’m not sure they are a good gauge of anything.
switchlogic:
And as for those job wanted ads I’m not sure who posts them but even at the height of the driver shortage when you could, and I did several times, leave a job in the afternoon and start a new one in the morning they were in the magazines. So I’m not sure they are a good gauge of anything.
I know I tried hard enough so on that note I’ve got no doubts or issues about where the problem was and you’d need to have your head in the sand to not know that there’s always been a problem in the industry concerning the issue of the no experience-no job-no experience catch 22.It’s no surprise though that the lucky ones will never understand or be able to see it from the point of view of the unlucky ones.On the issue of being able to leave a job in the afternoon and start a new one in the morning that’s just another example of the extremes and anomalies which prove the luck issue.While it’s those pages full of adverts in the situations wanted columns of the industry news publications v the amounts of adverts in the situations vacant which were/are the real pointers to the actual reality for most in the real world and which have always disproved the so called ‘driver shortages’.
As for the situation of getting a phone call to work in Canada that again would be a call from a different world from the one that many would be British emigrants,myself being one,knew of the situation in regards to Canadian immigration rules as they stood during the 1980’s.On the issue of keep trying in that case no chance there is a point where you just have to realise that it’s all about luck and being in the right place at the right time.Unfortunately 1980’s North America (or Australia NZ for that matter) was a case of wrong time wrong place for would be British emigrants looking for a job driving trucks in those places while the mid-late 1990’s was just too late to be given the chance of starting out on a new life.
Yep it was all luck and I’ve got my head in the sand. I know full well the problems of no experience, read my post properly and you’ll see it took me three years of trying to just get behind the wheel of a truck. And a further 2 to get European, and a further 3 long distance European. So luck? No, lots of hard work. The ‘lucky’ ones are often the ones who have tried the hardest.
As for ‘pointers to the real world’ is that it for you? Ads in a magazine. I’ve been driving 15 years this year, had about 19 jobs and I’ve not spent a day unemployed in that time. And no, it’s not luck. It’s hard work. Well hard work and knowing which side your bread is buttered and not chasing money all the time
.Or,in the case of a new start owner driver,it’s no good asking the TC if the reserve capital requirement can be reduced that’s even if there’s any money left at all after allowing for all the other start up costs although there’s been plenty who’ve gone bankrupt trying when the figures didn’t add up to start with.Although all that is off topic.
