Am going do euro work on right ■■■■■■ any small advice be grateful e.g. wait for a car to pass before pulling out to know what side to drive on
What about parking and german tolls
France Holland Belgium Germany Italy Spain Poland Portugal Switz
You will be bombarded now. A lot of good advice and a load of ■■■■■■■■. Following a truck out of the port/ off the train for a few minutes IS a good idea. Make sure you have ALL the legal documents for the truck, carry your licence. If you’re working for an established Euro haulier, they should steer you right and give you all the advice and help you need. The parking is free at service stations, and generally cleaner and better equipped.
I’ll leave others to add their thoughts. Stay legal and enjoy. 
Visit a baghouse then you can take an even better plunge!
Well done you.Blue skies and warm days await you even in winter i have swam in the sea and topped up the tan.
If you have no tacho records for the last 28 days you require an activity attestation letter for sickness/leave or absence.They like to see daily rests so if on anolugue tacho leave it on bed mode and digi card leave it at night.
In Spain you will see many places with “club” in flashing lights.Best not to take the wife or g/f in there unless she likes a ■■■■■■■■■.
The food is top notch over in Euro land.Waited on by uniformed staff.
Watch out for huge fines that go in to thousands that msy be a trivial offence in the UK.
Keep a hiviz in the cab for break downs.Fine for not wearing it stood in the road.Two warning triangles for break downs.For Spain you need a spare pair of glasses if you wear them.
In France look for the Rouitier truckstops.A six course meal from 10 to 20 euros.Wine/beer all in too.
No speed trap detectors allowed in France.Or big fine or seize the vehicle.Find a driver to help you clear customs for Swiss.It can go very wrong if make an error with papers.Then sort the transit tax from the machine or ask an officer to assist.A driver will help with the German toll.You must get the entrance/exits correct on the toll road.The loos there are very clean.Pay for loo with voucher to spend in the cafe.Italy is a breeze.Scenic.Good Lavaza coffee.Headlights on in the day.Brescia truckstop has hire car for drivers and discount motel rates.You could tour the lakes on time off.There is a gym too.
if in a right ■■■■■■ the you should be able to step out of the cab to the path or verge at all times unless overtaking. german tolls are easy theres a link on here somewhere for the toll collect (maut) atlas that shows all entry and exit points its free and invaluable as most maps don’t show enough detail or the correct entry name of the motorway, most parking in Germany costs 8/10 euros but is deductible for any purchases, food is generally good, most cafes have smoking and non smoking parts do not use smoking if you don’t as the fog will be thicker than the soup. have a look at transports friend site good info.
When boarding the train, make the widest most exaggerated turn you can onto the ramp, then virtually drive all the way off onto the opposite platform before making another exaggerated turn on the opposite lock to straighten up to drive down the train.
Ask the gaffer to bolt a safe under the bunk to secure the passport/fuel cards/ cash and all the gubbins and what nots.Any hardware shop sells them.
If leave the cab take it with you if no safe in the cab floor.
The authorities do not accept any photocopies of the vehicle documents.Do not laminate the permit.
Take spare light bulbs and battery start cables.
A reputable tyre/breakdown cover or DKV card.Its a German firm with a UK office.
Flip flops for the shower to prevent athletes foot.
Sea sick pills for ferry crossings.Basic medical kit.For upset stomachs,headache pills and so on.
When stopped by the police remain calm and be polite.Offer a hand shske and open the cab door when they speak to you.France has 24/7 douane or customs check points.Anywhere they do this.X ray machines to scan the load with a mobile X ray truck.Sniffer dogs in the cab/trailer
The national roads are free but are slower and have lots of roundabouts and farm traffic.More fuel is used too.
In Portugal the road from Lisbon to Porto is free but the toll road has a Via Verde lane where locals get billed later for the toll.Like a tag in the Uk.
Depending if you do not see any Gnr Gardia national republic traffic police you can use the toll for free and drive through the Via Verde or green lane for free.They can not trace foreign plates.
If you decide to pay the toll,there is not much time for an over night stop.If go over the time there is a hefty surcharge/ penalty to pay.In France tune in to Fm 107.7 English traffic bulletins.
The Basque/Navara and Catalan regions of Spain have a reputation for large fines for offences.
You will need to enter the finishing region and starting region on a digi tacho.So start in NA for Navara.Finish Andulucia AN by going through the menu.Only the Spanish have this law.
Pmsl @ derf…
When my brain stops working I use “England Left Europe Right”
If your doing German work be very careful on the exits from the autobahn, they are sometimes considerably sharper than in the UK.
Buy some flip flops 
On a serious note if your using the train, make the angle as shallow as possible and there really is NO NEED to drive off the other side of the carriage when loading…although this seems the norm if EE
Start early and finish early if doing alot of Germany as the parking gets full quite early…
Toll collect is straight forward but always check the route (machine will calculate the shortest route) before hitting ok and they are a bit hot on you following said route…
Good luck and have fun…
thanks for advice gents will defo have fun lol
On a weekky rest period you will find a bike very handy to tour the lanes and countryside.
I take the front wheel off and stow it in the passenger side or lick it inside the trailer.
Some bar bell weights from Argos to keep the fitness up.If parked on the motorway you can exit it on foot by the staff turnstyle gate or barrier which is never locked so you can explore the area.
Ask for the drivers discount at most places for meals.
The food on the toll roads are high quality too.
A water container from the camping shop with a tap on it is handy.
Good truckstops in Belgium are Habay.They cook a foot kong skewr of mixed meat.
And Veurne is not too bad.
The cheapest fuel is in Luxembourg at Capellon.Garage both sides.Cheap ■■■■/booze.
Ask for loyalty cards at pit stops.Buy nine meals get the tenth free.The eastern euro drivers will run their engines all day/ night when parked up to power their satelite tv dishes and lap tops/dvd players and so on.
truckertang:
On a serious note if your using the train, make the angle as shallow as possible and there really is NO NEED to drive off the other side of the carriage when loading
i used to do around 6 journeys a week on the train for a few years, and did this^^ i could never work out peoples reasoning to drive off the other side.
On another note, see if you can get yourself a Frensel lens, handy when in rhd in euroland and driving around in cities, and for overtaking on m’ways.
On another note, see if you can get yourself a Frensel lens, handy when in rhd in euroland and driving around in cities, and for overtaking on m’ways.
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where can i get one for free
Is it such a big deal to drive on mainland Europe in a r/h/d nowadays?
Plenty of us have managed in the past.
Craics me up when i see a motor with one of them there Frensel lens gubbins and the windscreen is full of tat and the driver is hiding behind peekaboo curtains
Big Man:
On another note, see if you can get yourself a Frensel lens, handy when in rhd in euroland and driving around in cities, and for overtaking on m’ways.where can i get one for free
vosa officers and mot stations, and hato officers apparently give them out for free.
There is a temptation to fill the cab with too much stuff that may not be needed.It gets in a clutter and a mess to sort out on time off.
Welcome to better facilities, quieter roads, although most major cities can still get a bit congested and Germany does seem to be full of roadworks.
If you can try the Routiers and Autohofs, normally you have to come of the motorways, but shouldn’t have to go to far. Try and at lest speak a few words of the language of the Country you’re in.
Some of the scenery can be stunning, and some of the engineering to get a motorway through the stunning scenery can be pretty amazing.
In a RHD truck you’ll have to think a bit more about you position at some junction and roundabouts so you can see the traffic.
Euro Tunnel video on how to board the train, I found it helpful.
and there are some really knowledgeable, people on here who’ll always seem willing to help us with far less experience, how ever trivial the question might seem to them. 
At off loading and reloading places you will notice how laid back the staff are.Some of them are not in to health and safety so much like it is in the UK.
I was asked if i had safety boots to walk from the cab to wait in the goods in office.Where is the danger in that.?A camping gas cooker is recomended in case you breakdown and have to wait a while or for waiting at factories.In France the supermarkets have restaurants with very good food and space to park trucks.
Learn some useful phrases such as i am empty/loaded and so on.
A book of blank CMR’s is useful if the client does not have their own.
When stopped by the police they ask to see the CMR.
If you make it to Portugal,look around Cascais near Lisbon.And you can drive the truck along the coast to Praia de Guincho.A large windsurfers beach.At Cascais they have two shopping malls that show all films in English with Portuguese subtitles.
Estoril was the old Formulae1 race track.Some things in Europe do not accept English bank cards.So cash for toll roads is needed.You will see lots of ■■■ workers at the side of the road.They stand by burning oil drums or a bonfire to keep warm.
As in the Uk beware of fake security guards who say follow me to their new depot to unload and steal the load.
Some delivery addreses can be a head office and not where the load is coming off at.You will not see many UK drivers in Europe.It is mainly Eastern Europeans.Romanians/Bulgarians.