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tiAitY1 III [ 1 (4UJ aWe J II
Page 9
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TruckNet UK's community manager Rikki Chequer hankers after the cra7y life of a rock and roller...
Despite all the gloom and doom that is surrounding the industry at the moment, there are still plenty of drivers doing the glamour jobs. And there are plenty more who want to know the details of, for example, Formula One and rock and roll trucking, but is it as glamorous as it seems?
Maybe not, as some of our contributors reveal. Fl truckers do get to stay in nice hotels and drive to some of the more exotic places in the world. But the pay isn't brilliant, and, as a driver, you are well down in the pecking order.
Driving the trucks is only a small portion of your duties. The trucks have to be immaculately clean, parked up within millimetres of the designated point at race meets, and the driver is usually responsible for various other duties in the team, from counting the nuts and bolts in the stores, cooking meals and painting the temporary workshop floors.
Rock and roll tours also, on first look, seem an idyllic job. Mix with the stars, see the concerts for nothing and hope for some interest from the groupies. However, drivers on the job tell a different tale. While they normally get free food at a venue, most use the time during the concert to sleep because, as soon as the performer stops, they start, dismantling the equipment and stages.
Most large rock and roll tours have two or three complete stages and equipment, one in use, one in transit and one being set up. Therefore, the routes can often be long and seem silly: load Copenhagen; tip Birmingham; reload Birmingham for Berlin etc. Often drivers will be flown to meet another truck or double man if the timings are tight to get it to the next venue. The money isn't 'showbiz', with drivers telling of rates only slightly above the norm for Euro driving. But this can be enhanced by helping sell merchandise at the gigs. And, like Fl driving, multiple weeks away is the norm, Despite all of this, many are still using the TruckNet UK forums to find out where and who is doing the work. It seems there are still plenty who want to try mixing the the trucking world with a bit of rock and roll.