Truck Life - Crossing North Macedonia, Strip Search at Serbian Border, and Driving Till End of Time.

[@RichardParker-hc6dn]

Hey Dani, sorry to hear about the extensive body check. Overall, this was a very interesting and entertaining trip. Thank you for sharing with us. 👍👍👍

[@turboe367]

We need the Daniel Traverson name back

[@DaniTruckerson]

It's going to be for different content. Here I will stuck just to trucking.

[@caroleriedner4233]

Turn your head and cough Dani! Hey from Arizona! Stay safe out there!

[@kruemelmonster9201]

Amazing Trip

[@heybirader]

I traveled with two guys in a car with Dutch plates through Serbia. What do you think what happened when we entered Serbia from Hungsry? Yup, we got pulled over for a full check and a lot of questions about the purpose of our trip. Not as thorough as yours where you had to strip down. We got lucky with only full baggage check. The questions were quite silly if you’re not into the trafficking business. “Do you have guns with you? Do you have drugs (hashish and marijuana)?” My answer: “Uhm no, I’m on holiday. I was not planning to spend my summer in a Serbian cell.” “Are you sure?” Me: “Yeah pretty sure! If I wanted to I would walk up to the first student I see in Novi Sad I would probably have one.” The officer smiled and nodded you’re right and said: “I’m just doing my job and don’t want to get in trouble when you exit and my colleagues do find contraband.” I just smiled back and acknowledged.

[@DaniTruckerson]

@@heybirader interesting, so I had completely opposite experience, when I was driving through Serbia to Turkey with my private car (polish license plates). I had just simple passport control at the border and then nothing else, guy just asked me where I'm going, I said Turkey, and he actually wished me good road in Turkish language 😂 I said thanks in Turkish language. Maybe he thought I was Turkish, because I look like. But yeah, it all depends, but after all they are just doing their job, that's it.

[@srdjan6004]

I am sorry for that bad experience with Serbian police. I had the same one in my own country... and thanks for those nice words about my country... stay safe, Slavic brother.... and 1312! PA that thing about 5e to border police its not true. You can pay customs officer but bot the police...and that route is common for smugling drugs by Eastern European drivers, like 'big mules'...you can pay traffix police officers for some minor faults, but for the big ones, theybhave stimulatons on their pay checks..

[@DaniTruckerson]

Well, after all, they are just doing their job. They handled everything professionally, separate closed room etc. it was just not something that you are experiencing everyday 😂 but interesting experience anyway 😂 now I know how it is 😂 And Serbia is really beautiful, seriously, plenty of untouched nature, nice views. Hopefully they will improve transit procedures, because now you need lot of paperwork and special expensive permits to go through, if they would improve it, then much more trucks would choose to go via Serbia. That's what I thought, that they got a hit on someone who was smuggling and then every driver was searched.

[@srdjan6004]

@@DaniTruckerson I agree, 100%. I am a driver also, so I spent like a 2 months of my life at that border... :) But, every country has its own hickups and hurdles for a truck driver. I like to observe people and their attitude towards us, drivers. The best one for me is the Netherlands. The most chill and polite people, ever.

[@DaniTruckerson]

@@srdjan6004 For me it's Turkey, people are basically okay with you parking anywhere, as long as they can pass. And even though traffic is crazy sometimes, everything somehow works, and trucking there is really nice experience. Not so many rules, and restrictions.

[@srdjan6004]

@DaniTruckerson I've never been in TR...I hope I will, some day... Keep posting, bro..if you need something in connection with Serbia, be free to ask...

[@DaniTruckerson]

@@srdjan6004 thanks man 👍💪 try Turkey one day, but maybe when they will sort out border, because waiting time it's still hell 😂

[@SebsTruckStop]

Hey Dani. I wanted to ask, are you an owner operator, or do you drive for a company, or an agency? You seem to spend a long time away from base. I would love to do what you do. I am in the process of getting my class 1 HGV license currently. Best wishes from the UK

[@DaniTruckerson]

@@SebsTruckStop Hi, I'm working directly for a company, normal working contract. In Poland you are getting always normal contracts, I have heard only about drivers from India and other non European countries that are coming here via agency and then working via agency. But whenever you are coming to Poland by yourself, then you can normally work without any agency, directly. Owning a truck in Poland is not so common, when someone owns a truck, then usually soon he is renting another trucks and making small company. I'm sure you can find companies in Netherlands, and Germany, that are driving internationally using some systems of work. For example 3/1, 4/1, 2/2, 2/1, 3/2, 6/2, 8/3 etc. first number means amount of weeks on the road and second number means amount of weeks at home. I'm driving using a bit different system, I'm doing so called routes, trips. Which are taking between 7 and 13 days, and then I have at least 2 days off at home. Days off are actually negotiable with company, sometimes I need more sometimes less. This works for me now, because I don't have any family etc. and driving Turkey, Greece or Balkans roughly speaking, it's very hard to find any other working system. If you have any other questions, feel free to ask.

[@SebsTruckStop]

@@DaniTruckerson Thank you so much for your response! I really appreciate your information, it helps a lot. I would love to do that myself; I think it would work best for me. 8/3 sounds amazing to be honest. I would not mind that at all. What's the furthest distance from home you've driven? And what do you know about Warberers, LKW Walter, and such companies? You sometimes see Polish plate trucks from those companies driving as far as Kazakhstan!

[@DaniTruckerson]

@@SebsTruckStop those working systems are negotiable with companies. Especially when you want to drive for so many weeks. Furthest distance it was to Konya in Turkey, yeah. Nowadays it's harder to go to Kazakhstan etc. because Russians are forbidding transit for Polish trucks via Russian land, due to war, etc. But I can see offers from Poland to drive Morocco for example, but not always, it's usually connected with Spain or whole Europe roughly speaking. I can see offers to drive Ukraine and Moldova, or just Moldova, or just Ukraine (Lviv city). There is job to drive Scandinavia of course, or Greece, or Italy, Spain Portugal. A bit less offers for Turkey now, but it's just because Christmas are coming. I know lkw Walther, massive company. Sometimes they are hiring directly, sometimes you can see local companies just carrying their trailers, depends. There are plenty of companies from Turkey, driving to Germany to UK, but it's hard to find some company driving from Germany, for example to Turkey.

[@SebsTruckStop]

@ I see. So you can choose the jobs you take?

[@DaniTruckerson]

@@SebsTruckStop It depends from company, if they have lot of loads, and dispatcher is kind for you, you know each other, then he will tell you: I have load here here and here, which one you want? Otherwise, you drive where they will tell you to drive. In my case, loads from Poland are already fixed in advance, trailer is usually loaded, sometimes I have to load it. And loads to Poland from Greece or Turkey, it really depends, sometimes everything is set, and you are arriving for load and boom, you have to wait a day or two, and maybe company will find something else. Sometimes loads are contracted, which means always same Loads from same place, or same loads from different places, for same company. But in Europe, there is still lot of work, all depends what kind of company you will choose.

[@Shell_without_a_ghost]

Did they do cavity search too? 😂

[@DaniTruckerson]

@@Shell_without_a_ghost fortunately, they didn't 😂😂

[@adrianstavrakis9126]

And I thought Horgos was the shittiest border....

[@DaniTruckerson]

@@adrianstavrakis9126 two x-rays at Horgos are crazy, and obviously scanner costs few euros on Serbian side 😂