Tramping pay and night-out allowance, explained

By Gary Webster · 18 October 2026 · 6 min read

Tramping, living in the truck Monday to Friday, pays the best money in mainstream UK driving. It also takes the most out of you. This guide sets out what the money should look like, how night-out allowance actually works, and the honest arithmetic for deciding whether it is worth it for you.

What tramping pay looks like in 2026

Typical packages: £15 to £18 an hour basic, plus a night-out allowance, with weekly gross between £800 and £1,000 for four or five nights away. The hourly premium over day work is usually £1 to £2; the night-out allowance is where packages differ most.

Night-out allowance is paid for each night you spend away in the cab (or, less often, in a hotel). Common figures run from around £25 to £40 a night, with some operators paying more for European work or awkward routes. A week of four nights at £30 is £120, which is a meaningful part of the gap between tramping money and day money.

The three things to check in a tramping package

1. Is the allowance inside or on top of the hourly figure? "£16 an hour including nights out" and "£15 an hour plus £30 a night" are different jobs. Always restate the package as expected weekly gross before comparing it with anything.
2. What counts as a qualifying night? Definitions vary: away from base after a cut-off time, more than a set distance from home, or the employer's discretion. Get it in writing; the disagreements always come on the borderline nights.
3. What are the rest facilities? The money is compensation for sleeping in a box. Parking quality, showers, and food options are part of the real wage, and they vary wildly between firms.

Tax treatment: the part most drivers get wrong

Night-out allowance is usually paid free of tax and NICs when it is a genuine reimbursement-style payment under a HMRC-approved arrangement or a reasonable rate for the industry, because you are necessarily away from home overnight for work. The conditions matter: it must actually be for nights away, and inflated "allowances" that are really pay get taxed as pay. Two consequences:

• If your firm processes it correctly, your take-home on tramping money is better than the same gross in day wages.
• If it is processed wrong, you get a surprise tax bill later. Ask payroll how it is coded, and check your payslip against what HMRC guidance says for overnight allowances.

Is it worth it? The honest test

Run the numbers per hour of your life, not per pound of payslip:

1. Take expected weekly gross (hours at your rate, plus allowances).
2. Divide by all hours away from home, not just duty hours. Monday 04:30 to Friday 19:00 is around 86 hours. A £900 week on that basis is £10.47 an hour of your life.
3. Compare like with like using the true rate calculator against a day job, where the denominator is maybe 55 hours.
4. Then price the things the calculation can't see: your relationship, your sleep, your back, and what five years of services food does to you.

Trapping money is real money. It is also the clearest case in driving of being paid more because the job costs more, and only you can decide whether that trade is fair this year.

The comparison method, with worked examples for tramping versus days versus agency, is in the pay rates guide.

Before you sign for a tramping job

• Expected nights per week, in writing, and the definition of a qualifying night.
• Allowance amount and whether the hourly rate includes it.
• Where you actually park at night, on the real routes. Ask drivers, not the recruiter.
• The truck: auto, fridge, inverter, bunk quality. You are choosing a home.

General information, not tax or legal advice. More free guides: hgvpay.co.uk/guides.