Can’t take kids in the cab any more? Bring the cab home with Euro Truck Simulator 2
We all know how frustrating it is that we can no longer take our children, nephews, nieces, grand-kids etc out in the lorry any more. Previous generations got to spend many a holiday away in the lorry, planting the seed for many a future lorry driver. But there is a way they can get into the world of trucks without even leaving the house.
Euro Truck Simulator 2 has been around for ages now, and T&D were kindly supplied a copy of the game by Renault Trucks back in 2021 when they launched the Range-T Evo but Covid restrictions made conventional launches very difficult. It's a PC computer game where you drive a lorry. The great thing about it is, you can build a set up which really does produce a fantastic simulation of doing it for real.
All the seven manufacturer's trucks are there, from the latest models to older ones dating back to the 00s. Using a steering wheel and pedal set up, you can even add a manual gear lever and set everything up so your lorry has pretty much all the functions as real one has.
Behind the wheel of the XF on a foggy morning
The map of Europe is truly vast, and you can choose to take one-off jobs in all sorts of interesting trucks, including the recent addition of electric ones. Escorted heavy haul jobs, long hauls from one end of the continent to the other, some of the landscapes and scenery are pretty breathtaking.
What you really want to do is build your own haulage empire. You can buy different trucks, add accessories to them, and employ drivers to make your business money. Traction work is available, or you can add your own trailers.
One of the best things is there is a huge online community who modify the game for extra realism, you can download packages for traffic, real brand names, seasonal weather and even open-pipe roaring engine sound tracks. For manual fans, you can set it up so your truck has the correct manual 'box with configurations for all the main 12 and 16 speeds available, as well as the non-synchro 18-speed Road Ranger. Accessories are also available to set up a proper 'dashboard' as well as indicator stalks and some players even have converted their steering wheel to a lorry style one.
The possibilities are almost endless, and the game is continually updated adding further elements of realism. Sometimes in the morning you might have to wait for the air to build up before the truck will move, and for those in a hurry you can choose to remove the speed limiter.
While it might not appeal to a full time lorry driver (although some do enjoy playing the game), it gives kids - and adults not in the industry - access to a massively in-depth world of trucks and the excitement of exploring new places, driving different vehicles and the challenges of different loads.
Our modified Foden has plenty of grunt
Our favourite modification has been adding a Foden Alpha to the game, which we purchased from a DAF dealer (the modded truck is based on a DAF, just like in real life) and as it's a game we were also able to rig it out with a rip-roaring 15-litre Caterpillar engine with 600bhp. Funnily enough, there's a little bug in the game at the moment where the soundtrack of your truck (in our case a growling big Cat) gets replaced with the near silent whirr of an electric truck! We need to get the Foden back to our base garage, remove the engine and re-fit it to solve that apparently, but at the moment, it's en route to Bulgaria with a load of computer processors so that'll have to wait.
Parked up for a rest on a frosty evening
Our fleet so far consists of a DAF XF 510 Space Cab, a Renault Range-T High 520 twin-tag and our Foden Alpha 600.
Unfortunately, it's quite time consuming to play, but our 13 year old nephew always makes some good progress when he comes to visit. The only potential downside is getting a PC set up powerful enough to run the game well, and buying the steering wheel/pedals, stand and gear lever (Although that's optional if you're not bothered about manuals).
The Foden back at base
In this era, if you can't get kids near real trucks, but want to ignite their passion in them, then check out ETS2. It's getting better all the time, you can make it as realistic as a game can be and it's a truly vast, immersive world.
You can also, of course, go for American Truck Simulator if you fancy getting into the world of Peterbilts and Kenworths and the many diverse states of the USA!