RoadStar, social star, and a big fan of the three-pointed star

Special memories, trucks, and anniversaries. 

Multi-talented Tina, from Doncaster, spends her time on the road hauling mostly refrigerated goods for a national supermarket chain, as an employee of Stanton Logistics, based in South Yorkshire.

Run by Chris McGinley, the leading transport company specialises in frozen, chilled, and ambient freight operations, 24 hours a day, seven days a week. The business runs a large fleet of more than 70 trucks, instantly recognisable thanks to their sleek blue and white striped livery. One of those has a special meaning to Managing Director Chris, who has personalised his favourite Mercedes-Benz Actros with his race number #44. The Actros was designed to pull race cars around the UK and Europe. Chris has also personalised another Actros by covering it in glorious champaign livery, commonly known as “Champagne Supernova” to mark his 15^th anniversary at the company.

Tina also drives an Actros, having obtained her licence whilst in the army in 2009. She began her civilian career in trucking in 2013. Since then, she’s driven for various companies and has put her foot on the pedal of plenty of different branded vehicles, but her heart always pulls her back to the Mercedes-Benz brand.

“I generally think Mercs are good trucks. I’ve driven all sorts of brands, but I like Mercedes-Benz vehicles the most,” said Tina. She continued, “They’ve got a really exquisite appearance – they look classy and prestigious, especially the three-pointed star logo.”

Comfort and convenience.

This trucker is also a fan of the comfort features in the Actros, in particular the efficient parking heaters to warm up the cab quickly on cold mornings, along with the heated seats. “They’re great for warming up after being in a chiller all morning” she enthuses. The memory foam mattress also ticks all the boxes for Tina, “It’s so comfy; it’s just what you need after a long drive; once you lay down it doesn’t take long to drop off.”

Reliability, comfort, and convenience are major priorities for drivers, and Tina is no different – she appreciates all of the finishing touches and extra benefits which help make her job easier, “Even the Adblue is impressive – some trucks you put the nozzle in and it keeps clicking off, I don’t get that with a Mercedes, it fills up really easily. Plus they’re very comfortable to drive with higher seats for greater visibility, and I love the Bluetooth app – essential for all my journeys, so I can sing my heart out to my tunes!”

Equally, the easy-to-use key fob comes in handy on busy days, “You just insert and go, no messing about,” she added.

- TruckaTina

A solid community.

Could her daughter follow in her footsteps and continue the family female trucking tradition? “You know, even though it’s historically a male-dominated industry, I don’t see gender amongst my peers. I’m not sure if it’s because I was in the army, where there is little distinction between genders, but I tend to just get on with my job.”

She continued, “I do sometimes get surprising looks when I’m on the road, but I remind myself it’s still unusual for some people to see ladies driving such big vehicles. I do love to see fellow female truckers, we always give each other a big wave, and there’s a feeling of solidarity. That said, most of the male drivers I’ve met have been really friendly, helpful, and like to see a woman behind the wheel.”

Trucking and not taking yourself too seriously on social.

Along with being a talented photographer (check out her stunning images of her Actros below!), with a penchant for drawing too, Tina exercises her creative flair on her social media channels.

Widely known by her handle ‘TruckaTina’ on both TikTok and Instagram, she documents her trucking life through comical videos and images. “I’ve always enjoyed sharing my life on social media, and one day decided to create a TikTok account under the name ‘TruckaTina’. I wanted to have fun with it, and create an outlandish persona different from myself to make people laugh and brighten their day. I wear more makeup, play up my accent, stick on a filter, and just enjoy myself.”

She isn’t the only one enjoying the material – since she created the account in 2020, Tina has racked up over 26,000 followers across both accounts, thanks to her funny and relatable personality. Her content is very organic and realistic; no scheduled or pre-recorded videos, if she finds a sound or wants to tell a story, she does it there and then, and sends it out to the world!

Her videos were a hit during lockdown, when many people were at home and looking for a positive distraction. “I took a brief break from it and then people started messaging me asking ‘where’s TruckaTina gone?’ – it was so lovely and made me want to continue.”

Friends online, offline, and on the road.

Tina generally keeps her personal life separate from her persona, “TruckaTina is very exaggerated, whereas I’m pretty chilled so it’s not hard.” However she has been recognised by her peers on more than one occasion, even without all the make-up and fake eyelashes, “I was a bit embarrassed at first but people love her and seem impressed so it’s nice,” she said.

She’s also made some friends for life through social media apps, a lot of them fellow truckers who she will share a cuppa with if ever they are in the same area, “It’s really surprised me how many drivers are on social media – I know if I was lost in the truck, I could just contact one of them and they’d help me, it’s a wonderful community.”