Asphalt-Cowboys

Trucker Piet is on the road on hot pavement. Normally, the 51-year-old doesn't lose his cool so quickly, because he has been on the road for over 30 years. But at the moment Piet is working as a concrete driver in Emsland and shuffles from construction site to construction site - sometimes a really nasty drudgery. Carrier Marten is well on time. It's a special day for him: the 29-year-old is working with a courier service for large special freight for the first time. He has to load pallets - a round 20 kilos each! From Lake Tegernsee to the Adriatic Sea: Transport entrepreneur Andreas starts on his favorite tour. The route is very familiar to the asphalt cowboy. But this time, despite all the routine, not everything goes according to plan.

In this episode of the new documentary series, "Asphalt Cowboy" Marten has to struggle with the adversities of everyday life as a truck driver. Long waiting times and an acute lack of parking spaces are just two of the many problems he has to deal with. Mighty pressed for time, the trucker tries to make up for lost time on the way to the next loading point. But whether this is enough to complete his workload is another matter. Driver colleague Andreas is now on the road in bella Italia. There, he uses a delay to pursue his favorite pastime: the meticulous truck wash! But the next morning, Andreas has to step on the gas again and bring an express freight over the Brenner Pass. Meanwhile, trucker Piet was able to escape the concrete monkeys on the construction site and after a long time has managed to get hold of a long-distance tour again - with a trailer full of empties, he's off to the Bavarian capital.

Lumber driver Thorsten Eckert is already sitting behind the steering wheel of his heavy truck before sunrise. The 38-year-old trucker is on his way to the mountains to pick up his first load. He has taken over the company from his father and thus feeds his family of four. The man from Lower Franconia still has no idea that this working day will bring him a bunch of unpleasant surprises. In the meantime, Andreas Schubert starts a groupage tour to Italy - the experienced transport company is under enormous time pressure. And trucker lady Monika sets off in convoy for a heavy goods tour to the Baltic Sea. Although the 41-year-old has only had her truck driving license for three years, she is still allowed to drive large loads - learned is learned. When Monika is on the goat, one thing is never missing: her terrier Aik.

Shortly after five in the morning, trucker Monika starts the engine at the Frankenwald rest stop in Bavaria. This day is going to be quite an ordeal for the 41-year-old because she is suffering from a flu-like infection. In the evening, the tough Swabian woman is not waiting for a hot bath, but rather a disgusting building container without hot water in the middle of the Vorpommern province. But that doesn't stop Monika, she is determined to make her way north. Transport company Marten is now on its way to Augsburg with a load of steel beams. The 30-year-old has not yet been able to organize a return load due to the seasonal economic downturn.

Holstein's Marten Nottelmann is in a good mood again, as the order situation in the transport industry has improved. Precise scheduling is now the be-all and end-all of daily business. But no matter how hard you try as a trucker, nothing is as old as the scheduling system you just had! Uwe Wenta, the radiator truck driver, knows that too. In Bremerhaven, he loads fresh and frozen goods for a large ship's chandler, and that means: Always keep an eye on the temperature in the trailer, otherwise the goods might be spoiled on arrival. But the destination is still 700 kilometers away. Concrete coachman Piet has meanwhile switched over due to the winter lull in the construction industry. He now travels in a tanker truck from village to village, right across his Emsland home. But Piet is a newcomer here, because his load is very special and takes some getting used to - if it works out.

Ruhrpott-Trucker Mike is on his way to Berlin in the middle of the night. He knows this route like the back of his hand, because the truck driver is working like on an assembly line. Meanwhile, lumber driver Thorsten transports precious woods for an auction. A job like made for the Franconian driver and his Z-crane. And horse transporter Gerald and his co-driver Günther from Lithuania set off south in this episode. On their tour to Spain and Portugal, the horse whisperers have to look after eleven horses.

Andreas Schubert is in good spirits: The truck driver is looking forward to his next tour, because he is going to southern Italy. Exactly what the Bavarian connoisseur is looking for. Meanwhile, his colleague Monika is slowed down by a major construction site on her way to Austria. The 42-year-old has loaded a huge tank on her flatbed truck. Meanwhile, horse trucker Gerald and newcomer Günther are unloading their first four-legged friends in Spain. The duo has to be hell-bent on making sure that none of the spirited animals get lost.

In Austria it rains twines. But Florian Steinhäuser does not let this spoil his mood. After all, one of his favorite tours is on the program. It goes through the Eurotunnel to the British island. One problem, however, causes the deeply relaxed trucker a stomachache: illegal immigrants who try to cross the border as stowaways in a truck. Meanwhile, Andreas Schubert has to deal with long waiting times in Rimini. The truck driver takes advantage of the unpleasant forced break to take care of the truck

New routes, new drivers, new adventures: DMAX goes on a big ride with the kings of the highway. In the new episodes, the "Asphalt Cowboys" board their trucks weighing tons across Europe: from Sweden to Paris and the Balearic Islands. Everyday life as a trucker on the roads and at rest areas is no bed of roses for refrigerated truck driver Steffen, with delicatessen on the trailer, Andreas in the Scania R 620 and Dieter, who specializes in Mallorca moves. But despite time pressure, traffic jams and traffic controls, the "asphalt cowboys" would never change their jobs. Speaker of the documentary series is singer and trucker idol Gunter Gabriel. In the new episodes the "German Johnny Cash" records a song in the recording studio with a hero of the highway.

Piet Hackmann organizes a trucker meeting with his buddies. Afterwards schnitzels are loaded onto the trailer for the next tour. Apprentice Steffen has to lend a hand. Meanwhile, asphalt cowboy Florian Steinhäuser is fighting his way through the traffic chaos in Dublin. The Rhinelander had never imagined the Irish capital to be so loud and crazy. In this episode Steffen Müller sets course for Paris. The refrigerated truck driver loads food for the South German fine dining industry at the wholesale market in France.

On the road again! Ruhrpott-Trucker Mike sets off together with forwarder Daniel for Sweden. Such jobs are a welcome change to the daily routine on German highways. But when unloading in Trelleborg, the duo struggles with communication problems. Meanwhile, refrigerated truck driver Steffen takes the opportunity to take his truck on a sightseeing tour of Paris. And in Aldenhoven, driver Dieter gets ready for a tour of the Balearic Islands. The asphalt cowboy wants to reach the ferry in Barcelona on time.

Mike Cohnen and Daniel Schewe have a mammoth tour coming up. The destination of their journey is Norway. To make sure everything goes smoothly on the way, the asphalt cowboys have their trucks blessed by a trucker pastor at a truck yard. Thorsten Eckert can't complain about boredom either. In this episode, the lumber driver has his hands full, but suddenly his work equipment goes on strike. And in the Westphalian town of Hamm, the members of the "Children need our help" association get three fourty-ton trucks ready for the trip to Lithuania.

Piet Hackmann would never exchange his beloved gravel roads for dull warehouses. That's why his job is exactly to his taste: the asphalt cowboy transports peat and wood chips in this episode, but his shirt-sleeved colleagues sometimes don't take the permitted loading quantity too seriously. Meanwhile, Mike and Daniel enjoy beautiful nature on their tour to Norway and experience a trucker evening with Polish colleagues, which opens the eyes of the drivers from the Ruhr area.

Mike Cohnen and Daniel Schewe are struggling with an adventurous unloading point in Norway. The truckers are to deliver sewage pipes in the middle of a forest. It's narrow, muddy and far and wide, no company is in sight. But then suddenly two colleagues approach them. Meanwhile, the Bavarian freight forwarder Andreas Schuber switches to the passenger seat. His new employee Christian is supposed to show what he can do. So Andreas lets him take the wheel of his beloved, pimped-out Scania.

Chrome and Alcantara: Mike Cohnen can't believe it - his boss has bought him a brand new truck! On the maiden voyage, the "asphalt cowboy" sets off for Sicily together with his buddy Daniel Schewe. Meanwhile, Thorsten Eckert steers a flatbed truck to the Nürburgring. That sounds like child's play, but in the end the job turns out to be a nerve-wracking test. Accidents, time pressure and annoying freight forwarders: truck driver Piet Hackmann is also very familiar with the rigors of the job.

Whether local or long-distance transport, hazardous goods or express: Marc Panzer knows how the transport business works. Because the "asphalt cowboy" has established his own company in North Rhine-Westphalia with charm and assertiveness. But a professional driver and freight forwarder are two jobs in one. That's why multitasking is the order of the day behind the wheel. An extensive private life and healthy nutrition are also pure luxury in the logistics industry. Instead, the heroes of the Autobahn struggle with nerve-racking deadline stress in this episode.

2000 kilometers without load on the trailer? Mike Cohnen and Daniel Schewe are looking forward to returning to Germany in southern Italy. But apparently the Ruhrpott-truckers have done the calculation without the freight forwarder. Meanwhile, Florian Steinhäuser is on the road in Austria with his truck. On the relaxed route, the "asphalt cowboy" has time for profound thoughts. And Marc Panzer is to transport 20 tons of the finest beef to Cologne. But in the cold store, the truck driver has an accident.

In Norway and on Mallorca, in the Ruhrpott and in Schleswig-Holstein, in East Westphalia and in Saxony-Anhalt: DMAX goes on a great journey with the kings of the Autobahn. From the radiator driver in Scandinavia to the thatched truck on its way to the next place of operation: everyday life on the roads and rest areas is no bed of roses for the protagonists of the series. Because in the transport industry, there is merciless competition. But despite time pressure, traffic jams, detours and traffic controls, the "Asphalt Cowboys" would never change their jobs. Translated with www.DeepL.com/Translator (free version)

Vikings and bikes: Stefan Kleiß has two great passions. For the members of his motorcycle club "Odins Vassals" a surprise is in store. In this episode, the reed trucker takes a small detour on his tour to meet up with his buddy "Zottel" in a parking lot. Meanwhile Andreas Schubert steers his black and red Scania R620 into the Rhön. The asphalt cowboy is to deliver a load of lumber in Hesse. And for Manuel Feigl, shoes become a problem when unloading heavy freight in Schleswig-Holstein.

Cool trucks with airbrush design: Mario Bruns is proud of his trucks, because the 40-ton trucks are real eye-catchers. The freight forwarder is getting ready for a tour to Italy with his driver Uwe Rowold. But loading the vehicles turns out to be a real test of nerves. Meanwhile, Jens Lindner is on the road in local traffic. The Saxon "Asphalt Cowboy" delivers furniture parts to Rabenau. And Markus Trojak has turned his passion into his profession. In this episode, the bike fan from Rhineland-Palatinate meets the Harley of "Terminator" Arnold Schwarzenegger.