ETS2 Beginner Guide 2026: Start Your Trucking Empire Right

I bought Euro Truck Simulator 2 on a Steam sale in 2016, played for two hours, crashed into a toll booth in France, and uninstalled. Came back a year later, actually read some guides, and now I've got something like 800 hours across three profiles. The difference between those two experiences was entirely about what I did in the first few hours.

Here's the thing nobody tells you: the in-game tutorial teaches you how to drive, but it doesn't teach you how to make money. And you need money, because driving company trucks (Quick Jobs) pays pocket change compared to owning your own rig.

Take the Loan. Seriously.

I know it feels wrong. A €400,000 bank loan with €7,000 daily payments looks like a trap. But here's the math that changed my mind:

Quick Jobs pay about €2-5 per kilometer. Your own truck, even a basic one, pulls €15-25 per kilometer. That's not a small difference — that's 5x the income. If you drive 1,000 km in a day (about 45 minutes real-time at highway speeds), you're making €20,000-30,000. The loan payment is €7,000. You're still way ahead.

I paid off my first loan in about three in-game weeks. Honestly, the only reason to skip the loan is if you genuinely enjoy the slow grind — and some people do, no judgment.

Pick Luxembourg or Rotterdam

Your starting city matters more than you'd think. Not because of the garage prices (they're all €180,000 for the first one), but because of job density and route variety.

Luxembourg sits dead center in Western Europe. France, Germany, Belgium, Netherlands — all within 500 km. That means short, profitable hauls you can knock out in 15-20 minutes each. Rotterdam's even better for cargo variety — it's a major port, so you get everything from medical equipment to heavy machinery spawning there.

I started in Berlin my first time and regretted it. Everything east of Berlin is either Poland (long, boring highways) or Czech Republic (tight, slow roads). Central beats eastern every time.

Your First Truck: Volvo FH16, Used

Skip the new truck dealer. Head straight to the used truck market and look for a Volvo FH16. You can find them for around €95,000 with reasonable mileage. Why Volvo? Best engine options in the game — the 540 HP variant handles 25-ton cargo on any terrain in the base map. The cabin visibility is excellent too, which matters when you're still learning to park.

Don't even look at the Iveco Stralis or the base DAF. They're cheaper on paper but the weak engines mean you'll struggle on any incline with a full load. The frustration isn't worth the €20,000 you save.

If you find a Volvo FH16 with under 100,000 km on the used market, buy it immediately. The used truck listings refresh every three in-game days and good deals vanish fast.

Settings You Should Change Right Now

Before your first real delivery, go into settings and flip these:

Turn off Traffic Offenses. The fine system in ETS2 is genuinely brutal — €550 for going 5 km/h over the limit, and speed cameras are everywhere in Germany and Austria. You need time to learn the roads without going bankrupt from tickets. You can turn them back on later.

Set parking to "Safe Parking" (the option where you just pull into a marked zone without the backing-up mini-game). The parking mechanics with keyboard controls are punishing. Come back to them once you're comfortable with the truck's length.

Bind cruise control to something easy — I use C. Set it to 80 km/h on highways and you'll never get a speeding ticket.

Skill Points: Long Distance First, Everything Else Later

This is where I see most beginners mess up. They spread points across Eco Driving, ADR, Fragile Cargo — trying to be well-rounded. Don't.

Long Distance is the money skill. Each point unlocks longer jobs, and longer jobs pay more per kilometer AND give more XP. Get it to level 2 first (unlocks 500 km+ routes), then level 4 (1,000 km+), then max it. After that, put points into High Value Cargo (medical equipment, electronics — pay premium rates) and Just-In-Time (tight deadlines, big bonuses).

Eco Driving saves you maybe 5% on fuel. That's like €50 on a long haul. Not worth the skill points until you've got nothing else to spend them on.

The First Week Plan

If I were starting fresh right now, here's exactly what I'd do:

Day 1: Take the €400K loan, buy the Volvo, do three short hauls (under 300 km). Just get comfortable with the truck, GPS, and basic parking. Don't worry about profit yet.

Day 2-3: Five medium hauls, 300-500 km each. Luxembourg to Frankfurt, Rotterdam to Brussels, that sort of thing. Build your bankroll and get used to highway driving. By now you should have Long Distance level 2.

Day 4-5: Start taking longer jobs (600-800 km). Rotterdam to Berlin, Luxembourg to Paris. The pay jumps noticeably at this distance. Aim to save €180,000.

Day 6-7: Buy your first garage (Luxembourg or Rotterdam), upgrade to three slots, and start thinking about hiring drivers. You'll need €95,000 per driver for a basic truck, so don't hire until you can afford both the driver and their vehicle.

One Thing I Wish I Knew Earlier

Your hired drivers' income scales entirely off their Long Distance skill. I spent weeks carefully balancing my drivers' training across all categories, wondering why they earned so little. A driver with Long Distance 5 and nothing else will out-earn a "balanced" driver every single time. Set their training policy to Long Distance and leave it there until they max it out.

Also — you only need one truck for yourself. Every other truck you buy should go to a hired driver. There's no benefit to owning a personal fleet of different trucks when you can only drive one at a time.