Questions for truckers...

[grumpy52]

Dear Chilli ,the sooner all gov departments are made answerable direct to the public the sooner we can get rid of the useless part time (37hrs a week ?) Vankers .
Try an appeal directly to one of the transport ministers .

[chilistrucker]

grumpy52 said:

Dear Chilli ,the sooner all gov departments are made answerable direct to the public the sooner we can get rid of the useless part time (37hrs a week ?) Vankers .
Try an appeal directly to one of the transport ministers .

Hello Grumpy.
I did, via Downing Street. Downing Street 'SAID' they passed it to the Transport minister, who passed it onto 1 of their assistants, who contacted the DVLA, who after a few weeks sent a letter to me, that was virtually identical to one they 'd already sent to me several months earlier.

I explained this to my MP as he said that this was a route he would look at going down. I then explained that i'd already tried both the head of the complaints at the DVLA as well as the the transport minister and it had got me no where.
He then went onto to inform me, (nudge, nudge, wink, wink) that this time it may carry a bit more clout if it were coming from himself direct as an MP on my behalf.
Oh well, why not, i've got nothing else to lose

[thepeoplespal]

The European Court and the DVLA have history regarding diabetic HGV drivers and taking licences away unlawfully, they are a right shower.

[GC8]

I am sorry to read that you are still being fked-over Neil. I hope that it is resolved quickly.

[blueST]

Ok truckers, answer me this.

Why do the foreign tractor units I see in the UK never have more than two axles? Three axles seems to be the most common configuration for UK units.

[XFDreamer]

blueST said:

Ok truckers, answer me this.

Why do the foreign tractor units I see in the UK never have more than two axles? Three axles seems to be the most common configuration for UK units.

Reduced VED is the main reason. If the weight of your vehicle is spread over 3 axles rather than 2 you are deemed to be doing less damage to the road.

We also run at slightly heavier weights than are European friends although I stand to be corrected. We can run 44000kgs over 6 axles whereas they run 41000kgs over 5 axles.

Some Dutch tractor units have 3 axles so maybe there's a tax concession there as well.

[ChemicalChaos]

On a similar theme, what's with "euro spec" trucks that have tiny tyres compared to normal UK trucks? not only do they look ridiculous, but it also means they have next to no ground clearance. They must also rev higher/be slower or require totally different gearing to a UK version, so what IS the advantage? Reduced overall height? If so, how come they all still tow normal height trailers on normal height tyres?

[XFDreamer]

ChemicalChaos said:

On a similar theme, what's with "euro spec" trucks that have tiny tyres compared to normal UK trucks? not only do they look ridiculous, but it also means they have next to no ground clearance. They must also rev higher/be slower or require totally different gearing to a UK version, so what IS the advantage? Reduced overall height? If so, how come they all still tow normal height trailers on normal height tyres?

Sorry, me again.

It's all to do with height. Bridges on the European road network are lower than they are here before they have to be marked.

Look at their car transporters and compare them with ours to see the difference.

[ChemicalChaos]

Hmmm I see. How come they are usually seen with normal trailers? I've never seen one towing a trailer with matching castor-sized wheels!

[XFDreamer]

ChemicalChaos said:

Hmmm I see. How come they are usually seen with normal trailers? I've never seen one towing a trailer with matching castor-sized wheels!

I've seen plenty. I think they call them mega-cubes. Maximum space, minimum height for loads that bulk out before they weigh out.




I guess they can pull ordinary trailers but lose any height advantage they had plus it looks a bit weird.

[chilistrucker]

XFDreamer said:

ChemicalChaos said:

Hmmm I see. How come they are usually seen with normal trailers? I've never seen one towing a trailer with matching castor-sized wheels!

I've seen plenty. I think they call them mega-cubes. Maximum space, minimum height for loads that bulk out before they weigh out.




I guess they can pull ordinary trailers but lose any height advantage they had plus it looks a bit weird.

Nice pic, and good info

I've always called them mega-cubes, or sometimes low riders. Stage truck are a similar company to the 1 I worked for doing the music tours, show stuff and the like, mainly music. It is indeed for maximum load space as when we take the gear for the tours into Europe we can only run at a 4 meter maximum height level, so running mega cubes gave us the maximum amount of load space available as opposed to a normal ride height set up you see on most UK trucks. We could have run a UK type setup, but on a big tour, you'd be adding a couple of extra trucks and trailers to the overall setup, which would obviously add to the cost of the tour. Even if you just added 2 trucks, over a typical 3 month solid period of a European tour, its going to soon ramp the cost up. The biggest tour I worked on was back in 2006, we did The Rolling Stones, Bigger Bang tour, and we had 42, (production) trucks on that alone. All mega-cubes, so a few quid saved as opposed to if we were running typical UK spec tractors and trailers.

You can indeed run a standard type UK trailer, on a low ride tractor unit without affecting the overall height. We did the closing ceremony for the Olympics, the big street party scene were all our trucks, as were the 2 trucks that pulled Madness and 1 Direction around the stadium. We had our normal low ride tractor units, but all the trailers were standard spec UK rentals. The tractor units have adjustable height, as well as sliding 5th wheels.
The fifth wheel is the coupling unit really, that connects tractor unit, too trailer.
So every week when we went down to Dagenham to do the rehersals, we just got onsite with the tractor units only, then adjusted the 5th wheel height, so it raised the 5th wheel up to match up with the UK spec trailer, then we could back under the trailer and hook up as normal
Hope i've made that make sense.

With regard the low ground clearance, it did at times make getting on and off of certain ferries quite interesting, the same at certain stadiums and arenas, but luckily these days the tractor units and trailers are all on air, so we could adjust them accordingly to make things easier. You'd always bloody ground out somewhere though :0



BTW
GC8, thanks. I should here in the next couple of days from my MP.

[chilistrucker]

Final hijack of the thread.
DVLA said no
Beachy Head anyone?

[dav123a]

Poor show from them Chilli , I can't imagine how frustrating this whole episode is. Have a virtual pint

[Super Slo Mo]

chilistrucker said:

Final hijack of the thread.
DVLA said no
Beachy Head anyone?

Have you thought about doing rigging or similar for some of the outside broadcast companies? Most guys are HGV drivers but it's not a given, and isn't always necessary as they have vans that turn up onsite too.
I can PM a few contacts over if it would help. I know it's a poor substitute but it might be better than nothing.

[ChemicalChaos]

Sorry to hear about all this chilli, must be so infuriating. Have you considered taking them to the cleaners in a national newspaper?


Another question for you all btw - given that Aussie trucks are also RHD, and there are a few of people importing and using bonneted Scanias for big loads and to show off, why aren't there people importing operating cabover Macks and Kenworths over here as something a bit different and probably a lot tougher than EU market trucks?

[chilistrucker]

Thanks guys, i really do appreciate it. It has definitely been the toughest and most frustrating 18 months of my life.
One minute you're doing the job you'd dreamed of, for quite a handsome wage whilst visiting some fantastic places, and doing some fantastic things both in work time and in down time. Then all of a sudden you wake up in a hospital bed with a fractured skull in 3 places, and 3 bleeds on the brain, that was quite sobering.
I won't go through the whole thing again, as i think i've bored more than enough people already with my woes.
I can guarantee though, that the DVLA MEDICAL PANEL are a disgrace in so many ways, and have continued to ruin my life for the last 18 months, i despise them with a passion. Many of my friends think i should have given up a while ago and moved on and found something else to do. Maybe they were right? But all i ever wanted from the start was a fair hearing, and you certainly do not get that with the DVLA MEDICAL PANEL. Its not over yet, i'll be in a wooden box before i give my fight against the DVLA

Re the rigger job. Thanks again I really, really appreciate it, but if you don't mind i'll pass for now, (hope that doesn't sound ungrateful.)
Another PHer contacted me before Christmas with a new career offer. I won't post what yet, not without talking to him first. But it is a really good offer, and so i've decided to give it a go. Its so far removed from lorry driving and i really do feel like a fish out of water but the guy has been fantastic from the start in many, many ways so hopefully it will begin to take off this year, and we'll see where it goes??? I'm really keen and will give it 100%
I have just taken a full time night job though to see me through in the short term as i'm still trying to keep the wolves from the door right now, but it will change.

2 years ago life was looking hopeful, and things were going well finally for me and the mrs. We were just beginning to rebuild our lives after losing our parents, and then bang, 1 slip on a wet floor led to the events that has certainly changed my life. I am still here though and am truly grateful of that more than anything. I Probably wouldn't have got through it without the Mrs though. When I've been at rock bottom with no job, no money, no food in the cupboards and all whilst trying to fight the DVLA, she has always been the one to pick me up when i'm down. She is a star.

Fingers crossed this could turn into a decent year, it certainly can't be any worse than the last 2

[Super Slo Mo]

No worries at all. I know it was a poor substitute for what you would like to be doing, although pay is OK from what I gather and with your background it would be fairly easy to get in I think.

Good luck with it anyway, hopefully you have turned the corner now.

[spikey78]

Question for truckers that sleep in their cabs: Do the bunks have any kind of levelling mechanism? I often see lorries parked up with the cab on some uneven ground and think it must be pretty uncomfortable to sleep like that

[XFDreamer]

spikey78 said:

Question for truckers that sleep in their cabs: Do the bunks have any kind of levelling mechanism? I often see lorries parked up with the cab on some uneven ground and think it must be pretty uncomfortable to sleep like that

No, in a word. I suppose you could raise or lower the rear air suspension but that's about it.

In some trucks you're lucky to get a sprung mattress. Most of them have just a fabric covered piece of foam.

[bigfatnick]

XFDreamer said:

spikey78 said:

Question for truckers that sleep in their cabs: Do the bunks have any kind of levelling mechanism? I often see lorries parked up with the cab on some uneven ground and think it must be pretty uncomfortable to sleep like that

No, in a word. I suppose you could raise or lower the rear air suspension but that's about it.

In some trucks you're lucky to get a sprung mattress. Most of them have just a fabric covered piece of foam.

Although I quite like when the lorry is parked facing uphill. Sleeping at the back of the bed against the wall. But I will never park downhill.

I'd be interested to see if other lorry drivers are as OCD as I am about sleeping with their heads away from traffic, if someone crashes into me in the middle of the night, I'd much rather have smashed up feet than a smushed head.