Becoming a HGV driver?
Discussion
There's work about if you're prepared to compete with the swiss rolls. But for anything paying decent money and the agency circuit as a whole, it's pretty dead from what I'm hearing. The usual "it's a bit quiet at the moment, but we're expecting it to pick-up soon, so keep your phone switched on".
Glenn63 said:
I work out of Chorley (parcel force) Preston is Mail work. The same company you can work out of both. Parcel force is just trunking trailer swaps, Mail centre work Youl be tipping yokes still super easy work. Obviously a lot quieter at the minute but the strikes carry on (I hope not) may be some extra work.
The Preston mail centre is much busier than us at Chorley.
Is it still called Parcel Facre?The Preston mail centre is much busier than us at Chorley.
I worked there (Watford) in the 90s ragging a 7.5T around Hertfordshire (70mph easy). Theft was rampant at the depot, even the manager was at it.
Got my class 1 in 98 and snorted at the 7.5t puddle jumpers!
SlimRick said:
Things seem very quiet at the moment, maybe it's just difficult for new pass drivers but I've had a few knock backs for agency work. Hopefully just the post-Christmas lull.
I'm in Trowbridge, Wiltshire. Having said that, I had my first shift last night. A proper eye-opener, even for a "simple pallet run".
Thanks!
@slimrick - spill the beans (if you can)
@slimrick - spill the beans (if you can)
SlimRick said:
SlimRick said:
Things seem very quiet at the moment, maybe it's just difficult for new pass drivers but I've had a few knock backs for agency work. Hopefully just the post-Christmas lull.
I'm in Trowbridge, Wiltshire. Having said that, I had my first shift last night. A proper eye-opener, even for a "simple pallet run".Stussy said:
Did you go to the Coalville hub? Quite an interesting place to say the least!
Ah, overnight pallet hubs ! Where they put all the IBCs and pallets of bricks and paving slabs on the top deck and put the tall pallets of bog rolls on the bottom deck. "All finished drive', do your curtains up outside and you're good to go!" Never used to bother with straps when I did it, unless the pallet looked particularly dodgy. Just drive like a granny round any bend where the pallet could slide off and come through the curtain and foot to the floor on the straight bits
. Health & safety wallahs would have kittens if you did that these days.You could always tell who had the IBCs and bricks on the top deck as you followed each other out of the hub at 4am as their trailers would be leaning to one side like the tower of Pisa
.Edited by r3g on Wednesday 8th February 18:32
s p a c e m a n said:
Best bit about nights and double deckers back in the day was all of the overnight roadworks diversions, I swear there's a bridge somewhere down this road 
What do you mean "back in the day" ? When I get my old work mates ringing me on an evening, it's usually out of boredom as they're stuck in a queue somewhere because of the roadworks. Apparently the roadworks on a night are "worse than ever" and they just seem to close every trunk road for no reason and close every lane on the motorways except one of them, leading to 10 mile tail-backs everywhere.Back in the day we didn't have Google maps to figure out if we could fit down the diversion or not, technology ruins all of the fun.
Can remember night drivers having to be rescued in the morning because the high tunnel at Dartford had been closed and they didn't have the hours to drive the long way around
Can remember night drivers having to be rescued in the morning because the high tunnel at Dartford had been closed and they didn't have the hours to drive the long way around
Stussy said:
It is quite odd that at 2am you can get 3 lanes stationary due to lane closures, where’s everyone going at that sort of time!?
30 minute delay the other month on the M1 when I was heading South at 1.30am. Everything coming off at Jct 15 to go through Milton Keynes, where there were also roadworks and 15a for the A43 was closed. My Sat Nav brought me off at Rugby luckily and I ended up doing 30 miles down the A5 and back on at Jct 14. The A5 was closed further down otherwise I'd have got on at Jct 11a and avoided the 3 million roundabouts of Milton Keynes. I was told when I started driving that night closures were bad and boy they were not wrong! It's very nerve wracking starting HGV driving with Double Deckers (ours also have raiseable roofs which we need to make sure are down).
After 9 months of doing runs to Basildon I don't miss all of the A14, M11, M1 and M25 closures now I'm on Dundee runs every night :-)
Edited by towser44 on Friday 10th February 16:21
towser44 said:
After 9 months of doing runs to Basildon I don't miss all of the A14, M11, M1 and M25 closures now I'm on Dundee runs every night :-)
There seems to be some bits missing from your story as you're not doing Cheshire to Dundee and back every night in anything over 3.5 t.Gassing Station | Commercial Break | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff