Becoming a HGV driver?

[r3g]

Koyaanisqatsi said:

After passing my Class 1 back in October and getting employment with a small local haulage company, I've just taken a week out and done my ADR (core, tanks & packages). We don't do any ADR-related jobs but I wanted to do it just to add another string to my bow and make more jobs accessible in the future, and my company was fine with that and encouraged me to go for it if I wanted to.

We've also got a few HIABs on rigid vehicles and on a couple of the artic units which I've been trained up on. Whenever I've done those jobs, the hours are a LOT more sociable than the container work I've mostly been doing until now. Average driving hours per day on the HIABs is 3-4, not waking up super early, home for dinner every night, no danger of staying out, whereas it's pushing 9 hours driving time on the containers. Downside is it's a lot of central London driving and tight muddy building sites -- I imagine it's the best job in the world when it's hot and sunny as you're out the cab for most of the day!

It really isn't!

Winter = everything including yourself being plastered in thick mud
Summer = everything including yourself being caked in dry mud dust either blown across the building site by the wind, or kicked up by the truck tyres and engine fan. You'll quickly learn to make sure all your truck windows are UP in the summer before going on any building site or rough ground where it hasn't rained for a while .

[Its Just Adz]

I made that mistake once, reversing into a shed where they were shredding plasterboard. Put windows down so I could see better.....
Took ages to clean the cab out.

[r3g]

Its Just Adz said:

I made that mistake once, reversing into a shed where they were shredding plasterboard. Put windows down so I could see better.....
Took ages to clean the cab out.

Doing farm work, making sure windows are UP in the summer before getting to the sheds/slurry pits is rule number 1. Especially if they breed pigs! Holy fk. Only did that once and had about 50 flies in the cab all the way back to base and despite having the windows down all the way, the flies just sat there at the far end of the dashboard and walls glaring at me defiantly. They never have any problem entering through the smallest hole, but will never go back out willingly, you to force the fkers back out or kill them. And of course having the windows down when you're driving means you get all the wasps and bees coming in as they ping off the backs of the mirrors and the air flow drags them inside.

Edited by r3g on Thursday 18th January 13:16

[s p a c e m a n]

Currently loading something that feels like flour inside a shed with a stty conveyor, I could rack lines up on the dashboard there's so much of it in the cab. They won't let me make snow angels on the floor

[Gas1883]

s p a c e m a n said:

Currently loading something that feels like flour inside a shed with a stty conveyor, I could rack lines up on the dashboard there's so much of it in the cab. They won't let me make snow angels on the floor

My worst nightmare , mess , I hated building sites , not the work , the crap comming in the cab , I’d spend hours washing , polishing , then back to square one the next day .

[Its Just Adz]

Gas1883 said:

My worst nightmare , mess , I hated building sites , not the work , the crap comming in the cab , I’d spend hours washing , polishing , then back to square one the next day .

That's one thing I don't do, polishing the truck.
Inside gets wiped down and glass done, outside once a month maybe at Lymm.
A friend goes overboard with his. Goes in on a weekend to proper polish it and shine the tank, bloody stupid.

[Glenn63]

Gas1883 said:

s p a c e m a n said:

Currently loading something that feels like flour inside a shed with a stty conveyor, I could rack lines up on the dashboard there's so much of it in the cab. They won't let me make snow angels on the floor

My worst nightmare , mess , I hated building sites , not the work , the crap comming in the cab , I’d spend hours washing , polishing , then back to square one the next day .

I made that mistake once on a recycling farm place left my window open a crack, went rigging the crane for couple hours came back to devastation rubbish dust covering every single inch of the cab including my bed and pillows. That was a job to clean.

[r3g]

Glenn63 said:

I made that mistake once on a recycling farm place left my window open a crack, went rigging the crane for couple hours came back to devastation rubbish dust covering every single inch of the cab including my bed and pillows. That was a job to clean.

I once left the windows open in the summer whilst trans-shipping milk between 2 bulkers on a farm whilst I went to chat with the farmer at his house. The farm is also a pig farm, and the massive pig shed was about 40ft away. Came back 25 mins later and the entire truck inside and out was covered in hundreds and hundreds of flies. I was still finding them flying out from behind the curtains a week later.