How to drive a van?

[VS02]

Hello everyone,

I’m 18 and I have got an interview at Waitrose next week for my second job, as a part timer before I go to uni.
Part of the job will involve driving a new, automatic refrigerated Mercedes Sprinter box van/luton to customers’ doors and also to other stores to pick up produce. I live near the countryside and will be asked to deliver to country homes as well as large towns.

It’s probably not the wisest career choice for someone like me being 18, with only 9 months on my licence but Waitrose don’t seem to care , because I fit all their criteria. I am attracted to the job because of the pay, the fact I get to drive, and also because I also get to stay on the shop floor some days.

However I’m stting myself at this, so can I have some advice?

- how do you park a luton? This is my main question, as you can’t see out of the back, and mirrors can be deceiving right? How are you supposed to parallel park or reverse park it in to tight bays? Do they tend to come with assistance?

- how to deal with spatial awareness - I am only used to driving a Polo around. A Polo to a Sprinter van is going to be an unnatural step

- is there a vast difference in an automatic and a manual. Waitrose told me all their vehicles are automatic. My first thought was that I would snap my assessor’s neck in half


Kind regards

Pic of the van in question

Edited by VS02 on Monday 14th June 13:36

[VS02]

Pica-Pica said:

pills said:

Can you drive that without a class C1 licence?

My thoughts too. A new driver nowadays will only be legally able to drive up to 3500kg Gross Vehicle Mass unless a further test is taken. Check the GVM.

I just looked and it’s just under 3 tonnes unladen, 3.5T GVW. Probably why they only required me to have a typical driver’s licence.

Edited by VS02 on Monday 14th June 14:17

[VS02]

OP here, I believe I am getting driver training with the van. I have to complete an online driver's assessment, much like a theory test, too.

Thanks everyone for the help. It's been exceptionally useful!

[VS02]

georgeyboy12345 said:

Did you get the job in the end?

Yes, I got the job suprisingly (pending my test), apparently beating out quite a few candidates who actually have a lot more experience than I do. I have my driving assessment on Wednesday. That has just made me more nervous! I had my interview last week and it was just a generic interview about sales experience, basically nothing related to driving which I thought was a bit bizarre considering this is a delivery role. Hopefully it all goes well thanks to the really useful advice on here

Questions I still have:

How do I set up the mirrors on a luton? Is it exactly the same as setting up on a typical car, or should I be looking for a wider horizontal angle and a lower vertical angle?


What do these driving assessments usually entail? Is it as strict as a driving test?

[VS02]

Passed with no minors! The first two I did not actually have the time to do so the assessor just gave me an M.

The van was an older model Sprinter, not a box van just an MWB. Manual. It was very torquey and suprisingly easy to drive. It was absolutely knackered though, 225,000 miles and it sounded it . Everything squeaked, the brakes didn’t appear to work, and the mirrors don’t work, the stereo didn’t work, the electrics were a bit haphazard with the indicators going mad. There were no parking sensors, or reversing cameras, I had to do a parallel park and a reverse bay park which was a bit nervewracking as I ended up leaving about 2 in between the wall and the van. Still I enjoyed driving it, especially the powertrain and the driving position. The shift quality also was quite nice.

Apparently all the vans are manual at this Waitrose.



Like this

Edited by VS02 on Wednesday 7th July 15:21

[VS02]

croyde said:

Well done. Not sure if I'd be happy parallel parking a vehicle I'd not driven before without a few goes.

And I've been driving since 1980

I was allowed 2 goes. The first time i got it nearly bang on, except the tyre was a bit too close to the curb

[VS02]

Pica-Pica said:

… but what about going backwards?

Well done OP. Perhaps after a while, they will upgrade you to a newer one!

I will get a new one when I start, this is just the training van. It is out of service and used just for assessments and as a back up.

I’m going off to Exeter to read medicine late September hopefully... I want to get as much hours out of this job before. Maybe I can get a st old van and do courier work when I get there to get easy money, I’m currently also a sales assistant and that’s tedious work so I don’t want to continue that when I go off to uni.

And if the grades don’t work out this year, I’m going to do a gap year, reapply to med school and keep the Waitrose job (if it goes well) . Or go back to school part time to resit one A level . Either way I think i will be working here longer than I thnk. Hopefully I will enjoy this work as it seems a lot more laid back than other positions.

Edited by VS02 on Wednesday 7th July 19:51

Edited by VS02 on Wednesday 7th July 19:52

[VS02]

mercedeslimos said:

Drove one of these the other day, a 19-seater minibus, forgot how nice the engine/box combo is. Even after 200k, they still drive OK. Also, the brakes thing isn't just you, I found all the previous shape (2012-19) one have brakes that feel like they won't do anything. When you get to Exeter, contact a local courier, might be some handy work there and lots like the Sprinter for the drive and reliability (my company has 6 I think, a mix of manual and auto, most seem to be the 516 or 515 CDi, but not sure what that means for power wise)

The one I drove today was a 310CDI with i think 90bhp. It certainly didn’t feel as asthmatic as it sounds.

[VS02]

So I’ve started my job. I do have to say, as good as the new van is tech wise, the turning circle on these FWD ones is absolutely hopeless. And so is the ride quality. I do prefer the rest of the van though.

I’m still getting used to reversing the damn thing, the other day I delivered to my A level teacher, and blissfully unaware, I reversed in to her hedge from one of my enormous blind spots.

Excuse the double yellow parking, this customer’s house was on a steep hill and there was nowhere to park bar walking half a mile without a trolley .

It is a good job though if quite taxing on the body. But I’m enjoying it, I do like a challenge and some hard work.