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What about working for the supermarkets,is that any better,got relatives that work for Asda and Sainsburys that reckon they could get me in?
Also,realistically as i'm starting from scratch,how long would it take me to get my class 1 license?
Once again,any help much appreciated
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Winks, the reply posts i have every sympathy with and agree with many of the sentiments, but it's not just truck driving that's changed, everything has changed including the people and their nature, the country will never again be the place we grew up in.
If you have a friends/family who can get you in by all means take your tests, the sooner you pass the sooner you will have some experience (by just having the licence if you follow my drift, nudge wink), trying to get a start on your own cold will be hells own job these days, unless you are prepared to work for peanuts, wages are dropping further as we start the real depression. Building isn't the only trade to have suffered by full membership of EU including work migration.
Supermarket work i assume you mean actually working for the two you name, both good companies though it's possible with sainsbugs that the site may be run by a contract logistics company whereas asda will probably be direct employment.
There will be shift work involved probably including weekend work, maybe even 4 on 4 off pattern, the two you mention pay reasonably well and if you are easy going and don't want to rush round like a demon wrecking stuff then they'll be good employers.
Petrol tanker work is hard to get into unless you have family route to follow as are all the few remaining premium jobs, the other well paid work is car transporters which i'm now out of, which is very specialised and damned hard and say goodbye to your family for the week if you want it, and as many have found out have said goodby permanently.
Trucknet would be a good forum to browse and join for up do date costs for courses.
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Thanks for that advice lads,not really filled me with much hope lol
Think i'll speak with my family and see how it is regarding work?
Very difficult as i earn decent money when the works there but its not continuous at the moment and with 3 kids,mortgage etc i need regular money
Just one more thing about how quick to get my license from scratch?
Are we talking years or months?
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You can get a C+E licence in 5 days according to the ads on the net
I be surprised if either Asda or Sainsbury would take anyone on with a new licence, I think their insurance company demand two years experience, might be wrong, check it out
Working for the supermarkets is not a piece of cake, delivering to stores with cars parked all over the place, trying to reverse of a main street on a Friday evening down a street with only a few inches either side, or reversing blind side off a pedestrianised street to get on a loading bay
You will also likely to find yourself with computerised running times and GPS tracked trucks
Good luck whatever you do
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I worked as an HGV driver for a while in the 1970's. Since then I've only driven lorries occasionally, but some things don't change.
What you have to ask yourself is whether you really want to be out driving a lorry for up to 8 hours a day, every day. There's a saying "I joined the Navy to see the world but all I saw was the sea". For '"sea", read '"road".
If you're a born worrier, then working full-time as a lorry driver might not be for you. But ifyou can drive all day and stay alert and calm, then perhaps it is.
I would dispute the fact that the old days were better. There was a lot more handballing of loads - backbreaking, even if you're young and fit. A lot of lorries in the 70's still had 'crash' gearboxes. They weren't difficult to use once you got the hang but they made more work and must have taken a toll on concentration over the day.
I believe that the law now states that you can only learn to drive an Artic (C+E) when you have had a full licence to drive a rigid (class C) for 1 year. When you learn to drive a lorry you generally learn on an empty one. When you first drive a fully loaded lorry it feels frighteningly different! A 2-axle rigid lorry can weigh up to 18 tonnes fully loaded - assuming it's designed and plated to operate at that weight. Yet, when empty, it might only weigh 7 tonnes - a big difference!
Edited by Sofa Spud on 04/09/2010 at 01:23
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Sofa Spud you have it spot on.
The old days were not better, they were a lot harder.
The problem is us older drivers remember the good times of the old days but conveniently forget the bad ones.
Sleeping in a cab with no night heater and sc***ing ice off the windows.
Handballing onions off the Dover dock in our time 'off' and then delivering them to Manchsester fruit market before dawn the next day. We had to rope and sheet the load too.
Things have changed and changed for the better, but we resist change and ridicule it.
To the OP, I would say read the posts above but make your own decision based on what your heart says. I've just finished 30 yrs of lorry driving, tramping all around this country and living in the cab all week. I loved every minute of it ( even as a female!)
It will be hard to start with as you do have to get your rigid licence first, and then your artic licence after but it is possible to do this in about 6 weeks if you pass both tests first time.
The average cost for both is around £3000. You will find it difficult to get a job without experience, but both supermarket firms you mention are often happy to take on new 'passes' as they feel they can train a new driver into their ways from the start., as do a few of the other big names around. They will see a new driver at 40+ a better gamble than a new driver at 22 yrs old.
What I'm trying to say is that you will be coming into lorry driving with all the changes already in place and it's a very different place to what we old 'uns compare it with.
The word is 'different' though, not necessarily worse!
There are websites out there with specific sections for wannabe's with downloads etc. that will help you, and if you google my user name you should find them!
Pat
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"What I'm trying to say is that you will be coming into lorry driving with all the changes already in place and it's a very different place to what we old 'uns compare it with."
I guess this is very true
I also guess it depends on which good old days your talking about.
I started off in the late 80s pulling refrigerated trailers with a B reg Iveco 190.30, although I did not have a night heater they were around. I then bought a G reg DAF 95, what a great truck that was. The DAF sadly made way for a MAN just as the speed limiters came in
Driving was no longer a pleasure, it became, frustrating, a chore, tiring.
Although i guess Handballing is less common you still find places you have to do it.
Last time I drove a HGV was on an evening trunk to Glasgow for a parcel company about 5 yearsago. Not allowed to stop, allowed 30 minutes to change trailer, 45 minutes for your break and four hours to return, no stops. Upon my return a driver was already waiting for the truck
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i used to drive HGV in the 80's for a while but ended up all over the place & often away for weeks spending weekeknds or rest days miles away from home. Night trunking was lonley and very cold in the winter.
I switched to coaches & used to meet great people & 3 day tours were a ball. It was still like handballing though when you had 53 passengers with 2 suitcases each & a boot a mile deep, driving all day then finding all the hotel drops & unloading 106 suitcases then washing the coach & cleaning up & refueling most of the evening gone!
I am astounded that a self employed builder is short of work! I currently am trying to get a builder to carry out an extension & the waiting is very lenghty!
Have you tried tapping up Brits in France for work ? builders take years there to get around to carry out building work.
Take it from one that has switch several carreers, stick to what you know , have confidence in yourself to be the best & push yourself accordingly.
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In a nut shell some HGV driving jobs are great but the majority are rubbish.
It will cost you a grand to get your class 2 licence and then a further grand to get your class 1 licence. You can do both in ten days.
A lot of the good jobs require 2 years experience, so you may be wasting your time. Some firms will pay for your licences if you agree to stay with them for a set period usuallly one year.
You could try getting your licences and then dip your toe in at the weekends working for driver agencies whilst keeping your other job to see if you like it. You should go out with an experienced driver for a couple of days after you pass to learn the do's and dont's of the real job, the training and test is fairly poor at this i'm afraid.
If you can get a job with a good firm like the supermarkets you mentioned, it's a doddle for decent money if you don't mind delivering to supermarkets in built up areas in a truck everyday. The main complaint with this work is the tedium and the strict guidlines, if you don't mind being an automoton then i'd say you'll be ok. Most of these jobs are 4 days on 4 days off 12 hour shifts though so you will be working weekends and public holidays. You can earn £30-40K though. These jobs are difficult to get.
Most HGV driving jobs are working for not much more than the minimum wage and in some cases the minimum wage, doing ridiculous hours, sleeping in a tin can and putting up with all sorts of ....
Horses for courses.
Edited by PatrickO on 04/09/2010 at 18:26
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PDA can you answer a query.
I have a LGV class C on my licence. When I reached 45 I didn't get the required medical which has made this part of my licence invalid.
Circumstances have arisen which need me to drive again. I am 46 so its just been over a year. Do I need to retake the LGV test over again from the start or do I need to just have a medical ?
Cheers Pat
Edited by Ben 10 on 05/09/2010 at 00:13
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It's only your medical you need to take Ben, your licence isn't invalid once you have that.
You can download the D4 medical form here
tiny.cc/hfvm0
I would advise googling HGV Medicals to find other options to your own GP for the medical.
They are available from around £36, but at your GP they usually charge £120 for less than 10 minutes work!
Hope this helps.
Pat
Edited to try and get the Tiny URL to work but it won't!
Again Google Drivers D4 Medical form. It will take you to the DSA website where you can download a PDF version of the form.
Edited by pda on 05/09/2010 at 06:24
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Cheers Pat,
I've the D4 and also the D2. So I'm I right in thinking I don't need to retake for definate? My employers seem to think otherwise.
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Certainly not!
I know of many lorry drivers who have chosen not to have the medical because they wasnt using their licence, but had second thoughts come renewal time.
It's also a myth that if you don't renew your HGV licence, you lose it.
Providing DVLA have your entitlement on record, you can let it lapse and then produce a D4 and a renewal form for the licence without a problem.
Pat
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Thanks Pat,
Had medical today. Will renew only. Some people (work) just feed on misinformation and cock things up. I knew you were right but had to get DVLA to concur as I need my superiors to sit up an smell the coffee.
;-)
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You've been listening to those Transport cafe lawyers who like the sound of their own voice again:)
Pat
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Not driven lorries for many years now, and to echo some of the sentiments on here, I dont think I would want to now. Started off doing refridgerated runs for a small fruit firm to the major produce markets. Eventually they were absorbed into a much larger logistics company employing mostly agency labour. For me this is the change I disliked the most. Many of the small firms with their own fleets of wagons have now gone, and the working expierience can feel very impersonal, as you are often not much more than a number to these agencies.
One of the jobs I enjoyed most was working for a builders merchant. It might be something you could look at. The money is not brilliant, however it is normally local work so you will be home every night and you should only need to obtain a catagory C licence. you may also need a lorry mounted crane licence, however the firm I worked for paid for this. Your background will probably be of help to you in an application, and most of all you will be gaining expierience for when something better comes along.
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Well, speaking as a current C+E class 1 driver, it totally depends on who you work for... Ask 20 lgv drivers about their job and you will get 20 different answers. Its like asking 20 different office workers/bricklayers/joiners etc.. what their jobs like
I work for a very large supermarket, I do 40 hours a week (4x10 hour shifts) im home at 6:30 every night (unless I ask for a long run for overtime) after 40 hours we are straight onto time and a half. Their is plenty of overtime available.The job is easy, only car drivers spoil the job for me personally. Also I work alternate weekends, which some people wouldnt like.
Yet at our depot ive spoke to outsider drivers who do 14 hour days and get paid half what I get. So as I said....it depends who you ask, also you need to have 2 years lgv driving under your belt to work for most, if not all supermarkets.
Good luck with your choice though
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You are absolutely right blackcat, I would be on the other end of the scale to you.
70+ hours every week without fail, away from 2.30am Monday until 9pm Friday night, multidrops and less than half your wages:)
But I loved it and it's essential for anyone new to lorry driving to dig around at different sectors of it to find their niche.
Most of my long days were due to hold ups in RDC's :)
Pat
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Hello I am sorry to disturbing you all. I heard about <a href="http://www.networkhgv.co.uk>HGV Training</a> from NetworkHGV. Anyone help me out how the training from this institution.
Edited by davalavinoo on 30/09/2010 at 15:04
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I have heard of Network HGV, and in my honest opinion they appear to be a type of 'broker' who will take your payment and then book you into a local firm to you.
While this may work well for some, and could for you, I have known many cases of people paying up to £2000 to brokers to book training and before it takes place they have ceased trading, meaning the money is lost.
The claims they make of earning £750 a week are not going to happen in the real world immediarely after passing your test, and to tell you any different would be unfair of me.
My advice would be to look around your local area, find the small independent HGV driving schools and go and talk to them. They will give you a test drive and work out just how much training you need, as one size doesn't fit all.
Most important though, whoever you book with is to pay by credit card, so you have some protection if the worst should happen.
Good luck!
Pat
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I know a couple of drivers working for a big supermarket beginning with S, the hours and conditions compared to some of the horror stories above are quite good, they get about £27K
My brother recently took his Class (2? the biggest ones!) test from scratch - only ever driven the odd 7.5 tonner before (5 day course + test was £1000) passed first time.
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