Newbie

Hi All
I’ve just passed my Class 2 :smiley: and am 1st time poster - what a great forum this is!
I’m a mature 49 year old so change of career has been decided and beckons, was worried about my age until came on here, am now not.
What a ride the class 2 license journey was! but passed 1st time with Truck School in Radstock
and 100% cpc mod 4, so was well pleased all in all with Truck school.
Now the real work begins… to repay the class 2 investment, by driving one …
I live 20 miles south of Bristol and want to drive tippers ideally, so question is will tipper firms look at newbies?
I like the look of TJ Transport in Avonmouth, however not sure if they have vacancies, need to check. would you recommend? any other recommendations please?
Otherwise I guess for newbie it’s gonna be Brakes / P&H / Bookers etc ? ( P&H look in a spot of trouble though I see)
So out of those 3 would one be preferable? or is it a case of apply to all 3 and take whatever is offered as a newbie to gain experience? (all 3 look like hard graft) Or do you think i should still go for tippers?

Many thanks

Well I’ve no experience of tippers but if that’s what you want to do, then go for it. Worst they can say is no!

People get hung up on newbies not getting a good first job, and yes, it’s alway going to be a bit harder, but if you look at jordan on here that posted yesterday, he’s 18, got his Class 2 and working. In fairness he lives in a good area for work, but he still had to get out and pesuade someone to give an 18 year old a chance. I’ve taken on newbies and we shift ADR1 and yet you see people on here say that specialist hauliers don’t take on new or young starts. It’s all down to you, the TM on the day and a good dollop of luck

Good luck with the job hunt.

Many thanks albion, much appreciated.
Hope there’s a few like you down this neck of the woods that give newbies an opportunity

Bizkit try the Co-op in Avonmouth they’re quite often looking for drivers and obviously it’s not tippers but it’ll be experience for you whilst you look for your tipper job.

Many thanks bald bloke :slight_smile:
Good call and definitely food for thought… :slight_smile:
Is it best to go in and ask for a chat with these and the others, or apply online?
Seems co op and the others mentioned are all looking for drivers at the mo…

Go see the tm at the tipper place .
It’s what I did two days after passing and he gave me a job [emoji106].
You will most likely need a epic card tho to get on the quarry’s .
MPQC driver skill card (formally known as a epic card)

Bizkit:
Many thanks bald bloke :slight_smile:
Good call and definitely food for thought… :slight_smile:
Is it best to go in and ask for a chat with these and the others, or apply online?
Seems co op and the others mentioned are all looking for drivers at the mo…

With the bigger corporate type firms they won’t want you going in on a ad-hoc basis but the smaller types will and it’s sometimes a good way to land a job so pack a bag and take your boots etc you might get a run somewhere.

With regards to the Co-op (XPO) they are quite often looking and it’s not my cup of tea but they will at least keep you busy and you’ll quickly gain invaluable experience.

If me being 18 didn’t stop me, then you shouldn’t have too much of an issue with insurance when you’re 49. I stressed quite a lot during my training about whether or not I’d find work , but then I realised; there must be someone giving new passes a chance, otherwise the industry would be on it’s knees by now!

Best of luck :slight_smile:

Lloydie:
Go see the tm at the tipper place .
It’s what I did two days after passing and he gave me a job [emoji106].
You will most likely need a epic card tho to get on the quarry’s .
MPQC driver skill card (formally known as a epic card)

Many thanks Lloydie, appreciate the advice, and was thinking along
the same lines re MPQC / Epic. Fair play getting a start that quickly too

jordon1703:
If me being 18 didn’t stop me, then you shouldn’t have too much of an issue with insurance when you’re 49. I stressed quite a lot during my training about whether or not I’d find work , but then I realised; there must be someone giving new passes a chance, otherwise the industry would be on it’s knees by now!

Best of luck :slight_smile:

Many thanks Jordan1703
Appreciate your comments, and yes my age means one less hurdling block
for sure.
Well done on your hgv journey so far, and good luck with your C&E when you
take :slight_smile:

Hi All
Been offered a class 2 temp to perm job :smiley: but not sure whether to take it
Its 40 minutes from where I live on class 2 fridge/freezers, a few drops across the country to wholesale/commercial etc, then run back empty, but its silly o’clock starts - 1.00am / 2.00am and some more slightly sociable 4.00am / 5.00am o’clock starts plus the odd night out.
As a first hgv driving job, would you take it? I have never done shift work or night work so i’m not sure whether a sleep pattern change aswell as a career change all in one go would be too much for a newbie.
The money’s not great either, but appreciate Im a newbie so not much can do on the haggling front, no overtime. ( with agency for 13 weeks paye) mon - fri but finish when you finish.
Not sure whether to hold out for a day position as a first job
Your thoughts on class 2 fridge/freezer work would be appreciated :smiley:
Thanks

Hey,

I do class 2 fridge multi-drop and I’m enjoying it. I deliver to major stores and start at 3:30am and arrive back at depot and finish by around 11:30am - Like you, it is job and finish.

I’ve haven’t done any other type of class 2 work up to this point so I can’t really compare it. But it tends to be quite physical, especially as I deliver to small stores. Pushing heavy cages up bumpy paths can be difficult and quite risky. I reckon 40 minutes each way is a fair commute to work. That’s almost 1hr and 30 minutes per day just to get to and from work.

Good luck!

p.s: Quite tired today so my thoughts are all over the place. And thus, my thoughts haven’t manifested into text very well lol.

jordon1703:
Hey,

I do class 2 fridge multi-drop and I’m enjoying it. I deliver to major stores and start at 3:30am and arrive back at depot and finish by around 11:30am - Like you, it is job and finish.

I’ve haven’t done any other type of class 2 work up to this point so I can’t really compare it. But it tends to be quite physical, especially as I deliver to small stores. Pushing heavy cages up bumpy paths can be difficult and quite risky. I reckon 40 minutes each way is a fair commute to work. That’s almost 1hr and 30 minutes per day just to get to and from work.

Good luck!

p.s: Quite tired today so my thoughts are all over the place. And thus, my thoughts haven’t manifested into text very well lol.

Many thanks Jordon1703
lol your’e text manifested fine, thanks for the heads-up on the fridge work, glad your’e enjoying, and yes I hear what you’re saying re the commute. Thanks again fella.

Bizkit:
Hi All
Been offered a class 2 temp to perm job :smiley: but not sure whether to take it
Its 40 minutes from where I live on class 2 fridge/freezers, a few drops across the country to wholesale/commercial etc, then run back empty, but its silly o’clock starts - 1.00am / 2.00am and some more slightly sociable 4.00am / 5.00am o’clock starts plus the odd night out.
As a first hgv driving job, would you take it? I have never done shift work or night work so i’m not sure whether a sleep pattern change aswell as a career change all in one go would be too much for a newbie.
The money’s not great either, but appreciate Im a newbie so not much can do on the haggling front, no overtime. ( with agency for 13 weeks paye) mon - fri but finish when you finish.
Not sure whether to hold out for a day position as a first job
Your thoughts on class 2 fridge/freezer work would be appreciated :smiley:
Thanks

I to do class 2 multi drop frozen and chilled. As Jordan says it’s physical work, a sack of spuds or box of chips is quite heavy. I deliver to schools, cafes and the like, picking the order myself and taking it in on a sack barrow. reading your post it sounds like you might have an easier time of it than I do.

So far typically starting between half four and six finished mid afternoon. Monday was a 13 hour day from hell. Expect bad days as well as good.

Personally I’d take the job. Stick it for 6 months for the experience and then find something better.

Edit. Forgot to say my commute is 40 minutes on quiet roads. If spaghetti jnc or the m42 is bad it’ll take me an hour. I’d like to be closer but it’s not unbearable either.

Sent from my SM-G950F using Tapatalk

IronEddie:

Bizkit:
Hi All
Been offered a class 2 temp to perm job :smiley: but not sure whether to take it
Its 40 minutes from where I live on class 2 fridge/freezers, a few drops across the country to wholesale/commercial etc, then run back empty, but its silly o’clock starts - 1.00am / 2.00am and some more slightly sociable 4.00am / 5.00am o’clock starts plus the odd night out.
As a first hgv driving job, would you take it? I have never done shift work or night work so i’m not sure whether a sleep pattern change aswell as a career change all in one go would be too much for a newbie.
The money’s not great either, but appreciate Im a newbie so not much can do on the haggling front, no overtime. ( with agency for 13 weeks paye) mon - fri but finish when you finish.
Not sure whether to hold out for a day position as a first job
Your thoughts on class 2 fridge/freezer work would be appreciated :smiley:
Thanks

I to do class 2 multi drop frozen and chilled. As Jordan says it’s physical work, a sack of spuds or box of chips is quite heavy. I deliver to schools, cafes and the like, picking the order myself and taking it in on a sack barrow. reading your post it sounds like you might have an easier time of it than I do.

So far typically starting between half four and six finished mid afternoon. Monday was a 13 hour day from hell. Expect bad days as well as good.

Personally I’d take the job. Stick it for 6 months for the experience and then find something better.

Edit. Forgot to say my commute is 40 minutes on quiet roads. If spaghetti jnc or the m42 is bad it’ll take me an hour. I’d like to be closer but it’s not unbearable either.

Sent from my SM-G950F using Tapatalk

Many thanks IronEddie,
This is delivering boxed meat, so guessing would be fairly similar to what you do
I’m thinking along the same lines as you, maybe take it for the experience and see how it goes.
but i’m trying to get my head round the 1.00am / 2.00am starts, :open_mouth: , 4.30am / 6.00am would be fine
Thanks again fella