Hello all,
This might seem a silly question but here goes.
Do you find that a lot of employers make you deliver to London? More so the centralish parts…
It just looks like a minefield from what I’ve seen on youtube for trucks! (Fines etc)
Matt87:
Hello all,This might seem a silly question but here goes.
Do you find that a lot of employers make you deliver to London? More so the centralish parts…
It just looks like a minefield from what I’ve seen on youtube for trucks! (Fines etc)
I go in sometimes. Usually the east/sidcup area but have done round Wembley and park royal. Take your time and be clear as you can where your going. I missed an entrance and took 30 minutes to get round again 
The other thing to think about is breaks. Managing to find somewhere to stop can be hard.
Finally keep your eyes open for the weight limits, especially the timed ones
kcrussell25:
Matt87:
Hello all,This might seem a silly question but here goes.
Do you find that a lot of employers make you deliver to London? More so the centralish parts…
It just looks like a minefield from what I’ve seen on youtube for trucks! (Fines etc)
I go in sometimes. Usually the east/sidcup area but have done round Wembley and park royal. Take your time and be clear as you can where your going. I missed an entrance and took 30 minutes to get round again
The other thing to think about is breaks. Managing to find somewhere to stop can be hard.
Finally keep your eyes open for the weight limits, especially the timed ones
Hey,
Thanks for your reply, looking at the timed restrictions I’d mostly have to worry about it during the weekend or at night. Also at least the fine isn’t accompanied with points! Unless their site is wrong lol I wouldn’t like to find out all the same!
Hope you had a good Christmas 
(if you celebrate it)
I tend to stick to Kingston, Richmond and the surrounding areas; I have also done routes that take me to Balham, Croydon and the likes of.
There are weight/width/bus lane restrictions everywhere! Just make sure to follow road signs. I am not an experienced driver but just take it slow and make sure you keep your eyes peeled for signage. Truck satnavs can be of good help but I find that sometimes it can be all to easy to rely on them and that’s when things start going wrong.
I drive a 26 tonner btw.
jordon1703:
I tend to stick to Kingston, Richmond and the surrounding areas; I have also done routes that take me to Balham, Croydon and the likes of.There are weight/width/bus lane restrictions everywhere! Just make sure to follow road signs. I am not an experienced driver but just take it slow and make sure you keep your eyes peeled for signage. Truck satnavs can be of good help but I find that sometimes it can be all to easy to rely on them and that’s when things start going wrong.
I drive a 26 tonner btw.
Thanks mate. I think I’ve just spent too many hours scouring the internet for posts about HGV work, alot of people seem to flap about London more than anywhere else.
What sat nav do you use?
If I need to, I bring my TomTom professional 520 along with me. It doesn’t have traffic but it does the job just fine. I find Google maps works fine as long as you check out the route prior to setting off to make sure it doesn’t send you down any awful roads
Tomtom for trucks is generally pretty useful, but treat it with caution in London…particularly if you are in there during the truck curfew hours. Tomtom is not aware of the timed restrictions and will happily route you down a route not authorised for trucks outside the permitted times. If you make a mistake, Tomtom seems to forget about your vehicle dimensions and may tell you to turn down a residential side street clearly unsuitable for trucks. By all means use it as a guide, but use your eyes and brain much more when in London. There are official truck authorised route maps online, so consult with one of those to stay on the permitted routes.
And don’t forget to enjoy the view as you sit in the traffic…
It ays to use street view if you have the address before hand.
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ORC:
Tomtom for trucks is generally pretty useful, but treat it with caution in London…particularly if you are in there during the truck curfew hours. Tomtom is not aware of the timed restrictions and will happily route you down a route not authorised for trucks outside the permitted times. If you make a mistake, Tomtom seems to forget about your vehicle dimensions and may tell you to turn down a residential side street clearly unsuitable for trucks. By all means use it as a guide, but use your eyes and brain much more when in London. There are official truck authorised route maps online, so consult with one of those to stay on the permitted routes.And don’t forget to enjoy the view as you sit in the traffic…
Yeah I’d feel a bit of a div if my reason for both my boss and myself being find was ‘But TomTom said so!’ lol
El Deano:
It ays to use street view if you have the address before hand.Sent from my SM-G903F using Tapatalk
Being a massive saddo and watching truck vlogs on Youtube for most of the year, that’s a tip I’ve come across a few times. Will definitely make use of it!
The advantage with London over the rest of the country is that the street view seems to get updated more frequently.
We deliver to mainly building sites in London and you will find most times they will appear on streetview.
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I’min London about 3 times a week, doing dray work in class 2. Down some roads you wouldn’t want to be taking trucks. City,canary wharf. Knights bridge,soho also peckham Dulwich areas. As said use both a sat nav and Google maps. As Google usually updates often enough to put up general road closures. Takes a while to learn basic routes but planning before you get in there is always advisable.
As for employers wanoting you to go in there, most understand that it’s a ball ache but if you got work there your going. Don’t know anybody that turns down work due to location.
On the plus side if you can drive round it confidently you can drive pretty much any city in the UK.
Aurri:
On the plus side if you can drive round it confidently you can drive pretty much any city in the UK.
…and beyond. Being an experienced truckie in London is an excellent thing to have on your CV, and can open doors overseas because a lot of people respect the special skills London experience brings with it.
To be fair I find Tom tom with live traffic to be gairly good in London most of the time although a bit of common sense is definitely needed. Always use Google maps streetview to have a look at where you need to deliver, especially on building sites with multiple gates as the one you want may not be on the road you’ve been given [emoji848]. Above all just keep calm and have eyes everywhere, also make sure you take a 45 before going in.
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If you get London with our lot its a night out every time. I normally deliver windows and doors into building sites. I’ve had some interesting drop points to say the least. London isn’t built for artics but you just have to get on with it. Just be a bully otherwise you won’t get anywhere.
I have done London all my driving life , 45 years so far .
Only up to 12t , but everywhere on the map .
A good London A to Z , and learn how to use it properly, a good recent truck map with bridge heights , a proper truck sat nav . All are very useful tools as well as a smart phone with google maps with street view .
Contact phone numbers and confirmed delivery address are essential. It’s amazing how many addresses are wrong .
As others have said parking in the center of London is virtually nil for anything bigger than a transit van .
Watch out for stupid posts or large knuckle mounds at junctions to protect pavements and pedestrians.
All the boroughs have different parking enforcers and some are very very keen , they will ticket you even if you are going too slow !
Bikes and scooters/ motorbikes everywhere and most rules don’t apply to them , or so they think .
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El Deano:
The advantage with London over the rest of the country is that the street view seems to get updated more frequently.We deliver to mainly building sites in London and you will find most times they will appear on streetview.
Sent from my SM-G903F using Tapatalk
Really? Didn’t know that! That’s handy then I just thought they updated it years later!
jordon1703:
If I need to, I bring my TomTom professional 520 along with me. It doesn’t have traffic but it does the job just fine. I find Google maps works fine as long as you check out the route prior to setting off to make sure it doesn’t send you down any awful roads
I’ll have a look into that one, sorry I thought I’d replied to this I just have got distracted with the baby lol
Aurri:
I’min London about 3 times a week, doing dray work in class 2. Down some roads you wouldn’t want to be taking trucks. City,canary wharf. Knights bridge,soho also peckham Dulwich areas. As said use both a sat nav and Google maps. As Google usually updates often enough to put up general road closures. Takes a while to learn basic routes but planning before you get in there is always advisable.As for employers wanoting you to go in there, most understand that it’s a ball ache but if you got work there your going. Don’t know anybody that turns down work due to location.
On the plus side if you can drive round it confidently you can drive pretty much any city in the UK.
Yeah I didn’t think they would turn down work, I just wondered if employers were a bit more reluctant the more difficult they make things with fines etc.
This is true on the confidence side, knowing my luck when I pass my test my first job will be somewhere in London!
wrighty1:
To be fair I find Tom tom with live traffic to be gairly good in London most of the time although a bit of common sense is definitely needed. Always use Google maps streetview to have a look at where you need to deliver, especially on building sites with multiple gates as the one you want may not be on the road you’ve been given [emoji848]. Above all just keep calm and have eyes everywhere, also make sure you take a 45 before going in.Sent from my SM-G930F using Tapatalk
Yeah, stop at a services or something before hand good shout!
When I’ve watched people on Youtube they have the live traffic and it seems to save them so much, I think I’ll treat myself to something decent on the ol’ credit card 