Afternoon chaps/chapettes,
So after 10 years of running my own business and watching it lose money over the last 2, I’ve decided to hang it up and do something I’ve always dreamed of. Drive a lorry.
Licence has been sent off, medical is booked even thought i’d get my eyes tested just to be sure in the meantime. Found a local company to teach me and help me get qualified, everything is in place. Now its over to you to see if I’m doing the right thing or I’m completely mad?!
I’ve got a ton of questions regarding C and C+E jobs/earning potential etc, whether its worth looking at becoming a Ltd Co. immediately or to wait till I’ve got some experience, if the job is as enjoyable as I imagine it could be, if the earning potential is there and if there are true Mon-Fri jobs (as that’s what i’m looking forward to most, getting my weekends back.)
So thought i’d pop my head around the door, say hello, put the kettle on and if any of you have a spare five minutes for a chat, then take all the advice you’re willing to throw at me.
Well done for deciding to take the plunge, I hope it goes well for you.
No words of wisdom from me as I have no right or experience to throw anything back at you as I am in exactly your position, except I have been in business for 12 years and HGV driving has never been my dream job… that was a footballer 
)
I have loads of questions too.
I must admit I am pretty concerned about entering the industry and also I am concerned about the availability of half decent jobs on passing, as I think a lot of it is area dependent and some of the wages look pretty poor considering the huge responsibility and importance of driving.
I am also on a few facebook groups and can kind of understand the negativity surrounding the job. I used to be a Police Officer and remember when I joined it 1990 I spoke to a couple of Police Officers a few months before joining at one of those crime prevention roadshow things, both of them told me that the job was fcked and I would be stupid to join. I ignored them of course and still joined…only to realise that after 6 months the job was indeed fcked. I stuck it out for 15 years however, stupidly.
If you fancy a chat message me, I have nothing to offer right now but encouragement however.
The good thing about HGV driving is that you can do a large variety of work. If you want easy trunk work then thats available, European work is still going. Fridges, flats, boxes etc. If you want to be home every night then you can do that too. Drive for a firm like Brakes or Bidvest and you’ll not have to go to the gym either!
I’m 27, had my licence since 2014 when I was 23. I’ve done mostly done curtain work with the odd fridge and box thrown in. I started on national multi-drop Class C for DFDS and stuck that for a year and a half then went on to the artics doing mostly general on ferry trailers. I then moved to another firm that was more local where I was doing fertizler, pesticdes and other farm stuff. Left there and went back to ferry work with DSV. I left there because I wasn’t getting any distance work so I joined a Touring company, by the second week I was in Europe on 2 massive tours (I’d never driven abroad in a car let alone a truck!)
This job is no different to any other job when it comes to nonsense BS, its just truck drivers are more vocal about it. The best way to survive is to just smile and nod when they start talking nonsense, just keep yourself to yourself and focus on being the best driver you can be. It does get noticed. Don’t smash the kit up, don’t sass the office and don’t lie to the boss and you’ll be fine.