i went out today for my assesment in an artic!!! what a buzz drove it fairly well booked up lessons i was told noting till the end of june . but there you go i had to accept it.
then like a god was looking down on me my instructor phones up an hour later " good news " he says, can start you on 24th may with test on 29th at 8.45am
so if everyone could hone their physic energy for saturday 29th may and will me to pass i would appreciate big time and owe you all a big beer!!!
gonna wite on here a daily diary while i train that week if thats ok with you guys and you never know may help other people in the process which would be nice
anyway guys i am off to have a cup of coffee to try and calm down from the excitement of havin my first drive in an artic!!!
Nice one Margate…
That really was a stroke of luck wasnt it I know theres nothing worse than having to wait for the time to come round. Its always bad news wishing your life away, but that what you end up doing… believe me, I did enough of it…
best wishes margate, and good Luck when you take your Class 1 buddy…
sorry to hear that john o i was like that today when instructor first said end of june so i know how you feel mate but lucky for me a cancellation came up and i got priorty cause i had done class 2 with them let us know how you get on mate
Wag and drag mate is a rigid with a free standing trailer as oppose to a tractor unit with a fith wheel coupling to conect to a longer trailer with legs. This will be described better than I am doing right now!
Basically wagon ( as you expect to see a class2) drag (aditional trailer)
I hope that helps
Anyway good luck both of you, please keep a diary it helps others that are looking to train and it keeps everybody else’s feet on the floor.
john o,
Whilst you still have time to re-arrange things, I would seriously consider changing to a school where you can train and pass your test on an articulated outfit.This is likely to be of far more benefit to you out there in the real world of class one trucking!
I would estimate that out of every 100 large goods vehicle with trailer outfits on British roads, 95 are articulated and only 5 are drawbar (wagon & drag ) types.
Of course, the training school you have booked with won’t mention this, as it’s just their job to get you through the test on test day.They can use the same motor for class C or class C&E tests just by coupling up the drawbar trailer on the days when a class C&E learner is booked. -saves 'em the operating costs of an extra artic unit and articulated trailer.
I would also say that taking lessons and the test pulling a BOX type trailer (rather than a flat) would be far more realistic nowadays.
It’s your call of course, - but think about it , you will have taken and passed your test on a vehicle similar to one you will be driving for a living for the forseeable future, rather than one (probably) only leading up to, and on, test day .
What do other new(ish) drivers think ?- Did you pass C&E in a drawbar outfit and have a culture shock when you got your first job in an artic?
Totally agree with what you’ve said the graham, i passed in a unit and box, and to be perfectly honest that’s all i’ve driven up til now. I’ve been offered wag and drag work but i won’t take it, (no disrespect to any wag and drag drivers).
I think that learning in a flatbed trailer should be stopped aswell, like you say unrealistic.
Another thing that should also be bought in, having a load on the back. I can remember going out for the first time fully loaded up, i was white knuckling it totally all the way.
I know our test is the hardest to pass in the europe, but i really do think it needs an update and shuffle about to really apply to most aspects of the job and not just driving.
Yhat was my point in a post about the ex army school at Leconfield. The trucks are about 12 or 13 ton gross with a short centre axled flat trailer which resembles a big pallet. These are not at all like a 44t Articulated truck with a 13.6 metre box.
For anyone who has only ever driven a rigid, the training these companies give is great, but they should also use an artic with a semi trailer, if only to teach coupling and uncoupling and reversing!
I agree with every thing you guys say about artic training as opposed to wag and drag.
I am quite fortunate in having a choise of several jobs that offer a good into training and driver assesment before being dropped in the deep end,I plan to do day or so bigrig artic expereance training.
This covers revesing,uncoupling,driving ect.
I am no stranger to the deep end,having spent most of my life there
my instructor phones up an hour later " good news " he says, can start you on 24th may with test on 29th at 8.45am 
