First off I’m new here so thanks for having me. So basically I’ve been driving service buses for the past couple of years and I reckon I have shortened my life by about 15. I’m thinking of very soon maybe taking the plunge into HGV training. I was wondering a few things however.
Is HGV driving generally Mon-Fri (Or is that in super high demand)?
Do you get room to still have a social life?
Will there be periods of no work / no income?
Also has anyone done the switch from buses to HGV. Did you find it less stressful? A lot of questions but I’m just unsure.
Thanks
HGV Class 1 is easier than bus driving as the potatoes don’t talk back.
If you want sensible hours look out for a simple depot to depot trunking job where you do the same route each day, although this will often be nights. Some jobs are 4 on 4 off, which some people like. More often it will be a 5 day week, although some employers offer a 4 day week. Unless you like maximum hours, avoid jobs where you are expected to work 6 days every other week. There won’t be periods of no work if you avoid agencies and are employed directly by the end client.
Try indeed.co.uk for an idea of jobs in your area.
Mon to Friday - most jobs I’ve done run on those hours but depends really what you’re doing. Tramping jobs (living in truck) for example might have you going out Monday morning then coming back either Friday night or Sat morning but does change from job to job.
Social life - didn’t have one before so don’t have one now, but people seem to have them as long as you’re not running every hour you’re sent. If you’ve got enough money and get your weekends off then I guess you can have one, although you might find drivers tend to be the ones who prefer their own company.
No work - if you’re on agency then that happens especially early in the year. When I had to switch to agency, I was sometimes doing 2 - 3 days a week or occasionally even 1 which really messes with your finances. If you’re working direct for a company then usually you won’t get that.
Thing you’ve got to remember is you can at least in theory do 15 hours x 3 days and 13 hours x 2 and some places you’ll end up doing that. Plus of course getting to / from work, eating, sleeping etc. Other jobs you’ll run 10 hours and that’ll be pretty much it every day. Also depending what you’re doing the start times can be a bit iffy such as 4am although I’ve found most pallet companies tend to start around 6 to 7 (still unearthly).
If you want more regular times I would say pallet companies on class 2 is usually fairly sensible timing although you’ll feel it in every muscle for a while, but it’s good exercise and interesting finding places especially houses.
One thing, the money you see advertised sometimes it total codswallop such as £40K / year or £15 / hour. Very select jobs might be on that but really it’s more like £8.50 - £9 for class 2 and £9 - £11 for most class 1 jobs especially when you’re starting. Assume it’ll be the lower end and around 10 hours a day is a good workout clearing maybe £350 a week for class 2 and closer to £400 on class 1.
Is it better than bus driving? I couldn’t do that job so in my opinion yes. You can still talk to the load if you want although you get strange looks, but if the load starts talking back then it’s either a load of Furby toys or you need to lay off the Lemsip!
Thanks for the replies, definitely food for thought, especially after today…“Why arent we moving driver? The other driver only took 20 minutes yesterday”
danfitz123:
Thanks for the replies, definitely food for thought, especially after today…“Why arent we moving driver? The other driver only took 20 minutes yesterday”
And another thing…
The load behaves itself and does not complain or give you abuse!
I’m the oddball who thoroughly enjoyed service buses, coach driving (UK and Europe) and truck driving (UK and Eastern Europe). IMO there is no perfect job. Every driving job has it’s good and it’s not so good. It’s just a matter of finding the job with a lot more good than otherwise. And therein lies happiness!
I never, ever suggest that any driving job is perfection. But I regularly remind myself of what the teacher said at school. “Smythe, you’ll never earn a living looking out of the window”. How wrong he was!!
If you want mon to fri on rigids and reasonable hours (but will be early starts) then one of the food distributors is probably the best bet, but may well involve pallets or cages or even sack barrowing into shops, these jobs can be quite well paid as as so many drivers are averse to doing anything other than sitting on their arse attending a steering wheel.
Tippers/skips/rolonoffs on quarry/landfill work would be decent hours where it might be early starts but generally a tea time finish.
On artic work then mon to fri will probably be general haulage, which may or may not involve nights out, pay not so good unless you do lots of hours.
Pallet work is among the worse paid out there.
The best jobs on lorries you don’t usually find for several years and some never get there, so be prepared for your social life to go on the back burner for some time.
alternatively…
you could go the agency route.
have the freedom to pick and choose all the agency companies that will be clamouring over themselves for your services plus all the companies you work for will offer you permemant jobs on the spot once they realise what an asset you are to their workforce.
whatever one you deem suitable for your skills then you will be able to command around £25 per hour wages giving you £250 --£300 per shift which allows you to only work when it suits you leaving you ample time to study for another choice of career.
before long you can have several phd qualifications,become qualified as a pilot,professor,submarine commander,you name it and the world will be laid at your feet.
before you consider contacting nasa to train as an astronaut ( we havent had one of them on here yet) then remember you might need to travel and it will include some unplanned nights out.
go the agency route my good man,and before long you will be able to keep working on trucks as a pastime between your regular job and the world will be your lobster.
dieseldog999:
alternatively…
you could go the agency route.
have the freedom to pick and choose all the agency companies that will be clamouring over themselves for your services plus all the companies you work for will offer you permemant jobs on the spot once they realise what an asset you are to their workforce.
whatever one you deem suitable for your skills then you will be able to command around £25 per hour wages giving you £250 --£300 per shift which allows you to only work when it suits you leaving you ample time to study for another choice of career.
before long you can have several phd qualifications,become qualified as a pilot,professor,submarine commander,you name it and the world will be laid at your feet.
before you consider contacting nasa to train as an astronaut ( we havent had one of them on here yet) then remember you might need to travel and it will include some unplanned nights out.
go the agency route my good man,and before long you will be able to keep working on trucks as a pastime between your regular job and the world will be your lobster.
That sounds like a great plan
In fact, one of my other identit…sorry, one of my MATES has done just that. Imagine!
DanFitz, if you’re a commutable distance to Coventry I know a very nice job not yet advertised where a pcv licence is required
You never, ever have passengers. Road tests, fueling, working in the yard and delivering brand new coaches is all you would do. I’ve been there four years
I was a bus driver for 12 years, passed my class 2 6 months ago and wouldn’t look back! Wages are slightly less than what I was getting on the buses but there’s no stress plus I’m home every night!
toonsy:
I went from HGV to buses (well coaches) back to HGV. I wouldn’t say I hated it on the coaches but I do much prefer HGV driving, far less hassle.
toonsy, do you think it was better on the coaches because your passengers actually wanted to be there? Coaches…holidays…tours…days out…etc.
And did you do any bus driving, routes and stuff, day in day out? How was that?
Hi guys I’m in a similar position to the op have been driving coaches and buses for 17 years I did take my class 1 and 2 back in 2006 and used it for about a week with a firm down in Cornwall they promised me that when I started I would be kept local for a couple of weeks and trained up on how to do the job loading etc unfortunately in reality my first day was very different and was told to take a load up the line and in the words of the office “sink or swim boy” suffice to say it ■■■■■■ me off !!
I enjoyed driving the truck but not sleeping in it and knew nothing about securing loads etc had to get help from the site I was delivering to which was embarrassing to say the least. After that I did a couple more jobs for them before chucking it in as unfortunately the experience I gained from them wasn’t what I was hoping for and went back to bus driving !
Yes it can be boring driving the same routes day in day out I don’t find the passengers a problem personally but car drivers are another story. All that said I want to give class 1 another try but unfortunately for me where I live all truck firms pay less than what I’m earning already so there’s no real incentive for me to take the risk with a Haulage company I know little about.
If anyone knows off any decent Haulage companies in Cornwall that pay more than £11 per hour, offer holiday pay, sick pay etc then I’d be very interested to hear more.
i can confirm driving class 1 is much better then stupid bus driving, you wont get spat at you generally have more than enough time to reach your delivery point its not as stressful but its anti social as im driving for an agency i only see 2 people every day, the security guard, forklift driver your on your own most the time.
good points since you drive a bus you will naturally drive smooth and brake smooth which will help keep the loads intact, also driving forward is a piece of plss just that bulk end when turning take a bit of getting used too, and reversing is a pain in the arsse anyway if you need any help ask me as i was once a b driver
