C+E Training Not Needed Anymore

Well ladies and gentlemen…

I have just finished my first day (3 hours really but it feels like a full day, I’m drained now) training to become a C+E Driver.

I’m learning in a DAF CF85, its not the most modern of wagons but for what it is used for I found it to be quite good, sometimes you struggle to get it into 5th but adding things like this make it more realistic for when you do get on the road (I think!) gearbox is a four over four splitter. (Is this right? I hope so or I’ll look a plumb :blush: )

What a hard morning it has been. I knew it would not be too dissimilar to driving a rigid but what a difference that bendy bit and those couple of feet make. It is a whole new world. The gears were fine, with the exception of 5th doing impressions of lord lucan and trying to select seventh going up hill after being in fourth, the wagon didn’t like that much and neither did Stu the instructor but at least he laughed about it.

Anyway we haven’t gone over the trailer checks yet, we will do that tomorrow to let the traffic calm a bit plus Stu said that they had been done this morning as it had just come out of the workshop 30 mins ago. I got in and sorted my seat out for the journey ahead. He got in the passenger seat and said “right then off we go!” this is where the nerves kicked in and I went all sweaty. I pulled slowly forward as we were in quite a tight parking space and he talked me through it so we got out of there ok and off we went, round through Fareham and up to Eastleigh. It was quite an uneventful drive then we went to Eastleigh for a brew and a smoke. As we were parking up and trying to Parallel Park with the kerb I had trouble finding reverse, found it, got sorted and got a cup of tea.

After the break it went to rat poop and was a nightmare, it was as if I had my “driving head” removed and my “■■■■ everything up head” put back on.

Pulling out of the industrial estate there was numerous cars parked on the road opposite a mini roundabout, they shouldn’t have been there is my defence ma’ lord, but as I turned right Stu :angry: gently :angry: reminded me to watch the trailer swing behind the cab and as I looked there was a shiny new focus that looked like it just wanted to have a trailer smacked in to it. Luckily I missed it, I don’t know what Stu was worried about you could have got a ■■■ paper between the trailer and the focus! :laughing: :laughing:

Not to worry back to the job in hand. I was pootling along the road and wanted to go into 8th on a 40mph limit, having a bit of a blonde moment (no offence to blondes intended here) but somehow I had f l i c k e d (that is not a swear word) the switch back to the lower gear range and selected 8th, in Lee’s ■■■■ everything up world it was 8th anyway, 4th gear at 35 isn’t very good driving and promptly nearly stood a 40 footer on its nose.

After that it was all quite sweet until we got back to yard and Stu said we’ll do a braking exercise, without going from 7th to 4th. No problem thought I. did the run up, into 5th, 20mph cones approaching hit the brake and the truck stops quite sharpish, sat feeling quite smug about it Stu reminds me you have the whole truck length to stop in. Look in the mirror and the cones are no where to be seen, lean out the window and there they are, sat giving the rear wheels of the cab a nice kiss and cuddle, I wonder how many more I will kill this week. I do it one more time and get it right this time.

Feeling quite chuffed with myself for being out on the road and leaving all buildings tree’s and signposts standing until Stu says “right then, put it back where you got it!” Males round hairy things think I! :open_mouth: How the ■■■■■ do I do that. He talks me through it as I am doing it, with him sometimes standing on the step and hanging on the mirror to guide me, I think he was on the step because it was safer than standing at the side of me and after ten minutes he says “jump out and I will show you how to do it.” Bearing in mind I have been trying to do it with about 5 shunts and 10 minutes of valuable time eating into the next students lesson and he just pulls it forward, sticks it in reverse and about 5 seconds later its parked. No one likes a smart arse you know!

What a thoroughly enjoyable 3 hours (where did they go, I’m sure I was only driving for about 2 minutes).

I have to admit it has been very enjoyable and I am so glad I took the leap and started it. Let’s just hope tomorrow goes better than the second half of today.

I’ll keep you posted but I’m off for a nap now. Sweet dreams!