Day 4.
Time for today’s write up. Where do I start?
Plonker Rodney you, rearrange into a suitable sentence!!!
Ok it’s an early start again not my strongest point I will admit, I am just not a morning person OK!!!
Onto the grid and the engines are fired up, raring to go waiting for a green light (Test centre not the BTCC grid 
), get the thumbs up from Nick to start the reverse, fine and dandy no bother 1 minor mark as I touched the yellow line, even though I can do it without doing so. Never mind no one is perfect. Lines myself up in the right place, engine off and door shut (important bit that every time you get out of the truck engine off door shut) walk to the back, back end is across the line, perfect that’s a pass says Nick.
Could you please drop the trailer and parallel park next to it? says Nick. Drop trailer and do everything right and park next to trailer excellent!
OK could you please pick up the trailer like it is one you have never seen before? Says Nick.
Off I go and reverse up to the trailer as central as I can with an equal amount of trailer in view in both mirrors, with a safe distance between the unit and trailer, engine off and door shut again.
OK here we go, walks to the trailer and do the trailer checks, bang on the side rails a couple of times to make sure they are secure, bang the spray suppression arches and check the tyres and wheel nuts and check the height of the 5th Wheel all good so far! Round the other side to do the same. Get back in truck and reverse to engage the Kingpin into the 5th wheel, clunk, double tug forward to make sure. Get out of cab engine off door shut. Put the clip in for the 5th wheel release, raise the legs, connect the airlines and suzies and parking brake off!
Feeling smug thinking that was pretty decent to be greeted with “I am sorry to tell you that you have failed!” By this time you could have picked my jaw up off the floor literally, I was gobsmacked I am sure I did it all right, didn’t I?
What I forgot to do was check the park brake before I did my checks and before I reversed under the trailer, how could I make such a daft mistake? Every other time near enough I did a trailer drop I have checked it not once but twice, once before I start the trailer check and once after coming back round the other side. This time I did not and that would have been a fail. Some very wise words from Nick “Don’t beat yourself up about it, I would rather you make that stupid mistake now rather than Monday on your test, just don’t do it again” Sage counsel indeed and noted a simple lapse of concentration and that can be it.
So back out onto the road again for the last day again lots of the same pretty much, round test routes, down Sookholme lane (max 30 mph along here even though it is a 50mph speed limit, watch for cars behind you as they do overtake you in a desperate attempt to get past a slow moving truck. Come to the really tight bend, speed right down coming up to it, maybe 10mph as you reach the bend, hook the cab left onto the gravel drive on the corner to get a good look round the corner and give me the room I need to get round it, all good off we go. What a fun lane that is not!!
Revisit to the corner of doom at the traffic lights where I got the front wheel up the kerb, round it no problem although I did just graze the kerb with the rear tyres, not mounting the kerb but that is OK.
A couple of poor decisions along the way today, a little hesitation at one set of lights or too much speed approaching the light laters and had to stop a little quicker than is ideal.
We have a generally good day and have a stop off for a cob and cuppa half way round so the day slowly gets better, again Nick says to me just slow it down a bit at times, ease off a bit if the lights have been green for a long time as they will likely change, just be careful. Everything else again pretty much spot on according to Nick, absolutely no reason why I should not be able to pass on Monday.
So back to the centre and park the unit and trailer onto the hard standing next to the Red MAN, pulls it round and forward and backs it into place no bother, bit of right and left hand down as required and there she is, parked up. Next time I see her and drive her will be Monday test day, or as I prefer to call it D day lol
So yeah not the best of days, but time to reflect on what could have been had it been test day, what not to do and go through it all in my head as much as I can this weekend, apart form watching the BTCC on Sunday. I am going to do my damnedest to get it all so stuck into my brain I will be reciting everything word for word in my sleep Sunday night.
So now it is down to me, only I can make sure it is a pass equally I can ensure it is a fail if I do not concentrate and make sure I don’t rush things.
Nick has done all he can with me, there is little else he could do other than take the test for me lol
So tune in Monday for another exciting instalment of “MY C+E training diary” when I get round to updating it.
Thanks to all the viewers, thanks to all the well wishers, thanks to Nick and PSTT, Thanks to the decent driver all week letting me through and lastly thanks to the Big Jaffa, I am going to actually miss it once I have done in it on Monday.
its an interesting read. Thanks and good luck!
