Should I do it or not?!

NEW AND WANNABE DRIVERS (INTERACTIVE)
21

I’m well aware that I’m no longer a truck driver. But I’ve been in and around the industry for 40+ years and I still get a buzz out of it. When the spanner folks have been round the trucks, I’m first in line to do the road test - and the bigger the truck, the better.

Little comparison to taking crap from RDC’s and useless traffic clerks, but just saying there is still fun in the job if you can find it.

I have never said the job was easy, perfect etc nor have I supported the driver shortage theory. But the fact remains that drivers who interview well seem to get a start without too much hassle. If anyone fancies trucking, they should go for it. That really is the only way of finding out if it suits you.

Pete :laughing: :laughing:

22

I’m coming up for retirement, and been at the wheel of artics mostly since 1976.

Would i do it again, yes.
Your frame of mind is the thing, and before i invested any money in a lorry licence i’d get a long distance van driving job and try it like that for 12 months to see if i was suited to the job, that 12 months will not be wasted especially if like me you get to travel all around London with a van instead of a lorry so you can make mistakes much easier rectified, and you will have a good knowledge of London before having to do the lorry lark.

Be prepared to do jobs you don’t really like to skill yourself up, though that probably applies to lots of jobs out there, and wherever you work do your best to do the job right, because you will find lorry world (especially if you specialise) a smaller world than you might imagine, so if you earn the right reputation you may find in years to come doors open that would otherwise remain closed.

I wouldn’t advise anyone to make a career of sitting around bloody RDC hell holes for hours and days on end, and it wouldn’t matter how much money i was offered to do that crap i’d say no…(un)fortunately it usually pays crap anyway.
Working direct for one of the supermarkets pulling their own goods out of their own RDC’s is a different ball game entirely.

The industry is wide and there are many different avenues you could follow, i specialised and from that day never looked back, have made a long and generally very well paid living from it, and unlike most jobs as you get older and more experienced you become more desirable to employers.

On tanks now, own account (OA is the best type of work out there), treated with respect, excellent terms, left to do my own thing so long as the job gets done and the customer is happy, interesting, high quality well maintained equipment, nice customers and never go near a bloody RDC where petty officials breed at an alarming rate, allowed to take a pride in your work here and if you do that they can’t do enough for you.

Yes i enjoy my work, driving lorries was all i ever wanted to do as kid, so in a way suppose i did live my dream, i’d have lasted 5 minutes inside, office or warehouse.

My advise for what its worth is if you decide to do this, just be yourself, if you like the job take not a blind bit of notice of the unhappy people you work with, miserable buggers are everywhere you go (RDC holding cells are literally the rendevous from hell for miserable thrice divorced and another pending lorry licence holders), keep away from them just as anyone with an ounce of sense does in their social lives, luckily with lorry driving so long as you avoid RDC’s you can avoid the miserable sods, be happy and live long.

23

eagerbeaver:
It’s great for the first 12 months or so gents. Trust me though, the novelty of being Rubber Duck with a Yorkie in your top pocket soon wears off.

5 years in, I hate the job.

Sure this is dependant on the individual?..

24

I started with company where I am now 5 and a half years ago. I still enjoy it. We all have an off day but on the whole its pretty good.

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25

El Deano:
I started with company where I am now 5 and a half years ago. I still enjoy it. We all have an off day but on the whole its pretty good.

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I rest my case!! :smiley:

26

Jasesonix:

eagerbeaver:
It’s great for the first 12 months or so gents. Trust me though, the novelty of being Rubber Duck with a Yorkie in your top pocket soon wears off.

5 years in, I hate the job.

Sure this is dependant on the individual?..

It is indeed. In my case, I was a truckers son and grew up around truck drivers. I remember pulling over to help other drivers, drivers helping each other in the yard folding sheets, drivers burning rags under diesel tanks in winter with other drivers helping out etc, so I have seen what the job used to be like.

Although it’s only 5 years ago since I started, I passed my class 1 in a manual DAF CF 4 over 4 deliberately as I saw auto’s as ’ cheating '. I also was looking forward to being in a job where a bit of professionalism was involved and more than a fair share of camraderie.

It didn’t take long to realise that a large percentage of (and I use the term loosely) truck drivers are a bunch of filthy, lazy, selfish, arrogant and generally uneducated tools. The job has become completely dumbed down and you only have to look through the PDF to realise that the job is only getting worse. For anyone who is excited to become a lorryist, crack on and I am pleased for anyone who has achieved an aim, but the whole point (and benefit) of a forum is to spread truth. You will soon learn that in this game you are on your own and even fellow drivers will grass you up at ANY opportunity not to mention the car drivers who constantly phone your firm and cause you grief.

I am as truthful as they come and I am suggesting that potential new drivers consider their options before jumping in. £3000 is a lot of money to outlay and as far as I am concerned, if I was in my twenties or thirties I would do something else entirely. If you are happy to simply take the £28k and not expect too much it’s fine. But if you are looking for something better I would encourage folk to get a trade.

27

i’ve been hgv’ing for almost 40 years now,and i still love it! :astonished: yes there are bad days,same as any job…but far more good days than not! i’m on sick leave at the mo…but hoping to get back soon and get the last 3 years to retirement.i try to avoid the doom and gloomers…and there’s plenty of them in this job.yes i know it’s not the job it was in the '80’s…but still some good firms out there :slight_smile:

28

eagerbeaver:
I am as truthful as they come and I am suggesting that potential new drivers consider their options before jumping in. £3000 is a lot of money to outlay and as far as I am concerned, if I was in my twenties or thirties I would do something else entirely. If you are happy to simply take the £28k and not expect too much it’s fine. But if you are looking for something better I would encourage folk to get a trade.

As am I. No matter what anyone says - and I’m still up for meeting up with anyone on the forum.

I’m younger than you in my late 20’s.

I got my class 1. And since have earnt over £20/hour for some shifts on some jobs. Not the £10/hour you sell it as. I’ve been doing it well under a year.

Do I want to drive trucks forever? Nope. But I think it’s about the cheapest/best insurance policy a young person can have in their life. Once you can reverse a bendy truck you will find work.

Invest around £2k and you can earn a grand a week fairly easily. I’m not special - more special needs if anything. But (and I can say the names now I’m out) Eurocarparts were willing to pay £22/hour with no assessment, and Sainsbury’s were willing to pay £21/hour for me to practice on their vehicles - including paying me straight through when I fell asleep and had a ‘night out’. Other companies were about 13/14 an hour. That was for limited.

I only quote these figures to show young lads/girls how quickly they can make their money back. Frankly I don’t care what people do. But with the right attitude/drive work is out there. It might be crap - but as an investment, a class 1 licence beats any ISA including stocks and shares options.

Can/should the industry improve? Totally. But does that mean we should put young folks off from training - nope in my opinion. I know you have more than a few brain cells kicking about. But ultimately if you can stick an artic on a bay you are good to go in this game. If you can do the blindside rubbish that comes with supermarkets you are basically employable no matter what else.

29

sammym:

eagerbeaver:
I am as truthful as they come and I am suggesting that potential new drivers consider their options before jumping in. £3000 is a lot of money to outlay and as far as I am concerned, if I was in my twenties or thirties I would do something else entirely. If you are happy to simply take the £28k and not expect too much it’s fine. But if you are looking for something better I would encourage folk to get a trade.

As am I. No matter what anyone says - and I’m still up for meeting up with anyone on the forum.

I’m younger than you in my late 20’s.

I got my class 1. And since have earnt over £20/hour for some shifts on some jobs. Not the £10/hour you sell it as. I’ve been doing it well under a year.

Do I want to drive trucks forever? Nope. But I think it’s about the cheapest/best insurance policy a young person can have in their life. Once you can reverse a bendy truck you will find work.

Invest around £2k and you can earn a grand a week fairly easily. I’m not special - more special needs if anything. But (and I can say the names now I’m out) Eurocarparts were willing to pay £22/hour with no assessment, and Sainsbury’s were willing to pay £21/hour for me to practice on their vehicles - including paying me straight through when I fell asleep and had a ‘night out’. Other companies were about 13/14 an hour. That was for limited.

I only quote these figures to show young lads/girls how quickly they can make their money back. Frankly I don’t care what people do. But with the right attitude/drive work is out there. It might be crap - but as an investment, a class 1 licence beats any ISA including stocks and shares options.

Can/should the industry improve? Totally. But does that mean we should put young folks off from training - nope in my opinion. I know you have more than a few brain cells kicking about. But ultimately if you can stick an artic on a bay you are good to go in this game. If you can do the blindside rubbish that comes with supermarkets you are basically employable no matter what else.

I’m in agreement with sammym. You look at around half the courses at unis that cost 27k and lead to very average jobs. Shelling out 3k for a license for which you should earn late 20s at least as a newbie seems a good deal. As Pete has said, if you interview well, you should have no trouble getting that first job and with a year under your belt, the job market opens up.

If you aren’t sure how you interview get some brave soul to give you honest feedback. From an employers perspective, they are letting an unknown out onto the road in their expensive truck to interact with their customers, so you need to look clean, smart, trustworthy and pleasant. Driving is only half of it, if you are going to wind others drivers up, alienate customers and produce a rash of calls from road users, I don’t want you despite your ability to do a blindside reverse in the dark in one go.

I’d say most, maybe all my drivers, do the job because they like it. I’ve taken new drivers on and we only take by recommendation and they’ve all stayed for years. Earnings wise it ranges between 45-54k, which is part Euro, part UK and around half of that is back in your own bed at night. I know we aren’t necessarily representative of the industry, but neither am I unique, you just have to kiss a few frogs first.