Don’t forget in summer, people might not want heating oil but plenty will have builders and landscape gardeners in, and these will still have cherryade delivered to their yard or site for their machines.
Avoid firms that haven’t got their own tip or quarry, these are the firms that normally rush around at cutthroat rates and pay their drivers by the load or performance bonus which is ■■■■.
Otherwise it’s paid by the hour, no rushing, just plodding and lots of repetitive loads.
McGurke:
Avoid firms that haven’t got their own tip or quarry, these are the firms that normally rush around at cutthroat rates and pay their drivers by the load or performance bonus which is [zb].Otherwise it’s paid by the hour, no rushing, just plodding and lots of repetitive loads.
I’d be inclined to agree with you but there are some notorious tear arses with their own sites.
The trouble with the big firms is the repetitive nature. I couldn’t go back to the bulk muck shifts where it’s the same job back and forth all week, all on FORS worshipping sites.
Out of interest, are you associated with Keyway?
We had some ‘set route’ jobs, concrete works mostly, but generally there was plenty of variety in the work. One day you could be on a surfacing job in the Midlands area or heading for Sheffield with stone, and then the day after going to Enfield with foundry stone or South Wales with tarmac. Also sometimes sitting for hours on the A1 etc waiting to tip as the job wasn’t ready! 
Some drivers stayed on one run all the time, three lads did six loads of dust a day to a local concrete works and did that for 20+ years but it suited them as they knew what time they would be heading for home each day. Plenty of variety if you wanted it, I’m guessing that the tanker work you are on is mostly to regular clients?
Pete.
Muckaway:
I’d be inclined to agree with you but there are some notorious tear arses with their own sites.
The trouble with the big firms is the repetitive nature. I couldn’t go back to the bulk muck shifts where it’s the same job back and forth all week, all on FORS worshipping sites.
Out of interest, are you associated with Keyway?
There are a few exceptions to the rule I’ll give you that, usually because they’ve stretched their work area far beyond their means and the drivers are having to go some to make it pay.
I’m not associated with keyway.
You get your fair share of silly rules on tippers, even muck shifters. Some tips want you to fill in a “Waste Acceptance Form” for every job you do, citing address, producer type of muck etc. Fine for a bulk shift but total ■■■■■■■■ if you run grab wagons where you might visit multiple sites only once or twice. All this does is saves the tip owners reps from needing to search for sites, but look at the forms and nick your work.
Well it does, unless the address on the form is nothing more than a tipper driver simply clicking a random street on Google Maps and using the postcode. 
windrush:
We had some ‘set route’ jobs, concrete works mostly, but generally there was plenty of variety in the work. One day you could be on a surfacing job in the Midlands area or heading for Sheffield with stone, and then the day after going to Enfield with foundry stone or South Wales with tarmac. Also sometimes sitting for hours on the A1 etc waiting to tip as the job wasn’t ready!Pete.
Sorry for only getting back now Pete…but yea the tanker work is mainly regular customers, same filling stations, factories, quarries, houses etc, although we do get a few new places now and again…get new houses we haven’t been to often.
Also to add to it…I’m only 25 so wanted to try a few different types of driving jobs, suppose I have to try them out for myself to see If I enjoy them! Iv done a few years at the oil, so now I’d like to try something different! Plus a major factor of the oil tanker work I find it has left me extremely tired after 5 or 6 days work! Think it’s probably the pulling of the hose combined with the driving that mainly contributes to that, among other things, like the truck regularly giving problems. And by no means am I allergic to hard work lol
What I enjoyed when on for bigger firms (pre FORS ■■■■■■■■) was that you got to do quite high profile sites. I show my son things like Oxford Colleges, shopping centres and hangers at RAF Brize Norton and say “I worked on that.” My boy often points out “you drove your lorry inside M and S.” I’m not sure whether those listening in think I’m a prolific criminal, or a stereotypical agency employee. I hope the former, the latter I couldn’t cope with the shame. 
Muckaway:
What I enjoyed when on for bigger firms (pre FORS ■■■■■■■■) was that you got to do quite high profile sites. I show my son things like Oxford Colleges, shopping centres and hangers at RAF Brize Norton and say “I worked on that.” My boy often points out “you drove your lorry inside M and S.” I’m not sure whether those listening in think I’m a prolific criminal, or a stereotypical agency employee. I hope the former, the latter I couldn’t cope with the shame.
Agreed, you do get visit to some interesting places like airports etc. One local plant supplied the red tarmac for Buckingham Palace and Whitehall. A lass once asked me if I ever went to university (as if! 
) and I told her “Yes, Warwick, Derby, Nottingham, Sheffield” which impressed her no end. I neglected to tell her that we were actually resufacing the car parks etc! We also did a few prisons, I didn’t mention those either…
Pete.
I’ve done prisons Aylesbury, Bullingdon (home of Rolf Harris ), Springhill (open prison) and Oxford. Oxford was being converted to a hotel and when delivering around the back (ooh matron!) we used to have to wait outside the Jolly Farmers pub. A pub for ladies who wear comfortable shoes, shall we say.
The lesson for today is…
When your boss tells you he’s checked the job out and “you can drive in, it’s good ground, don’t reverse off the main road…” don’t take his word for it.
And you’re praying that the digger driver can read the words do, not, and push 
Nobby_Clarke:
And you’re praying that the digger driver can read the words do, not, and push
have seen it first hand when a digger driver pushed a less than a week old outfit in rural Canada that had it wrote 4ft high on tailgate no push. result was a lump hammer through the Cats windscreen a bit of a scuffle ending in a weeks ban. 
…no police involved nor H&S just men sorting out a problem. quarry foreman was sort it out ,don’t want to hear anymore about it…had to watch you didn’t get behind the truck in the line to load as Boris would go for break,toilet grease machine, kept him waiting as long as he could.
Nobby_Clarke:
And you’re praying that the digger driver can read the words do, not, and push
The boss pulled me out with our JCB as it was only a couple of miles from our yard. I tipped it off, got a shove on the “do not push block” (why do they fit them if nobody wants to be pushed?) and a short tow to the gate.
We’ve sold them a load of planings now for me to drive over.
The boss pulled me out with our JCB as it was only a couple of miles from our yard. I tipped it off, got a shove on the “do not push block” (why do they fit them if nobody wants to be pushed?) and a short tow to the gate.
The block’s ok. It’s what it’s there for. It’s when they push the tailboard
We’ve sold them a load of planings now for me to drive over.
So everyone’s a winner 
I would also recommend carrying a couple of matchsticks with you, as you will no doubt come across a digger driver who will say “I remember when we were working on…”
Or, a customer who gives you an in depth commentary of what’s going on at that site. On NO ACCOUNT leave your vehicle to view footings, oversights etc unless you want to know more about the site than the local buildings’ inspector.
Of course you could claim ADHD (many tipper drivers particularly from the Berkshire/Bucks area appear to have it) and jam said matchsticks into the boring chaps’ eyes.*
*I in no way condone such behaviour but if you come from Berks/Bucks area then you wont care as you tend to drive old heaps still in their previous owners’ livery.
Is that Thompson of Prudhoe Muckaway? 
They not far from me…
Goldfinger:
Is that Thompson of Prudhoe Muckaway?They not far from me…
No mate, Thompsons the body builders. Just built 4 tipper bodies for Mercedes as demonstrators.