Class 2 Training (PASSED)

Just starting to settle down and get a good nights rest before i start at 8am tommorow morning with my Class 2 training. not sure if im taking test at Featherstone or Swynnerton yet, depends on where instructor could get a test booked in at i suppose.

Will update this thread as the week progresses and turn it into a diary kinda thing good news is , the place im working at atm said that when i pass i will get a few class 2 runs aswell as my usual 7.5t runs (hopefully get moved off vans at last lol, hate sprinter vans)

1 to 1 or 2 to 1 training
If 2 to 1, can you fit OK into the ‘rest’ seat as you stated that you are a large gent

PS - i’ll add this to my TRAINING BLOGS list once you have done the test

Good luck with the training Big Jon
I reckon you will fit ok in the spasre seat if on 2 to 1 as most trucks are built for guys not dwarves! LOL!

Day 1 (Monday)

Arrive at the instructor’s place about 10 minutes before i was told to be there, got my Hi-Viz and Boots sorted out, Boots on my feet and Hi-Viz in my bag , took along my sunglasses and a couple of bottles of water, aswell as the usual Driving Licence and Thory Pass Certificate.

8am arrives and my instructor is there bang on the time he said we would. WE go into the office and sort the paperwork, hand over the money etc. He showed me some of the examiners check sheets from some previous fails that he hadm so i knew what areas they would be checking me on when i get round to taking the test.

We then went and had a look at the Wagon, did the usual daily checks , during which he noticed that his fuel cap was loose, he took it off and it would appear that the local scum had drained his tanks, leaving him with 1/4 tank. taking into account he has long range tanks they probably took a lot of fuel if he was full. but i doubt he was. so we looked at the back of the truck. he showed me a few things and said ‘dont worry about those, thats for when we have a trailer’ its a wag & drag outfit im learning with.

Finally get to jump in the cab, but in the passenger seat, so he can show me the controls and show me how to drive it. we drive about 1/2 mile down the road to the layby on the Main Rugeley to Hednesford road. At which point we change seats. While im adjusting my seat so i can get as comfortable as i could, he jumped out and got a cup of tea/coffee. One thing i do need to get hold of is a seatbelt extender, as the older trucks dont have as much slack in the seatbelts as the 07 / 08 reg DAF and MAN wagons ive been driving recently.

So off i go, pulling off in 3rd , reaching behind me for the handbrake (which isnt there and is actually n the dash lol), and my instructor immediatly says ‘now i know where your handbrake is on your 7.5tonners youve been driving’ . We go along the A460 into Rugeley, Then down the A51 towards Stafford and then down the A513 into Stafford when we reached Wolseley Bridge. Down to Weeping Cross by the Police HQ, turning left towards Cannock on the A34. Followed that all the way into Cannock town centre. all this time with no difficulties other than getting used to the range changer. We headed up to the Ind. Estates and thats where i had my one and only problem during the drive. A VW Bug tried to undertake me on a roundabout, and as i was paying attention to what they were doing, i mounted the kerb on the roundabout (oops), but rather go up a kerb than flatten a car. We headed back to the yard after we had been out for about 1 hour 30 mins , as he had explained earlier that he had a funeral to go to thi afternoon, and he had lost my number so couldnt contact me. So he came in today and gave me 2 hours free

My Test is at Swynnerton on Monday at 10:30 . Im training 1 to 1 in the afternoon after he has done his morning trainee. So im starting at 11:30 Tues to Fri . BUT he is throwing in a few hours on Saturday aswell as the free hours i had this morning, as kindof a sorry for messing me about a bit (im not fussed, im getting more hours under my belt with my instructor before my test for free )

PS Anyone know what sort of seatbelt extender will fit an N reg Scania 93M ? can i get one of those ‘universal’ ones off ebay ?

sounds like you did ok and enjoyed yourself. your instructor sounds ok as well. is he quite chilled with you?

to be honest the actual driving of them isnt much different than a 7.5t, just the overall size. good luck with the rest of the course and keep us posted mate.

…seatbelt extender … can i get one of those ‘universal’ ones off ebay ?

YES

nice to hear a good positive report of a first day.
You sound well chilled and relaxed which is just how it should be.
Good luck for the rest of the week

Good Luck Big Jon, sounds like you had a good confident drive, free training’s not bad either!
Stu

Day 2

Got to the training centre at 11 am as he was doing a re-test this morning.
Did the usual daily checks, everything was fine. Grant my instructor turned the wagon round before i jumped in, so we could get going a bit more smoothly.

Drove from the old Cannock No5 Pit , down to the A460 , and headed towards Rugeley, then through to Stafford via the A51 turning off at Sandon up towards the old RAF base. Went tootling along down along the outskirts of Stafford , heading towards Eccleshall. We then turned off to Seighford at Great Bridge. We were headed for the old airfield there to start on the reversing and stopping exercises.
A couple of very tight and narrow roads on the way to the airfield, managed to get round them with no problems. When we got to the bit of the old runway we were going to use there were already 2 other Class 1 Trainee’s there, but luckily there were 3 reversing ‘bays’ setup so we didnt have to wait

Grant explained to me how the reverse should go, jumped out the cab and proceeded to watch me attempt my first reverse. At this point i had a brain ■■■■ and forgot which side of the cone i had to go and went around the wrong way, still managing to get it into the ‘bay’ . Grant came over and said ‘Well done, you failed that though. although the examiner would probably have given you a clap for doing that’

So the next 8 or so attempts i get spot on, not a problem at all, consistantly getting the back into that magic little yellow box. This is where i start getting a bit too confident and set the next reverse up a lot tighter to the yellow line, Start the reverse and flatten the cone . To say i got a bit of earache was an understatement lol. but that quickly brought me back down to earth and i was focused on what i was being taught to do and not seeing how close i can get the truck parked to the cones.

Now onto the Stopping exercise.
Stopped still at 1st set of cones, Grant says to me ‘Now when we move off thrash the balls off it till we hit 20 mph. you have to get to 20 before the next set of cones. then when you hit the cones you have to stop in less than the length of the vehicle’.
So first attempt, upto 20 , reach the cones, and literally stand on the brakes. managed to do it in 1/2 the length of the truck . 2nd attempt had the same outcome. so we moved off and headed back to cannock via rugeley .

Back in cannock , we did some hill starts and blind junctions etc. all go well.
Reach the yard when the day has finished, and Grant says ‘Your driving is good, Just need to bring all the bits together now and theres no reason why you wont be good enough to take your test on Monday teh way were going’.

I know which bits i need to focus on, Gears (getting to grips with the rangechanger), Not driving like im in a 7.5tonner.

Came home with a smile on my face. Cant complain , tired as ■■■■ now though. didnt realise how tiring it is being taught to drive a truck.

were off into stoke tommorow …

Good read Big Jon, smiled all the way through, well done!
Stu’:D’‘:D’

Day 3,4 & 5.

Pretty much same as Day 2, Had a problem with Range Changer on Day 4. Was rushing the change between 3rd and 5th and the Range Changer would be in Neutral still.

Test Day.

Test at 10.30. Start on the road at 8am . Head to the airfield to do some reversing and stopping before the test. Then into Stone town centre to practice the bad corner there. when were done in Stone its time to head back up to the Test Centre.

On the way back up there we met a few MOD Artics , and started making a few silly mistakes, most likely down to nerves. 10:10 and were parked up waiting, Got the shakes real bad now, had to go and sit down and have a cuppa. That seemed to help a lot. We both head back to the wagon, and my instructor explains how the Stopping and Reversing is set-up at the Test centre. At this point ive calmed down a lot, and i think its because i knew how to do the bits in the test centre now and it wasnt an unknown thing now.

The Test

10:30 on the dot. My examiner , Dave Povey , comes out of the little porta-kabin and asks me to jump straight into the truck, and then to produce my theory test certificate and my Drivers Licence. Both are ok , so we proceed to the manouvering area. First up is the Stopping Procedure. I line up for my run, into 3rd, Rev the balls of it and into 4th. now revving the nuts off the truck at 20mph . reach the cones , and stop with the cones just past halfway down the truck.
Now the reversing, its a tight corner into the reversing area, you have to drive through your ‘garage’ at a right angle to get onto the pad. So i get waved up to the start line. and told to proceed. I pop it into reverse and as soon as i start moving back VERY slowly, I pop Full lock onto the Steering, keeping an eye on the yellow line as i swing round. I see the cone appear in my mirror on my side and start to take full lock off and start turning into where the ‘garage’ is. Got to the same place as i got it on all my reversing at the airfield. line the mark up on the Rear mudguard at the same place as the airfield too. At this point I know im in the box. BUT i got out and looked anyway as i didnt want to blow the test before i had even left the centre. When i looked i was 1 inch away from the barrier

Now the Road test.
Out of Swynnerton test centre, down into Stone at walton roundabout. then down the A34 into Stafford. Round the Town Centre. then out up the Uttoxeter road past the Hospital. turning Left before the University. We proceed along Beaconside, until we reach The next Turn towards Stafford. We take the Left turn. and now i know why he took me this way. We had practiced this bit quite a few times in the previous week . there is quite a tight right turn at some lights. with only a few inches each side of the truck as we go round. Phew id done it and got through. (First attempt on my first day i clipped the kerb here). From here on it was pretty much plain sailing all the way back to the test centre. And thankfully we had nothing unexpected happen on the way back.
We park up back in the centre and i switch the engine off, After which point i knew i was no longer ‘On Test’
The Examiner turned to me and said ’ That was a nice piece of driving, I am pleased to say that you have Passed.’
I wish i had a camera at that point to take a pic of my face cos i could feel i had a huge smile on my face. Got my Score sheet at the end aswell as my Certificate and i got 6 Minors. 2 for Gears (one was when the range changer got stuck and wouldnt change) and 1 in some other sections.

So overall not a bad week driving, and to top it off im now a ‘Proper’ Trucker

My instructor isnt quite sure what he is going to do this week now, as he has had 8 in a row pass first time, he usually has a few days of re-tests in the week, but we have all passed first go this week lol

 :smiley:  :smiley: :D  :smiley:  :smiley:  :smiley:  :smiley:  :smiley:  :smiley:  :smiley: 

ROG:
PS - i’ll add this to my TRAINING BLOGS list once you have done the test

Now added

Is this next

Yes but not in an artic. Ive not quite figured out why hes got an Artic up there, as he doesnt own one lol. If you look at it , its actually a clipart image thats been edited.

Next is Class 1 in Wagon & Drag

BigJon:
Yes but not in an artic. Ive not quite figured out why hes got an Artic up there, as he doesnt own one lol

Next is Class 1 in Wagon & Drag

Bit of a poor show - showing an artic when the company does not have one - is that legal I wonder…

W&D - I’d seriously think again if you want to drive artics…

WELL DONE BIGJON! :D:D

I take it you did the “show me, tell me” questions before jumping into the truck?

no. we did a few tell me questions in the truck after my stopping excercise but that was it tbh. No Daily Checks etc - nothing . was quite surprised tbh

Well done bigjon,wouldn’t like to be doing a test again,good luck with your W@D test.
regards derek

Well done John
Simon

Rog,why has that DAF got a Scania badge on it,do you know something we dont

WELL DONE BigJon! Dirty great big smiles for the rest of the week!‘:D’‘:D’
Stu

well done
regards
Paul