Juddian:
Albion old chap, i’ve only recently started looking forward to retiring, never did before…keep it quiet but if i was issued a proper lorry (like they used to be) i’d be happy to carry on indefinately, but each new model with all the electronic dumbing down crap adds another nail to that enthusiasm coffin, and i have to say this…the people you have to work with these days…
Anyway some interesting points raised there, especially about throwing cars on.
I’d had my first +11 about 6 months and i’m still trying to getme head around it (and wishing desperately for me 10 car mk4 Lohr cake stand motor back), anyway i’ve pulled into B’ham airport rental car site, there’s room for three transporters there, so i’m faffing about trying to get my transfer load in some sort of order.
Another +11 transporter pulls in beside me, he’s rushing around like like billy whizz, he’s got an 11 car sale load and as they come out, people carriers estates and cars of all sizes he’s just chucking 'em on as fast as the lads can bring them out, i’m gobsmacked and starting to think i’m never going to get the hang of this cos i wouldn’t be able to get the height down where he’s put them, let alone have the confidence to just chuck 'em on as the come, actually i’m jealous to be honest and hoping to learn something.
Anyway 20 minutes later he’s strapped(ish) down and lowering his decks and i’m about half way through feeling most inadequate.
20 minutes later i’m strapping up meself and matey next door is dropping the whole load back off in order to reload them properly cos he can’t get below about 16’8".
I did have a wry smile to meself…and i did learn something… do the job at your own speed and how you want to do it.
I didn’t mean literally throwing them on. I ment throwing them on any old deck and not getting your height down as you are sitting at 17ft
Yeah i know what you meant Moocher , its a transport term isn’t it throwing them on, when in fact most doing it take a lot of care.
The bloke i described was literally doing as you say, just bunging them in any old how on any old deck as they came out of the compound, estates and MPV’s where you just wouldn’t put them, i think he put a Zafira on deck 11 when there was already big stuff on 2 and 3 and a bloody estate or summat on 10 just to help things along , as i say i was envious at first that i obviously knew so little and should have been more gung ho like him…er no…he was a shining example of how not to do the job…
I did get up to speed but it took me a long time before i felt really at home with one, you did bloody well getting chucked straight in the deep end with one at first, not sure i could have coped with that…
I find it so stressful.
I ain’t at home with it or up speed drives me crazy.
It’s getting to point I don’t know if it’s worth that extra bit money mate.
It is a very satisfying job when you do 11 car load with few drops and load and get it right thou.
But that’s what I was saying if you have decent paying job I would seriously consider not taking it on.
People say it gets easy after at least a year.
You’ve done the hard part Moocher, stick with it mate, just coming into the right time of year too, nicely dressed totty floating about reception and round the rental desks etc etc…so they tell me…
Wherever you work there should be some diagrams of various loads on the vehicle, i’m fairly sure they came with each new body but if you inherited yours have probably vanished, they’re very handy to refer to, i did similar when i trained blokes on older bodies, ropey bloody drawings they were (i’m no artist ) but helped the lads during their first few months on their own…won’t be as much help with your body cos there’s thousands of potential combinations…which you don’t need telling…
I’ve been out a good 6 years now, but can still remember most of it although i won’t be up to date on the latest cars, feel free to pm me if i can help in any way mate, i’m no bloody good on EHR or eurolohrs but did a good few years on the +11.
Seriously i meant what i said above, i take me hat off to any bugger who can start from scratch on a +11 or similar body, i thought Stobby were quite clever really having those peakless 2 deck artics made, makes a lot of sense to let new lads have a chance to get their heads round the job with something simpler to start with, then when they find their feet train em up on the bigger stuff.
And the reason i say stick with it, is cos the money can only get better as the shortage, and there is a real shortage of good transporter drivers, bites deeper.
There is a massive shortage.
Only going get a lot worse over next few years as you don’t see many younger guys doing it.
Also not many EE working in the UK companies like most other types of haulage.
Hopefully it will get bit easier as time goes on mate.
It’s true what your saying the job is a lot harder than it looks with the 1000s different combo’s on 11+.
Most people would be able to load a truck up after a bit week or two but it’s getting it right that’s the problem and not causing loads damage in the process that’s hard bit.
When your ■■■■■■■ bout in wind rain or cold it winds you up even more.
When you get it wrong it’s not easy to fix on a busy A road in ■■■■■■■ rain tipping then re loading cars. Stressful.
It’s more than likely that the firm is Copart, there’s only them and Gefco in Sandtoft. The vehicles are terrible, and tend to be Ivecos, with the odd DAF CF thrown-in. They’re aging, dirty and rusty, and the drivers know it. I have never seen a Copart with a normal car-transporter set-up, like ECM have with the drawbar-like configuration (prime mover and trailer), they are either Class 2s, or they just tow another car on the back, which I presume constitutes the Class 1 side of things.
The good part is that the cars they carry are usually write-offs, so no need to worry about scratching them and losing your bonus!
If you were to apply, apply to Copart directly, leave the Igloo Automotive agency middlemen out of it!
I think its more likely Igloo for Gefco, they’re been using Igloo staff out of Corby and elsewhere, and one poster above mentioned the same ad for Sheerness, another Gefco site, so on the balance of probabilities…
Couple of my mates were Iglooing for Gefco a few years ago, very good rate they were on too, much better than above but they were experienced blokes so maybe got a better deal at the time, the rate was cut and they baled out.
Still say its aint a bad route in to the game (so long as there’s no training payback sting lurking in the small print), if for no other reason that being hourly paid allows the new driver time to get their heads round it, without worrying about bonus or car delivery payments which many pay schemes depend on to make them up.
Once up to speed in your own time, find a proper company and use the agency just as they use us as and when it suits them.
To put things in perspective of how things have changed you had a real game on your hands to break into transporters in the past, i was the first driver to ever get paid for training when i started at a right scabby bloody place all those years ago (still going but another name) and that wasn’t much pay either but better than bugger all, the drivers rep (no official union then) was a sell out who eventually went in the office as poacher turned gamekeeper, was no help and i negotiated my own deal for that as well as several other deals over time which benefitted all the drivers not just the rep and his cronies, or the ill chosen stewards and their posse of accolytes…but guess who took credit for the changes… …not as i wanted credit or a rep/stewards job…it was first of many discoveries of just how important your choice of shop steward is, or rather how important it is NOT to elect the greedy or self serving.
A lot of the wages in this sector are not good for the work involved.
ECM seem to pay the best wages by some margin, though minimum holidays, and every minute of each day must be accounted for.
BCA, 25 days holiday (not including bank holidays) but your earnings are governed greatly by the work that you are given, some days a 15 hr shift will pay less than minimum wage.
Carlson for example reserve five of your twenty days holiday, three for Christmas, and believe it or not, two days for your lorry’s MOT.
Juddian:
I think its more likely Igloo for Gefco, they’re been using Igloo staff out of Corby and elsewhere, and one poster above mentioned the same ad for Sheerness, another Gefco site, so on the balance of probabilities…
Couple of my mates were Iglooing for Gefco a few years ago, very good rate they were on too, much better than above but they were experienced blokes so maybe got a better deal at the time, the rate was cut and they baled out.
Still say its aint a bad route in to the game (so long as there’s no training payback sting lurking in the small print), if for no other reason that being hourly paid allows the new driver time to get their heads round it, without worrying about bonus or car delivery payments which many pay schemes depend on to make them up.
Once up to speed in your own time, find a proper company and use the agency just as they use us as and when it suits them.
To put things in perspective of how things have changed you had a real game on your hands to break into transporters in the past, i was the first driver to ever get paid for training when i started at a right scabby bloody place all those years ago (still going but another name) and that wasn’t much pay either but better than bugger all, the drivers rep (no official union then) was a sell out who eventually went in the office as poacher turned gamekeeper, was no help and i negotiated my own deal for that as well as several other deals over time which benefitted all the drivers not just the rep and his cronies, or the ill chosen stewards and their posse of accolytes…but guess who took credit for the changes… …not as i wanted credit or a rep/stewards job…it was first of many discoveries of just how important your choice of shop steward is, or rather how important it is NOT to elect the greedy or self serving.
Yeah it’s igloo that’s advertising in the Gefco sites.
Judehamish:
A lot of the wages in this sector are not good for the work involved.
ECM seem to pay the best wages by some margin, though minimum holidays, and every minute of each day must be accounted for.
BCA, 25 days holiday (not including bank holidays) but your earnings are governed greatly by the work that you are given, some days a 15 hr shift will pay less than minimum wage.
Carlson for example reserve five of your twenty days holiday, three for Christmas, and believe it or not, two days for your lorry’s MOT.
Think your wages are in the hands of the planners no matter where or who you work for.
Judehamish:
A lot of the wages in this sector are not good for the work involved.
ECM seem to pay the best wages by some margin, though minimum holidays, and every minute of each day must be accounted for.
BCA, 25 days holiday (not including bank holidays) but your earnings are governed greatly by the work that you are given, some days a 15 hr shift will pay less than minimum wage.
Carlson for example reserve five of your twenty days holiday, three for Christmas, and believe it or not, two days for your lorry’s MOT.
Think your wages are in the hands of the planners no matter where or who you work for.
Never a truer word spoken, if salaried they have control over the hours you work instead.
Judehamish… whats gone wrong at BCA, i thought Avril and the Apostles would have instigated a quick rise to tempt the leavers back, and keep the current crew happy, has that not happened.
Walon was usually better than ECM, though it was miles better when it was individual depots running their own vehicles in the majority, it went pear shaped when they opened Northampton and centralised it, look where that got them.
Juddian I don’t think there’s much between the companies now - The BCM lads seem happy with their lot as do the ECM lads. They do different types of work; the BCA lads are chasing the work and the ECM lads are still on one load a day. Both companies have high and low earners.
Its the smaller companies that seem to be doing really well at the moment and also paying the better wages. They struggle for experienced drivers and as such they are taking on new drivers with the obvious damage that happens until they get their heads around the job. The lads with the experience are sorting out their own terms and conditions - long may it last!
m4rky, yes i know there’s some very good jobs in the midlands, if you’re thinking of who i am they’ve poached good lads left right and centre.
Some of the newer up and coming fleets are all self employed drivers though (and one of 'em had a whole batch leave one week cos he stood ‘em down payless miles from home) , and their wages include damage bonus’ of various degrees, whilst the headline figures on SE might sound good it’s not something i’d be happy doing wondering if their might be some crippling bloody tax demand at some point in the future, and you’ll never know till the time comes if the state pension might be cut for SE should they shift the goalposts as they have a habit of doing.
As you say, good luck to anyone making hay, though as we know they’re not knocking up 50k sitting on their arses drinking tea, every penny will be earned and then some.
As an aside can’t wait to see the fully autonomous future car transporter lorry pick inspect load and strap itself down then set heights and then does it all again at each of the 7 drop multi drops on the run its got that day, i’ll have a large bottle of something soothing and sit in me retirement deckchair and watch see how that pans out…
After spending the last 3 nights in a low roofed 57 plate Scania I’ve come to the conclusion that no-one could pay me enough to tramp in one so I’m guessing car transporting is just not for me. Can’t wait to get back in my Actros.
Hello i have been offered a job with bca on 4 on 4 off on walon 2 revised pay agreement.
Quoted 400 and 500 take home if its 3 or 4 day week.
Is this correct and is it a good job aside the small cabs.
Loading unloading cars, hours etc.
Any advice or facts would be good
Joeblogs38:
Hello i have been offered a job with bca on 4 on 4 off on walon 2 revised pay agreement.
Quoted 400 and 500 take home if its 3 or 4 day week.
Is this correct and is it a good job aside the small cabs.
Loading unloading cars, hours etc.
Any advice or facts would be good
If that’s including night out money and meal allowance I wouldn’t do it.
It really ain’t worth the 400 or 500 take home as you could easy make that doing general haulage.
Hi I work for Bca but I do a normal 5 days the job can be hard to begin with as you have a lot to Learn and you will get cold and wet in winter and hot and dirty in the summer but I earn very good money for week away for a normal Monday to Friday roll you look at £600 to £800 pw and for living in a small cab it’s not a problem you are only there to sleep and drive
do the job at your own speed and how you want to do it.
, its a transport term isn’t it throwing them on, when in fact most doing it take a lot of care.
