Monday 2nd June 2008
0600 Start. I’d not planned on being in quite so early but I didn’t sleep particuarly well and got fed up watching the clock so I just decided to go in early.
I’ve got some sorting to do at the yard anyway. On the right is my usual truck, in the middle is last weeks and on the left is my new temporary home for the next 10 weeks or so. Our driver has buggered off to Canada and I’ve the dubious honour of taking over the wheel of the lowloader.
There’s an important job to first.
The kettle is installed in readiness and I’m ready to go.
Apart from a couple of odd runs with the regular driver and a Saturday with a machine driver I’ve not actually driven Class 1 since passing back in Feb. Never solo in fact. Well it’s June so the weather’s good, it’s my first day so they won’t give me too much and at least I’ll leave behing the general haulage type site moves. Let’s get cracking then and look at the list.
Job 1 - Doosan 140 Braintree - Boreham
OK that’s simple enough, across to Braintree at one of my regular calls to load one of our newest 14t machines that arrived last month.
I can get nice and close, and it’s sitting there right next to it’s buckets all ready to go.
Oh wait, there’s now a dumper to go with it and some stuff to load in the dumper first. On it goes.
Right off we go then, only a short run down to Boreham. Oh joy 6’6" width limit down the road we need. Access only OK then. It’s a field entrance of sorts, I don’t fancy doing a blindside reverse so I turn around in a T junction and have a crack from the other direction. That’s no good I’m in the hedge, so it’s a road unload job and make lots of mess on the road.
Job 2 on the list - Blocks Braintree to Chelmsford.
Oh great, it has finally ocurred to our customer that it is uneconomical to keep sending 10 pallets of blocks on a 6 wheeler, they have now decided to hire the artic to take a bigger load. Unfortunately they have decided to do this now just when I thought I’d left that job behind. It’s back to the same site at Braintree to load up. It’s a bit of a faff to do though, all the outriggers, chains and assorted bits that normally sit on the deck of the trailer have got to be moved along with the not too light hop up ramps. It’s all shoved onto the swan neck and joined by a single pallet of blocks. 16 more pallets are loaded on the deck and strapped down. A couple of weeks ago I managed to load 19 pallets onto my 6 wheeler but they’re paying so that’s how it is.
It’s almost a repeat run of the last journey back along into Chelmsford. The site is busy (at breakfast) when I arrive and there’s a couple of small trucks waiting to tip first so I have to wait outside for half an hour until they’re ready to tip. There’s not much space to put all the blocks on site so I presuade them to unload on the road and save me reversing in. Progress is slow as it’s a job for the forkie to stash the stuff somewhere but I’m finally away vy about 1130 readu for the next item on the list.
Job 3 - Komatsu 210 Hutton - Witham.
OK so that translates into a Komatsu 21t 360 machine, that’s a big one the good news is that there’s only one bucket and again it’s a roadside loading job. Unfortunately it’s a busy road and it causes chaos whilst I’m stopped blocking one lane. It’s also started raining and it’s very slippery, so much so that I stop the traffic completely whilst the guy tracks the machine onboard just in case it should slide or go over. Luckily it doesn’t but I’d rather not take the chance.
This machine is nearly 11’ wide so it requires a bit of extra attention, the trailer has got pull out outriggers so that it can support wider loads. These are rigged for the machine to sit on and there are also pull out illuminated marker boards which are also rigged. Flashing beacons complete the job and I’m ready to roll.
I’m pointing outbound from Hutton so I keep going to Billericay before heading up to the A12 near Chelmsford. We are authorised for wide loads up to 12’ within Essex without prior notification for use on M, A and B roads, I’ve done a few wide loads on the 6 wheeler before and took a JS220 out once before with the regular driver so it’s not as daunting as it may seem.
At Witham the destination is an old old people’s home, that’s a derelict old people’s home rather than… Oh that doesn’t sound much better either. It’s a demolition job on an old people’s home. I’m told where they want the machine and told where our other driver put it previously. I point out that he’d been doing it for 25 years or more as opposed to my 6 hours or so and told them where I could put it.
Turning around to get out involved bumping up the kerb and going over grass, with the rain and the mud all I was getting was the TC light so I got them to bank me back out onto the road. This was hardly the nice smooth reverse back out that it could have been, but I made it out in a haphazard zigzaggy fashion and headed back to the A12 to grab a break.
Ah Job 4 - Good job there’s not too much on today eh. JS220 Fyfield - Colchester.
Jeez, talk about in at the deep end, that’s a 22t JCB going on now. It’s at a farm down a very narrow lane. I put this machine here before when I had a day with the regular driver and it’s a bit of arse to get to.
At the end of the lane there’s a sharp right followed by a sharp left between these two barns.
Then left again through 90 degrees before doing a 90 right down the side of another barn into a yard area that is not exactly huge. Luckily the machine driver here used to drive a lowloader and knows I’m green and is a great help as a banksman and I’m soon in and turned around. He’s also got the ramps down and the buckets chained up whilst I get the outriggers rigged and the lighting boards on.
It’s just gone 1500 when we’re ready to go and I head back down the A414 to Chelmsford and along the A12 to Colchester. I’m slightly outside the permitted hours of the wide load permit which bans movements between 1600 and 1900 but Sssssh I’m not telling.
It’s another road unload job and the machine is soon and all the kit restowed on the trailer and everything folded up ready for the journey back to the yard. Finished at 1730. 328Km
Tuesday 3rd June
0615 Start. At least I slept better last night, yesterday’s full on day had certainly got me into the swing of things. In fact I slept a bit better than I wanted to as I’d planned on starting at 0600.
My first job was only local, down to a farm a couple of miles away to collect one of our Hitachi ZX130 13 tonners, it’d been on self drive hire and there was now a job for it at nearby Maldon.
Being on a farm there was just enough room to turn around before loading up, there’s no one to assist today but it’s nice and simple with just two buckets. It’s just like my regular job with a bigger machine onto a lower vehicle.
I’m soon on my way down to Maldon where I’ve got two of our drivers waiting to help unload. The job is the old Rover / Shell garage at Heybridge right on the mini roundabout that brings two of the roads in and out of Maldon together. One driver helps to speed things up whilst the other directs the traffic until I’m ready to leave.
Next job is to run over to Cressing to load at a customers yard, it’s a funny place down a little country lane but it’s a roadise load job so I’m happy with that. There’s a choice of machines here that I can take, I take a Hyundai 130 (13t) and a 3t dumper leaving a 5.5t machine and a roller for the guy driving my 6 wheeler. It’d probably all fit on the trailer but it’d probably tip the scales, in the end I load the dumper on the top deck and put the 130 in the usual spot.
I’m Kent bound with these, across to a site just by the entrance to one of the car parks at Ebbsfleet Intl. Station. There’s no option but to turn around before unloading and I do so without a hitch. I’m sure usual standards will be back soon but I was well pleased nonetheless.
I ambled back to the yard where there was not much going on, I decided to give the cab a scrub out and had a wander around the trailer with the grease gun and oiled ratchets etc before heading off home at 1515. Distance 192Km.
Wednesday 4th June.
0645 Start. Although the work is a little thin on the ground at the moment, the transport side of the business is ticking along quite well at the moment. Both the 6 wheelers are out working today and I get given a move that would usually be handled by one of them. It’s off down to Benfleet to load a JCB 3CX Wheeled digger, I make no bones about it, I hate moving these things. Today is no exception it’s a rickety old one and is caked in grease much of which ends up on me. I also get a passenger, the machines driver who absolutely reeks of B.O. and stale smoke, I even consider letting him smoke (which I hate) to give the cab a fresher aroma. Luckily it’s only a short run down to the oil terminal in Grays and I’m soon able to offload him and his machine.
There’s only one more move on the sheet at the moment so I amble across to Shoeburyness where one of our Hyundai 140’s has come off hire, I meet the driver down there and we have a chat rather than hurry back to stand in the yard.
Back in the yard however there’s another one ready to go so the Hyundai comes off and is replaced by a 14t Volvo 140. I get a bad feeling about this job, and it’s confirmed by a phone call to the hirer who tells me “it’s a bit tight” It’s in the village of Stock, and the entrance to the road is a narrow gap between 2 brick walls. It takes a couple of shunts to align myself to get through as it’s only a couple of inches wider than the mirrors. The machine overhangs the trailer too which adds to the grief factor. Eventually I get through and the road briefly widens before narrowing again right where there’s a parked van.
I get the van shifted and arrive at a funny crossroads of sorts with cars and vans from the site everywhere.
They say on site that someone had turned an artic there yesterday but had struggled. Great. I get the 140 off and replace it with a 5t JCB mini digger. I decide that my best option would be to reverse back out and see if I could back round into one of the two side turnings. Both of these were out of the scope of my ability so I continued to reverse all the way out to the main road, aided by a pair of “banksmen” who had a habit of disappearing from view. Also there was often as not one mirror renderred useless by hedge or bushes. Eventually I squeezed back out onto Stock High Street and went off down the hill to the roundabout at Billericay to turn round and head back to Jovic Plant at Sandon. This is another crap place, one that our regular driver avoids going too. In the end I reverse out of the estate across the little road into a farm entrance and then can drive out.
My day is not over yet though, I’m off down to Heybridge to load the ZX130 that I delivered yesterday morning. Today is another day and a much more successful reverse. I’ve got the two drivers there again and I’m soon loaded and off back to the yard to tip.
The final job is to run the trailer over to the workshop at Bicknacre for it’s 6 weekly inspection / service and this also proves to be a ■■■■■ of a place to get into. I don’t have to drop the trailer though, we leave the whole lot there and I get an N reg Fiesta to get me home. I call at the yard for details about tomorrow and head for home at 1615. Distance 208Km
Not many pictures for today so lets have a look around the vehicle.
It’s an R124 - 420 6x2 Midlift with Nooteboom Triaxle step frame lowloader trailer, it’s an STGO CAT2 outfit although now taxed at 44t
The trailer has hop up ramps to get stuff onto the swan neck section and the main hydraulic ramps can be powered outwards for loading wide machines or powered inwards to make one wide ramp.
When we move 20 tonners, bulldozers or shovels we are dealing with wide loads, all along the side of the trailer are silver box sections with handles in them.
These pull out like so.
And wooden outrigger boards are dropped in to help support the machine whilst it’s being moved.
There’s also pull out projection marker boards complete with lights, one set each side front and rear.
And finally what makes a big difference is this
The last axle is a steered tag axle, when loaded and down this really helps push the trailer round. Unfortunately it does not automatically lock when reversing but has to be locked manually from the cab when they are straight. If you try and reverse around a corner without locking them off they will go the opposite way and make things impossible. If you try and get round a corner but can’t the way I found to get out of the problem was to mainly raise the axle and then they snap back round into the straight position and can be locked.
Thursday 5th June
0645 Start. Off to Bicknacre to drop off the courtesy car.
And to think last week I had a brand new one from Truck East.
At least they’ve turned it round for me.
There’s a note in the cab, one of the trailer tyres is in need of replacement. Being an inner wheel they are almost impossible to see so it’s handy I’ve found out now.
It’s off to St.Albans first I’m due to load a 9t dumper and a 13t machine but the dumper is locked away in a compound and there is only this Fiat - Kobelco E135.
He’s loaded on and I have a cuppa and a chat with the driver to let the traffic ease on the M25 before heading off back to Essex. I’m off to Gosfield to unload, again a roadside job and no option but to keep going outbound once tipped. There’s worse places though as about 1/2 mile down the road is Gosfield Airfield former WW11 and now fairly empty (except for Transporter Engineering) It’s a good place for a quiet break.
My next job is a collection at Bradwell Quarry near Braintree, it’s a 16t Komatsu Duck. There’s no driver here with it so I’ve got to sort it out myself, one of our drivers is there with his tracked machine but he doesn’t work on the ducks so it’s down to me. He offers assistance to chain the buckets up for me and act as a pair of eyes whilst I’m loading. First thing to work out os how to start the thing, eventually get it going and trundle over to where I’ve parked. Now these ducks are funny things, the top half is the same as a 360 except you get a steering wheel and pedals instead of track levers. It’s 2 wheel steer at the front, unless you rotate the top round and it’s 2 wheel rear steer with back to front steering. After several attempts I get it loaded evenly on board and spend a couple of minutes working out how to lower the dozer blade.
It’s back off to the yard with this one, it’s chockablock there though and there’s a fair amount of shuffling to find it a space. Whilst I’m in the yard I roll out 2 brand new tyres already fitted on rims and load them on the trailer. I run the trailer over to the tyre yard and get 2 changed. One comes back as it’s not completely shagged and the other stays to be changed for a new one.
The last job of the day is in Chelmsford town centre, we’ve a Hyundai 140 at the old Salvation Army site. There’s no other way to load it than to completely block the road but we don’t cause too much delay before getting it out of the way to chain it on. The 140 goes back to the yard and stays loaded for tomorrow. Finished 1645. 263km
Friday 6th June
0645 Start. I’m ready loaded with yesterday’s 140 and it’s off to Abridge to drop it off, it’s a new build luxury house with fancy gates etc. I don’t fancy my chances of getting in easily and there doesn’t seem to be anyone about to lend a hand. I decide to screw the traffic and unload on the road, this made me very unpopular as it is the main road through and was between 0800-0830 ish.
Once I’m done there it’s a short hop across to Ongar and off to a place where we’ve been standing a couple of our 20 tonners. We’ve got a job for one so it needs shipping back into the yard.
It’s a JCB JS220 - 22t
It’s a wide load job so I rig the trailer with the pull out sections, spread the ramps out and pull out the markers.
And then it’s on, all raedy to do.
118 you got my number?
This machine used to have a regular driver on it, he’s now got a brand new Doosan 225 with a new fleet number. We still call him 118 though.
118 is taken back to the yard and dropped off, whilst on the move it’s started leaking diesel which will be sorted before it goes out. I load a Hitachi ZX130 and head off down to Stratford with a machine driver in the passenger seat. I’d got from the address that this might be an arse of a job and decided an extra pair of hands would be, well handy I suppose. I wasn’t wrong the blokes on site were not a great deal of use and we had to block the road to unload the machine. As soon as the machine was off I packed up the ramps, blocks, chains etc amd moved the motor whilst the driver secured the machine. All done we headed off back to the yard.
I now have to rerig the trailer for running wide again, and I load a 6t dumper complete with buckets on the top floor, this leaves the lower ground for the 220 to sit on.
I must be running at about max. weight now and those 420 horses that pull my 6 wheeler with ease find it a bit harder going with this lot on board. I’m off to Corringham with this one and the site is right in the town centre. The only place to stop is right in the car park entrance but my co-driver from earlier is there, I suggested that he came down in his van and then went straight home to Rayleigh afterwards. We were offloaded and packed up in a few minutes and I trundle back to the yard for the last time. Finished at 1645. 302km
Well that’s my first week done, hardly a gentle introduction but I do enjoy a challenge, I’ve done 50 hours, driven about 1300km’s and moved about 260t of plant this week including 4 wide loads. No damage and no mishaps. I reckon that’s a good weeks work.
