so i got a call at the start of the week from a friend of mine. he is a subby for hj van bentum, and one of their drivers had gone sick and he had been asked if he could cover the job. he called me as he has not driven a lhd truck with a trailer on the road, so i agreed as long as i was back in time for my tattoo appointment “no problem, its wash the tank at thurrock and reload round the corner asap!” well how could i refuse! i agreed to meet his driver in the yard to give me the lowdown on what i had to do, which was basically pull the ladder down climb up and open the lids and the back end, the guys will was it out and shut the lids for you, and also where the sealing cord went. so off i headed for thurrock, the wash was easy enough to find and within 10 minutes the guys had started it. i dozed off in the seat and woke up an hour later! the tank was washed and dried and ready to go, the french tanker next to me pulled out just in front of me and, you guessed it, went to the same place as me!! well it made it easier to find, it just meant i had to wait about 40 minutes before i could load! once under the hopper i told the loader i had never done this before, i was instructed to just shut the lids i had opened and leave one open, then a case of sit in the cab and read truck and driver until he reappeared with the sample bag to return to the weighbridge. once weighed out it was head back to ipswich docks to drop the tanker for shipment. typically when dropping it the red palm coupling deicded to jam open so it was just ■■■■■■■ air out! after about 15 minutes of ■■■■■■■ about i managed to unjam it and head solo back to the yard at stowmarket! sadly my mates truck had blown its engine up, so his day had not gone well at all, and i believe he is using the scania until his is fixed
couple of pics
lids opened ready for washing out
back open too
getting washed out
waiting to load
weighed out ready to go
on the dock dropping the tank for shipping
hope you have enjoyed the read
