I passed my C+E test last week and I have contacted a number of different local companies about various artic jobs I have seen advertised. I had a call from one of them today, a firm who specialise in refrigerated transport, and after a brief chat I have arranged my first interview tomorrow. Can anyone offer any useful insights and experience as to what this type of work is like?
On the phone I was told that the job will require tramping most of the time although there could be other possibilities such as 4 on 4 off, night work and work that will include weekends as standard (i.e. Thurs to Mon). I obviously need to gain as much driving time and general experience as possible at this stage so I am not going to be choosy about any job spec, hours, etc, but for my first potential job as an artic driver, would this be a good job to start with to get on rung 1 of the ladder?
Any help or tips as always will be gratefully received.
The only difference between refrigerated trailers and “normal” trailers is the fridge aspect.
Getting used to it running all night of you’re tramping may get some getting used to or a good set of earplugs,the fridge itself is pretty straight forward though you may need to change the temp from chill to freeze if your load changes but this will be explained how to do by your perspective employers I’d imagine as they wouldn’t want a trailer full of chilled food freezing to -25 ect.
If you get the job, please don’t park near me, seems like every time that I park on the services a fridge heads straight for my wagon. [emoji42][emoji22]
I must be a Fridge Magnet !
ckm1981:
The only difference between refrigerated trailers and “normal” trailers is the fridge aspect.
Getting used to it running all night of you’re tramping may get some getting used to or a good set of earplugs,the fridge itself is pretty straight forward though you may need to change the temp from chill to freeze if your load changes but this will be explained how to do by your perspective employers I’d imagine as they would want a trailer full of chilled food freezing to -25 ect.
Thanks ckm1981. Can you give me a brief insight as to what the daily work involves, e.g. how many drops, where the drops could be, unloading etc etc.
martinviking:
If you get the job, please don’t park near me, seems like every time that I park on the services a fridge heads straight for my wagon. [emoji42][emoji22]
I must be a Fridge Magnet !
Ha Ha!! You could use that as your CB handle…are these still used by truck drivers??
ckm1981:
The only difference between refrigerated trailers and “normal” trailers is the fridge aspect.
Getting used to it running all night of you’re tramping may get some getting used to or a good set of earplugs,the fridge itself is pretty straight forward though you may need to change the temp from chill to freeze if your load changes but this will be explained how to do by your perspective employers I’d imagine as they would want a trailer full of chilled food freezing to -25 ect.
Thanks ckm1981. Can you give me a brief insight as to what the daily work involves, e.g. how many drops, where the drops could be, unloading etc etc.
It’s impossible to say as it varies company to company,you may be running full loads into distribution centres or you could be delivering part loads to multiple places like supermarkets/cash & carries ect.
Loading wise it could be as simple as backing into a bay or you may have a tail lift and pump truck and having to unload yourself or via a forklift so you just have to get it to the back of the trailer.
What’s the name of the place your hoping to work for?that may shed a bit of light into what sort of work it’ll be.
Hours wise,if your tramping you wanna be doing as many hours as possible,no point parking up mid afternoon sitting round not getting paid you should be aiming to get as many hours in as you can even it it means just driving as far as you possibly can to your next drop/collection the night before.
I’ve done a bit of fridge work for NFT/Sainsbury’s a while back,plus a few others…
Was on frozen which was all cage work,get to the store and just push the cages to the back of the trailer and the backdoor man does the rest.
Load up with empty cages if it’s your last job (if there are any).
Easy job,though can get a bit nippy,nice in the summer though
When I was on chill,loads were all on pallets,just back onto the bay and the backdoor man unloads with pump/electric truck.
Again,usually load up with empties,if it’s your last drop.
Get back the yard diesel up the unit and trailer ( make sure there’s diesel in the fridge trailer before you leave the yard,some don’t and run out,not recommended)
Hope this helps.
fridge work was what I did when I was ‘euro-tramping’ and I LOVED IT.
Yes it is one of the ‘easiest’, you just drive basically well yes have to set fridge to right temp too
I was always loaded/unloaded by the companies where I delivered, never had to lift a finger apart from washing the fridge at time and especially after hanging meat deliveries
sleeping with it behind you takes some getting used to but these days I use ear plugs so I’d be ok (oh yes and because of this ‘nobody’ likes you!! but there again I am used to that in life so it was no problem for me )
as for how many drops etc it depends on your company, I used to do just the one drop/pick up a day, very rarely 2 around europe.
If you are loading or unloading yourself bring a jacket and some headache tablets , going from +10 to -5 will give you a serious headache but only for the first few times
Thanks for all your comments. They have helped a lot.
ckm1981:
unclegoogs:
ckm1981:
The only difference between refrigerated trailers and “normal” trailers is the fridge aspect.
Getting used to it running all night of you’re tramping may get some getting used to or a good set of earplugs,the fridge itself is pretty straight forward though you may need to change the temp from chill to freeze if your load changes but this will be explained how to do by your perspective employers I’d imagine as they would want a trailer full of chilled food freezing to -25 ect.
Thanks ckm1981. Can you give me a brief insight as to what the daily work involves, e.g. how many drops, where the drops could be, unloading etc etc.
It’s impossible to say as it varies company to company,you may be running full loads into distribution centres or you could be delivering part loads to multiple places like supermarkets/cash & carries ect.
Loading wise it could be as simple as backing into a bay or you may have a tail lift and pump truck and having to unload yourself or via a forklift so you just have to get it to the back of the trailer.
What’s the name of the place your hoping to work for?that may shed a bit of light into what sort of work it’ll be.
Hours wise,if your tramping you wanna be doing as many hours as possible,no point parking up mid afternoon sitting round not getting paid you should be aiming to get as many hours in as you can even it it means just driving as far as you possibly can to your next drop/collection the night before.
ckm1981 - the company name is Moores Refrigeration Controlled Transport (MRCT), head office is based in Eye, Suffolk with depots in Bungay, Chesterfield, Scunthorpe and Willand in Devon.
nobodysdriving:
fridge work was what I did when I was ‘euro-tramping’ and I LOVED IT.
Yes it is one of the ‘easiest’, you just drive basically well yes have to set fridge to right temp too
I was always loaded/unloaded by the companies where I delivered, never had to lift a finger apart from washing the fridge at time and especially after hanging meat deliveries
sleeping with it behind you takes some getting used to but these days I use ear plugs so I’d be ok (oh yes and because of this ‘nobody’ likes you!! but there again I am used to that in life so it was no problem for me )
as for how many drops etc it depends on your company, I used to do just the one drop/pick up a day, very rarely 2 around europe.
I guess that’s one of the down sides to the job - nobody wants you parking up near them at shut-eye time. I hope that’s the only time that nobody likes you!
I see plenty of Mr CT wagons on the road, they seem in pretty good shape so you should be okay.
I did fridges when I first started in Class 1, mostly between the depot and RDCs but a few customer drops and collections thrown in also. Sometimes multidrop but rarely more than 3-4 sites, and usually reasonably close to each other. There was a good deal of hanging around at RDCs - especially the disorganised ones - waiting on the bay to be tipped. However, chilled seemed to get priority over ambient so it could’ve been worse I suppose.
Very little interaction with the load except handling rejections and returns, and rarely any worries about securing loads as it was all pallets. Pretty easy really.
I’ve often wondered about going back to do it some more, but the depot is a bit tight so I stick with box trailer trunking work out of a much bigger depot for now.
Interview at MRCT went really well… the job I was going there to discuss was a full time permanent tramping job.
I decided to dress as smart and presentable as I thought was necessary for a professional position, even though in the back of my mind I felt that what I decided to wear might be a bit over the top. So I turned up in a jacket, dark trousers, shirt, tie and freshly polished shoes, signed in at reception and was introduced to the transport manager who first off asked me to complete a fairly simple application form and then left the room. When he returned we spent the best part of an hour discussing the company, its history, what my motivation was to change career from being an office bod to become a truck driver, their induction, the initial training and support they would provide, hours, pay and job options.
As a rookie, keen to learn and obviously wet behind the ears in this industry, I had plenty of questions ready which, if we hadn’t already covered the subject, I duly fired at him. He obliged with answers to all of them and at the end of the meeting he asked me what my thoughts were at that time and would I be interested in working for MRCT. I was taken by surprise by this, and told him I was obviously very interested. There and then he said he was prepared to offer me either one of 2 possible shifts: a 4 on 4 off (tramping) role or a full on regular tramping role and gave me the option and some time to decide which one I felt would suit my needs. I was completely gobsmacked and to be honest, felt just a little bit smug for a nano-second before composing myself swiftly to conclude the interview.
It was at that appropriate moment when I was up-front and honest and told him that the training manager from the local Jack Richards depot had called me (just before leaving the house that morning) to invite me for an interview and an assessment drive the following Monday and that I had already confirmed the appointment. I said I would call him on Tuesday to let him know how it went, what my intentions were etc and he was OK with that saying that whatever happened there was an offer there for me to consider either way. I drove home wondering if I had stood in some doggy doo doo or maybe a bird had dropped one on me - the day so far had all gone really well, in fact better than I could ever have expected, and potentially after Monday’s assessment I might be lucky enough to have another offer to consider!
Right now I’m brushing up on drivers hours, working time regulations, highway code, loading and restraints etc etc in preparation for the next challenge Monday morning. Who knows, I could well be joining you guys out on the road sooner than I thought.
Sorry for the War and Peace version of events, but so far the job-searching process is going well. I’ll keep you guys posted next week with developments.
How did the interview go ? When will you hear by?
