advice please!

NEW AND WANNABE DRIVERS (INTERACTIVE)
1

First of all i only joined the forum yesterday so i would like too take this chance to say hello.

I have read hundreds of threads which have given me a good idea of life as a HGV driver in this country, i am currently pondering a career change (not this old chestnut i hear you say) :slight_smile:
.
Ive been doing joinery for almost 10 years now and to be honest i am sick of it, what with money going out of the trade partly to do with all the Eastern Europeans over here working all hours god sends for next to nothing,- it’s hard to get a decent wage for all the time and effort you put in so hence the possible career change - A few years back when the Joinery went a bit slack i applied for a job as a courier for a big company i did around 6 months in the job and i had the ups and quite a few downs along the way plus the money wasn’t brill so when the Joinery picked up i went back to that because of the difference in salary but i enjoyed most of the courier job all be it for 6 months…

Anyway this week i registered with an agency and straight away i got a call from them saying we have a job on Monday and Thursday working for a firm delivering drainage pipes around the country so i accepted and have been driving the 7.5t trunk to Liverpool,Bolton and yesterday Peterborough but driving on the motorways along side you guys in the 44/18 tonnes it’s had me thinking about taking my Class 2.

This is where i want some advice please! :unamused:

Should i continue driving the 7.5 picking up all the bad habits or should i start taking class 2 lessons ?

Plus can anyone comment on Sterling training as i have enquired with them and it sounds okay but read a few bad posts regarding the minutes actually driving and the hours spent at the roadside caf’s

Thanx

2

Personally I think if you want to give Class 2 a go then do it in many cases it is no different to driving the 7.5 tonne in that a lot of work is mulit drop. Having known a few 7.5 who took the C class they found that they still needed 12-16 hrs tution to pass as they found it somewhat different than driving the 7.5.
In gaining the Class C you can then always go to the C+E with the big boys and do various work tramping trunking etc.
To be honest i dont think you will make a fortune in class C maybe £26K + but as an extra skill its worth a go …you can always do like I do and work on days off … (beware though of the WTD rules)

:smiley:

3

Howdi,and welcome :smiley:
If you are seriously thinking about giving up the joinery game, Then why not have a bash at getting the class 2 licence! I reckon it would give you more opportunities than the 7.5 ton your currently doing! Along with another qualification.

With reference to Stirling as a training company, I used stirling for my training and passed first time,they offer an unlimited as many times as you need until qualified,which i took,so blown some dosh there!! Shop about, and use personal reccomendations,perhaps an assessment drive could give you an idea,as to what training you’d need!

4

I would echo the above.

Take your C.

Im 37 and have no idea why I didnt do this sooner.

I drove buses for 3 years and it was pants.

Since passing both my C and then CE late last year, I have never been so mostly happy ! ! ! ! ! !

My annual salary has gone from 14.5k to 26k.

5

BigSteve:
Plus can anyone comment on Sterling training as i have enquired with them and it sounds okay but read a few bad posts regarding the minutes actually driving and the hours spent at the roadside caf’s

Thanx

Hi Steve & welcome.
Try this link about sterling trucknetuk.com/phpBB2/viewtopic. … t=sterling

6

one quick note as an average you are looking at £35 per hour for LGV traning and most traning companies should offer you a 2 hr assesment to given you an idea of how many hours you will require. depending on what you think I personally dont like the idea of Guranteed pass schemes as there is no such thing in many respects you would be better of payg … do you have a driver hire agency near you( national franchise) most of these franchises will pay for you to take the class 2 test and then you pay them back ( they will make sure you get 35 hrs work per week) doing 7.5 until you have repaid think its something like £40 per week they deduct … (dont know if it is for you but that is one option)

7

If you want to continue to drive then I’s go for the HGV C and then the C+E.

But do it because you enjoy driving, not because you don’t like joinery.
Many of the problems you have written about joinery could be similar in haulage. Long hours, low pay and an influx of East Europeans.

However if you enjoy it then all these problems can be overcome and it nice enjoying your job.

8

Ive been doing joinery for almost 10 years now and to be honest i am sick of it, what with money going out of the trade partly to do with all the Eastern Europeans over here working all hours god sends for next to nothing,- it’s hard to get a decent wage for all the time and effort you

The words fryingpan and fire spring to mind

9

Theres an offer in the Barnsley Chronicle jobs page yesterday by a company called LT training - Class C or E training inc Hiab and Tacho course for ÂŁ1000 all in.

10

knight:
Ive been doing joinery for almost 10 years now and to be honest i am sick of it, what with money going out of the trade partly to do with all the Eastern Europeans over here working all hours god sends for next to nothing,- it’s hard to get a decent wage for all the time and effort you

The words fryingpan and fire spring to mind

definately sounds familiar :unamused:

11

Thanx for the advice - i am shopping around to get a good deal at the minute and ive crossed Sterling off the list.
At present i am waiting on info about the Scania course (thanx Tobytyke for that) and a few others in my area, so i will keep you posted on my progress.

Thanx again - without the help from you guy’s the whole idea seemed a bit daunting at first, but the input from this forum has helped with my fears

P.s can anyone recommend any good books to read or dvd/cd-roms to get Thanx again

12

I enquired about the scania course when I was looking as it looked good, new and realistic full size trucks rather than a crappy flatbed and wagon and drag for C+E. They could get me booked in very quickly back in April (2weeks wait) but their prices were quite high for a 5 day 2-1 course. Plus fact I was a good 100mile commute from both Avonmouth and Purfleet I decided to give it a miss (£25 a day in fuel :confused: ) However I’ve since got training with the RTITB themselves and its 1-1 training over 3 days, less expensive really for what you get and they also use all realistic trucks. But scania did seem promising, I also thought it might sounds better to employers/agencies if you trained with Scania rather than Rusty [zb] Big Red Lorry Training.

language edit: replacing letters with symbols might fool the auto censor but I noticed it :wink: Denis F

13

Kiowan:
I enquired about the scania course when I was looking as it looked good, new and realistic full size trucks rather than a crappy flatbed and wagon and drag for C+E. They could get me booked in very quickly back in April (2weeks wait) but their prices were quite high for a 5 day 2-1 course. Plus fact I was a good 100mile commute from both Avonmouth and Purfleet I decided to give it a miss (£25 a day in fuel :confused: ) However I’ve since got training with the RTITB themselves and its 1-1 training over 3 days, less expensive really for what you get and they also use all realistic trucks. But scania did seem promising, I also thought it might sounds better to employers/agencies if you trained with Scania rather than Rusty F#cknuts Big Red Lorry Training.

Exactly what i thought, and Scania provide the Dvds & books too, i picked a set up 2week ago and aint even paid a thing yet, in fact they refused money lol saying dont worry about it.

14

Hi Steve, a word of caution, don’t expect to pass your class 1 test and fall into a £26k job, jobs for new drivers are extremely thin on the ground as most employers want at least 2 years experience.
I have had my class 1 for 13 months now and still only get work for 2 or 3 days a week through agencies and sometimes there is nothing at all, for weeks on end.

15

Bubble:
one quick note as an average you are looking at £35 per hour for LGV traning and most traning companies should offer you a 2 hr assesment to given you an idea of how many hours you will require. depending on what you think I personally dont like the idea of Guranteed pass schemes as there is no such thing in many respects you would be better of payg … do you have a driver hire agency near you( national franchise) most of these franchises will pay for you to take the class 2 test and then you pay them back ( they will make sure you get 35 hrs work per week) doing 7.5 until you have repaid think its something like £40 per week they deduct … (dont know if it is for you but that is one option)

what do you mean bubble? my wife’s company down here offers a free assesment and a gauranteed pass for 1200 quid if you fail though you do have to pay the 90 quid for another test. i’ve always thought this was quite a good deal as other companies are about the same price and the students have been known to pay another 2-3 hundred on top for the extra training when they fail and then there is vat on top which coachers(my wife’s company) do not charge.
my self i haven’t been a fan of schemes like driver hire’s as you are then tied down and have to do whatever crap jobs they give you, if you leave you have to pay them back anyway and might as well have paid for the training yourself in the first place. although if you are skint i can see why you would like the idea.

this is by no means a dig bubble i am just curious

16

Well lets say you are joe average so its 35 x 20 hrs = 700 plus £90 for the test fee now you pay 1200 for a G Pass ok so you fail your first what exactly do you get another how many hours to help pass your test lets say 4 another 150 you say you have to pay for your test so you cough up £90 so your total after faling the first is £850 another 4 hrs £1000 …see where I am going if you fail after the 4th attempt I would suspect some would question if driving was for them. I am NOT saying that anyone should or would give up but why pay the amount you quote.

As for Driver Hire or other agencies I merely pointed it out as a way of self funding like everything else there are pros and cons it is up to each individual to decide on the way forward.
:smiley:

17

Kiowan:
I also thought it might sounds better to employers/agencies if you trained with Scania rather than Rusty [zb] Big Red Lorry Training.

I seriously doubt it not one employer gives a [zb] (as you call it) about who you take your test with…

Your instructor whether its big red lorry training, scania or the drag queen of sheeba teaches you to pass a test… Nothing else!!

he’s not calling it that anymore, quote edited …Denis F :wink:

18

Reef:
Your instructor whether its big red lorry training, scania or the drag queen of sheeba teaches you to pass a test… Nothing else!!

Should the instuctors teach you more than just to pass a test?

19

Driving instructors have only ever been there to teach you to pass the test, nothing more. Plenty of people have complained about it.

The government thought it was addressing this shortfall by introducing the Drivers CPC - now more people than ever are complaining!!

20

marcustandy:
Driving instructors have only ever been there to teach you to pass the test, nothing more. Plenty of people have complained about it.

The government thought it was addressing this shortfall by introducing the Drivers CPC - now more people than ever are complaining!!

Well said! but we should remember who sets the test- it’s the DSA on behalf of the government. What’s being looked at in the test? We’ve all been there. You’re not asked about lots of things that we do on a day-to-day basis- does that mean that they’re not important? No. That’s where the gap is.

The test is only the same as for any other category of vehicle- it’s the barest minimum standard such that the candidate is judged to no longer need to be accompanied by a qualified driver- NOTHING MORE.

Having done LGV driver training I’ve heard all the moans from both sides of the argument. It goes like this: Companies paying for driver training moan about the cost and what’s included on the course- will they be prepared to pay to have more subject areas included? Not likely!

A driver paying for his/her own training- same argument- same answer.

The fact remains that LGV driver training in this country doesn’t properly equip the new driver to do the job- we can all agree with that. Then the companies complain again about the quality of new drivers. It’s certainly not the new driver’s fault- they can only go with the system as it stands. Is it the companies’ fault for wanting a finished product fit for purpose- not really.

So what’s the answer? I too think it’s been met with the introduction of the drivers’ CPC- but the problem will always come back to cost. Who is going to pay for that? It’s a bit of a conundrum, if you spare a moment to think about it, isn’t it?

All things considered, can anyone honestly come up with a better answer, given that everybody wants the improvements?

If I own up, and I do, will all the other “old hands” also own up that when we were very green you, either asked somebody more experienced, or you suffered the outcome of your lack of knowledge- right? There’s more people and more traffic about these days, and more people wanting compensation! Something had to give in the end.