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Hi to75ne, WELCOME. 
From an old hand, my tip is that you ought to go for it mate.
The biggest reasons are your own words:
to75ne:
anyway im sick to the back teeth of it. need to change.
AND
to75ne:
the only bit i actually enjoy these days is driving the van
ROG will be along soon, and he’ll give you all the info and links you’ll need to get you started. 
Good luck to you.
My advice is go for it. Take the redundancy . get your medical and provisional licence sorted and get training ASAP. While you are waiting and even while your are training for Class 2 , at your age you should have 7.5tonne entitlement already through grandfather rights.
Get in touch with some agencys and get some experience on 7.5 tonners, get used to the size of the vehicle, how they drive etc. it will all help with your training 
**:D :smiley: :smiley: Welcome to75ne :smiley: :smiley: :smiley:**
If you click the link in my signature it will lead you to an index where you can access a lot of info which may be of use to you
To book any LGV training I suggest the trainee-to-be, visits the training school, meets the head person(s) and has a quick look at the truck BEFORE parting with any money.
Should you do it 
- Well, from what you have said about your passion to do it, then yes
Work out the financial downside - if you pass C and possibly then C+E ARTIC - not Wagon & Drag - and, for whatever reason, work is in short supply can you ride it out until it picks up
GENERAL DRIVING TIPS BEFORE STARTING LGV C TRAINING
A number of LGV instructors, myself included, are finding that the general driving standard of many trainees coming to do their LGV ‘C’ course is not at a very high standard.
I have had a number who ‘THINK’ they are good but find myself having to go ‘BACK TO BASICS’ before they can really start learning how to handle a truck.
For the trainee this means wasted time on the course and that means that the trainee is paying good money to be taught how to drive again 
There are a number of things that a driver can do before starting their first LGV training course to improve their general driving.
The obvious ones are to practise the DSA procedures, which could mean losing the rear view mirror, and then, every time to set off, doing the mirror, mirror, blind spot routine. Checking BOTH side mirrors before moving within the lane you are in, signalling or before the increasing & decreasing of your speed.
The less obvious is to practise forward planning — the THINKING bit.
A good way of doing this is to use your brakes a lot less than what you do at present — sounds daft but think about it — to use the brakes less then you will have to ease off earlier — to ease off earlier you will have to plan ahead more.
I don’t mean by changing down through the gearbox either as that will waste fuel.
A good example would be when approaching a queue of standing traffic, which is waiting for traffic lights to change or waiting to enter a roundabout.
The moment you see the queue, check mirrors and ease off in the gear you are in. let the vehicle slow down on it’s own, dipping the clutch as necessary to control any possible stalling. If the vehicle gets to the lowest gear speed (usually first gear) then engage that gear.
If, whilst easing off, you anticipate that the traffic is going to proceed, then engage the gear that will take you with them without rushing up to the rear of the queue.
You will be leaving a large area of tarmac in front of your vehicle when you ease off early. If another vehicle goes into the gap then re-adjust to accommodate it. If you curse at the vehicle that went into your forward space then decide if a few feet of tarmac is worth getting stressed over!!
When following other traffic, do you touch your brakes when they touch theirs? — If yes, then you are too close. Back off so that you can ease off without the use of brakes. Again, this requires a good deal of forward planning, which will be very useful when you drive a truck.
The general idea is to never stop but to keep moving forward even if at a very slow pace.
If you have to use the brakes then plan to use them gradually. Start by taking up the play of the pedal then resting the weight of your foot & leg on the pedal. That is then followed by squeezing down onto the pedal and squeeze down to a depth that will do the job during the middle of your braking so that you can ease off the pedal well before you actually need to come to a stop.
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to75ne:
thanks dieseldave, bigjon and rog, for your encouraging and positive replies.as been a great help in getting the negative nagging doubts out of my head.
rog, i have already seen the link under your signature (have been looking at this forum for several weeks), and have put into practice your driving recommendations both at work in the van and in my car. also have looked at the other links. thanks.
bigjon, i work 12hr days thur,fri, sat, off sunday, in mon, tue, wed, then off for 7 straight days. i was thinking of signing up for agency work during my 7 days off, now you have convinced me to really do it
dieseldave you pointed out what i failed to see as the truth, thanks.
once again thanks for taking the time to reply, i really appreciate it.
kind regards tony
Here is the negitive points. I will go easy and str8 to the point.
DO NOT WASTE YOUR MONEY OR YOUR TIME GOING FOR YOUR LGV LICENCE!!!
ITS A MUGS GAME AND THE LOWEST OF THE LOW JOBS. YOU WILL WASTE A GRAND AND END UP ON JOB SEEKERS THINKING WHAT THE [zb] HAVE I DONE!!!
If you don`t listen to the above and still go for it then I wish you the VERY BEST OF LUCK.
YOU ARE GOING TO NEED IT!!!
Yes im shouting very loud!!!
Good Luck
Jim
auto censor dodge removed, please read Lucy’s post HERE…Denis F
I am a little bit older than you, and similarly have had enough of the industry i’m in. My advice go for it.
Done the medical !!
I’ve done the theory and hazzard and passed! 
Booked the holiday in September and booked the driving course ! 
also told my boss do’nt think i’ll be here for xmas!! 
Just waiting to give him the Johnny Paycheck song ’ take this job and shove it’
regards
paul
i work 12hr days thur,fri, sat, off sunday, in mon, tue, wed, then off for 7 straight days. i was thinking of signing up for agency work during my 7 days off
have you read other posts on the rules and possible pitfalls of doing LGV work on your days off
ROG:
i work 12hr days thur,fri, sat, off sunday, in mon, tue, wed, then off for 7 straight days. i was thinking of signing up for agency work during my 7 days off
have you read other posts on the rules and possible pitfalls of doing LGV work on your days off
it is possible to work it as long as you get your rest periods in ok.
thurs-comms
fri-comms
sat-comms
sunday-must take day off to stay legal and get most driving time.
mon-comms
tue-comms
wed-comms
thur-rest
fri- possibly start work overnight, depends what time finished on weds
sat-driving
sun driving
mon-driving
tue-WTD/TACHO REST
weds-WTD/TACHO REST
thurs-comms (start of new ‘week’ working for comms company’)
and so on it continues ad infinitum
you should be able to work three then four days of your days off to gain experience. but you must be carefull of the hours you clock up and rest periods
if that works for you then it will work for the WTD and tacho regs.
as for your age, if it is something you want to do then do it. i have been in teh same job since i was 16 and hate it with a passion but i am tied to a contract for the next 4 years (or unless they get rid of me because of my bad 
knee) and i am enjoying every single moment i get behoind the wheel. even if you are having teh day from hell and feel it is the worst ever just think back to your old job and you will laugh at how much easier, sorry thats the wrong word, less stressful it is! thats what i find anyway
Go for it mate,I passed class 2 last year,stayed in a my job for almost a year debating whether or not to make the move,I was a train driver, boring as hell,good money but I hated it ( and all the silly girls I had to work with ) I applied for a few job’s,got offered the one I really wanted and dont regret a thing,I was 40 this year so it was now or never,best move I ever made.
Simon
hey simon, hows the job going? wheres the diary?
,
Evening folks,
I would think long and hard about it. I paid over £1000 for my class 1 licence and I drive about 6-8 days a month and can just about hack it. As far as i’m concerned truck driving is crap, i would never ever do it full-time. If i was you i’d invest your money in something else.
Regards Smokinbarrels
Well ther e seems to be a lot of negativity about…
For me I’m very new to trucking, and I do not regret it one bit! The only downside is when I’ve had a couple of quiet weeks, but on agency that goes with the job 
There is a lot of bull[zb] in the job, but once i’ve dealt with the bozo’s at the office and at the drop, i’m left to get on with it.
So far I’ve found the hours are long, the pay is relatively crap and her indoors gets in a mood if i’m not back to do the school run, but things are looking up, hours are slowly but surely getting somewhere near reasonable, the pay/quality of work is getting better, and I’ll be getting more nights out soon 
.
Good luck
Ok for the benefit of everyone reading this thread (who is thinking of changing their career and or job) me included.
Can anybody comment on whether, right NOW is a good time to change…
…we have all heard the protesting hauliers saying “if the diesel price get’s any higher…we’re going bust, by the end of the year”
We keep hearing on the “news” that the price of diesel could skyrocket’
by xmas
QUOTE: One Quarter of Refrigerated Transport Companies Are Now in Financial Danger
Over the past 12 months in your industry:
-25% of companies are now in financial danger.
-12 companies are blatantly selling at a loss to capture market share.
-Average pre-tax profit was 3.0%
-Average sales growth was 7.4% END QUOTE
But on a lighter note to75ne…GOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO
FORRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR
IT
I say if ya got the dough go for it! Did mine some months back and passed, ain’t done me a lot of good coz I’m still driving frecking buses BUT its another string to your bow!
Good luck!!!
I’m currently going for it, so I would say a big yes!!
Beware, lots of ups and downs on the way though.
Best of luck with whichever way you choose though.
Although the jobs in Essex don’t seem to be there at the moment, it’s a fairly cheap way of gaining a new trade.
If you get yourself a class 2 licence, you can try and earn back what you’ve spent. Once you’ve earned that sort of money you’ll have had enough exposure to it to get a fair idea whether it was a good thing for you or not. If you can’t stand it then you’ve paid yourself back and can walk away, if you like it you can continue as you are or go on to do your class 1.
Whatever you decide you’d be best getting it done before the driver CPC thing kicks in, as it’s going to get a lot more involved soon.
smokinbarrels:
Evening folks,
I would think long and hard about it. I paid over £1000 for my class 1 licence and I drive about 6-8 days a month and can just about hack it. As far as i’m concerned truck driving is crap, i would never ever do it full-time. If i was you i’d invest your money in something else.
Regards Smokinbarrels
LIKE WHAT!!,3 EXAMPLES WOULD BE GREAT.
Hi Tony…
If i was you…i wouldn’t to be honest. I’d buy a nice new van, Merc sprinter or something similar, and go parcel delivering.
That way you get to work for yourself, you get to drive alot, which you enjoy!, and you get to earn far more money than you would driving a truck for someone else.
I had a year in comms, but it didn’t work out. Only because it was an independent company that went teats up. I would jump at the chance to go back into it, but for now I’m driving trucks. The industry has had it, it ain’t what it used to be!! You will be scum of the earth, treated like an animal (and sometimes by fellow truckers!!) by all who deal with logistics.
And yes I’m looking into buying a van for parcel work!!
Disclaimer: This is only “my” opinion.