Bloody fitted sheets and duvets, all I can say is if this was good enough for me…
Eh by eck that ‘twere luxury soft lad. I had no door on my Bedford TK. Got chilly in the Himalayas on my weekly run to China, I lost my right foot to frostbite, but I made do. Not having wheels presented more of an issue.
Fuzrat:
Cheers guys, I think a proper fitted one is the way forward, hate creases in the sheet.
Will be going tramping in a few weeks so getting my basic kit together while I still have my Asda discount card
Jumping ship then was it the weekends got too much ?
Bit of everything really, the brothers refusing to speak with the union on pay, crap planning since it all moved to central, taking on anybody who applies resulting in bent and scraped trucks, pretty much no overtime because of all the new drivers.
Jan and feb is going to be a wasteland. We pretty much avoided the mass exodus that Bedford and you guys seemed to have a few months back, managed to cover everything on overtime but now they’ve taken on all the newbies its disappeared. We have a lot of guys only a few years out from retirement that wont go as their pension is great, they’ve been there 25yrs and its pretty much all they know but a lot of the younger guys are looking. I’m the martyr that pulled the trigger first
TBH its been getting worse for the last year or so, nobody cares or takes any pride in what they are doing anymore. Shame as it used to be the job that you took any shift times on the agency and did all the nasty stores with a smile on your face, just to get a good rep and a foot in the door. If anyone actually retired (never left) the driver trainer would have a quiet word that they were going to advertise and it would be good if you could apply, wink, wink. Now they are so desperate that any man and his dog are getting straight on full time.
Got a gig on bulk tippers doing TASCC Stuff for a guy that runs 8 trucks, drives one of them himself. 1 man 1 truck, parked up when on holiday. All the proper kit like microwave, fridge, inverter etc. Get back to the small family business like when I was at the mill.
Ironically, went for the interview and found out that when its quiet in the xmas run up he does traction out of our place, guess who finishes Friday and is back in there with his own truck on Monday on better money
Best of luck, I’ve been out sick or on holiday since August bank holiday so a bit out the loop but I’ve heard we have had some newbies in to replace a few that left, as for lack of overtime I’m more than happy just doing my 3 x 12 hr shifts as I usually get some nice long runs on that anyway (Spalding, Erith, Cornwall etc) so that’s keeps me quiet. As for damage it has seem to increased lately but I suppose you’ll get that with multi user trucks.
I’m positive I could earn more elsewhere but I’m very happy at Asda.
Fuzrat:
On a side note, I have an inverter fitted in the new truck and thinking about kettle and toaster. 240v toaster off the inverter seems to be the way forward, but which kettle. 240v travel kettle off the inverter, 12/24v on the cig lighter or I have a little gas stove off my boat and a whistling kettle but thinking for my early cup of coffee not sure I really want flames in the cab while Im trying to get dressed Leaning towards the 12/24v option.
So many choices and things to think about to make my life as comfortable as possible. determined to cook proper meals and not live off MSA food, Ginsters and a warm can of lilt even a pub meal every now and then
Cheers mate, had a bit of a lightbulb moment reading that, got a small travel kettle that we take on holiday with us in case there isnt one in the room, just dug it out of the shed.
Will check the inverter on Monday morning and have my gas kettle in case. Boss says it runs microwaves and the other lads have mini ovens off it so should power a small kettle.
Just have to keep an eye on what I run off it, could have flat batteries in the morning after rustling up steak with jacket spud and veg in a mini oven
Fuzrat:
Cheers mate, had a bit of a lightbulb moment reading that, got a small travel kettle that we take on holiday with us in case there isnt one in the room, just dug it out of the shed.
Will check the inverter on Monday morning and have my gas kettle in case. Boss says it runs microwaves and the other lads have mini ovens off it so should power a small kettle.
Just have to keep an eye on what I run off it, could have flat batteries in the morning after rustling up steak with jacket spud and veg in a mini oven [emoji38]
A microwave will heat up a mug of water for coffee no problem.
Driver that had my truck had hi own mini oven up in the top locker instead of a microwave, boss has the old microwave at home so I need something in the meantime.
Good shout tho, Always forget about using the microwave to heat water, want coffee “put the kettle on”
Instead of using a puny 240v travel kettle take a look at 1Ltr “Hotel room kettles”
The Caterlite CL186 nisbets.co.uk/caterlite-hot … ttle/cl186
is ideal and is what I and a few others have, as its big enough for what you need, but not as large as a standard 1.7ltr domestic kettle but is the same style and function as a domestic kettle.
As for 240v microwaves the daewoo QT1 (if you can find one) is the microwave of choice, as its small enough to fit in a top locker and big enough to hold a standard dinner plate