I’ve been seeing adverts for a class 1 tipper job for Bulk Freight, based in West Drayton. Bulk Freight is the same company as Fred Sherwood, i.e. they do waste and metal recycling. I called up their office in Derbyshire and asked, and they said it would mean spending all week in the truck.
Does anyone else here work for them?
What kind of vehicles do they use? (Their website shows a little Volvo FM, which is not the sort of thing I’d like to spend a whole week living in.)
Do they all have microwaves, or do their drivers use portable gas stoves, or what?
Are they expected to spend nights in lay-bys or will they pay for a truck stop or service station?
How do the office treat the drivers?
Do all the drivers carry a mixture of material, or are some drivers allocated to scrap metal and others to woodchip or whatever?
Is it often dirty work? (I don’t mean going to smelly places; I mean actually handling the stuff or is it just drop in and tip out?).
They quote a guaranteed weekly £450 (gross) plus night-out and meal allowances plus vehicle earnings bonus. How much does that typically add to your pay?
Sherwoods and occasionally Bulk freight come into my work. AFAIK most of the new Volvo’s are FH 500’S new ones should have a microwave they do run a mixed fleet though.
Its walking floors we use so tippers may be different but you’ll get the basic wage whatever and there is the potential to earn decent money but things like punctures can screw you up the best way to work it would be to try and get a regular site to work out of that way you’ll know what you’ll roughly get each week but as a newbie you’d probably be here there and everywhere doing all different loads.
If you’ve got a tipper and an autosheet there’s not much load interaction bit of sweeping and shovelling if a sticky load mind.
My take on the job is if you want the work and are a head down arse up person you can make good money but take the rough with the smooth and remember every load pays different so there might be some jockeying for the “cream” work.
Not sure how they pay parking etc but if you get on well with the bods on a site you can maybe park in their yard and use the facilities showers etc also if you keep them sweet they’ll be willing to stay on late or open up earlier for you. you give a little you get a little.
That’s my take but someone who drives for them may tell you better.