Nearly a week had passed since I got my class one, finally get a call from an agency with a job for today. 03:30 start with Farm Foods out of Monkspath, “nice easy” run to Bletchley & Leighton Buzzard sounds ok to me.
Well when I say ok - the nerves still kick in, going forwards is definately no problem, but “tight” manouvering is still pretty unexplored territory. Turn up at security at the requested time, then head into the traffic office. The run turns out to be Bletchley, Wolverton and Bedford, not too bad and I get provided with hand drawn maps which actually do the job.
I get taken out to the wagon by another driver who pretty much goes through everything I possibly need to know. The unit is an 03 Actros with a “auto” box, which is explained to me and sounds ok. I need to pull the unit forward to check the load so jump in, select forward, handbrake off, and press the gas - not much happens - so I press the gas a little more and shoot forwards, great - that is going to make me look like a spanner !! Try again and realise that the box seems to take a few seconds to decide what it is going to do - technology is wonderful eh ■■
Anyway, we look at the load - the other driver comments “you are going to have fun” - the trailer is full and most of the load is dry - so getting to the frozen stuff will pretty much entail taking everything else off it - especially since half of the dry stuff is going to the last drop. Sort everything else out and set up the Sat-Nav then time to head out.
Easy run down to Bletchley, especially since most of the roads off the motorway are wide open. According to the map the shop is down a dead end so I park up a couple of hundred metres away and then walk down to find it. No problem with this one, it is right at the end - so I hardly have to reverse at all (just straight a couple of metres).
3 Pallets of dry stuff to come off, then have to unload 6 others and rearrange another 6 to get to the frozen stuff. Nearly an hour has gone by - by the time that I have finished the delivery, then I still have to rearrange what is onboard and put the 6 pallets, empty’s & cardboard back on… and I thought getting it off was hard work…
Finally I finish and am ready to go reverse straight back 5 metres then go, thankful of the airconditioning in the unit after all the hard work. Not far to Wolverton, although this drop is a bit harder - best way to describe it is like a “H” gearbox. The road runs 4 to 3, I need drive up 1 to reverse back to my drop at 2 but there is another truck about a wagon’s length into 1 (hope that makes sense). In hindsight I could have reversed 3 to 2, but that would be blindside and I didn’t quite feel up to that yet … … …
First attempt and I just squeeze my nose past the other unit, then head back, but the angle is all wrong without room to correct - so I try again and pull a bit further forward straightening up. This time I can back up straighter (although I have to put a kink in to avoid mirror to mirror contact) but, a little bit of faffing around and I am in the right place. Time to play with the pallets again…
This time I managed to do it so I only have the one full pallet, the empty pallets & cardboard to take off. Then the 10 pallets for the drop, which includes all the remaining frozen stuff. Unfortunately the entrance to the shop itself is on a slope so I am completely knackered by the time I have pulled everything up there (really should start using that gym membership). Although on the plus side I can unload everything for the final drop without even having to unload the empties.
First though I need to leave Wolverton, (back to the gearbox) - I need to leave the way I came in. Looking around there are a LOT of dead bollards around and, asking the staff normal procedure is to screw it around - which looks tight since the gap I need to get through is about half the length of the truck and the total width is not far off the full length either… However it is that or reverse out into the “main” road, so why not. I am now quite glad of my crap reversing as I am about 6-8 feet off the wall (so 5-7 feet from the bollards) which is more than I was aiming for but it should give me room to miss them with the rear end. A little worried I creep round - quite thankful for the auto transmission, and find that I don’t even get close to having a problem - don’t know what I was worried about.
Straight off to the final drop at Bedford, on the way there realising that I much prefer driving the class one to class two’s by a long way (except for the reversing, but it is only day one). Obviously I have a long way to go, but everything seemed to come much easier - and not just because I had an Auto either - since the jury is still out on that !!
The map for the Bedford store led me to the front / car park, in a rigid I would have shot straight in there, but in the Artic I did a slow pass to check there was not a delivery entrance somewhere - looked like there was a roller shutter off the car-park, so back to the A6 roundabout then back to the front of the store and into the carpark. Reverse straight back to the shutter and finally unload everything else.
Finally head straight back to the M1, take a 45 at NP services (parking badly I have to say). Then a run straight back to the “yard” - fuel up and the final challenge of the day - reverse onto a bay. Acres of space since I was quite early back, but still manage to need to take a shunt - and get it on squint, but it was on, and I figured that getting it on in 2 was the best result !!
Overall happy with the days drive - no kerbs hit / nudged / mounted at all and pretty ok with the lines I generally took, in fact no real problems to speak of. I am a bit concerned about reversing since anything I did that wasn’t straight took a few attempts BUT i didn’t hit anything, which is always a plus. Even though it was a physically hard day it was much more enjoyable than the rigid work I have been doing. So looking forward to my next job… …
The reversing will click the more you do but best advice take yer time and don’t panic m8.Good luck with next job and keep us informed.
