Class one training diary!

NEW AND WANNABE DRIVERS (INTERACTIVE)
1

Hi guys and girls :laughing: :laughing: :laughing: ,

well here it is a couple of you suggested i do a diary of my class one training, its an hour before my first lesson and i have just counted out the £835 for about the fourth time lol making sure the wife hasn’t gone out shopping with a bit of it :laughing: i don’t know about her, but i could have a serious shopping spree with it lol… i am as nervous as hell and i don’t know why :confused: :confused: :confused: i have a class two and feel i am a fairly competent driver and done really well with my free one hour assesment in an artic :smiley: :smiley: . can you lot imagine what i am going to be like on saturday morning at 8.45 when i start my test :frowning: :frowning: :frowning: , anyways i am going to have one last cup of coffee and carry on listening to some serious guns and roses to try and calm me down a bit :laughing: :laughing: :laughing: :laughing: . will post up later after lesson and let you all know how i got on :smiley: :frowning: !!!

2

hi guys and girls again,

had a really good lesson today :laughing: :laughing: :laughing: :laughing: felt really nervous when i got in the thing, especially as it was a new tractor unit and not the one i had my one hour assesment in!! controls not a problem but the gearbox was different :frowning: :frowning: :frowning: :frowning: the gearbox in my assesment was one where you just move it backwards and forwards, this one was a 4 over 4 i think :blush: :blush: :blush: :blush: the unit is a reanult premier i think too :blush: :blush: :blush: not really up on different names of trucks and makes yet sorry people :blush: . so the gearbox threw me a bit but i actually found it quite easy to use suprisingly to me and especially the instructor :laughing: :laughing: :laughing: .

anyways we get driving and to my surprise i actually found it easier to drive than the rigid :astonished: :astonished: everything was going fine then the instructor takes me up to the reverse pad for the last hour and that was it , he asked me just to reverse it in straight line…could i do it could i [zb] :blush: :blush: :blush: :blush: it just did not want to go back in a straight line kept going left then right but afterwards he told me it is nearly impossible to reverse dead straight and you had to move it slightly as you go back, but the good thing i got with the turning the opposite way to the trailor straight away, and even better news is tommorow for the first hour we are going to practise the reverse manovoure which is when it will all go horribly wrong :blush: :blush: :blush: :blush: but hey i am only a learner and will still be learning even when i get my licence :laughing: :laughing: :laughing: .

anyway guys will post up here tommorow afternoon how it all went at the reverse pad etc.

Sorry, you don’t get away with that. K

3

Nice to read your post mate - kepp the diary coming.

Remember, you are paying for the instructors time - so shout at him!

ASK ASK ASK !

Be yourself, be calm, and relax. Make a list at the end of the day of things you are unsure of, and take it with you the next day and ask the instructor.

You have the benefit of taking your class 2 not so long ago,so mirrors,speed limits etc. will be no problem.

All the best mate.

4

thanks niall i really appreciate the advice and the support :laughing: :laughing: :laughing: :laughing:

5

Hey Margate… sounds like you had a blast for your first day mate… Nive one… Glad its going well. And just ear with the reverse, it comes with practice… just make sure you read some of the hints and tips, they should help you out with your reverse…

Who and where are you doing your training mate??..
And I think your driving a Renault Premium… not premier… :wink: :wink: :wink:

Good luck for the rest of your training buddy… :wink: :wink:

6

lol yeah it was a premium sorry :blush: :blush: :blush: yeah i had a real blast today bigtime, on a personal note which i am not going into i have had a real bad year both personally and proffesionally, and to be honest mate i can honestly say i have not been as happy as i was today behind the wheel :laughing: :laughing: :laughing: :laughing: a company called learn hgv in ramsgate, they have just been bought out by a haulage company called whites transport, the instructors name is dave and a blindin bloke he is too!!! cannot sing his praises highly enough!!! there is a job going at this company and if i pass my test saturday if i keep driving the way i did today he said he would put a word in to the owner, can’t say fairer than that now can i :laughing: :laughing: :laughing: :laughing:

7

Oh mate, that is brilliant news, you just gotta keep ya senses and ya wits about ya, and make sure you get through that test then :smiley: :smiley: … we’ll all be rooting for you mate… :wink:

Good luck again… !!! :sunglasses: :sunglasses: :sunglasses:

8

i am only a learner and will still be learning even when i get my licence

you will go far with that attitude. Pity more car learners don’t have the same.

Jonathan. DSA ADI Ex O/D

9

Hi Guys and Girls,

well day two has now ended, spent all of it on the reversing pad and i could not do it for toffee!!! :frowning: :frowning: :frowning: i am having some sort of mental block when it comes to it i just cannot do it, even with the instructor walking by the side of the cab telling me and a list of instructions on the sun visor to look at i still could not do it!!! :blush: :blush: :blush: :frowning: :frowning: :frowning: . anyways it is now 3 and a quater hours into the lesson and i have tested the instructors patience to the max :blush: :blush: :blush: we proceed to the coupling and uncoupling procedure absolutely flew through it no problems at all, instructor says it was done really well and driving is too a good standard, but i think the only thing i am going to fail on is the reversing :frowning: :frowning: :frowning: :frowning: but i will keep you all updated tomorrow as i am doing a bit more reversing hope it goes better than today :frowning: :frowning: :frowning: :frowning:

10

you`ll crack it eventually mate, just keep at it. it will come naturally after a bit just dont panic and rush things… good luck, rgds jon

11

Hi Margate.
I think you may be under pressure to get in to the cones.
If your instructor will allow you,ask if you can reverse without the cones.
If he will let you,take the wagon on your own for ten minutes and try reversing into your own " pretend bay ".
Firstly, see how the steering responds to your turns,watch the trailer wheels and see where it goes.
Find a fixed point, a tree or a lampost for example,and after you know how the wagon behaves while going backwards,try and line up against your "bay ".

Remember one thing . The truck will only do what you tell it to do.
It’s a machine.
Master the machine in an open space, then try the cones.

It’s only an idea.

Good luck mate. :slight_smile:

12

one thing i forgot, when reversing i look at the wheels in relation to the road, not the side of the trl.

13

I will be following in your foot steps soon and need to see you master reversing,I would spend a whole day at it if necessary.
Try reversing in a strait line for a long way to get the feel of it margate,some told me a hint",when reversing the trailer drives you"
Hope it gets easier with practice m8 :wink:

14

A bloke I did some training with showed me this way:

Drive forward in a straight line, turn your steering whell to the right 2 turns, go backwards & as soon as the trailer starts to turn, unwind the wheel slowly counting the turns you apply.

one of the biggest problems new drivers and some old ones have is putting too much lock on the unit, unable to chase it fast enough,

in theory if you turn the wheel 5 times to the right then 10 to the left and 5 right again you ought to be going straight backwards.

The other thing you will learn is that every artic will behave differently, depending on trailer pin / fifth wheel position, lifting axles, camber of road etc

Of course this wont work in real life but it will teach you how an artic turns,

Get your instructor to let you play about in your coffee break

15

Margate… {{{{{{hugz}}}}}}}}} I can remember exactly how i felt on my reversing day, don’t worry, keep at it and remember the penny will drop. You know you can drive the wagon, you know your abilities and mate you will do it.

Tip from the tiggzter, treat the steering wheel like a women and move it only a little bit at a time, be gentle with it. Make sure your using both your mirrors too.

I had serious problems with reversing but did it all in one on the day.

If your still struggling today perhaps asking for an extra hour may be beneficial for you to just play around in the wagon with it all set up and let you suss it out for yourself.

Even now, nearly two years on i still have days where i ■■■■ up good and proper, just keep your cool and keep saying to yourself, you know you can do it.

THE PENNY WILL DROP INTO THE RIGHT PLACE… promise ya

Good Luck margate

Tiggz

16

Thanks guys and girls, special thanks to the tiggzter lol i needed a massive hug last night when i got back i was so down it was untrue :frowning: :frowning: :frowning: :frowning: :frowning: :frowning: :frowning: i am just about to start my next lesson in half hour and my confidence is at ground zero and below :frowning: :frowning: :frowning: but i am gonna try to start the lesson as a new day and see what happens today, will post up here again tonight and let ya know what happened today :slight_smile: :slight_smile: :slight_smile: :slight_smile:

17

tiggz:
Even now, nearly two years on i still have days where i [zb] up good and proper.

Tiggz even after nearly 16 years I still get the odd day or two where I’d like to go and hide after a less than err…perfect display in the art of reversing.

18

well day three,

now with only two days to go till test i am so worried and unconfident it’s untrue, really having doubts bout turning up on saturday morning or not :frowning: :frowning: and i hate feeling like this but the bloody reversing is just killing my confidence.

went for a drive today at the start of the lesson over to test centre in canterbury as lorry needed to be measured as it is slightly longer than their last one, this needed to be done apparently so i would get a bit more space on the test…a bit more space :slight_smile: i am going to need the whole yard :laughing: :laughing: :laughing: :laughing: :laughing: should’nt laugh really cause it’s true at the moment :blush: :blush: :blush:

anyways we go for a drive round canterbury and anyone who knows what canterbury is like full of roundabouts box junctions and millions of people fighting for limited road space :laughing: :laughing: no problem at all a couple of minor hicups where i kissed the kerb on one roundabout and sliced another kerb in half but all down to me not approaching them slowly enough and going that bit to fast and panicing and did not concentrate on wide angled mirror enough going through them :blush: :blush: :blush: .

we then come back through canterbury again and then take a left down chislet road which takes you all the way up to dual carriageway at herne bay, now the chislet road is not a road its a lane just big enough for the wagon and a car. i manage this ok a bit slow but kept to speed which road conditions would allow me to drive along it. we come back down the dual carriageway to ramsgate and drive into the reverse pad!! yipppeeeee :frowning: :frowning: :frowning: :frowning:

then my troubles start :frowning: :frowning: :frowning: :frowning: :frowning: the instructor (who has the patience of a saint :laughing: :laughing: :laughing: ) says he is going to get out of the cab and let me have a paly on my own :laughing: :laughing: big mistake on his part :frowning: :frowning: :frowning: i pulled up to the first cones and put it in reverse and started the manouvere. and it all just went horribly wrong i ended up in the middle of pad in an angle which could only be described as ludicris, instructor see’s what i have done then comes over to cab tells me to get it back in to start of reverse manouvere. i do this he walks by side of cab shouting up instruction and i actually listened to what he was saying today and got in the box three times, yesterday he done the same thing and my mind just went blank he told me to turn right and i decided to turn left!! so i suppose i can at least take a bit from it today that i did actually do what he asked me to do today.

but to be honest folks if i pass my test on saturday it will be a bloody miracle, i really can see that i am not even gonna get out of the test centre!!! :frowning: :frowning: :frowning: :frowning: this reversing thing is just messing me up bigtime and is my only one real problem, but as you all know it’s a big problem :frowning: :frowning: i am trying not to get to down about it but it is wearing me down fast and is really putting the pressure on me in a big way :frowning: :frowning: :frowning: :frowning: .

anyways thats day three over, not really looking to day four as i am not enjoying it as much as i thought i would purely and simply because of the not getting the reversing procedure. i knew it was gonna be hard but i really did not expect to be such a numpty at it :frowning: :frowning: :blush: :blush: :frowning: :frowning: :blush: :blush: .

anyway a big thanks to all of you that have read this and posted up replies of words of encouragement i really do appreciate it, it really does mean alot.

a big THANKS GUYS AND GIRLS :laughing: :laughing: :laughing: :laughing: :laughing: will post up tommorow afternoon how it goes as my lesson starts at 8 in the morning :laughing:

19

margatemafia:
i actually listened to what he was saying today and got in the box three times

margatemafia, on the fist day the instructor sounded like he was talking err… [zb] as you’ve never had to reverse an artic before.

Then on the next session what he said has had time to sink in and now you have the basics of reversing in your head. Then he told you as he walked along side you, he said exactly the same as last time but now you know what means what.

Then comes tomorrow and after a nights sleep you’ll be surprised how well it will all come together without his help.

Then on Saturday the driver shortage will be one less.

20

Wayne…

This is how my instrustor told me how to do it for the first time… Dunno if it will help… but here goes…

Right, to Start with, FORGET the trailer is even there!!!.. you can parallel park, so just as you start to move backwards, get the Right Hand lock As soon as you can… look out the side window, or in the mirror, and get your back drive wheels about 2 ft from the yellow line…Once they are 2 ft away from the line then get your unit straight by getting the steering wheel back in the middle, again, as soon as you can, Now you should be running parallel with the yellow line on your right hand side… as soon as its straight, try and look out the passenger door window at the Herring Bone markings in the middle of the Reversing pitch… count back about 10-12ft, as you should be able to see the markings and numbers throught the window. Once you count back, 10-12ft, look out the drivers window, and start getting your drive wheels next to the line, this is bringing your unit drive wheels back out away from the line and your unit back in line with your trailer… NOW is the time you should think about you trailer.… as all this movement with the unit, will make the trailer go where you want it to… this happens without you having to think about it…

Once your rear wheels of the unit come away from the yelow line, you now look in your mirrors to get the trailer in view on both sides in the same amount… By this time you are Past the ‘B’ cone that is the cone in the middle!!

Now this is where you have to get the feel of backing up, with only very small movements of the steering wheel…once your unit and trailer are straight, and your front wheels are straight, put your hands in the ‘Quarter to three’ position on the steering wheel,… now you only move the wheel at **Most One Quarter of a turn.**Now, try to get a little more trailer visible in the right hand mirror, but remember, you can look out your window!!.. this will mean that you are guiding the trailer to the right hand side, and you should looking at your trailers wheels and seeing the line they are taking… if you need more turn, turn the steering wheel One quarter turn to the left. if you have got to much, then its one turn to the right…
Think of it like this …Going forward, you turn right, to go right, left to go left… well, your going the opposite direction now, so you do the oppsite, right to go left, left to go right… Make sense■■?.. :confused: :confused: :confused:

This is how I managed to do it, and after reading it back… I am having my doubts… but hey, hope it helps a little… :unamused: :unamused:

Keep ya chin up mate, I know exactly how your feeling… Been there, Done that.!! :unamused: :unamused:

All the best buddy… :wink: :wink: :wink: :wink: