Hi everyone.
I’ve recently registered with an agency who have asked me if I can do container work as I have limited experiance and its meant to be a good place to start, they have told me its quite straight forward. Pretty much going backwards and forwards to the same places. Just wondering if this is the case? Anyone have any ideas as to what this sort of jobs are like and what I can expect? It’s doing runs out of Immingham if that helps.
Any advice would be great.
Thanks for reading.
The rear doors have bolt seals that the customer opens with bolt croppers .
Be careful of a top heavy container that may tip over on adverse camber roads or roundabouts .
For a 20foot box, you shorten the skeletal trailer, a driver will show you how to do it.
Watch out for super cube 43foot boxes as they are higher than a normal box and risk hitting bridges.
For extra long boxes, extend the rear bumper rail at the back of the trailer, they get rusted up and stuck ,so a hammer and oil is handy .
Some delivery places if handball can take four to six hours to tip by hand .
Boxes from exotic countries need to be fumigated for insects and sometimes reptiles .
Or venting off for varnish or paint fumes, as staff will not go inside until its vented, all this takes time, take books to read .
Box jockey work is considered fairly simple but there are a few things to consider.
Mastering port and rail head procedures.
Getting familiar with your trailer operation.
Not getting complacent, check every thing twice and take your time.
Treat every bend, roundabout, turning etc with respect and very steady as you will most likely have no clue what’s on board. Also trailers can be top heavy and very wibbly wobbly.
Simple daft mistakes are easy as the job can seem to easy.
Box jockeys are also the best reverses due to the variety of tipping and loading sites. Blindside back up mastery will save your skin.
All in all I enjoy it but as with any job the moment you get complacent Mr Cockup won’t be to far away.
Long tips give you plenty of time to get to know yourself. I practice tantric meditation a lot. 
The variety keeps it interesting for me one day you could be knocking around rdc’s the next a house move for a bored housewife in the middle of nowhere.
Or a gay couple in Brighton like I did last week, it was an absolute scream. Lovely fellas.
It all depends on who you get on with, and what type of work you ask for, either day work night work or tramping. Day night work might have a certain amount of routine, though you’d not be on the same run every day. Tramping gets more variety, but there will still be regular tips, as well as miscellaneous jobs, though this can be the same for day work.
As regard what the runs are like, unless you know who its on with, and someone else works for them it’d be hard to say. My experience of Immingham container terminal(exxtor), though not a regular up there, is pretty good, not the largest terminal, and the guys on the booking desk always seem friendly enough. RTG or top lift loading/unloading pretty straight forward.
For an idea of tramping on containers, a brief resume of last week.
Mon- start from my yard in Cambridgeshire- Del to Stone (staffs). Swap boxes at a Containers base in Oldbury. Trailer change empty for loaded Evesham. park up Brampton Hut.
Tue- Felixstowe tip & turn trinity. Del to Northampton. Trailer change Cambridge yard. Lift off London gateway. Park up Barking.
Wed- Barking empty box ex container base. Load Newcastle upon Tyne. Park up Blyth.
Thu- Tip & turn London Gateway. Hinckley trailer change loaded for empty. Lift off empty box Oldbury. Collect empty box Freightliner Birmingham. Park up Welford.
Fri- Felixstowe tip & turn Trinity. Del Wakefield. Park up Newark.
Sat- Run back to yard Cambridgeshire drop trailer wash tractor sod off home
My tip, if you are in a position to night away, then take that, day drivers sometimes get pushed harder, what with them needing to be back, where as being able to night away, means they know you’ll just stop because you don’t care about getting back
Dipper_Dave:
Box jockey work is considered fairly simple but there are a few things to consider.Mastering port and rail head procedures.
Getting familiar with your trailer operation.
Not getting complacent, check every thing twice and take your time.Treat every bend, roundabout, turning etc with respect and very steady as you will most likely have no clue what’s on board.
Simple daft mistakes are easy as the job can seem to easy.
Box jockeys are also the best reverses due to the variety of tipping and loading sites. Blindside back up mastery will save your skin.
All in all I enjoy it but as with any job the moment you get complacent Mr Cockup won’t be to far away.
Long tips give you plenty of time to get to know yourself. I practice tantric meditation a lot.
The variety keeps it interesting for me one day you could be knocking around rdc’s the next a house move for a bored housewife in the middle of nowhere.
That’s some very sound advice, and some more circumspect advice too
Thanks for the info everyone. I actually contacted the agency becasue I wanted to do some class 2 work on tipper trucks or doing some trunking as I need to be home becasue I’m a carer. It was the agency that suguested it. I’ve been looking for class 2 in Immingham or Grimsby. Actually seems harder to get into than class 1. Anyway thats good advice, thanks again guys.
AndrewECMA:
Thanks for the info everyone. I actually contacted the agency becasue I wanted to do some class 2 work on tipper trucks or doing some trunking as I need to be home becasue I’m a carer. It was the agency that suguested it. I’ve been looking for class 2 in Immingham or Grimsby. Actually seems harder to get into than class 1. Anyway thats good advice, thanks again guys.
That’s because there is a hell off a lot of class 1 work, from Immingham, container’s and unaccompanied trailers amongst other thing, and Grimsby well that appears to be the reefer capital of England