I currently have 6 years class 2 experience and am training to take a class 1 license.
I am sick of the sight of curtain siders and When I pass (God Willing) I would prefer never to touch a pallet again.
Therefore, I am considering either doing container work OR RDC work. My perception in both cases is that you will have little interaction with the load?
Would anyone care to comment on the pros and cons of these different jobs please? Or suggest alternatives, tankers perhaps? Which would you choose and why? Experienced drivers of this type of work only please, I would like real world advice not theory.
Many Thanks.
I currently have 6 years class 2 experience and am training to take a class 1 license.
I am sick of the sight of curtain siders and When I pass (God Willing) I would prefer never to touch a pallet again.
Therefore, I am considering either doing container work OR RDC work. My perception in both cases is that you will have little interaction with the load?
Would anyone care to comment on the pros and cons of these different jobs please? Or suggest alternatives, tankers perhaps? Which would you choose and why? Experienced drivers of this type of work only please, I would like real world advice not theory.
Many Thanks.
I’ve moved your topic to where I think it will receive more views/replies.
Neither involve any interaction with the load, apart from deliveries to Aldi or Lidl where you have to tip the load yourself. Both can involve a lot of waiting around, on container work this is generally in the cab, on RDC work it’s often in a stuffy waiting room sitting on a filthy plastic chair watching repeats of “Homes Under the Hammer” on daytime TV. In general the driving/other work ratio is a lot higher on Class 1 work than Class 2.
Harry Monk:
(…) on RDC work it’s often in a stuffy waiting room sitting on a filthy plastic chair watching repeats of “Homes Under the Hammer” on daytime TV(…)
That sounds like Morrisons to me.
Previous reply is right.
I did containers with Maritime, tramping, never touched the load, just cut the hard bolt seal Very lazy, long waits at docks sometimes. Risk of burntout, depends on how you approach it of course.
Tankers non-hazardous, you climb up and open lids.
RDCs, I did it much in the past and said no more. Tesco, Asda, George, I recall pulling cages for them.
Curtainsiders, as said, rarely touching a pallet yourself, often loading and tipping from sides. You get busy pulling curtains and securing the load, good healthy exercising compared to pulling/pushing pallets or cages.
Your class 2 mindset does not apply for curtainsiders artics:
No insane number of drops, just one or two collections and deliveries (this morning I finished a 14+ hours shift with 7.5 h driving two collections two drops for a full trailer both collecting with a swap (dropping an empty) and tipping from the back sitting in the cab, very standard)
No getting into towns or remote places, mostly going to industrial estates.
The smaller the wagon, the harder the job.
You just start and will see by yourself. I can say I am not doing RDCs for instance because I have done it to the excess, so that is why I can say and choose. Maybe you are that breed of Tesco drivers, find out and get to know thyself
It depends with what you like even on containers you will still go to some RDCs. I only do the Sainsbury ones on containers. Lidl I am banned after I refused to tip my 40ft container. My contract clearly states at no time am I to unload a container. I only go in to check for holes. Containers small companies are mostly good on deliveries they don’t worry too much about time if you are early. Its the big companies who make the job hard. They have too many stupid rules.
On my stint on containers it was stricly no involvement in the unloading or loading of the load. I once went to a lidl for a collection of waste cardboard. They didnt ask me to load but loaded it themselves. Pity really as I was ready for a good ding dong with them!
Containers were HARD WORK in the early 70’s! A typical day meant backing a flatbed trailer with 20 empty pallets spread out up to the back doors of a 20’ container & unloading bags of plastic pellet by hand, They didn’t come on pallets then everything was handball, Load the 20 pallets by hand yourself then rope & sheet the load then off to Trafford park to deliver. all done outside in all weathers.
lancpudn:
Containers were HARD WORK in the early 70’s! A typical day meant backing a flatbed trailer with 20 empty pallets spread out up to the back doors of a 20’ container & unloading bags of plastic pellet by hand, They didn’t come on pallets then everything was handball, Load the 20 pallets by hand yourself then rope & sheet the load then off to Trafford park to deliver. all done outside in all weathers.
My first job when leaving school at 16 was unloading 40ft containers stacked floor to ceiling of 100 weight sacks of dried beans. Gang of 5 of us, 3 in the back dragging them to the doors and 2 on the floor stacking them onto pallets. 5 containers a day.
It’s how I have become a large built chap!
lancpudn:
Containers were HARD WORK in the early 70’s! A typical day meant backing a flatbed trailer with 20 empty pallets spread out up to the back doors of a 20’ container & unloading bags of plastic pellet by hand, They didn’t come on pallets then everything was handball, Load the 20 pallets by hand yourself then rope & sheet the load then off to Trafford park to deliver. all done outside in all weathers.
My first job when leaving school at 16 was unloading 40ft containers stacked floor to ceiling of 100 weight sacks of dried beans. Gang of 5 of us, 3 in the back dragging them to the doors and 2 on the floor stacking them onto pallets. 5 containers a day.
It’s how I have become a large built chap!
You’re right owt to do wi containers back then was a hard job, The next job ‘up the ladder’ if it can be called that was shunting & loading flatbed trailers in Heinz Kitt Green, I had to rope & sheet up to eight trailers a day.
lolipop:
Good Luck to you if pass your test, and you can get with a Company that wants solely a “steering wheel attendant”
I get over 45k a year for being a steering wheel attendant, less than 10 hours driving time per week 95% of my time spent with tacho set to bed, best job I have ever had
lolipop:
Good Luck to you if pass your test, and you can get with a Company that wants solely a “steering wheel attendant”
I get over 45k a year for being a steering wheel attendant, less than 10 hours driving time per week 95% of my time spent with tacho set to bed, best job I have ever had
lolipop:
Good Luck to you if pass your test, and you can get with a Company that wants solely a “steering wheel attendant”
I get over 45k a year for being a steering wheel attendant, less than 10 hours driving time per week 95% of my time spent with tacho set to bed, best job I have ever had
That’s a bit better than me then and I thght I had it sweet! Work time is about 35 hrs/week, curtains and don’t touch the load… I see it when closing the doors but never touch it
There is no such a thing like a good lorry driving role, not for the long run at least. It is down to your ability adjusting your mindset, in order to perceive that you are in a good lorry driving role; which indeed takes a good deal of own deception.
There is no such a thing like a good lorry driving role, not for the long run at least. It is down to your ability adjusting your mindset, in order to perceive that you are in a good lorry driving role; which indeed takes a good deal of own deception.
.
That all depends on your own perception doesn’t it
