looking to start work in august i have no hgv driving experience at all and what i trained in was only around 6tonne with water containers in the back so i havnt driven anything big. my plan was to try and get some 7.5T work to start out with just to get used to things then go on to bigger truckss. has anyone gone down this route or is it better to just jump straight in at the deep end and take whatever is thrown at you ?
the nerves are kicking in as im now actively looking for work. i can just see my first day going terrible and taking out loads of cars and street furniture haha 
only you can tell mate, everyone is different with different skill having passed the test.
if you are unsure - speak to the agency. An agency has put me thru extra class 1 reversing training for free (or unpaid, depending how you look at it), another agency offered me to go with another their driver for free / unpaid. you might consider this route and ask them straight, or if you feel confident, just rock on. The main thing is not to hit anything while you do the job 
Do it… straight to class C 
I drove 7.5t for a shift, 18t for 3 years, and have driven 32t for 4 years now.
I think I needed that progression, I’m that sort of person.
But that’s not to say you are…
If that’s your current plan mate, then if I were you, I would go that route. As said, everyone’s different and if your plan of starting small and moving up made sense to you personally, it’s probably the way you will feel more comfortable going.
BigRob25:
looking to start work in august i have no hgv driving experience at all and what i trained in was only around 6tonne with water containers in the back so i havnt driven anything big. my plan was to try and get some 7.5T work to start out with just to get used to things then go on to bigger truckss. has anyone gone down this route or is it better to just jump straight in at the deep end and take whatever is thrown at you ?
the nerves are kicking in as im now actively looking for work. i can just see my first day going terrible and taking out loads of cars and street furniture haha
I am trying to work out what your saying as it seems contradictory.
You trained in a 5-6 ton van by the sounds of it and presumably passed in that? Yes? So that gives you C1 entitlement up to 7.5 ton.
Then you are asking about driving 18 ton trucks for which you need a C licence which you don’t have if you passed in a van over 3.5ton as that only gives you the entitlement for up to 7.5 ton C1.
Or are you asking if you should do your cat C before looking for work and the looking for a job straight off in a 18 ton truck.
Only you know how comfortable you are driving bigger vehicles so you will know the answer as to what is best for you.
i think what he means is 6 tons of water which makes it probably a 12 tonner or something. i did my cat c on a similar small vehicle
Danstoneman24:
Do it… straight to class C
Yep same here
Done my cat c in a 12 tonner as well & driving 26 ton 4 weeks into the job. My view is you drive what you took your test to drive otherwise what was the point.
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It’s worth noting that many 7.5 tonners are virtually as wide as 18t and are often just as long, or near enough.
You’ve been trained in a qualifying vehicle for CAT C; no real reason not to go straight for it. A loaded 12t is 2 thirds the weight of a loaded 18t so bear the extra weight in mind.
But, above all, drive as you were trained and this will stand you in good stead.
If, however, you feel you should start on something lighter, maybe not smaller, then go 7.5 first.
See what opportunities present themselves.
Good luck with it, Pete
If you find a decent company they’ll likely give you the chance to drive something smaller and then upgrade when you’re ready, and possibly when their insurance will allow it. Also it has the advantage that people might stop calling you a “van driver” for driving something small, or at least adding the snigger to it. [Not looking at user E8B at all] 
If you want a job in August, I’d start applying now as it can take a while to get one - 6 months in my case, but you might get there sooner.
Forgot to mention, if you think driving a 36T rigid is hard, you ain’t seen the paperwork involved! No wonder the Amazon rainforest is disappearing, it’s the truck companies what doing is it…like.
I thought exactly the same as you Bigrob25. As I’ve said in a previous thread, I passed in a 12 tonner with 4 ton of water in the back,18 months ago. I’d had some 7.5t experience so it wasn’t too bad apart from the new experience of a ‘slap-over’ gearbox.if anything I was driving it too fast.My first week a month ago I was out with a driver in his 32t with auto gearbox and rear steer around south London and I drove back to the yard when it was mostly main roads. I don’t mind admitting that I drove like an octogenarian in a Nissan Micra and concentrated 100% each time. All that was in my mind was not hitting anything in my first few weeks,mainly cutting in, and/or wiping something out with the tail. If I hit anything the company makes my wages £50 lighter. Within 12 months,twice is £100,3rd time £500.
Week two and I was on my own,driving a 26t with a split box (never used one),no rear steer,and a monster tail-swing (3 feet longer than the 32t) around inner and outer London. I was pooing my pants 
, but i got on with it because I had to. Since then I’ve squeezed it down roads with cars both sides,and around corners, with a nats to spare,and no scraping noises yet. I’ll be honest about it,i don’t know how I do it,and feel very pleased with myself when it’s over. If you’d have shown me where I’ve had to take it beforehand I’d have run a mile. I’m hoping all that gives other newbies confidence. It’s amazing what you can do when you’ve got to. The thought of my wages being short probably helps 
. I’m not saying that after 4 weeks I’m an expert,just that I’ve done something I didn’t think I had the confidence or ability to do. Given the nature driving an HGV in a city centre though,it’s inevitable there’ll be an exchange of insurance details at some point. Good luck whatever route you choose
that’s an impressive rear end
i also remember taking a full size artic thru the central london for a store delivery. very exciting
Two of the artic drivers have said to me “I couldn’t drive that,i’d wipe everything out”, which makes me even more pleased with myself
I got dumped into the deep end…3 days after passing my test at first it was a few old sheds of an 18t from Coventry to Shepshed…
And then brand new delivery miles (less than 20) DAF from Brum to Leicester…talk about no pressure.
Just waiting for the opportunity to arise to go into an arctic on my own without the trainer present anymore…
Was learning in a 44 foot plus 10 foot of tractor so should be okay on my own…
Worse thing I have been in the IT industry for the last 20 odd years and the digital tacho still makes me nervous.
boltonboy:
Worse thing I have been in the IT industry for the last 20 odd years and the digital tacho still makes me nervous.
That’s the thing when you’re a newbie. There’s so much new stuff going on. Something bigger than you’ve ever driven before,the CPC trainer drops the bombshell that you’ll be working to at least two sets of rules and talks about EU,domestic,AETR,WTD,you get in the truck and there’s loads of knobs and buttons,the list goes on. And that’s all before you’ve engaged first gear. But like anything,if you want to do it bad enough,you won’t let anything put you off. Which we don’t. To the OP,It’s only because we’re out of our comfort zone. It’s like anything else,when you just get on with it and get through it,you think “what was I worried about?”.
Re digital tacho,iv’e not used a Siemens much,but I find the Stoneridge looks after itself. I’m getting by OK with driver’s hours,it’s the WTD I need to concentrate on.
My boss puts his new guys in to 12tonners until they are happy and comfortable and then chucks you around in to all diff sizes 12/16/18/26 and then finally gives you a regular lorry which mine is a 16 daf LF arsetronic (stupid autos!) quite happy with my run though
I was lucky, I did a combined course c followed by c+e, then through contacts went straight into c+e without any experience of any type of transport industry. It was a steep learning curve and I made mistakes to the extent I thought I wasn’t cut out for it, but 4 years later still working for the company that gave me the chance and loving it.
Well I’ll tell you my story
I did 7.5t work part time for 16 months (just weekends/school holidays) and decided yep I like this I want to drive professionally full time so I took my test in January in a loaded 12t (auto) and passed first time.
I then couldn’t find anyone to take me on with zero class 2 experience and was getting quite despondent when (to cut a long story short) I got a job driving an 8 wheeler Tipper (32t when loaded) I was delivering aggregates and asphalt. The truck was a manual so it took me a day or so to get to grips with that (4 over 4 with a splitter). There was a lot to learn what with the different types of tip (straight tip, machine lay and hand lay).
I did 4 days initial training and then started a month later with another driver in the passenger seat for the first week. I did drive slowly and cautiously as it was the biggest thing I had ever driven and I have to say the other driver said he was impressed with my driving. He often slept so he must have felt reasonably safe lol.
Anyway, day 4 I got the sack. 
On the 3rd day, the other driver was backing me into a farm and somehow I caught this sensor on the gate post, it was smaller than a pack of ■■■■, gatepost was fine. The boss said he was going to give me a written warning for this (although I never actually received anything in writing). The boss also said he is going to deduct the bill for the sensor and fitter out of the 8 days pay I earned. (I’ve taken advice about this and apparently it is unlawful for him to do this). The next day I went to a site in Rushden and I had to reverse up this steep ramp. I was not looking forward to it to be honest and the other driver told me he would back me up and I should listen to him (he had quite a temper on him so I was determined not to p*ss him off). Anyway I did have to take one shunt and he got arsey which did nothing to help the nerves but we got to the top, I put the handbrake on and put it into neutral and he high-fived me and said “awesome job”. However I looked in the mirror and thought that the truck looked quite close to this bit of handrail on the offside. I told him so we got out and looked, unfortunately I had just slightly bent the right side of this small piece of handrail. The boss at the site said that they did not want to make a fuss about it as it could be easily pushed back. I really wish I had asked if I could walk to the top of the ramp to see what I was backing up to, lesson learned.
The other driver went off and called our boss, then he came back to me and said I had to get in the passenger seat. I knew then that this didn’t bode well for me.
When I got back to the yard I got the sack. I was gutted. I gave up my office job of 12 years to join this company so I had taken a risk, especially being a lone parent. And yes, so had the boss taking me on with zero experience and I could see his point, he was worried about my reversing skills (or lack of). I was good at reversing the 7.5 tonner, it was all residential deliveries and I backed down into some ridiculously tight spaces but it really wasn’t enough to prepare me for an 8 wheeler. I feel so embarrassed and ashamed and have not been able to tell any of my ex-colleagues or work friends as they made such a huge fuss of me when I left and I just haven’t been able to tell them that I got the sack on day 4. I keep avoiding them.
So…my personal advice would be to work your way up, my experience going from 7.5t to 32t bit me in the ar*e. My confidence has taken a right hammering and I’m not sure whether to give up now and find another office job but I paid a lot of money to get my licence and I did 18 months of back-breaking 7.5t work to get a little experience so it would be a shame to give up. I am thinking about trying skips and take it from there before moving up to Tippers again, if I ever do.
All the best with whatever you decide.