albion:
One of the downsides of our job is that we swap trucks about and it’s double man. There’s two crews that pretty much stick together (one of them’s a married crew and they’ve been with me 20 years …), the others rotate a bit. No one seems to mind.
Sometimes we get the Class 1lads to drive a van or a 7.5
The shame of it [emoji38]
0
Haha I’m gonna print that off and stick on the drivers notice board. Some of our drivers are exactly like a crying child if they are told they’re in a rigid or the van.
I’d drive the van everyday for class 1 money I’m not fussed what I drive we still get paid the same.
I drive a different motor every night. A motor is a motor, and as long as it doesn’t reek of ■■■■ then I’m happy. I care only for my wage packet and the quality of my home life.
I thought can hopping would do my head in but I love it. Mainly because I’m self employed and don’t ask for time off, I inform people in not available, nor do I need to do work I don’t want to. Can hoping is the price but suits me fine, I’ve got it down to a fine art now and can move all my stuff from one truck to another in about 10 minutes.
robroy:
I’ve unfortunately never lost that owner driver mentality to the truck that is allocated to me at the time.
I do try and keep it spotless inside, seeing as I live in it more days of the week than I do at home.
I become irrationally ■■■■■■ if it is used when I am off, although I fully understand it has to be used to maintain an income and all that, so don’t waste your time posting so.
If I come back after my hols and it is a mess inside, I go (again irrationally ) absolutely [zb] ape [zb].
To be fair the boss knows what I am like, so he is selective who he puts on it, so everythings cool.
You need to get a four on-four off job mate. So much time at home, you wonder if time has shifted. And still get paid a weeks wages…
I definitely aint as bad as I was, away all week every week, and being weekended here there and everywhere.
I do Tue to Sat am or lunchtime, so always get a 2 and a half day weekend every week, so I’m getting there slowly.
This week was a bit different,.I was home at 5pm after hold ups, but still not back in to late Wed am with a day’s holiday in.
Just out of interest how many hours do you put in on your 4 on.
Do they expect you to max it or what.
Transport being transport it can be a 14 hour day, or a 10 hour day. The average is about 12 hours a day, with an ‘understanding’ that I don’t cry if it sometimes gets over, and the office don’t cry if it’s less . Shunting is 12 hours straight of course. With decent breaks of course.
switchlogic:
I’ve got it down to a fine art now and can move all my stuff from one truck to another in about 10 minutes.
I0 mins? You must be a complete minimalist Luke.
The amount of crap I carry around with me is unbelievable.
I have every unforseen scenario covered , mainly down to experiencing all of them in the past, and not wanting to be caught out again.
It’s a major operation emptying my cab if I get a new motor, it’s a complete ballache taking most of it out when finishing for a long ish holiday off, and the car goes out of the yard fully laden.
switchlogic:
I’ve got it down to a fine art now and can move all my stuff from one truck to another in about 10 minutes.
I0 mins? You must be a complete minimalist Luke.
The amount of crap I carry around with me is unbelievable.
I have every unforseen scenario covered , mainly down to experiencing all of them in the past, and not wanting to be caught out again.
It’s a major operation emptying my cab if I get a new motor, it’s a complete ballache taking most of it out when finishing for a long ish holiday off, and the car goes out of the yard fully laden.
You must have seen my car on Friday then , Mondeo estate boot totally full and stuff on back seat and I left some stuff hidden in a upstairs room , if I’d took my focus hatch the car would have been rammed from back of front seats
switchlogic:
I’ve got it down to a fine art now and can move all my stuff from one truck to another in about 10 minutes.
I0 mins? You must be a complete minimalist Luke.
The amount of crap I carry around with me is unbelievable.
I have every unforseen scenario covered , mainly down to experiencing all of them in the past, and not wanting to be caught out again.
It’s a major operation emptying my cab if I get a new motor, it’s a complete ballache taking most of it out when finishing for a long ish holiday off, and the car goes out of the yard fully laden.
Basically it’s all in boxes. Three boxes, a bag and a pilots case. Used to take me 3 hours to swap lorries when I had allocated one but cab hopping I soon realised that most of the junk I carried had no real use. Driving a Smart Car also helped me cut down extraneous crap
Same unit, same trailer although when on holiday anything can happen. Usually it comes back wrecked and manky, last time was smashed lights on the unit, cut curtain on the trailer and a chunk out a trailer tyre and the inside of the cab hadn’t been cleaned at all. Not even a wipe over with a cloth.
As for stuff, I have 2 holdalls and a daysack, everything can fit into these when I need to get out, along with sleeping gear into a big Ikea bag that lives in the boot of the car. The longest part is taking my curtains out.
I’ll also drive a van if I’m paid class 1 money, trying to get me to do that for van money would be the time that toys would be launched out the pram.
I have never had to cab hop in all my years of driving, except for one job and that was the one job where it shouldn’t have been the case.
It was at a firm where we did a four weeks on, 6days off stint, the four weeks (at least) were all spent over the water, sometimes out and back multiple times, sometimes over the water the whole time. So we needed to carry quite a bit of gear around with us.
We all had allocated units, but as soon as you got back to take your time off, your unit would get sent out on a trip, usually with a driver just returning from a week off (whose own unit was out with someone else) and because they were fresh and raring to go, they’d usually get a long trip, meaning your unit would still be out when you got back.
Sometimes you would get sent out in the same direction as your unit and if the lorry gods were smiling down on the other bloke, you would have his unit and everyone would be happy with a cab swap along the road somewhere. Sod’s law often happened here though so you could end up swapping out of one unit into another which wasn’t yours and it always seemed to be in the middle of the night that you met up to do a major cab swap.
Many times I went a couple of months without even seeing ‘my’ unit, the only saving grace was that there were no soap dodgers on the firm, so all the lorries were clean and tidy inside.
Had my first truck for three years before it was sold, second one eleven years from new before it was sold, third truck one year from new (I left!) fourth two years (it was sold) and my fith and last one three years and the firm finished. Always the best way, one man and one truck= far fewer problems.
Been with this company for 10 years, had 4 trucks in that time, never shared any of them, they all have been parked on my driveway when I am off duty, even if I am away for 2 weeks holiday. I carry so much stuff that is needed for my off duty in the sleeper and actual work equipment that each time I change trucks it takes about 3 hours to switch.
Can’t think of anything worse than cab hopping, when you have the same truck you get to know how far you can push it, 2 trucks same make and age will handle differently.
weeto:
Can’t think of anything worse than cab hopping, when you have the same truck you get to know how far you can push it, 2 trucks same make and age will handle differently.
Yep so true , we have 6 26t MAN TGS at work 3 pairs of same age in each pair
1 pair year old
1 pair 18 months old
1 pair 5 years old
all handle differently to each other
it don’t help with one of the oldest that it’s got a new body on rear as it was flat packed by a limper
…), the others rotate a bit. No one seems to mind.
) absolutely [zb] ape [zb].
. Shunting is 12 hours straight of course. With decent breaks of course.
Im an auto censor