I have read on here so many times that lots of people have been told that they wont get a start without the expeariance on HGV and was very disheartened at first then in April I regestered for 7.5 ton work with a few good agents 2 main ones found me part time work but said that when I had my cat C it would go up a level and when i got my cat CE they would possably find me full time work if I kept a clean record with them ie (no bumps) (turning up to do the job given ) ( good time keeping ) now considering that I had no real work history or references for 5 yrs before that only 1 from a bus company i worked for years ago and a few personal references from when i worked in the entertainment industry …So I was chuffed when they took me on and when that all important 1st phone call came asking if I was free to do my first job wow its a start that was back at the end of April and I got a steady flow of 7.5 ton work two days a week even with the odd night out thrown in after a month July the 11th I got my cat C and rushed round the agents with my new licence entitlment for them to copy and check and as promised within a week I was out on my 1st C job ok i had to travel 45 mile to get to it but it was again that all important 1st cat C job and that all impotant bit of expearience … sadley in august i failed my CE so had to put things on hold till i had a new test date which i now have on 19th sept … but i didnt give up last week i saw a job advert tipper driver wanted must have tarmac and stone chippings expearience wage nagotiable so I thougt well they can only say No 
and called the number on the advert and asked if they would consider taking on a new cat C driver on a trial basis I was totally honest with them and managed to get again that all important interview last friday .
On friday the boss was late turning up and when he did he interviewed me in his car at truck haven truck park nr lancaster checked my licence and what few references I did have . after a chat he said that if i am willing to go with one of his drivers on training for three nights without pay he will give me a chance part time untill he can sort out an induction on the 16th sept with Barton aggragates and organize a Eppic card course …
I should have started on tuesday night but got a text saying no work on tonight will call you tomorrow
Uh I thought thats a bad start and didnt even return the text well on wednesday i got a call asking me to meet Russel the other driver at truck haven at 6PM wow great . I spent the night as a passenger watching every move he made and ended up taking tarmac to a carpark inr heaton park manchester when the last load was done he asked me if i wanted to drive back to the yard i said no its ok mate i will have a drive tomorrow night was home for 1230am . yesterday i got a text saying could I meet Russel at ther Preston depot at 20.00PM wow thats even better only 18 miles away when i got there Russel asked would I drive the shift and he would just tell me what to do at the plant and on site sounds good to me took a bit of time getting used to the Gears on the volvo 8 wheller 4 over 4 box with a crawler gear . diff lock and all sorts of mod cons to learn about
But the gears soon fell in to place and we were off to a flying start with a full load of stonechippings …
Once at the plant i did my first tip in the stone bay then we had to wait till the plant operator called us in to the tarmac loading shed managed to get under the Hopper just right did exactly what I saw russ do the night before as soon as the tarmac was nearly level with the sides moved back two feet at a time to even the load and keeping it well away from the back gate lol the night before we had auto back gates but tonight it was a manual job .
well that went ok and a quick stop at the gate shunted what tarmac that was near the gate forward just enough 
then it was off to the M6 just after J26 looking for the 100 yard marker to works entrance ha didnt wanna miss that or its a long way round and then back but again all ok at the marker beacons on
and in to the outside two lanes that were closed off and then in the queue of tipper all waiting to back on to the tarmac laying machine thought about the advice i got of this site ( dont forget to lift your mud flaps ) Got out of cab and they where short flaps so was ok when our turn came around Russ said when the layer driver pulls on you rear tyres watch the banks man he will tell you when to tip and when he says hand break off
The machine will push you along so just feather your brakes and dont roll off or there will be tarmac every where thats when all the p&&s taking started Oh hes new is he lol 
windup time lots of shouting and a bit of abuse 
from a load of scousers and paddies ( With a great sense of humour ) But it all stopped when Russ said its your own fault if he does a roll off on ya leaving you with a sticky mess to Clean up lads well after 10 mins the back was empty and time to clean up what that was left in it and re fasten the gate .
and off back to the plant on stand by for 1 hr just in case they had not ordered enough first time round then at 3 am got the all clear to go home back into the yard at preston and was home by 4am … great night and had a laugh as well … the hard part is making sure the tarmac does not stick to the back or as Russ says
you will be there with a shovel and scraper for hrs … … anyway was expecting a text today saying meet Russel at where ever but got a call at 2pm saying your not working tonight Oh What have i done somthing wriong was my reply no no he said you are going on your induction tomorrow morning at Barton agrogates at 8 am I have brought it forward from the 16th and can you start work on sunday night as he got good reports from the crew and Russel was sure i would be ok on my own … wow no more training for now anyway but still got a lot to learn as time goes on im sure … I got some good advice of here like how not to rip the back gate off … dont forget the mud flaps … ect Thanks .
So even though the advert may read experienced drivers only dont just sit looking at it wishing pick up the phone and be honest with them from the start about you lack of experience They can only say NO but hey they may just say ok on a trial basis … so every time you see a job you fancy call them you have nothing to loose …
thanks for taking the time to post that its a great read for someone like me who is just sorting out a training provider and then if all goes smoothly will be out looking for my first lgv work, cant wait.
Great post. So far I’ve got a couple of interviews (agency ones), so hope to get some work out of them even if its van work. Next time I see a job advertised I’m going to call them and see what happens and maybe get the same response as you.
As atomic7431 has said Thanks for taking the time to post this, nice read for people trying to get their foot in the door. Goes to show persistance pays off in the end. I have my C test on Tuesday, once I have passed I shall be getting out there looking for work.
Great read, & good to see you used your own initutive it paid off well for you too, well done.
I have my C test on Tuesday, once I have passed I shall be getting out there looking for work.
good luck and reports please as im starting training soon 
atomic7431:
I have my C test on Tuesday, once I have passed I shall be getting out there looking for work.
good luck and reports please as im starting training soon
Thankyou 
I shall put a training diary up.
Hey Yambol! Excellent post and congrats on getting the induction moved forward! It’s great to see things coming together for you and I hope you really get into the new gig on tippers and enjoy it!! Sounds like some interesting work.
I’m starting on C+E training tomorrow with a test on Thursday. I’ll put a diary together starting tomorrow night with all the gory details 
Enjoy the new work and well done again!
Cheers,
Laz
Thank laz
Oh what a first night start truck wouldnt start so phoned boss he said its been stud a while keep trying and it should go and it did after about 12 attenpts then air breaks would not come off even thought the air had built up ( after 15 mins ) so phoned the other driver who trained me he said under the handbreak is a switch push it in 
and it worked .then the warning lite came on for the air tank halfway to plant as i went to stop it went out again …so carried on but it did that about 4 times all night …so told him to get it looked at …
Then got to the plant on time tipped my stone and waited to get my load of tarmac should have been 930pm load time got load at 10.30 pm but didnt go forward far enogh on my shunt and ended up with tarmac all over my top sheet that made it hard to pull over 
… then off to J27 M6 to tip on to laying machine waited about 2 hrs then things started to go right lol didnt spill my load all over got it spot on and was pushed along while tipping nicely 
. after tipping got out to check the back uhhh what a mess :crytarmac stuck everywere so off back to plant for a clean up before next load … when i got to plant he said thats it no more tips may as well go home so I cleaned off wasnt as bad as i thought took all of 20 mins . then the long drive back to Carnforth over kellet then a 45 mile drive home after taking keys to truckhaven . 
… left home at 6pm start 7 30 pm finnish 5am home 6 am …
So when I got a call from boss at 2.30pm this afternoon I thought OH Dear but no worries just the opposit working tonight and wanted to know if im available all week … told him I thought i made a ■■■■ up with the job he said no no you will learn as you go along and laughed …
Oh Well off to plant again tonight but bet i dont make the same mistake loading tonight
Hi all.As has been said many times you just have to keep plugging away until you get lucky.
I paid for myself to take the course and test [in 1971] and straight away i was in the same position of ‘‘we only take people with experience’‘situation.
There was a guy locally who drove a truck to Italy so i went and asked if i could go with him on a trip if i paid for the meals.This he was happy to do.Needless to say,i learned a lot,saw a lot of companies on the road and met drivers.
When we got back i went to visit one of the companies i had seen on the road.When they asked ‘‘what experience have you got’’ i said,’‘ive just done 3drops Milan for Euroking,’‘Oh by the way did jock get his gearbox fixed,i tried to help him at Aosta’’ but couldn’t do anything.I GOT THE JOB.
Sometimes you have to be a little ‘‘flexible’’.
Since those early days i’ve driven all over Europe,the Middle East.had my own truck,driven in Canada and i now live in Lappland,Sweden.
Here they have a shortage of drivers so there are many young girls and guys coming straight from the driving schools and going on to 50ton or 100ton tippers in the mining industry,also there are a lot of kids driving the big wheel loaders and shovels.
So just keep trying,you’ll get there in the end.Mike
Ah well boss phoned back at about 4pm no work from plant tonight but said should be on tomorrow Im glad realy as i ache all over oh i wish i was 20 yrs younger Great story Mike never even thought of Sweden but have looked at Canada . May be an idea if you did a thread on the good points and bad points in both countries mate
Howdy folks!! Yambol you’ve given us all insight to what a proper shift is like! It isn’t always gonna be nice smooth motorway runs, wide roundabouts and good coffee served by a waitress with a nice twinkle in her eye!!
Nope. It’s more likely to be the little trials and tribulations that stack up to a whole lot of learning. Next shift you’ll know where that little button is the sorts the brakes out enough to get moving, how NOT to hit the cover with tarmac, and how it feels when getting it spot on when tipping the tarmac etc. A long shift dude but it’s gotta be worth it!!
And yes, being 20 years younger would be no bad thing! As far as trucking somewhere else then I’d go for Canada myself but then again I’m biased!
Toodle pip,
Laz
Hi Yambol57.As you are aware both countries have distinct plus and minus points for anyone who is considering moving abroad.Canada is of course the most well known for most people.The country is well known by most people and the main language being English makes it popular. The main difficulty is,first the sheer size of the country makes it so important to do your research where you want to live.Imagine a country the size of which is from London to Kabul west to east and North cape to Gibraltar north to south and then choose where to live.
Then you have the immigration system which is difficult,long and complex. 
Then you have to find a job which you can enjoy and earn enough to get established and improve your life[which is the reason for the change in the first place]
Then you have the winters,which to an European are totally unlike anything you have experienced[unless your from the eastern part of Russia],and can last up to 6months.
Sweden has its own peculiarities.The main plus point is that as it is EU it is possible to freely move there as an EU citizen and you can use you own licence to live and work.
The biggest problem is that you have to live within another language and culture so have to adapt to fit in and make your life comfortable.
On the plus side the people are friendly and helpful so will help you fit in[like Canadians]
Also,here in the north there is a shortage of people so there is a lot of work within the mining industry[they are looking for something like 5000plus over the next few years]
On the negative side you have the same remoteness as Canada with much the same climate.
On a good note if you want a relaxed life with a lot of outdoor activities and work where you have free time to spend on those activities then it’s great here.
I drive a 50ton tipper underground in a mine Iwork 7days then have 7days free for £2200 netto per month.I’M happy. Mike
That sounds good mate yep seen the weather on Ice road truckers I think at my age now I will be looking for warmer climats to keep mi poor old Bones moving lol … I like eastern Europe for cost of living / weather/open space / ect but the wages are poor (thats why they come here) …I have done a lot of driving in Europe but have only ever driven 7,5 ton camper van over there ( only because i wont fly ).2000 Miles each way to Bulgaria and back plus Italy and Greece but even thats better than no expeariance 
I did apply for a job in Preston delivering time precious goods in Europe same day as I got the tipper job have heard nothing back yet …but the closing date isnt tiil 9th sept so still got a hope .
ah well better get some Beauty sleep i just got a call work tonight …