Well I got through my first week out on my own.
Day one gave me a blindside on my very first bay, mental traffic and a banging headache!
Day two started with a bit of a headache but got better!
Day three was a doddle.
Day four was steady away, except for a reload at what the drivers tell me is one of the worst bays they’ve done. Trailers lights packed in on the way home, landing legs jammed at the yard and I finished a 15 hr shift!
Saturday was a breeze.
All starts again tomorrow at 3 am.
Can’t wait!!! Lovin it!
Good on you mate…hoping to be in same position after smas when i do my arctic…well done
btw - was it easy enough getting your first job…depends i suppose where you live. I live in Leicester and there seem to be loads of jobs advertised
It was easy for me. Can’t speak for others who seem to struggle.
I walked into reed boardall and walked out with a job.
The firm seems to get a pounding on the forums but to be fair, they seem fine to me.
The shifts suit me, and although they seem to have a high turnover of drivers, they’ve got a large number of long term drivers who seem happy with the place.
All the drivers are friendly, with plenty of advice and the transport office staff are all helpfull. The trucks are all new stock and well spec’d. All in all I’m enjoying it.
Just be ready for truck driving to account for about 35% of your working day and a few unexpected things to be thrown in! Don’t worry about backing onto bays by yourself etc! And when you get to the security gates, just tell them you’ve never been and they will help. Every where you tip has a different set of rules, none of them too difficult. Good luck.
Good for you, sounds like you taken to it like a duck to water 
well done , now enjoy! !!
The headaches could be down to dehydration, when I first started out, I had so much on my mind that I would forget the basics & not drink or eat all day, combined with the concentration & everything being new, it took it’s toll-‘Banging Headaches’.
Have a couple of Coffee’s or Tea’s & breakfast before you start, take a flask or a big bottle of water & make sure you drink it. As you learn more runs/drops it gets easier, but you still need to keep hydrated.
Well done mate. It can only get better. Good luck and Merry Christmas.
Well done hun
martinviking:
The headaches could be down to dehydration, when I first started out, I had so much on my mind that I would forget the basics & not drink or eat all day, combined with the concentration & everything being new, it took it’s toll-‘Banging Headaches’.Have a couple of Coffee’s or Tea’s & breakfast before you start, take a flask or a big bottle of water & make sure you drink it. As you learn more runs/drops it gets easier, but you still need to keep hydrated.
That’s a good point, it’s so easy to when you start out to neglect your self while concentrating on the job. Dehydration can easily set in without you even realizing it, giving you headaches , poor concentration & vision , any time of year. it can also be damaging to your kidneys. Like matinviking suggests, take a large bottle of water with you & drink from it regularly.
I also drive for reeds, when I was driving the new FH’s I was setting the climate control to auto and was finding it was drying me out and causing me to feel rough, (must be because the air-con in running all the time?) once I started driving without it on I found I felt better. I thought about opening the drivers window, but once you open them on the new FH’s you can’t get them shut again!
Regards SB.
Cheers for the advice. My wife got me a 2l thermos! So all’s good now.
You been in today, smokinbarrels? Did a Wakefield morrisons at 5 this morning, ran upto Stockton and back, then tried to find somewhere to squeeze the unit in! Bit manic in there today!
I’m just a casual driver for reeds, I’ve worked for them about 4 years now and always found them fine to work for. I won’t be back in for them until next year!
seem fine to me too. not had any drama with anyone there, all fair people. when i get my house paid off i think i’ll go casual or part time.