After putting out the feelers for a few weeks, have finally found myself some Class 1 work with Downton’s on nights.
I know there are threads galore on here full of advice for newbies, but anyone have any advice specific to night work at Downton’s? I know it’s going to be curtainsider but that’s about it… First shift tomorrow night!
Cheers
Take it steady, don’t be afraid to ask questions or ask for help. Any decent driver won’t mind helping you. Don’t try and fight sleep pull over for a 15 minute nap followed by strong coffee if you get tired. Good luck
I would say relax think before you act and all willbe fine.Remember the only stupid quistion is one that is not asked.If unsure always ask oh and enjoy it is fun.
Have a good sleep in the daytime prior to your shift start, set out in plenty of time for your travel to work as there are lots of night time roadworks going on .
Remember your mobile phone with Travel app/s loaded so you can check route events /diversions and updates (RAC - highwaysengland- ) Physical Map with bridge heights.
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Take a filled flask , gloves - Torch and spare batteries - kit bag/ PPE, and adorn the hi-viz in the appropriate position.
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Make sure you know the height of the vehicle your taking out and ask the Transport Office bod' what they deem as Official Co. Policy re-routes’ if road closures are in place for your destined routes.
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Dont forget the M1 Northamptonshire has current night closures ongoing J19/18 to 16 
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Ask the Co. what their contact number and breakdown procedure is, should/ if you encounter an issue whilst out and about.
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Above all, dont forget to ask if your unsure, enjoy . 
If your in a tight space etc then slowness is your friend too many people try to do things fast and then get caught out
Firstly take your time. Carry out all of your walk around checks, make sure you have your paperwork, what needs signing & what they want back. Make sure you know where you are going. It might be worth making a checklist to keep you right for the first couple of trips. Don’t forget the basics, digi card, phone, money, pen.
Secondly take your time. Don’t be rushed by anyone used to drivers getting away from the yard quickly, they might not know your a virgin so to speak, you will get there soon enough.
Thirdly take your time. Once out on the road relax & enjoy it. Remember everyone will assume you are a fully trained, experienced driver, don’t be afraid to ask questions & talk to other drivers. If you’re not sure about the delivery point park outside,if possible, and go have a look.
for first shift get up early then go back to bed for at least 4 hours before you go this should see you through the night the rest of the week will fall into place , if not about 4am youll feel ike somebodys dropped a piano on your back
make sure you know how to open the curtains ,first trip i did ,fork lift drivers says ok open up ,i said how do i do that then ,he nearly died laughing but when i told him it was my first time, he couldn’t be more helpful 
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Are you out of Preston Brook?
On curtains, remember, load from the front, tip from the rear! So open curtains accordingly! I got caught out on this from not thinking when I first started!!!
Great advice guys, have already downloaded the traffic apps but am missing my physical map since leaving it in a truck a few weeks ago, never to be seen again!
Regarding sleep, I’ve been on days for a while but seeing as I woke up late today I’m going to pull an allnighter and try to sleep right through tomorrow. I don’t fancy doing nights forever and a day but don’t mind it while gaining the XP.
Haha I’m fortunate that I’ve a few years of rigid driving behind me, including curtainsides, securing loads and all that good stuff, although knowing me I’ll spend about 5 minutes working out the mechanism that folds round the corners of the trailer headboard! Definitely glad I didn’t do C/C+E together and jump right in to artics straight away, feel much more confident having spent some time in the industry first.
eagerbeaver, no, out of Dunstable mate.
When I first passed it was reversing that was my weakness.
Do not be embarassed to ask for reversing guidance, either from other drivers ( explain you are new, and 99 out of 100 will gladly help you) or goods in staff. btw:…It does not matter a ■■■■ how many times it takes to get in 
Take your time do not tearsrse about, and do NOT let anybody on the end of phone push or hassle you, however much they try, that is how accidents happen and believe me you do NOT want that.
Sleep has already been covered, and as said if you are tired have 15 mins. If load is late the world will not end, no matter how much the ■■■■■ say it will. …just blame traffic hold ups.
Good luck with it.
Forgot to put on my previous post;
Make sure your ratchets are on your near side, so if you need to tighten when you pull over, you are not in the road.
Sounds obvious, but you would be amazed how many forget.
You’ll probably be given the old nail to drive, given that it’s your first shift so make sure you have got a torch, in case it’s dark when you start and you can’t see how to switch on the interior light or it doesn’t work and you can’t see any switches and make sure your phone/sat nav are fully charged in case the 12/24v sockets are dead.
As has been said, don’t let anyone rush you and remember you have now got 8 corners to watch instead of 4
I’ve never considered which side I lay the ratchets on, but I like that one, will remember it!
Torch seems to be high on the manifesto too, so I’ll make a point of taking that.
Power sockets not working are what originally inspired me to get a map! Use the map for 99% of the route then the sat nav/phone for the last 1%. It’s amazing how little battery you get through doing it this way. Just have to watch out for the trap of leaving it too late to turn the sat nav on so it doesn’t have time to locate you before you get too close/shoot past the destination!
I can only speak as a cat C driver but:
Take things slow and steady
Ignore any comments about how the other drivers do it quicker
Don’t ever be afraid to ask for help backing up or whatever. I still get someone to see me back to a loading door/area.
If another driver seems approachable, ask them a question that you might have. I’ve had some surprisingly helpful responses at motorway services etc. I’ve also helped other drivers at services, usually seeing someone back in a blind side reverse into a bay or once strapping a load down. We’re Ll in the same game and in my eyes a bit of comradeship goes a long way. Who knows, you might even get a coffee out of it! Don’t be afraid to say hello to your neighbours at a truck stop either. A simple hello or wave may end up going a long way if you know who should and shouldn’t be hanging around trucks near you.
Most of all, enjoy it. Driving nights, like myself, you’ll end up moaning about the highways agency and all the roadworks but you’ll have next to no traffic to contend with and roadworks aside some fairly stress free drives.
Firstly good luck and take your time.
Remember to let us know how you get on! Hate it when people don’t tell us how they have got on!
Take it wider than what you think on junctions/sharp bends. If you need to then don’t be scared to own the road, ie take both lanes if you need to. Better making the cars wait for 20 seconds than taking a bollard with you! Don’t let any impatient car drivers make you rush. They can wait. And as much as you think everyone is watching you and laughing at you when your reversing onto a bay, they probably aren’t. They have seen that many people reverse before they couldnt care less. Ask for help if you need it. Most other HGV drivers are happy to help as we’ve all been there on day one. If you need someone to watch your back when reversing then just ask. And try not over compensate by putting too much lock on. Remember what you put in you need time to take it off again.
So much great advice here, thanks everyone. Hopefully when others search for this it’ll bring up this topic as there’s some good little tips!
So… Charge sat nav, remember torch, take it slowwww, ask questions, and tell the office to go ■■■■ themselves if they try to rush me. Think I got it
Question though… What’s night curtainsider work likely to be? Talking generally here, not necessarily artic. I’ve done nights for Norbert’s before but that was auto parts in cages, so you had the keys for each delivery point and got on with it. Given most businesses are closed, I can only think it’s going to be RDC to RDC or deliveries to 24 hr operation sites only…
That’s my first st00pid question anyway!
Yes, it’s probably trunking between RDCs, but don’t forget that many large supermarkets are now open 24 hours, and many take deliveries 24 hours as well (unless they’re in a residential area where the noise upsets the locals).