Next Friday I’ll do my first ever day of Class 2 multi-drop, never done multi-drop and I’m bricking it. I’ve only just got my licence and I have no clue how to organise the deliveries.
Any advice or explanation on this greatly appreciated!
I’ll be working for Switch Logistics in Andover via an agency, anyone knows this company?
I don’t have a truck Sat-nav, I have a car one, and a truckers atlas. Will I be able to do it with that?
Thanks in advance [emoji1]
Yes you will be able to plan your route like that!
As for the multidrop, just don’t panic, it’ll get there, when it gets there! Hopefully with you still in cab…
I’ve never done anything but multidrop, and if I can do it anyone can!
Having done class 2 multidrop for all of 2 months now, I would consider myself a veteran 
My advice is to work from the back of the truck forward & plan your route accordingly. You don’t say what you are multi-dropping but for me it’s all on pallets (anything up to 12 pallets per load). Therefore, I mark on my loading sheet the position of each pallet and work forward. As my truck is a curtainersider and some loads can be fork-lifted off, the order can sometimes vary. What you don’t want is to pull up at a place with no forklift and your pallet stuck on the headboard in front of the rest of the load 
Also, don’t rely on satnavs. I have one in the truck but I prefer to use my trusty “Phillips” map to get the locations first. Better to spend an extra 15 minutes in the yard than hours driving around aimlessly on the road. Anyway, good luck to you - the first week is always hell. I dropped a pallet off the tail-lift on day one & tipped another in the truck cause it was’nt secured properly on day two. And I’m still there… 
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Relax. Concentrate on the driving side of things. First week’s target is to not damage anything, and start getting used to the size of your vehicle. You get there when you get there. Simples.
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Bridge strikes. Know the height of your vehicle. Update the cab indicator if required. A car sat-nav is of NO use in this regard. Make great use of the Mk 1 eyeball combined with the latest download of common sense.
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Wrong turning. It WILL happen. Take your time. If it is a reverse out, see if you can collar someone to help back you out. If no-one is around, hazards on, lights on, reverse very slowly a bit at a time until you get to see as much as you need in the mirrors. There gets a point when someone has to stop and will wait and/or flash you out.
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Paperwork. If you ■■■■ it up-don’t worry. The office WILL have some sort of copy. And after a couple of days you will get the hang of it anyway.
There are plenty of other things to look out for, but generally, bring it back in one piece and have a pleasant attitude.
You wont go far wrong.
F-reds:
Yes you will be able to plan your route like that!As for the multidrop, just don’t panic, it’ll get there, when it gets there! Hopefully with you still in cab…
I’ve never done anything but multidrop, and if I can do it anyone can!
Thanks [emoji1], my thoughts exactly, first priority: don’t kill anyone second: don’t damage anything third: deliver load whole and on time-ish [emoji6]
Zeethron:
Having done class 2 multidrop for all of 2 months now, I would consider myself a veteranAlso, don’t rely on satnavs. I have one in the truck but I prefer to use my trusty “Phillips” map to get the locations first. Better to spend an extra 15 minutes in the yard than hours driving around aimlessly on the road. Anyway, good luck to you - the first week is always hell. I dropped a pallet off the tail-lift on day one & tipped another in the truck cause it was’nt secured properly on day two. And I’m still there… [emoji38]
Hi Zeethron, thanks for that very useful advice and entertaining examples of mistakes [emoji6]
eagerbeaver:
Relax. Concentrate on the driving side of things. First week’s target is to not damage anything, and start getting used to the size of your vehicle. You get there when you get there. Simples.
Bridge strikes. Know the height of your vehicle. Update the cab indicator if required. A car sat-nav is of NO use in this regard. Make great use of the Mk 1 eyeball combined with the latest download of common sense.
Wrong turning. It WILL happen. Take your time. If it is a reverse out, see if you can collar someone to help back you out. If no-one is around, hazards on, lights on, reverse very slowly a bit at a time until you get to see as much as you need in the mirrors. There gets a point when someone has to stop and will wait and/or flash you out.
Paperwork. If you ■■■■ it up-don’t worry. The office WILL have some sort of copy. And after a couple of days you will get the hang of it anyway.
There are plenty of other things to look out for, but generally, bring it back in one piece and have a pleasant attitude.
You wont go far wrong.
Hi Eagerbeaver, thanks for those clear pointers. I know my biggest downfall will be my nerves, when I make a mistake I panic and throw all common sense out of the window [emoji12] which is dangerous in a truck so deep breaths lol.
Customers may say the normal driver who comes, drags a ton pallet of turf, compost, paving slabs up their shingle stone driveway with a pump truck, which is not possible.
Pallet drops are kerb side delivered, not give us a hand lifting a stove or oven up four flights of stairs because the client is on their own.
If they play up , ring your planner, bring the pallet back to the yard.
Some drops will be timed, such as before nine am, before middday, don’t panic if you are late, I missed deadlines.
Collections to be done when empty or when there are still more drops to do.
A handheld electronic scanner to get clients signatures is used, you may scan pallets when loading in the yard.
Be polite and helpful to client’s, some will make a hot drink for you, some will be rude, grit the teeth.
Hey Yoni
Good luck with your first job - I’m sure you will be fine.
Wishing you all the best, and remember that if you make a mistake then you won’t be the first and certainly not the last so don’t be hard on yourself. Plus this is how we learn so if something doesn’t go quite the way it should to begin with, when it does go right you’ll know what success feels like.
This is what you wanted to do so grasp that nettle with both hands 
If unsure of a delivery, get out of the cab to walk down the lane to a tight access.
A few minutes to check, will save a whole day of grief with a crane or tow truck to rescue you.
Pallet drops go down weight limits and rural areas, and farms.
Some pallets need to be broken down, and handball off the pallet.
In rural lanes, cars go very fast and some don’t give way.
A rat run for commuters is the worst.
Always lock the cab when not in it, never know when a thief is about.
Katea:
Hey YoniGood luck with your first job - I’m sure you will be fine.
Wishing you all the best, and remember that if you make a mistake then you won’t be the first and certainly not the last so don’t be hard on yourself. Plus this is how we learn so if something doesn’t go quite the way it should to begin with, when it does go right you’ll know what success feels like.
This is what you wanted to do so grasp that nettle with both hands
Thank you Katea, wishing you all the best too, with your journey [emoji1] and I bet you it’ll be a hell of a lot better than where you are now. I’ve had offers of help and support on here from, let’s face it, complete strangers, which is so lovely.
You can find a universe of knowledge on here, and who knows make friends for life [emoji6]. Please share your experiences with us on here as that’s how we all learn.
Take care, Yoni
If goods are damaged or leaking prior to being loaded on your lorry, take a photo and let the manager see it, the pallet scanner has a photo camera in it.
Some pallets may be over sized, with a ruler by the pallet, a photo is taken to charge more.
Some towns have timed bollard entry, and some drops, you may have to block a road off to unload .
Heavy pallets can roll off the lorry using the pump truck, big tote bags of grain or flour, once they go, trying to stop it can result in back injury.
Check for holes in the lorry that let precipitation in, damaging cargo or getting it rejected. Duck tape to seal up cuts in the curtain is handy.
With multidrop, quite often the customers have been visited before. Ask the other drivers for hints and tips. Make notes, it helps when three hours down the road and you’re trying to remember what you’ve been told! If you don’t have one, make a loading plan. Even if it’s only an L or R on the delivery note, it helps you know which side of the lorry to present (and saves you undoing the wrong curtain!)
Don’t ever be pressured into tipping on break. Set an alarm on your phone for, say, five hours. That way you know in plenty of time when to break. My personal preference was to have a 15 minute within about five hours, then a 30 when I was near a butty van! Remember to reset your alarm though!
As a newby, you will get stressed, it’s unavoidable and everybody will have been there. If you start to feel stressed, pull over, go for a walk to clear your head then start again.
Hope there’s something useful in there.
Good luck, and let us know how you get on.
Cavey.
Hiya
Good luck and don’t rush easy to say I know but it takes what it takes,as Toby said your job is to deliver the pallet not up stairs driveways or just in the back garden,don’t want to hurt your back lifting stuff be no good to man or beast then.
If you keep your paperwork on a clipboard put a piece of paper under the clip with your shift start time and when you need to have a break by,all to easy concentrating on driving to forget specially when your new to it,that said I nearly did it last week lol
When turning if you need both lanes use them don’t worry about cars they can see what your trying to do and if you hold them up getting in and out of places so be it,it’s your job make sure you are ok don’t rush because of them if you hit something they will just drive off leaving you to sort it out.
Any more questions post away everyone been there and will help.
Jeff.
Captain Caveman 76:
With multidrop, quite often the customers have been visited before. Ask the other drivers for hints and tips. Make notes, it helps when three hours down the road and you’re trying to remember what you’ve been told! If you don’t have one, make a loading plan. Even if it’s only an L or R on the delivery note, it helps you know which side of the lorry to present (and saves you undoing the wrong curtain!)
Don’t ever be pressured into tipping on break. Set an alarm on your phone for, say, five hours. That way you know in plenty of time when to break. My personal preference was to have a 15 minute within about five hours, then a 30 when I was near a butty van! Remember to reset your alarm though!
As a newby, you will get stressed, it’s unavoidable and everybody will have been there. If you start to feel stressed, pull over, go for a walk to clear your head then start again.
Hope there’s something useful in there.
Good luck, and let us know how you get on.
Cavey.
Great advice! 
And so are the other post…
Especially knowing what side you next load is on!
As I generally look while at one drop who my next drop is, and if it’s not on that side, it HOPEFULLY should be on the other!
But sometime i do forget to check… 
Maybe a load map is what I need, so I’ll buy myself some crayons!
Watch out for low hanging buildings on farms, they have no height markers and it’s easily to get distratacted while manoeuvres are taking place.
Hidden machinery and junk in long grass to be careful of popping all the tyres.
Some farmers leave the tractor keys to unload yourself.
With a hand ball delivery, the farmer will be conveniently at the market or has a bad back.
He may say he had a bad year, didn’t make much money, with two new Range Rovers and the sprogs at private school.
Hi Yoni
I have included a copy of the load map we use. Each space represents a pallet space of the truck, and contains the description of contents of the pallet, the drop number, and estimated timeslot given by the office. I can add any other information I want/need, this can take 10 minutes to compile, but can save ALOT of stress and headaches.
Hope it helps
Thanks for that, all of those comments are useful to a newbie. [emoji1]