First Post - Need some advice - Hope to become a LGV Driver

[kingkenny]

Morning or evening,

MUCH DEPENDENT ON WHEN YOU ARE READING THIS I SUPPOSE?

Been out of work for a while now, located to the east of Birmingham, to the west of Coventry. Jobs around my part of the world are getting harder and harder to aquire, so i have had a think, and i have decided to progress this Driving vocation, as i do like to drive. The demand seems to be there for good drivers, so hopefully i can become a good driver of a LGV?

But like many on here, cost is the main problem in aquiring your license. I know i stand no chance of sponsorship, or funding. So again like many on here, i will have to raise funds to pay for the courses, by taking on debt, in the form of a loan.

So my question relates to trying to keep the costs down really, so i do not have to borrow more than i need to?

I have passed the medical, got my provisional Class C, and i have passed my theory test. So the next part involves the high cost?

I am ready to take my Class 2 pratical. Can someone help me out here. Locally to me (Warwickshire) the one school i have been in touch with, has quoted me:

Class 2 training and test - £1000.00
Retest fee - £325.00

Class 1 training and test - £1000.00
Retest fee - £325.00

This involves sharing a Cab (two people) over five days and taking the test at the end of the 5th day (Friday).

If i fail both once, i am looking at a divorce, or better still bancrupcy?

Do these costs seem to be normal, are there any cheaper options, locally to me? As i do not see the point in travelling 100’s of miles, stay in a B and B, just to save a £100.00, as this will be false economy?

I am just over 40 years of age, been driving 24 years on a car license, clean as clean, and just recently i have done two shifts driving a 7 1/2 ton, just to get the feel of a bigger vehicle,but even these have dried up now, so i need to get working asap?

Any help or advice would be very appreciated, thanks.

[ianf6512]

Hi KingKenny and welcome to the forum.

I have just taken my class 1 with a company called West Midlands Transport Training based in Aldridge.

Their latest fees are £770.50 for a five day course (plus £244.10 for a re-test if required). Both of these figures included the test fee.

The company has a class 2 Volvo FM7 and a class 1 Volvo FM 12 both of which look the same inside so there is no re-familiarising to a new vehicle when you take your class 1.

Contact details are John Kennard on 01922 458110.

You are also looking at starting your training at a good time of year, because once you have your class 2, you should be able to pick up a load of Christmas delivery work.

Hope this helps.

Ian.

[donpablo]

hi, i would look around, that sounds a bit steep, i paid £750 each class 2 then class 1, it was 1 to 1 training and in london!, i think you need this i wouldnt of been happy sharing, you can also purchase pass protection at £399 gives you 2 more attempts including test fee and lorry hire etc, if you come down to london the school will also accommadate you for £100 i think this is in the premier travel inn for 4 nights, have a look at the schools website i trained with, www.1stclasstrucking.com . good luck its a great feelong to pass.

[postman0071]

im at the same stage as you mate. starting my class 2 in noveber (£650) including test fee, thats in wigan though, think a grand is a bit over the top.

[kiowan]

A 2nd recommendation for West Midlands Training here, he was the cheapest I found around the area.

There’s no need to do your class 1 immediately after your class 2, if money is tight, just get your class 2 done and work for a while to earn the money back then go for class 1 later on. Some companies do offer to train up class 2 drivers to class 1, including Stobarts apparently, who are in Hams Hall I believe, not far from you.

[kingkenny]

Hey Guys,

ianf6512, donpablo, postman0071, Kiowan

Cheers for all the replies, thanks very much.

Great forum, brilliant forum, feel part of the truckers community already, never even driven an eighteen wheeler yet, come to think of it, have never been in one, so maybe one day?

In response, to some of your replies, i am no different to anyone who has not worked for a while, money is tight, but hopefully this could be a new start?

The problem i have at the moment is i do not have access to a car, so i need a driving school where i either get the train and stay in a B and B, or can get the Bus too. The school i was referring to above is based in the Coventry area, and it seems a bit steep, but, no travelling or Hotel bills, so i am unsure really.

I can maybe get access to a car for a week so i will have to have a look round?

If i can get my class 2 for £750.00 including test fee, that might get me going, so any truckers which might know of scools local to the Nuneaton, Rugby, Leamington, Solihull, Coventry area for around that price, please post the links?

I suppose what concerns me most is paying out the initial cost, then failing, a couple of times, it all starts to add up.

Referring to my original quote, i was looking at £1650.00, just to get my class 2 if i took three times to pass. I would have gotten my license, but lost the missus, there again, theres an idea?

Thanks again

[postman0071]

no probs matey, like i said in exactly same boat ref. stage i am at…sod it im using my overdraft to do it ( which bothered me slightly) but my friend said its not as though ive spent 2 grand on a credit card with nothing to show for it. im looking at it as an investment,
not even thinking what happens if i fail,…forever the optomist eh?

[rog]

KingKenny:
I am ready to take my Class 2 pratical. Can someone help me out here. Locally to me (Warwickshire) the one school i have been in touch with, has quoted me:
Class 2 training and test - £1000.00
Retest fee - £325.00
Class 1 training and test - £1000.00
Retest fee - £325.00
This involves sharing a Cab (two people) over five days and taking the test at the end of the 5th day (Friday).

Was the quote from Roadrunner training in Coventry - 02476 700 300

[superlez]

Have been quoted around £1300 (with change) for both courses in Aberdeen.

There is one major snag up here though - tests will involve the use of rather old vehicles.

But it’s not all doom and gloom - this combined with 1 to 1 instruction does help keep costs down to their rather low level.

[8wheels]

Personally I found 2:1 training better than the 1:1 sessions, for the reason that rather than driving for a 4hour block we’d do an hour or so each then watch the other guy.

This was helpful as I could see the errors he was making, I’d be ‘driving’ mentally myself all the while and without the pressure I could see how and why he’d made those errors and I could try and avoid doing the same myself.

Also when he was making the same mistakes as I’d just made, it didn’t knock my confidence so much. It just reminds you that mistakes are part of the learning.

It’s not for everyone I’m sure but I’d not rule it out.

[superlez]

KingKenny:
Morning or evening,

MUCH DEPENDENT ON WHEN YOU ARE READING THIS I SUPPOSE?

Been out of work for a while now, located to the east of Birmingham, to the west of Coventry. Jobs around my part of the world are getting harder and harder to aquire, so i have had a think, and i have decided to progress this Driving vocation, as i do like to drive. The demand seems to be there for good drivers, so hopefully i can become a good driver of a LGV?

But like many on here, cost is the main problem in aquiring your license. I know i stand no chance of sponsorship, or funding. So again like many on here, i will have to raise funds to pay for the courses, by taking on debt, in the form of a loan.

So my question relates to trying to keep the costs down really, so i do not have to borrow more than i need to?

I have passed the medical, got my provisional Class C, and i have passed my theory test. So the next part involves the high cost?

I am ready to take my Class 2 pratical. Can someone help me out here. Locally to me (Warwickshire) the one school i have been in touch with, has quoted me:

Class 2 training and test - £1000.00
Retest fee - £325.00

Class 1 training and test - £1000.00
Retest fee - £325.00

This involves sharing a Cab (two people) over five days and taking the test at the end of the 5th day (Friday).

If i fail both once, i am looking at a divorce, or better still bancrupcy?

Do these costs seem to be normal, are there any cheaper options, locally to me? As i do not see the point in travelling 100’s of miles, stay in a B and B, just to save a £100.00, as this will be false economy?

I am just over 40 years of age, been driving 24 years on a car license, clean as clean, and just recently i have done two shifts driving a 7 1/2 ton, just to get the feel of a bigger vehicle,but even these have dried up now, so i need to get working asap?

Any help or advice would be very appreciated, thanks.

There are certainly cheaper options - but I suppose it’s a matter of what you get is what you pay for…

As far as the both tests go, a lot might depend on where you live - if you stay in an area where there are more artics than anything else then there might just be a chance that an employer might be prepared to put you through your C+E (having a C licence - whether a company put you through or you acquired it yourself would in this two test era would surely if nothing else demonstrate commitment to the cause - as well as a significant saving to the firm!).

I did say might though - there are bound to be strings attached to schemes such as these, such as committing yourself to the company for a predetermined period.

In a way I’m fortunate enough to stay in a region where artics are king - they’re needed to move containers and heavy equipment for oil related industries. This leads me to think that there are opportunities for Class 2 licence holders to upgrade their licences to Class 1 - even if you are left with the hot air that is a C licence afterwards (C+E gives automatic entitlement to drive any rigid goods vehicle of course!).

Might be different in your neck of the woods though!

[kingkenny]

ROG:

KingKenny:
I am ready to take my Class 2 pratical. Can someone help me out here. Locally to me (Warwickshire) the one school i have been in touch with, has quoted me:
Class 2 training and test - £1000.00
Retest fee - £325.00
Class 1 training and test - £1000.00
Retest fee - £325.00
This involves sharing a Cab (two people) over five days and taking the test at the end of the 5th day (Friday).

Was the quote from Roadrunner training in Coventry - 02476 700 300

Is this steep, what competition is there locally to this outfit?

[krankee]

KingKenny:
Is this steep, what competition is there locally to this outfit?

I think ROG is asking because he works as an LGV instructor in Cov.

If I remember correctly, there is a training school based somewhere near/or in, the Tyseley Truck Stop. Only a few minutes walk from Tyseley Station.

But I can’t remember their name or reputation.

[kingkenny]

Krankee:

KingKenny:
Is this steep, what competition is there locally to this outfit?

I think ROG is asking because he works as an LGV instructor in Cov.

If I remember correctly, there is a training school based somewhere near/or in, the Tyseley Truck Stop. Only a few minutes walk from Tyseley Station.

But I can’t remember their name or reputation.

Oky Doky, any chance of some private lessons ROG?

Where can we hire a truck for twenty five odd hours?

[krankee]

I’m sure he’ll be along to P.M. you to discuss the matter further.

[kingkenny]

Krankee:
I’m sure he’ll be along to P.M. you to discuss the matter further.

Cheers Krankee,

Do you reckon i would pick up some work if i got my Class2, as i will be just a car driver with a Class 2, not an experienced Class 2 driver?

Same applies to Class 1, no experience, no work?

[krankee]

As to work, you’re not in a bad area. From your description I’m assuming Meriden (as opposed to Catherine-de-Barnes. ) Please, please, don’t tell me you’re a “Woodite”.

To the North you’ve got both Kingsbury, with all the fuel suppliers, who DO require experience, and Hams Hall, where a number of hauliers are based.

To the South of Cov, you’ve got what is often referred to as ‘The Golden Triangle’. Crick, Northampton, and (I can’t remember the other. ) The story goes that, when the proposals were first muted to designate the area for transport/distribution, no-one thought to check with the DVLA as to the availability of vocational licence holders living within the area, hence wages in the area attracted a premium.

Closer to home, you’ve got the Bagington complex, where there are a number of companies.

Much could depend upon what happens to the Ryton plant. It will probably go to housing, but is situated close to major routes and could well serve for ‘distribution’.

[kingkenny]

Krankee:
As to work, you’re not in a bad area. From your description I’m assuming Meriden (as opposed to Catherine-de-Barnes. ) Please, please, don’t tell me you’re a “Woodite”.

To the North you’ve got both Kingsbury, with all the fuel suppliers, who DO require experience, and Hams Hall, where a number of hauliers are based.

To the South of Cov, you’ve got what is often referred to as ‘The Golden Triangle’. Crick, Northampton, and (I can’t remember the other. ) The story goes that, when the proposals were first muted to designate the area for transport/distribution, no-one thought to check with the DVLA as to the availability of vocational licence holders living within the area, hence wages in the area attracted a premium.

Closer to home, you’ve got the Bagington complex, where there are a number of companies.

Much could depend upon what happens to the Ryton plant. It will probably go to housing, but is situated close to major routes and could well serve for ‘distribution’.

Cheers mate,

Do not know what a woodite is, anyway i do not live in the woods, just rent a 2 up 2 down in the Cov area to the west etc!

Yep there is work about, but you walk into these agency’s, and me being the wrong side of forty, hair gone, then some spotty faced twenty something comes over, smacks you in the face with his script of questions, make you feel like you owe him big time, then the fatal words, “I’ll be in touch” Arny the pimple? The new young proffesional, ■■■■ me i hate agencies?

Anyway, i suppose you just have to grin and bear the ■■■■ to start with?

[kiowan]

If you’re desperate just to get out and working, I think Driver Hire seem to give anyone a job no matter what their experience, the downside being that the pay is comparably abismal to the more selective agencies. But it’ll get you going I guess. I generally find with agencies, that if I ring them about a job I get the usual, come in and register bull, but I always ask them if that particular job is actually available now and suitable for me before I waste my petrol going to register. It’s suprising how often they actaully admit it’s just an example of what work they get in and are just filling the books ready for jobs.