I work nights on ‘The Pallet Network’. I start at 1900hrs, drive to Rugby, tip and then spend 6-7 hours in the cab waiting for my return load - I drive a 1998 (‘R’) DAF 85.360.
The problem is the cab heater/demister works in a fashion - it provides warmth when driving but not when the engine is idling, the fan/blower doesn’t work at all. I’ve checked all the fuses but none of them have blown.
Also, my night heater doesn’t work either. As I said, I spend 6-7 hours in the cab every night and it gets [zb] cold. I write out a defect every night but nothing is being done about it.
Stick a brick on the accelerator for the 6 hours your there,casually mention to the boss how much more diesel your getting through trying to keep warm.
I was stuck tipping in B & Q (Red House) doncaster this morning in an antique S reg volvo. and I was doing my nut trying to get the night heater to work, but failed…Bbbbbbbrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr
you could always do what a driver was caught doing (spotted doing may i add ) by using your hand or hands depending on how well endowed you are
by using coffee bean motions on a certain part of your anatomy , but the expense of tissue might outweigh that option
good news is the weather is going to warm up …
no seriously defect it or refuse to drive it …
flasks hot water bottle not as aids to the above
gardun:
Best of luck brummie - could be worse though; I have to spend about two hours waiting in the cab with a night heater but in BIRMINGHAM
and whats wrong with birmingham
Nothing that wouldn’t improve by not having to go there every night! Truth is I just hate driving round there- if any of our main routes are shut trying to get a 16 ft. trailer around is a pain in the proverbial.
I would ask for a proper motor Brummie. maybe something from Sweden they get real cold over there . I have a Scavlo FHR series its got a built in sauna. keeps the interior really warm , the only trouble is the windows are always misted up
If it were a proper office enviroment,like your bosses,it would have to be at 16 deg C minimum,as required under H&S law.
The fact that it’s a truck is neither here nor there,as it is your ‘office.’
Have a polite word with your gaffer,and ask him to rectify the situation with the utmost of urgency,as you’re sure if he was in the same position,he wouldn’t put up with it night after night.
tell the boss when you finish your shift to get it sorted…and then phone in just before your next shift starts…saying you cant come in…youve got terrible flu…due to the fact youve been freezing your nuts off for the past few days…i certainly wouldnt drive any vehicle without a heater…and never without a working night heater…had a problem years ago…similar to yours…only thing is …he was a stipler for checking diesel figures…mine went down by gallons…only cos i rigged a bottle and string up…and drained the diesel out…he got the message that it was cheaper to repair than run the engine…
gardun:
Nothing that wouldn’t improve by not having to go there every night! Truth is I just hate driving round there- if any of our main routes are shut trying to get a 16 ft. trailer around is a pain in the proverbial.
err, 16’ How about trying to circumnavigate blocked routes with 45’ hung on the back?
My car transporter that I pull behind the car is a 16’ load bed (+ draw bar)
Refuse to drive it mate. I am totally deaf in one ear and have tinnitus too, all because I carried on working with flu and had a faulty night heater 15 years ago. May not be quite the same as I was on nights out and I did have the flu, but sitting there freezing isnt going to do you any good.
It aint much fun hearing everything in mono and a steam pipe permanently blasting in one ear I can tell you. Also I occasionally have to have a pop at morons who think partial deafness is funny.
Phil
HAIRYGORILLA:
…using coffee bean motions on a certain part of your anatomy…
I don’t need to do that - I’ve got this device that plugs into the cigarette lighter, which you place over that certain part of your anatomy, and creates a sucking, massaging and vibrating effect. It can even be used hands free whilst driving!
Its a pity it doesn’t cook, clean and do the laundry, it would render the wife useless!!!
Seriously though, I turned up for work last night and both the night heater and cab heater/demister had been repaired; I also had a new windscreen, new windscreen wipers, two new mudguards on the drive axle and even the n/s heated mirror was working! And to top it all, somebody had washed and valeted it!
It may have been down to the message I wrote on the defect note. I thought I’d play on my recent heart attack and wrote in black marker pen:
NO CAB HEATING WHATSOEVER, DRIVER EXPERIENCING CHEST PAINS DUE TO COLD!
gardun:
Nothing that wouldn’t improve by not having to go there every night! Truth is I just hate driving round there- if any of our main routes are shut trying to get a 16 ft. trailer around is a pain in the proverbial.
err, 16’ How about trying to circumnavigate blocked routes with 45’ hung on the back?
My car transporter that I pull behind the car is a 16’ load bed (+ draw bar)
16’ HIGH 44 tonne double-decker 45’ (if not more) long
16’ HIGH 44 tonne double-decker 45’ (if not more) long
Gardun
ah, you didn’t say that. Agreed 16’ HIGH can definately be a problem.
I once pulled inside a warehouse, where i was known, to tip with a trailer of similar proportions, one of the forkies keeps looking up at the trailer & looking at me. I says “what’s up”? He says: “Is that snow up there on the trailer roof”? (It was summer time)
brummie:
Also, my night heater doesn’t work either. As I said, I spend 6-7 hours in the cab every night and it gets [zb] cold. I write out a defect every night but nothing is being done about it.
What can I do and where do I stand on this?
Under Health & Safety at Work, the minimum temperature has to be 16C. If it isn’t that, you have the legal right to go home. HOWEVER if there’s a drivers rest room provided that is warm and you choose not to use it, then you haven’t a leg to stand on.
