Doing a spell as night shunter at United Carriers was always fun 
32 rigids, 15 artics and a dozen drawbars to juggle between 15 loading bays, my shunt tug was a rigid TK bedford with a 5th wheel, and a drawbar coupling on the front bumper 
I didnt know whether I was coming or going 
TC:
Rob, Knowing you age you must have passed a rigid test! did you ■■■■ the test, and now you can drive an Artic are you now too good for a rigid??I agree with Boots, good drivers can drive anything without a moan or a care!
True TC, but you know what they say…there are drivers and there are screwdrivers…then there are people like me who merely aspire to being screwdrivers… 
I’m off to see how many shunts it takes me to park the car in the yard. 
it is funny how a class 1 driver can only drive class 1. its like anything else, if you are out of practice, you will struggle for a while. when i passed my class 1, i almost drove over the opposite kerb turning right in a rigid because i pulled forward then turned. it does take some getting used to for an artic driver. even now i sometimes have to stop and think when i am about to reverse. or i pull round too far when i am lining up to back up a rigid
Reminds me of my very stretched Saviem rigid ‘sloper’ car transporter back in the 1970s.
With an estate reversed onto the illegal front kickdowns over the cab and another hanging off the tail it was forty foot long with 12 foot of that behind the rear axle. Turn right too quickly and you’d swep prams off the pavement or wipe out the inside lane. Left turns in town took the entire road and scared the crap out of upper deck passengers on buses. On hilly roads the rear end would gound on bends. Most of my work was in the West Country and in some Cornish villages I’d have to phone ahead and be escorted in the wrong way round the one way system. One drop in Kentish Town required a quarter mile reverse since it was too long to turn at the dealers but rather than be ■■■■■■ off I used to love the challenge. Oh happy days…
Rigids are the anti christ!!! 
Ladytrucker679:
Rigids are the anti christ!!!
Thats a strange View from a moderator of the Wannabe forum!
Ladytrucker679:
Rigids are the anti christ!!!
call me the devil then cos i,m back on the old rigid RO RO.
GREAT FUN. back to basics eh…
i,m of the opinion that there are DRIVERS and there are drivers.
i drive oot thats aboooot and pays the most wonga.
Rob K:
:xGot a rigid wagon today for a couple of local runs while I was waiting for a unit to come back. How do you rigid driver’s manage to drive them? They’re just so wrong.
I nearly had a head on collision as I turned left out of a junction. The car coming towards me from the left wouldn’t slow down but in fact started blasting his horn and flashing his lights at me
. It was only when I looked in the nearside mirror that my trailer wasn’t to be found and I was in fact about quarter of a mile away from the kerb, no wonder the car driver nearly had a fit when I was driving down the middle of the road towards him
I dropped half a cog with the splitter from 8th high to 8th low, but suddenly found myself being catapaulted through the window and the engine nearly throwing a rod out when the rev counter needle launched itself into space, promptly slicing through the other side of needle stop peg.
It must have taken me a good 5 minutes to work out why the trailer wasn’t coming round when I was reversing into a yard. It was really [zb] me off that much that I gave it even more opposite lock to bring it round but it just wouldn’t have it and a few feet later I found myself sat there facing into the yard, with the FLT driver looking on with a face that said “is this guy for real?”[/b]. I did, eventually, get my act together and managed to reverse it in the yard
. It got even better when I jumped out to undo the curtains
What a nightmare for a couple of hours though
[/quote]
a poor workman always blames his tools
Got a rigid wagon today for a couple of local runs while I was waiting for a unit to come back. How do you rigid driver’s manage to drive them? They’re just so wrong.
I nearly had a head on collision as I turned left out of a junction. The car coming towards me from the left wouldn’t slow down but in fact started blasting his horn and flashing his lights at me . It was only when I looked in the nearside mirror that my trailer wasn’t to be found and I was in fact about quarter of a mile away from the kerb, no wonder the car driver nearly had a fit when I was driving down the middle of the road towards him .
I dropped half a cog with the splitter from 8th high to 8th low, but suddenly found myself being catapaulted through the window and the engine nearly throwing a rod out when the rev counter needle launched itself into space, promptly slicing through the other side of needle stop peg. It quickly dawned me on that I don’t have any splits and I had in fact changed from 8th to 4th gear at approximately 50mph .
It must have taken me a good 5 minutes to work out why the trailer wasn’t coming round when I was reversing into a yard. It was really [zb] me off that much that I gave it even more opposite lock to bring it round but it just wouldn’t have it and a few feet later I found myself sat there facing into the yard, with the FLT driver looking on with a face that said “is this guy for real?”. I did, eventually, get my act together and managed to reverse it in the yard . It got even better when I jumped out to undo the curtains . I only had something like 7 clips on each side to undo .
What a nightmare for a couple of hours though . Don’t know how you rigid driver’s do it; you must be off your head’s .
Yep,that was one reason why i didn’t longer my twoyear contract by old Company
Got a Rigid went to first roundabout,like with artic left Wheel on left border and had to reverse twice as it doesn’t works with Steering of Rigit
Reversed back in Yard,on a Sunday afternoon,sah Lamp on left Mirror,turned Steerlingwheel left around to bring trailercorner away,and Weekendmanager fell from Chair as i hit Yardlight with a bang
10 Years ago,Company in Austria:
Come back and went in office to change Bills against Money,as we had to pay Cash for all.
Ask Boss:“where is Trailer?”
i showed with thoump through window and continoused counting
Boss got angry and asked again for Trailer
I now angry too told him that he must see the Trailer from Officewindow.
Rigid,but not the trailer i had with me as i went with a load Beer to retailers in Swiss.
As i left sah i the Courtain in Mirror and meaned it’s the Courtain of Trailer
had to go back to get the Trailer,but got a hour later an Artic again
It were him to expensive to send my back to Greek to get the Trailer,he said
When I did the stint with CSG I worked out of Evesham for a while. Whilst there I had a eight legger vacuum tanker and did a twice weekly run from one of the potteries carrying waste clay in slurry form. To load I had to reverse this tanker right into the factory around an ‘S’ bend and then park closley up against a wall between two upright steel pillars. To get the rigid around the 90’ bend up against this wall took about 10 shunts moving accross at about 6" at a time as it was the only way of getting in without scraping tha cab on a wall at the front, once loaded, to get out it was the opposite process of shunting back and forward until you could get around the bend.
I was well pleased to finish that job but it sure taught you to reverse a rigid and position it on a sixpence
mrpj:
Boots O’Lead:
As a class 1 driver you are qualified to drive any class of truck (subject to specific permits/licences)
So, for example, can you drive one of these 5+ axle cranes on a class 1/2 or do you need to have a licence for the crane as well?
I have an H class licence, actually the first driving test I took, but that doesn’t allow me to drive a bulldozer unless I’ve got the corresponding plant operators licence to go with it.
This is a genuine question as I don’t know the answer, however in my previous statement I was just covering all the bases.
Jules
Boots O’Lead:
I have an H class licence,
have you ever used it? i did have it but since i never sent my licence away, it expired. would it have been worth keeping?
i cant as longs of leeds will tell you… i always bash them into things 
Rob K:
:xGot a rigid wagon today for a couple of local runs while I was waiting for a unit to come back. How do you rigid driver’s manage to drive them? They’re just so wrong…
Rob. It sounds as if you have had a stressed harrassed day. I think it would be so much easier on you if you downgraded yourself to a puddle jumper or a car derived van for a few days to recover.
I drive a 7.5t usually daily and don’t seem to suffer the same symptoms you do. Had you thought about perhaps trying some psychological relaxing treatments…
I do have some words of advice though.
Periodically you want to get out of the driver seat, and walk around the vehicle as if to check for broken lights or unsafe loads. Doing this you will be reminded that:
a. You are driving a shorter non bendy vehicle
b. If you left the yard with a trailer, you haven’t got it now!
c. Get a piece of card on the dashboard saying “Rob: You’re in a Class 2”
d. Try to chill a bit more. You’re obviously stressed.
e. Thank the lord you’re not driving a tractor around on tracks
I never took a test in a rigid…went straight thro to class one so why should I be an expert on a rigid?? I can see Rob’s point. I have NEVER had a rigid job so I would expect to be a complete plonker on a rigid for the first few hours.
smeserver:
… easier on you if you downgraded yourself to a puddle jumper.
I find them more hassle to drive than an LGV rigid
I never took a test in a rigid…
Yeah but Rob has and it was him that stated this.
TC:
Ladytrucker679:
Rigids are the anti christ!!!Thats a strange View from a moderator of the Wannabe forum!
I can drive them and passed a test in one I have been all over europe in one but I choose not to like them. When I took the moderators pledge of alligience I was not aware that cctv footage of my driving habits would be used as a training video for the newbies!
Ladytrucker679:
TC:
Ladytrucker679:
Rigids are the anti christ!!! :twisted: :evil: :evil: :evil: :evil:Thats a strange View from a moderator of the Wannabe forum!
I can drive them and passed a test in one I have been all over europe in one but I choose not to like them. When I took the moderators pledge of alligience I was not aware that cctv footage of my driving habits would be used as a training video for the newbies! :shock: :shock: :shock:
Just as well :o))
I’ve been on agency ever since passing my test and due to the variety of the work I’m just as comfortable in either a rigid or an artic. I think you lot who don’t like rigids have just gone rusty through lack of practice.
Paul