Hi guys, as I said in the title, I need input. I have a fairly well paid job as a shunter, I get 14 quid an hour and it’s the easiest job I have ever had, we spend at least 4 hours a night in the office watching YouTube, I get full pay if I have a day off or go home early (which I do at least once a week) and I do 8 hr shifts and not a minute more.
It’s not the money that’s pulling me in, I’ve just got the itch to drive and it won’t seem to go away. I’m not worried about the pay drop, mortgage is paid off, as are most of my bills and I retire in 10 years time, so I want to do something that makes me happy in the meantime. I am so sick of seeing the yard, I’ve been in the same job for nigh on 3 years and I need a change.
It’s not like I don’t know the pitfalls of the job, I guess I just need reminding. The job I am thinking of taking is class two multi drop to start, between 2-9 drops, moving on to class one when the vacancy comes up. They have said 4-6 weeks. But all I can see is that I get out and see a change of scenery.
Please give me your opinions, multi drop, class two, driving in general. Anything helps.
jbaz73:
Hi guys, as I said in the title, I need input. I have a fairly well paid job as a shunter, I get 14 quid an hour and it’s the easiest job I have ever had, we spend at least 4 hours a night in the office watching YouTube, I get full pay if I have a day off or go home early (which I do at least once a week) and I do 8 hr shifts and not a minute more.
It’s not the money that’s pulling me in, I’ve just got the itch to drive and it won’t seem to go away. I’m not worried about the pay drop, mortgage is paid off, as are most of my bills and I retire in 10 years time, so I want to do something that makes me happy in the meantime. I am so sick of seeing the yard, I’ve been in the same job for nigh on 3 years and I need a change.
It’s not like I don’t know the pitfalls of the job, I guess I just need reminding. The job I am thinking of taking is class two multi drop to start, between 2-9 drops, moving on to class one when the vacancy comes up. They have said 4-6 weeks. But all I can see is that I get out and see a change of scenery.
Please give me your opinions, multi drop, class two, driving in general. Anything helps.
Instead of giving up a decent job why not do some agency work on your days off, then you’ll get the change you want without the risk of regretting it a month down the line, if you still want to go back on the road full time at-least you’ll know it’s what you want and not just a whim brought about by boredom.
I understand you wanting a change but the trouble is that it’s easy to think that the grass is greener on the other side, the reality is often that it’s the same bloody grass but with muddy puddles in it
Do t walk away from the shunting. Can they not use you as holiday cover etc to cover some runs or do you a run out a week? I think you’d regret going back on the road
Thank you tacho and nick, very insightful. I think you’ve hit the nail on the head, I am planning to work Friday night shift on the road for a while. Maybe that will scratch the itch? Maybe it will make it worse? Lol.
Also bear in mind you will be under tacho regs, dvsa scrutiny, having the odd bump with cars or buildings.
Do as the others say and test the water first, it’s not that good now days on the road.
You want to switch from 14 quid an hour with no tacho, no WTD, and loads of time off per night and switch to dealing with:
Straping loads on a curtainsider
Bad weather and getting soaked / boiled (no a/c)
Stupidly heavy pallets on pallet trucks
The office not understanding stuff takes time
VOSA
Grumpy goods in people and forkies
Addresses which are wrong or blocked by cars
You have to deal with BMWs
Getting finished on time ain’t easy
Everything is your fault of course!
All for £9 hour!? Thats just what i can think of off hand, but theres lots more. Its a blinking nightmare only made worse by class 1 multidrop which are the same places as class 2 jist with a bigger truck.
Oh and the 10 drops thing, yeah right, thats for the first run until “oh we need you to just do these extra couple” or 5 more pickups.
Its horrible basically. Trunking or shunting are best, or maybe boxes.
Convinced yet? If not, where is there a £14 hour shunting job going?
All for £9 hour!? Thats just what i can think of off hand, but theres lots more. …
i dont get it why would anyone drive lorry for 9 per hour when this was not good money 10years ago!
They will never rise pay if there is always some numbty taking ■■■■!
trevHCS:
You want to switch from 14 quid an hour with no tacho, no WTD, and loads of time off per night and switch to dealing with:
Straping loads on a curtainsider
Bad weather and getting soaked / boiled (no a/c)
Stupidly heavy pallets on pallet trucks
The office not understanding stuff takes time
VOSA
Grumpy goods in people and forkies
Addresses which are wrong or blocked by cars
You have to deal with BMWs
Getting finished on time ain’t easy
Everything is your fault of course!
All for £9 hour!? Thats just what i can think of off hand, but theres lots more. Its a blinking nightmare only made worse by class 1 multidrop which are the same places as class 2 jist with a bigger truck.
Oh and the 10 drops thing, yeah right, thats for the first run until “oh we need you to just do these extra couple” or 5 more pickups.
Its horrible basically. Trunking or shunting are best, or maybe boxes.
Convinced yet? If not, where is there a £14 hour shunting job going?
As said above - try asking your current employer for the odd day/night on the road. Failing that you can legally work every other Saturday for an agency.
Jbaz - you are in a similar part of this majestic country to me. I no we have chatted about one job. It’s okay - was there again last night, after me vowing to not go back the money lured me in. Was fine - easy work really. 12 hours in - just under £250 in the bank for a single shift. Complained about the rental Mercedes I was given last night - and have been promised one of the new Scanias next friday - I turned heated seats on Mercedes by accident and thought I’d ■■■’d myself when it felt all warm! Last three shifts have been: London, Cardiff, Manchester so you do travel around - however imo at night you can’t see a lot so it doesn’t really matter.
Another place are calling me directly to go back and work for them. They subcontract for Sainsburys - shifting bonded trailers full of booze between tamworth and northampton. Again super easy work - just trailer pick up and drops. Boring work, but so easy it’s not funny. Pay not quite so much - but it’s not nights and not only do you need not to touch the load you are not allowed. However I wouldn’t call it the ‘open road’ given you are going back and forward between two sites.
Ignore insanity of £9/hour talk - you know around our part of the world not even the 7.5t drivers work for that. If I were you don’t jack your job - it sounds great where you are. Have a go on one of those above, I can give you details for Sainsburys job if you like. Sunday is £18 (ltd)/hour to basically not think - and they also never call/harass you. In fact, I open up yard to drop unit/trailer off and then lock up and go home. That’s my sort of place to work rather than debriefs and monitoring.
jbaz73:
Hi guys, as I said in the title, I need input. I have a fairly well paid job as a shunter, I get 14 quid an hour and it’s the easiest job I have ever had, we spend at least 4 hours a night in the office watching YouTube, I get full pay if I have a day off or go home early (which I do at least once a week) and I do 8 hr shifts and not a minute more.
It’s not the money that’s pulling me in, I’ve just got the itch to drive and it won’t seem to go away. I’m not worried about the pay drop, mortgage is paid off, as are most of my bills and I retire in 10 years time, so I want to do something that makes me happy in the meantime. I am so sick of seeing the yard, I’ve been in the same job for nigh on 3 years and I need a change.
It’s not like I don’t know the pitfalls of the job, I guess I just need reminding. The job I am thinking of taking is class two multi drop to start, between 2-9 drops, moving on to class one when the vacancy comes up. They have said 4-6 weeks. But all I can see is that I get out and see a change of scenery.
Please give me your opinions, multi drop, class two, driving in general. Anything helps.
Sitting around doing very little always seems great at first. For the most part, it’s better than doing something positively unpleasant. But tolerating boredom, excessive routine, or lack of actual work, is actually a form of hard work in itself.
Personally I’d tell you to think very hard before giving up your current position, and perhaps consider applying for different sorts of jobs rather than wagon driving (if you got tired of it to begin with, before you started shunting).
sammym:
Jbaz - you are in a similar part of this majestic country to me. I no we have chatted about one job. It’s okay - was there again last night, after me vowing to not go back the money lured me in. Was fine - easy work really. 12 hours in - just under £250 in the bank for a single shift. Complained about the rental Mercedes I was given last night - and have been promised one of the new Scanias next friday - I turned heated seats on Mercedes by accident and thought I’d ■■■’d myself when it felt all warm! Last three shifts have been: London, Cardiff, Manchester so you do travel around - however imo at night you can’t see a lot so it doesn’t really matter.
dont give it away all!
Another place are calling me directly to go back and work for them. They subcontract for Sainsburys - shifting bonded trailers full of booze between tamworth and northampton. Again super easy work - just trailer pick up and drops. Boring work, but so easy it’s not funny. Pay not quite so much - but it’s not nights and not only do you need not to touch the load you are not allowed. However I wouldn’t call it the ‘open road’ given you are going back and forward between two sites.
Ignore insanity of £9/hour talk - you know around our part of the world not even the 7.5t drivers work for that. If I were you don’t jack your job - it sounds great where you are. Have a go on one of those above, I can give you details for Sainsburys job if you like. Sunday is £18 (ltd)/hour to basically not think - and they also never call/harass you. In fact, I open up yard to drop unit/trailer off and then lock up and go home. That’s my sort of place to work rather than debriefs and monitoring.
If you want to see the country then a smallish firm that delivers to private homes from Lands End to John O’Groats, if there is one near you, very rarely the same place twice. Something fairly bulky so as not too many drops, but not too heavy as likely to be all hand-balled. You meet and talk to people from all walks of life, some right ■■■■-heads, but some decent people too, more often than not you get a few quid in your pocket simply for doing your job. Had a good 10 years doing that, didn’t make it to John O’Groats though, about 40 miles short, good times, but I was in my 30’s- early 40s at the time, that job would kill me now!
…What area do you live in?
