I made a few phone calls this morning to a few training company’s.
The first was Euro-Mark Training which are now using a 40ft trailer
and a daf truck but they tend to do a 2 pupil to 1 instructor and this
was not what I wanted so I phoned Emms up and they use Ivecos
with a 45ft flat bed or a 45ft box and do a 1 to 1 training so I am going
to try these with a 2 hour assessment costing £80.
I was just wondering what the Ivecos are like to drive and if anyone
knows about the company also a few people say its better to have
a box trailer behind you than a flat bed so why is this then .
I think the gearbox in the iveco is a 4 over 4 range change.
I think they are changing the law in a couple of years so that all tests have to be done in a box trailer. The reason people might recommend a box trailer now is because you are better off doing the test in something you are likely to drive when you pass ie there are less flat beds on the road. In my very limited experience I can’t see how a flat bed helps you do the test although they must be some benefit as lots of companys use them.
The lady on the phone said it will be either a flat bed
or a box trailer depending what’s in as they are used
for there haulage work. I will have to ask them if I do a
course with them do you stick to using one trailer when
you start the course as you don’t want a box trailer one
day then a flatbed the next. I can’t see how a flat bed helps
either as they are the same length.
I think your right by insisting you have the same trailer throughout the course, some could argue it makes no difference however you need your test to be as straightforward as possible, leave the trailer swapping till after you’ve passed.
An empty flat trailer is marginally easier to reverse as it gives better rearward visibility by not presenting such a large obstruction through either mirror.
A box trailer is for better because it makes you aware of the trailers behaviour from an early stage.
A box does highlight from the start how limited your rearward visibility is both down the sides of the trailer and for reversing. It also makes you take account of the front corners of the box against road side obstacles when making turns and the fact you have a height limitation.
If you have a flat trailer to learn with and then take it out loaded you are not ready for how little rearward vision you have or how the trailer is likely to behave on turns, or of the height of your load.
I think you’ll find it’s sooner than ‘a couple of years’ before the MTV has to be a box body. There are already moves afoot to change it again a few years after that when the MTV will be required to be loaded.
All out Dvr Trg vehicles have been box-bodies for the last year.
CM:
An empty flat trailer is marginally easier to reverse as it gives better rearward visibility by not presenting such a large obstruction through either mirror.
A box trailer is for better because it makes you aware of the trailers behaviour from an early stage.
A box does highlight from the start how limited your rearward visibility is both down the sides of the trailer and for reversing. It also makes you take account of the front corners of the box against road side obstacles when making turns and the fact you have a height limitation.
If you have a flat trailer to learn with and then take it out loaded you are not ready for how little rearward vision you have or how the trailer is likely to behave on turns, or of the height of your load.
Some good points there CM and it might be worth
asking if it would be possible to use a box trailer.
marcustandy:
I think you’ll find it’s sooner than ‘a couple of years’ before the MTV has to be a box body. There are already moves afoot to change it again a few years after that when the MTV will be required to be loaded.
All out Dvr Trg vehicles have been box-bodies for the last year.
*MTV = Minimum Test Vehicle.
Thanks for the info (CM yours as well), although I have passed I like to keep up with the regs, the points mentioned by CM about box trailers were interesting just proves the value of experience!
don’t know a great deal about emms, i know they used to advertise work if you passsed with them type of thing.
don’t think it makes a blind bit of difference what you train in as long as it’s a proper artic and not one of those little wag n drag setups some schools use, at the end of the day if your going to tout for work once passed you could end up pulling anything.
We use wagon & drag (box bodies) for driver training and all the feedback i’ve had from ex-students says that they find artic much easier, especially reversing. it’s down to the ‘short trailer syndrome’.
I see it as a case of ‘if you can do it in a wagon & drag’ you’ll be OK in an artic.
yes i can see that, the longer the trailer the easier to reverse it, but how does someone learn to drive an artic in an uprated 7.5 tonner with a twelve foot trailer? to me, wag n drag is just a short cut to a license, how would the person who trains in that setup do when applying for a job and asked to do an assesment drive? my guess would be, not very well!
Why do you assume it’s an uprated seven and a half tonner. The waggon and drag I passed my class i in was nearly 65 ft long van body on both waggon and trailer. I wouldn’ t consider learning in anyrthing without a box body. As for the W&D being harder than an artic to reverse I don’t agree first itme I drove an artic I thought they were a pain in the arse to reverse.
just going on what i’ve seen at sheff test center, theres a couple of schools who get their pupils tests there who use the minimum spec setup,and they look rediculouse aside of a proper artic in the lorry park.
knight:
Why do you assume it’s an uprated seven and a half tonner. The waggon and drag I passed my class i in was nearly 65 ft long van body on both waggon and trailer. I wouldn’ t consider learning in anyrthing without a box body. As for the W&D being harder than an artic to reverse I don’t agree first itme I drove an artic I thought they were a pain in the arse to reverse.
I had exactly the same experience and passed in a similar sized vehicle. The only thing I would add is the transport company I was at had used the same driving school for some of their drivers and they soon got used to artics (I was only there temporarily so didn’t get much practice), as for the minimum test vehicles they do appear ridiculous, one I once saw was actually shorter than most 7.5t you see with a similar size trailer.
convoy:
I was just wondering what the Ivecos are like to drive and if anyone
knows about the company also a few people say its better to have
a box trailer behind you than a flat bed so why is this then .
I think the gearbox in the iveco is a 4 over 4 range change.
Ivecos are pretty good in my opinion, quite precise to drive, but reasonabley easy . If the gearbox is a 4 over 4, then I doubt it’s the standard one, because Ivecos (well, all the one’s I’ve driven anyway) are knock over boxes.
It’d be better to have the box rather than flatbed trailer as you can see a lot more over a empty flatbed trailer when your reversing, makes it a lot easier and you’d be a lot more used to reversing box trailers (which, if you inlude curtain siders are what a lot of loads are shipped on) when you get into the wide world .
Having said that, the learning curve’s immense when you pass your test anyway, at least with a minumum specced vehicle then you’ve at least got the licence. Then you can really learn to drive.
The Vehicule Ecole use proper trucks like Magnums and FH with Fridges and Tilts, they seem to get about a bit too, I have seen Bordeaux registered vehicles near Cherbourg.
Maybe they train their drivers with loaded trucks, Someone will answer this David
Paul b, Now that you mention it I remember seeing a small W&D at Walton when I was taking a test there. Didn’t do my test in Sheffield despite living there.
.
. If the gearbox is a 4 over 4, then I doubt it’s the standard one, because Ivecos (well, all the one’s I’ve driven anyway) are knock over boxes.
David 