kr79:
Is there a diver shortage? No
Is there a shortage of drivers willing to or with the abilities to do a driving job that involves anything more than driving up and down the motorway and opening the back doors or curtains. ? Yes
Nailed it very succinctly there!
kr79:
Is there a diver shortage? No
Is there a shortage of drivers willing to or with the abilities to do a driving job that involves anything more than driving up and down the motorway and opening the back doors or curtains. ? Yes
Rope…
Sheet, strip tilts, knock out low loader trailers with jacks and blocks, tippers, curtains, UK, Europe bit of Morocco…yadder yadder yadder…
But, I’m quite content to bimble up and down the motorway, open the back doors, wait for a green light, turn the fridge off and go home now.
I have the skills, I just don’t wanna do all that grafty, sweaty type stuff anymore.
yourhavingalarf:
kr79:
Is there a diver shortage? No
Is there a shortage of drivers willing to or with the abilities to do a driving job that involves anything more than driving up and down the motorway and opening the back doors or curtains. ? YesRope…
Sheet, strip tilts, knock out low loader trailers with jacks and blocks, tippers, curtains, UK, Europe bit of Morocco…yadder yadder yadder…
But, I’m quite content to bimble up and down the motorway, open the back doors, wait for a green light, turn the fridge off and go home now.
I have the skills, I just don’t wanna do all that grafty, sweaty type stuff anymore.
Nailed it right there. Wages have stagnated for so long that I am happy to do nothing for little reward.
I was thinking that the other day, how sweet it is now just to open me dackdoors and let the magic happen (predictable that’s what she said moment).
Still got a huge bunch of keys in me man drawer from me plant shifting days. Perhaps for the right money I would retake me plant, forklift, ipaf, hiab, gspot, loaditinafashion, courses and have another bash at it.
Yup, I get paid to steer so I steer.
Dipper_Dave:
I was thinking that the other day, how sweet it is now just to open me dackdoors and let the magic happen (predictable that’s what she said moment).Still got a huge bunch of keys in me man drawer from me plant shifting days. Perhaps for the right money I would retake me plant, forklift, ipaf, hiab, gspot, loaditinafashion, courses and have another bash at it.
Your slipping dave, “bash” and “backdoors” were in different paragraphs!
Reckon I agree, anything for a quiet life these days for me, I don’t need nor want all the hassle anymore.
The job is much easier than what it was by absolute miles.
Trucks are no different to driving a bigger version of a car, unlike the old days when there were like chalk and cheese.
So no real skill needed there as much as there was.
The only real ‘skill’ involved is reversing.
No enigmatic gearboxes to work out anymore, no skill needed in actually getting it in to gear by learning when the revs are right to change, when to press the clutch, learning how long to learn to press the clutch for a second time to prevent crunching (some you could force in others required perfection or they simply did not go in)
All this has been replaced with flicking a button once, and away you go until you need to flick it again.
And before anybody jumps, I do prefer it that way. 
Sat navs do absolutely everything for you, unless you have more sense, (discussed to death already…yawn, so we won’t go there AGAIN 
) so no REAL map reading skill required on the whole.
Just chuck a couple of straps over, pull the curtains and away…or just shut back doors…so no roping and sheeting skills to learn.
Tilts are getting to be a thing of the past (Thank Christ) the skill there was mastering the technique of stripping them out in the easiest way possible for an easier life…again no longer needed.
The only negative side to this ‘progress’ is that we get chimps impersonating drivers, who slip through the filter/net today, and obtain Class 1s, where as the aforementioned skills usually done away with these wate of space types we have driving trucks today.
So the real drivers (and not necessarilly referring to the ones who have learned the skills mentioned either) have to work alongside these f/whits.
So maybe I should have picked up on this earlier to save x. no of pages on this thread…but as far as general is concened, and assuming specialist haulage is not included…The question is…
WHAT or WHICH ‘skills’ do you actually need these days to be an HGV driver in the first place anyway?.. so really the original question on the o/p is not relevant …is it?
robroy:
Reckon I agree, anything for a quiet life these days for me, I don’t need nor want all the hassle anymore.
The job is much easier than what it was by absolute miles.
Trucks are no different to driving a bigger version of a car, unlike the old days when there were like chalk and cheese.
So no real skill needed there as much as there was.The only real ‘skill’ involved is reversing.
No enigmatic gearboxes to work out anymore, no skill needed in actually getting it in to gear by learning when the revs are right to change, when to press the clutch, learning how long to learn to press the clutch for a second time to prevent crunching (some you could force in others required perfection or they simply did not go in)
All this has been replaced with flicking a button once, and away you go until you need to flick it again.
And before anybody jumps, I do prefer it that way.Sat navs do absolutely everything for you, unless you have more sense, (discussed to death already…yawn, so we won’t go there AGAIN
Just chuck a couple of straps over, pull the curtains and away…or just shut back doors…so no roping and sheeting skills to learn.
Tilts are getting to be a thing of the past (Thank Christ) the skill there was mastering the technique of stripping them out in the easiest way possible for an easier life…again no longer needed.
The only negative side to this ‘progress’ is that we get chimps impersonating drivers, who slip through the filter/net today, and obtain Class 1s, where as the aforementioned skills usually done away with these wate of space types we have driving trucks today.
So the real drivers (and not necessarilly referring to the ones who have learned the skills mentioned either) have to work alongside these f/whits.So maybe I should have picked up on this earlier to save x. no of pages on this thread…but as far as general is concened, and assuming specialist haulage is not included…The question is…
WHAT or WHICH ‘skills’ do you actually need these days to be an HGV driver in the first place anyway?.. so really the original question on the o/p is not relevant …is it?
To be fair tilts are no more difficult than curtainsiders in most cases given no mixed over head/side/rear loaded jobs.While flat work will always be a necessary evil one way or another.While trunking with box trailers is nothing new and was always there as an easy default job 
.While I’d be happier with a decent air assisted clutch and fuller box than having to couple up something or shunting in tight places without any control over a clutch or a truck which tells me when it fells like changing gear and what gear I get as opposed to vice versa.Or struggling with a heavy obstructive synchro.
On that note I’d be happy enough given an 18 speed fuller and a tilt on that basis.Or preferably a long haul trunking job with a box as opposed to tramping with anything.But I wouldn’t have the ‘skills’ to drive an automated thing which I can’t control.
Let alone having the slightest clue what to do with a digi tacho before I even started. 
Carryfast:
robroy:
Reckon I agree, anything for a quiet life these days for me, I don’t need nor want all the hassle anymore.
The job is much easier than what it was by absolute miles.
Trucks are no different to driving a bigger version of a car, unlike the old days when there were like chalk and cheese.
So no real skill needed there as much as there was.The only real ‘skill’ involved is reversing.
No enigmatic gearboxes to work out anymore, no skill needed in actually getting it in to gear by learning when the revs are right to change, when to press the clutch, learning how long to learn to press the clutch for a second time to prevent crunching (some you could force in others required perfection or they simply did not go in)
All this has been replaced with flicking a button once, and away you go until you need to flick it again.
And before anybody jumps, I do prefer it that way.Sat navs do absolutely everything for you, unless you have more sense, (discussed to death already…yawn, so we won’t go there AGAIN
Just chuck a couple of straps over, pull the curtains and away…or just shut back doors…so no roping and sheeting skills to learn.
Tilts are getting to be a thing of the past (Thank Christ) the skill there was mastering the technique of stripping them out in the easiest way possible for an easier life…again no longer needed.
The only negative side to this ‘progress’ is that we get chimps impersonating drivers, who slip through the filter/net today, and obtain Class 1s, where as the aforementioned skills usually done away with these wate of space types we have driving trucks today.
So the real drivers (and not necessarilly referring to the ones who have learned the skills mentioned either) have to work alongside these f/whits.So maybe I should have picked up on this earlier to save x. no of pages on this thread…but as far as general is concened, and assuming specialist haulage is not included…The question is…
WHAT or WHICH ‘skills’ do you actually need these days to be an HGV driver in the first place anyway?.. so really the original question on the o/p is not relevant …is it?To be fair tilts are no more difficult than curtainsiders in most cases given no mixed over head/side/rear loaded jobs.While flat work will always be a necessary evil one way or another.While trunking with box trailers is nothing new and was always there as an easy default job
On that note I’d be happy enough given an 18 speed fuller and a tilt on that basis.Or preferably a long haul trunking job with a box as opposed to tramping with anything.But I wouldn’t have the ‘skills’ to drive an automated thing which I can’t control.
Let alone having the slightest clue what to do with a digi tacho before I even started.
One for you CF
Jumping back to subjects earlier in this thread, have you seen Michael Moore’s “capitalism a love story”? It’s on Netflix, watched it today, cites the fordist era and interestingly for me certainly raises what’s happening in my industry, worth a watch.