Hi Guys,
Since deciding that after nearly 20 years as a welder, I would take my Class 2 + 1 licences, I have been taking an interest in the delivery bays of my local supermarkets to size up wether I could or could not actually do the job should I happen to pass. Now, is it law that unloading bays are placed in the most awkward and dificult places that is at all possible? Is there some kind of competition between the big supermarkets to make them as awkward as possible? Now I can understand that older shops may have had better access when they were first built and have lost some of this due to new builds in the area and the associated increase in cars, but what excuse do my localTescos have? A spanking new store on the outskirts of Clacton on a new retail park, all the space in the world and the unload bay is situated so you have to either drive staight in and then back out blind onto the main road, or turn round at the near T juncion (watching the bollards)go back up the main road and then blind side into the yard. Now these are just observations from someone who is still awaiting his provisional. I welcome your thoughts - especially from anyone who has delivered to Clacton new Tescos.
thats why Tesco is top dog …its amazing how many new back doors (delivery point at shop) are a pain even on new builds…
advice
continue to watch how vehicles are positioned whern they manouvre
buy a Collins road atlas…when you spot a truck from say Pocklington look it up and decide which way you would go
also try to work out how long the journey would take
and then check your time against a route planner (allow some extra time for truck speeds)
look at the 1" conurbation maps in the back and see if you can work out the ring roads or good cross city routes
Hi and welcome to TruckNet UK Rewmer 
Believe me, Tesco and the like have lots of room compared with some smaller supermarkets in places like London. It will come as a constant surprise to you in the first couple of years of just where you can actually fit an artic, then as you carry on you will still be surprised at where you can fit one. Two rules to remember GOAL - Get Out And Look and the other one is if it goes in, it will come out, just need to be careful and plan well ahead.
The other point about shop delivery is that the loading bays were generally designed to fit in a wagon, but they then squeeze in a skip for the papar, a skip for the plastic, 300 knackerd old trollies, 200 empty cages, 8 pallets of ambient stock waiting to go out on the shelves, a make shift portacabin freezer, 2 back up generators and the managers car!!! that’s why there is very little room in them. Good luck with the training.
smcaul:
Believe me, Tesco and the like have lots of room compared with some smaller supermarkets in places like London. It will come as a constant surprise to you in the first couple of years of just where you can actually fit an artic, then as you carry on you will still be surprised at where you can fit one. Two rules to remember GOAL - Get Out And Look and the other one is if it goes in, it will come out, just need to be careful and plan well ahead.The other point about shop delivery is that the loading bays were generally designed to fit in a wagon, but they then squeeze in a skip for the papar, a skip for the plastic, 300 knackerd old trollies, 200 empty cages, 8 pallets of ambient stock waiting to go out on the shelves, a make shift portacabin freezer, 2 back up generators and the managers car!!! that’s why there is very little room in them. Good luck with the training.
You Should see some of our kwiksave or somerfield Sites… Some of them you just look at and think I wouldnt even get a transit in there 
, but they always go in with a bit of shunting about. 
Ref the second bit… If it goes in, it will come out… Is that always the case though?? Im sure a trailer will behave different going forward then it does on reverse or vice versa,(talking about the line it follows etc) im thinking like some of the yards were you have to jack it in or screw round. But then again never had a problem getting out of our hell holes so you might be right… 
hi rewmer, im convinced that most architects
and street planners are truck haters 
they spend their weekends looking for perfectly
ok roads to slap weight restrictions on 
I used to watch the artics coming in the yard when i was working on dotcom You did learn a lot by watching. Sometimes someone new would come in and you could see straight away they’d got the wrong angle and would have to shunt like hell to get it in.
It’s all a question of scale too, i’ve backed a transit onto someones drive before now and they’ve said to me with amazment, “i didnt think you’d get that in there!” I’m wondering what all the fuss was about! Just practice thats all.
It is most satisfying when you get your big one in a tight hole.
smcaul:
The other point about shop delivery is that the loading bays were generally designed to fit in a wagon, but they then squeeze in a skip for the papar, a skip for the plastic, 300 knackerd old trollies, 200 empty cages, 8 pallets of ambient stock waiting to go out on the shelves, a make shift portacabin freezer, 2 back up generators and the managers car!!! that’s why there is very little room in them. Good luck with the training.
Aint that the [zb]ing truth
simon
I haven’t got a class one licence but I’ll reinforce what’s already been mentioned.
Each step up I’ve taken with a size of vehicle (car-van-lorry) has been pretty easy once you get the feel of them.
Rawmer, did you think in your first few years as a welder that you’d be able to do the welds that you actually did in the last few weeks? 
Bones:
If it goes in, it will come out… Is that always the case though??
I was thinking about that too. Not sure about artics but drags don’t re-appear so easily. Quite often I could jack knife mine round in reverse but unfolding caused the boxes to catch. Come to think of it getting back to artics, don’t they pivot on a different axle going backwards to forwards, especially tr-axles?
That would make a difference.
Salut, David.
As a general rule, what goes in will come out or at least this is what I have always told myself and at least with this belief I have managed to get out of some really idiotic situations that I can only blame myself for. There is an exception though that I did get out of but they it didn’t look hopeful for quite a while and that was diving down steep farm tracks (GOAL) with the belief that there was enough room to turn around (no such luck) only to find that reversing uphill on a narrow gravel drive with seriously comprimised traction is enough to send your hair white!
Bays for store delivery’s are great fun but as previously stated they are layed out pretty reasonably but the lack of storage and ignorance of the back door staff restricts the already limited space. The thing to look at as far as I can see though is that delivery’s go in and out all day so if your wagon doesn’t fit then it has more to do with the hands on the wheel than it does with the trucks dimensions. With a bit of practice you soon get skilled at junk dodging.
Welcome to Tnet Rewmer, good luck with the training!
Thanks for all the tips people. My first weld did indeed look like bird ploop. Will keep you posted on the training, and keep practicing with my box trailer and Range Rover.
As a general rule, what goes in will come out
Tell that to the guy that did BHS Stockport in a 40 footer !! A great moment of clear thinking by the traffic office there, it is fun enough getting a 30’ trailer out of there…
… apparently after 3 hours of trying he gave up, and one of the regulars got called out - another good few hours and TWO units was the solution. Impressive that he got it in there in the first place… …
G
Gazzareth:
As a general rule, what goes in will come out
Tell that to the guy that did BHS Stockport in a 40 footer !! A great moment of clear thinking by the traffic office there, it is fun enough getting a 30’ trailer out of there…
… apparently after 3 hours of trying he gave up, and one of the regulars got called out - another good few hours and TWO units was the solution. Impressive that he got it in there in the first place… …
G
It is slightly different when you are on general haulage you can end up anywhere so you are the one who got it in!
Ladytrucker679:
and that was diving down steep farm tracks (GOAL) with the belief that there was enough room to turn around (no such luck) only to find that reversing uphill on a narrow gravel drive with seriously comprimised traction is enough to send your hair white!
GOAL is definitley the thing to do - I go to several farms that I can only get in by reversing from the road
and they always “have bigger lorries than that in here” except for the ones who say " comes in here OK "
this pic is taken once im already on the bay being tipped
And the reasons for these and other loading bays is quite simple IMHO they are all designed by car drivers in nice comfy spacious offices who havent got a clue what goes on in the real world
Hope this sets your mind at ease
The best hints and tips I could give you after 13 months of going to Morrisons/Safeways are these:
Going to a new store for the first time?
Never nose up to a gate - the may swing outwards (St Albans). Or you may have to back in (too many to list.)
Ask the person at the gate how other people do it if you’re not sure. They will have seen hundreds of trucks come in and out, and generally are pleased to show off, probably an ego thing.
Always go into the yard to have a look where the bay is, and for any clues that may help you, like lines on the concrete. Never assume the yellow lines are straight. Many stores, if you adhere to the yellows they wont get the ramp on (Leicester, Harrow).
Assume the truck will drive out? Check first (Lichfield you have to parallel park to the scissor lift or wipe out the building, Cannock do a loop the loop in the yard or the wall shall go!)
On the way to a store, see how the truck reacts round junctions and roundabouts, this will help you understand how the truck will react in reverse. Different trailers react very differently.
Always, but always check your route before you depart from the yard, only twice have I not done so, and twice got very stressed! Again, drivers will help you out.
In the yard, if that pallet is in the way, ask them to move it - ‘please move that pallet or I won’t be able to get on the bay’ usually helps, if not a threat that you’ll go and see the manager usually does it. To them, the manager is a God.
Its better to move a pallet and use the line you want than to adjust your line when you’re starting out and ■■■■ it all up good style.
Take your time. A slow but careful approach will often see you on a bay quicker than a rushed attempt that goes Pete Tong.
When you are reversing imagine a line going from the position you are in, to where you want to be, and follow that, remember slow and smooth, easy on easy off! Always, when you have your look around the yard, think ‘where do I need to be to start?’, then ‘how do I get into that start position?’ and you’ll be well on the way to solving the problem.
Good luck!
Denis F:
and they always “have bigger lorries than that in here” except for the ones who say " comes in here OK "
And of course you have the
“I can get my tractor under that bridge!”
A great post CBR_SI, some sound and clear advice.