Long Haul Class 2 Jobs

Hello, so my journey in trucking continues. I’m currently agency grand father rights 7.5t and van. My driving career is less than a year old but I’m getting ready for the next step.

My license now has class 2 provisional on it so lessons will happen soon.

I think I prefer more miles and less stops but like variety on the locations. Tramping is possible but I don’t want it all the time unless it’s dog friendly lol.

What jobs offer mileage and good pay is there any easy to spot sectors I should target. I’m currently temping at a food delivery lace it’s chilled and good money for class 2 40k but handball is high.

40k is the magic number for me so that’s what I want money wise minimum.

And it’s certainly not long haul

How do you mean

Long-haul is going to the Arabian Gulf or Central Asia. Even Turkey or parts of North Africa.

Also, driving licence is a noun so it’s spelt with a c not an s (unless you are American :wink:).

Putting my pedantry apart :rofl:, I think you’re looking for domestic UK work, especially if you’ve got a dog (are those still allowed? :astonished_face:). If you don’t mind fridge work go for it. Why do you think it’s high on handball? It was forty years ago; now you’re lucky if you’re even allowed in the back!

Good luck though! :grinning_face:

I’ve been told to go for the class 2 chilled work if offered as it’s good money for a new pass. Not much driving though 2 hours driving if that and six hours handball lol

Let’s see 40k is the magic number. I ment long distance domestic work 8 hours driving with a few drops or less for 40k that would suit best

I like it! And yes, ‘domestic distance work’ is the perfect description. You might like transferring frigo goods twixt RDCs. That gives good distances and involves little or no handballing. :+1:

I think I’ve done a bit of what you’re talking about already. I do shifts for a chilled courier firm last shift was one pallet of scotch eggs 580 km that’s from depot to collect then deliver and back to depot.

I’m very surprised to find out that a lot of truck drivers don’t like driving. They only want local work.

The guy I worked with today said he didn’t like handball and didn’t like miles lol he won’t last long.

Yes, you’re clearly not a ‘home by teatime’ driver. A bit of pallet-truck work in the back is often a good antidote to being stuck at the wheel for hours so I never minded a reasonable amount of manual work. Keep searching and you’ll soon find the ideal work for you. It’s all out there to be had, one way or another!

Just waiting for our resident expert on "decent distance " work with no interaction with the freight. :rofl:

2 Likes

Lol distribution centres it is then or class 2 tanker out on the sticks somewhere :rofl: deffo don’t like 6 hours of handball with 2 hours of driving :squinting_face_with_tongue:

Driving career less than a year ???
Aye, right, a bit of advice from an old man :- You take the rough with the smooth as a new ‘starter’, you work your way gradually AND SLOWLY up the ladder to bigger and better things, and if that means a bit of physical ‘hand balling’ hard work…you do it.
And leave the dog at home.
I’m sorry if that sounds a bit harsh but non of us ‘more mature’ fellas walked into ‘good top work’, we all had to graft and progress slowly.
Hand balling ?? try hand balling cow hides off a ship in Liverpool Docks. I remember it well, early 60’s, I was just starting, It damn near killed me. But I did it and gradually moved on the bigger and better things.

1 Like

I know what you mean and agree with you but I’m looking to go quicker because I’m not young. I started driving a post office van in November 2024, and now I’m using my grand father rights.

I’m asking what may seem obvious questions on here but hey it’s helping me gain more of an insight into the jobs available.

I’m lucky I think I will hit my target but it won’t be easy I will face pressures and I will and have done handball. I nearly collapsed recently as it had hurt my back but kept going.

It’s not black and white we all have a story to tell. Every question helps even if they seem dumb or even arrogant.

if you have a bad back be careful with the rdc work. some for the supermarkets is putting cages on a tail lift for the store staff to take off and into the store in theory anyway. even that can be awkward a badly loaded cage with beer and spirits is bloody heavy. you could also end up doing other less historical supermarkets where your expected to load and unload everything yourself.

There is very little handball free work for class 2. easiest job i have seen was delivering mattresses for a mattress company but even then they had to be slid to the end of the vehicle.

1 Like

Those cages can be really heavy and if it’s on a slope it can get a bit random not only that getting them up bumps like dropped kerns and ridges in doorways is interesting. That’s what I’m doing now just finished a couple of days out helping other drivers in class 2 but I’m out tomorrow on 7.5 no cages though it will be sack truck.

I have to keep my back upright in the seat dead straight as well or that screws it. It seems to be fine but I have to watch it and think about the lifting.

The class 2 jobs at this place is almost 40k but it’s handball. I do have an ace up my sleeve though and that’s the mileage thing. I won’t mind driving for 8 hours and handball for one. They do some big drops at hospitals etc which are mileage not thirty minutes from the depot with 20 drops more like 3/5 easier lifting probably pallets on the lift with an electric pallet truck.

At the end of the day I would bite their hand off for both jobs if offered in a month or two but I’m on the agency so wil take each day as it comes.