Looking at this area as one area i’ve never done. Anyone got any advice please? i.e wages etc.
Thanks
search for 8 wheel’s, he does plant, and also iirc he has/had a blog
the wages are about the same as any class 1 job.
but that isn’t the important thing. well not to me.
but it is more interesting than general haulage.
I guess it all depends on your location and the company you’d be working for.
If you’d be driving a step frame running at 44t or below and not getting involved in anything oversize expect wages to be around a par with general haulage for the area.
Proper heavy haulage on the other hand might attract a bit of a premium but don’t expect to get rich on it.
if the job involves civil plant/access platforms expect plenty of early starts because most sites want their kit for the start of play and don’t forget fridays will be the opposite due to the sites wanting the wring every last minute out of the hire. If you get into more specialist heavy stuff or something like the railway expect to be working around the clock to suit the requirements of the job.
It doesn’t matter what size of kit you are moving you need to be able to secure it safely to the trailer and in 99% of cases you will also be required to load it on yourself.
There are exceptions to the rule of course and if you can get on to some own account work or something specialist like the railway then the money can be quit good but to be in with a chance you would need some experience of operating plant.
As limeyphil said its a very interesting and often challenging job where you will often have to sort your own ■■■■.
On the flip side you’ll be dealing with some site foremen that a shovel across the back of the head would be to good for.
If you like a challenge and can think on your feet than its a great job.
I spent 7 years on plant movements including abnormals so any further questions feel free to ask.
Cheers
Neilf
As Neilf says really.
I’ve been on plant for 6 years and I do it because I find it more interesting and varied than other work. I work for a small local plant hire firm but also carry plant and materials for other contractors and various construction or fabrication companies. I work Mon - Fri regularish hours and although drive a class 2 Hiab motor get a better hourly rate than many other class 1 jobs in the area that also require nights out.
In itself it is fairly basic stuff if you have an understanding of how to operate a bit of plant, securing is largely common sense too. You can often find someone to help load if needed but no-one is going to help you secure it. I’d say that most drivers with common sense could collect and load a single piece of plant without too much drama but the art is being able to carry two or three largish pieces together safely without damaging anything or overloading yourself.
I’d rather spend 20 minutes shuffling stuff around to get everything on rather than have to make an extra trip, I’ve carried 2x Unimogs on a beavertail before and on another occasion a pair of brand new 7m JCB telehandlers.
I’ve found that often when getting booked to move one piece of plant for someone they will usually find something else that also needs to go, be it a roller, mixer, heras fencing or whatever. Expect the unexpected. I’ve moved most just about everything from farm implements to a MIG23 fuselage and still sometimes get something unexpected.
As said above I used to write a blog about my exploits.
I also compiled some advice here
Ask if you want anything else.
Cheers.
Sometimes a night out cant be avoided.
Ditto again on what 8 wheels is saying.
Another thing, some sites want you to have your CSCS card, and your CPCS card for ‘loading and securing’. I think anything under 15 tons is classed as ‘non STGO’ for the tests. You may never cross the site gates without them seeing your cards, no cards - no entry!
Balfour Beatty is our main one that wants to see your cards and the certificates for the crane, chains, slings etc every single time, even if you go back the same day!
They’ve also banned ladders! When we’ve got to do containers or welfare units, they get out this scaff’ staging to use up the corners when hooking the chains on when lifting. Harness and ‘fall arrestor/decender’ on too.
And, they don’t (won’t) recognise NPORS tickets, only CPCS, same with the railways I think, hence the ‘no cards - no entry’, that’s happened to me.
As for securing… check, check, check and check again!! Heard on the local radio over only the last few weeks of ‘diggers’ falling off trucks! 
Never been asked for CPCS card or crane / chain tests even on Olympics 
I’m trying to get loader securer added to my crane and could also really use slinger / signaller but seeing the struggle that getting ny dCPC sorted I’m not sure that will be easy.
sites in scotland are very keen on cpcs cards, i had allmi, and rtitb and i had to tranship to another haulier cos they wouldnt let me tip and crane off, at glasgow airport
8wheels:
As Neilf says really.I’ve been on plant for 6 years and I do it because I find it more interesting and varied than other work. I work for a small local plant hire firm but also carry plant and materials for other contractors and various construction or fabrication companies. I work Mon - Fri regularish hours and although drive a class 2 Hiab motor get a better hourly rate than many other class 1 jobs in the area that also require nights out.
In itself it is fairly basic stuff if you have an understanding of how to operate a bit of plant, securing is largely common sense too. You can often find someone to help load if needed but no-one is going to help you secure it. I’d say that most drivers with common sense could collect and load a single piece of plant without too much drama but the art is being able to carry two or three largish pieces together safely without damaging anything or overloading yourself.
I’d rather spend 20 minutes shuffling stuff around to get everything on rather than have to make an extra trip, I’ve carried 2x Unimogs on a beavertail before and on another occasion a pair of brand new 7m JCB telehandlers.
I’ve found that often when getting booked to move one piece of plant for someone they will usually find something else that also needs to go, be it a roller, mixer, heras fencing or whatever. Expect the unexpected. I’ve moved most just about everything from farm implements to a MIG23 fuselage and still sometimes get something unexpected.
As said above I used to write a blog about my exploits.
http://www.8-wheels.blogspot.com/
I also compiled some advice here
http://8-wheels-toolbox.blogspot.com/
Ask if you want anything else.
Cheers.
Interesting stuff, we used to carry steel wayback in the eighties and what you call dogs we called waricks, I once carried a combine with the header on it was an education as we only ever did general haulage really. Enjoyed the advice o loading and strapping the various plant types off to read the blog now.
I had loader/securer including STGO added to my CPCS card shortly before being laid off Aug 2010.
By that time I was working almost exclusively with railway kit including a lot of work into the olympic sites at stratford.
Although our work was always for blue chip elf n safety freaks I was never asked to show my tickets regarding loading/securing or operating of plant while on these peoples sites.
Cheers
Neilf
Something no one has mentioned. Unless you get a cushy number on new tackle only, if the weather is wet and ■■■■■■■ so is the tackle. If the weather is dry and dusty, so is the tackle, either way your going to get covered in muck, dust and ■■■■ scrabbling about looking for lashing points, so plenty of gloves, headwear, decent boots and overalls recommended 
.
richmond:
sometimes the loads are a bit awkward, and you have to turn off the radio…
and get ready for the ‘‘we’ve had bigger than that before/we get artics in here all the time/only crap drivers have trouble getting in, whats the problem’’ comments
Big Joe:
:idea: Something no one has mentioned. Unless you get a cushy number on new tackle only, if the weather is wet and [zb], so is the tackle. If the weather is dry and dusty, so is the tackle, either way your going to get covered in muck, dust and [zb] scrabbling about looking for lashing points, so plenty of gloves, headwear, decent boots and overalls recommendedPlus digging out tracks so you can chain down, (charge customer the time for doing it if their operator cant be bothered to do it), wearing bush heads out like their going out of fashion cleaning bed off, no mater how clean the machine thats just been on unless as above its new.
ah thats a good point be prepared to get muddy, covered in oil, start earl, finish late, and if working with a crane driver, prey he got the ride the night before and that he is in a good mood, and if its windy, be prepared to wait, and wait…We do special and general, the differance between the two are, general you get messsed around and have to wait to get tipped, special, things go wrong and you have to wait, however with special you are kept in the loop and understand what the delay is, and get treated with respect, so long as you dont ■■■■ about.A good low loader man will be able to load anything, no matter if it has no fuel or flat batterys, he will find away to do it, get the chains out and drag it on…
No idea of the smaller plant or low loaders with regards to wages or conditions. But if you want to enter super abnormals then its more than just driving. I would say 10-20% of your job would actually be driving, with the rest involved with assembling your trailer equipment, loading and unloading which will including jacking and skidding. You work in all weathers, from a ice packed harbour in Norway to running through the desert in UAE. Can expect to be away for weeks and months away, ive just returned from a 9 month stint in Africa. Money is good, but you work for it. Prepare to start from the bottom and work your way up. You would be coming into an industry with peoples expereince stretching 30-40-50 years and seen many superheros come and go with their tale between their legs.
robv8:
No idea of the smaller plant or low loaders with regards to wages or conditions. But if you want to enter super abnormals then its more than just driving. I would say 10-20% of your job would actually be driving, with the rest involved with assembling your trailer equipment, loading and unloading which will including jacking and skidding. You work in all weathers, from a ice packed harbour in Norway to running through the desert in UAE. Can expect to be away for weeks and months away, ive just returned from a 9 month stint in Africa. Money is good, but you work for it. Prepare to start from the bottom and work your way up. You would be coming into an industry with peoples expereince stretching 30-40-50 years and seen many superheros come and go with their tale between their legs.
+1
there are many, (myself included) that have ventured into the world of super heavy haulage, very few have remained for long, those that have… some of them are almost legends . To get into that world is perhaps the hardest small group there is in haulage, It is all about reputation and personal reccomendation.
Everything you have done before means nothing, you have to prove yourself from scratch from day one, once your in you can work all over the world, just today on facebook there are guys I have worked with I have guys who are now in the Middle east, Far east, America .Austrailia and South America. the money isnt fantastic but better than average but the challenge of the job more than makes uup for it
As Rob says most of your work wont be driving, the prep work, building up the trailers, loading and unloading and jacking and skidding is where the time is taken up, and that is where being part of a team comes into play, in this world the solitary driver doesnt work.
scoobysdad:
Looking at this area as one area i’ve never done. Anyone got any advice please? i.e wages etc.
Thanks
Hi Scoobysdad.
Im retired know but still do the odd day now an then. I can point you in the right direction to Richard Long Transport, in Wymondham, Norfolk. I was on there for 12 years, don’t take any notice of some of the bad write ups on here about them, Lorraine his wife rungs the office she is OK gets a bit narked now and then but we are all under pressure at times. They do mainly J C B Machines to the whole of Europe and return loads may vary. You can take the truck home as long as it is parked safe somewhere. they ship out of Newhaven Dover and Pompey but do use other routes.
Hope this is of some interest to you.
Regards Ben
As mentioned wages go up more you can do its one of those jobs you could do it for week and hate it or love it and wish you had done it sooner dont suit everyone . Makes me laugh on here some moan about waiting at rdc for few hrs i have waited few days to tip or load some days can do 50km in day . Driving them aint no fun sometimes where others moan they have to get 44t in there they also expect you to get the 200t in the same space can be challanging and the trqilers alone can take you a long while to work out . Get used to been dirty get used to been coverd in hydrulic fluied need to be fit as qwinch timbers aint light when throwing them about . Competent in following movment orders and been one step ahead . You could.of done 20yts class 1 work it realy means nothing when comes to some stuff complete diffrent ball game .lugging railway li.e about to get locos of trailer and the chaons will put some hairs o. Your chest
I’ve done it, but never in the UK. Blacked out entire towns for days, taken walls down with trailers, (because I was told to, they were built without thinking of the machine within the compound) ended up in a carnival and got treated as part of the parade, escorted an even bigger load with a smaller one etc etc etc.
It’s a great job, but it’s not for everyone.
I’d say the only way to find out is to try it.
Oh, my record is 90t on on 5 axles. If you beat it, get me a pic! 