Put an ad in the local rag for a tipper driver and only got 1 reply.He said he only had military experience mostly on 8t trucks and 5 and 6 speed boxes so i thought a couple of days riding about with him and he would be ready but i reckon it will take a week at least. The guys keen and so i think i got to persevere but i could be 1 of them boss’s who just chucks em the keys and a delivery note. Anyone else got any views on this 
Army…Be the Best! Don’t make me laugh!!!
Sat on the M4 this afternoon for hours on end due to a squaddy plick who managed to turn his Landy and trailer over.
I’ve only met one ex army driver , and he’s probably the exception, but I wouldn’t have let him near a wheelbarrow 
supposedly driven 8 leggers while in the army 
the guy he drove for started him off on a 7.5tonner so he got the idea of RL livestock haulage - he struggled to get that in spaces where artics and wag&drags went easily!
either he was lying about his experience or was used to a truck load of squaddies to guide him in and a sergeant major to tell him when to breath/eat/crap etc
do tipper drivers get training then 
put hat firmly on head
maverick72:
do tipper drivers get training then
Of course they do, in fact the next “training session” is on wed night
See this thread for details
trucknetuk.com/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?t=24453
pursy:
Put an ad in the local rag for a tipper driver and only got 1 reply.He said he only had military experience mostly on 8t trucks and 5 and 6 speed boxes so i thought a couple of days riding about with him and he would be ready but i reckon it will take a week at least. The guys keen and so i think i got to persevere but i could be 1 of them boss’s who just chucks em the keys and a delivery note. Anyone else got any views on this
Have you tried adding ÂŁ2 an hour to the pay on offer?
Not to paint all ex-army with the same brush (there’s plenty on here that will be along soon to blast Denis and me ) but I well remember the bloke fresh out of khaki who took all the lids off the top of one of K & M’s powder tankers at that low bridge in Macclesfield despite being told specifically not to go that way.
Looked like a snow storm had hit the place.
How did you know i was only paying ÂŁ3 an hour DRIVERONE.Hanson have took 3 of their hauliers drivers on at the same rate albeit it with a potentially better bonus,whether they pay from start to finish or knock the breaks out i dont know.
As for knocking tipper drivers i agree about most of the rip tear but you need to follow some tanker drivers round these hills, ah the smell of burning brake
linings in the morning
Spardo:
Not to paint all ex-army with the same brush (there’s plenty on here that will be along soon to blast Denis and me
Looks like nobody bit!! 
how does a thumping great scammel, compare to todays modern truck,the only experiance i have as not been good.
p.s ive seen the way some of them drive from marchwood port with a low loader and tank on.
i’m with dennis a wheelbarrow is to big for some.
marcustandy:
Spardo:
Not to paint all ex-army with the same brush (there’s plenty on here that will be along soon to blast Denis and meLooks like nobody bit!!
But I knew you’d be along in a bit Martin.
And anyway, I did say not to paint all ex-army…
Looks like most took me at my word.
I’m ex RCT and i’m ruddy brilliant
pursy:
Put an ad in the local rag for a tipper driver and only got 1 reply.He said he only had military experience mostly on 8t trucks and 5 and 6 speed boxes so i thought a couple of days riding about with him and he would be ready but i reckon it will take a week at least. The guys keen and so i think i got to persevere but i could be 1 of them boss’s who just chucks em the keys and a delivery note. Anyone else got any views on this
The fact you where going to spend a few days showing him the ropes and now guess he may need a bit more than a week shows you ain’t the sort of boss that just throws someone the keys. Also, you have asked here and that shows you are interested some more? Only you are going to know after meeting him if your hands on training is going to pay off with him staying. Your other option is to advertise again?!!
After a week of sat in fear in the passenger side i gave him the keys and told him to get on with it,his clutch control aint good but i hope it comes together for his and my sake.One thing i noticed is how other drivers soon forget how useless they were when they started.Its like when you have to go into a different quarry and how helpfull! some of the regulars can be eh
most ex service guys ive met got there licence as a resettelment course and as such there experience is limited
I m ex army ,and we are just like any other driver,all got to start somewhere,
most of them i meet about are all ex army and do allright for themslves and there company, and monex are nearly all ex squaddies
But I suppose all the the best drivers are working abroad,thats why your left with the new ones who are just trying to get their foot in the door,
and we all tell little white lies, to paint a better picture of ourselves.
I would like to add some of the drivers I drive with say they can this and that and been there done that, but at the end of the day,well you know the rest.
so if its squaddie, civvyy, or east european were all the same, sorry erase that last sentence
WE DO IT BY NUMBERS… DEPRESS CLUTCH 2-3…SELECT GEAR2-3…CHECK MIRROS 2-3.INDICATE 2-3… RELEASE GLUTCH 2-3… MANOUVRE 2-3 ETC ETC.
I’d agree with those who say not to paint all military drivers with the same brush.
Now that reminds me of a little story that doesn’t mention any names.
In the late '80s, my boss told me that he’d taken on a new driver. Ex RCT he said, best thing since sliced bread he said, was an RCT corporal with HGV1 he said. So the boss thought that’d be ok. The boss set him on and our hero served his apprenticeship on the vans and rigids doing Belgium and Holland. Our hero was soon champing at the bit and wanted to do Italy, Spain and Austria with an artic. The boss eventually gave in, and sent our hero to do a trailer swap with me at Novara. I’d reloaded and cleared, so it was a case of a straight swap.
Disregarding the paperwork “irregularities” of course… The day, time and place was set and instructions were issued…
To cut a long story short, our hero didn’t show up on the day he should…nor the day after that… but he did show on the following day- accompnied by his wife. (I could have got the thing to Calais by then ) Our hero told me that his wife wanted to see some sights on the way down. I’ve always wondered what route he took hmm… I phoned in each day and the boss was getting really worried, because he hadn’t heard from our hero all this time. All’s well that ends well?? 'fraid not guys… read on…
Whilst swapping our trialers, I noticed that both offside drive axle tyres on our hero’s (brand new) rented DAF were not only bald, but worn completely through the wire to the extent that there wasn’t much rubber left before both tyres would pop. I then showed our hero how to disengage the DIFF-LOCK, which he’d used ALL THE WAY He told me that the truck “wasn’t steering properly” Why didn’t he phone the boss?? I then had to sort out two new tyres on a Saturday morning. I stayed well out of earshot whilst our hero made the “well boss…” phone call.
By the time I got back to the ranch, our hero was history and the boss could come off the medication.
Like Denis F, I too have only met one ex-military driver. He didn’t impress the boss, but he certainly made an impression on those tyres!!! The moral of the story is that if a person comes with 2 stripes from the RCT, you might still need a cautious approach before you consider employing them.
Now that wouldn’t be the first time a corporal caused a problem in Europe would it… 
most ex military drivers will have had very limited time behind the wheel while serving, I would guess I drove around 5000 miles a year in the 10 years I served in the RCT.
The thing ex military do have is a “can do” attitude, no job is to hard etc, but this is not necessarily good in our over regulated industry.
You get some good and some bad…just like civvy drivers