As you probs know, i recently upped my game to the bendys. I get a lot of different units, many of which i would deem to be of a very low (non existent) standard of cleanliness. Took a load to Enfield on Thursday morning and became aware that i was scratching my wrists and arms. Long story short, got home about 9pm, peeled my shirt off and was greeted in the mirror by a torso that resembled a boiled lobster. Dropped my kegs and it was clear that the angry, red rash covered my entire body. I honestly wondered if i had measles. The itching was so intense i nearly went mad through the night and couldnt stop scratching myself raw. Cried off work yesterday and went to the docs. Allergic reaction. £16 later, i walked out of the pharmacy with a pump top bottle of Balneum cream and a 60 tablet course of Cetirizine. Theyve kicked in pretty well, and today i feel and look a whole lot better. I`m off out now to buy a washable seat cover that i can transfer easily between units (any suggestions?)
Have any of you guys had a similar experience as a consequence of driving a minging unit?
Never had a problem with dust but that silicone dash shine stuff irritates my throat. Anyway my cab is “rough for a '61 reg” according to one of drivers, because I don’t polish the inside. Just a wipe around once a week after using the air duster gun, (bought by the company along with polish currently dumped under the bunk). Nice shiny cabs are too much hassle for me, having spent years on quarry work I’ve got used to a fine coating of dust, I don’t worry about feet on the dashboard either.
trubster:
If you are allergic to dust or whatever it was, your employer has a duty of care to provide reasonable adjustments to allow you to complete your job.
Discuss with the gaffer.
Ive got allergies (dust being one of them) & I’ve never imagined the employer having a duty of care towards me. I try clean it out myself before setting off but they complain about why it takes so long to get going.
I’ve got a TRP cover that came with my motor from DAF. Very durable and washable. One day another appeared on my passenger seat. Exactly the same day that one vanished from a 7.5. How strange?
The curtains from out of the cab have been washed and are on the radiator as we speak.
Being on bulk tipper work it tends to get dusty in the summer and sludgy in the winter.
I drive an Actros and i use pink (chrome) for the interior, a foam based spray for the fabric’s and autosmart for the dash, wetwipes for the steering wheel and i just try an keep on top of it the best i can
When it comes to cabs, I can put up with a bit of dust & grime, i’ve become a lot more easy going about that sort of stuff - I don’t tramp so i just give the steering wheel a wipe down and crack on for the night. It’s litter & spillages that I have a problem with; crap lobbed behind the passenger seat & in the footwell, banana skins in the door pockets, spilt coffee thats just been left to dry into a mess. ie. the work of scruffy ■■■■■■■■■
rob22888:
It’s litter & spillages that I have a problem with; crap lobbed behind the passenger seat & in the footwell, banana skins in the door pockets, spilt coffee thats just been left to dry into a mess. ie. the work of scruffy [zb].
I (on agency) was swapped around between a hired-in curtainsider, a Merc and a Renault Midlum (all 7.5 tonners). Drove the Merc as the curtainsider was returned not needed for the last two weeks. It was a lot cleaner when I left it. The Renault is an 05 with 253k kliks on it but is fine, although it will be a lot nicer when I’ve spent a bit more time looking after it. Not an issue so far re. the kind of rashes you’ve described. I have asked for some cleaning gear but am using hand-wipes at the mo. Don’t mind looking after myself, as I’m worth it.
I refused to drive another drivers unit earlier this week.
Mine was broken down and in the workshop, was given this other one to drive, but it was REALLY bad.
I’ve done lots of agency work and dived in and out of a lot of peoples cabs, and never seen or smelt anything like this 1.
We do a chemical called Pyridine, and it stinks, he’d got that on his chemical and rigger gloves and put both in the cab - exchanging some of the chemical from the chemical gloves to the base of the drivers seat on their way to their ‘home’.
I felt like a Prima Donna, so I opened both windows and sunroof and went for a brew, came back, went for another brew, phone up and said ‘I ain’t driving that’, was told to go home.
Felt like a bit of a grass if I’m honest, really would rather not have made the call, but I really couldn’t have been in that unit for an hour, never mind 13 of them.
The driver was on holiday too, and knew I’d be using his unit, so it wasn’t like he was off sick or anything unplanned, he knew he was off for a few days and knew someone else would be using his unit, and left it in a right state
this allergy thing works the other way.
One driver on the fleet used to keep his cab immaculate, using all sorts of sprays and chemicals.
If I tried to drive it I would start sneezing and my eyes would water constantly.
Never used anything other than household polish in my cabs.
Thanks for your responses lads. I would say that i am generally VERY resilient and immune to dust and dirt, having worked for ten years as a mechanic and then 24 or so as a on-site joiner/shopfitter, but whatever was residing in that particular cab on Thursday took violent exception to my presence. On the subject of self-cleaning the cabs, i would have to make it a full time job, as they are in such an advanced, ingrained state of neglect. I am rarely in the same unit from one day to the next and it would take a couple of hours at least to bring them back into any kind of civilised condition, so i wouldnt benefit from my labours anyway, even though it would doubtless be well appreciated and encouraged by the office wallahs :unamused: Lets face it, theyd quite happily send us out up to our chins in it wouldnt they? As for getting paid whilst off - a reasonable viewpoint YT, but im on agency at the mo, and i think i might as well discuss it with the nearest tree. Itll be an interesting conversation when they next ask if ill overnight for em though!
Looks like it`s back on with the long sleeved hi-vis too.
PS - cheers for the info NOVE, but i had to get one before Monday morning for my own peace of mind. Got a heavy duty, waterproof one from Motosave this afternoon which looks well up to the job. Here`s hoping!
One of the reasons I like trunking is that the vehicles are often fairly new. Although I did have a Merc last year that, despite being only about 4 months old was as muddy and manky as you can imagine.
It had spent it’s short life doing parcel trunking, so how the ■■■■ did it get so utterly filthy, so quickly?
Gets me how soon a motor can turn into a bin. We had a 7.5 delivered on a Friday afternoon. Was stickered up. I was put in it to do a run on the Tuesday. (Mine was in for service) cup holder had an inch or so of coffee in it, ■■■ burn in the seat. Ash all over the place. Mileage- 395km
When we switched over to DAF. All the wagons turned up over 3 or 4 days. I had to move a 7.5 the other day as it looked like a blind drunk child had parked it. Looked at the clock. It had just turned over 120k. Pigs would have refused to sleep in it. Mine hit 273k the day after, good as new
damfool:
I really don’t like those who sneeze/cough all over inside of windscreen then leave it, yuk!
The best ones are those who spit on the back of the sticky thing which holds their sat-nav to the windscreen and then leave a nice yellow circle there when they park up. Or the ones who leave half-eaten sandwiches and other food remnants down the sides of seats. Worst one I ever saw was one which had had half a pint of milk spilt behind the seats in a day cab and then left like that with the predictable rotten milk stench after a day or two.
Every time I read threads like this it reminds me why I am so glad to have left this ‘industry’ well behind.
