My 1st Week

[wills]

17.00 Monday Tuesday arrived & was joined by another driver that they had just taken on, but he 'd been driving years, had just left Tescos ( said they were crap ).

Anyway 1st 2 nights were mainly classroom based, Health & saftey, Company policies & procedures, how too use there equipment-trailers-curtains-straps etc all invaluable information for me, as truthfully I hadnt got a clue.

We also took out 2 trucks, 1 was an automatic Man Truck, lovely to drive and then the, i think it was an EPS shift thingy magig Mercedes, also very easy to pick this up & nice to drive.

Wednesday - we were both put with another driver, I had an old guy who didnt look best pleased too have me aboard…but i did try my best to make conversation but he wasnt having any of it.
We had to pick up a trailer from the Trailer Park, & take it to CovPress. Took about 15mins to get there, where we were told to drop it outside for the shunter, who would bring us a loaded one back…about an hour later.

From there we had to take it to Vauxhall Luton…took about an hour and half, open the cutains & wait for the Forkie to unload & load it back up with empties.
Take this back to Covpress, where driver said we would take an hour break…within minutes the was snoring his head off.

Now its 3.00am the hour is up and i’m working out the times thinking we aint gonna get this done by 5.30
Couple of Coughs later i eventually awoke him and away we went…now i have to admit @ this point with no conversation no music even i was feeling a bit tired, but put this down to being a passenger.

Got to Luton & was back on the road to return to Depot @ around 5.30
Now a couple of times during the night i noticed we’d drifted into different lanes but put this down to wind etc… eventually I realised this guy was falling asleep

He was getting beeped by other truckers & was really making me feel very uneasy…then we were running off @ an angle on the hard shoulder when i had to shout @ him, he didnt answer pulled it too a stop & got out for a whizz ( yeah right i thought to myself )

Well hopefully the fresh air had woke him up & i thought we’d ok now!!! how wrong I was…still drifting and when we had left the M45 on to the A45 into Cov we were heading @ a 45degree angle towards the central reservation barrier I was shouting & i was bracing for impact we were on the grass as he woke & struggled to control it, which he did then he proceeded to laugh it off!!! i’d literally [zb] myself he had truly frightened me.

One more time i had to shout @ him about 10 mins from depot when we were about to hit the kerb…unbelievable…he proceeded to tell me he’d only had an hours sleep the day before.
Anyway got back all in one peice, only cause i was with him, finished for 7.30

Thursday- Thankfully I had a different driver real topbloke nothing was too much trouble for him to explain- - And he gave me Both Drives back to Depot
We had to take a trailer to Desford ( Cat MG Landrover ) wait for a loaded one & ME bring it back apart from putting this one on the Bay, he said you can do the next one when it’ll be a bit quieter.
Then we had to take a trailer up to Huntingdon for a trailer swap with a salvesen guy from Bury St Edmunds.

I hitched all up & drove back again loved it Music on good conversation ( & i even overtook a couple of other trucks )
Back to depot no one around & proceeded to try and put it on the Bay, now I got there in my mind a few times, but it has to be perfect for the Scissor lifts so it did feel like I’d been shunting about 15mins by the time the unloaders were happy…but it’ll come.

Friday - I came in asked who’m i with tonigt then? to which the TM said how do you fancy going out on your own? Gulp YES… what are you comfortable driving…I’d like a Man truck please…thought you’d say that he replied

And he gave me the keys to one I had to take a trailer to Ford @ Daventry & bring one back.
So i did my checks, found which bay my trailer was on and i hooked it up, checked & double checked every procedure…went to pull forward so could check the load etc wouldnt move…so got back out checked the trailer brake got back in still no go…breathe relax check everything again then asked another driver, just report it mate…so i did workshop said they’d send someone down, as i got back to me truck I told the shunter, good lad he came over & then explained to me that I’d been pulling the wrong Button @ this point it felt like the whole yard was there Oh well.

Gets back in & pulls away, then realised I hadnt put on my licence plate luckily I hadnt left the yard, when i got to the back I hadnt even shut the Doors , shows you what can happen when you are distracted …Lesson Learned.

Got to Daventry no probs, took my time some very tight chicanes once inside there place, got to where i needed to go & dropped the trailer, was told they hadnt got one for me to take back yet & wait till one was read. Expecting a long wait when within 5mins told 1 was ready.
Found it Gulp it was a Double decker, again just took my time & got back to depot for the reverse on to bay…thankfully the shunter was there to spot an advise me in— felt like an age but got it on

Was then asked to go back solo ( no trailer on ) & bring one back again. Got there & was told they hadnt got one for me, so he phoned someone & they gave me another trailer to bring back.

So goes out to find it…eventually found it, the curtain straps were all undone, time to put the quick lesson i’d had into practice, after a little messing around sorted it out…did my checks then hooked it up…released the trailer brake & could here a continuous hissing from underneath the trailer so checked i’d done everything right, I had& then looked for another driver to chek it for me, but there was no one around So I had to ring the depot, now i knew they thought ITS THE NEW LAD!!!, we’ll send another driver who is there to you…he comes running from another loading Bay, & says straight away yep you have a leak & you did the right thing to phone in, phew

He rings them back & tells them I do have an air leak, they decide to get me to take it outside & then drop the trailer for him to take back?
He said he would asess it as he goes??

Back to depot for about 12.00pm feels like I’ve been out all night my head feels like its about to explode, the TM told me not to worry your doing fine which did make me feel more relaxed.

Now the Ford run finishes @ 12, so they put me with another driver for his run to 3 ford Dealers in Liecester, another top Bloke who explained everything as we went & gave me loads of tips. But would not have fancied the reverse he had to do out of the HGV Ford he did

Back for 3.30 & all done…what a week What A NIGHT, boy have I learned a hell of a lot this week, but know I’ve a hell of a lot more to learn yet.

Sorry for the long post, I’ll try & break it up with some pics a little later.

Wills

[grumpybum]

Great post wills, sounds like you did really well! A few teething problems but you have to have those - it’s the law

[brit_pete]

good post keep em comeing and yes try not to get distracted when
getting the rig sorted out,and this happens to “” ALL"" of us wills so
you are not alone,and also great that you are meeting people who
are willing to offer advice,any tips please post as we are all still
learning every day,take care and please keep the posts comeing,
one point take a look at the useful points site and lookat the load
restraint sites you may get some tips as regards load restraint there

[big_lebowski]

Nice one mate!
Sleepy driver was a bit of a
Keep us posted on how you are getting on.

[wills]

cheers Grumpybum very happy I chose the right company, they know i am newbie & they are looking after me which has been a great for me.

Hiya brit pete thanx buddy, definatley will look @ the load restraints sites…& i’ll definatley keep the posts coming.

BigLebowski mate I truly thought my time was up, my mates said i should report him, apparently I found out he that he wiped out a parked van on the A34 not long back in a brand new Scania, & the reason he was fed up ( not just with me in the truck ) was that he hasnt had a good truck since!!!
More posts will follow pal

[big_lebowski]

wills:
BigLebowski mate I truly thought my time was up, my mates said i should report him, apparently I found out he that he wiped out a parked van on the A34 not long back in a brand new Scania, & the reason he was fed up ( not just with me in the truck ) was that he hasnt had a good truck since!!!
More posts will follow pal

I’m not surprised that they won’t give him a good truck after that van incident.
At least you won’t have to go out in the same truck as him anymore!!
You take care mate.
Keep the posts coming!!
Cheers.
Big Lebowski.

[rob_k]

Great post and well done! Always good to read newbie stories and the problems they encounter . Really disappointed that you were fobbed off a few times by experienced drivers who didn’t want to get involved/help. But glad the others were more than happy to help and advise and point out where you were going wrong.

One other thing to remember when picking up trailers is to make sure the suspension on the trailer is at ride height. A lot of places require the suspension at max height for the dock levellers to function properly. The lever to adjust them is usually situated between the last wheel and the end of the trailer on the near side. You’ll find if you push the top of the lever inwards you’ll be able to swing the bottom left and right, which raises or lowers the suspension. To set it to ride height, just pull it out. It only moves a fraction of an inch so don’t be ragging it! When it’s in the ride height position you shouldn’t be able to swing it left and right. This is particularly important to check if you’re pulling a double decker because if you leave the yard with the suspension above ride height, there’s a strong chance you won’t get under motorway bridges. Try to burn that one into your mind so you never forget it.

[wills]

Rob K thanx for that, we were breifly shown how to change the trailer hieght, but that has really helped refresh it in my mind

And seeing as most of the salvesens trailers are double deckers definatley something I should be very aware of.

Was told if I was taking one to desford, that I would have to lower it to get it under the Bay roof

So i’ll have a practice with that tomorrow night.

Cheers mate

wills

[gav]

Cracking read wills mate,chuffed to bits you have got off to good start, even though im still a newbie having only been driving artics for 6 months,i was loving it the other day when i was at a place being tipped and a bloke of about 55 came over to me asking me for some advice coupling up,he couldnt get the trailer legs to wind up,so i went over with him and explained all about the air suspension and lifting it up to take the weight off the legs makes it a lot easier to wind them up,he also had a few other questions which i obviously answered like i had been doing the job for 20 years (even though im only 25 ) i then went back to my wagon feeling fairly good about myself, untill he went to pull away and we had both forgot to take the trailer brake off,much to the amusment of the 7 other drivers sat there ■■■■■■■ themselves at me for not doing my teaching bit properly
Even though i still have my own reservations coupling up,hopefully i managed to make this guys journey home abit more relaxed.

[wills]

gav:
,he couldnt get the trailer legs to wind up,so i went over with him and explained all about the air suspension and lifting it up to take the weight off the legs makes it a lot easier to wind them up

Yep, was trying to wind the legs up on 1 in the trailer park the 1st two nights training, i nearly bent the bar trying to turn it lol, when I was shown what to do if that happens…

Why they dont show you that whilst training for your test for the sake of 2mins is beyond me!!

Cheers gav

[trucking482002]

Great read Wills,glad you,re doing OK apart from getting a fright with you’re sleepy mate,I think I would have reported him,you have to keep YOU in the right,an interesting wee site www.tis-gdvde/tis I think thats right,its Transport Information Service,German Marine Insurance,some horrific pics of what happens when you get load security wrong,but lots of good details on how to do it right,well worth a look,very best of luck with your new job.
regards derek

[wills]

cheers trucking482002, i’ve Pm you, but have done some searching & found the right Link for the Load Restraints www.tis-gdv.de/tis_e/inhalt.html

cheers wills

[jackdaw]

cracking read again Wills,really pleased for ya mate.you’ve got your artic job and the Villas revitalised

keep right on

[gordy]

Excellent read

[devon]

Wills,
That’s a great post, just the sort of entry that all us newbies want to read. It gives great insight to the minor and major teething situations that we come across. A lot of the situations that you found yourself in was the same sort of things that I too went through.
I’ve spent the last 6 weeks working the artic’s for a Northampton firm and their lorry’s are ‘Old Dogs,’ and I’m sure that when I was pulling their trailers people assumed that I was off to the Antigues Road show!! Everything that could go wrong with them-went wrong!! But what a RIDE!!
I learnt so much and can’t wait to get back out there

I would flatly refuse to travel again with that driver who fell asleep, he was a danger to himself, you and other road users. I would have no hesitation about reporting him to the TM either.

Thanks for sharing such an important post and well done to you Wills

[wills]

Hey Jackdaw how you doin? thanx mate, its been one hell of a summer

Cheers Gordy, wait till my next one ( last night was coool )

Devon thanx pal certainly get the adrenalin pumping doesnt it!!!.

I know it would be more expensive but really do think you should learn more than just being able to drive them, luckily I’m with a good company that are breaking me in slowly & most have been really helpfull.

Cant believe how much I’ve learned in 1 week, its been mind blowing, & as for the Old Guy, I dId what i had to do

wills

[neil1024]

The lever to adjust them is usually situated between the last wheel and the end of the trailer on the near side. You’ll find if you push the top of the lever inwards you’ll be able to swing the bottom left and right, which raises or lowers the suspension. To set it to ride height, just pull it out. It only moves a fraction of an inch so don’t be ragging it! When it’s in the ride height position you shouldn’t be able to swing it left and right.

If you haven’t seen one (I hadn’t) a good graphic and description as per Rob K’s description here:

sdctrailers.com/manual/raise.html

…and of the Park and Shunt buttons too:

sdctrailers.com/manual/park.html

Very imformative Wills - keep it up!

[wills]

Thanx neil1024 excellent link…pictures always help