Hi everyone, just thought I would do a quick training diary and share my experience.
My training schedule was 4 hours on Tuesday (8am-12pm), 4 hours on Wednesday (8am-12pm) and a 10am start on Thursday with the test at 12:15pm.
Day 1:
Turned up and had a quick chat about reversing & uncoupling/recoupling procedures. First off was to reverse the truck in a straight line from on end of the yard to the other (about 80 meters I think). I did this twice keeping it in a straight line with small corrective steering movements. Next I did reversing into the bay from the start position without the ‘B’ cone in place and then after a few attempts with it back in place. Obviously I wasn’t perfect at it and on one occasion the trailer ended up so far left that I would have parallel parked the trailer next to the bay and not in it! After this we hit the road and got some driving in, stopping for a cup of tea and a break halfway through the day. I can’t remember now (seems like its been a blur!) but I’m sure we did the uncouple/recouple procedure too, remembering the well know phrase BRAKE, or in their words BRAKEN (‘N’ for number plate). I finished at 12pm, got home and had a quick bit of dinner before heading off for a 2pm-10pm shift at work. I was bumming knackered, its surprising how mentally drained you feel afterwards.
Day 2:
Up at 6:30am to get ready and be at the training centre for 8am for another 4 hours training. Today was much more of the same but with less prompting from the instructor. I won’t go into too much detail as I don’t want to repeat myself! I did however on this day have a little 45 minute mock test, which I failed with (amongst other things) 3 serious faults. One for mounting the kerb, one for causing a van driver to slow after he flashed me out and I nearly stalled. QUICK TIP: IF SOMEONE FLASHES YOU STAY PUT AND DECIDE FOR YOURSELF. And another for not checking my right mirror when moving out. We did a bit more reversing and coupling etc and I finished at 12pm feeling very tired like yesterday and no time to rest as another 8 hour shift coming up. I get in bed at about 11pm absolutely knackered. Later start tomorrow so chance for a lie in!
Day 3, Test Day:
Wake up at 8am and the wife has made me a brew (she’s a darlin’!), I have that, have some breakfast and head off for my final bit of training. Absolutely dreading today!! Today is a final brush up of skills before having a cuppa and a nice relaxed drive to the test centre. I say relaxed but I was far from it! So, down to the test. I was sat waiting for the examiner to come out and low and behold, it’s the same guy who failed me on my first C test. To say I’m disheartened is an understatement. Anyway, I keep a clear head and we head off out to the vehicle, a couple of safety questions and I start the reverse. I have to take a shunt on this, just how did the trailer get so far over there■■? I get it in the bay, get out to check the rear, climb in and move it back another couple of inches (my marker seemed to differ from the training yard 
).
Next is onto the uncouple and recouple. I uncouple easy enough, then the recouple gets me stumped big time. Silly me had left the unit parked next to the trailer instead of infront of it 
I checked the park break and the examiner prompted the poop out of me, saying “and what else…and what else…come on and what else…come on its like pulling teeth!” (I’m not joking, his exact words!) all the while me stuttering and blabbing on about checking the pin and air lines, lights, vehicle plate, everything but THE HEIGHT COMPATIBILITY!!! Eventually I splutter it out and I get a little telling off about not parking the unit infront of the trailer. We crack on, get it coupled/lights checked etc and head off out onto the road.
I immediately think I’m doomed from my recoupling procedure and have the gloomiest drive ever known, still keeping a clear level head though to use it as experience and, well, what’s the point in chucking the towel in so soon? Keep on at it I say, stranger things have happened. All goes well on the drive, I miss a sign on the independent drive (he prompts me to turn right and not left, has another go at me 
). A bit later on I nearly take a wrong turn, another sharp remark from the examiner 
. I also brush a kerb on one very tight turn.
We get back to the test centre, park up and switch off. He then tells me that I HAVE PASSED 
“However, I will never drive these in service as I’m too cautious”. Well it is my driving test 
and he did fail me once before for the C. The rest is a bur and I am now one very happy chappy indeed. I got 9 faults in total for things like hesitant/making progress/moving off safely. A couple of times when parked at the side of the road, when asked to move off again I would miss a gap in traffic that I wasn’t 100% on, better to get a minor than a fail for cutting someone up.
Anyway, at the end of the day a pass is a pass and I feel like a great weight has been lifted. Really really pleased
