Carryfast:
robroy:
and it’s local,
Hopefully not.
He’s been told it’s around 5 drops so lets say around 60-80 miles between each drop.As opposed to the 5 drops actually turning into 25 12 - 15 miles between each drop when he gets the keys.That’s the point to walk away OP.
Is he nighting out?
No…
So like I said…Local.
robroy:
Is he nighting out?
No…
So like I said…Local.
Part time driver… full time savage! 
Carryfast:
Rjan:
You won’t have arrived in this industry - at least on agency work - until you have a personal blacklist of employers who you aren’t willing to work for again due to their behaviour or the condition of their equipment.To be fair at face value it looks like a reasonable job.While to put some detail to that advice you won’t have seen the worse that agencies can do until you’ve been put on scaffolding/shuttering work driving a knackered beat up old 12 tonner and then on arrival effectively forced by the site manager to work as a site labourer while you’re on ‘his’ site for as long as ‘he’ says.In the form of moving,erecting,striking,stacking said scaffolding or shuttering,let alone loading it and unloading it.On the basis that when you’re on ‘his’ site you do as ‘he’ says.
Or arrived to do a class 1 trunk only to find that it’s actually umpteen multi drops and collections in London with a 7.5 tonner.All this while others with less experience are walking into employed distance/international jobs.The uk trucking hey day of the 1980’s yeah right.
The company may not be the worst. Sensible companies will recognise they have an inexperienced driver and make allowances.
But on the good possibility that they don’t make allowances, or that it is the worst kind of work that experienced guys stay away from, it’s important for the driver not to think this reflects on him or lose confidence accordingly.
the maoster:
robroy:
Is he nighting out?
No…
So like I said…Local.Part time driver… full time savage!
I’ll fight anybody after 2 pints of John Smiths. 
. 
seand90:
yeah get back to depot with out crashing/hitting bridge etc is my main concern! and yeh tacho should be my main concern i just hope that start of my shift the tacho bit runs smoothly so i can just block it out my head and worry about the latter at the end of my shift haha lol thats it just got to get experience quite optimistic and looking forward to losing my class 2 job virginity woohoo
Don’t worry too much about the tacho. I wouldn’t bother worrying about making manual entries on the very first day, unless you were doing it with a driver trainer. There are different makes and versions of tachos that all work slightly differently for manual entries, and the manual entry process can be clunky, and you don’t want to be burning mental energy figuring that out on the first morning.
Wait until you’ve done a few days at the firm and feel as though you know what you’re doing in a morning, then sit down and figure out manual entries.
As long as the card is in and ready to go (which in general is a case of inserting it, selecting no on manual entries, pressing ok on the start country, and then you’re ready), and as long as you take and record enough breaks (and I’m sure you already know the rules in principle), then I can’t see how that isn’t a sufficient expectation on the first day. Put your card in as the first thing.
The main thing is just remember to take a breath between each task and get the basics right. Make sure you check the wagon over, especially lights and tyres (which are the most common defects), and know it’s height.
Don’t go under unfamiliar bridges that are marked within an inch or two of your wagon, unless you’re absolutely sure of everything, and only then at a snail’s pace if margins seem tight.
Plan your route before you leave the yard, and have a look over the entire route - best if you have a trucker’s map or satnav, but if you don’t then exercise care wherever your route crosses under railway lines or seems to go down country lanes.
robroy:
I’ll fight anybody after 2 pints of John Smiths.
John Smiths…
Shandy?
yourhavingalarf:
robroy:
I’ll fight anybody after 2 pints of John Smiths.John Smiths…
Shandy?
I’m on me 5th…so be warned.
robroy:
Carryfast:
robroy:
and it’s local,
Hopefully not.
He’s been told it’s around 5 drops so lets say around 60-80 miles between each drop.As opposed to the 5 drops actually turning into 25 12 - 15 miles between each drop when he gets the keys.That’s the point to walk away OP.
Is he nighting out?
No…
So like I said…Local.
Blimey Rob I’m trying to get across to him the finer points between distance bulk v local multi drop and then you’re muddying the waters with nights out.So the guvnor then makes it 40 drops and still around 12 miles between each.You’ve now got a local multi drop job that also requires nights out.Better known as local multi drop tramping.As opposed to the distance bulk job involving a few drops 300-400 miles driving and finish for the day and back home. 
On that note I used to do Surrey to Birmingham for multi collections of re bar then back to multi drop it all in and around London.The Guvnor wanted it all done in one shift but I said no I’m taking a night out between finishing all the collections and doing all the drops next day.That ended up in argument whereby he refused to pay night out money and I told him I didn’t give a zb stuff the night out money I still ain’t doing all that in one shift. 
While I also did a job usually running from Croydon doing two palletised drops one on the South Coast and one in the West Country like Bristol then home.The latter involving more distance more driving and much easier and home every night.
Neither of which being as bad as a proper local multi drop job with the emphasis being on local and multi drop.On that note the OP will only probably find out the truth here when he gets his keys and delivery notes.
simcor:
seand90:
simcor:
You need to be honest with the agency and the company.They are both expecting someone with experience who knows what they are doing.
If you go in pretending you have experience you will come unstuck very quickly.
First off any decent company will do a licence check and they will see you have only recently passed.
There will be forms to fill in probably with someone from the agency on site to induct you even very basically.
You will get found out and they might not even be able to insure you due to insurance restrictions so you could end being sent home immediately and no more work, then you will have to explain to the agency why you couldn’t do the shift and believe me the company will tell the agency.
You are shooting yourself in the foot by not being upfront, it might not be an issue if both parties know the situation but it more than likely will be.
hey mate i HAVE told the agency i only passed 1month ago… its up to them to put me in a suitable role and i will remind the company im going to work for about this. iv told the agency im inexperienced an im sure iv enclosed that info in this thread i made at the start
That’s fair enough then. I read it as they were not aware you were new and inexperienced.
Hence my reply, it’s a forum no need to get narky because you don’t like a response you get.
It’s just how I read it and it’s not uncommon for agencies sending drivers for roles that are not suitable I.e insurance issues and or experience issues.
If that’s the case then just go in and ask all the questions you want answers too, ask the client what they require you to do and if you don’t know how ask!!
Most legit companies want manual entries doing even for new starters for compliance so ask someone to show and help you.
Ring them with any issues now matter how small and above all cover your arse on everything.
Don’t rush and ask for help with anything and everything.
You will get a lot more respect for asking for help than trying to do everything and possibly making mistakes which could be very costly.
And don’t rush around for anyone.
Simcor is spot on with the response. Fair enough your agency are or should be aware but don’t go pretending to the company you know when you don’t. A lot of old drivers will tell you to just crack on and man up etc because that’s how things were done when they started. It’s very different now with health and safety and claims being made for the smallest accident. If you try and just “crack on” and “grow some balls” and do something wrong that the company assumed you knew how to do but you didn’t tell them then it’s not great.
Just be totally honest about what you do and don’t know, even down to manual entries on the tacho. If you don’t know don’t lie, just tell them. If they start being arsey about that and saying we thought we were getting someone experienced then just say well my agency do know that. Total honesty is the best plan of action. That way they will either train you in what you don’t know, or send you home and have a do at the agency, but then that’s not your fault and you can’t be penalised for it.
robroy:
Then get in an old dog of a truck with a diagram on the gear lever that looked like some sort of mathematical enigma, (that you had to learn to DRIVE …not just steer as today,
Back in the day, the rule was “find a gear it will move in, and don’t change gear again until you get out of the yard”. 
To change gear in a manual truck is harder than in a car but not the difficult. Some like to make it sound like it’s a form of black magic 
the same drivers who can’t work out how to alter the distance on the adaptive cruise control or work out how to switch off lane departure warning in a modern truck.
Rowley010:
To change gear in a manual truck is harder than in a car but not the difficult. Some like to make it sound like it’s a form of black magic
I think…
Harry was talking about the days before syncro-mesh.
Rowley010:
To change gear in a manual truck is harder than in a car but not the difficult. Some like to make it sound like it’s a form of black magic
Them ones where third and fourth gear were in the wrong place always caught you out the first time you came across one.
Rjan:
Wait until you’ve done a few days at the firm and feel as though you know what you’re doing in a morning, then sit down and figure out manual entries.
Couldn’t someone explain how it’s done on here.So old school tacho just turn the paper chart over and write the manual entry on the graph conveniently provided remembering to use a felt tip pen.
Whereas with a digi tacho it’s just a piece of plastic like a credit card that goes in a card reader unit slot ?.Now what are we supposed to do to write a manual entry bearing in mind that just writing it in a diary probably ain’t going to cut it.Also what’s all this bollox about ‘print outs’ and which button do you press to get one and where is the paper for it put and who do you have to ask in the office to get it.Bearing in mind that blank tacho charts were issued by the box load numbers recorded and signed for and kept in the truck.The OP will obviously hit the ground running if he knows all this stuff before taking out the truck. 
Rowley010:
To change gear in a manual truck is harder than in a car but not the difficult. Some like to make it sound like it’s a form of black magic
I had no problem going from Clydesdale to Atkinson to Foden to RTO Fuller boxes all in one morning for example as a council driver.But wouldn’t have a bleedin clue how to use sat nav or adaptive cruise control or lane departure or a digi tacho.
Rowley010:
To change gear in a manual truck is harder than in a car but not the difficult. Some like to make it sound like it’s a form of black magic
Ok, but have you ever tried a David Brown full crash or even a Spicer before by any chance?
Now that is an art form bordering on Black magic if you can get both up and down without a crunch.
Cruise control, lane departure or any other electronic ■■■■■■■■ does not come even a close second.
Carryfast:
5 drops so lets say around 60-80 miles between each drop.
5 drops, 60 - 80 miles apart? In a 10 hour shift?
Whats he in, a ■■■■■■ helicopter?
wow too many replys to type back to individually lol, all round brilliant advice thanks alot to everyone appreciate it and grateful
il check back in tomorrow just going to watch some youtube vids now so peace and thanks will check in tomorrow i know im going to be shattered as i lost my routine past month sounds like il be having lots of coffees tomorrow aha
The-Snowman:
Carryfast:
5 drops so lets say around 60-80 miles between each drop.5 drops, 60 - 80 miles apart? In a 10 hour shift?
Whats he in, a [zb] helicopter?
Yes sorry I was still in trunking/less bulk drops/pre loaded wagon mode.
Anyway it’s obvious that I’m thinking along the lines of a 350 ish mile between leaving and getting back to the yard shift and around 5 drops done within that.
Still not a bad job in that case and still maybe possible to finish closer to 10 hours than 12 depending on route,traffic and time spent loading/tipping and on break.
Feel free to prefer the 25 drop 12 hour shift to be done in 10.Which knowing agencies is a good bet this job might just turn into when the OP collects the keys and notes.
For ye olde skoolers, Its ERF not RAF. It gets there when it gets there.
