Hello everyone, my names Karl and I’m in the process of training for my class C license.
I passed my theory and hazard perception last week and have just booked my training for week begging 4th July.
I wish I had found this site beforehand to be honest as I don’t know what this company is like, but they came across to be very professional. They are called 2 Start and are based in Portchester near Portsmouth. They are local to me and have their own trucks and also do other training on their site e.g. Counter balance/ Reach forklifting, Moffet, HIAB etc.
Anyway hello and hopefully someone can shed some light on the company i have booked with. 
Thanks Karl.
Welcome 
Don’t know the company but if they seem professional it’s got to be a good sign.
Welcome
Welcome to the site and good luck with your training
if you need any advice just ask someone on here will always try to help
John
Hi Karl,
Welcome to the forum…good luck with your training…don’t forget to post a training diary 
John.
Hello all! Thanks for the welcome much appreciated, and I may take you guys up on the offer of asking questions if I get stuck. What do you mean training diary? Are there any examples of this on this site?
Just thought I’d log back in and see if I can pick up some tips for training and my test as it’s the week after next and I’m worrying myself a little! 
The biggest vehicle I have driven is a luton van so it will come as a bit of a shock driving a class ‘C’ vehicle.
I’m hoping i’ll be fine as I have a fairly good sense of judgement as I’m a forklift driver at the moment and have been doing this for 10 years. (I know it’s a different league) Anyway i’ll see if I can get a training diary on the go. Thanks again
Hi karlos and welcome.
You are in good company here. Excellent advice is always to hand. I know 2Start. They are a good provider. You will be fine. Paul Moon is the chap there who will look after you.
Post a diary.
Good idea and good luck!
hgvlgvtraining
What do you mean training diary?
Just a blow by blow account of what you’ve done/learned/hit/sworn at each day!
BTW, welcome and good luck with it all. Pete 
Oh excellent I’m glad someone knows the company, and don’t worry i shall do a day to day diary of my training and my experiences!
good luck with the training.
you will be fine, i did my class c after driving nothing bigger than a mercedes sprinter van, but even driving a van gives you a perfect start for class c training. Its effectively a van on a slightly bigger scale in terms of manouvering etc.
Good luck with it but im sure you will do fine 
Wanna-b-a-newbie:
Welcome to the site and good luck with your training
if you need any advice just ask someone on here will always try to helpJohn
Many a true word.
Welcome aboard and enjoy, don’t forget slowly, slowly for junctions and roundabouts, oh and keep checking your mirrors all the time
Right day 1 of training complete and I feel a little less nervous now!
Started off by meeting my instructor who is called Bob.
He ran me through all the checks and what to look out for on the vehicle, which I shall be doing tomorrow and explaining what i’m looking for.
Next was inside the cab to explain where everything was and what buttons and symbols that i’d never seen before meant. He also went on to tachographs and I had to fill in my own one.
So he started off by asking if i’d ever driven a truck before to which I replied nervously “no”.
So he drove to some quiet roads a couple of miles away, and as he was driving explained everything he was doing and what he could see and what he was looking out for. This helped me a great deal as when I got in to the drivers seat I felt a little more at ease.
So next I was driving, mirrors, signal manoeuvre and i’m away! I had to pull away in 4th gear then split up then 5th and 6th and 7th and then I was cruising along at a steady 40mph
So the road I was on is about 3 miles long with a roundabout at each end so it was a good stretch of road to practice on with gear changes and slowing down for roundabouts etc.
Bob said that I was very good at picking up the gear changes (“slowly change through the gears don’t rush”) he said…
I got told off once for going a little to fast around a roundabout and that was it.
So as I was getting used to the gear changes and my road positioning was good he decided to take me further afield where it was a little busier and the roads were more challenging.
Straight away as soon as there were more cars and more corners the dreaded nerves came back.
On one corner which is virtually a hairpin I didn’t sterr out far enough and the rear wheel slightly bumped up the curb which I could see in my nearside mirror, which then sent me in to panic with the gears and I changed gear to quickly which then had the affect of no gear being there which sent me in to a near stall with loads of traffic behind me
Anyway Bob could see I wasn’t to keen on that corner so he took me round the block and back on to the same piece of road and corner 
this time I took it perfect and the gear I was in and the change was excellent so I was very happy 
He said he was happy with the lesson and when I did something wrong I told him what I was doing wrong before he had the chance to say anything, so hopefully tomorrows lesson is even better and I’ll let you guys know how I get on.
Just something else, I really enjoy driving and I could see myself doing this for a living. I’ve had a big grin on my face all day at work.
Hello Karl
Sounds like your instructor Bob knows exactly how to get the best from you.Listen very carefully to what he says and put your total faith in him.
Instead of making him tell you the same thing a hundred times. Listen carefully and do it. He will love you for that and you will love your course.
Regards
John
Flair Training
Day 2!
Driving is getting there, road positioning was good again.
My approach to junctions and roundabouts are slightly to fast still which makes me rush.
Went and did the reversing procedure and did it 1st time. Tried it again and did it again.
Went to the test centre and had a look at the course where I would be doing the reversing and all looked ok.
Another good day for me and I’m loving it. Fingers crossed i’m ok for my test on Friday.
Another day with a big grin on my face
Just thought I would put this link up to anyone in Hampshire area, as I find this company to have been really good with me from day 1 when I enquired about the course. Never pressured in to handing over my money and they went in to great detail about the whole course and what I would need to do.
Now I have started my training with them I feel I can recommend them to be very good. Instructors are all friendly nice guys who know what they are talking about, and being a beginner to trucks have found all of my training so far to be clear and fluent.
If a mod can put this in the driver schools recommended area then I would be greatful.
Hampshire - 2start-training.com/
First probably very stupid question just looking at jobs in my area and this was at the bottom of the web page…
What does CE / CCAT mean? Is CE C+E license? And as for CCAT i’ve not a clue
Go easy on me
If you wish to apply for this job please answer the questions below then click on the apply button.
**YesNoDo you have CE / CCAT Licence?**Do you have less than 6 points on your licence?Do you have a digi Tacho?Do you have a current Lorry Loader / HIAB certificate?
Hi
C is Cat C. CE is also known as C+E. Hope that helps
Hi Karl,
Great to see a new face around here and someone whos in exactly the same boat (or truck) as me. I to have just started my Cat C and went out on an assessment run last thursday and did exactly the same as you with the gears, I to panicked and ended up actually stalling the truck twice at traffic lights and selecting the wrong gears. I also ran a corner to close but still didn’t hit the kerb but nearly took out the overhang of the traffic light in the process!! 
The 4 over 4 gear box takes some getting used to and starting in 3rd gear which is what I started in was different, I now sit at home pretending I am changing gear by selecting 3rd then 4th flicking the range switch up and selecting 5th, 6th, 7th and finally 8th. I keep practicing this so my brain remembers where the gears are and that I have to remember to flick the range switch. Like you I started off perfectly checking mirrors, signalling and looking over my left shoulder in to the blind spot before setting off.
Goodluck and any advice you have at the end of each day will help others like myself who also needs Cat C training.
Regards,
Andrew
Thanks Peter, I read it back just a minute ago and thought what the hell am I asking such a stupid question for! It made perfect sense! I think I was on a high still as I’d just finished my days training and wasn’t thinking clearly
@ Andrew how long is it until your test now? Do you feel ready? If not do you think your making good progress? I did that reverse exercise today and where I did it fairly well boosted my confidence so much
Hi Karl,
Tomorrow there ringing me back with a date for the training and test for Cat C and as soon as I pass that I’ll move on to my C+E. I’ll keep you updated as I follow your diary if thats OK…? Just some brief details so we can compare eachothers training etc.
Glad to hear your reverse gave you confidence, did you mess up again with the gears…? Or did it go smoothy…?