I was a computer programmer for 12 years, b4 I started driving 7.5tonners 3.5 yrs ago… I managed to get my Class2 free thru a government training scheme, offered by Driver Hire… Don’t know if they still do it, but worth asking…
Then Class 1 was with an agency, thru Somerfield, on a free lessons & test, for 2years of your life basis…
Got my 2yrs C+E experience in November, went on the books with Somerfield in December, and I’M STILL LOVING IT…
Grossing around £500 a week for 45-50hrs, and have never enjoyed working so much…
Yes you do have to work more hours, but compared to the grind of an office, and all the ■■■■■■■■ that goes with it, sitting on your air-suspended, heated, bum for 9hrs a day is easy…
Having read the above fully, i’d just like to add…
ANY job is what you make it… If you focus on the bad bits, it’ll be a pants job…
I bet most of the drivers who moan the most have either, never done anything but driving, or have been doing it soo long they’ve forgotten how bad it was being penned in by 4 walls, bored, watching the clock, willing it to 5:30…
I love being given the keys to a big lorry… The novelty hasn’t worn off at all…
I like being trusted with £100,000+ worth of rig…
Once you leave thru the gates, you’re on your own… No-one looking over your shoulder, stereo on, heating right up… It as much freedom as you’ll get in any job…
I enjoy not having to put on a false face everyday… nice skirts and tops (shirts and ties for you), having to put on the ‘corporate’ image…
I’m just me now… happy me… covered in grease…
All you’re expected to do is drive the truck… You can only drive ONE at a time, and can legally only work for so long… In an office, you’ve got your own workload, AND your holidaying co-workers lot, AND the girl in marketing who’s sick… etc, etc…
As far as i’m concerned, I haven’t looked back ONCE… Not even a glance over my shoulder… It’s not work… It’s driving a cool big lorry AND getting payed for it…
i came out of the army after 12 years without hgv licence. i worked on the irish ferries then decided to pay for my class 2. passed on the wednesday didnt go into work on the docks, instead i started for an agency on the sunday, driving down to woolworths at winsford. after the christmas period the work dried up so rang up as many companies as i could, finally went to work for a bloke in crewe. money was rubbish and i spent an hour travelling to and from work. then got work with a firm in ellesmere port who eventually put me through my class 1, but was treated like dog dooo there, so left and went to work for stobarts tramping, finally left them to work where i am now tramping on tankers, its took 3 years of putting up with all types of crap but you have to look at what you want to be doing three/four years down the line. you live near hudds, stobarts has a depot in wakefield, people have bad things to say about them but to be honest if you dont mind grafting for themt he jobs pretty much ok, you could try them after passing your class 2 mate. like i say expect a lot of crap when you first start driving, but just have your own bigger picture of where you want to be in a few years time, and go for it!!!
I’m particularly interested in what Chrisie said about passing her Class 2 for free through a government scheme and then her Class 1 for free through an agency… I just thought if you want to become a LGV driver you would have to part with a considerable amount of money… I had no idea there were ways round it!
Are these opportunities available to everyone or is it that they are trying to promote women LGV drivers or something? (sorry if that sounds like a daft question!)
Does anyone know of any companies in the Yorkshire/Lancashire area that would put me through the training on the basis I would be tied to them for a while? Or can anybody tell me if these government training schemes are available in my area?
I think I’ll start a new thread on this aswell!
Ps. I too was a programmer for a while… with all the nerds and star wars geeks its probably just about the worst kind of office environment you could possibly be in… it was a few years back but is probably the main reason I can’t stomach office jobs nowadays… it put me off for life!… there’s only so many times you can be whacked on the back of the head by some middle age pr*ck with a plastic light sabre before you start to lose the plot!
loll:
there’s only so many times you can be whacked on the back of the head by some middle age pr*ck with a plastic light sabre before you start to lose the plot!
There seems to bit a theme here about people getting into trucking 'cos they’re fed up with IT.
15 years ago I was in this position and with money to spare took my C+E more out of interest than anything else. Unable to get a job without experience and unwilling to leave a permanent job for temp work I eventally lost interest…then a few years later I started messing about with vintage lorries so justified the £800 I’d spent as part of me hobby. Then early last year a funny thing happened - my IT job was at risk of redundancy and a neighbour was setting up in business as an agency. As it was about 10 years since I’d driven anything resembling a modern artic I booked a few hours refresher training with a local firm for a little over £100 and since then have worked alternate weekends on a casual basis - sometimes I don’t work for 3 weeks, sometimes I’ll work every weekend in the month but the decision is always mine. The extra money helps feed the kids and means my wife doesn’t have to work but I do it because I love it.
Yes, there are some bad shifts where I’ve spent 3 hours waiting to tip, then made a mess of reversing onto tthe dock, put up with grumpy staff and jammed ratchet straps and returned to base in the middle of the night after a 14 hour shift to drop the trailer in torrential rain but there are also the sunny evenings driving through devon with my choice of music and somebody elses diesel when it seems rude to take money for it!
The office job pays better and is a regular income so as a family man I can’t quite justify trucking full time…but While I’ve been spared this time its obvious more redundancies are on the way so I may yet go full time! Meanwhile it’s a paying hobby and the best income protection plan I can think of!
you are used to a not bad salary office hours home evrey day problby a good social life in the last few years ive met ex teachers engineers etc there usually not worth a ■■■■ n thats on the easy jobs they end up going back 2 what they used 2 do its been a few years since i earned 30k and ive been doing it over 20 years name a driving job ive done it rubbish basic long hours problably illeagal working or fired if i didnt no benifits allways in plods eye line im still doing 5 nights away n 70 hours a week was home last week for 16 u fancy that full time dont waste ure money unless u really want it like i did
hi loll, after years of wanting to drive hgv’s (dad was a class 1 driver for 40 years), 5 years ago he had a accident, because of that he couldn’t drive anymore, that made me more determined.
so i gave up my job running a pub and got a job working for a courier company, driving 3.5t vans, great experience for the roads, did that for six months, then was offered a job with a laundry company, same driving a 3.5t van, but got valuable experience of london! and other cities and most importantly country roads, and cut throughs.
last october decided to go for my class c, passed first time. Of course then i didn’t want to drive 3.5t, so looked on the job centre website and found a job with vital ltd. Had a interview, and they offered me a job, took it. Now i am driving a 18 tonne daf, loving it!! i am now going to go for my class 1 in june. if i pass, company have told me i can do holiday cover on the artics,( 44 tonne double deck curtain siders).
So guys, go for what YOU want to do. only you can decide that one. Remember everyone has to start somewhere.
For me, i am happy, truly the happiest i have ever been !!
Can recommend a good book though, it’s called the truckers handbook isbn 1 84425 210 8
As far as 7.5 tonne is concerned if you passed your car test before jan 1997 you automatically got that licence, if you passed after 1997 you have to take a test to drive one. So you would have to do 7.5 tonne first then your cat c and c+e.
Speaking from a “newibie” point of view and as many on this thread already work in IT I decided to go through the LGV route having passed C early this year I didnt know what to expect and for me it was another career to fall back on after 15 years working in the same department.
To be honest I have already learned a LOT much of what has been said on here you are the bottom of the pile when you are a newly qualified driver you are a social leper in the transport industry… no one will touch you unless the “2 years experience” is met … hence you sign on with agencies some good some bad … some offer you loads of work but never promise all they want is for you to be on their books. yeah they will ring you quite a lot in the first few weeks to make it look as though they are intrested. but then nothing. again when you do get a job more time out handballing than driving and the piece above about Sat Nav… blimey if someone had told me that before this happened to me … well. … But on the posotive if you get a good agency then yeah the pay can be pants but you will gain more experience driving different trucks gearboxs and loads than you could hope for… but you will be cra**ped on from a big height by the transport supervisors and planners. and dont expect to get the route that the agency has told you are going on when you get there. If you are prepared to start at the bottom then you wont feel that you are being hard done by.
Driver Hire do offer an upgrade to cat C and C+E but they tend to want experienced C1 drivers first the way it works is you do your training through a local school they have connections with and they then commit to getting you 35 hrs work per week < reason is that you pay them back at x amount per week until the fees are paid off. BUT downside is you will be driving 7.5 T and the occasional C and at £5.65 or £6.00 per hour for C1 and only £6.50 for C you will need some hours in and if you have a full time job it isnt going to work as there isnt a lot of work at weekends for C < well there is but it tends to go to the peeps who have been with the agency a long time…
There are quite a few companies that I know of that are paying @ 26K for C class work its hard but once you get to know the ropes its job and knock
Phew … on final note I am glad you are going to take the plunge what with all the new regulations coming in you are better doing it now than waiting as over the next few years a lot of drivers will give up the ghost and as for agency drivers well it wont be economical to carry on after 2014 when the cpc comes into force as it will prob cost them £1000,s
finaly I will give stockport school of motoring a thumbs up very busy school all the instructors have driven for over 20yrs own yard and the vehicles are spot on. one stop shop
