Hello. 
Well, I am doing the LGV C Class in a training centre at the mo and waiting for the theory exam.
I have been stopping as many artic drivers - when they are stopped somewhere of course 
- and asking all sorts of questions, and I have been really impressed at how friendly and helpful everyone has been.
I havenāt even been in a truck yet but I am looking forward to driving 7.5 then onto the C+E asap
Canāt fault the friendliness of drivers Iāve met, and that bodes well for the future.
Anyway, sorry for the little rant.
Look forward to chatting with ppl here. 
aposhark
Welcome to TruckNet mate
If you have any questions ask away!!! you may not get the right answer straight away but it will be fun reading the replies!!!
Best of luck to ya!
welcome to trucknet buddy
hope all goes well for ya mate, donāt forget to let us know how you get on with your courses 
Yes, Iām very new to driving class c and pleasantly surprised what a friendly profession this is. Iām sure youāll enjoy the rideā¦
welcome to trucknet aposhark,i hope you get what you want and hope to see you on the road soon,and yes we are all friendly on here,untill you jump in front off us at a delivery only kidding welcome once again
kitkat:
welcome to trucknet aposhark,i hope you get what you want and hope to see you on the road soon,and yes we are all friendly on here,untill you jump in front off us at a delivery
As Kitkat (and everyone else ) says, welcome.
Jump in front of me at a delivery and weāll see how friendly I can be.
Hello Apo,
Welcome to TruckNet, and good luck in your quest.
You may find it helpful to know that you can take a mock online LGV theory test hereā¦ www.dsa.gov.uk/mockpaper/theoryintro.htm
Please keep us informed with your progress, and dont forget that if theres anything you want to know, you will find the answer here.
Vince
hi again steve 24vā¦was just wondering bout your avatar mate 
where did you get that picture of kwik fit A.K.A kit kat 
Thanks for all of your replies
Good to know that ppl read this board and participate.
I will probably ask silly questions in the quest to āappearā sensibleā¦
First:
Is there a big difference in pay between āc+eā and ācā ?
Are the artics the way to go?
It appears that I will have to pass the ācā first and then get some experience with agents, but is is nice to have a goal.
Second:
I am single and without ties. Will there be many opportunities in both ācā or āc+eā to do the hours that married men donāt want in order to save a few quid?
Thanks
aposhark
Obviously if you have a c+e (or Class 1 as we all insist on calling it) then you have a far wider range of jobs open to you.
However, class C drivers do not seem to have any trouble finding work at the moment, so it`s up to you.
From my observations, class 1 work pays a Ā£ or so more than class 2 per hour, so in the long term it`s worth getting the full ticket, I would say. But this is my opinion only.
If you want to work long hours, then most employers will be only too glad to give you overtime. Don`t forget that you have to have minimum daily and weekly rest periods though.
I have to correct you on one point you made- theres no such thing as a silly question here. "Silliness" is when you cause damage or injury because you didnt want to ask, for fear of looking sillyā¦
Do you have any kind of timeframe in mind for your tests?
Vince
Iām sure others will correct me if Iām wrong, so here goesā¦
There isnāt a huge difference in pay between C and C+E.
However, there is a difference in work.
Most of the trunking (easy inter-RDC transfer of goods) will be done in artics - after all, the RDCs should be built to be accessed by artics, and the runs are generally limited by the amount of goods you can fit on the wagon, rather than driver or loading/unloading time.
If youāve only got Cat. C, youāll generally be restricted to local (<100 miles) distribution. This will be either smaller shops (not large supermarkets) and other businesses, or buildersā merchants (in which case youāll need HIAB), or bulk construction stuff (e.g. tippers full of mud/rocks/stone/etc.). Youāll spend more time on smaller roads, and trying to find obscure addresses.
With a C+E, youāll be able to get the easier trunking work (as a newbie agency driver, I think this is better, since you can concentrate more on the driving than trying to find obscure addresses).
There is some occasional trunking work done in rigids, but itās usually overspill (theyāve got too much stuff to fit in the normal artic run), and often seasonal (busier in the runup to Christmas).
Night work can pay better (generally time-and-a-quarter to time-and-a-half), but if youāre really after the money, weekends are better, especially Sundays. Depends if youāre willing to have your life messed around like that.
If youāre worried about the cost, you might want to consider getting your C first, then doing some work (so you get some experience, and the agency gets to know and trust you), then taking your C+E. Most agencies are a bit nervous about letting newbie C+E drivers out.
Welcome to TruckNetUK, aposhark.
Good Luck with the Theory Exam.
Hello Vince,
Should do the theory in the next week to 10 days.
Will be doing a FLT course after that.
Will be doing a 2 weeks LGV placement soon, followed by a week with an instructor followed by the driving test.
Hopefully all will be done in 6 weeks. Fingers and toes crossed.
Thanks again for the help fellasā¦
Cheers
aposhark
Hello Mr. Flibble
Thanks for you reply
Excellent info there
(easy inter-RDC transfer of goods) will be done in artics
Are these the depots near motorways?
weekends are better, especially Sundays.
Are there many c class jobs available at the weekends or nights?
Depends if youāre willing to have your life messed around like that.
I donāt mind that, I am a single man with no ties
Cheers
aposhark
aposhark:
Hello Vince,Should do the theory in the next week to 10 days.
Will be doing a FLT course after that.
Will be doing a 2 weeks LGV placement soon, followed by a week with an instructor followed by the driving test.
Hopefully all will be done in 6 weeks. Fingers and toes crossed.Thanks again for the help fellasā¦
Cheers
aposhark
Hi Aposhark & welcome to Trucknet ātheā place for information. Iāve seen occasions on here where people have received an accurate & appropriate answer to a question, literally within minutes of posting it.
From your list above, it sounds a bit like maybe you are in luck & somebody else is paying.
Anyway, best of luck. Its relatively easy to go from C to C+E as you are already used to driving a large/heavy vehicle.
Regards, Jonathan
Ex. Trade Plater. Ex LGV Instructor. Ex C+E O/D. RoSPA Gold
Hello Driveroneuk
Thanks for your recent reply.
You mentioned that it is ārelatively easy to go from C to C+E as you are already used to driving a large/heavy vehicleā.
If I do the c+e shortly after the c, wouldnāt that generally be hard for ppl who donāt have much experience on the trucks that c allows them to drive?
Are there many companies that would put me through the c+e and what time is generally required to stay with companies if they pay for that?
Thanks
aposhark
aposhark:
If I do the c+e shortly after the c, wouldnāt that generally be hard for ppl who donāt have much experience on the trucks that c allows them to drive?
aposhark
Think iāve already answered that one above.
aposhark:
Are there many companies that would put me through the c+e and what time is generally required to stay with companies if they pay for that? aposhark
Thereās other guys on here who know more about this kind of arrangement than i do.
This thread maybe useful: trucknetuk.com/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?t=6058
Also, I believe Driver Hire may well fund you (possibly with no pay back) to go from C to C + E
aposhark:
You mentioned that it is ārelatively easy to go from C to C+E as you are already used to driving a large/heavy vehicleā.If I do the c+e shortly after the c, wouldnāt that generally be hard for ppl who donāt have much experience on the trucks that c allows them to drive?aposhark
My brother passed his C+E only a few weeks after gaining his C licence.
If you get a job driving, you are likely to develop some of the habits, just like when you passed your car test. (For instance, I bet you donāt shuffle the steering when in your car. )
What you must remember is that you are only learning to pass a test. If you take one test straight after the other, the chances are you wonāt pick up any of these habits that an examiner would fail you on.
Just my opinion really but you may wish to drive āCā for a while just to gain confidence.
When you pass Class C, ask your instructor for an assessment on C+E. This way you will have an idea of how you might do.
I didnāt get this option when I did my training, I went straight for my C+E. (Best thing I ever did!)
Good luck with the training.
Oops, missed your reply beforeā¦ 
aposhark:
Hello Mr. FlibbleThanks for you reply
Excellent info there(easy inter-RDC transfer of goods) will be done in artics
Are these the depots near motorways?
Theyāre generally near motorways or trunk roads. Of course, the motorway may not necessarily be the fastest way, though (e.g. I did a run recently to Crick, just south of the M1/M6 junction, but from Bristol, itās quicker to go A46 (Evesham-Warwick-Coventry) rather than M5-M42-M6).
However, theyāre generally not in town centres which is where a lot of distribution is done (and where driving is harder work and more stressful for a newbie IMHO).
aposhark:
weekends are better, especially Sundays.
Are there many c class jobs available at the weekends or nights?
I havenāt been doing this long, but I think it depends on the area, and itās a bit seasonal. The best times are school holidays, and the run-up to Christmas.
I had a period a couple of months ago when I did 6 Sundays in 2 months (I have to be very careful about driversā hours conflicting with my office job, since every weekend worked is effectively a reduced weekly rest). But then I havenāt worked at all for the past 2 months (although part of that is me not being available for at least 3 times when the agency has had work).
aposhark:
Depends if youāre willing to have your life messed around like that.
I donāt mind that, I am a single man with no ties
Yes, but if most your friends are 9-5ers, you may end up with no friends eitherā¦
IMHO, if you can afford it, Iād go straight for C+E, since that gives you the greatest choice of work, but if you canāt, get your C and save up for your C+E.
margatemafia:
hi again steve 24vā¦was just wondering bout your avatar mate
i just noticed this you ā ā ā ā ā ā ā wonāt be the fingers this time that youāll be holding.there will be two of but not fingers that will hurt.