Anyone night trunking into this hub at the moment ?, read one thread and comments about long hrs waiting etc, but not really current, wondering how long current trunkers are expereincing getting unloaded and loaded at the moment, and if luck of the draw how quick your turn around is ? organised que system in place, or a ■■■■■■■ order with some getting to que jump as such.
fixed hours offer with 10hrs, could be a good number, unless seriously long turn around times.
I trunk to a different pallet-network hub where there can be quite long turnaround times. This depends on each depot’s pallet count and number of trunks that night. However, since I get paid for waiting (parked up sleeping quite often) I don’t worry!! Some drivers there get wound up about it - you’ll never change it, and being a pain in the ■■■■ moaning every night just makes you unpopular. In reality, I think pallet-network night trunking is probably one of the easiest jobs in the industry as long as you have plenty to keep you occupied when waiting.
I have done the palletforce night trunk for a company in Devon (about a year ago).
Cant comment on the queue times, as the trunks that travel the furthest were given priority, so we just went through the gate, and to the right hand side warehouse first (bypassing the main queue), tipped in there, then to the 2nd warehouse when called in.
The trip was over 4 hours each way, on a good night, and single manned.
I’ve only ever unloaded there, but it seemed to work as drive in, turn left and queue (2 lines) where you open up and unstrap then they call you into the shed 1 at a time. You unload and they might chuck some on then of its not all there you go park up and they call you in later when its all here.
There are variations depending what you got, priority collections as mentioned above. Overall it looked pretty well organised and a lot better than some I’ve seen.
Waiting times will vary every night but I wouldn’t take the job if they don’t pay hourly. Have heard some doing that.
Thnks everyone, been offered an opportunity to do this, and as returning driver after long time away wasnt sure about it all, as noticed they’d had a high turn over on the role… but not bothered with long turn arounds…
This is our hub and it depends where your based and how much freight your depot gets, we have 2 midlands depots and usually about 50 pallets at night at one depot and 120 at the other, had colleagues get into the hub at 8 and be fully loaded and heading home for 10, finished at 00:00… (after starting at 6), we are fixed rate - however others have started at 7 and been made to wait, usually back for 6am.
I have been offered job next month going to burton starting 7 pm new contract for firm so i will have to sus it out as i go but these posts gives me little heads up as well.
trevHCS:
.Waiting times will vary every night but I wouldn’t take the job if they don’t pay hourly. Have heard some doing that.
Fixed salary can work in your favour.
stu675:
trevHCS:
.Waiting times will vary every night but I wouldn’t take the job if they don’t pay hourly. Have heard some doing that.
Fixed salary can work in your favour.
Your both right, this senario though posted is fixed hrs, so its a gamble of average rate or below average, and after reading posts feel this would of been a below average as high turn over noticed for times its been advertised, think I know why now. Cheers ! if it wasnt long hours as pointed out they would of done a minimum hrs contract not fixed hrs.
It’s always…
Going to be the same times or longer. There’s no other way the job can be done. Everything has to come off to go back on. There’s only so many forklifts that can work in an area, you can’t leave stand trailers so it’s traffic delays or operational delays that are the only factors that you can’t account for.
When I did it from Leeds to Lichfield, it was a solid 5 hours on the bunk asleep until there was a knock on the door, you re-loaded and went home.
Been doing trunk to fradley park now couple months I’m hourly paid do around 10/11 hrs a night money ok but God it is the most boring job same thing every night don’t know if I can stick it hats off to guys doing this for years
hook:
Been doing trunk to fradley park now couple months I’m hourly paid do around 10/11 hrs a night money ok but God it is the most boring job same thing every night don’t know if I can stick it hats off to guys doing this for years
I’ve done night trunking with drop box changeovers, and I’ve done Palletline night trunking. All the other varieties of night trunking too.
I couldn’t do it as a full time, long term job.
1, Nights are for sleeping, days are for working.
2, It’s the same thing, night after night after night after night, ad infinitum. It bores me to tears.
Up and then down the same road, or down and then up, but still the same road.
Into the hub, open curtains, wait, called in and tipped, back out, wait, called in, loaded and away.
I could do the same trunk for about 3 months, but by then I’d be climbing the walls. And that’s knowing my three months is almost up.
Agency cover for holiday/sick I could manage. Agency to full time employed? No thanks!!!
I like variety.
Even driving down to Italy, if I was loading in the same place and tipping in the same place, I’d be requesting a change of route after a few repeats of the same trip.
Yea, I hate night trunking myself.
I know someone who starts in Essex goes to Northampton. Goes from Northampton to Essex then back to Northampton and back to Essex
Dunno how they do that tbh. Would drive me nuts. M1/M25 are kinda the most boring roads in the country ;D
adam277:
Yea, I hate night trunking myself.I know someone who starts in Essex goes to Northampton. Goes from Northampton to Essex then back to Northampton and back to Essex
Dunno how they do that tbh. Would drive me nuts. M1/M25 are kinda the most boring roads in the country ;D
Every route is the same after you’ve driven it once.
There’s also a difference between proper distance depot to depot trunks v hub system work.
If you like driving Feltham to Dewsbury or Charnock Richard or Killington Lake on Scottish never got boring for me.
While with hindsight I should/would have walked away from hub work.
Ironically I’m now delivering collecting cars to/from anywhere in the country but the job will still often require using the same major trunk routes although I try to avoid the M25 and M1 and M6 not because they’re boring but because of traffic jam issue.
As for variety yesterday they asked me to do a parts run for the service department to Bristol then from there across to Hatfield and only used the M25 from the A41 to St Alban’s.I generally prefer the North Circular or the A404 than using the M25.
Wednesday I delivered a car to Falmouth which as usual meant miles of A303 and A30 and then a long train journey home via Reading.
Sitting on a train is my idea of boring.