need some help from people who have recently done there weeks training for class 2. I relly need to know how many hours in total over the couse of your weeks training you did ? not counting cpc mod 4 stuff or anyother form of training just the hours atualy spent driving the lorry, but NOT includeing the hour and a half test. just the hours spent in the cab driving. and how many hours driving on each day. did you do 4 hours on each day ect…please any sheard info on this would be great.
jrt:
need some help from people who have recently done there weeks training for class 2. I relly need to know how many hours in total over the couse of your weeks training you did ? not counting cpc mod 4 stuff or anyother form of training just the hours atualy spent driving the lorry, but NOT includeing the hour and a half test. just the hours spent in the cab driving. and how many hours driving on each day. did you do 4 hours on each day ect…please any sheard info on this would be great.
Hi mate i done 12 hours in 3 days (4 hours a day) for my class 2 then done 10 hours for class 1
thanks for replying, just to double cheak it was 12 hours purly driving about ? I only ask because I need to be relly sure what others have done with there trainers. my training company has iussued me with 8 hours at the most over the hole tree days. its a very long story how its come to this. but ill be paying for 15 hours but only 8 of them will be behind the wheel. just wounderd if this was normal
It’s the oldest con in the book. It’s known lovingly as 2:1 training and very often people are misled as to how much time is spent behind the wheel. There IS a value in being the 2nd trainee but it’s never going to be as good as being the one who is actually being trained.
I said “con” for the reasons I’ve stated. But I must make it clear that many perfectly reputable trainers use this method of training but are transparent about what you’re actually getting. So it’s far from being a “con” in many cases.
Hope this helps, Pete 
jrt:
but ill be paying for 15 hours but only 8 of them will be behind the wheel. just wounderd if this was normal
I did 2:1 for my class 2 but viewed the cost as the price of the course as opposed to hours behind the wheel. If you pass it won’t actually matter 
I mainly did 2 to 1 training and the trainees found it fantastic - apart from the usual 15 30 15 breaks we were moving all the time during 8 hours … often a bit more
Trainees did daily checks together so time saved there for more driving
Answering questions from the non driving trainee whilst the other was driving so more driving time gained
the trainees always learned from each others errors
If the test or reverse area was some distance from the yard then more time saved travelling to and from it/them but that would have no effect on driving time, just the type of roads driven on
jrt:
thanks for replying, just to double cheak it was 12 hours purly driving about ? I only ask because I need to be relly sure what others have done with there trainers. my training company has iussued me with 8 hours at the most over the hole tree days. its a very long story how its come to this. but ill be paying for 15 hours but only 8 of them will be behind the wheel. just wounderd if this was normal
Yeah mine was 12 hours pure driving mate, if I was you I wouldn’t go for the 2.1 training, if your paying for 15 hours, you want 15 hours driving, not to sit watching someone else, where are you based ?
i m not sure if its 2;1 dont think that is what there doing here. thay have mereged the cpc mod four training lessons and mod 4 test in with the pratical training hours so its 8 hours driving and 6 hours time spent on cpc mod 4 training and test ? this is what has confused the hole thing. i was to understand it was pritty standard for people to have 10 to 12 hours of pratical training say costing 700-800 odd quit. and all the cpc mod four stuff was compleatly seprate. I dont relly want to say where im based as itll pritty much give away who the trainer is and i dont want to go slateing them publicy if in truth what thay are doing is standard pratice. just just get the feeling that 8 hours driving and 6 hours cpc stuff is abit of a fiddle and not what i singed up for in the first place
I certainly wouldn’t say it was standard practice - lots of schools will give 1-1 training so all the hours you pay are for your use only.
You have to weigh up what is better for you.
John
jrt:
i m not sure if its 2;1 dont think that is what there doing here. thay have mereged the cpc mod four training lessons and mod 4 test in with the pratical training hours so its 8 hours driving and 6 hours time spent on cpc mod 4 training and test ? this is what has confused the hole thing. i was to understand it was pritty standard for people to have 10 to 12 hours of pratical training say costing 700-800 odd quit. and all the cpc mod four stuff was compleatly seprate. I dont relly want to say where im based as itll pritty much give away who the trainer is and i dont want to go slateing them publicy if in truth what thay are doing is standard pratice. just just get the feeling that 8 hours driving and 6 hours cpc stuff is abit of a fiddle and not what i singed up for in the first place
I had 2 hours on my CPC module 4 on the day training you don’t need nowhere near 6 hours mate, if I was you I’d tell them you want 12 hours behind the wheel and then sort out what you want CPC wise, it cost me £220 for my CPC module 4, included in that I got the 2 hours training,the cost to hire the wagon and the actual test fee
8 hours driving and 6 hours time spent on cpc mod 4 training
Totally out of wad. You would have to be outstanding (I’m not saying you’re not!) to get CAT C on 8 hours. 2hrs can be enough for Mod 4. 3hrs is maybe more comfortable. If I were you I’d seek clarification on what you’re actually going to get rather than try and work it out. Who knows, you may get a nice surprise!
All the best, Pete
Also make sure your dealing with the company direct as there are a lot of dodgy companies out there who act as “brokers” they’ll get a course for a certain price, advertise it for abit more and for a certain amount of hours etc. then you get there and it’s nowhere near what you was expecting
looks like im just going have to hope for the best. thay seem to have made somthing witch should be simply and clear to understand very confused and merky my gut feeling when this happends is its been don on perpos. im not in the best of moods this week anyway, im coming down with a nasty flu bug thats been going round recently witch is going make the week heel to do when ill and im trying to cut out the smokes. truth is its no skin off there noise if i fail the test and have to have more pratical training befor retesting again.
I paid for a 16 hour course, 4 hours for 3 days and then an hour trying to fix the truck before I had my test. It was a cold morning and a valve had stuck open in the rear suspension jacking it right up in the air, got it free in the end and went on to do the test, which I failed! (waiting for a retest as we speak).
Regarding the 4 hours each day over 3 days, the first hour of the first day was mainly getting to know the truck, then on each day it would be mostly anywhere between 1.5-2 hours driving, followed by a small tea break and a chat followed by more driving/reversing. That pretty much sums up the 4 hours on each day. I was told that to drive under instruction for 4 hours solid at a time was too much even for most drivers and i have to say at the end of each day I did feel pretty mentally drained. A 4 hour lesson is more than enough I’d say.
To put it simply to be driving for 4 hours under constant instruction is too much, hence the reason why you probably arnt spending all that time behind the wheel. If you have any concerns or feel you are not ready for the test, speak to your instructor. It would be well worth spending extra for extra lessons and get it passed first time.
Tarrman:
To put it simply to be driving for 4 hours under constant instruction is too much, hence the reason why you probably arnt spending all that time behind the wheel.
another good reason for many to opt for 2 to 1 training
ROG:
Tarrman:
To put it simply to be driving for 4 hours under constant instruction is too much, hence the reason why you probably arnt spending all that time behind the wheel.another good reason for many to opt for 2 to 1 training
If I were to literally do a full days training I personally wouldn’t mind doing 2-1 training, would be nice to sit back and relax while the other drives for a bit and you get to see it from a different perspective.
My personal opinion is that 2:1 for Class 2 is ok but by the time you get to Class 1 training you should be on 1:1.
2:1 gives you the oportunity to learn from each other’s errors and good driving practices. As a new skill I believe this is advantageous as a learning method.
I did 2:1 with a very reputable trainer for Class 2 and both myself and the other trainee valued each other’s input.
I wish you the best of luck with your training. Just remember you are probably getting a good price for 2:1 as just going 1:1 would be 1.5x the price I would imagine.
Dean
dar1976:
My personal opinion is that 2:1 for Class 2 is ok but by the time you get to Class 1 training you should be on 1:1.2:1 gives you the oportunity to learn from each other’s errors and good driving practices. As a new skill I believe this is advantageous as a learning method.
I did 2:1 with a very reputable trainer for Class 2 and both myself and the other trainee valued each other’s input.
I wish you the best of luck with your training. Just remember you are probably getting a good price for 2:1 as just going 1:1 would be 1.5x the price I would imagine.
Dean
Pricewise it always seems to be that 1 to 1 for 4 hours is half of 2 to 1 for 8 hours - at least that is what I have come across so far
1 to 1 for CE has always seemed ok because the jump from C to CE is not as bad as from B to C
I did a few 2.5 day 1 to 1 courses for CE and they all coped ok for the most part but I deffo would not recommend doing that for C
We offer both choices to candidates but when asked for advice we will always recommend the 2:1 option. Pricewise a day costs the same either way to a candidate. We either train from 8am-12 or 12-4pm on 1:1 or 8am-4pm on 2:1. The reasons we generally recommend 2:1 are (in no particular order):
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We change the students over at the test centre each time after an hour’s driving. This gets them used to the first 5 minutes and the last 5 minutes of the test (a time when many commit serious faults). It also gets them used to the timing of a test duration and the level of concentration needed to successfully complete a test route.
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Most candidates cannot really take half a day of work for several consecutive days so on 1:1 half the day is wasted sitting at home.
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The trainer does not need to repeat the same lessons twice each day. He is talking to 2 people at the same time so he is able to either cover each subject in far more detail or cover more subject matter each day.
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It can be frustrating to a candidate when he struggles with a certain aspect ie hazard approach speed, meeting other vehicles safely, reversing etc. Watching somebody else while not under the same pressure as behind the wheel can help greatly.
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6 or 7 different test routes are physically covered each day by each trainee (either driving or watching) instead of perhaps 3 on 1:1 training
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A greater sense of team effort and bonding is created with 2 trainees in the vehicle than with just 1 where it can sometimes feel lonely for the trainee.
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I would say there is less total break time on an 8 hour day than on 2x4 hour half days. Less breaks = more driving time = more experience
Saying it is up to the student to choose is not really fair on them as they have nothing to compare it with. As they have to put their trust in the trainer to get them through the test they should also put their faith in the trainer to advise on the best method to train. This of course is only my opinion and other well respected trainers will have different views which I also respect.
LGVTrainer:
We offer both choices to candidates but when asked for advice we will always recommend the 2:1 option. Pricewise a day costs the same either way to a candidate. We either train from 8am-12 or 12-4pm on 1:1 or 8am-4pm on 2:1. The reasons we generally recommend 2:1 are (in no particular order):
We change the students over at the test centre each time after an hour’s driving. This gets them used to the first 5 minutes and the last 5 minutes of the test (a time when many commit serious faults). It also gets them used to the timing of a test duration and the level of concentration needed to successfully complete a test route.
Most candidates cannot really take half a day of work for several consecutive days so on 1:1 half the day is wasted sitting at home.
The trainer does not need to repeat the same lessons twice each day. He is talking to 2 people at the same time so he is able to either cover each subject in far more detail or cover more subject matter each day.
It can be frustrating to a candidate when he struggles with a certain aspect ie hazard approach speed, meeting other vehicles safely, reversing etc. Watching somebody else while not under the same pressure as behind the wheel can help greatly.
6 or 7 different test routes are physically covered each day by each trainee (either driving or watching) instead of perhaps 3 on 1:1 training
A greater sense of team effort and bonding is created with 2 trainees in the vehicle than with just 1 where it can sometimes feel lonely for the trainee.
I would say there is less total break time on an 8 hour day than on 2x4 hour half days. Less breaks = more driving time = more experience
Saying it is up to the student to choose is not really fair on them as they have nothing to compare it with. As they have to put their trust in the trainer to get them through the test they should also put their faith in the trainer to advise on the best method to train. This of course is only my opinion and other well respected trainers will have different views which I also respect.
Brilliant post and explanation 