1987, John Stamper of Rutherglen in Glasgow. Day cab ERF, with a fold down metal frame behind your head, and 3 huge square cushions which doubled as a passenger seat and mattress. Middle of winter, and off to Inverness with a twenty foot skeli and container for loading at the Maltings. Two things stand out for me about this trip. The first was coming down the hill into Inverness, when the bedframe broke loose and smacked me in the back of the head and pinned me to the steering wheel till I reached a layby. Brings a whole new meaning to warning you your driving times nearly up. The second was climbing out of Inverness grossing 32t. The hot air for the heater came out of a hole at the front under the drivers seat. The longer I climbed, the hotter the air got. By the time I got to the top I had no hairs left on the back of my legs. AAAAhhhh… My dear late father laughed his head off when I told him. He said I was a wimp, as he used to have to burn his spare tyre to keep warm on the old Shap in winter.
leslie g heath:
Although it was just over 30 years ago i can still remember my first job driving an artic and it was a nightmare.
I had taken my test on a little Ford unit with a small single axle short trailer.Turn up for job, very cocky, 21 then.An Atkinson Borderer with a 40 foot container
And that’s when you realised that all these “training” merchants with D Series Fords were training you to get a licence in those days, and not to be a driver!!
My first day was a daycab daf with twinsplitter and a box tandem trailer. Peterborough to Telford and I was like a pig in [zb] Cup of tea, ■■■ and Radio4 and thought I was king of the road that was until I caught sight of the trailer as it turned tight on the first roundabout. It literally seemed to be a hundred foot long and it was only a 40’. The rest of the day was sweat and fear. Total joy that it was a yard tip and the yard was about 10 acres. I remember I did,nt like to overtake so it took almost a full shift to get there and back. Oh happy days, and many hard ones since.
If only I had a bad memory I might even enjoy the job a bit today!!
Mine are already on TNUK somewhere, but…
First day in a C: delivering PVCu window frames around South Wales. Got lost a few times, got directed down a road that was far too narrow for the truck 
, ended up having to take the last 1/3 of the drops back because it got to 5pm and there was no point carrying on.
Attempted first day in a C+E: Turned up at Safeway RDC, given piece of paper to sign declaring that I’ve had my C+E license at least 2 years (I’d had it about a week), refused to sign it, got sent home.
Actual first day in a C+E: British Bakeries R-reg ERF with an Eaton Twin Splitter , drop + swap at Forest Gate in London 
- got given wrong directions so missed the turning into the Forest Gate bakery, had to find a circular route back, used A-Z to find one, but it took me round a very tight left-hand mini-roundabout turn in a shopping street with pedestrian barriers on all sides. Just made it around with about 6" to spare. Lucky I had a 40’ trailer and not a 45’ one. Dropped and swapped at the bakery (after lots of shunting to get on the bay, as there’s not much room), found the new trailer pin was too far back, and I’ve got a fixed fifth wheel , so had to help trans-ship the load to my original trailer. Finally got out in London Friday afternoon rush hour , and made my way home.
It’s a joke and very dangerous that you can pass your class 1 in a wagon and drag with a straight gear box.
I passed in a wagon and drag with a range change so at least I could use the box in an artic but coupling up to a safeway fridge with a newish scania 4x2 on my first run out with no experience whatsoever of this type of coupling was a laugh to say the least, height adjustable air suspension was news to me, whats this small back box with the buttons and the lights do■■? The agency put me in with no experience even though safeway stipulated two years or some such, I was happy to be earning some greenbacks so kept schtum.
Having said all that I think if you are a fairly handy chap, you can usually work some things out on you your own with a bit of common sense and the rest/bulk is learned from asking fellow drivers with more experience.
The main things to bear in mind when you first pass are to know you height and not crash into low bridges/canopies. watch your sides in your mirrors when going round corners and the trailer overhang on the other side! Get out and look when you are reversing if you are not sure even if it takes you twenty looks. Be very careful when coupling/uncoupling, double check and then treble check so you don’t drop the trailer. Last but not least fifth wheel height/suspension height when coupling/don’t skip the pin and fifth wheel slider setting so you don’t crash the trailer into the back of the cab! And yeah take it slowly! Bridge height atlas a MUST.
If I had all this explained to me in my training/before I first started I would have found things a lot easier, instead they just get you through the test with the knowledge to pass the test and not actually do the work!