Hello again All this fine Monday morning!
I have been given a contact that may get me into a breakdown recovery job.
Having had no previous experience I have two questions.
any help greatful.
have a great week everyone.
As you look along the hard shoulder there are little posts with numbers on. When I’ve broken down on the motorway, the operator has asked me for the numbers on the nearest one, If I’m near one, so I’m guessing the job is mapped via those.
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Arggh right, yeah maybe they work like a type of postcode that work on thier units.
biker10:
Arggh right, yeah maybe they work like a type of postcode that work on thier units.
No, you drive along the road looking at the big blue marker signs that are every 1km or so. Then the little posts that are every few hundred metres also have a different number and location on them.
ok thanks will keep my eyes open on the way home lol
Mechanical knowledge is handy but not essential, going by your title then I assume you would be a “recovery” driver not a “roadside assistance” driver, a world of difference.
Yes you may be expected to perform some basic roadside tasks, for example when I did recoveries (many many years ago I hasten to add) I was expected to change wheels, check whether there was fuel or electric getting through on non starters, so I was taught how to use spark checkers, remove distributor caps and spark plugs and clean them for example.
But I suspect the job is even more basic than that these days for two reasons, a) vehicles are inherently more complex and difficult to work on these days, and b) You cannot do anything without the relevant job skills and health & safety training.
Recovery can be an extremely interesting job, pulling a car out of a ditch using ■■■■■■ blocks, a winch and your wits is challenging and very gratifying once completed successfully for example, but the job can be extremely mundane and downright dangerous too, there’s nothing like getting called out of bed at 3 in the morning and changing a tyre in the dark and rain on the side of a live motorway carriageway to get you questioning your career choices!
I covered two types of recovery with the firm I worked for…
One given fact is that if you are on call then the phone will ring as you sit down to eat your dinner or approx one hour after you got your head down to go to sleep, always seemed to be the case for me anyway 
There’s probably so much more that I’ve now forgotten or is now done completely differently (I did this work over 20yrs ago) but hopefully it gives a little more on what the job “could” entail for you.
Reef:
Mechanical knowledge is handy but not essential, going by your title then I assume you would be a “recovery” driver not a “roadside assistance” driver, a world of difference.Yes you may be expected to perform some basic roadside tasks, for example when I did recoveries (many many years ago I hasten to add) I was expected to change wheels, check whether there was fuel or electric getting through on non starters, so I was taught how to use spark checkers, remove distributor caps and spark plugs and clean them for example.
But I suspect the job is even more basic than that these days for two reasons, a) vehicles are inherently more complex and difficult to work on these days, and b) You cannot do anything without the relevant job skills and health & safety training.
Recovery can be an extremely interesting job, pulling a car out of a ditch using ■■■■■■ blocks, a winch and your wits is challenging and very gratifying once completed successfully for example, but the job can be extremely mundane and downright dangerous too, there’s nothing like getting called out of bed at 3 in the morning and changing a tyre in the dark and rain on the side of a live motorway carriageway to get you questioning your career choices!
I covered two types of recovery with the firm I worked for…
- AA & Mondial assist this was the crap mundane change a wheel on a driveway because the “suit” didn’t want to get his hands dirty or it was raining, and also 99% of your motorway hard shoulder recovery work (the AA never used to work nights, once they finished their day shift the recovery call-outs then got re-routed to contractors) but you’d also get the odd long distance “recover to home” job which could have you ending up going anywhere in the country so that was the good side of the AA roadside recovery work.
- Police call-outs, these were the best part of the job for me, very interesting and challenging, these ranged from recovering vehicles involved in RTA’s to recovering stolen or otherwise seized vehicles, it also helps if you have a strong stomach as I’ve seen my fair share of blood on an accident call-out, I thrived on this work but it was the mundane AA and Mondial work that killed the job for me.
One given fact is that if you are on call then the phone will ring as you sit down to eat your dinner or approx one hour after you got your head down to go to sleep, always seemed to be the case for me anyway
There’s probably so much more that I’ve now forgotten or is now done completely differently (I did this work over 20yrs ago) but hopefully it gives a little more on what the job “could” entail for you.
thanks a lot for your reply. It does sound something I would be interested in. Im not a complete noob when it comes to cars I do my own servicing including brakes/discs and bits of the suspension I also do the motorbike as far as valve clearences so I might be ok at a few things and hopefully the workers there would give me a few tips/training. Not sure on the wage yet thats been my only stubling block at the minute since passing but next year if im still looking I can afford a pay drop if needs be. Meanwhile I think I will pop down to see him tomorrow all being well so thank again.
The above post is pretty much spot on, I do it and it can be the most rewarding job one minute,then the next you want to throw your keys over the boss’s desk. Forget about having a life and expect to be in the middle of some interesting situations. You do get to meet some really decent people…and some right weirdo’s. Not too much gets fixed at the roadside now- I’ve been a mechanic since points and carbs, but most times now it’s hardly worth opening the bonnet- no point spending an hour in the rain diagnosing a fault only to load up and save the garage time… You will grow eyes in the back of your head and you will be able to leap like a frog when you hear that “rumble” from the white line. Tips can be good too. Job really depends on terms and hours. Most work 4 on 4 off or similar, but some (ahem) aren’t so lucky and pretty much live in the drivers seat. You’ll either love the job and wonder why you waited so long, or you’ll last a week.
thanks for this, lots to think about! I have been told its like 12 hour shifts 4 on 4 off. I have to give notice at my place, a month! what would you do if they couldnt wait as most of the jobs I seem to see are wanting people asap! would you just leave work and stuff em? im not keen on burning bridges and like to leave on a good note when I do.
biker10:
thanks for this, lots to think about! I have been told its like 12 hour shifts 4 on 4 off. I have to give notice at my place, a month! what would you do if they couldnt wait as most of the jobs I seem to see are wanting people asap! would you just leave work and stuff em? im not keen on burning bridges and like to leave on a good note when I do.
Unless your current gig is terrible and you hate it, don’t burn any bridges…
OK there is the risk that this new job won’t be available by the time you have worked your notice, but that’s a risk you have to take based on your conversations with your new prospective employer. You also have to consider that if they are a good prospective employer, they will/should respect you for working your notice, as it shows you are of good character. They are not going to think much of you if you bin your current employer off, as you are more than likely to do the same to them at some point…
Best of luck pal! 
Evil8Beezle:
if they are a good prospective employer, they will/should respect you for working your notice, as it shows you are of good character. They are not going to think much of you if you bin your current employer off, as you are more than likely to do the same to them at some point…
^^ This! In buckets and spadefuls !!
I agree, its something I dont do. I have been with my current company 4 years and not even had a day off sick in about 10 years so didnt really want to burn bridges. Maybe its just the agency calls but they always seem to say “they need someone to start now” so it got me thinking are all jobs in the trade like this.
The word ‘Breakdown’ can be a bit vague when it comes to recovery work. Does it mean engine stopped, pulled over, awaiting assistance, or does it mean it’s on it’s roof in the middle of the road? I did a lot of recovery years ago both in the Army and as a civvy and is probably the most interesting driving type of job I’ve had. I wouldn’t say you need too much in the way of mechanical knowledge either way for just recovery, but even 30 years ago, if it involved winching trucks/ cars etc. up hills, out of rivers, back on their roofs for upping to a flatbed or suspend tow you needed some maths skills.
I’d stay put… The grass isn’t always greener as they say! I had a try at recovery when I first passes my test years ago and being laid under a car/hgv in a puddle just was not for me’ and don’t forget if you get called to remove a vehicle that has been in a fatal collision it’s not a pretty site…
Expect to find blood and bab all over the place!
I have done quite a bit of this over the last 3-4 years. Recovery is pretty much a ‘Marmite’ job, you will love it or hate it.
I enjoy the challenges of it and the satisfaction of helping people out. In my experience, recovery driving is only as good as the company you are working for. I worked for one (nameless) company where I did 12 hours on 12 hours off. I worked four days and had 2 days off. This was over four shifts. I hardly ever got finished my shift in 12 hours, it was always ‘just do one more’. The result was I worked, ate and slept - nothing else. The money was rubbish and they couldn’t keep drivers. By the time I had been there 6 months I was one of the most experinced drivers they had. When I left I had to fight tooth and nail for my hoilday pay.
So, interesting, challenging and (sometimes) quite amusing, providing you are with the right company, and they are hard to find. You would be better looking carefully at the company you will be working for, rather than at the job.
Alan
OnlyAlan:
I worked for one (nameless) company where I did 12 hours on 12 hours off. I worked four days and had 2 days off. This was over four shifts. I hardly ever got finished my shift in 12 hours, it was always ‘just do one more’. The result was I worked, ate and slept - nothing else. The money was rubbish and they couldn’t keep drivers. By the time I had been there 6 months I was one of the most experinced drivers they had. When I left I had to fight tooth and nail for my hoilday pay.Alan
5 on 2 off here, on call 24 hours in that time. Mad.
well appreciate all the help guys and it does help. As it stands the lad that was meant to give me a contact has still yet to get back to me so for now im still looking around but lots of food for thought so thanks
I used to work in the Recovery industry, and for the most part it was enjoyable, you never got bored as each phone call could take you to anything from a flat battery to one on its head in a ditch.
However I did have one very nasty incident on the hard shoulder of the M6 on a Saturday lunchtime when an artic collided with the car I was looking at, fortunately the truck driver, the lady in the car and my self all escaped with nothing more than shock, this incident was just over 30 years ago and I can still picture the events unfolding as if it were last week. I doubt it’s something I will ever forget.
Even with all the current H&S and efforts to make things safer for all concerned roadside recovery is a hazardous occupation, only last week Crouch Recovery, who are a well respected operator here in the Midlands very sadly lost one of their staff in an accident.
RIP Pete Hummel.