Call from the agency this morning with another simple run - This time from Ingram Micro at DIRFT near M1 J18, all the way to Comet at Corby. This time I learnt two new skills:
How to open, operate and close a tail lift (titter ye not - this was my first experience of sucha device) ;
How to fill in the hours while waiting to tip/being tipped/waiting for paperwork…
I also got to practice accurate reversing - Having that tail lift sticking out the back between the railings made me concentrate a bit more
Anyway, today’s ride was a '03 registered Volvo FL22. Not as pleasant to drive as last time’s Renault, but it was fine once I’d got the hang of it.
Oh yes - also learnt that at places where they take your keys off you while tipping, it’s a good idea to work out in advance whether you want your windows open, especially on a chilly evening…
I thoroughly enjoyed the job (short though it was - only five hours in total), and I really appreciate the way the agency has put these “easy” jobs my way to break me in gently…
Roymondo:
Oh yes - also learnt that at places where they take your keys off you while tipping, it’s a good idea to work out in advance whether you want your windows open, especially on a chilly evening… .
Also pays not to hand your keys over if you locked the truck… especially on a freezing cold & rainy night at snodland .
My tail lift experience on my 1st day, (3 weeks ago) was nearly dropping headstones on the monumental sculptor. The pallet truck took of and only stopped at the last moment. I was using the lift rather than the fork lift off the side due to not being familiar with the curtains. I am now!!!
Gordy
Roymondo:
How to open, operate and close a tail lift (titter ye not - this was my first experience of sucha device) ;
On my first job (7.5t multidrop) I did the first few drops without the tail lift, because I’d only used the ones which slide up and down the back of the truck, and the one I had folded underneath the bottom of the truck - I thought that they automatically unfolded, but whenever I lowered it, it kept hitting the floor, so I thought it was broken. Once I finally got hold of someone in the office, they told me I had to unfold it manually, and boy did I look
The firm i work for gave me training (10 mins) on how to use the tail lift. Good except because you’ve been trained everybody thinks you know how to use all types of tail lift and how to fix them when they go wrong. I don’t but I’ve learnt a lot trying
Roymondo:
How to open, operate and close a tail lift (titter ye not - this was my first experience of sucha device) ;
On my first job (7.5t multidrop) I did the first few drops without the tail lift, because I’d only used the ones which slide up and down the back of the truck, and the one I had folded underneath the bottom of the truck - I thought that they automatically unfolded, but whenever I lowered it, it kept hitting the floor, so I thought it was broken. Once I finally got hold of someone in the office, they told me I had to unfold it manually, and boy did I look
On my first job with one of these tail lifts I ended up handballing a total of 17 pallets at 3 different shops 'cos I didn’t know there was a switch in the cab that you had to turn on
tezza:
On my first job with one of these tail lifts I ended up handballing a total of 17 pallets at 3 different shops 'cos I didn’t know there was a switch in the cab that you had to turn on
Lesson number ■■?
When taking out a vehicle fitted with unfamiliar equipment.
Do your absolute best to find out how it works before you leave the yard.
There will come a time, eventually, where you will, in most cases, be able to figure it out on your own. The majority of tail-lift set-ups are very similar to each other. The same with curtain-sides. There are quite a few odd-balls out and about though. (We have a 7.5t curtain-sider FLC, with an unusual ratchet set-up. We also have wagons with hidden away curtain-strap tensioners, which are not that obvious how they operate)
I’d used column lifts before, but when presented with a tuck-under type with about 5 buttons… ( Up and Down I can handle, but 5 dimensions… Thats “Twilight Zone” territory… )
Being to afraid to touch owt incase I broke it, a nice driver came over to assist me…
He pressed one button, an it went GGRRR… er… not that one…
Prod’ed another and ‘Whirrr’… “ah” he went…
So… Lesson learnt that day… Don’t be afraid to push the big red button…
It’s bound to be fail-safe and simple cuz it’s designed for us drivers…
Luv
Chrisie…
DISCLAIMER : DO NOT PRESS ANY BIG RED BUTTONS WITHOUT WEARING A HI-VIS VEST…
Its rather like Army equipment, designed to be difficult to break (squaddy proof ), cause we is only fick drivers duh and can’t handle difficult stuff, cause we would only go n knacker it (on purpose, of course).
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