nicktreviss:
Hi
I am seriously considering gaining my Cat C and then after a year my Cat C+E licence in the hope of becoming a long haul driver. Im getting such mixed info I was hoping of getting advice from the horses mouth so to speak, as in what are the pitfalls etc and how to go about gaining employment as everyone seems to advertise for experienced drivers. Also pay… I have been told the pay can range from 22k up to 40+k!!! Is this correct?
Also would my age be a problem. Im a fit and healthy 54 and 3/4’s?
Evening Nick.
Unless you are on a real niche outfit doing niche work you are on a hiding for nothing driving a HGV, has always been so & will never change.
IMO spend your time & money getting a licence(S) to operate heavy machinery from a JCB upwards as you will be home most nights & with less hours without stress.
Big machine operators earn some serious money without the stress of driving a HGV which nowadays is a bag of shi** for the most part.
nicktreviss:
Hi
I am seriously considering gaining my Cat C and then after a year my Cat C+E licence in the hope of becoming a long haul driver. Im getting such mixed info I was hoping of getting advice from the horses mouth so to speak, as in what are the pitfalls etc and how to go about gaining employment as everyone seems to advertise for experienced drivers. Also pay… I have been told the pay can range from 22k up to 40+k!!! Is this correct?
Also would my age be a problem. Im a fit and healthy 54 and 3/4’s?
Good luck in whatever you decide to do based on the advice given here in this thread, but please do one thing - ignore anything Carryfast posts!
The Mexican:
Carryfast:
You’ve answered your own question.
You want long haul work so do most others.
But the general consensus within the industry, driven by government policy, is to minimise truck freight journeys wherever possible using punitive measures to do it with laughable fuel taxation being the biggest and worst.
So the best work is increasingly reducing and an over subscribed face fits pecking order is applied to it.
Don’t listen to anyone who tells you that taking all the local multi drop zb and building materials deliveries and labourer/‘driver’ jobs that you are ‘offered’ will get you up the ladder.
It’s all bs to protect their own coveted positions or what remains of them or to leap frog the queue.
As I’ve said elsewhere many prospective truck drivers would prefer to drive cars for the local garage for a bit less money, than drive a builders hiab/scaffold truck around the same local streets with the insult of site and yard labouring added to the injury of the boredom.
Retail distribution isn’t much if any better but at least cage and tail lift work is relatively easier than handballing building materials but still plenty of potential for handball at worse.
Look on the bright side you might be lucky enough to get onto night trunking.Which has often degenerated into hub system runs of 2 hours driving in each direction and the rest of the shift being used as a warehouse labourer.
Ironically there’s as much if not more chance of long haul work doing fleet car trade plate work.But again with the catch that it’s oversubscribed to the point where employers are able to attach the job of vehicle assessor/valuer to it and the corresponding responsibility all for around minimum wage and the mugs take it. 
I done night shift long haul for 8 years and couldn’t wait to come off it. Its a grim existence. Driving in the dark for 8 or 9 hours with nobody to talk to. It takes it toll. Trying to sleep during the day is difficult I found. Especially if you have kids and in the summer. I’ve just been made redundant from a Warehouse Supervisor post so getting back behind the wheel again after 5 years. 30k for Class 2 multi drop and 32k for class 1 if I want to move up. That’s 7 til 6 Monday to Friday dayshift. I’d much prefer that than nightshift or weekends. But then again that more suits my lifestyle as I have a young family and go to the football at the weekend. Probably more money on night trunking and it’s easy but I hated it.
Night trunking was more viable before speed limiters we could take advantage of the clear roads.Especially combined with a proper job and finish aggreement and a rota of short runs and long runs.
I also preferred driving than anything else so 8-9 hours driving was no problem to me but the regular early finishes were a bonus which really made the daytime existence of permanent nights tolerable.
Firstly speed limiters, then the change to hub system work changed all that.Needlessly extending the job with slow speeds.
Followed by the worst of all worlds no early finishes only around 4 hours driving max and used as a warehouse labourer for the rest of the shift.
Ironically there is no place in the industry now for those who prefer distance work including accepting the downsides of that.
The job is far more suited to the type of work which you’ve described mostly because of the political climate which wants to return the road transport industry to its status during the 1930’s a local delivery service. 
> Carryfast:
> Ironically there is no place in the industry now for those who prefer distance work including accepting the downsides of that.
> The job is far more suited to the type of work which you’ve described mostly because of the political climate which wants to return the road transport industry to its status during the 1930’s a local delivery service.
You do talk B**ll*cks CF
I think I’m a little older than you at 74, but I’ve been offered any type of work I like if I come out of retirement, Local, Distance, Tramping or European, they say they’ll tailor the job to as close as they can to what I would like and they’ll pay for DCPC.
My advice is to look towards the railway. They still take on trainee drivers in their 50’s. You’ll have to fight 100’s of others for each job but start researching what train companies operate in your area, and fully research the psychometric tests you will have to do. It’s worth a shot.
I passed my class 1 last August at 56 yrs old.
Started a class 1 job tramping 2 weeks later.
I’m out all week and reasonably well paid for it.
I may be the exception, but it can be done. Good job, good employers, good salary and a brand new truck within a short space of starting.
I still enjoy my work, let’s see how I feel in 5 yrs or more though.
It’s not all doom and gloom, I feel very positive about my experience so far.
Carryfast:
You’ve answered your own question.
You want long haul work so do most others.
But the general consensus within the industry, driven by government policy, is to minimise truck freight journeys wherever possible using punitive measures to do it with laughable fuel taxation being the biggest and worst.
So the best work is increasingly reducing and an over subscribed face fits pecking order is applied to it.
Don’t listen to anyone who tells you that taking all the local multi drop zb and building materials deliveries and labourer/‘driver’ jobs that you are ‘offered’ will get you up the ladder.
It’s all bs to protect their own coveted positions or what remains of them or to leap frog the queue.
As I’ve said elsewhere many prospective truck drivers would prefer to drive cars for the local garage for a bit less money, than drive a builders hiab/scaffold truck around the same local streets with the insult of site and yard labouring added to the injury of the boredom.
Retail distribution isn’t much if any better but at least cage and tail lift work is relatively easier than handballing building materials but still plenty of potential for handball at worse.
Look on the bright side you might be lucky enough to get onto night trunking.Which has often degenerated into hub system runs of 2 hours driving in each direction and the rest of the shift being used as a warehouse labourer.
Ironically there’s as much if not more chance of long haul work doing fleet car trade plate work.But again with the catch that it’s oversubscribed to the point where employers are able to attach the job of vehicle assessor/valuer to it and the corresponding responsibility all for around minimum wage and the mugs take it.
Don’t listen to this nut job and you won’t go far wrong
whisperingsmith:
> Carryfast:
> Ironically there is no place in the industry now for those who prefer distance work including accepting the downsides of that.
> The job is far more suited to the type of work which you’ve described mostly because of the political climate which wants to return the road transport industry to its status during the 1930’s a local delivery service.
You do talk B**ll*cks CF
I think I’m a little older than you at 74, but I’ve been offered any type of work I like if I come out of retirement, Local, Distance, Tramping or European, they say they’ll tailor the job to as close as they can to what I would like and they’ll pay for DCPC.
Blimey the so face fits club actually provides lifetime membership and that’s just agency work. 
Let me guess ‘inexperienced’ drivers have to ‘start at the bottom’ on local multi drop or driving a hiab/ scaffold wagon around the streets unless/until they are accepted into the ‘club’.
Which is probably why at 74 you’re supposedly still being asked to do regular international runs.
But at 62 I can’t get a job driving cars for the local garages because of too much competition from younger workers who are rightly doing whatever it takes to avoid driving a truck.
You couldn’t make it up.
citycat:
My advice is to look towards the railway. They still take on trainee drivers in their 50’s. You’ll have to fight 100’s of others for each job but start researching what train companies operate in your area, and fully research the psychometric tests you will have to do. It’s worth a shot.
100’s of others all wanting to damage their health doing a sedentary job when they could be doing umpteen local multi drops or hanballing truck loads of building materials.
Who would have thought it.
switchlogic:
Carryfast:
You’ve answered your own question.
You want long haul work so do most others.
But the general consensus within the industry, driven by government policy, is to minimise truck freight journeys wherever possible using punitive measures to do it with laughable fuel taxation being the biggest and worst.
So the best work is increasingly reducing and an over subscribed face fits pecking order is applied to it.
Don’t listen to anyone who tells you that taking all the local multi drop zb and building materials deliveries and labourer/‘driver’ jobs that you are ‘offered’ will get you up the ladder.
It’s all bs to protect their own coveted positions or what remains of them or to leap frog the queue.
As I’ve said elsewhere many prospective truck drivers would prefer to drive cars for the local garage for a bit less money, than drive a builders hiab/scaffold truck around the same local streets with the insult of site and yard labouring added to the injury of the boredom.
Retail distribution isn’t much if any better but at least cage and tail lift work is relatively easier than handballing building materials but still plenty of potential for handball at worse.
Look on the bright side you might be lucky enough to get onto night trunking.Which has often degenerated into hub system runs of 2 hours driving in each direction and the rest of the shift being used as a warehouse labourer.
Ironically there’s as much if not more chance of long haul work doing fleet car trade plate work.But again with the catch that it’s oversubscribed to the point where employers are able to attach the job of vehicle assessor/valuer to it and the corresponding responsibility all for around minimum wage and the mugs take it.
Don’t listen to this nut job and you won’t go far wrong
Yeah right start at the bottom by driving a scaffolding wagon with the bonus that the excercise will be good for your health is far better advice.
More like the face fits club maintaining their closed shop in what remains of a deliberately degenerating road transport industry.
The truth obviously hurts that group and employers trying to sell a lemon.
As I said younger workers are now rightly voting with their feet preferring to drive cars than trucks ( unfortunately for me ).
I know a plethora of class one drivers ranging in age from early twenties to one who is 73 now. The thing they have in common is that they’ve never driven a scaffolding lorry, a bin lorry, a builders merchant lorry, a food services lorry (I could go on). One more thing they have in common to a man is that they decided exactly what type of work they wanted to do be it dayruns, tramping UK or tramping Eurowide and simply applied for and got the jobs they wanted. Not a difficult concept really.
I suspect that they have one more thing in common too, and that is at the interview they probably didn’t tell the boss that he was an idiot who was running his business and equipment wrongly.
the maoster:
I know a plethora of class one drivers ranging in age from early twenties to one who is 73 now. The thing they have in common is that they’ve never driven a scaffolding lorry, a bin lorry, a builders merchant lorry, a food services lorry (I could go on). One more thing they have in common to a man is that they decided exactly what type of work they wanted to do be it dayruns, tramping UK or tramping Eurowide and simply applied for and got the jobs they wanted. Not a difficult concept really.
Not a difficult concept a totally unbelievable one.
Even if it was true it just adds weight to the idea of a face fits fast track for some while others are told they have to take all the zb work to get their ‘experience’ which of course still won’t count when they’ve got it.They’ll just be type cast with it.
It’s up to the OP which to believe.
Carryfast:
Yeah right start at the bottom by driving a scaffolding wagon with the bonus that the excercise will be good for your health is far better advice.
More like the face fits club maintaining their closed shop in what remains of a deliberately degenerating road transport industry.
The truth obviously hurts that group and employers trying to sell a lemon.
As I said younger workers are now rightly voting with their feet preferring to drive cars than trucks ( unfortunately for me ).
Well we all know what load of old twaddle that theory is so no need to repeat it. But since ‘scaffolding wagons’ are the Carryfast travail du Jour aren’t they In actual fact driven by scaffolding erectors rather than full time drivers? I worked for agency in London and scaffolding was one of the few jobs that never came our way.
To OP- this face fits nonsense is absolutely bo locks and a fantasy dreamed up by a man to make himself feel better about a disappointing life because he retired in his early 40’s. Don’t take too much notice, he has no real world experience of the industry as it is now
the maoster:
I know a plethora of class one drivers ranging in age from early twenties to one who is 73 now. The thing they have in common is that they’ve never driven a scaffolding lorry, a bin lorry, a builders merchant lorry, a food services lorry (I could go on). One more thing they have in common to a man is that they decided exactly what type of work they wanted to do be it dayruns, tramping UK or tramping Eurowide and simply applied for and got the jobs they wanted. Not a difficult concept really.
I suspect that they have one more thing in common too, and that is at the interview they probably didn’t tell the boss that he was an idiot who was running his business and equipment wrongly.
I’m so looking forward to Carryfast’s response to this. 
tmcassett:
the maoster:
I know a plethora of class one drivers ranging in age from early twenties to one who is 73 now. The thing they have in common is that they’ve never driven a scaffolding lorry, a bin lorry, a builders merchant lorry, a food services lorry (I could go on). One more thing they have in common to a man is that they decided exactly what type of work they wanted to do be it dayruns, tramping UK or tramping Eurowide and simply applied for and got the jobs they wanted. Not a difficult concept really.
I suspect that they have one more thing in common too, and that is at the interview they probably didn’t tell the boss that he was an idiot who was running his business and equipment wrongly.
I’m so looking forward to Carryfast’s response to this.
He probably already has, but since he’s on premed it’ll appear above your post and nobody will see it unless it’s quoted by someone.
> Carryfast:
> Blimey the so face fits club actually provides lifetime membership and that’s just agency work.
> Let me guess ‘inexperienced’ drivers have to ‘start at the bottom’ on local multi drop or driving a hiab/ scaffold wagon around the streets unless/until they are accepted into the ‘club’.
>
> Which is probably why at 74 you’re supposedly still being asked to do regular international runs.
> But at 62 I can’t get a job driving cars for the local garages because of too much competition from younger workers who are rightly doing whatever it takes to avoid driving a truck.
> You couldn’t make it up.
You might be 62 CF, but you still have to start at the bottom, your problem seems to be that you never got off the bottom - or maybe your bottom??
Your CV doesn’t make good reading does it ■■ add to that your attitude issues and I think you were very very lucky to ever have a driving job.
Did you ever get a recommendation from your peers? if so you might have stood a better chance of being given a new Dustcart & who knows a progression ladder into ‘Face Fits Land’, where 99.99999999999% of driver’s faces fit.
the maoster:
tmcassett:
the maoster:
I know a plethora of class one drivers ranging in age from early twenties to one who is 73 now. The thing they have in common is that they’ve never driven a scaffolding lorry, a bin lorry, a builders merchant lorry, a food services lorry (I could go on). One more thing they have in common to a man is that they decided exactly what type of work they wanted to do be it dayruns, tramping UK or tramping Eurowide and simply applied for and got the jobs they wanted. Not a difficult concept really.
I suspect that they have one more thing in common too, and that is at the interview they probably didn’t tell the boss that he was an idiot who was running his business and equipment wrongly.
I’m so looking forward to Carryfast’s response to this.
He probably already has, but since he’s on premed it’ll appear above your post and nobody will see it unless it’s quoted by someone.
He definitely needs to be on pre-med!
I’m 56 now and been doing the job since I was 24 and still really enjoy it. It’s not for everyone but what job is?
Depends what area you live for your earnings, midlands on agency work £50000+ for RDC work and no nights out. But come from some rural area and it’s not much more than min wage.
General haulage might be more interesting but it’s a cut throat business which holds the wage down low. As I said RDC work is boring with poverty spec motors but at the moment rates have gone through the roof, not sure how long it will last.
I loved it but read some of the stuff on this site there are some with a major chip on their shoulders by being a driver most of their life’s. Your age isn’t a problem and if you love driving go for it but dont expect 9-5
I know it’s not strictly in CF’s realm, but when I switched from being an owner driver to running a small fleet in the mid to late70s (all be it with a partner I should never have taken on).
I had a queue of drivers wanting to part of the team, all of the initial crew were men I had run with or met up with somewhere in the Middle East.
Fast forward and an interview process, still all men I had either met up with or were recommended by the other drivers, but we had to whittle the numbers down. My partner insisted on joining me for the interviews, he favoured all the Carryfast Types and none of my choices – which of course were the ones I hired.
Afterwards he asked me “look at them how on earth will we be able to argue with them about wages” I said “We won’t be arguing about wages, we will pay them and treat them very well –and - think about it:- we will be sending them away for possibly up to 2 months with our wagons & £000s of running money, we don’t want ■■■■■ cats we want confident, fit & strong yet diplomatic men who can deal with most issues & you will be the least of their/our worries”
Further to that, as a team agreement the drivers came to a self sacking agreement, a basic set of F**k Ups that let the side down.
Only one driver sacked himself – on his 3rd disgrace, the first was not tightening up his wheel nuts after a wheel change in Iran, the 2nd was losing his money in a Prague cellars whorehouse, the 3rd was losing his running money in the West Berlin opposite the Mocamp.
When he got back on that 3rd trip and sacked himself, he asked me If he promised to never go further than Paris would I give him a reference, which of course I did as he was an honourable man.
RAF Jack if anyone remembers him, a good man, good driver but the mere sniff of fanny and he was a hooligan – but unlike CF his face fitted so carried on driving to Europe, just for someone else.
switchlogic:
Carryfast:
Yeah right start at the bottom by driving a scaffolding wagon with the bonus that the excercise will be good for your health is far better advice.
More like the face fits club maintaining their closed shop in what remains of a deliberately degenerating road transport industry.
The truth obviously hurts that group and employers trying to sell a lemon.
As I said younger workers are now rightly voting with their feet preferring to drive cars than trucks ( unfortunately for me ).
Well we all know what load of old twaddle that theory is so no need to repeat it. But since ‘scaffolding wagons’ are the Carryfast travail du Jour aren’t they In actual fact driven by scaffolding erectors rather than full time drivers? I worked for agency in London and scaffolding was one of the few jobs that never came our way.
To OP- this face fits nonsense is absolutely bo locks and a fantasy dreamed up by a man to make himself feel better about a disappointing life because he retired in his early 40’s. Don’t take too much notice, he has no real world experience of the industry as it is now
So far we’ve heard that there’s no such thing as hod carriers or driver labourers.
Now it’s no such thing as class 2 agency driver scaffolding truck assignements.
With your privileged face fits fast track background in the industry you’ve obviously never worked in those dregs of it subject to sanction by the Jobcentre for refusal or you wouldn’t talk such zb.
Full time class 2 driver bs.Good luck with telling the Jobcentre that you’re a ‘full time’ Class 2 driver not a class 2 driver/labourer.
‘Mainly driving’ yeah right a few miles between building sites then labourer for the rest of the time.
This is the reality and even then the muppets are still calling for ‘experience’.Nothing there about ‘full time’ drivers v scaffold erectors.Here’s another clue all those different types of agency assignments shown aren’t optional.Although maybe in your case they would be that’s why you can afford to talk zb.
uk.indeed.com/HGV-Class-2-Drive … 7135909429
uk.indeed.com/HGV-Class-2-Drive … 1b16b49e9f
As I said if only your constant barrage of privileged bs was actually true.
Then I wouldn’t be facing competition for work, by younger drivers who should be driving trucks,not bleedin cars for local garages and fleet movements, because they know where the road transport industry is heading.