I know there’s some haters on here but for a newbie to be given a chance it’s good news for me.
I’ve been offered an assessment/interview at Stobarts at Teesport next week. What I’m hoping to find out is what’s an average working day in hours with them? I live about an hours drive away so I’m already going to be driving 2 hours of the day to start with. If it’s something like 10-12 hours then I should be ok, anything more and I’m not so sure. It’s either days or nights I believe.
Tesco shift work! Don’t know really! But Tramping! I used to love that DD trunk run to Magor and back to Teesport! Haven’t been asked to do it for a long time!
I was talking to a Crewe based driver last night about that & he said that if they can they work you up to your available hours. He’d gone from Crewe down to Hatfield and had no idea where he was going next. They have Isotracks which show transport where the drivers are & how much time they have available, so I’d guess if they are busy then you’ll be doing 15s regularly.
tallyman:
I was talking to a Crewe based driver last night about that & he said that if they can they work you up to your available hours. He’d gone from Crewe down to Hatfield and had no idea where he was going next. They have Isotracks which show transport where the drivers are & how much time they have available, so I’d guess if they are busy then you’ll be doing 15s regularly.
Saaamon:
I’d wait to see if your offered a job first.
I fully agree with this comment. That’s obvious, but I wouldn’t want to feel I’m wasting there time and mine if it’s going to wind up being out so long that by the time I’m home, I won’t of even seen my kids at all and be catching 6hrs sleep before back up again.
But i do want a job on the road so much and to finally get away from my office job full time.
Saaamon:
I’d wait to see if your offered a job first.
I fully agree with this comment. That’s obvious, but I wouldn’t want to feel I’m wasting there time and mine if it’s going to wind up being out so long that by the time I’m home, I won’t of even seen my kids at all and be catching 6hrs sleep before back up again.
But i do want a job on the road so much and to finally get away from my office job full time.
Well I think you’ve had the answer you didn’t want!
Saaamon:
I’d wait to see if your offered a job first.
I fully agree with this comment. That’s obvious, but I wouldn’t want to feel I’m wasting there time and mine if it’s going to wind up being out so long that by the time I’m home, I won’t of even seen my kids at all and be catching 6hrs sleep before back up again.
But i do want a job on the road so much and to finally get away from my office job full time.
if youre anything like us youll be getting plenty of kip in the day time waiting for reloads,if im on 4 a.m starts ,i go up at 10 p.m,have some fun with the girlfreind ,and back up for 3 a.m,[in all honesty at times i struggle to sleep at night as ive had more than enough in the daytime].
but if again its like our depot the choice is yours,if you want to do 40/50 hrs a week youll likely get it most of the time,the longer days,runs with be done by the gready ones
tallyman:
I was talking to a Crewe based driver last night about that & he said that if they can they work you up to your available hours. He’d gone from Crewe down to Hatfield and had no idea where he was going next. They have Isotracks which show transport where the drivers are & how much time they have available, so I’d guess if they are busy then you’ll be doing 15s regularly.
i have to ask but i didnt know they had a depot in crewe, is it the same one near j16 of m6, i only live 15min from crewe so if i got a job there that would be good,
Saaamon:
I’d wait to see if your offered a job first.
I fully agree with this comment. That’s obvious, but I wouldn’t want to feel I’m wasting there time and mine if it’s going to wind up being out so long that by the time I’m home, I won’t of even seen my kids at all and be catching 6hrs sleep before back up again.
But i do want a job on the road so much and to finally get away from my office job full time.
Remember that interviews are for your benefit aswell as theirs.
Saaamon:
I’d wait to see if your offered a job first.
I fully agree with this comment. That’s obvious, but I wouldn’t want to feel I’m wasting there time and mine if it’s going to wind up being out so long that by the time I’m home, I won’t of even seen my kids at all and be catching 6hrs sleep before back up again.
But i do want a job on the road so much and to finally get away from my office job full time.
if youre anything like us youll be getting plenty of kip in the day time waiting for reloads,if im on 4 a.m starts ,i go up at 10 p.m,have some fun with the girlfreind ,and back up for 3 a.m,[in all honesty at times i struggle to sleep at night as ive had more than enough in the daytime].
but if again its like our depot the choice is yours,if you want to do 40/50 hrs a week youll likely get it most of the time,the longer days,runs with be done by the gready ones
Being able to choose to do around 50hours would be ideal in my current situation. But really, what’s the chances of that? If they want you out more it’s not like I’d be able to say no is it? Extra money would be good, but as it’s so far from home it totally reduces the chances of me seeing my bairns and that already would depend on what shifts I worked. Starting early hours is ideally what I need.
Maybe I need to keep on looking for something closer to home until my bairns are older.
Saaamon:
I’d wait to see if your offered a job first.
I fully agree with this comment. That’s obvious, but I wouldn’t want to feel I’m wasting there time and mine if it’s going to wind up being out so long that by the time I’m home, I won’t of even seen my kids at all and be catching 6hrs sleep before back up again.
But i do want a job on the road so much and to finally get away from my office job full time.
if youre anything like us youll be getting plenty of kip in the day time waiting for reloads,if im on 4 a.m starts ,i go up at 10 p.m,have some fun with the girlfreind ,and back up for 3 a.m,[in all honesty at times i struggle to sleep at night as ive had more than enough in the daytime].
but if again its like our depot the choice is yours,if you want to do 40/50 hrs a week youll likely get it most of the time,the longer days,runs with be done by the gready ones
Being able to choose to do around 50hours would be ideal in my current situation. But really, what’s the chances of that? If they want you out more it’s not like I’d be able to say no is it? Extra money would be good, but as it’s so far from home it totally reduces the chances of me seeing my bairns and that already would depend on what shifts I worked. Starting early hours is ideally what I need.
Maybe I need to keep on looking for something closer to home until my bairns are older.
i cant speak for where your apyling,but at our depot theres plenty who average 50 hrs,they actually only want you doing 52 hrs p.w,the rotas are worked out as long days,short days that in theory come to 50/52 hrs,the reason some do 70/80 hrs like me is because our planners know the ones who want the long days,drivers who want short days so they alter jobs to suit drivers,we also swap jobs amongst our selfes[drivers],my mate only wants 42.5 hrs p.w [to get his gar 50], so i have all his long days and he has my short ones,so i come to 70/80 hrs p.w and he does 42.5 appx, so were both ,i wouldnt rule out the job until you know full facts,cant you speak to driver from the depot to get full s.p on job
That’s a bit harsh, you don’t need power to tug, low gear and a few revs and if it don’t split and the dog clip goes in then no probs More power equals more stress on the clutch and drive axle
As for trailer height couldn’t the ASSessor have not just guided you in the correct procedure
Jobsworths
Pete the post:
That’s a bit harsh, you don’t need power to tug, low gear and a few revs and if it don’t split and the dog clip goes in then no probs More power equals more stress on the clutch and drive axle
As for trailer height couldn’t the ASSessor have not just guided you in the correct procedure
Jobsworths
Exactly what I thought, some of these blokes love a little power, he’s a new bloke and would have appreciated the help and would have made sure It would always be something to check after being told you would think?
I would have blagged nervousness of my first ever assessment and was worried about impressing on the drive and reversing.
You’ll get there though mate, maybe try getting a bit of agency work at weekends so you can build confidence.
Good luck.
They are pretty harsh on the assessment drives. You’d think they’d tell you what they want first and then if you still don’t do it, fair enough. Not enough power on the tug test is just ridiculous. They should just tell you to check the jaws with a torch. I think they have an over subscription for new drivers after the tv programme so can afford to be overly fussy.
Well, at least I won’t forget about the height next time and I’ll make sure I give the b1oody thing 2 ‘good’ tugs, then no doubt I’ll not get the job for putting too much strain on the unit doing my tugs.
So is it actually possible once the pin is in and the jaws have locked and you put the dog clip in, that there is a possibility the trailer could still come away? That’s what I was told and hence the imperativeness of doing ‘good’ tugs.
I will reapply in 3 months if I’m still unlucky enough to be sitting here doing this boring office job.
It’s a real shame that in training for the C+E licence they don’t reset the height each day and make sure you actually check and set it, and also get you to couple the unit up each morning before you go out rather than just jump in and go.
That is very harsh in my opinion. Especially as you’ll check the dog clip seconds later
The tug test doesn’t mean you’re in anyway I’ve only been half way in plenty of times even though a tug test has suggested otherwise so I’ve had to pull the bar out and start again. On the newer kit like theirs you’ll also hear the pin go in and jaws lock better then on an older unit like mine so I think this guy is obviously a prick! Trailer heights are something you’d better get used to checking as it’s a nightmare approaching a low bridge when you’ve forgot to check and can make the palms quite sweaty as you frantically look for somewhere to pull in and check
At least you know what they expect next time good luck I hope something comes up for you.
Haven’t been asked to do it for a long time! 
,and back up for 3 a.m,[in all honesty at times i struggle to sleep at night as ive had more than enough in the daytime].
More power equals more stress on the clutch and drive axle 
