i am thinking of trying to get into this area, i have been doin multidrop for a year and the goalposts have kinda moved, i hear different things about tippers but have seen many things also, rumours i have heard is they are paid by the load whichis why they run overweight an get pulled reguarly? also another guy i asked jus said its a different game? an wouldnt tell me anything or jus didnt want to, but i have seen a lady driver, and i have seen them having theyre breaks somethin in my game 99% of my company illegaly work through as they will never get done as we are paid by the load not hours! 
i would welcome any info, im not shy of hardwork an hours but had enough of handballing it all off everyday!
i get paid by the hour when i did tipper work and i think most of the companies round me do the same, not sure tbh.
i found the work very boring though, you barely left your cab some days and its just like hmmm bored.
as for running overweight i wouldnt know, some places ive been have been strict on weights but we as drivers should be anyway. also if youve been doin multi drop youve prob been in a 18 tonner, there is a big difference with a 32 tonner to an 18 tonner, stopping distances are stupid, accelerating (unless you have enough power) is slow, and the centre of gravity makes it feel like your gonna tip over sometimes. you just have to get used to it.
did work at the ocuncil and got sent out with 36 tons, on a 32 ton rigid, now i got weighed before i left the yard but i didnt know the weight but youd expect it to be fine as the guy in the office should know better.
wrong. granted i only went about 4 miles with it is not the point,he got a bollocking from the landfill for letting me out from the transfer station that heavy even tho we had been warning him for weeks about the weights because the boxes would lift the front end of the truck clean off the ground, both steering axles on an 8x4.
Depends on which class you’re talking about? 1 or 2? Did a fair bit of class 1 work 
and have probably loaded out of most of the quarries in England and Wales 
and would say that they’re all very strict on weights, they have to be, don’t forget they can get done for knowingly letting you go overweight 
A helluva lot of the rigid [class 2] boys are owner drivers paid by the load, so only have two speeds, hell for leather and even faster 
They do get “pulled” a lot because of thier “reputation” but the vast majority that I know are “straight”
It’s a mucky job and if you’re on class 1 then make sure you get some instruction before going it alone, they aren’t funny when they go over
Having said that, most of the time, you can say goodbye to 15 hr days, rarely did a 13 personally. Average loading time in quarries about 5 minutes, on to the weighbridge and away, tipping time 5 to 10 minutes depending on what you’ve got in there and where you’re tipping.
It’s not a bad life, I’d still be doing it if the co’ I worked for hadn’t gone to the wall
Only thing I would say to you is if it’s class 2 and they want you to go owner driver, think very carefully there’s a lot of quarries on short time/closing down right now 
mmm cheers, yep i have been drivin 18ton rigids and 26ton rigids, all over east london so experienced in tight spaces etc allthough i also have class1 but only managed to get agency weekend work, but coming up for the magical 2yr with that in august, i jus want a chance! all the supermarkets seem to be agency an may take you on from there at some stage but its all a risk with a mortgage an family, bit pointless asking what the wages were i suppose as i have learnt different parts of the country vary greatly.
Can’t say about wages down your way? usually average about the same as any other HGV work. As you’ve got your class 1 if you can find a company to take you on do so, it’s a good life. There was a co’ recently looking for class 1 tipper drivers down your way recently? check out the jobcentre website
As I said previously, not the cleanest of jobs, [you can still keep the interior clean ] but I enjoyed it, and given the chance would go back to it.
Just make sure you ask, {if you get the offer of a job} on here or elsewhere, about the “pro’s and cons” and the “rules” of them It is “another game” but as long as you have a brain and use it along with the ability to ask when you’re not sure, then you’ll be alright.
thanx i have been multidropping all over east london, an have noticed the constant stream of tippers coming out of the olympic site obviously, i am fed up with not getting a break an sometimes 14hour days, maybe should push harder for that class1 job, trouble is will be out of practice reversing it now 
donpablo:
you would think youd be out of touch with it, but its surprising how it just all comes rushing back to you.
i had 6 months off from my first to my last class 1 shift
thought id make a right mess of reversing and got it intot he yard first time.
Reversing an artic’ tipper is another matter anyway, they’re a shorter wheelbase than your average trailer [I know there are short box trailers, but “average”] and therefore “react” quicker and will come round very quickly 
but you soon get used to it 
The worst part of the job, IMO, is some of the tips, they can be a “bay” the same width as the tipper which you have to reverse into on the scew, which also means you’re pulling forward on the turn, now at this point guess what happens to the tailgate - no I didn’t, I made sure there were 2 of their blokes on holding the tailgate higher than the walls as I pulled forwards
Then you get the sports ground that wanted some 20 loads of drainage sand delivered, great you think, one and half trips a day [was a specific grade 
] when you get to a 7.5t limit time to make a phone call, yeah no problem they say, you’ll be alright, we’ve had artics here before, when you get down there, along a “lane” about 1/2 metre wider than he outfit you find the “turning area” which is also the tipping area is only as wide as the trailer is long 
luckily one side was {note was } small trees and bushes, then you look up (very important rule, always look up before hitting the PTO) telegraph wires, so you have to tip between them. I did 6 loads and refused to do any more, there just wasn’t anyway of doing it safely with an artic.
I could go on, but the majority of tips are easy, if you get the chance, take it, it’s a good experience if nothing else 
Dont go down the self employed route til you have a lot of experience.Some quarries ban you from the site for minor indiscretions,no hard hat or HI-VIS or being over weight .They load you but its your fault if you are over weight.I found it to be an easy if dirty job.
I had 20+ years on tippers (class 2) and enjoyed it. I was paid 27% of the vehicles earnings on a 6 wheeler, mainly on coated stone, and earned a reasonable living. The poor rates were carting dry stone and, even worse, sand and gravel, you had to keep at it all day and put a lot of fuel through the pipes doing it! With tarmac you could wait an hour or two at the plant to load but at least you got your breaks in, same when tipping if it was a paver job, but for handlay you were paid for waiting with the gang. You did less driving and the rates were a lot higher than hauling stone around for next to nothing. Would still be doing it if I hadn’t been made redundant due to the quarry wanting contract hauliers.
Pete.
thanks a great lot of info