hi all im finking of doin trade plate driving is it worth doing , im not sure as the money dont look good and you have to hitch hick , tho i m a new hgv passer so i need to start sum wer , any help will do , im in leicestershire
I’ve been doing this for the past 4 weeks for that very same reason - experience.
Hardly anyone will touch you without it, so I considered it the best way to get some.
Upside is you get to drive all manner of rigid trucks along with a variety of gear shift systems. Also getting experience on Tractor units.
They hourly pay for driving is fine, in fact quite good for class 2 but you only get paid when you are driving. We get a tax free ‘contribution’ towards travel expenses or ‘hitching allowance’ and a meagre tax free sum for a night out. If you are lucky you will have a tractor unit to deliver the next morning, so you will have a night cab to use but on some you won’t or will be shifting a car and have to kip in that.
The alternative is to find digs but you will be spending your hard earned then. The company I work for will, most of the time, cover the cost of the difference between your night out and the cost of a room but you lose your night out money.
I got into this under no illusions. I am away from home from Mon to Fri/Sat night, so have to cart a relatively heavy rucksack around with wash kit, changes of clothes, sat nav, maps and all manner of chargers etc. And the only way to turn it into a reasonable wage is to NOT spend your night out money.
However, the prime reason is for experience, which I am getting. Have driven quite a few 18 tonners, along with a 23 and 26 ton fridge truck, and a brand new Volvo Tipper. Gear shifts tend to be the same as a car but have had a couple of 4 over 4 with the high/low ratio button on the gear stick and one older vehicle which had the gear change on what appeared to be an arm rest (lol) - a Renault I think it was.
More importantly though, it is always easier to come across employment whilst IN a job. One guy who started at the same time packed it in after a fortnight but rang me two days ago about a local depot of a large firm looking for HGV 2 drivers, lack of experience not a problem for regular 40+ hrs per week night shift, mon to fri and no weekends and a wage that matches what I have to spend all week out doing now. I since made the call and have a promise of a phone call this week to arrange an interview and possibly start within a week.
Its about networking, in my opinion. Imagine the amount of truck firms you turn up to in a week? The guy who I spoke with over the phone said “oh Red Platers, we use them too”, and couldn’t believe you don’t get paid between drives.
However, it indirectly got me in front of him and a likely job.
Its hard work and sometime you will pull your hair out with public transport, and in others it works out great and you get to drive all manner of vehicles and to all point of the UK.
Do u need cpc for this work which I dont hav I’m 28
There is no requirement for cpc. In fact the company I work for are talking about how to get all the HGV drivers through it.
Usual thing, they will pay but take it out of our wages.
But you don’t need any of them to get started.
If you dont mind me asking Calvin what company do you work for ?
Just wondering if it was uniload ?
Ther called archers movements ther new I fink as started year ago I’m goin for interview this week they sed ther quiet at moment