I’m sort of new to lorry driving. I’ve had my licence since 08 but only drove here and there. I’ve recently re validated my licence and I have a digi card, PPE and truck sat nav. I’m looking for a bit of guidance. I’ve got some experience in fridge work doing depo to depo runs which I quite like, and I used to service car transporters on the trailer side. I’ve minimal curtain sider work and local runs at that.
I’m looking for work where I can get into a routine. I work well in this sort of field where I know where I am and where I’m going, I tend to look for more efficient ways of doing my job, I like to be able to specify where I am going to be at a certain time.
Things that make me nervous are, multi drop where I have no knowledge of the destination, maxing my driving ours constantly, delivering to London or similar big citys and the odd thing here and there which I’m sure I will feel better about once I gain a bit of experience.
I have a lot going on in my life so I’m hoping to avoid working all the hours god sends. I understand that this will perhaps lend itself to some of the lower paid positions or that I wont earn as much as I need a bit more time at home, the main reason for this is that I am a carer.
I guess what Im asking is, which areas of HGV work should I focus my search on? Is there anything in particular I should avoid?
Anyway, thank you for reading my post. Any pointers would go a long way.
Pallet work can be reasonably repetitive - though there are variations. Maybe these are enough to keep it interesting without too much hassle? Apart from that, milk collection (tankers from farms) are regular. If you have CE then think about the likes of NFT where the drops are regular. If you can work nights consider trunking on pallets (to the hubs). I’m afraid you’ll probably take on something expecting it to be nice and routine just to find that driving trucks just aint like that most of the time!
Many years ago I used to take a Guiness tanker from Chesterfield to White City and return with a keg trailer every evening. That was steady but I found it too repetitive.
Just a thought, and I’m not being sarcastic, you may do better on buses. I’ve done both and the major plus for buses is knowing when you’ll get home. (This doesn’t apply to coaches).
You may well get some more info from folks who are more up to date than me as well.
And, as ROG indicated, your cpc needs to be up to date with certain exceptions.
Hiab crane work for building supply firms, short days as they are open office hours and home every night.
Livestock transport but need training for that, local markets and farms.
Dead animal transport, from farm or zoo animals, don’t let the bad smell put you off.
Drinks delivery to hotels, nightclubs such as Matthew Clarke’s ltd or Nectar drinks in Wiltshire .
Hospital waste Adr .
Trunking I guess. Stay far away from rigids, because they’re cursed. You will go to London and Birmingham and generally have a ■■■■ time of it.
If you get in with a company you may be able to complain until they give you a fixed route. I became friends with one bloke who would go from Lichfield to one of 4 other depots, and then back. Sat about for about 30 minutes after he came in. Not sure if he did 2 runs or more but he gave me a card for the drinks machines :L
Edit: Agreeing with Mr. Smythe above, think about buses. Regular shuttle buses (such as at airports) are a good bet. Only 6 routes in a small area.
Thanks for the advice guys. I want to stick to Lorry driving, I dont fancy busses, my HGV cost enough, I cant justify spending more until I get some return. I do have my full upto date driver CPC. I’ll keep looking.
