Got covered in grease last night undoing tangled stretched suzies before i went down the road , i mean covered . I ended up going to Asda wakefield looking like i.d been sitting on the fifth wheel . The state of them was like something i,d expect from an abused 4 yr old hire vehicle .
The vehicle in question has been on the road 4 weeksand is 06 plate . What a joke . When i got back in i spent about 15 minutes soaping and jetwashing them off the best i could ( no steam cleaner ) .
When i got back to the counter i put the plate on the counter stood back and said to the duty desk man " look at my clothes " I,m in this state from the back of that vehicle . It’s a ■■■■■■■ disgrace .I carried on " What absoloute dirty ■■■■■■■■ are you handing these vehicles too , they are brand new and already they are being treated like a ■■■■■■■■■■■■■ , half of these drivers are mucky ■■■■■■■■ and couldn’t care less , i got covered in grease and spent the best part of the night sat on my hi viz jacket to keep it off the interior. "
I suggested it gets sorted out and they purchase a steam cleaner and make sure it gets used to clean suzies off .
I also noted to them that the next vehicle i get that has tangled up suzies and covered in grease i won’t even entertain the idea of driving it anywhere . There was a few driver stood listening so maybe some of them might be feeling guilty , although i highly doubt it !
Gets right on my ■■■■■■■ . They should allocate vehicles to a pair : night and day drivers .That would solve the problem and catch the others out that treat them like crap.
Ok yep you should have left it and got another truck. It does tend to be certian drivers that leave trucks in this state, yet they always seem to get another truck that isnt in that state.
When I worked out of Sherburn Somerfield,one of the old hands used to soak a rag in diesel,and then wipe the suzies,followed by a bloody good steam clean,and I’ll tell you what…it worked for keeping them clean.
get your own truck paul its bliss, had all those problems , i dont think there mucky just idle so and sos, now weve got our own its nice to know when you walk into work its going to be how you left it
it’s a lucky thing i didn’t see yah…in that state…errm what was i saying about drivers…■■?..blooming annoying…been in some 05/55 plates in the same condition…the outside was spotless…the inside was a different matter…
By the way what was the desk guy’s reply…if any…■■?
Don’t worry busy at mo…back to my fight later…must say bobthedog…has made some progress in producing a constructive reply…so must respond
ady1:
get your own truck paul its bliss, had all those problems , i dont think there mucky just idle so and sos, now weve got our own its nice to know when you walk into work its going to be how you left it
Yup i had my own motor for two years . Then i left that job and took this one .It’s more or less a first come first served basis for the day lot . I reckon for the night shift you could always have the same motor , i,ve expressed an interest in that. As long as they don;t do what they did last year . I had the same motor for two months on my request , sorted it all out , cleaned it all up . I lost it for 1 week due to the way things worked out , when i got it back it was suzie strectch greased up coffee stained cab city . I told them to stick it .
The diesel rag was mentioned to me earlier this morning by another driver sick to death of it .No steam cleaner . I,ve suggested it might be a good idea to get one .
It’s there call really , we have a fleet of brand new 06 and 56 motors and in the space of 4 weeks !!! Some are in rag state round the suzies after a week on the road . It’s unbeleivable .
I agree Paul, it’s [zb] scandalous and gets right on my ■■■■ too. Of course, being an “agency” driver I and others always get the blame for getting the lines in a state . I had one last night that was just as your described. To save myself getting lathered in grease I split coupled and was very careful to keep my forearms, cuffs and jeans out of the way when putting the lines on.
There’s a few lads who have the lines strung up on bungies and these do the job perfectly and you could eat your tea off the lines if you wanted to, they’re that clean. They usually get lathered when drivers can’t be bothered to reverse when turning round and just screw it round on a 180 instead - the lines stretch across the front leading edge of the trailer which is always covered in grease and that’s where it comes from. Of course, a separate rant in itself are the lazy drivers that can’t be bothered using the air suspension when coupling and uncoupling trailers, which is the cause of the grease problem in the first place.
I am going to get slated for being a goody goody here but I always untangle the suzies after a shift and always check and untangle at the start of a shift, always carry kitchen roll too so I can clean things up.
It’s just idleness, i’m alright jack’ attitude on drivers part
Rob K:
I agree Paul, it’s [zb] scandalous and gets right on my ■■■■ too. Of course, being an “agency” driver I and others always get the blame for getting the lines in a state . I had one last night that was just as your described. To save myself getting lathered in grease I split coupled and was very careful to keep my forearms, cuffs and jeans out of the way when putting the lines on.
There’s a few lads who have the lines strung up on bungies and these do the job perfectly and you could eat your tea off the lines if you wanted to, they’re that clean. They usually get lathered when drivers can’t be bothered to reverse when turning round and just screw it round on a 180 instead - the lines stretch across the front leading edge of the trailer which is always covered in grease and that’s where it comes from. Of course, a separate rant in itself are the lazy drivers that can’t be bothered using the air suspension when coupling and uncoupling trailers, which is the cause of the grease problem in the first place.
dont agree with putting them up on bungees as it gets grease all down the back of the cab which you can catch on when connecting up
i just leave them in a straight line across catwalk[ unless im traveling any distance then put them in dummy holders] its so easy just disconnect 1st one lay straight on catwalk, then do the same 2 to 5, learnt it from a old chap and it works for me
as you hang them up round the back of the bungee the suzi catches the back of the cab and then transfers grease on to it, i should know as until i got my own motor i had to gunk the back of the cab every week, unless the bloke was wiping his hands on the back of the cab after connecting up i cant see other than putting the suzi up and over a bungee how youd get grease on the back of a cab
To be honest, i’m sick to death with cleaning up other peoples ■■■■ and it pains me to say i’ve give up doing it. If i get into a unit now and its in ■■■■ state or the suzzies are all tangled and greased, then thats the way it stays.
Bad attitude?
Yes, i agree, but if the lazy arses cannot clean up after them then i wont. I suppose that makes me as bad as them at the end of the day though.
I used to clean out whichever unit i was driving at the start of the shift, but now all i do is take out my own crap at the end, and, i WILL NOT start a shift covered in grease.
CM:
I am going to get slated for being a goody goody here but I always untangle the suzies after a shift and always check and untangle at the start of a shift, always carry kitchen roll too so I can clean things up.
It’s just idleness, i’m alright jack’ attitude on drivers part
Nope no slating from me . It’s what i do and what everyone should do .
I,m almost thinking they should give the fleet back and just hire ■■■■ heaps .
paul@midway:
They should allocate vehicles to a pair : night and day drivers .That would solve the problem and catch the others out that treat them like crap.
It’s what some of us do at Huntingdon - works a treat.
Quinny:
When I worked out of Sherburn Somerfield,one of the old hands used to soak a rag in diesel,and then wipe the suzies,followed by a bloody good steam clean,and I’ll tell you what…it worked for keeping them clean.
Exactly the way I do it. Drop of red on a rag…wipe over…blast with the jet wash.
Brings them up like new.
ady1:
as you hang them up round the back of the bungee the suzi catches the back of the cab and then transfers grease on to it, i should know as until i got my own motor i had to gunk the back of the cab every week, unless the bloke was wiping his hands on the back of the cab after connecting up i cant see other than putting the suzi up and over a bungee how youd get grease on the back of a cab
Is this a wind up or are serious, cos if so you’re far more stupid that I first thought?
The whole point of stringing the lines up is so that they don’t get anywhere near the fifth wheel or leading edge of the trailer which is where the grease comes from. I still fail to see how you’re getting grease on the back of the cab if the lines are nowhere near the grease points. Obviously I don’t need to point out that you clean the lines before you string them up. Or do I…
flatbedman:
i used to hang my suzies up on bungees but i stopped doing it when i kept getting grease on the back of the cab
paul
Can someone please explain to me how you get grease on the back of the cab if the lines are strung up? I just don’t get it. I used to do when I tramped for both Archies and S&L and never once had any problems nor ever got grease on the back of the cab. W T F are you all on?
Yeah I agree with you RobK, if you have properly cleaned the suzies BEFORE stringing them up on bungees then where would the grease come from■■? They’ve obviously been put up in a crap state in the first place.
Thank God,i tramp,don’t have any of this crap.If i make a mess i have to clean it.Used to get very peed off when i worked on days with “Mr Nobody” doing damage to brand new trucks.
Of course, being an “agency” driver I and others always get the blame for getting the lines in a state 
. I had one last night that was just as your described. To save myself getting lathered in grease I split coupled and was very careful to keep my forearms, cuffs and jeans out of the way when putting the lines on.
