Never done it before, driven class 1 for a few years, is there much difference in driving wagon & drag?
Mainly only reversing in the case of the A frame type while much easier going forwards.
While close coupled type is as close as makes not much difference although sometimes can be a lot of weight distribution aggro in that case.IE a nasty big caravan outfit with all the same downsides.
Not really. Just don’t try loading 12 metre lengths of anything that doesn’t bend!
Swordsy:
Never done it before, driven class 1 for a few years, is there much difference in driving wagon & drag?
If its a proper wagon a drag, going backwards could be a big problem if you have not done that before. with one of them. The hey and straw lad make it look easy.
Stobart type ones are ok to back up if you are just a unit and trailer driver.
Cheers Welly
Lovely to drive, that long wheelbase makes for comfy.
Chances are slim it will be an A frame draw bar which is far more difficult to reverse than an artic but going forwards there is not the same trailer cut in.
Others a doddle like an artic.
Enjoy.
Unlikely to be an A frame,as others have said. Trailer doesn’t cut in like an artic and reversing you don’t need as much room. Only thing to watch out for is to get the trailer loaded fairly evenly, ie not all at front or all at back or else the trailer can wander a bit, but most air suspension trailers tend to sort themselves out, more of a problem when you’ve got a Manitou hanging on the back!
If its an A-frame job reversing will be hard but most firms who have A-frames dont expect you to reverse them without training. Many firms with A-frames you don’t even need to reverse them at all(unless you have made a wrong turn).
I’m doing A frame training with a parcel company this week , it’s mindbending stuff trying to reverse one of them .
Just gotta go slow and dont be afraid to shunt forward as once you lose it your not getting it back.
mickymidas:
I’m doing A frame training with a parcel company this week , it’s mindbending stuff trying to reverse one of them .
If it’s related to his previous Dewsbury job question it could quite possibly be an A frame.In which case the test could equally possibly be reversing it through a slalom course then straighten up to a post with a polo mint attached to it with a knitting needle attached to the side of the trailer which has to go through the polo mint.Although busting the mint with the needle is counted as a pass.That’s the easy bit.The difficult bit is then putting the trailer under a demount box from a 90 degree turn.Which then gets a bit more difficult when it’s a dark yard. 
I drove a wagon and drag earlier this year for the first time. Caravan wheels, not an A frame. I didn’t have any problem with it at all, no harder to drive than an artic, and if anything easier to reverse. Only thing I found slightly tricky was hooking the wagon up to the drag, whereas in an artic you can be a few inches out and the fifth wheel will pull the trailer in, with a dragon and wag which doesn’t have a funnel on the locking pin you have to be millimetre perfect.
In over 30 years of Trucking A frames were the only thing I could not get the hang of, and I was once offered a very lucrative job 25 years ago to drive one, but I couldn’t, forward OK no problems, but reversing 
the only way I could even cope a bit was to use the prime mover to “push” the trailer, only practical if you have coupling at the front, YET I have seen people revers the WHOLE things under two demount-able boxes, while I could only gaze in wonder.
mickymidas:
I’m doing A frame training with a parcel company this week , it’s mindbending stuff trying to reverse one of them .
Good luck fella. You are lucky to get trained. Just let’s hope the trainer knows how to explain the procedure correctly.
I never got any training but managed to master after a while.
If in doubt…take a shunt…
Hardly mind bending though. Like anything to to with wagons practice practice and most improve.
Unfortunately some don’t though.
Not proper artic drivers
SuperMultiBlue:
Not proper artic drivers
Ha put an experienced artic driver in an A frame draw bar and ask to reverse.
Will look like a complete novice saying that some seem to make a simple reverse in an artic look very complicated.
I used to drive a frames for Faccenda collecting live chickens. You have to steer the same way as you you want to turn for a few feet to push the drawbar the right way then then it is a case of adjusting steering to keep the same angle of bend. I found it like learning to ride a bike. Once you get the hang of it it is fairly easy. Biggest challenge is in confined spaces as the front of lorry swings wide for small changes to a frame angle.
SuperMultiBlue:
Not proper artic drivers
From my experience the so called proper artic driver is stuffed when it comes to driving anything else 
In my experience,if the A frame hitch is right at the back or the lorry,the trailer is more responsive to steering adjustments and easier to reverse.I had one job where the trailer had a long A frame where the hitch was effectively immediately behind the diff and a much more trick prospect because basically you use the position of the drive axle(s) to steer the trailer.You develop arma and shoulders like Hercules.