as most above, if i was offered more money to drive a van than a artic ,id still drive the artic cause i wouldnt get my head down in the bunk for 4/5 hrs per day. 8 pounds for driving a van or 7.20 for sleeping , no contest
Hi all,
I set myself a goal to end up driving class 1, ive done my time on the puddle jumpers, vans etc, passed my class c in jan this year and had a handful of shifts since then, mainly for a mate that has a scaffolding firm.
I timed it all wrong, wanted a year on the rigids then class c+e and form a career in the haulage industry. Im not aiming for the class 1 just so i can say “look at me” i have a genuine interest in it all. Im trying to do it all properly but money is the key at the moment, i just dont have any.
However im not giving in, i never give in, 1 day u will see the banner from rog congratulating me on passing my class 1, then hopefully not long after i will manage to gain a full time job then i will be off doing something i know i will enjoy doing, driving.
ady1:
as most above, if i was offered more money to drive a van than a artic ,id still drive the artic cause i wouldnt get my head down in the bunk for 4/5 hrs per day. 8 pounds for driving a van or 7.20 for sleeping , no contest
The grab lorry would be ideal for you mate,you would earn £ 32/24 per shift but you would need to recline your seat to the back of the day cab,put your feet on the dash and rest your head on some kind of soft garment between your left ear and window…Your definately one of the more ambitious on here… 
There is definitely good paying Class 2 work out there. I currently drive a dustcart which I am hoping to go permanent on soon. Pay is excellent and it is ‘job and finish’. Personally speaking I would not like to do Class 1 work as I prefer to stay close to home, and I definitely do not like nights out. Different strokes for different folks I guess 
hiya, could it be that rigids, i’m talking mainly four wheelers always got the bits and bobs traffic, on the rare occasion i drove them i always seemed to get all the depot rubbish plus just put that on and leave room for something coming in from so and so, used to finish up like postman pat, whereas with an artic it was nearly always one drop and the money was usually better, thanks harry long retired.
I just came back from three days trip on the sprinter. I quite enjoyed driving 70 mph per change, and I slept in the hotels, which is more comfortable even that the best lorries… 
But what I really hate is to drive arround and looking for digs. I much prefere just to stop somewhere where I am now and go to bed.
I don’t want to drive artics, I spent the first 9 years of my HGV positive life driving artics.
I’ve been on 4 then 8 wheelers for the past 4 years and am earning better money for shorter hours and I don’t have any worry that I might just get caught for a night out.
kr79:
Couldnt care less what i drive as long as it pays well and the vehicle is not a vosa please stop me beacon. Drive an artic at the moment but quite happily jump in hook loaders skip lorrys 7.5 t tippers at work as the need arises. If a job came up driving a van paying another few quid id be there like a shot
Id agree with this 100%, having driven artics when i first passed both my tests and being made redundant i was offered a job doing multidrop work (15-20 drops average sometimes spread over 2 days) around ■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■ on rigids. To be honest, i go to work for one thing - money :wink: and i earn nearly 25k a year for doing my job which averages out about 45 hours a week. So having experienced both types of work and now doing about 20-25 hours a week less than i was on the artics,i know which id rather be doing.
Basically its about the wages, i`d push a wheelbarrow about all week if the money was right - class 1 snobbery is for sad people with no grip on reality 
russjp:
‘… I was offered … multidrop … 15-20 drops … over 2 days … Basically its about the wages…’
It seems that multidrops pay well across the board …but they don’t suit everyone.
Happy Keith:
russjp:
‘… I was offered … multidrop … 15-20 drops … over 2 days … Basically its about the wages…’I’m understanding that avoiding multidrops from whatever class of vehicle is worth a corresponding reduction in one’s earning potential.
Can you try typing that in english
I ve got my class 1 but drive a class2 and enjoy it as we get a bit more variety in the loads and destinations than the class 1 drivers at our place, I did a few days on one of the artics last week but was bored at having to go to the same place 4 times in 2 days besides the difference between a class 2 and a class 1 driver at our place is a measly 50p an hour
ok so I might end up doing more drops as on the rigids we get the drops to the small engineering places so could end up doing upto 40 drops in total over the week, where as the artic drivers do 1 maybe 2 drops a day
I prefer artics because I am a primative and simple-minded person and I just think “the bigger, the better” 
hiya, Harry knew a few ladies in my younger single days who thought along those lines. thanks harry long retired.
russjp:
Happy Keith:
russjp:
‘… I was offered … multidrop … 15-20 drops … over 2 days … Basically its about the wages…’[Nonsense edited …though it made sense at the time…!]
Can you try typing that in English
Done, sorry about such lapses.
harry_gill:
hiya, Harry knew a few ladies in my younger single days who thought along those lines. thanks harry long retired.
Harry Gill you owe me a new laptop, just covered mine with San Miguel I had in my mouth whilst reading that comment, pure quality 
bullitt:
newmercman:
For the same reason that the local yobbo has a Rottweiller or Pitbull, it’s because we’re as hard as nails & hard men don’t drive silly little bonsai lorries
■■■■ right Mark…then of course there is the 18 metre “A” frame drawbar, a real “Mans Truck”!!!
The daddy of them all being those 25 metre draw bar jobs that the scandinavians drive!
Oh Rick, you’re so right, I used to drive a proper wagon & drag too, now who wants a fight?
At the moment I drive the ultimate ■■■■■ size compensator, a long nosed Peterbilt with all the bling, towing a 53ft reefer to glamorous destinations across the USA, but 99% of the reason I do it is because it pays better than driving a smaller vehicle on local deliveries, when I was younger I would’ve driven an artic for less than a rigid, but since I’ve grown up I would always take the money over the truck, I have the best of both worlds at the moment
Gogzy, don’t let it get to you, there is a point to what is being said to you, but there’s nothing wrong with having confidence, remember nobody’s born with experience, you learn it & you earn it, having said that I’ve known a lot of 21yr olds that could run rings around the so called ‘proper drivers’ I myself was running over snow covered mountains in lorries with ‘crash’ boxes alongside older more experienced men, I learned a lot from them, most of it what NOT to do, times change but people get set in their ways & the old ways are not always the best way Hope you have your earplugs with you, U2 
Can you do me a favour & punch that pontificating dwarf Bonio for me, ‘still haven’t found what he’s looking for’ tell him to take the 'kin sunglasses off then & maybe he will 
hiya, pleased i can still raise a smile GF can’t manage anything else, thanks harry long retired.
Spent 8 years on riginds after leaving the Army & wouldn’t go back to them.
newmercman:
At the moment I drive the ultimate ■■■■■ size compensator, a long nosed Peterbilt with all the bling, towing a 53ft reefer to glamorous destinations across the USA, but 99% of the reason I do it is because it pays better than driving a smaller vehicle on local deliveries, when I was younger I would’ve driven an artic for less than a rigid, but since I’ve grown up I would always take the money over the truck, I have the best of both worlds at the momentGogzy, don’t let it get to you, there is a point to what is being said to you, but there’s nothing wrong with having confidence, remember nobody’s born with experience, you learn it & you earn it, having said that I’ve known a lot of 21yr olds that could run rings around the so called ‘proper drivers’ I myself was running over snow covered mountains in lorries with ‘crash’ boxes alongside older more experienced men, I learned a lot from them, most of it what NOT to do, times change but people get set in their ways & the old ways are not always the best way
On that subject:
What is the difference between Bono and God?
God doesn’t walk round Dublin thinking he’s Bono