Hello fellow Trucknetters, new board member here. I have just passed my Class 1 and will be thrown into the deep end with my first ever job being for Magnet kitchens-Wincanton. I will be tramping. This is providing I pass my driving assessment on Friday. Could I possibly gleam any information/advice on the company and type of work it will be. Am I biting off more than I can chew? I don’t want to end up looking silly (not difficult for me 
) but I have a wife and 3 young kids to support so don’t want to turn down a job. If Robroy could chime in that would be great as I’ve seen he gives a lot of newbies useful advice.
Many thanks in advance.
Conor’s your man here, he’ll be long in due course.
Thought Conor was in at Howden?
Excellent, looking forward to hearing from Conor in that case.
Billythekid34:
Hello fellow Trucknetters, new board member here. I have just passed my Class 1 and will be thrown into the deep end with my first ever job being for Magnet kitchens-Wincanton. I will be tramping. This is providing I pass my driving assessment on Friday.
Is this job on the books or via an agency?
Don’t turn up for your assessment drive in Newton Aycliffe.Magnet Kitchens is in Darlington.
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Hi…Don’t know anything about the company or type of work…But just make sure that tramping is what you want to do…As you say.You have a young family at home…And believe me…You will miss out on alot of them growing up…And your wife might not be able to handle it either…Tramping is’nt for everyone…More a lifestyle than a job…But good luck with your assesment…
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Hi, it’s via an agency. Thanks daftvader, I’ve thought long and hard about it and read through various posts on here, I guess I won’t know until I try it. Do you tramp? how do you find it? I will miss the kids, of course, but will take comfort in the fact I’m trying to provide for them. And cheers Peirre!! That might be the most useful piece of advice yet!
With regards to how you will find tramping - there is only one answer - find out out first hand.
IMHO you will either enjoy it and you will make it work to your advantage or you will hate it. I don’t ever think there is a middle ground where you just do it for doing its sake.
My advice is to give it at least a month then step back and assess whether it’s right for you. Not just the work but that it works for your family.
I have an “understanding” with my wife that should she want me to stop tramping or if she has any doubts - she will tell me straight away and not let it play on her mind. If she ever told me she wasn’t happy then I’ll quit ASAP. No job is worth my family.
One last tip - don’t just work then park and pull the curtains. That makes the week feel like one long slog. Even just sitting outside reading or listening to an iPod in the summer. Just get out the cab.
Yeah i tramp…Have done for 26yrs now…So i clearly enjoy it…And yes i still do…Even with all the bullshine that goes with the job…ie trackers,fuel bonuses.And automatic trucks…Being just some of the things…As has been said…You won’t know till you’ve given it a go…All the best anyway
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kjw21:
One last tip - don’t just work then park and pull the curtains. That makes the week feel like one long slog. Even just sitting outside reading or listening to an iPod in the summer. Just get out the cab.
Spot on, get away from the bloody thing for a few hours every evening if poss, or you’ll become part of the Borg like so many who kip in main road laybys seem to have done.
I always tried to find somewhere quiet to park, well before i was running short of time, within reasonable walk of a pub likely to serve food, then even if you don’t actually speak to any bugger other than the bar staff you’ve had a decent meal and can sit in a corner with a good book and a pint well away from the tin can for a few well earned hours, might even meet up with another like minded driver or two and have a chin wag, talking ■■■■■■■■ of course which is part of the lorry scene.
I’ve been on with magnet in portbury through agency since since the beginning of December, the head office is as stated in Darlington and as far as I know all the work is either day runs delivering to stores or customers houses and night trunks from Darlington to the various magnet hubs for the day deliveries.
That’s brilliant, thanks lads. I’ll dive into it then and find out if it’s for me. I am looking forward to it actually. I will take the advice and get away from the cab even just for a walk. One last queation daftvader, Juddian and kjw21, with regards to when you stop and park up for the night…are the hours dictatewd to you by the company?? do you have to max out your hours? or can you, if you fancy it, just do a 10 hour shift one day and find somewhere for the night. Or am I being overly optimistic? Thanks for the best wishes, much appreciated.
Hours wise (this is how it works at my place) - if I have set times to be at places either to collect or tip - they don’t care if I do 10/11/12 hours so on.
Obviously don’t take the ■■■■ and use a bit of common sense and get reasonably close and give yourself some driving hours to use the next day but other than that they say what they want and I plan my day to fit.
If it needs a 15 hour day to achieve it I’ll do it if possible. Other days the parting shot on the phone will be “no need to break your neck” so a nice relaxed run to my choice of parking. Swings and roundabouts really.
So to sum it up - some days you can do shortish hours other days you may need to pull your finger out a bit.
Our place only dictates secure parking for certain loads. Yours may be different.
I’m on salary which is a bit unusual for tramping and can go against you as in they could try and max your hours out - so you need to sit and work out whether the amount of hours asked is reasonable for the money. Remember, quite often what gets said in interview, bears no relation to the reality. Use that month to work it out.
Are you sure it’s tramping? Or did they mean nights, trunking?
kjw21:
Hours wise (this is how it works at my place) - if I have set times to be at places either to collect or tip - they don’t care if I do 10/11/12 hours so on.Obviously don’t take the ■■■■ and use a bit of common sense and get reasonably close and give yourself some driving hours to use the next day but other than that they say what they want and I plan my day to fit.
If it needs a 15 hour day to achieve it I’ll do it if possible. Other days the parting shot on the phone will be “no need to break your neck” so a nice relaxed run to my choice of parking. Swings and roundabouts really.
So to sum it up - some days you can do shortish hours other days you may need to pull your finger out a bit.
Our place only dictates secure parking for certain loads. Yours may be different.
I’m on salary which is a bit unusual for tramping and can go against you as in they could try and max your hours out - so you need to sit and work out whether the amount of hours asked is reasonable for the money. Remember, quite often what gets said in interview, bears no relation to the reality. Use that month to work it out.
+1…Although i’m hourly paid…
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Billythekid34:
Excellent, looking forward to hearing from Conor in that case.
Sorry mate I’m Howdens Joinery, not Magnet. We do kitchens but its to trade only stores on industrial estates so not retail park type work. What you’ll be doing is more like Howdens Joinery used to be when it was Hygena (remember them?) Nice clean job, bit of graft when you unload the trailer which will keep you nice and fit but if its like Hygena used to be it’ll be palletised. The stuff can weigh a fair bit especially when you get a pallet of breakfast bars and they can be heading for 2 tonnes a pallet.
Wincanton are our subbies and I meet up for trailer swaps with Wincanton drivers from Bellshill quite often. From what I can gather its a company that runs by the book but they do have some wierd standards such as defining a worn tyre as 3mm when 1mm is the legal limit. The guys at Bellshill have been there for years.
Thanks for the insight mate, I appreciate it.
Thanks Conor mate! And Nodding Donkey they definitely said tramping as they said I’d be heading out Monday morning and not getting back in 'til Friday afternoon.
Many moons ago i was employed as a drivers mate on the Magnet contract in Darlington.
Back in them days it was ran by Fiege Merlin and then Lane Group.The work was a mixture of store deliveries and customers homes.99% of the time the work was done on a wagon and drag set up but on the odd occasion it was store deliveries only we would be sent out in an artic.Both types of work involved a lot of handball.
There was also the night trunk men who delivered trailers/boxes to other sites and out bases.From my recollection i cannot recall any tramping work but things could have changed.
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