Evening all…
Firstly I apologies if this is in the incorrect section…
here goes.
So I’ve had my class 2 for just over a year now, and already had a couple perm jobs (or that would have been perm) until I do extra physical work eg pump truck heavy loads when multi dropping pallets, then my back gives way and I find myself on strong medication (from the doctor) and off work then without a job…
My question is as I live in Havant (nr Portsmouth) does anyone here work in the area for example Ferry Speed, 2mv, or AE Parker just to name a few if so what are they like to work for.
Obviously I know this is being real picky… but I can’t deal with using a pump truck to move heavy pallets up roads for private addresses, but I would love to get back out on the road do something I have enjoyed until I come across this problem each time…
So ideally it would be delivering to industrial units (not private residential) I can do days, nights, most weekends so my flexibility with time is no problem (just not with my body).
Again I’ll understand for any comments such as ‘we’d all like a job like that’ but I would really appreciate for some advice that I can use even if it’s just a better way I can word the above before I send my cv etc to companies asking what kind of work they have available
Are you up to opening/ closing RoRo bins? No idea what they’re like to work for but there’s EMR, Smith & Total Waste/ Veolia around Dundas Spur Road, L&S up the hill, Inert for tippers another couple of miles up the hill and down the other side, Kendalls on the Eastern Road.
Did some agency for SCA (now Smiths) 9/10 years ago, didn’t get on with the idea of having to clean up what fell out when pulling away from compacters yourself, you certainly wouldn’t like it with back problems! May or may not be different now, bet the pay is a ■■■■ sight lower though.
Sounds like you need to get your class 1 and do trunk work. The most physical thing i do is pull the curtains backwards and forwards once every shift. Also RDC fridge work is just opening the back doors and backing on a bay a few times a day.
My spine is held together with screws and I’m in agony 24/7 but I still do an incredibly physical job.
Sometimes you just have to put up with it and crack on.
I know for certain there are people far fitter then me saying they can’t work and claiming benefits.
Even if I couldnt walk (I’m pretty close to that some days already mind) I’d still find something to do and it wouldn’t be sitting on my arse in an office.
109LWB:
My spine is held together with screws and I’m in agony 24/7 but I still do an incredibly physical job.
Prone to exaggeration at all?
Commendable work ethic though.
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No exaggeration at all mate I’m afraid, I truly wish I was.
My spine is held together with metal pins and screws… I am in agony 24/7. I have a very physical job… some days I cannot walk more than a few steps, I can’t bend over and often I can’t get up from sitting without help.
I had major spinal surgery in 2011 in an attempt to fix it, sadly it made it worse and resulted in permemant nerve damage affecting my legs, lumbar area and hips/waist. This cannot be fixed and it causes me extreme pain almost all the time, when it’s not extreme, it’s still very uncomfortable.
Also I have severe fibrosis in the lumbar region from the surgery and muscle damage plus it’s believed I have sacroilitius, but it’s near impossible to diagnose. I do suffer all the symptoms though.
The NHS say they can’t help, a physio said he can’t help and a chiropractor took £400 off me only to tell me he couldn’t help after reviewing the MRI and X-rays.
A doctor in my local hospital who saw me after I collapsed one day whilst walking told me there was a real possibility of me being unable to walk in a few years and on top of all of that I have evidence of arthritis on my vertebrae.
Not everyone who is pain lies on the floor moaning about it feeling sorry for themselves , some people just ■■■■ it up and make the most of what they can do in the here and now.
I have three knackered discs in my lumbar, two which I had surgery on and the third which is inoperable so have exactly the same issues as you and I have the same mentality. I’m not supposed to do anything involving pushing, pulling, lifting, standing for long periods but I can’t stand sitting at home doing nothing even though I have a letter most guests on Jeremy Kyle would see as a golden ticket to a life on bennies.
Night trunking on class 1 is definitely the way to go mate. Day work is going to mean driving down crappy A roads which will knacker your back as much as ■■■■■■■ pallets around with a pallet truck. I managed 6 weeks on days doing HJ depot deliveries and on Saturday it let me know it had had enough so I have had to go back to nights and doing trunk runs.
DPD Linehaul would be ideal for you if you could get it. You don’t touch the load and other than dropping your trailer at the hub and picking up the return one you don’t touch the trailer either.
OVLOV JAY:
If you want a job with no physical graft, either get your class 1 and hop down the coast to soton docks, or look for a local job on an 8 wheeler
As above look for a trunk or fridge work (class 1) most will be straightforward enough. Watch out on the 8 wheeler front though, if running out of quarries etc some of the long access roads leave a lot to be desired with hundreds of trucks going over them every week all year round. Even with the air seats you will still get jolted and thrown around a bit even going very slow which might not be great for a dodgy back! Same applies to some sites and waste places etc.
Also for class 1 fridge work watch out who you go with as a fair bit of supermarket companies and even general fridge work at some deliveries it will be a self tip with the pallet trucks or electric pallet trucks.
There is no real easy solution as even trucking could be sitting for four or four and a half hours etc without movement which may be beneficial long term either.
Wow Thanks to everyone that has replied (didn’t expect so many responses)…
Firstly I would like to say, I understand not everyone has a perfect back and most people have pains somewhere that doesn’t help their day to day… 109LWB & Conor, got to say without sounding patronising but good on ya! keeping at it after having to deal with all that! can’t be easy.
I have been to people that meant to help but nothing really does just to be told well… not really much we or anyone can do with a bad back… for the sitting still my back does seize up a little but only when I’m having a bad day and when the Air Seats are set up for my liking usually it can be ok.
I’m the same I cannot sit around at home, doctor always says to me “if you need time off I’ll give you your time off” but I cannot sit around doing nothing I’ll end up going crazy not working plus the money from working…
I currently work in a warehouse forklifting and I use all the pallet trucks at the moment (difference is pallets are light and on a smooth warehouse floor) so I do ‘■■■■ it up and get on with it to an extent’
The main thing in common is I was sent out in a 7.5T and we all know how poor they are but I expressed my concerns but nothing was to happen… and lets face it some of these places do not appreciate the new guy (only 26) saying what they’re going to and not going to drive/do.
Would like to go down the route of Class 1 but with my limited HGV driving experience didn’t want to go down that route just yet, but I thought this would be the better option and hopefully will be my end game.
Again a big thank you to everyone really has made me think about this, I think I am going to email my old boss (it was mainly the planners that didn’t seem to understand the manager/boss seemed like there was something they could do) just to say to him what’s what maybe even go for a trial in different roles, see what they have to say and see if I can ■■■■ it up on the job.
You have the right attitude, it’s very easy just to say “I can’t do that” and sit on yer backside, which as you know does not help.
Having an understanding boss/company is a must. I had to have 6 months off in one go and I’ve had countless days and weeks over the years due to it, but the company knows when I can, I work hard and only take time off when I physically cannot move.
So many times my wife has seen me either collapsed on the floor or stuck in bed in tears because I can’t get up, but I’m determined to get up and get to work, she’s often gotten into an argument with me about it, telling me I shouldn’t be going in to work.
The key is to know your limitations and don’t let anyone pressure you into something you know will cause trouble… I do lack this sometimes I will admit and take on something which then leaves me housebound for a week or hobbling around like a 90 year old.
I’m only 32, but have been dealing with this since I was about 16. One doctor I saw in the early days said I had one of the worst spines he had ever seen!! Comforting!
Most of my customers are Amazed I’m still at it, I’ve been doing this job for 16 years so they have seen me go through it all. One customer I’ve known all that time said to me just last week how he wishes he could find a worker like me, his last guy quit after a week cos he said his wrist hurt when using a spanner.
Class 1 is defiantly the best way to go in my opinion like most others. Not much Class 2 work about that doesn’t require a bit of graft, even opening & closing curtains all day for forkies can take it’s toll on the back. There is tippers off course, but like some others have said you can be on bouncy roads etc. I wouldn’t take any risk doing anymore damage to your back at all.
At this time of year you’ll have your hand bitten off to do parcel trunking etc. & will probably earn a fair crust doing it. The cost of doing the Class 1 will pay for itself fairly soon.
Quarries etc are much better than they used to be, many have to build proper tarmac roads as part of their planning permissions. One near me has had to resurface their haul road because locals complained about the noise caused by potholes.
The OP is in Hampshire and I know most of their aggregate is sea dredged/processed out of Southampton, all nice yards to run out of (in orange clothes sadly).
Some tipper firms in the area you could try are TJ Transport, Sibleys, Inert etc, all in the Hampshire area. Sibleys were advertising a while back.
