It’s been one of those days!! you know, the ones that seem ok at the start but then go right down hill. get to my second load and made to wait 3 hrs, still had to get to kent and tip, then reload for an 8.30 tip in portsmouth in the morning, it was going to be tight but if the third reload went ok, i would be ok. well it didn’t so off to park up till 5.45 then get it on. so parked up and doing my evening walk around check like i always do, only to find n/s lights not working on my trailer, not a thing. then i see the wiring loom hanging down and chopped in half. only one thing for it i am going to have to repair it somehow, as i am not going to wait up for scania to come out and the last time they did anything on my trailer after hours they were going to charge £145 per hour.
so its out with the stanley knife, pair back the wires and join them back up luckly i have a box of wire shrink rap in my locker, so in just over half n hour all joined up, shrunk rapped and all working, the jobs a goodun.
so the question is how many of you so called drivers would repair it themself or just sit there and wait for the breakdown service, having a thomas the tank over page three.
there seem to be a lot of licence holders on here but very few drivers, its just an observation over some of the posts that have been on here recently
Now, let’s have another idea, whilst you’re repairing it, it goes pete tongue and burns out the fuse box…
If I was on for Stobarts, DHL, Norbert etc, then I’d be waiting for a guy to come and sort it - although still wondering how this has happened, doesn’t sound like something that happens during a normal working day to me… But, if I was on for a 1 man band and had the stuff with me, then it’d be sorted
waynedl:
Depends who you’re working for at the time.
Now, let’s have another idea, whilst you’re repairing it, it goes pete tongue and burns out the fuse box…
If I was on for Stobarts, DHL, Norbert etc, then I’d be waiting for a guy to come and sort it - although still wondering how this has happened, doesn’t sound like something that happens during a normal working day to me… But, if I was on for a 1 man band and had the stuff with me, then it’d be sorted
i have a good idea how it happened, came off the wieghbridge a bit quick and its steep, i suspect that the loom had fallen down and got trapped under the rear bumper and the bridge cutting it in half, got a bit wound up about being kept waiting for 3 hrs when they knew what time i would be there and what i had to do today
We have a whole fleet department on here. If I thought I could fix it and they give me the ok to do a temp repair, then I will. I’mnot too bad around electrics. I’ve wired up loads of stereos and cbs over the years. Even done a couple of light bars under supervision.
waynedl:
Depends who you’re working for at the time.
Now, let’s have another idea, whilst you’re repairing it, it goes pete tongue and burns out the fuse box…
If I was on for Stobarts, DHL, Norbert etc, then I’d be waiting for a guy to come and sort it - although still wondering how this has happened, doesn’t sound like something that happens during a normal working day to me… But, if I was on for a 1 man band and had the stuff with me, then it’d be sorted
Precisely! Horses for courses and all that - I’m paid by the hour and all that and while I’m thinking about it, who am I to steal another man’s (or woman’s) work from them?
You’re sometimes damned if you do and damned if you don’t so…
As long as I don’t think it’s going to cause me problems with the company I’m driving for I’ll always do any emergency repairs I’m able to and have done on many occasions.
I have to be honest and say I never thought of myself as more of a proper driver rather than a steering wheel attendant because of it though, it’s just what I do ffs
In all honesty there’s too much of this proper driver versus “steering wheel attendant”/“license holder” crap on TN lately, it gets boring after a while
obviously the people who will sit and wait are the people who get to go home every night. i get paid by the kilometre or by the trip, whatever gets me going again quickest is the course that will be taken, simple as that
beattun:
obviously the people who will sit and wait are the people who get to go home every night. i get paid by the kilometre or by the trip, whatever gets me going again quickest is the course that will be taken, simple as that
+1
i’d feel like a right knob just sitting there like a muppet.
tachograph:
As long as I don’t think it’s going to cause me problems with the company I’m driving for I’ll always do any emergency repairs I’m able to and have done on many occasions.
I have to be honest and say I never thought of myself as more of a proper driver rather than a steering wheel attendant because of it though, it’s just what I do ffs
In all honesty there’s too much of this proper driver versus “steering wheel attendant”/“license holder” crap on TN lately, it gets boring after a while
As others have said, it would depend who I’m driving for. I would ring in anyway to tell them I had a problem, let them know i can do a temporary fix to get me back to the depot if thats what they want, and let them decide. Of course any temp repair would still have to make the vehicle legal, I don’t run bent for anyone anymore, not worth it.
tachograph:
In all honesty there’s too much of this proper driver versus “steering wheel attendant”/“license holder” crap on TN lately, it gets boring after a while
i agree with you tacho in some respects, i was trying to point this fact out in an indirect way. there just seemed to be or are a lot that won’t help themselves posting, and if you were from outside the industry looking at some of the posts you would wonder how some manage to get out of bed in the morning, without calling someone out to help them put their socks on
tachograph:
In all honesty there’s too much of this proper driver versus “steering wheel attendant”/“license holder” crap on TN lately, it gets boring after a while
i agree with you tacho in some respects, i was trying to point this fact out in an indirect way. there just seemed to be or are a lot that won’t help themselves posting, and if you were from outside the industry looking at some of the posts you would wonder how some manage to get out of bed in the morning, without calling someone out to help them put their socks on
The problem nowadays is that most big companies don’t like thier employees to think for themselves. Drivers are constantly being disciplined for doing something that they thought was “helping” or “made more sense”. What with automatic gear boxes, cruise control, sat Navs, route planners, vehicle check lists, 400 page drivers manuals, 450 page H&S sign offs, etc, it is becoming easier not to think, just be the brain dead automaton and follow the rules. Let’s face it, the majority of modern drivers are just that, no disrespect to anyone, it’s the way that the industry has gone over the last 10 years.
Yes, some of us older lads have “been there, done that, got the T shirt” but we have to adapt to modern methods, whether we conside them right or wrong, personally, I would rather sit in a nice warm cab and wait for a fiitter, than lie underneath a trailer trying to fix something.
If it’s something i can fix to get me back on the road then i will do it rather then sit there waiting for hours for a fitter to come out. Does that make me a better driver■■? No…am i doing it to help the company out or save them money?..no.
I have a life outside work so the quicker i can get myself going again the better it is for me.
My company frowns on drivers doing any kind of work on the truck but if its something that will get me back & can be sorted out properly when back then so be it. What they don’t no don’t hurt them
