Chat & Social > The Bar - General Chat
I bow down to you all hgv drivers.
muddyjames:
I have just been for my hgv assesment to see how many days training I need. All I can say is I wont be doing it. :cry:
I have been told I need 6 days training at a cost of about £1100. I was bricking it the whole way round and to be quiet honest I just dont have the muscle power to do the gears. It is a fairly new lorry I was in with a new gear box but it is so stiff. Also being told to go into 7th gear which is 3rd in high range just confused the heebee jeebees out of me. I was just saying do I want to be in this gear next and pointing to where the gear lever would hopefully end up. The brakes. Well. Either through the windscreen or none at all.
So my friends. I have achieved a life time goal of driving an hgv, yeah ok isn't an artic but close but at the same time a dream has ended for now of becoming a driver for a living. You dont all need to get off the road now. It is a thing too far for me. I will stick to me caravan towing!
:cry: :cry: :cry:
V8MoneyPit:
Well done for having a go though mate. You never know if you don't try.
muddyjames:
cheers.
I am quiet up set as I tow my 25ft caravan behind a lwb transit van sometimes which makes it 45ft long so thought it would be more natural to me than it turned out to be today. My dream since I was a little boy and my dream job shattered.
Never know. work might pay for it one day if I do it.
pux:
im sorry to hear about this but maybe in the future, as this also proves a point to all those people out there that think "oh it must be easy driving a lorry blah blah" ;) its not hope you do have another go James :D
LiftedDisco:
James
Sorry to hear of your experience, particularly after the saga that you had in getting your medical arranged etc..
Yes, they are very different to a car (or even a Transit...) but the secret is to remember that you have great big (sloppy) linkages and heavy duty gears so you need to plan ahead and work somewhat slower than you would in a car. If you rush it, then the vehicle will fight you... and win!
If it was an assessment session, you were probably somewhat tense... that's why they have suggested 6 days to your test - it's all about building confidence in the truck and your skills.
To be honest, spatial awareness should be OK - as you say, you run around in 14m or so of van and trailer.
In reality, when you have passed, that's when the learning really starts... get a box with range change AND splitter to cope with and it's "Hello Confusion..."
Hope you take a few moments to think - yes, it's a skill... but at least you can already drive... our 12 year old mastering clutch control in the field last week was truly something challenging!
All the best in whatever you do...
Rob
Navigation
[0] Message Index
[#] Next page
Go to full version