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My first ever trucking job on my own. how did it go?

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BeJay:
James, as said above a few times don't just give up, you've spent a lot of money to get your licence, OK so you had the first day from hell but you survived so learn from it, that's how we all got our experience, I've been driving HGV's for over 30years now and I can still drop a bollock now and again, it ain't the fact that you make mistakes, (we all do now and again) it's  how you learn to extricate yourself safely from them when you do make them that counts. give yourself a month however the days seem to go so at least you'll know you gave it a fair chance, you'll be surprised how much you'll learn and how much easier it'll get in that time, and if you'll let me give you one or two tips,

invest in a really good map book like the AA truckers one, 1.5 miles to the inch, over 4,500 low bridge heights and 1,700 weak bridge limits, and most important well over 200 truck stops and cafes  :lol: you'll find it a godsend first time they give you a fully freighted 15/16' high trailer.

allways check how your load is being loaded, if the forklift driver puts it where you don't want it make him move it to where you do, ultimately the safety of the load and more importantly other road users is down to you the instant you take the motor out onto the road.

if you've got autoroute on your puter try and find out the address of where you're going the next day and have a look on autoroute the night before and print youself out a street map of the immediate area so you can take it with you, I can find my way to any area or town/city but still find this useful if it's some drop/pickup I haven't done before.

and don't be afraid to ask if you're unsure of something, most of us don't bite (well only occasionally) and if you get talking to some old/general haulage drivers ask them to show you how to tie a dolly or a double hitch properly into a rope and how to throw a loop in it and use your weight to tighten it just incase you need to rope and sheet a load someday, (not too mutch of this these days but very useful to know)

and finally I'll pass on something the guy who taught me over 30 years ogo drummed into my head (and it stuck  :)) always spend an extra 10 minutes checking your load is safe and secured properly before leaving the yard, it could well save you hours at the side of the road (not to mention a lot of embarresment and possibly money and points if plod turns up while you'r trying to sort out the mess because you didn't do it properly in the first place)

hope you find this useful and eventually make it as a trucker, good luck, Jack.[/b]

muddyjames:
cheers guys for all the advice etc.

I think investing in heavy duty ratchet straps maybe a start too instead of using the shocking tension straps that are mounted to the lorry and so confusing to use. I thought my laod was secure but the way the lorry was loaded with different style trays next to each other which a; I couldnt see as they were right at the front of the trailer, b; had no idea that 2 different types would be a problem, c; didnt know there were 2 different types could all lead to the load moving and making the tension straps un tension or bend the hook at the end so it poped off the rails. 1 tray was snapped in half!! Other drive said he had never seen a snapped tray before. Only me!!!

I was hoping to buy a truckers atlas before I did this run but couldnt find a decent one in time.

Mobi. I was SO grateful to the chap for helping me I felt I needed to give him something.

The tacho hours I know the rules like 4.5hours driving 45mins break etc, but actually implementing them was such a ball ache in such a huge way. I got to the point that I had no idea if I was legal or not or how much time I had remianing in driving hours or WTD. How do you guys all keep track of them? I tried using the stop watch on my phone but even then I got confused and sometimes forgot to lok at exactly what time I had arrived or departed from somewhere and looked approx 5 mins later. The joys of bin lorries having just a book to fill in with what you did is so much easier than a machine monitoring every last detail.

I am still in 2 minds whether to do it all again or not. I am still on the no side by a majority, just down to having such a nightmare trip. If I could find a company that sends me on a run to exactly the same place every single day and I go with a driver for the first time then yes I would do that. Finding silly little places in amongst houses or hatfield business park, no!

TDi90:
Come-on mate. Be happy.  :P
Life goes slowly if you are unhappy - particularly in a job. Take the positives from it.

beast5680:
when i started with an agency they put me in a dairy that delivered to tesco, the company put me with one of the old hands to show me the ropes for the first trip then i was on my own.
I managed to block a high street thinking i could reverse onto a loading dock at one place ,no one told me you had to unload in the road and push the trolleys in :oops: There were 45 routes out of that depot and a 3rd were considered bad runs, i got all the bad ones, i think they did it to see if you would stick it, as said get a decent map book and the other thing i did was make a note of each route i got as the agency would ring me and say "you,ve got run 18 this weekend" i would know where it went before i got there, dont fret about getting lost everybodys done it

LiftedDisco:
James...

First off... don't give up!

I remember pointing you at Towcester Health Centre for your medical some time ago... you have put too much into this to throw in the towel...

Agency driving can be horrible - I did weeks and weeks of Marks and Spencers when I first started... Milton Keynes is above the shopping centre and because the delivery route is one way, it's a blind side reverse in.  When they leave cages around the loading dock (and more outside the shop opposite) it gets very, very tight!

Likewise - the moment when I arrived at a job to find that the 'qick trip, one drop' actually meant a wagon and drag (  :shock: ) to the Heads of the Valleys road (name says it all really....) in a LEFT HAND DRIVE TRUCK.... [-X  [-X

When I (eventually) got there, it was to find that their loading bay was at different height to the wagon so we handballed something like 50+ washing machines etc out of this blasted heap...

Oh how I hated that night...

Seriously, try for some night trunking (if your other work allows...) as it tends to be collect truck, drive, unload..

Keep at it!

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