I hear people saying there is places in the uk were there is loads of work for hgv drivers and some places there is not so much. I wanted to ask what peoples opinions are were is the best part of the country to work ? and best pay rates for `HGV drivers class 1?
. Im going to be starting my practical training once ive got enough cash as i have passed the theory etc, i live in the suffolk area but im willing to move to were the work is when i pass, as i have no commitments.
Tonysull27:
I hear people saying there is places in the uk were there is loads of work for hgv drivers and some places there is not so much. I wanted to ask what peoples opinions are were is the best part of the country to work ? and best pay rates for `HGV drivers class 1?
. Im going to be starting my practical training once ive got enough cash as i have passed the theory etc, i live in the suffolk area but im willing to move to were the work is when i pass, as i have no commitments.
I think you will find that the Midlands are extremly busy but for pay/salary I’m not sure.
Definetly nearly every outfit from all kinds of the industry have depots there: General Haulage, Frigdes/Friggo, Container, Waste/Walking Floor, ADR/Tankers, Pallet Networks, Wide Load/Flatbed work…
Like the name says you’re quite in the middle of everything.
Felixstowe in Suffolk is busy too but don’t know pay rates there either
Rates will go down slightly as further North you go in the country but so does the cost of living.
I think if you use the search function you will find a few threads containing the same topic.
Some people move, some travel like 2-3 hrs (Trampers) or commute around 60 minutes each way for better pay and/or working conditions.
And imagine you done you 60 hrs week as a Tramper for example and than have to travel home, maybe through heavy traffic, bad weather etc. > Not for everyone
Also you could maybe have the best paying Trucking job in the country, if you don’t like the area/region where you live, don’t get on with the people there etc. your high earnings are worth nothing because you hate everything around you.
Some on here could maybe earn better here or there but can’t move or won’t move due to family, friends, hobbies…
Good luck finding the right job at the right employer in the right place which suits you 
Try different things and see where it takes you.
The midlands are indeed busy, as Sammy will agree. I get 4 or 5 job offers a week (unsolicited)
You aren’t that far from Herts/London, that should be pretty reasonable for wages. Always remember that the hourly rate is only part of the equation - what is overtime, weekend, bank holiday rates like, do they pay through breaks.
Good morning Albion, aren’t we the early birds today? 
jbaz73:
Good morning Albion, aren’t we the early birds today?
I might be a mere desk driver these days 
, but I still get up at 5.15 to walk the mutts
Lol, that’s why I have 4 cats… self walking 
I can pretend I’m fit though cos walking is exercise! 
Come to the midlands (Birmingham for me). Rent a cheap room.
I could personally get you signed up with work full time. I’m not willing to go into wages - as it causes grief. But you would be pleasantly surprised. I passed class 2 in January (on here you will be told there is no work) - and I’ve always been offered more work than I’m willing or able to do. Note - I’m not special. I have/had a pretty shocking driving record when I first passed my class 2. Touch wood I’ve been okay on class 1.
An agency I use (those evil people you read about on here) would invite you in. Make you a cup of tea. And then put you in work to build your experience if you were not confident. That might be just doing bonded trailer drop and swaps - easy work. Huge RDC’s with all the room in the world. And you’d be paid well for it. Once you told them you were ready to step up they’d get you in with more interesting work.
The nice thing about the midlands is - it’s cheap to live here. The wages are good. And you can usually see another large company desperate drivers from the transport office window. The companies know it’s much harder for them to get a driver than you a job. So they have to behave themselves.
albion:
You aren’t that far from Herts/London, that should be pretty reasonable for wages. Always remember that the hourly rate is only part of the equation - what is overtime, weekend, bank holiday rates like, do they pay through breaks.
Albion speaks an awful amount of sense. You need to look at the overall package
But she is missing one important thing - happiness.
My highest paying job is okay… And I mean okay. But I’d die inside if I had to work there full time. They micromanage you. They annoy me. They have silly rules. And generally they have a blame culture. If person A complains, they go to person B and that person then blames person C. All this creates a mountain of paperwork, improves nothing - and is actually pretty toxic.
I’d rather earn slightly less and not have to play games and pass the buck. Sometimes things happen. That’s life. The worst part is - some people start to believe in this rubbish and take offence when someone like me comes in and ridicules it. They feel it a personal affront to everything they stand for. And I’m talking about drivers and former drivers here. Office wombles are a whole other set of creatures.
You do indeed have to look at the whole package; happiness/job satisfaction/work life balance are all to me more important than the wage. Not saying that isn’t important 
I could easily make 10k more a year, but I wouldn’t be in such a cushy number working set hours. Take right now, I’m doing the trailers for the night, but I can afford to be on here writing this; I will be finished by 8.30-9 and I will sit in a warm office till 3 sleeping or watching trucker jay videos (I had never seen one till last night, I don’t know why all the hate; I think he is the funniest thing I’ve ever seen, mr bean meets Mr ■■■■■■■ He is the most hilarious tithead I’ve ever seen)
I would have thought that Suffolk and the surrounding areas being a large agricultural area as well as home to a fair few food manufacturers and a great big Port is probably as good as anywhere, if not better than most.