Very ignorant comments from some people on here, class 2 work can be very challenging due to the fact they get sent to housing estates/closes/ cul-de-sacs and require a lot of skill navigating around obstacles, cars and everything else in the way.
Artics go along motorways and deliver to large depots or places designed to have a 44tonner in them.
Lot of skill in both jobs, and with regards to not flashing vehicles in on motorways is just pure ignorance.
We’re professional drivers for a reason, and should act like it.
newmercman:
I never spoke to 7.5t drivers anyway. They’re not lorries, never have been and never will be, just little vans. In fact any four wheeler is only a puddle jumper really, the big long 18tonners are the only real lorries with only two axles.That isn’t to say I wouldn’t drive a puddle jumper for the right money, as I most definitely would, but that doesn’t change the hierarchy, even though a big rigid can be far more of a headache than an artic in a tight spot, they’re still only little puddle jumpers compared to an artic.
Rigid drivers tend to work harder too, much more physical labour involved, even if it’s only opening doors or curtains, they’ll do it a lot more times a day than an artic driver would. Multi drop work also involves a lot of route planning and knowing how to get the best out of a day’s work, so the drivers themselves are harder working than most artic drivers.
I’m quite lucky to have driven pretty much every configuration on the roads (except the big heavy haul stuff) rigids from 7.5t to 8 wheelers, artics, A frame wagon and drags and also A and B trains.
The bigger the lorry, the more money I seem to earn and I don’t have to work as hard to get it either.
In which case seriously if it was/is a hierarchy then firstly they got the old class number system wrong in that it ( should have been ) rigid pulling one or more A frame drawbars class 1,artics class 2, and rigids regardless of axle numbers class 3.‘Class 1’ in that case as always meaning self taught with no need for a seperate test and if someone can handle that then they can handle anything including artics. 
While desy’s ideas seem to be based on the EU system which says that putting a close coupled trailer with a rigid means the same thing as ( what should have been ) class 1. 
I agree an A frame drawbar is far more difficult to handle than an artic.
Crane-boy:
Very ignorant comments from some people on here, class 2 work can be very challenging due to the fact they get sent to housing estates/closes/ cul-de-sacs and require a lot of skill navigating around obstacles, cars and everything else in the way.
Artics go along motorways and deliver to large depots or places designed to have a 44tonner in them.
Lot of skill in both jobs, and with regards to not flashing vehicles in on motorways is just pure ignorance.
We’re professional drivers for a reason, and should act like it.
Tesco drivers might just deliver to depots, but general hauliers don’t. Some of the places we go to like farms and inner city back streets it’s challenging. When I’ve got to get cars moved and have to jack it in blindside it can get stressful. Even when there’s someone watching me in they are usually neither use nor ornament. That said I like the variety of every day being different and wouldn’t want the same a to b runs day in day out.
Crane-boy:
Very ignorant comments from some people on here, class 2 work can be very challenging due to the fact they get sent to housing estates/closes/ cul-de-sacs and require a lot of skill navigating around obstacles, cars and everything else in the way.
Artics go along motorways and deliver to large depots or places designed to have a 44tonner in them.
Lot of skill in both jobs, and with regards to not flashing vehicles in on motorways is just pure ignorance.
We’re professional drivers for a reason, and should act like it.
The idea of artics being accepted as being top dog was just an ( erroneous ) accident of history.At the end of the day the rigid and drawbar trailer/s will always ultimately be able to handle more weight and payload because it doesn’t use a non productive tractor unit to pull it all with and A frames work on the principle of train weight,which means maximum allowed weight on each component without weight transfer issues.While it will also have at least one extra point of articulation than the artic/A train combination.While history and even the pre EU licence system shows that it was the old fashioned rigid trailer ( ‘class 2’ ) driver who was more than capable of handling that ultimate configuration with no need for a seperate test or licence.
Crane-boy:
Very ignorant comments from some people on here, class 2 work can be very challenging due to the fact they get sent to housing estates/closes/ cul-de-sacs and require a lot of skill navigating around obstacles, cars and everything else in the way.
Artics go along motorways and deliver to large depots or places designed to have a 44tonner in them.
Lot of skill in both jobs, and with regards to not flashing vehicles in on motorways is just pure ignorance.
We’re professional drivers for a reason, and should act like it.
Tris:
Crane-boy:
Very ignorant comments from some people on here, class 2 work can be very challenging due to the fact they get sent to housing estates/closes/ cul-de-sacs and require a lot of skill navigating around obstacles, cars and everything else in the way.
Artics go along motorways and deliver to large depots or places designed to have a 44tonner in them.
Lot of skill in both jobs, and with regards to not flashing vehicles in on motorways is just pure ignorance.
We’re professional drivers for a reason, and should act like it.Tesco drivers might just deliver to depots, but general hauliers don’t. Some of the places we go to like farms and inner city back streets it’s challenging.
Blimey spare a thought for the old fashioned eight wheeler rigid and A frame trailer drivers with no power steering who had all that to contend with in addition to rope and sheet both the wagon and the drag.Many of who would have been turned into literally second class drivers overnight v their silly little artic driving counterparts when the HGV licencing system was introduced.
…" During the war…"
Carryfast:
Tris:
Crane-boy:
Very ignorant comments from some people on here, class 2 work can be very challenging due to the fact they get sent to housing estates/closes/ cul-de-sacs and require a lot of skill navigating around obstacles, cars and everything else in the way.
Artics go along motorways and deliver to large depots or places designed to have a 44tonner in them.
Lot of skill in both jobs, and with regards to not flashing vehicles in on motorways is just pure ignorance.
We’re professional drivers for a reason, and should act like it.Tesco drivers might just deliver to depots, but general hauliers don’t. Some of the places we go to like farms and inner city back streets it’s challenging.
Blimey spare a thought for the old fashioned eight wheeler rigid and A frame trailer drivers with no power steering who had all that to contend with in addition to rope and sheet both the wagon and the drag.Many of who would have been turned into literally second class drivers overnight v their silly little artic driving counterparts when the HGV licencing system was introduced.
Not just a rigid then.
Tris:
Carryfast:
Tris:
Crane-boy:
Very ignorant comments from some people on here, class 2 work can be very challenging due to the fact they get sent to housing estates/closes/ cul-de-sacs and require a lot of skill navigating around obstacles, cars and everything else in the way.
Artics go along motorways and deliver to large depots or places designed to have a 44tonner in them.
Lot of skill in both jobs, and with regards to not flashing vehicles in on motorways is just pure ignorance.
We’re professional drivers for a reason, and should act like it.Tesco drivers might just deliver to depots, but general hauliers don’t. Some of the places we go to like farms and inner city back streets it’s challenging.
Blimey spare a thought for the old fashioned eight wheeler rigid and A frame trailer drivers with no power steering who had all that to contend with in addition to rope and sheet both the wagon and the drag.Many of who would have been turned into literally second class drivers overnight v their silly little artic driving counterparts when the HGV licencing system was introduced.
Not just a rigid then.
Firstly there’s no way that a rigid without a trailer can be classed as being in the same league of driver skill set requirement as with one.Or for that matter a max weight/size artic.Although obviously containing a number of points where at least the largest types of rigids need a special type of approach of their own.
However the issue seems to be all about the superiority or otherwise of the ‘class 1’ category.Which,until recently,was a licence category specific to the artic configuration.The argument in that case being that the ‘class 1’ category was and still is in the form of C + E an erroneous one.Which in all cases didn’t/doesn’t recognise the rigid and A frame trailer configuration as top dog.IE class 1 while the C + E category is even worse in not only not differentiating artics from drawbars it also doesn’t differentiate the close coupled trailer from the A frame type.
All of which being totally irrelevant bearing in mind that what ( should have been class 1 ) ( rightly ) didn’t even need a seperate test to drive it v a rigid anyway throughout the history of the non EU imposed UK licence categories .The ( correct ) inference being that rigid drivers were considered as being good enough to be able to teach themselves how to handle an A frame trailer put on the back.Ironically together with the ( erroneous ) inference that artics were supposedly of a higher skill requirement. 
so glad to be driving a van and not giving a [zb]
newmercman:
schrodingers cat:
newmercman:
schrodingers cat:
I stopped driving for a living last October so I look down on all of you. [emoji38]Ah but did you?
Yes I work for BT now as an aerial cabler, up telegraph poles, so I look down on you literally. [emoji14]
Whooooosh…
It was in reference to the cat in the box, is it…
Or isn’t it…
LOL now that’s the whoosh to beat all whooshes, went just under my feet cos I’m up a pole.
[emoji38] [emoji38]
I was given a 7.5 tonner instead of usual artic. I felt like a right nob
emwmarine:
Whbut I always look down on Ocado van delivery drivers.
Unless i’m on my bike.
I’ve always flash ocado drivers, they are stuck at 52-54 and normally just creap past me.
I’ll flash anyone if they are limited and taking an age to get past
Except the polish in their stupid 3.5t vans, they sit there all day and expect you to flash them in, these are the ones that need to learn the length of their vehicles! Not the rigid drivers
Let’s put it this way, yesterday I was overtaken by one of our 12t (essentially an uprated) 7.5t DAF LF and he had to look up to me in my DAF XF to give me the thumbs up, thereby end of argument
The thread that just keeps on giving 
This thread is fantastic entertainment
Have to say I feel like a bit of a fraud when I have to park my little puddle jumper in amongst the “proper” lorries at the services. Often wish I could park with the cars and vans and dread wondering what all the blokes in their artics think when they see a little woman jump out of it 
But I’m only just starting out and am hoping to progress to Cat C (or 2nd class trucker according to this thread) and eventually C+E if/when funds permit. Maybe one day I’ll be a real lorry driver and you lot won’t look down on me
cupcake1973:
This thread is fantastic entertainmentHave to say I feel like a bit of a fraud when I have to park my little puddle jumper in amongst the “proper” lorries at the services. Often wish I could park with the cars and vans and dread wondering what all the blokes in their artics think when they see a little woman jump out of it
But I’m only just starting out and am hoping to progress to Cat C (or 2nd class trucker according to this thread) and eventually C+E if/when funds permit. Maybe one day I’ll be a real lorry driver and you lot won’t look down on me
as I said in an earlier post about this topic,a driver is a driver irrelevant of the size of vehicle,we all have to put up with the same crap on the roads,and if it wasn’t for drivers[vans up to artics] this country would never run as it does now
cupcake1973:
This thread is fantastic entertainmentHave to say I feel like a bit of a fraud when I have to park my little puddle jumper in amongst the “proper” lorries at the services. Often wish I could park with the cars and vans and dread wondering what all the blokes in their artics think when they see a little woman jump out of it
Maybe one day I’ll be a real lorry driver and you lot won’t look down on me
That has just reminded me, when I was young keen and wide eyed about the job , I started on a Transit pick up on long distance until I got my Class1. I had just seen the Convoy film so I used to dress US style in checked lumberjack shirt, 501s, body warmer, cap and cowboy boots in my mind I was ‘real trucker’ but must have looked a complete ■■■■ dressed like The Rubber duck/Kristofferson in my little transit. 
Burton services on the M6 was a regular stop for drivers at that time, and the truck park faced the cafe. I was sat with about 4 older drivers (we all used to talk to each other then ) one of them pointed to a brand new 141 Scania, …they were the dogs wotsits then, and said ‘What do you think of the new motor lads’
As the conversation went on I was asked which was mine, I was a bit embarrased to tell them, so I pointed to a Volvo 88 and said ‘That one parked beside that little transit’
The bloke sat next to me says ‘Pick another one son…that’s mine’