Only booked in one days work last week in a Class 1 doing a Pilkington Windscreen pick up from Birmingham and then dropping off to Ellesmere Port. So took the offer of doing Class 2 work today paying Class 1 wages.
Drops to Waitrose Cheshire & North Wales, did I enjoy it…not a bit.
Finding it difficult to drive Class 2, 8 Speed Manual split shift, No AC (27c today), Vent seeping hot air even with temp set to cold & fan off.
Did however manage to squeeze through Menai Suspension Bridge with one mirror tucked in…
Clipping corners and getting the wrong gear…Can’t wait to get back in Class 1…
I guess i did so…worst thing was I had 8 cages with 4 drops in the said vehicle and brought back 8 empties…
Mind you I do prefer a box in a Class 1 as you feel you are like a chauffeur waiting for the client {your load} to disappear and a new passenger with 26 pallets to appear without even leaving your seat!!
Not having AC in this heat ain’t something I’d wish on my worst enemy. I can’t handle hot lol. Went to Finland for my honeymoon minus 36c when we arrived. Lovely.
I don’t hate driving a rigid. I just hate multi drop which is what rigid work tends to be. Im not complaining about 5 or 6 drops, more the 20+ days. I think i will probably enjoy artic work a lot more
Excuse my naevity but with class 2 multidrops or class 2 work in general, how much pressure are you under with meeting delivery times and then offloading and reloading the empties and moving on to the next?
I only ask as i have an assesment tomo for class 2 so id like to get a heads up on how much graft is actually involved.
Every job seems to be timed now, you have a window to deliver and if you’re 1 minute late they are straight on the phone wanting to know why.
What this means for you is that if you hit any problems, miss a turn on the sat nav and have to reroute, get a wrong address, hit traffic or roadworks (i could go on but you get the picture ) you will get harassment for the rest of the day
Bost:
Excuse my naevity but with class 2 multidrops or class 2 work in general, how much pressure are you under with meeting delivery times and then offloading and reloading the empties and moving on to the next?
I only ask as i have an assesment tomo for class 2 so id like to get a heads up on how much graft is actually involved.
Cheers
The only pressure you’re under is the pressure you put yourself under. I’ve done class 2 multidrop cage work for the last three years.
First Few of those I busted a gut to get the routes completed. My reward for this a bonus, higher hourly rate? Nah, a tougher route the next day!
The days of knowledgeable transport managers planning a route so it can be completed are long gone. It’s all done by computers and I’ve never managed to turn up at a delivery, drop my tail lift and make a delivery in 6 mins yet and don’t intend to start.
In short, do your best but don’t be afraid to admit defeat.
Bost:
Excuse my naevity but with class 2 multidrops or class 2 work in general, how much pressure are you under with meeting delivery times and then offloading and reloading the empties and moving on to the next?
I only ask as i have an assesment tomo for class 2 so id like to get a heads up on how much graft is actually involved.
Cheers
The only pressure you’re under is the pressure you put yourself under. I’ve done class 2 multidrop cage work for the last three years.
First Few of those I busted a gut to get the routes completed. My reward for this a bonus, higher hourly rate? Nah, a tougher route the next day!
The days of knowledgeable transport managers planning a route so it can be completed are long gone. It’s all done by computers and I’ve never managed to turn up at a delivery, drop my tail lift and make a delivery in 6 mins yet and don’t intend to start.
In short, do your best but don’t be afraid to admit defeat.
jbaz73:
Every job seems to be timed now, you have a window to deliver and if you’re 1 minute late they are straight on the phone wanting to know why.
What this means for you is that if you hit any problems, miss a turn on the sat nav and have to reroute, get a wrong address, hit traffic or roadworks (i could go on but you get the picture ) you will get harassment for the rest of the day
I’m probably responsible for drivers getting some grief. Sorry
Currently work in catering and our deliveries are in a time slot. It’s in a quiet spot in our day and we have extra staff on. So when it’s late me or my boss is on the phone asking where are order is. Which means they’re office then harass the driver. Though it can really stuff us up when they’re really late.
Sounds to me like its not much fun…i may just have to get on to class 1 sooner rather than later. It all sounds like a bit of a nightmare as im doing multidrop at the minuite in a van and thats hard enough graft im out of the van more than im in it. Well suppose its worth trying once anyway see how it goes.
If you’re doing van work for one of the overnight parcel companies then class 2 multidrop won’t be any harder than that.
I take my hat off to those that can manage 100 drops/collections a day.
Having said that I would consider class 1 work to be much easier and would do that if it fitted around family commitments. I do some class 2 for Waitrose occasionally and find that a breeze, returning home feeling fresh as a daisy.
I’m a class 2 driver and found the job varies massively from company to company. I’ve done multi drop and hated every minute of it and supermarket work was long hours. Best thing I did was get my hiab ticket. I deliver plant now for a hire company and its by far the best driving job I’ve had. Auto gear box, don’t work weekends and done by 5pm most evenings, what more could you want!
blue estate:
I’ve finally decided to get my big boys licence after 16 years of class 2
I keep thinking about it, was my original plan, but concerned it will be the same job, but more of a ball ache as it’s bigger. A lot of places I go to are tight and then I see artics going the same way and having a nightmare. I do feel that I need my class 1 though, just for my own satisfaction of finishing what I started out to do.
I work for a food distribution companu on Class 2 and to be fair I actually enjoy the job - ONCE I’m out of the depot and on my route. I dislike the company but the job itself is pretty good and the customers are fantastic (they feed and water me).
I’m moving into general haulage this week on class 2 with a couple of nights out so i’m looking forward to it. I love class 2 work but I’m going for my class 1 in a month or so to broaden my horizons so to speak.
I’m doing mutli-drop on Class 1 and I love every dam minute of it. I hate one hitters because they don’t give me my hours. When doing multi-drop I can spend about 45 minutes at one drop because the customers insist on checking everything but then again I would too when I found out how much this stuff costs! I’d rather by out mooching about in the country side than in towns and cities mind you.
I work for Tuffnells at the moment. I sometimes do a bit of class 2 multi drop, depending how busy the depot is. I usually drop a drag trailer off (a-frame) at a customer do deliveries and collections and pick the trailer up when the customer has loaded it and head back to depot.
It can be stressful but it is experience, I doubt most class 1 drivers would do it. I really want to crack reversing these a-frame trailers though. I also love the dirty looks I get when I’m going down country lanes from angry OAPs.
I know a day driver who starts a 6am goes Essex to Birmingham everyday, so is usually getting screwed by traffic at-least twice a day, I wouldn’t be able to do that even if it is easy.
I don’t have class 1, but I have enjoyed class 2 multi, yes timings can be tight sometimes but you get to chat occasionally to people at the drops and loading and unloading stops me becoming a fat get! So I can eat cake or bacon cobs without any worry lol!
and to be fair I actually enjoy the job - ONCE I’m out of the depot and on my route. I dislike the company but the job itself is pretty good and the customers are fantastic (they feed and water me).