jessicas dad:
sounds like a typical day for asda.i do agency work for asda out of normanton.
you beat me to it alex
us the same as normy
great read brought back bad memories though 
jon
Sunday 13th August
Started 12 noon at Woodwards, for what I’d been told was a trunking run, although I had no idea where. I’ve worked for them a few times before, but I’ve only been driver’s mate or driving a van, so this was my first time driving a real truck for them.
Anyway, got given the keys to a Hill Hire 26t Merc Axor rigid, and told to bring it from the yard to the warehouse for loading, which I duly did.
My load consisted of part frozen (one CHEP pallet “loaded” with three boxes, covering about a third of the area of the pallet), and part ambient (one CHEP pallet “loaded” up to about calf height).
Funnily enough, I decided not to lower the tag axle. 
With the bulkhead in place separating the frozen load from the ambient load and everything closed up it was time to get on the road. My destination was Woodward’s depot in Crawley.
So, it’s off up the M4, round the M25 and down the M23. Coming up towards the M25 (one of the Slough exits IIRC) I pulled out to let an Ontime Automotive truck join, as he was going significantly slower, and I didn’t want to force him to stop. His load was a Vauxhall Tigra - nothing unusual in that, except that it was on its roof with various bits of vegetation sticking out. Oops. Surprisingly enough, I didn’t take any photos as I needed to make sure I didn’t cause another accident…
The M25 was its usual slow self on the approach to the M23 exit 
but it wasn’t too bad, and eventually I arrived in Crawley. The directions I’d been given were good, although I had to pull over once to give me the chance to read them, and eventually I arrived at the depot.
I completely misjudged the turn into the depot, taking it way to shallow, and had to reverse back onto the road a bit to make the turn 
. Even with an axle up, the Axor had a turning circle which would rival the Titanic, and lock-to-lock on the steering wheel seemed to take forever, so it really needed to be steered frantically to get it to turn at any kind of speed.
Just as I arrived the trunker who left before me finished his loading, so I took his bay as it was the only one free. Unsuprisingly, it didn’t take long to unload, and I reloaded with my return load - six cages. Again, I decided to leave the axle up
After pulling off the bay, I took a 30 minute break (I’d stopped for a 15 in Reading services), and then set off up back for Bristol.
Everything was going nicely until I started to approach the M25/A3 junction, and I heard on the radio that the M25 was down to one lane due to flooding. I then spent the next hour and a half crawling at about 2 mph round to the M3 exit through varying levels of rain up to torrential downpours. Still, we got to watch an excellent thunderstorm 
Once past the M3 it started to pick up a bit, but the rain carried on to the M4. A few junctions down the M4, and suddenly the rain disappeared, and the road was dry, and that was it.
I was starting to get a bit worried about my driving hours, as I realised that it was going to be a close call on whether I’d have to take a second 45 - the journey back to Bristol was taking me quite close to a 4 1/2 hour driving period. I stopped in Chievely to go to the loo, and I almost extended it to a 15-minute break so that I could then only take a 30, but I decided to risk it, and head straight back to Bristol and try to fit it in.
As I was getting close to Bristol I had 20 minutes driving time left. The fuel card was for Keyfuels, and the filling station near to Woodwards is a bit tight for a 7.5t, let alone a 26t, so if I wanted to fill up I’d have to divert to Aust.
I decided that I wasn’t going to bother filling up (the tank was still half-full anyway), as there was no way I could get across to Aust and down to Avonmouth in 20 minutes, and I didn’t really feel like having to have a 45 a couple of miles from Avonmouth…
So, I went straight down to Avonmouth (pulled in with 10 minutes to spare - whew), unloaded my massive quantity of cargo and clocked off. Why on earth they didn’t send me in a 7.5t I’ve no idea (since they had them spare).
490 km covered, 9 1/4 hours paid.
Pics:
Parked up at Reading services:
This is the M25? I never would have guessed
Parked on the bay for (un)loading:
There may be trouble ahead…
Yep, and this is it…
A nice read with wonderful photos
of one of the biggest parking areas
in the uk
No photos this time - forgot to take the camera
Saturday 26th August
Started 8am at Sainsbury’s Emerald Park - my first ever shift for Sainsbury’s (and Exel) - I thought that they had the 2-year rule, but I guess not.
Anyway, I was given a quick intro by an agency driver from NIS, who was rather helpful - led me to the transport office and showed me the agency driver form I had to fill in. He also said that I was likely to be waiting at least an hour for a load.
He was right.
After reading most of a copy of Computer Shopper and receiving some helpful instruction and advice from one of the staff drivers (what to fill in on the paperwork, where everything is, etc.), I finally get a load at 09:40 , and the keys to a 53-plate Volvo FM12 (I think). A check of the unit reveals some damage to the drivers’ mirror (which I noted), but nothing more serious, so it’s off to find my trailer.
Out the gates at 10:00, and off down the road. My destination? Exeter and Sherborne.
Lovely. Leaving at 10am to go to Exeter on the Saturday of the August Bank Holiday Weekend. This is going to be fun. Not.
Hit the first traffic jam just after leaving the M4 to join the M5, and it was stop-start all the way to the Clevedon exit. It then eased off a bit, but there were at least 5 other stoppages on the way down, including a bit by Tiverton where there were 3 rear-shunt collisions on the opposite carriageway in quick succession - people obviously not looking where they’re going
Anyway, I eventually get to the Exeter exit (I want J29, as I’ve got the Pinhoe Road store), and I start off up the road following the map I’ve been given. There’s a low bridge on the way which isn’t on the map they gave me, or my Truckers’ atlas, so I pull over and check the height (I left my tape measure at home by accident, so I had to rely on the markings on the trailer), and I’ve got at least half a metre of clearance, so I carry on under the bridge, and then turn left (southbound) on the Pinhoe road before going all the way around the first roundabout so that I’m going northbound (there is no right turn allowed). On the way around the roundabout I demolished a road cone that I couldn’t avoid because there wasn’t enough room to get round otherwise
I got to where the Sainsbury’s map said the store would be, and there was no sign of it. I carried on up the road a bit, and then saw it on the right, but it was too late - I was in the left-hand lane, and I needed to be at least two lanes to the right to be able to turn right.
I carried on up the road, hoping to find somewhere to turn around, and fortunately I found a double mini-roundabout, which had a two-lane entry to the first roundabout. I got all the way over to the left-hand side, and just managed to swing it around the first mini-roundabout, using a bit of the island and pavement on the right-hand side. Luckily, all the car drivers realised what I was doing, and gave me enough room.
Anyway, into the store, and after about 15 minutes I manage to wake up someone on the back door to open the gates and let me in. I’d already looked through the gates and seen that there was loads of room in the yard. “This’ll be nice and easy” I thought.
Stupid me.
The yard was easy. The bay was not.
There were two bays, and the space between them was full of a row of pallets with trays on. The other side had metal bollards to stop you going too far off-track, as the store wall was only a few more feet away. About half a truck-length in front of the bay, the store wall came out about 1/4 of a truck width into the path of the bay, and there was a big metal post there to protect the building corner - basically, exactly where you want to put the tractor unit to straighten up the trailer.
I’d guess it took me about 15 minutes to get it on the bay but I got there in the end. It wasn’t helped by the fact that the Volvo has the Crawler and Reverse gears in exactly the opposite places to Scanias that I normally get, so pretty much every single time I stuck it into crawler rather than reverse . I checked the bay after I’d finished, and there was about 6" clearance to the piles of trays on the right-hand side, and 6" clearance to the metal posts on the left-hand side. Not an easy bay.
Once I’d finally got on the bay, I was told that the guy who was supposed to do the unloading was still on his lunch break, and would be another 10 minutes, so they took me up to the store canteen to wait. Apparently there were supposed to be three people unloading, but there was only one on duty.
Unloading was a royal PITA, as some of the cages were badly loaded - one of them was of the open back and front type, and was loaded with wine and spirits - I pulled it out, and two bottles of wine and a box of gin fell off the back before I could catch them. The wine bounced (shock), but the gin didn’t, so we then had to clear up a load of broken glass. I tried to rescue the remainder of the bottles as best I could. A can of cat food also bit the dust as it fell off and got rolled over by a cage, so the trailer started to stink of cat food, even though I cleaned it up as well as I could 
We unloaded the rest of the store’s load, and the store was really full of cages, so I agreed to take some back, but that meant unloading all of Sherborne’s as well.
We got that lot off, reloaded with a 3/4 load of cages, and put Sherborne’s load back on, but I wasn’t sure whether we had the right number of cages - the trailer lights weren’t working, and it was a bit difficult to count the cages that we’d loaded. We looked around for the extra Sherborne cage, but couldn’t find it, and as I’d been on the (only) bay for one and three quarter hours, and there were now 4 trucks waiting in the queue, I decided to go on to Sherborne and hope that I had the right number. The guy on the bay agreed to send Sherborne’s cage back if they found it. I suspect that the manager-type guy who turned up to help took it away without realising that it wasn’t for them.
The trip back up was uneventful - I pulled into Taunton Deane MSA for my 45 as my 6 hours WTD period was up, only to find the truck park containing two other trucks and virtually all of the rest of the spaces taken up by caravans. I wouldn’t mind if they actually parked within the bays, but the way they had all parked, it was quite difficult to work out where the bays actually were.
The route into Sherborne wasn’t too bad, except for turning left at this corner which is a very tight uphill corner - I had to use both sides of both roads, and managed to stall it half way round
Into the store, and this is obviously a really tight yard. You go through the gates which are in the middle of a wall. The wall to your right forms the left-hand side of the bay. You have open yard ahead and to the left, although not much of it. The right-hand side of the bay is bounded by a marquee that they’ve erected to use as extra storage, and it’s protected by a CHEP pallet leaning up against the side. The pallet is on the outside edge of the yellow bay line, and the left-hand side has metal bollards just outside the yellow bay lines. Again, not an easy bay - they’ve given me right stinkers today.
Anyway, I got it on eventually, (maybe I’m finally getting the hang of this - I only steered the wrong way once this time ) and we go to unload.
There’s been some more casualties this time - pickled onions, apple sauce and another box of wine (although the bottles didn’t actually break, but they were rolling around in the trailer). Yum.
We unload, and discover that in fact, I didn’t have all of Sherborne’s cages with me. I told them that it was at Pinhoe Road (if it was on the trailer at all), and they seemed happy with that.
Eventually after clearing up the mess in the trailer, I was ready to leave. Getting out was going to be difficult, so I asked the back door guy what the best way was. His response:
“We’re not allowed to help you. You’re not allowed to reverse out. You go straight forwards, then follow the yard edge around, reversing back into your trailer as necessary, and then go out the gates forwards.”
Hmm, this is going to be very tight. I lift up the tag axle to make sure that I can make it as tight as possible, and start the manouevre. I got out once to check that the rear swing of the trailer wasn’t going to hit the gates/wall, and sure enough, it came around, although I had to reverse back towards the trailer twice to get it bent tightly enough - well beyond the 90-degree point, and getting close to the trailer hitting the wind deflector 
. I gave the yard guy a “phew” gesture on the way out
The run back was uneventful, although I ignored the official route (A372-M5-M4-M32-A4174) and chose the A37 instead, as it’s much more direct.
13 hours done, first Sainsbury’s shift over 
Only two more supermarket chains I haven’t worked for now - Waitrose (no RDC in the area AFAIK) and Morrisons (2-year rule when they were Safeway’s)
One final thought - who on earth in Sainsbury’s decided to call pallets “boards” and cages “rolling pallets”?
Thanks again a nice post,keep em comeing
good diary and pics Mrfibble,those supermarket yards can certainly be tight.
regrds derek
You dun half damage a lot of stock Mr Fibble…
Good read mate keep em coming 
Good Read
Good read Mr. Fibble.
If my experiances can help at all (I’ve been a driver for Asda at Portbury & now drive for NFT at Patchway on a Sainsburys contract) never ever pick up empties if you have another store to deliver to, even if the backdoor man begs you. You should never have to unload someone elses delivery to get empties on. Tell them to stick them on the next truck.
Also if you’re ever under pressure to get on a tight bay or make a tight turn in their yard get them to move something & remember that you are the boss when it comes to anything involved with the movments of the truck. Don’t be talked into doing something thats stupid or unsafe. After all, you know best, they ain’t qualified to do what we do.
As for working for Morrisons I think that their agency requirements are fulfilled by ADR.
Happy Trucking.
Good read Mr F, and thanks for the photo’s of some very familiar black top.
thecoder0:
You dun half damage a lot of stock Mr Fibble…
It’s not my fault!
Sarcastic git
Seriously, some of the cages (sorry, “rolling pallets”), even the ones with 3 metal sides, had plastic sheets which were shaped into a tube, stretched across the open side(s) to stop the stuff toppling out. What I couldn’t understand was why they’d put the sheets on 3-sided cages containing mostly tins and other unbreakable stuff, but then leave a 2-sided cage completely unprotected even though it’s loaded with wine and spirits.
And everything apart from the gin fell off whilst in transit, not whilst I was unloading it.
Life’s a Gas:
If my experiances can help at all (I’ve been a driver for Asda at Portbury & now drive for NFT at Patchway on a Sainsburys contract) never ever pick up empties if you have another store to deliver to, even if the backdoor man begs you. You should never have to unload someone elses delivery to get empties on. Tell them to stick them on the next truck.
Yes, I normally would have done, but their back door area was so chocked full of cages that it was causing serious difficulty with unloading - they were getting to the point where they might have to refuse to accept a load because all the room was taken up with cages.
Life’s a Gas:
Also if you’re ever under pressure to get on a tight bay or make a tight turn in their yard get them to move something & remember that you are the boss when it comes to anything involved with the movments of the truck. Don’t be talked into doing something thats stupid or unsafe. After all, you know best, they ain’t qualified to do what we do.
Yes, I’ve asked for things to be moved before, but in both cases I knew that the only thing I could hit wouldn’t be a problem (bollards, pallets, trays, etc.). The marquee was a bit of an issue, so I made sure I always knew where it was.
After all, let’s face it, if you don’t challenge yourself, you’re never going to get any better, are you?
Just to demonstrate to thecoder0 how to quote some messages…
trucking482002:
good diary and pics Mrfibble
thecoder0:
You dun half damage a lot of stock Mr Fibble…
Life’s a Gas:
Good read Mr. Fibble
Why is it that no-one can spell my username correctly 
[
[quote=Why is it that no-one can spell my username correctly [/quote]
I have a dixlexic PC have it back to PC World but it is out of worranti
MrFlibble:
thecoder0:
You dun half damage a lot of stock Mr Fibble… :wink
It’s not my fault!Sarcastic git
Me sarkastik nevre