renaultman:
Another thing.
All this I get paid by the hour, it’s service maintained etc, what if something minor goes wrong, you’ve got 2 hours spreadover left, and you’re on a promise? I bet you wish you had your pliers, cable ties then?
Excuse me, what does mean “to be on a promise”? I don’t catch this.
It’s the same like “to be promised something”? But in that case what you had promised?
I simply do not get that in english, sorry 
I think a lot of this discussion has a lot do do with peoples attitude towards who they work for. My company has no problem with calling out a fitter, but when i need a day off at short notice or i need an early finish, they remember that i saved them £300 by getting my hands dirty for 20 mins. Everyone’s happy !
Any one notice the one tool i don’t carry??
Dids:
I think a lot of this discussion has a lot do do with peoples attitude towards who they work for. My company has no problem with calling out a fitter, but when i need a day off at short notice or i need an early finish, they remember that i saved them £300 by getting my hands dirty for 20 mins. Everyone’s happy !
That’s true, it’s not a problem for me as well to do something extra and I won’t call the service van to change a bulb - I will just buy a bulb and put it on my expenses form.
But what if there will be something wrong? I am not too good in mechanical things, so I would prefere to leave it in peace rather than to try fix something and [zb] it.
Well as far as repair kit goes I always carried an assortment of trailer bulbs and lenses and a few spanners and screwdrivers.
If you are on any sort of trailer change work, be that containers or imports, these are just extras you would always had with you as part of the job plus I’m sure your employer isn’t going to thank you for calling out a repair service for a blown bulb or a missing lens on the trailer!! 
It amazes me that these days ‘so called class 1 drivers’ seem to have a problem with very small running repairs, ‘yer know like changing a blown bulb or a missing lens.’ Its no wonder that foreign competition is taking all the work. I am not a mechanic or fitter but I always knew how do to a little ‘bodge job’ to get me to the drop for a professional repair or back home to get things sorted.
Because I’ve always been an employed driver I’ve never felt the need to carry a comprehensive tool kit but have always carried enough kit to get myself out of trouble and that has always been to my benefit and also saved the company I was working for money. I sure some of the big logistics cos; that dominate today do say to their ‘steering wheel attendants’ don’t touch anything because you are only a driver and you won’t know how to change a bulb but maybe thats one of the reasons I got out of the game when I did. 
I got slightly off topic question: Is some basic maintentance of vehicle part of HGV training in UK?
In Poland it not works well, but there are some theorethical issues and some kind of daily routine check is part of your test. You have to show where some basic things are like fuses, lights, oil stick etc.
Good point !. Obviously if you are inclined to have a crack at it yourself, only do what you are confident to repair. But with the price of fuel at the moment, the ‘I’m paid by the hour anyway’ attitude and the increasing amount of posts about firms going bust I try to save my company as much as I can. I’d rather them put they’re cash into wages as opposed to avoidable costs.
orys:
renaultman:
Another thing.
All this I get paid by the hour, it’s service maintained etc, what if something minor goes wrong, you’ve got 2 hours spreadover left, and you’re on a promise? I bet you wish you had your pliers, cable ties then?Excuse me, what does mean “to be on a promise”? I don’t catch this.
It’s the same like “to be promised something”? But in that case what you had promised?
I simply do not get that in english, sorry
A ladies favours 
For us old married men it only happens at Christmas Birthdays and anniversaries 
Did you know most motor factors will deliver to the truck if you are either at a company’s premises or broken down on the road.
(maybe not hard shoulder).
brit pete:
You are required over here to carry
certain tools when carrying ADR-HAZ
so that you can do a repair job if it
is within your capabilities , change tyre
refit new mirror etc ,
Hi Pete, this looks like it might be the start of another interesting debate… 
So where does the tools requirement come from and who does it affect?
Where can I read the list of “certain tools?”
To save you some time, there’s no mention of “certain tools” in ADR, so is it in GGVSE then?.
Or will this turn out to be another ‘company policy’ ?
Armagedon:
Tramp
The problem today is that you are not allowed in dealerships workshops,they don’t want you to see what they don’t do but because of my attitude,whichever vehicle I have owned I have tried to be on hand when repairs or service are carried out and ask many questions.
Smaller operators with their own workshops do give drivers the chance to learn a bit if they want…
But today most trucks are electronic pieces of junk so without an on hand computor you couldn’t do owt anyway.
Vehicle repairs which you could manage are just common sense,do it by deduction,depends how desperate you are to get to a proper ■■■■■■■■■■■■ just down the road.
yes. Im pretty good at simple car repairs like bulb changing and tyre changing but i wouldnt have a clue how to translate that to a wagon. What if you blow a tyre on a trailer - i’d have no idea how to jack the trailer up for example. Also is changing a bulb on a unit the same as on a car? id like to learn all this stuff as i would like to do continent work in the future i just dont know how to go about learning it.
Driveroneuk:
Did you know most motor factors will deliver to the truck if you are either at a company’s premises or broken down on the road.
I’ve known ARCO to have delivered fire extinguishers to a truck arrying dangerous goods that got ‘captured’ at a VOSA checkpoint.
It was going nowhere until the correct extinguishers were on board, then VOSA lifted the PG9.
MR VAIN:
Any one notice the one tool i don’t carry??
Condoms?
MR VAIN:
Any one notice the one tool i don’t carry??
Wheel brace? I do, but don’t carry spare wheels so it’s ATS/HiQ and another day of zero profit 
As an agency driver,I carry sweet fa.
I’m paid to drive,not repair,and if it breaks down,and a fitter needs to come out,then so what,I’m paid by the hour.
And I don’t care what anyone thinks,I have an HGV licence,not a City and Guilds in changing a bulb,and if I were to do any repairs,the way I see it,I could be doing someone out of their bonus.
Ken.
i carry nothing now and do no repairs whatsoever.
i had my own truck for years and did it all.
i carry a screwdriver set to get at wiring in the dash for personal electrical requirments.
i did a small job on a trailer many years ago.
i changed the electric susie plug on the trailer.
i went to the motor factor and got the plug and a screwdriver on the bosses account.
i had spanners of my own to get the plug off.
thew haulier stopped the price of the screwdriver out of my wages.
i didnt want the screwdrive,i have loads of my own.
he said he didnt want it either.
it was only £1.50.
i saved him getting an autospark out.
i havent touched a truck since and never will again.
anyway,
who wants dirty hands?
not me.
DaiDap:
MR VAIN:
Any one notice the one tool i don’t carry??
Not quite. A hammer. I just can’t be trusted!! I also accept that agency drivers don’t carry tools or do repairs, but, if i put a driver on my lorry for the day, i would expect them to do minor (get yr self out of a muddle) repairs with the equipment provided.
dieseldave:
brit pete:
You are required over here to carry
certain tools when carrying ADR-HAZ
so that you can do a repair job if it
is within your capabilities , change tyre
refit new mirror etc ,Hi Pete, this looks like it might be the start of another interesting debate…
So where does the tools requirement come from and who does it affect?
Where can I read the list of “certain tools?”To save you some time, there’s no mention of “certain tools” in ADR, so is it in GGVSE then?.
Or will this turn out to be another ‘company policy’ ?
I believe that the requirements over there in Brit Pete land may have come from this snippet Dave, The old 1996 ADR regulations.
3.2. Vehicle requirements
Transport by road may take place as bulk materials, or in containers and tanks.
The detailed technical requirements for different transport methods are usually given in national regulations.The transporter should check that the following documents are attached:
transport document (letter of consignment);
declaration that the packing and labelling is properly done;
transport emergency card (instructions in writing in case of accident or emergency that may occur during transport);
driver’s training certificate;
certificate of approval given by technical inspection for the tank and vehicle;
labels and placards for the vehicle;
packing certificate of the container.
Every transport unit carrying dangerous goods should be equipped with:fire-fighting appliances (chosen according to the type of load);
tool kit for emergency repairs to the vehicle;
at least one scotch (mechanical brake) of a size suitable for the weight of the vehicle and the size of the tyre;
two amber lights independent of the electrical system of the vehicle;
placards, according to the transported goods;
protective equipment (for personal protection, absorbing material for spills, etc.).
However it appears this requirement was dropped in the January 2007 regulations and replaced by this as quoted here;
Every transport unit carrying dangerous goods shall be equipped with:
(a) The following general purpose safety equipment:
- For each vehicle, at least one chock of a size suited to the weight of the vehicle
and to the diameter of the wheels;- Two self-standing warning signs (e.g. reflective cones or triangles or flashing
amber lights which are independent from the electrical equipment of the
vehicle);- A suitable warning vest or warning clothing (e.g. as described in European
Standard EN 471) for each member of the vehicle crew;- A pocket lamp (see also 8.3.4) for each member of the vehicle crew;
(b) A respiratory protective device in conformity with additional requirement S7
(see Chapter 8.5) if this additional requirement applies according to the indication in
Column (19) of Table A of Chapter 3.2;
(c) The personal protection and the equipment necessary to take the additional and/or
special actions referred to in the instructions in writing set out in 5.4.3.
The whole document can be found here.
_[u]**http://www.unece.org/trans/danger/publi/adr/adr2007/07ContentsE.html**[/u]_
Hey Ken, I’d bet you would change a bulb if it meant you got back home after being away for a week or even longer
Mind you from looking at some of your posts it would seem you put your family second and you would rather stay in your truck and wait for some service van to come 50 miles and change that lens and bulb and charge the company £200 - 300, I’m sure most small transport companies would obviously think this was
money well spent and then the customer goes and gives all the work to some one whose drivers actually know how to keep the job moving without the lorry owner losing money and possibly the customer just breaking even.
After reading and responding to this type of post I’m just glad I was able find a different career, it was very difficult for me to find that different career but I’m just glad that with all my experience as a Junior and then Senior Traffic officer and then a Transport Manager with a very large Multi-National Own Account Operator with a very large fleet of vehicles and this was long before ‘The Stobarts & Denstressangles’ that we seem to fear now.
Don’t whinge about the job being taken over by foreigners when your attitude is exactly why it has been taken over by them.
Back in the days when I used to call myself a professional HGV driver there was always individuals like yourself who seemed to think they were better than all the other drivers. You know like they had a sleeper cab on D series Ford or they had heard stories from Drivers doing continental or possibly to the Middle East and suddenly theses stories became their own life adventures and were passed on through the nonsense telegraph and suddenly became fact.
And this site is no different the haulage industry has always had it own little ‘cliques’
Yer know how in the past Brains Haulage '‘Goldie Chain Drivers’ and ‘Russell Davies’ big heads, and numerous others who wouldn’t even stand at the bar with you if you were’n’t driving a Scania, Volvo, DAF, or any type of motor that didn’t have a sleeper cab, been there experienced it.
This whole site seems to be populated by individuals who actually know each other over and above this medium of communication and unless you are part of the ‘clique’ you only get a response to your post if you have upset someone as I did with ‘ellies dad’ and some other loser who felt the need to make a a comment about things that were nothing to do with transport. There have been recent posts about the company I mentioned and I feel that this forum should be moderated in a lot less ‘cliquey’ way !!
No I apologise for that last comment but lets get real, posting the word a ■■■■■■ or [zb] and then being given a little red note telling me that I had tried to dodge the auto censor By somebody called ‘Simon’ who appears to only give his little red notes to forum users who have’nt kissed his arse and I can assure you & simon I don’t kiss anyones arse unless there’s some money on the table.
Oh my God Simon, arn’t you someone who drives one of those big juggernauts all the way across the world and back you must be a very special person to be able to moderate this forum and pilot that ‘Big Rig’ across Europe and still find time to scold lowlly retired drivers like myself
Regards to all
Dave Penn;
Personally I don’t care if you used to be the Queen Mother’s personal backscratcher, the rules apply to you like everyone else, and if you can’t respect them then go elsewhere. Lucy. (Who’s about to take her ikkle juggernaut across the UK like the ikkle girl that she is, but is nevertheless responsible for enforcing the above mentioned rules.)
The 1st thing I used to put in my cab was a comprehensive tool kit when I used to go over the water, I’ve done repairs both big & small at the side of the road, nowadays though, you need a lap top as everything works via a computer & most companies would put you on a disciplinary if you even changed a bulb so I’d leave temptation in the boot of your car. If you venture over the water & you don’t work for one of the big boys then ask the boss man, if he’s ok with it & you trust yourself then get that tool box out, but remember not to replace an injector pipe with a ring spanner 