I do Class C tramping mate.Its mainly pallet work with everything being unloaded by the way of a forklift truck.
But every now and again you get that magical back load that can involve the dreaded handball.
Tommy7437:
Dont really know what to say m8 as i can lift 2 washing machines at once. Perhaps you should consider hairdressing
You can’t call yourself an agency driver unless you can also tip/load a scaffolding and shuttering wagon in 15 minutes and do the job of 3 site labourers for most of the rest of the day. 
Tommy7437:
Dont really know what to say m8 as i can lift 2 washing machines at once. Perhaps you should consider hairdressing
That it? Amateur.
I did house removals one summer and once took THREE washing machines plus a 60 inch TV AND a suitcase full of cloths up to a third floor flat at the same time.
pjm_82:
ok
so im newly qualified class c. did my 3 day course and test in the space of 2 weeks in an automatic lorry.been applying for jobs all over but companies seem reluctant to employ me because of lack of experience.
Because of this, i felt the only way to build up experience was to do some agency work . so i signed up with my local agency and explained to them i was a new driver and a little nervous. also that fact that i learned and passed in an auto.
Nothing wrong with being a bit nervous, when you’ve just got your licence and little experience, I’d be more worried if you were ■■■■ sure.
The agency promised me that i would get work in an auto which i was ok with…
Agencies are quite good at promising the World and delivering very little.
As the day went on i learned that i literally had to use all my strength to force it into the correct gears. i got used to this and i was fine at driving it after a few hiccups to begin with
Doesn’t seem correct, did you use the clutch. 
i did this, however im still concerned now that the tacho wont have registered my breaks, even though i pressed the bed symbol whilst resting.
If you pressed he symbol then unless it’s faulty it will have recorded the period as break. Also with all the modern tacho’s I’ve used, if you got close or went over the 4.5 hours driving it will flash and put a warning on the dashboard.
As a new driver, i really regret doing my first shift with an agency as they are very little help for new drivers.
i drove for probably 8 hours the whole day which i was fine with but also had to unload furniture,white goods and many other heavy items up flights of stairs in peoples houses without the use of any lifting aids .i.e trolleys etc…
On the application form i explained that due to a back condition i was unable to lift heavy goods,or anything over 25kg. They said this was fine and i could still work for them doing no handball.
As a new driver you’re not really in a position to pick and choose, but by the sounds of it the company were taking liberties in not supplying the equipment to move heavy loads, but that’s probably why they need agency drivers and probably why the agency sent the new driver as the regulars know it’s a crap job.
The first job I ever did on my own as a newly qualified truck driver, (pre-agency and could go straight to artics), was hand balling the contents of 10 pallets of tinned goods into a shop. Yes it was a crap job, but after I did that and brought the truck back in one piece the company got me in regularly to cover jobs, and none of them involved hand balling loads and most were one hit jobs round the UK, but if I hadn’t done that first crap job it would have been unlikely to have got more work out of them.
i feel because of the shortage of drivers in this country being a problem. people are being rushed through their courses and test too soon without substantial training. This is gonna become a problem with frequent road accidents with hgv drivers.
People aren’t being rushed because of any “Driver Shortage” it’s to do with how much people will spend to pass their test, I’m sure if you’d asked the driving school for another months training they’d been happy to do so, but you didn’t because it would have cost you loads of money.
all in all a negative experience which has dented the little confidence i had in driving a class 2.i also ran a red a light aswell which i know is my own fault.
Don’t take the negatives from it, take the positives, you done your first days driving work, you delivered the goods, you got the truck back in one piece and I assume you haven’t left a trail of damage. 
It was unlikely you’d have got a plumb job for your first day, plenty of the regular agency drivers for that, but you’re one step up the ladder.
And next time an agency sends you to a job and when you arrive there, they expect you to left white goods without assistance, get back in your car and drive home.
25kgs to heavy i must be getting old, think when i was on the farm it was 20 stone or 125kgs.
we are all crippled now but we never went on the web complaining, could be because computers had not been invented bit like colour telly
The-Snowman:
That it? Amateur.
I did house removals one summer and once took THREE washing machines plus a 60 inch TV AND a suitcase full of cloths up to a third floor flat at the same time.
To be fair some agencies would expect you to do all that not using the lift and not leaving the tumble dryer behind and that’s just the first and easiest drop of the day.
mac12:
25kgs to heavy i must be getting old, think when i was on the farm it was 20 stone or 125kgs.
we are all crippled now but we never went on the web complaining
Like the guy said early on, if it wasnt for the agency getting you mobilised youd have been sitting in the big chair by the phone in a bad posture position playin havoc with your bad back
muckles:
if I hadn’t done that first crap job it would have been unlikely to have got more work out of them.
Warning to new drivers do ‘not’ use that logic with agencies. They’ll see it as a sign of weakness and a mug who they can off load all the zb work on,to keep the ones who know better happy.Assuming they’ve actually got any decent work that is. 
Carryfast:
muckles:
if I hadn’t done that first crap job it would have been unlikely to have got more work out of them.Warning to new drivers do ‘not’ use that logic with agencies.
I’ve been on agency in the past and taken the 7.5t white good delivery jobs, even driver mate jobs when nothing else was available, the same agency placed me on one of the best and cushiest jobs I ever had, working at the local USAF airbase, spent nearly a year doing that on agency.
muckles:
Carryfast:
Warning to new drivers do ‘not’ use that logic with agencies.I’ve been on agency in the past and taken the 7.5t white good delivery jobs, even driver mate jobs when nothing else was available, the same agency placed me on one of the best and cushiest jobs I ever had, working at the local USAF airbase, spent nearly a year doing that on agency.
As I said I’m only going by my own experience of obviously being seen as too willing to put up with the zb work.Which can be the only possible explanation for being taken off of a decent job that the customer wanted me to stay on and put back on the zb.
Could I suggest that skip companies might be an option as you normally don’t have too much handballing and they are apparently the type of companies looking for people regularly. Plus you’re governed by the tacho laws etc.
Agencies probably don’t even write down what you can and can’t do, they just want to send someone to a crap job because no one else wants it. Unfortunately lifting heavy loads isn’t unusual from what I hear in some companies by a long way and they use agency staff because they can dispose of them more easily.
As for vans - be careful what you select as some are worse! You do the same kindof work, but without the tacho there’s no restrictions on hours and thus they can run you ragged.
Sounds like a load of trolling horse ■■■■ to me.
“First day driving a 7.5 tonne …” then finishing with “driving a cat C dented my confidence”
Didn’t know tachos after passing test. Moaning about lifting. You forgot to say your drivers mate didn’t speak english and how you had trouble roping and sheeting the washing machines as you couldn’t tie a dolly knot.
4/10 must try harder
You do not get taught how to use a tacho unit as part of your test.
but you need to know the basics to pass your theory
Ched:
but you need to know the basics to pass your theory
The basics of the regs yes but not the operation of a digital tacho unit.
Maybe I’m wrong, I just saw Agency, Driver shortage and a new driver being unsure of tacho regs … all that was missing was not being flashed in, and why do some people sit on the limiter instead of cruising a few clicks below to cover most of the topics often covered here
pjm_82:
ok
so im newly qualified class c. did my 3 day course and test in the space of 2 weeks in an automatic lorry.been applying for jobs all over but companies seem reluctant to employ me because of lack of experience.
Because of this, i felt the only way to build up experience was to do some agency work . so i signed up with my local agency and explained to them i was a new driver and a little nervous. also that fact that i learned and passed in an auto.
The agency promised me that i would get work in an auto which i was ok with…
anyway , i got a days work delivering for a freight company.
When i got to their premises first thing in the morning they gave me the keys and said do your vehicle checks and wait for your drivers mate to arrive.
i was ok with the vehicle checks as i managed to retain what i learned on my cpc.However, when i got in the cab i noticed the lorry was manual geared with 6 gears. i was concerned about this but thought ,i have to give this a go anyway…
the first couple of hours driving and i could not get the vehicle into 1st and second gear. i was constantly pulling away in 3rd which i knew was bad for fuel consumption.
As the day went on i learned that i literally had to use all my strength to force it into the correct gears. i got used to this and i was fine at driving it after a few hiccups to begin with
As this was my first day driving for a living i asked if someone could help familiarize me with the tacho as i had never used one before.
Needless to say , no one would help me with this and they just told me that it updates automatically and to just makes sure i break for 45 mins every 4.5hours.i did this, however im still concerned now that the tacho wont have registered my breaks, even though i pressed the bed symbol whilst resting.
As a new driver, i really regret doing my first shift with an agency as they are very little help for new drivers.i drove for probably 8 hours the whole day which i was fine with but also had to unload furniture,white goods and many other heavy items up flights of stairs in peoples houses without the use of any lifting aids .i.e trolleys etc…
This was exhausting but i managed to do the 8 drops,When i got home 12 hours later i was in agony with my back .
what ■■■■■■ me off though is that when i signed up with this agency, i was asked if i had any health problems. On the application form i explained that due to a back condition i was unable to lift heavy goods,or anything over 25kg. They said this was fine and i could still work for them doing no handball.i phoned in sick the next day as i was unable to work because of the pain in my back . upon explaining this to the agency they have had little sympathy and told me they wont be contacting me again and that if i cant lift then i have chosen the wrong career.
i feel this is absolute bs as its against health and safety regs in any employment to lift such weights without any aid.
i feel because of the shortage of drivers in this country being a problem. people are being rushed through their courses and test too soon without substantial training. This is gonna become a problem with frequent road accidents with hgv drivers.
all in all a negative experience which has dented the little confidence i had in driving a class 2.i also ran a red a light aswell which i know is my own fault.
im gonna try vans in future.
Welcome to the industry! Now you know why experienced guys warn others not to come!
Try your local skip firms,might start you on four wheeler chain lift,hardest thing is throwing the bits off when the customer is finished playing buckaroo with the load so you can net it,then if they have hookloaders and tippers work up to them,if youve got a dicky back its tipper work,might be very boring,but a damm sight better than handballing anything 
anyway all the best you will find your feet in whatever you choose to stick with,and in the future you will be able to give advice to newbies.
Honked:
As with most things in life, you have a choice.You chose to do a job you knew you couldn’t do.
As I tell my kids, school is the best years of your life. It’s not fun being an adult.
These days, even primary school ain’t what it used to be, with all the tests and initiatives. And hell, you pay to go to university - the university used to pay you.
That said, it was darn silly of him to try and solve the driver shortage. Why, as a newbie in a shortage industry, you’d think he’d have got the red carpet treatment from big firms keen to get him up to speed and make up their numbers.