Looking for advice on what sort of work would most be the most appropriate introduction to class 1 driving.
Bearing in mind I’ve only been trained to reverse into a parallel box to my left what sort of operation, that would accept a new driver, would you recommend as a starting point for building experience and confidence.
Thanks.
As a new pass you’re not likely to be spoilt for choice, if you get the chance of anything you should take it, a lot of places won’t take you till you’ve got some experience, sometimes they want two years, quoting “our insurers require it”.
Maybe leave the class one jobs for a while and gain experience on class two with building merchants for Hiab multi drop, not everyone’s cup of tea, but when you’re out and about on your travels, check internal notice boards where you are delivering at or listen in to chat about future class one job vacancies .
Then the dreaded pallet multi drop , Marmite job .The one drop for class one will be gold dust , dead mans shoes , easy work for good money .
The supermarkets pay very well and get in there via agencies ,if joining a company, don’t expect your own allocated unit for a while and be given the skip on wheels on day runs that nobody wants to do .
Firstly how much class 2 experience do you have? If got a few years behind you on that, it will be easier since can at least show you can do that driving well enough. Personally when I go looking for my first class 1 it’s going to be who will take me, ideally like to start off in something where get exposed to as many different areas as possible, but as soon as someone says aye we will let you out on the artic it’s good for me… But I need to get test passed and out on the class 2 first [emoji23] with lockdowns awaiting it might be a long wait
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Fras74:
Looking for advice on what sort of work would most be the most appropriate introduction to class 1 driving.
Bearing in mind I’ve only been trained to reverse into a parallel box to my left what sort of operation, that would accept a new driver, would you recommend as a starting point for building experience and confidence.
Thanks.
What’s the largest vehicle you’ve driven? Do you drive it regularly?
My daily drive is a long wheelbase Mercedes sprinter. I’ve rented a quite a few Luton vans over the years and own an 8 meter long motorhome. When I spoke to my brother (20 years class 1 driver) he advised I skipped class 2 altogether as it wouldn’t teach me anything about how an artic handles, especially in reverse.
He was pretty much spot on. I felt really comfortable in the class 2 training and on the test. No real issues or problems with any of it. It’s just being aware of it’s width and length and how that affects turning and braking.
Class 1 was a completely different animal. That really did take some practice! The articulation turning does require training. It was hard getting my head around it actually turns easier and in a tighter angle than a rigid. The reversing is the Devil’s own invention.
My advice -
Ignore the pay (for now)
Get with a small firm (or a large firm) that will send someone out with you for at least a couple of days. It’ll help your confidence knowing you’ve got someone sat by your side who can help you if needed. They should also show you how everything works in the truck - my first trainer was excellent, he taught me what every button and switch does in a Volvo FH. God, I loved that truck! They’ll teach you how to do the curtains (which wasn’t covered in my training) how and where to fuel up with different fuel cards, how to strap the load. I had my trainer for a full week. I earnt peanuts. We’re talking just about minimum wage. It gave me much needed real world experience.
Agencies - it’s the nature of the beast and just how they operate, you’ll be given an address, you’ll turn up and be given a set of keys. It didn’t help me that I was given a set of keys to a Renault and I had no idea where any of the buttons were. That’s an added pressure you don’t need in the beginning. I wasn’t shown how to strap the load or operate the curtains. Without that intial training I would have been well and truly up the creek!
My advice, be completely honest with any firm that gives you an interview. If you struggled with the reverse on the test, tell them. If you struggled on roundabouts, tell them. Be completely honest and enthusiastic. Let them make the judgement call then. They’ll definitely give you more slack than if you walk in, say nothing and then something happens. You’ll probably get work doing general haulage. It’s hard work because it’s a different load virtually every day, the hours are long, the pay isn’t great, the addresses are a pain because you’re going somewhere new every day, sometimes several times a day.
You’ll learn so much doing general haulage for a while though.