Get it in writing at your next handball/unload that you are an employee of the recieving company and are covered by all OH&S laws governing their workplace-Bet you 99.99% will refuse to abide by your lawful request.
Plus they like to use “Free” labour.
Why is transport so lowly paid?
Yep,slaves work for nothing.Why employ 6 blokes in the recieving area when the Indetured driver will work like two men for no reward whats so ever??
When you applied for a driving job,how many job descriptions include the words"Indentured,slave,free labour" besides the standard drive and operate truck in a safe manor?
Put it this way,when you call a plumber to your house when he arrives and you agree on what the price will be ,would you DEMAND he does a tune up on your car,wash the dog,and mow the lawn for no reward at all?
Yeah thought so,so don’t expect it of the truck driver to do YOUR work in YOUR workplace.
if i booked a plumber and he told me to unload his van he’d get the ‘’ go forth and multiply ‘’ answer
i always prefer as a salaried driver the self tip warehouses .
the load and its safety is my responsibility till its on the forks when tipping out the back door or when its on the bay at a rdc .
I can’t believe you had the nuts to ask the question really.
I mean, come on. It’s not down to the customer to unload the lorry is it ?
A flat bed maybe, with forks, but would you moan about having to take the sheet/net off ?
The old rule is that when delivering, you deliver the load to the customers premises, or as close to them as is possible. Leaving the pallets in the truck isn’t very close to the premises is it.
I worked a fridge which most nights had 26 pallets about 6 foot high, and I had to take them to the back with a set of trucks - took about 20 minutes, allowing for the slow forkies.
Maybe you could try signing up for the post office, and get people to come over to your van and pick their own ■■■■ mail up.
Drivers, whether they like it or not, are effectively representatives of the company they are working for, whether they’re permanently employed, self employed or are with an agency, and should bear that in mind - as Pop says, it’s not the driver’s name on the side of the lorry. If a driver feels that he shouldn’t get in the back and have anything to do with loading or unloading, in a situation where it is expected of him, then it would have been better not to have gone out in the vehicle in the first place.
If the driver is prepared to climb in the back and move the load to the rear so that a fork lift can get to it, and for some reason the pallets are too heavy or awkward to move on his own; then he should ask for help - going about this in the right way will get resuts. I’ve done that a few times and rarely been refused assisstance. If it appears the load cannot come off, then I’d phone my boss and if he can’t arrange something - then bring it back, but keep him informed.
Trucks nowadays make life much easier for the driver - as Pop also mentions, the air suspension can be used to tilt the floor to the driver’s advantage. A couple of degrees of slope make a huge difference when moving a loaded pallet truck. Or, perhaps the driver feels it’s beneath him to get involved with any physical activity involving the load - in that case, he should realise that he’s in the wrong job and do the other thing… I’m sure that in recent years there are more and more Nuevo-Euro drivers over here who wouldn’t hesistate to get in the back.
Until January this year I’d been doing weekend fridge driving for four years, and not only do you have to get in the back and move the load about, (always to load it, and sometimes to unload it) but the vehicle carried, at all times, its own ‘wheels’ - this is so you are independent and haven’t got to use any old worn-out pallet truck they lift on for you to use. Quite simply, If I didn’t get in the back and use the pallet truck to load it then the lorry wouldn’t leave the yard - there’d be no point, as there’d be nothing in it.
Most places I went to involved reversing onto a bay; some of these you just sit in cab while it’s unloaded by unseen people; at some your’e not allowed to stay in it, but some, and I can think of three in Spalding alone, allow you to operate the bay door and dock leveller and use a pallet truck to get it off yourself - the only thing they’d rather you didn’t do to is sign the notes!
And going back several decades, I’d rather rope and sheet a load myself, rather than trust anyone else doing it, similar situation with a fridge - I’d rather load it to how I wanted it, especially if there was more that one drop.
But the day came when I had to pack this nice little job up because of arthritis, the lorry owner said ‘Can you carry on doing it Dave, if I load it for you?’, to which I replied ‘The trouble is, I’d still have to get in the back sometimes, especially to load the empty bins or crates, to bring back. It’s no good me just doing half the job.’
Finally, for those who have never ventured into the twilight world of the back of a truck, or trailer, here’s a couple of pictures of the inside…
Dave
get a job as a tipper driver (not my cup of tea) and the load wil come of itself at
the flick of a lever 
I really don’t get the problem here. Hell, if I can do it, knackered as I am, I’m sure anyone else can - although to be fair we’re specifically insured and I only do loads under 15t (the other lads go full weight, though, as I used to).
As for containers and not getting in, I’m guessing you’re pulling Deep Sea, Gonzo and Smee?
weewulliewinkie:
get a job as a tipper driver (not my cup of tea) and the load wil come of itself at
the flick of a lever
Whoa! Hold on there weewulliewinkie! There is FAR more to it than ‘just flicking a lever’… 
You have to get out and open the tailboard first…well, assuming the banksman doesn’t do it for you! 
lets not get buried in a mound of health and safety, to be honest its all part of the job, some you tip yourself some you dont, we have all had the handball jobs with the curse and sweary words flung in, you just get on with it and move on to your next job.
I’ve got nine packs of bricks to deliver tomorrow…I think I’ll turn up, put the PTO in and hand the crane remote control to the builder.
I have a simple rule I’ll unload myself by whatever means available (handball, tail lift, crane, etc) but only beside the lorry…if they want it moved further (within reason) then they have to help me.
hammer:
weewulliewinkie:
get a job as a tipper driver (not my cup of tea) and the load wil come of itself at
the flick of a leverWhoa! Hold on there weewulliewinkie! There is FAR more to it than ‘just flicking a lever’…
You have to get out and open the tailboard first…well, assuming the banksman doesn’t do it for you!
oh I forgot get the newspaper out and flask opened, while someone opens
the tailgate, ( am no gaun oot in that muck)
CMR = Chauffeur Must Rest.
I don’t get in the back of the container.Its not my fault the chap’s got one of the following,1-bad back,2-no labour turned up.
I was in Leicester on Monday afternoon loading up,got the hard up story of labour turning up late “can you please give me hand driver sahib”,answer was no and i’m off for a walk around the town,see you in an hour and off i went!
Mind you last job i was on fridges and was always in back and managed to keep my weight down,now i’m on the boxes my weight’s shooting up.
it depends upon your companies policy regarding self off loading.
some companies insist that their drivers do not partake of any unloading whatsoever - this has nothing to do with your well being but is more weighted against possible damage to goods by you.
imagine the fallout from wheeling a pallet straight off the back of the truck and onto the floor - who pays the bill - this is a nightmare situation for some transport companies - if they are delivering on behalf or to a regular customer that they need to keep on good terms with then they are over a barrel and will have to pay up.
the best policy i’ve come across is the driver has to present the trailer for unloading, this means that you do not have to involve yourself with off loading but if the customer says they want both sides opening then you open both sides, if they say strip the tilt then i’m afraid it’s time to get dirty and start stripping the tilt.
containers is a different thing altogether, i think the company insurance is for the vehicle and it’s trailer - the trailer does not include the box that is on it - that is someone elses property altogether.
but it’s a bit boring - sitting in the truck for hours while someone else is unloading you.
containers is a different thing altogether, i think the company insurance is for the vehicle and it’s trailer - the trailer does not include the box that is on it - that is someone elses property altogether.
but it’s a bit boring - sitting in the truck for hours while someone else is unloading you
.
Come on now, Johnny, you know better than that, you’ve pulled for us! On Short Sea boxes driver assist is part of the contract if the customer asks for it and it’s up to the subbies to insure their drivers accordingly. 
I don’t find it boring Johnny,when the weather is good and i’ve got a 3-4 hour unload/load i get the polish out and give the truck and trailer a good waxing,i was tipping at Manchester in April,i’d got the wax out and was polishing away and the gaffer of the cash and carry came out and gave me a couple of bottles of wax,he said it was nice to see someone taking a little pride in the truck and trailer as he gets some right bags of s… in there.
Other than that i like reading and going for a walk around,but saying that i did like tearing around on multi-drop work.
If caught out we can get sacked for getting in the back of "the customers"container.
I have done in the past,especially on a friday,Hilarys blinds in Washington springs to mind 7-8 hr tip.
on containers it is also NOT the responsibility of the driver to open the doors.
especially if its raining
As far as Im concerned the delivery is the drivers responsibility. At least it is a tailboard delivery if you have to use a pallet truck to move pallets to the doors. My delivery stops at the end of my delivery pipe nowadays.
Loading fertiliser as a lad meant taking the bags off the pallets and stacking them on the trailer, when you got to the other end you stacked the bags on pallets.
If a warehouse wont let you inside because they think you are going to nick all the stock then that is different.
I am responsible for my load, so I want to know what is going on and what is going off the trailer.
Michelin will not let you enter the warehouse but if there are 6 tyres missing at the other end, it is the drivers fault.
Container transport may be different but as Lucy said, short sea is up to the driver to assist
I dont mind getting in the back with a pump truck, infact I absolutely love it because it means I dont have to strip the sides of my trailer out with all those ■■■■ boards down the side! Plus its a much needed bit of excercise. What I do object to is when loading steel at stocksbridge, is being required for some unknown reason to stand at the front of my trailer near the headboard when the crane is swining the steel in, I could so easily be crushed, I have no way of communicating with the crane driver who is handling 10-20 odd tons of steel right next to me and I do think that this is a specialist job of which is beyond my ability. They make such a fuss at steel works if you dont wear your chin strap, yet nothing is said when an uninsured and unqualified driver is inches away from 10 tons of moving steel!
welcome to the job
Lucy:
containers is a different thing altogether, i think the company insurance is for the vehicle and it’s trailer - the trailer does not include the box that is on it - that is someone elses property altogether.
but it’s a bit boring - sitting in the truck for hours while someone else is unloading you.
Come on now, Johnny, you know better than that, you’ve pulled for us! On Short Sea boxes driver assist is part of the contract if the customer asks for it and it’s up to the subbies to insure their drivers accordingly.
i often offered to help out but was always told by the customer that i’m not allowed in the back. with the exception of those that don’t allow you in the warehouse or make you walk to the gatehouse to use the toilet i don’t mind helping out, as for those mentioned that treat you like a leper they can get stuffed, if i’m not allowed in the warehouse or to the toilet then i’m not allowed in the container either.
i do spend a lot of my waiting time cleaning the truck but you can only do so much - windows, wheels, dashboard, footwells etc. as i don’t wear shoes in the cab i find that it stays rather clean most of the time.