Hi again guys,
Had a phone call this morning before going into camp, the agency I’m signed up to want me to have an assessment at Arla in Frome to drive their C+E Milk Tankers. I’ve looked at their coupling and uncoupling procedures and I’ll turn up suited and booted (accordingly) Saturday. Looking forward to it, wish me luck 
Don’t forget to take suitable clothes for a driving assessment. Smart will get you a job in the office. Clean smart casual will be comfortable and presentable enough for a driving interview / assessment.
Best of luck.
Check, got it. Cheers dar1976.
Much appreciated.
I used to work for Arla with Baileys agency.It is good work.They used to be at Oldford at the Staplemead creamery then moved to Hardings yard on Marston Trading estate and soon be moving to Westbury.The cream takes hours to load and unload.Be careful with the vent taps as you can implode a tanker by crushing it in an air vscumn…I used to go to farm near Tiverton Devon then to Ashby.Did one in London where the bays are small to reverse in.Arla is a top firm.At delivery places you can eat at their cheap canteens.
Best of luck. I hope everything goes well…
Andy
Thanks guy,
I’ll let you know how I get on tomorrow… Imploding tankers! Can’t wait 
lol
It is best not to rely on the goods in staff to say they will sort the vent taps and the direction they should be in.He may say hevhas done it and may forget.I would climb on top the tanker and check it properly.Arla is good on maintenance and a green light scoring with Vosa so you will.never get stopped.They may go to Hatfield Perivale in Essex.The blokes i worked with were a friendly bunch.If you not sure just ask.They will help you out.
The tanker will have baffles to divide the milk to stop it moving around when stopping at lights or a roundabout which may affect the way the brakes work.The tankers will need a hot water and chemical wash after tipping it.The paper work is stored in a plastic tube on the trailer and needs to be signed or stamped.
If you go to a dairy in London, the bays are terrible, when i pull in you can smell the acrid smell of clutches being burnt out with drivers trying to reverse in to a poorly planned delivery point.It depends which bay they put you on,some are ok, a few are not, and it is easy to damage the trucks or the one next to you.
Ask for help when you arrive, the drivers there will help.You may find that Arla may offer full time employment when on the agency.
They do class two tanker collections in the farms, with different shifts,and when i was there, i did fridge trailers on a night shift delivering milk in cages to super markets on a set route, you collect the empty cages, which can make you fit, and if a driver did not pick them up the night before you will have more to collect.
How did you get on, did you get a job offer.■■
Well, what a fantastic day that was! Just got in an hour ago.
Started at 0515 hrs and met the Driver Agency assessor, Simon. He took me through all the pre-procedures with regards to the truck (6 month old Volvo with an auto gearbox) and trailer.
Then once the tanker was full and ready to go, we did a final check to ensure tags were fitted and valves closed. Simon drove initially and explain about how liquids reacted and how to drive them
When we got to Popham services he pulled in and then it was my turn at the wheel. Well what a lovely vehicle to drive. We headed up the A303 and made our way to oakthorpe depot in London. No dramas so far 
We had to wait for a space but when available it was weigh bridge then reverse in between two wagons into what looked like the smallest gap in the world it seems as though the normal procedure here at oakthorpe is that everyone helps everyone else. A guy stood to my front whilst Simon was at the rear. I reversed in without any problems and after a shunt even managed to move over to leave space on either side so the two wagons either side could manoeuvre out when they had finished (it’s a really tight yard to manoeuvre in)
Then it was time to learn about imploding tankers, valves and connection. After dropping the load and cleaning the inside of the tanker it was time to go to Hatfield in Essex for a un-couple and couple of a tanker filled with cream and then back to Frome.
Simon had said after the reverse at oakthorpe I had had a good drive and good reverse and had passed the assessment so the Hatfield run was proper fun drive and getting used to the live load as it were, happy days.
The Agency will now start sending me tanker work with Arla and life is good. I must admit to not expecting a full day out but it was a great day and I am we’ll chuffed at passing the assessment first time around
Well done to you.It was Oakthorpe where it is tight as a nuns chuff.Good luck to you.
Well done on passing the assessment. Hopefully you get plenty of work from it.
Just curious… As it was a full day, are they paying you for it?
Thanks dar1976,
No, unfortunately no pay for today. It was only supposed to be to Oakthorpe and back, but we got diverted to Hatfield due to the cream not being cool enough when the original driver got there earlier in the day.
I am looking at it in that I’ve driven a Tanker, in back roads, motorways, towns, around bends, up and down hills, so all much needed experience to refer back to when I get out there on my own.
And they got a load delivered with a lot higher margin than usual. Lets hope it’s not all in vain.
I know the experience is great. I won’t knock you for that. But don’t allow them to use you. Experience doesn’t feed you.
Dar,he was in the passenger seat until Popham which is about an hour or more from Frome.