Hi all
Can anyone recall how many hours driving they done before test? Price seem to vary everywhere from 2.5 to 3.5k. One firm close to me says £3250 which include 32 hours driving. The other firm only state £400 for 4 hours but they do an £80.00 assessment to gauge how many they think I will need. I will be doing car to C1 to E Artic (so no prev class 2) .
Thanks in in advance
Everyone’s different depends on there driving.and bad habits.
Usually about what your saying 32 40 hours.
Think I took 40.
Some places do or use to do free assmemnt drives find one that does that have a free drive see how it feels and also give you and them an idea of how many lessons your need
Go for the assessment and get an idea how many hours they think you will need.
A free one is good if you can get one.
An assessment is a good way to see the company, equipment, instructors, before you part with thousands of your hard won £s.
The £80 will not a waste even if you don’t like the company and decide to go elsewhere.
Good luck.
If you tell us which part of the country you’re located in someone may be able to recommend a reputable HGV driver training company in your area.
As said, some training companies give a free assessment so they can asses how many hours training you will need.
Many thanks but was hoping you would say about twenty lol
Thanks . I am based in Brighton. The two companies i have sourced so far are Hills in Plumpton and lancing driving training. Might we worth travelling and staying in a b and b if the cost of a course is much cheaper further north
Many thanks
Peter Smythe Transport Training (the forum sponsor) are very highly regarded. I did Class 2 and Class 1 up with them, and they put you up in a hotel close to the training centre. Definitely worth a call to compare prices.
did look at them but unsure on the pass protection on the 3b test for £450.00. According to their website each 3b costs £350, so you could save pounds. but a quick look on the goverment website showing prices, says its only £150 for a test. Mmmmm
Yes but you have to take into consideration the cost of the vehicle that’s tied up for the duration of the test.
I don’t know if you also get a short drive practice before each test but I’m sure someone will know.
Thanks for clarifying, that makes sense as you are essentially hiring the vehicle to be used for the test. Their price only includes 20 hours driving, would that be about right in your opinion? as previous respondent indicated about the 35 - 40 hours
I took out pass protection for Class 1 but not Class 2 if I remember correctly. I passed both first time, but the pass protection definitely helped mentally.
They did offer a discount for Trucknet members in the past. I think it was 10%. That could be worth mentioning too, as it’d be a nice extra saving.
Unless things have changed Peter Smythe training only do 2 to 1 training, so there will be 2 trainees and one instructor in the vehicle, there are advantages and disadvantages to this method of training but it does help to keep the price down.
Peter Smythe HGV Training do have a very good reputation but personally I would always recommend using a local training company if you can find one with an excellent reputation.
The one thing you should avoid at all costs are training brokers, these companies claim to have training depots all over the place when in reality they simply pass you onto a training company and you have no choice who you train with.
I can’t comment on how many driving hours you would need, I passed the HGV test back in the 70s so other people will be much more up-to date on things like that.
I did my training with PSTT back in 2021 and 2022 and both Class 1 and 2 were trained 1 on 1. Don’t know if that has since changed.
If I remember rightly I did Class 2 over 3 days and Class 1 over 5 days, with the test on the last days, so I’d say roughly 10 hours driving for Class 2 and 20 hours for class 1.
It looks like I got it wrong about the 2 to 1 training so thanks for the information, I’d hate to give false information about a training company so your info is really welcome 
Maybe it changed around the time of the Covid lockdowns.
Thanks for the confirming on the brokers, heard others saying the same.
looking to car straight to artic, so would say around 30 hours considering you done class 2 first?
just got a price from them, quite heavy and similar to my local ones in sussex tbh. Was looking at them as the prices may have been cheaper because of the location. They do provide hotel though but a week away in Manchester (first time, typical southerner) without the wife and kids is asking for trouble 
will put an alternative post to see if anyone has used the sussex ones i am thinking off. One does a set price for 5 days but the other one just gives individual prices, so no indication that you will have the test at the end of the week
That sounds about right. Pop in to see the ones you have chosen to get a feel for the places and the training vehicles they use.