I’m trying to come up with a hierarchy of LGV jobs to make clear in my mind which jobs I should be aiming for, & which ones I should clearly avoid (after I pass the various tests)
I’ve come up with 4 categories & have started filling it in; please could you experienced people help? Thank you (You may be thinking I’m totally wrong with my list below so far; dw, I’ve only been considering this path for 2 weeks now, so am very very open to corrections!!)
Holy Grail:
Desirable: Single Drop, ADR work, Long Haul HGV, Bin Lorry
you could always try ralph davis to see if they fancy starting a chinky trunk again.
mabey see if you could do a trip double manned and cross that one off your list at the same time…
There’s no real way of ranking driving jobs in my opinion, its too dependant on the area, company and management. There is some companies that do adr work that i wouldn’t touch with a ■■■■■■ stick and gladly take “meh” tier jobs over them all day long. Just have a look about in your area to see what jobs you think would suit you and watch out for companies with a high driver turnover.
Dieseldog is correct about Ralph Davies , they did run to the Chinese border on Kazakhstan trips alone with Peter Gilder t/a Russanglia ltd .
Plenty photos on other forums on here to look at .
I’m a new driver but haven’t even bothered ‘ranking’ jobs as what works for one may not work at all for another, and vice versa.
I’m coming into the industry with a completely open mind and I’m going to find out myself what my niche is.
Agreed, Pretty much its what suits you and the type of people you’re working for.
I started off working for a small family run haulage company, old and basic trucks, mostly doing multi drops using tilt trailers, (ask your grandad if you don’t know what they are ) and agricultural stuff. But the boss was a decent bloke, left us to get on with it, spoke to you as a person not a number and listened.
as for Continental HGV driving being in the Meh category, I think you’ll find a lot of those doing that work prefer it over driving in the UK. However there are also many who’d hate the job.
You can aim for whatever you like but the reality of it is what you think is holy grail status could actually turn out to be f’ing terrible.
The employer, the direct management, the pay, the equipment, the shift pattern, what you actually have to do everyday and the people you’ve got to work alongside are all factors that effect how good a job is.
I always wanted to move plant and machinery that was my goal until I actually got asked to do it, securing stuff is a ballache and it’s filthy work and now I really want no part in it. You really don’t know what is a good fit for you until you’re actually doing it.
The job your mate loves may very well be something you hate. Different strokes and all that.
I have found it is more down to the company you work for, rather than the type of work. Even how that site is managed vs other sites under the same company name can vary a huge amount.
If you get on agency, you’ll figure out what you do and don’t like soon enough as there’s so much variety out there.
Multi drop to industrial estates and RDCs with an 18 tonner is very different to residential multi drop 12.5 Tonner
I think we can all agree though, that Dray work is a bit of hard work.
Even though they all do parcels, there’s a massive difference between Hermes, UPS, DHL and Royal Mail. (Yet to try Fed Ex)
i agree,a lot of it is down to the Company you work for,rather than the work.for instance,i was on quarry work tippers for 25 years…1st outfit,(Redland Aggs.),professional Co,drivers well looked after 2nd outfit,family company,decent gaffer, 3rd outfit good to start with,then became a cowboy outfit when the gaffers drunken brother muscled his way in 4th outfit family company gaffer a total ■■■■■■ glad to get out of it.
my advice is…look for a Company with good Management…then ask for a pay rise further down the line
then ask for a new V8
) and agricultural stuff. But the boss was a decent bloke, left us to get on with it, spoke to you as a person not a number and listened.
4th outfit family company gaffer a total ■■■■■■ 
glad to get out of it.
