My Journey - Theory - C - C+E = Job

NEW AND WANNABE DRIVERS (INTERACTIVE)
121

Like Wills said a shunt is the option to move forward to strighten up the lorry to the garage. If you going to do one, make ful use of the excise yard (your instrutor will explain) - you have at max 2 shunts on the test that you can use = 1 shunt = 1 minor on the test sheet. Take number 3 shunt = FAIL!

Quick question should I be looking for the nearside mirror to be filled by the whole trailer?

Yes - Now with the mirror on the passenager side I had this issue as well. Its all about your body build as well - I asked my instrutor at the time and he was hanging onto the mirror while I was trying this. Turned out when the trailer fills the mirror I had to make sure the wheels “just” touch the very edge of the mirror to get the perfect angle. Speak to him about it.

Tomorrow lesson it should all fall together - and sat morning should be peice of ■■■■ !

122

cheers xlthunter - much appreciated mate, I will ask him to do that for me it really is frustrating me that bit!!!

Ok the Big lebowski here’s your diagram -

123

Gazzareth:
I bet there isn’t a driver out there that didn’t want more time before their test. Don’t worry, it sounds like you are doing fine - enjoy tomorrow… …

G

I know I know, cheers mate hope to keep my instructor quieter tomorrow I dont like being shouted at :blush:

124

Like Wills said a shunt is the option to move forward to strighten up the lorry to the garage. If you going to do one, make ful use of the excise yard (your instrutor will explain) - you have at max 2 shunts on the test that you can use = 1 shunt = 1 minor on the test sheet. Take number 3 shunt = FAIL!

When I took a shunt the examiner actually indicated how far he wanted me to take, which was a heck of a lot less than the maximum amount you could take… … fortunately was still enough to do the job !!

G

125

Keep at it Will,every day your getting better,gud on ya.
Saturday will be a big celebration all round,

my re-test 28th june :frowning:

126

Lesson 4

Well bit of a strange day really… Had the 1st drive out from base no prob’s, knew he was going to be on to me from the start Loads of tight roundabouts & I was more than ready today. every widest arc, every sign every potential hazzard & biggest improvement of all & I dont know why its taken this long, looking in the mirrors and being able to react to where the trailer is going? Truthfully before I’d look in the mirror and just watch it go over the kerb or look straight through it !!! all this together = No being SHOUTED @ :smiley: & NO KERBS :smiley: Gear change was relaxed up through the gears NOBS on each gear change ( Big Lebowski - Nearside-Offside-BlindSpot Mirror check ) coming back down Instructor about to tell me to get hand off gears & back on sterring wheel but just about beat him too it. ( note to self " I should be Happy with that )

On to Brian - again good drive no kerbs no shouting apart from Not putting his seatbelt on ( I had to grass him up tho :blush: )
Onto Gear change I honestly cant remember but it must have been OK

All together SHARP INTAKE OF BREATH to the Truck Stop, Right then I wanted 1st in was told NO Brian 1st, so I asked if I cvould sit in with him for the 1st bit No problem, again he made it look simple But he didnt get enough angle to get past the B cone - I get out - Shunt just squeezed past going towards garage looking sweet - Shunt - not sure what happened next I was up by the a cones talking myself through it.

Me - sets it off looking for the 3 foot distance to the imaginary yellow line ( Hopefully when @ the test centre actually seeing the yellow line will help!!! ) on rear drive axle mudflap, opposite lock as quick as I can watching my offside wheel heading towards the LINE!! straighten it up a run it along the line ( Its working ) back towards the garage looked about 1meter gap between back of trailer and offside cone - instructor said it would have gone - I took the shunt - I can do this!!! all over the [zb] place took another shunt - in she went.

We both had 3 attempts, now I dont know why but after I’d finished mine I was Beating myself up again " waste of 700 notes etc etc " i did get 2 in and the other 1 Yes I did go over the Imaginary offside Yellow line @ the start - Later back @ Base My insructor Explained to me You Will have more room @ the Test Center!!! " I’ve have set this all week with JUST ENOUGH ROOM for you to get it in - the garage will be a bit wider, the gap between the A cones will be a bit wider & the distance from the A cones to the B Cone will be a bit longer!!!

I cant tell you all how better that has made me feel, but I aint gonna let myself get complacent @ all in fact far from it - I Know how it can be done and there is One In me.

On to the uncoupling - Now @ this time I’m thinking whats the [zb] point :unamused: Asked him If I could Video it? didnt look to impressed & sort Of said No - But I’ve took some under cover footage :sunglasses: if its any good I’ll post it later.

Quite straight forward really Come to a stop apply the hand brake neutrul switch off ignition - BLACK BAL - B = Brakes ( go around to the nearside of the trailer & pull out the RED button this applies the Trailer Brake ) L = Legs ( unhook the handle & wind the legs down - rehook the handle ) A= AirLines etc ( go around to the nearside back of the cab press button behind deflector & open up path on to the Gantrey, unhook all the cables) now I got a bit mixed up here but watching Brian do it , his method made a lot of sense, I just stowed 3 of them willy nilly, UPDATE just looked @ photo’s I took - they all have a place to be stowed!!! so glad I took them now CK = Clip & Kingpin, Undo the clip Lift chain so you can pull out the KingPin - Right hand on Diesel cap Left hand pull out King pin and hook it to your right!!!. As a check BAL Make sure they are done Brake Air Legs!!!

Back Into cab ( must get in Properly 3 point contact right hand not on steering wheel ) Start her up select your gear ( mines 2nd ) pull forward slowly and wach trailer settle - then reverse your Cab ( Tractor Unit ) offside of your trailer in line with the HeadBoard ( The Front Of the Trailer - again hadnt got a clue what he meant by that @ the start of the week ) Turn her off Finished…
Oh no - Examiner will then ask you to Re-Couple to the trailer as if it was New to you - You must then go around to the trailer - check the Trailer Brake is ON - Make sure its pulled out - then back to the front & check Its MOT is valid. Then walk round the trailer as you would do your normal daily checks- Back to your Cab & line her back up with the trailer so your rear axle is under the headboard - Turn her off and visbly check the height compatability ( you will not need to do anything - course it compatable )Oh & check the KingPin is still out!!! ours went back in today■■? Back into cab & reverse her back till you here the CLUNK select 1st gear a gently :blush: (not gonna explain that )tug forward TWICE Then its BLACK [/b ]in Reverse. ( B Push the Red Button ie trailer brake in )
When completed Do your Daily check AGAIN And Tell the Examiner you want to check your lights could you confirm theyre working for me? get back into your Cab - turn on ignition - side lights - brakes - indicators -
FINISHED = ■■? Ps Thats all for my revision & all us Newbies sorry for boring you experienced Truckers :wink:
Now massive Thanks to Brian here on leaving the truckstop, he said to our instructor Ken " let me have the rest of the drive" as he said he was happy with his driving, he just wished he had more time on the reverse, now know offence taken I to, still thoughtI needed it - again no problems - no shouting - no kerbs - again some well dones and even a sorry when he thought I’d got the wrong positioning :open_mouth: But about 1mile from base on a route taken by brian twice this week I actually thought I was on the main ring road - slowed down looked @ the sign got my position Ring road was straight on and bending to the right!!! I wasnt on the main ring road :blush: I should have been going accross it [zb] [zb] [zb] but I was still in the right lane to take the turn…Back to base and only remebering all the negatives i was well [zb] off…
Again I’ve sat down relaxed & reflected on the drive & the comments made by my instructor @ the end have helped - There is a C+E Drive in me I just hope its decides to show itself for my Test…Now its not Saturday I’ve Got 08.45 Monday Morning - Brian’s got Saturday 14.30, so @ least I’ll see the footy :smiley:
Till MONDAY - It really is gonna be a 50-50 hav a great weekend
Drive Safe
Wills
PS so I’m driving home, still driving me car like a truck :smiley: when i see a trucker wanting to pull out from his Yard - I duley oblige can see its tight watching him take his arc - want does he do■■? nearside rear axle over the kerbs & takes out 1 of the Plasticy type Bollards!!![/u]

127

See, all fits into place now :slight_smile: have you got any more time tomorrow for lessons or is that it? - please for god sake make sure you check that brake button before you couple up :slight_smile:

Now relax and enjoy :slight_smile:

Mike

128

xlthunter:
See, all fits into place now :slight_smile: have you got any more time tomorrow for lessons or is that it?

Mike

Nothing tomorrow - I have a 7.00am start Monday morning test 8.45 so I should hopefully get an hour in @ least.

Cheers xlthunter exactly what my instructor said about the Brake Button with a few ye olde anglo saxon words thrown in for good measure :laughing:

REVERSE QUESTION can you take your foot completly off the clutch & control the whole manouver with the footbrake■■? or will it stall■■?

129

Best of luck for Monday !!!

G

130

Excellent post Wills, that was very informative on the coupliing / uncoupling… I"m a bit green to say the least… :blush: :blush: so that was really helpful, I"m starting my training on Monday and I"m starting to feel nervous already :open_mouth: :open_mouth: was that all about … :confused: :confused:

All the best for monday… :smiley:

131

Welsh zebra:
Excellent post Wills, that was very informative on the coupliing / uncoupling… I"m a bit green to say the least… :blush: :blush: so that was really helpful, I"m starting my training on Monday and I"m starting to feel nervous already :open_mouth: :open_mouth: was that all about … :confused: :confused:

All the best for monday… :smiley:

No probs “Welsh zebra”, its helping me too!!! and to be honest there really isnt a lot of info on the Net @ all is there■■? ie pics Video’s etc.

Cheers Gazzareth I’m gonna give it my best!!!

Few more pics Trailer Brake Button

  • “Susies”

“Susies stowed”

[/b]

132

wills:
REVERSE QUESTION can you take your foot completly off the clutch & control the whole manouver with the footbrake■■? or will it stall■■?

Yes, your should do at this pace - control the lorry using the clutch :slight_smile: (speed wise) - I got told off for giving it power on the reserve when I didn’t need to use it on the rigids

o- 5 Susies, I only had 4 on mine… erm, better do some reading before my 1st job then :slight_smile:

Mike

133

o- 5 Susies, I only had 4 on mine… erm, better do some reading before my 1st job then Smile

The extra one is for ABS - by law must be connected if both the unit and trailer have it (although not really sure why you wouldn’t)…

G

134

wills:
Lesson 4

There is a C+E Drive in me I just hope its decides to show itself for my Test…Now its not Saturday I’ve Got 08.45 Monday Morning - Brian’s got Saturday 14.30, so @ least I’ll see the footy :smiley:

[/u]

At least Brian would have had nice quiet roads for his test yesterday, let us know how he got on.

Best of luck for tomorrow Wills.

135

Cheers MarkyMark, and to everyone who has helped me a long the way…

To be honest I would not have minded having my Test yesterday!!! as means I’ve go to have another morning off work now !!!

Will let you Know how Brian got on - I have decided not to ask about his result till after I’ve finished mine.

Going out for a drive now, just to check out my lane positioning etc on a couple of the roundabouts - especially @ junction 10 M6 coming from Wasall - straight on no probs to wolves, its the right for M6 north @ right for willenhall I need to check.

Till tomorrow Thanx for all your help

Wills

136

Cheers for the reversing diagram.
Good luck for tomorrow.
Let us know how you got on!

137

TEST CANCELLED

No probs this morning drove up tp the truck stop, have a kid up from LOndon with me for his 4th re-test :open_mouth: Practice the revers in one hell of a thunderstorm.
1st go all over the place but get it in with 2 shunts
New instructor gets in and shows me him doing 1!
Boy did this help -
I then did 2 1st time could not believe it :smiley:

Now leaving the truck stop, i’m still driving could we get the card to swipe :unamused: it felt like an age before the barrier was eventually lowered.

Now I’m actually feeling ready for my test, when I notice I have a lack of power, limiter kicking in @ 1500 revs in every gear■■? and a warning on the dash is telling me to “CHECK CAB CONTROLLER”■■?

At 1st I thought carry on it’ll just go!!! then I noticed the speedo had packed up :imp: Told me instructor who was straight on the phone… I’m now pulling into the test centre.

One of CTT’s other instructors comes over and takes it around the test centre - No Good.
Well the examiners are coming towards us now, looks like I would of had the 1 who took my 1st class c test :imp: but even he was nice to me today.

Test Cancelled Gutted [zb] [zb] [zb]

They decide to take it to a garage in cannock and see if they can get it sorted for the next test @ 10.30■■?

They make it back 15 mins to late test cancelled, and it all seemed ok. They said the limiter sorted itself out on the way to the garage, but then the ABS lights came on and @ one stage the dash looked like a xmas tree.There was something wrong with the Tacho and something I didnt quite catch.
Noticed the one instructor takeing the suzies out and back in again tho!!!

Back to wolves in a perfectly working truck…as of today they have no idea when they can fit me back in■■? just can’t believe it

Back to work ( another half days holiday wasted ) and you can just tell there was someting not right, so I go in to see the Manager…"Are you planning on leaving " Gulp had to play a blinder and basically not answer the question… seems the Foreman and the Directors between them put 2+2 together and decided I WAS SETTING UP MY OWN BUSINESS and they were worried I’d take the work off them :laughing:

Positives- 2 days off missed driving her, the reverse is getting there, want to leave work even more now :wink:

Took some more photo’s and a Video of a CLASS C reverse on Test ( i’ll post a link to that here later, its a good listen too ) media.putfile.com/Class-C-reverse

How small does that look now :smiley:

Oh well fingers crossed they get me in asap, I have said i’ll take anytime offered.

Wills

ps asked about Brian but the insructor I had didnt know …I will find out for when I ring again tomorrow.

138

limiter kicking in @ 1500 revs in every gear■■?

LOL - TNT are setting up all their MAN’s with a limiter at 1500, in fact the truck they use for assessments already has it - no problem to drive. All in the name of fuel efficiency !!

Then again anything that slows me down earns me money :smiley:

Sorry to hear of the problems - I smacked the mirror before my second test by being overconfident and rushing - same result, examiner would not take me out and a good few quid wasted. Hope that CTT sort you out quickly !!

G

139

What was goin on at the end of the Class 2 reverse when the driver got out & went round the back ?!
Was he not on the bay & the examiner was giving him a hinter?

140

Unlucky mate. :frowning:
Let us know when you have your test.