Well thats very honest of you Joe for coming on here and setting the record straight, but in fairness this happened a couple of years ago when you were on holiday, so you would have been oblivious to it unless your old man told you.
But the latter half is what I had been told by others in the industry about sacking drivers, and it appeared that I would see a new driver every other week.
But fair play to you.
Like most have said the novelty wears off after a while.
The grass always looks greener,we are all hankering after a trunking job in one of those new FH’s.especially when dropping a prop in the pouring rain.
Had to laugh, before I cry - THE UK PROFESSIONAL DRIVERS FORUM (INTERACTIVE) - Trucknet UK this did get put up a couple of month’s ago…
i’d love to get in to recovery, did a bit at one of the garage’s i was at, but that was van and trailer though, good laugh, wakefield’s used to bring a few dead one’s for us as well… but alas bloody 3.5ton driving liecence 
can’t drive sod all, can’t tow sod all… 
cieranc:
Dunno who you worked for Chas, but you’ve hit the nail right on the head there.
I’m just about burned out now, I love the recovery job to bits but we’ve been running short-staffed for too long now, there’s only so long you can run on empty. 20 hour days are ok once in a while, but every other day is becoming too much. I’ve been applying for other jobs this week. I don’t want to leave, but can’t see any other way around it.
I have been out of it for over 2 years now.
Heavy recovery work is not for every one & is hard graft , most guys start on the car side first and work there way up.
I have just spent almost a year teaching one of our guy who has been doing the car work with us for the last 6 years and wanted to try heavies.
i would suggest you go and do a weekend with a operator at your expense and see what you think before you jump in.
It too me almost a year to find the rite guy for the job when we advertised a while ago
because lets face it who want to work every second weekend
Good luck
Joe Ash
Thomas Ash & Sons Ltd
joeash:
Heavy recovery work is not for every one & is hard graft , most guys start on the car side first and work there way up.I have just spent almost a year teaching one of our guy who has been doing the car work with us for the last 6 years and wanted to try heavies.
i would suggest you go and do a weekend with a operator at your expense and see what you think before you jump in.
It too me almost a year to find the rite guy for the job when we advertised a while ago
because lets face it who want to work every second weekend
Good luckJoe Ash
Thomas Ash & Sons Ltd
if you were closer (glasgow to grimsby is a bit to far to commuite 
) i’d be hammering your door down for a job…
As has been said previously, prepare yourself. If you don’t accept the fact that you’re going to get wet and cold taking that prop off, you’ll never do the job. Getting wet and cold is the easy bit some days. When you’ve got an artic in the rear end of another artic and there’s air pipes hanging everywhere, nothing will roll, the fifth wheel pin’s sheared and stuck the trailer into the cab, the loads fallen out of the side of the trailer and it’s -5 with 6 inches of snow on the ground. This is when you question your sanity sometimes! 
I would say that being an hgv mechanic is not a necessity but by Christ it helps and i would hate doing the recovery job if i hadn’t done 8 years in the workshop beforehand. You need to be a very logical thinker sometimes and try your damnedest to keep things as simple as possible. Don’t panic and don’t be pushed along by the police, the highways or anyone else who thinks they know how to do your job! If they ask how long you’ll be then tell them twice aslong as you think. That way they’re impressed when you’re done in half the time. 
However, there are some good point to the job. No two days are the same, you meet lots of different people, see different places and there are some very interesting jobs to be done that don’t entail blood, guts and cold weather. There’s no better feeling than finishing a difficult/long job sucessfully and just cruising back to the yard in the sunshine!
99% of the time i love the job, but i’m lucky as i work for a decent guv’nor who doesn’t just bark orders or rant and rave. It’s always a two way conversation, whatever it’s regarding. If you do a bit extra there may be no overtime rate but if you need to borrow a van, truck, use the workshop etc the answer is always yes. The job will be the same whoever you work for but itis who you work for that will make the difference.
Oh, and the look on the drivers face, when you give him a socket and power bar to remove the half shaft, coz he`s ■■■■■■ on his wheel whilst waiting for you to come out 
, i do have my limits 
Rusty Nail:
As has been said previously, prepare yourself. If you don’t accept the fact that you’re going to get wet and cold taking that prop off, you’ll never do the job. Getting wet and cold is the easy bit some days. When you’ve got an artic in the rear end of another artic and there’s air pipes hanging everywhere, nothing will roll, the fifth wheel pin’s sheared and stuck the trailer into the cab, the loads fallen out of the side of the trailer and it’s -5 with 6 inches of snow on the ground. This is when you question your sanity sometimes!
I remember clearly now. One winters night when the snow & slush thawed then re-froze rapidly at about 2am, on the A50 south of Derby. We were all out that night, 2 artics had jacknifed & had a fatal with a BMW saloon. 3 other cars involved with light injuries.
The heavy boys couldn’t do anything with the jacknifes 'cos the road surface was 1" of sheet ice, you struggled to even stand up let alone pull & lift 20tons back into place.
I was tasked with moving one of the minors but couldn’t open the locker doors on my speclift to get any gear out, the push buttons had all frozen solid in the short time we’d been out there. A gorgeous copper sidled up to me & suggested I pee on them, she held the Maglite while I struggled to stand up on the ice & train the flow on the catch’s . . . . All I can say in my defence is it was a very cold night . . . . It won’t mean much to anyone who’s never done anything more exciting than trunking from A to B.
Can echo everything that has been said about recovery work so far.
Have worked for 3 “independents” including the same one as another poster on here who is currently looking for a night shift heavy driver! They fit the bill of “use you up, burn you out and kick you out” very aptly…or at least they did when i worked for them!
I also worked for the AA on recovery…what a fantastic job! At least it was…until Centrica took over and changed all the shifts so you couldn’t earn any OT!
Used to work 4 on 4 off, regularly did 2 of the 4 off as OT, earning around £23-25k a year in the late 90’s, for what was often 1 or 2 jobs a day if you got lucky with a distance run. Then they changed the shifts, introduced performance monitoring which included scoring everybody based on what %ge of their shift they were actually on a job.
I got pulled up one month for having the lowest “utilisation” rate on our team…manager was giving me a right bollocking till i asked him to look at the actual jobs i had been doing…majority of which had been long distance runs with no return job…which meant lots of empty running hence low “utilisation” scores!
Great job if you can find the right company…bag of ■■■■ if you don’t. And far too many ■■■■ takers out there…the chances of finding the “right” company are minimal!
And you need to be prepaired to get covered in s**t 
I did it for a couple of years for a Grantham based Co. i’ll echo what most others have said, forget your marriage, forget your social life, forget going out for a meal with the replacement Mrs.
However, if you can’t stand the thought of two days the same, then this is the game for you. Extremely challenging, but extremely rewarding. Didn’t much like living in a caravan on the H/S on the Tinsley viaduct for three months, but hey ho, got to watch Cash in the attic a lot, and became a paternity expert thanks to Jeremy Kyle!
Quick funny story… my (then) boss was out on the road and received a job through the system which came with the code “COWS”. This usually meant “cut out won’t start”. Off he toddles to be greeted by a copper who could barely talk for laughing at the scene. Turns out that Billy boy racer had a first date with some young lovely and keen to impress with his driving skills had come hooning around a corner on a country road to be confronted by the stationary arse of an escaped dairy cow! Billy couldn’t stop it in time, slammed into the cow from behind. The cows arse went through the passenger side of the windscreen pinning the hot date to the seat!
When my gaffer got there the injured, but very much alive cow was mooing it’s heart out every few seconds. Problem being, every time it mooed it also emptied it’s bowels onto the trapped but uninjured hot date.
Apparently even the vet who arrived to put the poor beast out of its misery (the cow, not the date) could barely do his job for laughing!
Dunno if date number two ever happened though.
the maoster:
I did it for a couple of years for a Grantham based Co. i’ll echo what most others have said, forget your marriage, forget your social life, forget going out for a meal with the replacement Mrs.However, if you can’t stand the thought of two days the same, then this is the game for you. Extremely challenging, but extremely rewarding. Didn’t much like living in a caravan on the H/S on the Tinsley viaduct for three months, but hey ho, got to watch Cash in the attic a lot, and became a paternity expert thanks to Jeremy Kyle!
Quick funny story… my (then) boss was out on the road and received a job through the system which came with the code “COWS”. This usually meant “cut out won’t start”. Off he toddles to be greeted by a copper who could barely talk for laughing at the scene. Turns out that Billy boy racer had a first date with some young lovely and keen to impress with his driving skills had come hooning around a corner on a country road to be confronted by the stationary arse of an escaped dairy cow! Billy couldn’t stop it in time, slammed into the cow from behind. The cows arse went through the passenger side of the windscreen pinning the hot date to the seat!
When my gaffer got there the injured, but very much alive cow was mooing it’s heart out every few seconds. Problem being, every time it mooed it also emptied it’s bowels onto the trapped but uninjured hot date.
Apparently even the vet who arrived to put the poor beast out of its misery (the cow, not the date) could barely do his job for laughing!
Dunno if date number two ever happened though.
the maoster:
Quick funny story… my (then) boss was out on the road and received a job through the system which came with the code “COWS”. This usually meant “cut out won’t start”. Off he toddles to be greeted by a copper who could barely talk for laughing at the scene. Turns out that Billy boy racer had a first date with some young lovely and keen to impress with his driving skills had come hooning around a corner on a country road to be confronted by the stationary arse of an escaped dairy cow! Billy couldn’t stop it in time, slammed into the cow from behind. The cows arse went through the passenger side of the windscreen pinning the hot date to the seat!When my gaffer got there the injured, but very much alive cow was mooing it’s heart out every few seconds. Problem being, every time it mooed it also emptied it’s bowels onto the trapped but uninjured hot date.
Apparently even the vet who arrived to put the poor beast out of its misery (the cow, not the date) could barely do his job for laughing!
Ask your boss if he’s sure it was a Cow & not a Bull.
I’ve been to 1000’s of RTA’s & the only time I’ve ever arrived on scene before all of that nasty stuff had been sorted & cleared, once when the AA run call centre mucked up big time & once when I stumbled upon one returning to base.
BTW. Cows spit manure from the rear end when they cough, not when they moo.
Chas:
the maoster:
Quick funny story… my (then) boss was out on the road and received a job through the system which came with the code “COWS”. This usually meant “cut out won’t start”. Off he toddles to be greeted by a copper who could barely talk for laughing at the scene. Turns out that Billy boy racer had a first date with some young lovely and keen to impress with his driving skills had come hooning around a corner on a country road to be confronted by the stationary arse of an escaped dairy cow! Billy couldn’t stop it in time, slammed into the cow from behind. The cows arse went through the passenger side of the windscreen pinning the hot date to the seat!When my gaffer got there the injured, but very much alive cow was mooing it’s heart out every few seconds. Problem being, every time it mooed it also emptied it’s bowels onto the trapped but uninjured hot date.
Apparently even the vet who arrived to put the poor beast out of its misery (the cow, not the date) could barely do his job for laughing!
I bow to an expert!
Police contract, ya tend to arrive pretty much the same time as all others.
Cow physiology I honestly can’t comment on
Bet your kids were really happy to learn from you that Santa is dead and the toothfairy is a predatory paedo!
BTW lets break down the word “expert” shall we? Ex (as in “used to be”) Spurt (as in “drip under pressure”)
Ask your boss if he’s sure it was a Cow & not a Bull.
I’ve been to 1000’s of RTA’s & the only time I’ve ever arrived on scene before all of that nasty stuff had been sorted & cleared, once when the AA run call centre mucked up big time & once when I stumbled upon one returning to base.
BTW. Cows spit manure from the rear end when they cough, not when they moo.
Bit of a Bump but I thought it was better than starting a new post.
Am due to leave the army in August and have the chance to do a 5 week recovery course as my resettlement! Now iv been reading up for a few days and I understand its hard work in all weather at all time’s of day and night. Anyone know of any company’s around the Sleaford/Grantham/Lincoln/Spalding etc… Is it easy work to get into? Am not from a mechanical back ground will this go against me?
Cheers
Hitch
Hitchy:
Bit of a Bump but I thought it was better than starting a new post.Am due to leave the army in August and have the chance to do a 5 week recovery course as my resettlement! Now iv been reading up for a few days and I understand its hard work in all weather at all time’s of day and night. Anyone know of any company’s around the Sleaford/Grantham/Lincoln/Spalding etc… Is it easy work to get into? Am not from a mechanical back ground will this go against me?
Cheers
Hitch
Recovery is not a job, it’s a vocation, a way of life. It’s a bit like the Army except . . . ermmm . . . well . . . ermmm sort of like the Army life, but not quite the full blown Army life.
Your 5 week course will amount to nothing if after the first week you discover it’s not for you. Trust me on this, you could discover that it’s not the job for you after the first day in the real world.
Heavy recovery is a bit more difficult to break into than light recovery. The best heavy recovery ops are hgv mechanics, either bored of the confines of the workshop or looking to build a CV. Light recovery is easy to break into yet difficult to sustain. You will be treated with utter contempt by most independant recovery Co’s but if you find you enjoy the job then all the ■■■■ fades into the distance.
It can be a very rewarding job, both financially & mentally.
Try Frank Ratcliffe just outside Peterboro he does a lot. Of the recoverys around south lincs, not sure of his number but being a ex squaddie I’m sure you’ll find it…;/))) Good luck mate…
Haven’t done the heavies, but before I did my ‘classes’, I did about 5 years of light recovery, and really loved it. I can echo all the above comments though, especially the ones about the jobs suitability for the various people that ‘give it a go’. The casualty rate is quite dramatic. Added to that, the clubs and new legislation have just about killed the job stone dead.
To sum up, I enjoyed it while it lasted, but feel that I’m well out of it now, especially when I see a casualty car being attended to beside a dual carrigeway that never made it to a lay-by first, and everything wizzing past the scene with hardly a foot to spare…
Chas:
Hitchy:
Bit of a Bump but I thought it was better than starting a new post.Am due to leave the army in August and have the chance to do a 5 week recovery course as my resettlement! Now iv been reading up for a few days and I understand its hard work in all weather at all time’s of day and night. Anyone know of any company’s around the Sleaford/Grantham/Lincoln/Spalding etc… Is it easy work to get into? Am not from a mechanical back ground will this go against me?
Cheers
HitchRecovery is not a job, it’s a vocation, a way of life. It’s a bit like the Army except . . . ermmm . . . well . . . ermmm sort of like the Army life, but not quite the full blown Army life.
Your 5 week course will amount to nothing if after the first week you discover it’s not for you. Trust me on this, you could discover that it’s not the job for you after the first day in the real world.
Heavy recovery is a bit more difficult to break into than light recovery. The best heavy recovery ops are hgv mechanics, either bored of the confines of the workshop or looking to build a CV. Light recovery is easy to break into yet difficult to sustain. You will be treated with utter contempt by most independant recovery Co’s but if you find you enjoy the job then all the [zb] fades into the distance.
It can be a very rewarding job, both financially & mentally.
What Chas said is absolutely spot on about the recovery industry i work in.
as for companies around that area you have, Tear’s Recovery, Wakefields, Hampsons, Jessons of Lincoln.