I self tip but I deliver to stores rather than RDC’s most of the time. Only ever refused once because the guy I was delivering furtinue too was a knob. I asked him to watch my back as I was trying to reverse in off a busy London street only for him to walk off half way through. Was quite funny watching him whine and moan struggling with these large sofa’s.
Radar19:
I self tip but I deliver to stores rather than RDC’s most of the time. Only ever refused once because the guy I was delivering furtinue too was a knob. I asked him to watch my back as I was trying to reverse in off a busy London street only for him to walk off half way through. Was quite funny watching him whine and moan struggling with these large sofa’s.
Dont forget radar you only drive half of a propper lorry 
busteredwards:
I’v done the odd container to Lidls in Livingston on a saturday morning, when the place is quiet. This self-tipping lark might be a bit more bearable if the wallopers on the goods-in desk rewarded you with a wee ‘thank you’ once in a while, for unloading their goods from their suppliers container!
I broke one of their docks. In all fairness they were just as nonchalant about that as they are at everything else. Told me to drive off the bay as quick as I could, so I didn’t damage my trailer. Livi is probably the best Lidl depot to be fair. They don’t get all arsey if you’re a bit early or late, because obviously you can factor in everything when you’re doing the thick end of 300 miles to get to them.
I quite enjoy self tipping (so long as it’s palletised), makes a change from tossing it off in the cab. Just don’t do what I did at Aldi a few months ago and put the pallet truck too far into the pallet, hence breaking it when I tried to lift it… next 20 minutes spent restacking 100 odd cases of Stella. 
rob22888:
I quite enjoy self tipping (so long as it’s palletised), makes a change from tossing it off in the cab. Just don’t do what I did at Aldi a few months ago and put the pallet truck too far into the pallet, hence breaking it when I tried to lift it… next 20 minutes spent restacking 100 odd cases of Stella.
Just park it over the salvaged bits of pallet. Always works for me
I’m happy to secure the load, not sheeted for years now, and take the straps off at the other end but that is where it stops. Good for you if you are happy to tip yourself or help tip but these days you are taking a lot on your own back.
Do any of you self tippers ever ask about risk assessments, fire procedures, first aid facilities, damaged goods responsibility, indemnity to use MHE etc etc? You are leaving yourselves wide open to be handed the dirty end of the stick should something go wrong!
Gangan:
I’m happy to secure the load, not sheeted for years now, and take the straps off at the other end but that is where it stops. Good for you if you are happy to tip yourself or help tip but these days you are taking a lot on your own back.Do any of you self tippers ever ask about risk assessments, fire procedures, first aid facilities, damaged goods responsibility, indemnity to use MHE etc etc? You are leaving yourselves wide open to be handed the dirty end of the stick should something go wrong!
there quite happy too supply you with all the h&s, risk assessment, first aid stations and who they are, damaged goods responsability is same if they were tipping it, there happy too show you how too use the electric trucks and if they think you cant/or are a risk then the load will refused and you be sent on your way
all the suppliers are paid for you to self tip the load but some dont pass it on to the haulage firm.
if you refuse to tip it then the load is refused, the supplier gets a penalty of £5000 for non delivery if my memory serves me correctly
scotstrucker:
Gangan:
I’m happy to secure the load, not sheeted for years now, and take the straps off at the other end but that is where it stops. Good for you if you are happy to tip yourself or help tip but these days you are taking a lot on your own back.Do any of you self tippers ever ask about risk assessments, fire procedures, first aid facilities, damaged goods responsibility, indemnity to use MHE etc etc? You are leaving yourselves wide open to be handed the dirty end of the stick should something go wrong!
there quite happy too supply you with all the h&s, risk assessment, first aid stations and who they are, damaged goods responsability is same if they were tipping it, there happy too show you how too use the electric trucks and if they think you cant/or are a risk then the load will refused and you be sent on your way
all the suppliers are paid for you to self tip the load but some dont pass it on to the haulage firm.
if you refuse to tip it then the load is refused, the supplier gets a penalty of £5000 for non delivery if my memory serves me correctly
In other words their arses are well and truly covered. So you either self tip or ■■■■ off. Got you by the balls in other words 
Come back a bit of Union power… all is forgiven.
robroy:
scotstrucker:
Gangan:
I’m happy to secure the load, not sheeted for years now, and take the straps off at the other end but that is where it stops. Good for you if you are happy to tip yourself or help tip but these days you are taking a lot on your own back.Do any of you self tippers ever ask about risk assessments, fire procedures, first aid facilities, damaged goods responsibility, indemnity to use MHE etc etc? You are leaving yourselves wide open to be handed the dirty end of the stick should something go wrong!
there quite happy too supply you with all the h&s, risk assessment, first aid stations and who they are, damaged goods responsability is same if they were tipping it, there happy too show you how too use the electric trucks and if they think you cant/or are a risk then the load will refused and you be sent on your way
all the suppliers are paid for you to self tip the load but some dont pass it on to the haulage firm.
if you refuse to tip it then the load is refused, the supplier gets a penalty of £5000 for non delivery if my memory serves me correctlyIn other words their arses are well and truly covered. So you either self tip or [zb] off. Got you by the balls in other words
Come back a bit of Union power… all is forgiven.
when i started here my contract of employment stated that i was responsible for securing the load opening the curtains or doors and driving the wagon and that i was too have no interaction with the loading/unloading of the goods this was the responsibility of the customers.
boss had too change our contracts when he signed 3 contracts with aldi suppliers ( we deliver anything between 5 and 15 loads a day into various aldi dc’s) yes we weren’t happy but we managed too negotiate a £10 per load tipping bonus but it has too have no damages or you lose your £10 ( i did 10 loads into aldi dc’s last week so an extra £100 in my pocket)
i quite enjoy tipping myself, gives me exercise, have a banter with other drivers/ aldi staff on the bays, in and out in an hour unless it extremely busy, sometimes get a freebie.
aldi and lidl are the new versions of the old netto except you get an electric truck and not a pump truck too unload yourself (unlike gist barnsley where if you got a curtainsider you have too pump truck it too the back door as they not allowed in trailer with electric ones) so it’s really no hardship tipping yourself.
our day men love aldi as it’s in, tip, get it checked which dont take long as it all one product and there gone, send them into asda xdc at doncaster and it’s the end of the world, 3+ hours waiting to tip and for paperwork back
First time i had a self tip was at Lidl Crayford, i sat on the bay for 30 mins before another driver told me itv was a self tip…so annoyed i walked in the warehouse to put my point, they were not interested, so eventually and reluctantly walked to my bay,…sory mat i havnt been trained on that electric barrow…ok drive, take that manual one…err… wait a minute…grabbed the electric one , deliberately rammed it against the posts with the battery covers, wrecking it…so eventually i had to use a manual one, which was hard work…but managed to get the load off, and an extra £30 off the boss cos he never told me it was a self unload…
Quite a lot of companies on the continent now expect drivers to self load, and they supply electric barrows too, and i dont moan anymore…just get on with it, age is a pacifier eh !!
Love going to these places, lidl and aldi, especially the one in newton aycliffe where i spent 4hrs last week 
It’s a matter of time before an untrained driver puts the electric forklift straight through the curtains… 
or hurts someone
Then they get a slap on the wrist…and carry on doing what they’re doing .They must save a fortune in wages,so don’t care about a few claims injurys etc etc. 
The electric forklifts are often not fit to use! Take a camera phone in take a few pics then email them off to the health and safety executive! Things might get fixed then
maestegboy:
It’s a matter of time before an untrained driver puts the electric forklift straight through the curtains…Then they get a slap on the wrist…and carry on doing what they’re doing .They must save a fortune in wages,so don’t care about a few claims injurys etc etc.
The electric forklifts are often not fit to use! Take a camera phone in take a few pics then email them off to the health and safety executive! Things might get fixed then
Already happened at Neston mate, straight through the curtains and onto the deck, smashed into a hundred pieces.
At Aldi I find it is too dark in the trailer as you load. I would have thought that was against health and safety, like going down the pit 
I’ve never understood this anti tip your self attitude to be honest. We expect the driver of a parcel van to unload his own vehicle. Same goes for a concrete wagon or builder’s lorry.
So why is it suddenly unacceptable to wheel pallets off the back door? I’ve done Aldi stuff and tipped myself and it’s no big deal to me. My employer paid me to do it so I did. I’m not “rolling over” or being a “gaffers arse licker” I’m just doing my job.
alder:
At Aldi I find it is too dark in the trailer as you load. I would have thought that was against health and safety, like going down the pit
Every depot I’ve been to has a big halogen floodlight on the bay, that you point into the trailer. The switch is normally on the dock leveller panel, or somewhere near it.
I don’t mind the self tipping either, biggest bugbear is that the loaders at our place don’t group like products together, so I can end up doing a right old merry dance to sort them all out
I never self-tip, the company do it all for us!
HOWEER; I would not mind for one minute being able to self tip, because I know for one that it would do me the world of good and perhaps even help shift a few pounds… and I think same can be said for vast majority of us truckers!
Honestly though, so long as you’ve had the proper training, is health and safety assessed and everythings good, then whats the big deal? You still get to take your breaks as and when you need them…
Only thing I do object to, is stores where they tip without loading bay from back (the ones they need to use FLT truck for). They take first 2 pallets off, then expect you to struggle on back with pump trucks with no space to move whatsoever (I will NOT risk falling and crippling myself for anyone!). Funny thing is though, these stores have extender forks to pull pallets 3 and 4 forward, but refuse to use them! Well thats simple then, if they wanna struggle like a silly ■■■■ then let them, and ill jump on back once all 4 pallets have been shifted and I can do the rest of my job safely!
Quick question for the drivers who are moaning about not being trained on electric pump trucks. Most of you constantly bang on about how highly skilled and expensively trained you are to drive your highly sosphisticated trucks, that could kill if you lapsed concentration for a millisecond, and should be paid the same as pilots. How come you are defeated by a pump truck that has about 3 switches?
098Joe:
Quick question for the drivers who are moaning about not being trained on electric pump trucks. Most of you constantly bang on about how highly skilled and expensively trained you are to drive your highly sosphisticated trucks, that could kill if you lapsed concentration for a millisecond, and should be paid the same as pilots. How come you are defeated by a pump truck that has about 3 switches?
would you ask a fighter pilot to drive a car with no training?