My class c was like a 7.5 and my c+e was like a 7.5 with a drawbar 
aint complaining but my first job was for Bowmur haulage on the containers. first one outā¦45ft hq 
took a couple of weeks to master reverse properly but was all good in the endā¦8 years on gp tanks for suttons and hargreaves was enjoyable, 3 months for stillers was hellā¦then i set my little business up with my little sprinter n do pretty well. but i miss the trucks 
How interesting is this? My experience is quite different to most of the posters. I run a fleet of new 12 tonne + drawbar Ivecos and think theyāre brilliant. Economical and perfect for the job. The first task of a trainer is to get folk through the test. But it shouldnāt end there. So I also run a Daf CF artic with a fully loaded 44 ft box. So all my CE passes end up going out on the loaded truck and are then awarded a certificate stating their achievement. To cover all bases, I also run an empty 33 foot box which just achieves min test vehicle length being 14.3 when coupled. So my customers have got the choice of training on a drawbar or artic.
BTW, I ran an 18.75metre Volvo FM12 combination for a couple of years and never had a problem at any test centre. (Sheffield, Nottingham and Wetherby).
I loved the Volvo but the accountant hated it. Say no more!
willie_mac:
What would you like to train in and what kind of trailer ?ROG:
The problem here might be that newbies cannot make any sort of comparisson between different trucks until well past their test in most cases by which time they may have a different take on things.The one thing that they will be able to make a fair and accurate comment on is the size of the trucks used.
i think what willie and data academy wantis a few pointers from those that have done there test and are now out there driving as in
how dis the trucks u drive now relate to the ones u drove during ur training obviously they cant be loaded whilst training
i.e is it better to learn on a near full length artic as apposed to one nearer the bare minimum for test requirements?
im also interested in this as once i get the cash ( or get someone willing to put me through) iāll be doing me cat C then my CAT C+E
farmer:
is it better to learn on a near full length artic as apposed to one nearer the bare minimum for test requirements?
YES - train in the type of vehicle that you are likely to encounter on your first job.
Peter Smythe:
I run a fleet of new 12 tonne + drawbar Ivecos and think theyāre brilliant
which is ok because after passing CE then then do this -
Peter Smythe:
I also run a Daf CF artic with a fully loaded 44 ft box. So all my CE passes end up going out on the loaded truck
Not many schools do the above and, IMO, this is the way to get all types of experience before going solo.
For C, I still advise going for an 18 tonner full size rigid though 
i would steer clear of daf and iveco. also old man trucks. all have split side windows so if the mirrors are a bit dirty or the windows or both or visibility is poor then the part of the window in front of the mirror doesnt go down. this is my pet hate on trucks, especially artics when you only have 1 mirror at a time when reversing.
Suggest the instructor does his job and keeps the mirrors clean! But I know what you mean. If the mirrors get grubby itās a pain in the proverbial.