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Ok so I've had my class 1 hgv licence for about a month now and am desperately seeking a job but I keep coming up against the same old thing........ No experience !
So my question, is there any company out there that has proved to give people like me a shot ?
I'm willing to do almost anything including unsociable hours.
I'm willing to do almost anything including unsociable hours.
Dave
Thats the only sort there is for a propper class1 driver
It is hard at the mo mate I've had my class 1 12 years now with experience in everything exept tippers, tanks and livestock.
I have been off the road since March when the company i worked for went bust and am chomping at the bit to get back at it.
When i first started the way in was via an agency on 'ad-hoc' work which is seriously tempting me again. The job has steadily gone down hill until the resession started to kick in then the arse fell out of it propper.
Rang up for one yesterday, 60hrs+, 23.5k +expenses. I got no ADR so
Where abouts in the country are you??
__________________ I Don't Wanna Be A Freak, But I Can't Help Myself
Location: Muff, Wanket, you dirty little club babes, get in...
Posts: 13,772
Send a pm to 'richieh' on here. He's a mate of mine and drives lorries. Was in a similar situation if I remember correctly (sick mrs) so may be able to offer advice?
I would suggest approaching an agency as well, my mate passed his class 2 and went to an agency, found work fairly quickly, probably best way in at the moment
i'm between leeds and wakefield with castleford and normanton not too far away either.
thanks for the help guys guess its a matter of just keep trying
To start with i would be going to Whitwood for my breakfast of a morning and seeing whats about in there, have a word with the drivers, they might bite n snarl a bit but its the best way in
Wish i lived where you do, it's sh17 round here. I usually work out of Immingham which again isn't that far from you
Good luck and please post any vacancies you find as they may be of use to myself or others
__________________ I Don't Wanna Be A Freak, But I Can't Help Myself
OK is it just me or is "Experience" a stupid thing to ask for??
Driving is driving and if you have Passed your test what more do they need?? Am I being to logical here ?
It's just you mate
Inexperience is the main cause of damage/accidents/goods in transit claims. There is hell of a lot more to it than 'driving'. 50' long and 44 tons heavy takes a lot of learning Its like a 17 yo passing the car test, just because they have passed doesn't nessisarily mean they are compitent which is what most companies are looking for. The main problem at the mo though is there are more drivers than jobs
The only way i can around it is, to stop the foreigners coming over, ie send all import trailers in 'unaccompanied' then the requirment for British hauliers would increase dramatically, fat chance of that though
1000 posts, that makes me a big member
__________________ I Don't Wanna Be A Freak, But I Can't Help Myself
Agency as everyone has said-join as many as you can and for the first few weeks take everything they offer you.
All of my work is now generated through one company where i am getting 4 days a week on average.
Dont turn down any class 2 work either as it often leads on to class one.
The main problem is that over the last 2 years theres not been a great deal of money in it eg i was driving for tesco(through an agency) 3 years back and making between 9 and 15 pounds an hour depending on times of shifts etc now i get £6.75 an hour on a class 2 and £7.75 on class one during the week with time and a half on sat/sun with start times anything between midnight and 4 am- wages may be better up your way though but locally the number of drivers available are depressing the pay rate
cheers richie
Inexperience is the main cause of damage/accidents/goods in transit claims. There is hell of a lot more to it than 'driving'. 50' long and 44 tons heavy takes a lot of learning Its like a 17 yo passing the car test, just because they have passed doesn't nessisarily mean they are compitent which is what most companies are looking for. The main problem at the mo though is there are more drivers than jobs
The only way i can around it is, to stop the foreigners coming over, ie send all import trailers in 'unaccompanied' then the requirment for British hauliers would increase dramatically, fat chance of that though
1000 posts, that makes me a big member
beat me to it lol-experience makes all the difference and can save a company hrs a day just by being quick on and off bays (eccleshall coop blindside and 45 degrees)and happy to play in traffic-spot where loading bays are (iceland are buggers for hiding theirs) etc etc.
it also usually takes a while to develop the concentration needed to drive safely for 4.5 hrs at stretch without a break-although many(non hgv drivers) on here would have you believe its easy-admittedly its not brain surgery mind .
cheers richie
Oh one other thing-check how much manual labour is involved with any job you do as unless you are fittish some of the shifts can be a killer-one example being today-drive an artic full of bread (9 tons ish) manually unload it in 100kg stacks(dragging across floor with a hook) onto pallets at lidls dist centre- drive artic back to base , jump in rigid and put on bay-manually load with 6 ton of bread again in 100kg stacks then drive to another bakery and manually off load before heading back .
20 tons of bread manually handled in a day in silly temps-the upside is ive lost 2 stone since oct and now have got these strange bulges appearing under my skin-who needs a gym
cheers richie
Certainly does keep ya fit I would regularly move between 10 and 30 ton a day and drive for 9 hrs, but then some days i wouldn't even need to get in the trailer at all and have emense hours of sleep. Its a great job and i cant wait to get back at it
__________________ I Don't Wanna Be A Freak, But I Can't Help Myself
most fun for me was running a 480hp merc auto with empty curtainside trailer terrorising unsuspecting cars off the lights around oxford ring road- 2000ish lbft of torque can get a shift on even in a big un when its unladen-at least up to about 30 lol-altho kipping waiting for a bay/slot aint to be sniffed at either
cheers richie
most fun for me was running a 480hp merc auto with empty curtainside trailer terrorising unsuspecting cars off the lights around oxford ring road- 2000ish lbft of torque can get a shift on even in a big un when its unladen-at least up to about 30 lol-altho kipping waiting for a bay/slot aint to be sniffed at either
cheers richie
Yeah much the same DAF 105 460hp skelly only or even better unit only
I love the job, once you've got it sorted you do what you want when you want, to a certain degree your your own boss, as long as your there on time there aint alot more you can do
__________________ I Don't Wanna Be A Freak, But I Can't Help Myself
if your willing to travell try murfitts , i can see that there are a lot of posters that don't work or know the business (dolers,you know the score ) . pm me as i know a few people and may bne be able to0 line something up
I worked for Stobarts for 3 weeks last Christmas (sub'd out by the firm i was with at the time). Lots of BS involved. They prefer experienced drivers due to the time constraints of the delivery windows, esspecially if your on the Tesco side
You do right appling but don't bank on them getting back to you as they have the pick of the drivers at the moment.
__________________ I Don't Wanna Be A Freak, But I Can't Help Myself
I worked for Stobarts for 3 weeks last Christmas (sub'd out by the firm i was with at the time). Lots of BS involved. They prefer experienced drivers due to the time constraints of the delivery windows, esspecially if your on the Tesco side
You do right appling but don't bank on them getting back to you as they have the pick of the drivers at the moment.
Yeah pretty much expected not to hear anything, there isn't any vacancies on line it was just a letter that i'd sent in .
Need A Job ?
I've had my class 1 12 years now with experience in everything exept tippers, tanks and livestock.
Its like a 17 yo passing the car test, just because they have passed doesn't nessisarily mean they are compitent which is what most companies are looking for. The main problem at the mo though is there are more drivers than jobs
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