I just had my first lesson today and it was the fucking scaryest thing iv done in a while, it was the wee intro lesson thing and i thought it was hard as fuck. I kept on forgetting the gears and it seemed like even though i was hugging the white line the truck still looked so close to the curb. I dont think i relaxed at all and tbh i dont think i enjoyed it lol. The guy told me that once the week course starts I will be taken to a quite bit of road to learn the gears and all about the truck properly............................WTF why didnt he do this in the first place instead of flinging me the keys and giving me a 2 seconds speach on how the gearbox worked?. The gearbox in those things is fucking impossible lol

 

Just keeping looking ahead mate. You will get there with practise better jumping in at the deep end sometimes, my first drives scared the shit out of me!

 

its just like driving a car just bigger, and a few more gears, u want to try driving a crash box where u have to double clutch, that would really do ur head in

 

Don't worry it all comes together in the end and as anything becomes easy. Done mine when I was 18 and shit myself as you said at the size of it when driving.

 

don't panic about any of it mate it isn't rocket science .. I done mine last sep it took me 4 days( fri,sat,sun,mon ) all in it took 6hrs driving incl test ! Good luck

 

tips? MIRRORS!!!!! on your test you will spend more time looking in them than looking ahead! every time you do anything on the test, change gear, change speed, change direction etc... check mirrors. look out for kerbs on your test, youre not allowed to go over ANY! so start your turn nice and wide and as you make the turn check your mirror to see where your rear wheels are, and adjust the steering to suit the corner. take it all nice and slow, keep a good distance from vehicles in front.
but the best tip is to relax really, chat to your examiner, luckily for both my tests (class 2 and class 1) my examiners were ex military so i just talked about old times lol!
oh and learn the speed limits. anything single carriageway (ie nothing solid between different directions of traffic) has a maximum speed limit of 40mph unless marked lower. dual carriageway (any road not a motorway with solid barrier between directions of traffic) is 50mph unless marked lower and motorway is flat out, 60mph (i say flat out as your wagon wont do 60 on a flat).
is there anything specific you want to ask?

 

Top tips from Big Wig.

 

Also check your blind spot that was my downfall nearly failed for not checking it when moving off.

 

passed mine earlier this yr , just take your time and do everything slowly and dont panic .cant fail you for being safe and controlled

 

It was just hard to get the gears, I found it was confusing coming up to juncions I would always try to go for 1st like in a car instead of 4. Also the size, the guy was constantly telling me to stay out from the curb but it felt like I was miles across the other side of the road

 

As daft as it sounds run a journey through your head and play with the gears. May help a little.

What gear box? 4 over 4?

Try a gated crash gear box! Nightmare!

 

You will be suprised how quickly you pick it up,
What truck are you learning in?


Try to think about what gear you need before placing your hand on the gear leaver,
Once your hand is on it you will move it and if your not sure where you need it to be you'll end up either coasting or selecting the wrong gear.

 

angle the passenger side mirror slightly downward so you can keep a constant eye on the kerb, drive with it a decent distance from the kerb where the instructor is happy and gauge where your side of the cab is over distance, just like when you learned to drive a car this will become second nature.
at all times, including when stopped at lights etc, pretend there is an invisible caravan behind every other vehicle on the road, if a car breaks down at the lights in front of you, you need to leave enough distance to get around them should you need to.
as for the gearbox, when you stop, put it in neutral, calm yourself down and think about what gear you need, the low ratio stuff wont be needed when youre running empty. talk to yourself out loud if need be "handbrake on, into neutral, mirror, mirror, 4th gear, mirror, mirror, blindspot, handbrake off, pull away" if you keep saying stuff to yourself its easier to remember. it all comes to you eventually.

 

And when you pass look forward to a pain in the arse job!

So many rules and regs now its getting daft.

 

Take on board everything big wig is telling you and don't worry, it will click. Remember it's just a big car and needs a bit more room.
As already said, don't worry about the examiner they are nothing like car tests.

Good luck mate

 

and then you have to learn all about tacho regulations, drivers hours regulations, cpc, driving with heavy loads on board, strapping loads, distributing your load evenly, dealing with muppets in the office who dont understand a truck can only go so fast and that tacho breaks are not advisory but mandatory!!!! but, its a trade at the end of the day and i LOVE my job, my own boss while im in the cab, listen to what i want on the radio and see the outside world rather than an office.
good luck

 

I have found the examiners to be very friendly and very fair.


One thing bigwig said, I was taught differently. 3rd gear is what I taught to pull away in and that was both hgv 2 & 1?

 

I've been kicked off many a yard dictating the rules to dick head managers.
"So you're right and the rest of the industry is wrong then?"

Yeah pretty much mate. *starts reeling off DoT rules and regs and they get a right shit on and send me home. Cant argue as get paid still lol.






Back to the OP, you will get the hang of it mate. Just don't rush and all will fall in place.

 

oh, i was just going off what he said, sure he said 4th there, it depends on the box you have, some have a normal 5 or 6 speed box like a car, in which case yes, 2nd or rarely 3rd to start with, but others have 4 low and 4 high range gears, known as a 4 over 4 (there are also 6 over 6 etc), so it looks just like an old 4 speed car gearbox but with a switch on the lever to switch from low to high range, so, typically when unloaded you would be in 4th to set off in, then out of gear, switch to high range, and across to where 1st was for 5th and keep going. it also depends on the engine in the truck, i used to drive a little short box wagon that was the length of a 7.5t but the rest was all class 2 and was designated 18t, but the engine was from an artic as it was used for wagon and drag in the evenings for trunking. you could merrily set off in 5th fully loaded in that!

BUT.......... nowadays, a lot of wagons are all auto, so you dont have to worry too much about that anymore lol, just some of the awful boxes designed, but thats in another thread lol.

 

Your not allowed to take a HGV test in a lorry with a straight gear box these days.

Has to be high/low weather is be 4 over 4 or 6 over 6,

Range change or knock over.



it become compulsary about 12-18mths ago




Just aswell they dont have to have a splitter aswell, that would confuse him ever so slightly

 

ahhh, i passed mine way before that so there we go. use whatever gear your instructor says.
if you get anymore general questions feel free to ask, theres a fair few of us Yorkie bar eaters on here!

 

think i had a straight 5 speed when I did my class 1 and 2.

 

I passed 6 years ago now, It was a huge achievement at the time. I enjoy the driving part of the job, just not enjoying my current company. It has got to the point where I hate the job so much I have considered
a total career change.
Shame as I do like driving HGVs.

 

Think we get ever where

 

Carlo I had a straight 6 with a very worn selector, If you didnt get it in 1st time it was like stiring porridge.

 

Thats the opinion of many now I think mate.

 

thats the general idea lol!
you in the TA mate? or you a driver in the Army?

 

Place I am at now I had to do an assesment in a shabby Iveco with an 8 speed gate box. It was horrid!
Hadn't driven class 1 for 3 years prior

Soon comes back though.

 

who do you work for?what do you do?
im a tramper for Norbert Dentressangle, only work 4 days a week and get paid more than i used to doing 5 days a week day driving, so not too bad lol. i COULD earn more as theres now a 5 day a week tramping job at work, but im used to my 3 day weekends now,lol.

 

Was regs but now work as a Sponsored Reserve, similar contract to TA. ( but I am NOT TA )

Driving these bad boys http://www.transportcafe.co.uk/image...big_trucks.jpg

 

lol, i hate it when someone throws me the keys to a rigid in the yard and asks me to reverse it onto a bay, its all wrong lol! and as for urban trailers ARGHHHH, they turn too quick in reverse! give me a nice 40 footer any day!

 

lol sounds like someone doesnt want to be called a weekend warrior!!!
those wagons look awesome, but i wouldnt want to do the miles i do and nights out in one!

 

I'm not a weekend warrior.

All the drivers are ex squaddies. From ex WO1's to ex Ptes. Good crack, but we aint TA. We can do a decent job on tour lol

 

BigWig, I drive for an Event and Exhibition company.
I drive aswell as unload but its all handball. mostly miles across fields.

Long hours, Money isnt terrible however I would like more ( like all of us )

 

thats what i meant mate, you dont want to be mixed up with them. sounds good.

 

ooof! i get upset if i have to open the curtains instead of just the back doors lol!

 

Its great mate. Work away with a load of great blokes, ex army so its nothing but a luagh and banter moving tanks and then work locally through an agency. Best bit for the agency side is my employers are so strict on rules and regs I wont move sod all unless it is complient with department of transport and vosa. So you can imagine how much grief it can cause firms when I get there dictating that what they are doing is illegal and unsafe lol

But if it aint legal or safe I dont have to move it and get sent home with no loss of wage!

I like a confrontation now and then

 

And then corner hard and tip it all out the side lol

 

ooooh dont!!!! nothing worse than when the curtain looks like its about to give birth to 25,000 copies of Grazia!

 

lol, i had my depot manager try to tell me to do something that totally contradicted the company written cpc session i had literally just walked out of! he didnt like it when i got the instructor up and he agreed with me!