McPikie

If I stay in an office job for more than another 12 months I am clearly gonna go postal with an E-bay ordered Katana sword and gas powered BB gun and wipe out all my colleagues.

I wanna get out, see the world (well, england anyways), and have some fun driving a HUGE arctic around the country.

How long do you train for, do you need a clean license to start with, how much does it cost etc etc etc. Are the job prospects that good once you have the license??

Cheers for the info kids

Deano

Ok then Im a HGV ARTIC driver

No you dont need a clean license
You do need to take a theory testy
You have to get your class 2 rigid license BEFORE taking your Class 1 Arctic

The job prospects are fookin great , this industry is suffering a massive shortage at the moment so you may even get the government to help you pay with the costs

Class 2 HGV - £500
Class 1 HGV - £500

Money is excellent considering you just sit on your arse all day and perv at birds through sunroofs ............. especially this time of year

Ive just turned down a £32K a year job driving petrol tankers to start my own Haulage business

Anymore info need give me a shout my man

Cola

Isn't it a really bad 80s TV show?

Simon

Dont do it pikie its fookin shite ive been class 2 for 14 years and im just about well and truly pissed of with being treated like a second class fookin citizen by arsewipe transport managers and there nipple staff wankers the fukin lot of em

simon

markk

iTrader: (2)

ive had my class one for nearly 10 years, donr a fair bit of driving here and there for people mainly shunting trailers to the docks , and tbh the full time money is shit - for a few cash jobs it can be ok , but the only way you can make any cash on it is by having nights out then really your still working for fook all

but -

like deano said , there is and will be a short fall in class one , as the cost is now massive for the lisense and all the old boys are retiring so if you got the cash

im just waiting and hopefully in a few years it will pay more than my current job as a technician !

Deano

MONEY all depends on whether you go and get a full time job or go with a specific driving agency in which case you can earn about £560 for a 60 hour week , more if you dont mind working nights

markk

iTrader: (2)

like i said , ill wait till its paying more than my curent job !!

Simon

£560 a week isnt that much considering your doing nearly a week and a halfs work in one week

by the way i get £420 on top for a 65 hour week on class 2 which for the manchester area is considered top dollar

simon

Deano

Yeah but honestly your not exactly working are you

Best jobs are containers and fridges oh and the very best is petrol tankers

markk

iTrader: (2)

while im away from home , not on my business but getting paid - its work , and if i work the hours no matter how many i want a decent rate of pay - not £9.33 across more than 40 hours m8 !!


sorry the driving rate still sucks at the mo !!

Deano

The rate all depends on which part of the country your working from I guess

markk

iTrader: (2)

where are you m8 ??

im in lancashire !! so if your south of me its not very good !! the rate gets higher the further south you travel !! ( as does the expenditure )

RANJ

just make sure u dont get caught exchanging loads like deano has many times

Deano

COOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOONT

Im in the west midlands mate

nomad

i left the business and gave my licence up due to the crap wages, who the fuck wants to work 65 hours a week to take home a decent wage? what is wrong with you guys ? you are the reason i left the industry
if drivers got their act together and decided that a good wage should be earned within 40 hours then that would attract new blood.
i now work around 15 hours a week for better money. cheers nomad ps an agency rang me at christmas, said they were short on drivers and would i come in for a day, said they would pay £50 for a days work ??? i had just wrapped a parcel going to a trade customer in germany for £120 profit, took me 50 minutes from start to finish. err no was the answer

markk

iTrader: (2)

here here !!

Alan s1

i've got my class 1 had it about 4months but still driving 7 1/2 t lorry as it pays just as much @ the moment im only 23 so jobs are hard to find because of insunce like over 25s i've done sunting before i got my licence it cost about £125 + vat per day for lessons and then you got the test £75 + the other tests £15 mine cost about £2000 for all the lessons class 2 and the 2wks later my class 1



i cant stand office work or ware house work does my head in

Simon

This is why i am getting out of the driving industry because im totally fooked off with always being at work and not having a life plus the idiots that are running the industry have no idea how to treat people.

i have been looking at forklift driving jobs and they are on a better hourly rate than class 2 drivers so im gonna have a crack at that

simon

McPikie

Fuckin hell, sounds like a mundane job at the office isnt that bad after all

Benn 304R

im on the look out for another hgv job but theres fuck all about were I live thats decent money anyway.
I curently work for a company called Brakes (used to be brake bros) driving a class 2 fridge lorry and im on about 19k including bonus and overtime, average about 47hrs a week.

I was told that tippers is a good job as you can do a lot of backhanders , or some council work pays well as some of our drivers have gone to that and average about £450 a week take home.

Ragtop

MkPikie...

DRIVER HIRE is doing FREE NON TIE-IN training...
I got mine for free.. only downside was having to go to college once a week to obtain a C&G in HGV Driving.. bearing in mind all of us are already drivers..

The training for a class 2 includes -
Medical £60-£80 from your Doctor
Theory test - Buy the Book.. "DSA official Theory test for HGV", Or you can have mine if you're serious.. You also have to score more on the hazard perception than car drivers..
ONLY once you've passed the above can you get behind the wheel...
Practical - I used TTS (Technical training Services) in Willenhall and they charged about £400 a day (2 x 4hrs) for a rigid with an instructor.
For class 2 the average training time is 16-24 hrs - or one week with 4hrs a day (20hrs)
The test it's self, is about £90 iirc, but you also need to pay for the use of a truck for the morning, so it's about £200-225.. It lasts for an hour and a half and if you touch the kerb ONCE, you've failed.. simple.. and don't forget to feed the wheel..

Class 1 is a bit cheaper as you only need to do the practical, and iirc you usually get about 10hrs...

HTH's...

I'm 32 this year, and in all my working years I have NEVER considered work to be anything more than a 'chore' to earn money.. But this truck driving is ACE...
I've been doing it a year now and still absolutely LOVE IT.. Even when the phone rings at 3am, 6 nights in a row.. !!!

Benn - Keep an eye out for white 7.5 renaults and Dafs marked "Chillway" as I regularly visit the same RDC's as the 'brakes' trucks..

Deano - Give us a job ...



Luv
Chrisie...

Ragtop

Phones just rung.. I'm off to Washington..!!!! (I hope it's not the 'DC' variety, as I don't think i'll make that in 10hrs.. !! )

bye..

Escy

my old man is a HGV driver.

seems like you need to do a shite payed job for a few years just so you can get the experiance you need for a decent payed job.

mk2rstaff

join the army and its all free and they pay you shite money to drive shite trucks

Deano

Well I love driving regardless what Im in

Ive got CAR/BIKE/HGV/PCV entitlements on my license so Ill never be short of driving work

Currently studying for the necessary CPC qualification I need to prove I can run a fleet of trucks

Just had my company registered at company house too which is fookin

Ragtop

As I said.. Giz a job...


Luv
Chrisie...