Wannabe HGV

[Flat4]

So as I alluded to in the Ask a Shiter section, I've spent the last week or so training for my C+E direct access and have been journaling each days shenanigans for my own memories. Thought I would share in case anyone is interested and obviously any questions about the process, I'm happy to try to answer 😊 

Day 1 of training went like this - Instructor does a commentary drive for 10 mins, shows me the controls and tells me how to steer at roundabouts and tight bends to avoid the back wheels hitting off kerbs. We pull up in an industrial estate, swap seats and off I go - starting off in a 14 tonne DAF LF 210 curtain side rigid lorry before moving on to the artic, nearly 5 times the weight and size of anything I've driven before and no dual controls this time! 😲 We did 3 test routes, including a left turn where a previous student hadn't left themselves enough space at traffic lights and had crushed a set of railings with their trailer 😆 Guess that was a fail! 

Gets back to the yard and reverses it inbetween a pick up with a trailer on it and another box lorry to park up for the day. Gets it in first go with no dramas. 

Debriefing at the end of the day, instructor says that aside from mounting a kerb once when I should have straddled 2 lanes, if I drove the way I had today on my test, I would have "comfortably passed"....Surprised how easy these big rigs are to handle and I'm pretty comfortable with it already. Feeling on the one hand like the test is going to be a piece of piss but on the other hand wondering if I'm missing something....One thing I do know, the Fozzie felt very small on the drive home!

 

[Flat4]

Day 2 followed a similar structure to day 1, only I got to drive straight from the yard this time. We did some more test routes and met an absolute fucking bellend at a cross roads on an otherwise national speed limit single carriageway. Cat Cs are restricted to 40mph on single carriageways in Scotland and being new I took my time setting up for a left hand turn off the carriageway and into the crossroads. Twat in a Corsa behind me decided to overtake before I'd even started my turn and was clearly doing it blind with little forward visibility as 11ft of truck is alot taller than your car....So what he didn't see was that in front of me, an elderly driver in a small estate car was turning right out of the junction I was turning in to and needed the lane the Corsa was now occupying, alongside me!...So Corsa nearly caused a head on collision because they didn't have the patience to wait 1 more minute and let me turn 😡

[Flat4]

Day 3 - Some how agreed to do a full day on the road after being told I'd get more driving time doing that....I thought they meant I'd get more than the 4 hours a day I was already booked for 12pm-4pm, but what they actually meant and no one told me was that for the rest of my training I'd be sharing both the cab and my instructor with another learner!!! Meaning that instead of getting 4 hours driving time per day, I might only get 2. 24 hours of training across 6 days already feels tight to get to grips with a massive rig, well enough to pass a test, so I was fucking fuming! The company I booked it through (paid for via my work) eventually confirmed that I should be getting 24 hours of solid driving time, aside from instruction on daily checks, Mod 4 practical, couple and uncouple trailer, etc. So I made strong representations via text and to 4 of their email addresses to sort this out with the training provider to make sure I don't need to start my day at 6am and do an extra 4 hours in the morning JUST to get the time behind the wheel that's already been paid for. On top of that, I'd had 1-1 training from a different instructor the past 2 days and today's instructor was not a patch on him! When he was instructing, he was decent and gave useful coaching but spent too much time on WhatsApp and FB messenger while the vehicle was doing National speed limit when he should have been supervising a provisional licence holder 😲 He also allowed me to move off when he didn't have his bloody seat belt on and was 15 minutes late this morning! It was hard enough getting out of bed before 7am, so all this nonsense has just rubbed salt in the wound. It took 2 more days for the company who booked my training to sort it out with the provider so that I still got 1-1 instruction aside from reversing practice.

[Flat4]

Day 4 - 1st day on the artic. Fucking love it! Volvo FM 12 (I think) with 450bhp and only 8 tonnes in the back, so pretty light for something that's plated to 38 tonnes. It picks up WAY faster than the rigid! But also feels much more planted, I guess because of the extra weight. Feel more comfortable in this on the B roads as it has less body roll. In town, it handles alot like a giant caravan, that just needs alot more space to turn....As I found out to my cost when attempting my first turn out the yard and nearly squashed a set of traffic lights with my trailer, when turning left 😆 Caravan experience definitely helped here as I was able to straighten out the turn and get it round without hitting anything. Ditto on roundabouts.

The positioning the 1st instructor taught me started making so much more sense now. Had some good feedback about my forward planning being very good but I need to be less dominant in my road position when passing parked cars, not terrify any more little old ladies 😆 (One day on the rigid I was turning left from traffic lights into a 3 lane road that had a right hand filter, where a little old lady in a shopping trolley car was waiting at traffic lights. She didn't see the truck at first as we were in town and it was hidden by buildings. Instructor saw her first and said she looked terrified 😆 But she did give me the thumbs up once I'd cleared the turn and was safely back my lane, with plenty of space between the truck and her car 😊)

Had a go at reversing and we're definitely being taught to pass a test here 😔 Point of turn is marked on the trailer and meter markings on the ground to confirm you're in the box, length ways. Again, alot like a giant caravan but more stable. Reversing test in 2 days which also includes uncoupling and re-coupling! Aaaarrgghhh!

 

[warninglight]

Thanks for posting the day by day - I've been considering doing it for a while now.

In my experience the while industry likes to sneak in double lessons when they can. I did my B+E over 2 days a few years back, really only got 1 day of driving for my money as they never mentioned the other guy who'd be there, so I spent half the time observing and then 90 mins in a cafe with the instructor whilst the other guy was away in his car doing the test.

[Vantman]

Volvo unit with a twin axle trailer, how times change, I took my test in a Bedford TK with a single axle trailer.  A long time ago though!!

[Bear]

I was considering this, interesting to hear how it works IRL. I can physically drive an HGV - as in, I've done it before on private land - but haven't driven anything bigger than downrated 7.5t Class 2 on the road.

[bangernomics]

Really interesting and good for tou @Flat4 you will smash it no doubt (metaphorically!). This is something I keep saying I will do just because rather than as a job. My father did the job for for years after being a skilled chap at rolls royce for 20 years and said he loved not being in a dark factory all day.

Did some great runs with him as a kid, up into the top of Scotland and the very south of England. As a greedy kid the breakfast buns up north were amazing.

Anyway best of luck with it all.

[Flat4]

Day 5 - Absolutely fucking fantastic day! Despite losing some time due to the tractor unit picking up a puncture with a massive nail/bolt.

Got some more reversing practice in while we were waiting for the tyre fitter and was told I'm making it look easy 😆 Nice tidy finishes once the S shaped fucking slalom is completed - caravan experience definitely helping there too! Didn't get much chance to practice coupling and uncoupling but glad I can physically do it. Will be doing more of that before my reversing test, as that is part of it.

The son of the owner of the training firm is also a qualified instructor and took me out for an extra couple of hours on the road due to the time eaten up by the tyre fitting. Really helpful to get another pair of eyes on my driving and a few more tips to help me keep a good shape through roundabouts. He said I wasn't hesitant at junctions/lights and made good judgements on gaps needed on roundabouts. Mirror work is mostly sound and said the overall drive was very good. I think the fact he was whistling to himself and had me pull in to services so he could get himself a soft drink shows how comfortable he was with how I handled the rig 😆

Completed my Mod 4 test when we got back to the yard and passed with 100%, so that will get me my CPC card once I pass the practical test. Instructor said if he had been the examiner tonight then he would have passed me 😁 Feeling much more confident about the practical driving test now 😊

(Indentifiable information blanked for privacy - you'll have to take my word for it that it's genuinely my name and licence number 😝)

[Flat4]

Day 6 - First order of the day 2 practice reverses, an uncoupling, trailer walkaround check and re-couple followed by a full 3A test run through before the real deal. I need to get the cab and trailer from the box on the right at the top into the box on the left at the bottom, via an S-shaped reverse in the middle, without hitting any of the cones.... For added jeopardy, that's my black Forester with the gold wheels beside the test area 😆

I'm allowed 2 shunts and 1 dismount out the cab to check placement once in the end box. First 2 practices I needed 1 shunt, last practice got it in, in 1 go but was wide on the right and tight to the left but all of them were acceptable. Also managed the final test in 1 go, probably my best attempt yet but needed a 2nd go to get the trailer hitched again after the uncoupling exercise. Too far off to 1 side as I wasn't quite lined up straight. Sorted it out and was award a PASS!!!

Massive weight off my shoulders, 2 out of 3 practical tests passed and got to enjoy my last 1.5 hours of on road lessons 😁 Aside from coming across stupidly parked cars on both sides of the road which required some careful threading of the rig through. That did earn me a round of applause from a family waiting to cross the road next to them 😆

[eddyramrod]

5 hours ago, Flat4 said:

 met an absolute fucking bellend at a cross roads ... being new I took my time setting up for a left hand turn off the carriageway and into the crossroads. Twat in a Corsa behind me decided to overtake before I'd even started my turn and was clearly doing it blind with little forward visibility as 11ft of truck is alot taller than your car....So what he didn't see was that in front of me, an elderly driver in a small estate car was turning right out of the junction I was turning in to and needed the lane the Corsa was now occupying, alongside me!...So Corsa nearly caused a head on collision because they didn't have the patience to wait 1 more minute and let me turn 😡

Welcome to Real Driving!  If you're going to be in the cab every day, this is what at least half of them will look like.

11 minutes ago, Flat4 said:

coming across stupidly parked cars on both sides of the road which required some careful threading of the rig through. That did earn me a round of applause from a family waiting to cross the road next to them 😆

Again, you're going to meet parking like this a LOT.  Nice to get the applause though, I hope you flashed them a grin in appreciation!

Also, and it's down here only because I couldn't work out how to add it ahead of the first quote:  BIG CONGRATS on the passes so far!

[Flat4]

Day 7 - TEST day! Met my instructor at the test centre with the rig 2 hours before my test, so I had time get comfortable in the driving seat again. This last drive took it part way home down the A76 😁 Really enjoyed it and although I was tight to some kerbs, don't think I hit or brushed any. I have been quietly confident and no where near as nervous for this test as I was for my initial car test. Still stocked up on bananas and banana smoothies as those worked to keep me calm enough before that!

Got butterflies and shakey hands while waiting for the examiner to come out but needn't have worried - he was a really nice older gent who was pretty laid back. All the Show Me, Tell Me questions were done from inside the cab, maybe coz it was raining 😆 We needed to do 5 stops by the side of the road, including 1 downhill and 1 uphill - hadn't even gone a mile when he pulled me over for the first one! Which made me a bit paranoid....2nd one was the uphill start 5 minutes later. Realise now it must have just been the preference of this examiner to get them out of the way early.

Went a circular route out of the test centre and after half an hour was almost back where we started, which had me slightly worried that I'd fucked up. If we'd turned right, it would have been back to the test centre but instead we turned left on to a road that I had struggled to keep my position on in the rigid because it's so narrow. In the artic, it needs to be driven with the offside wheels on the middle lane markings to give a bit of a gap from hedges and make absolutely sure you don't get pulled off into grass verges on the left. Meeting cars coming in the opposite direction is therefore fun and meant crawling past a bus that came the other way, after a very narrow bridge with stonework at just the right height to knock your mirrors off.... I relaxed a bit after that tho as it that was the only road I was really concerned about. We turned back on to the test centre road exactly 55 minutes after we left and I was given this!!!!

And only 2 minors, which I am very chuffed about! 3 less than I got on my initial car test (which I also passed first time 😉) and I will absolutely take one of them. Was navigating a complex of 3 mini roundabouts that were about three quarters of a mile apart approaching a town centre which ends up with a standard roundabout which has a left hand filter, meaning when I was going straight on, I had to keep it very tight in the right hand lane. Then I didn't pull it out from the centre of the roundabout quick enough or far enough, once clear of the filter lane, so the trailer wheels got very close to the kerbs. Not sure if I brushed them or not but happy I managed to rescue it enough to avoid a fail.

My instructor was very pleased and said that must have been an otherwise very good drive, to have come out with so few minors.

So I am now an officially licenced C&E/Class 1 driver 😁. I am now allowed to drive one of these babies completely unsupervised!!! Aaarrggghh!

This is the last picture I have of the Volvo after my last drive of it on the test. I would love to purchase the tractor unit when the training school eventually upgrades it, for sentimental reasons and I absolutely fell in love with it. The DAF was really meh in comparison. I did recently discover that there are 5th wheel caravans large enough to be towed by an artic, without being pulled to pieces so I could kinda justify said purchase if I sell my caravan 😜 I really just want the chance to drive more rigs now 😁

Plan for the moment is to go for advanced reversing training while I'm waiting for my CPC card, tacho and driving licence to come back from having the new entitlement added. 

Then I am going to look for ad hoc work, maybe a day a week to start with and longer term I may be able to replace one of my 2 jobs with it, especially as I don't mind working weekends and I like working nights. Do not want to tramp for now though, definitely want to be out and home at the end of each day. Probably a good time to get started, when agencies are looking for seasonal staff. I shall update as and when I get out into the real world 😊

Thank you for coming along on the journey with me - it was honestly a blast!

[Aston Martin]

It's cheating to use an urban trailer.......

[Flat4]

10 minutes ago, Aston Martin said:

It's cheating to use an urban trailer.......

Didn't really get any choice! What's an urban trailer?

[big_al_granvia]

great blog,  well done on the pass, even though i was chain vaping on thursday until you txt me

[Cavcraft]

Congratulations!

[wuvvum]

3 minutes ago, Flat4 said:

Didn't really get any choice! What's an urban trailer?

Little short arse trailer for urban deliveries.

It's also cheating* to do the test in an automatic truck.  When I'm president of the world, everyone will have to take their C+E test in a Leyland Roadtrain with a 13-speed crash 'box.

[wuvvum]

5 minutes ago, big_al_granvia said:

great blog,  well done on the pass, even though i was chain vaping on thursday until you txt me

Never heard of chain vaping before...

[wuvvum]

@Flat4 What was the total cost from start to finish?  Last time I looked into such things, direct access C+E wasn't a thing - you had to do the C test first before you could start learning in an artic.

[Flat4]

2 minutes ago, wuvvum said:

Little short arse trailer for urban deliveries.

It's also cheating* to do the test in an automatic truck.  When I'm president of the world, everyone will have to take their C+E test in a Leyland Roadtrain with a 13-speed crash 'box.

Tbf we were in mostly urban/semi rural areas. The whole outfit was 46ft long, only 3ft longer than my biggest caravan outfit tho.

Didn't have a choice on truck either and would have preferred one without an electronic handbrake. Going to do some research to see if there are any training schools offering lessons in manual trucks. Would like to experience one before I may get paid to drive one.

[wuvvum]

I think it's pretty much only tippers that still have manual 'boxes these days.  Unless you find a firm that runs a fleet of late '90s V8 Scanias, but sadly I don't think that such a thing exists.

[Flat4]

4 minutes ago, wuvvum said:

@Flat4 What was the total cost from start to finish?  Last time I looked into such things, direct access C+E wasn't a thing - you had to do the C test first before you could start learning in an artic.

Around 3 grand I believe including preparation and fees for the theory and hazard perception tests, and the medical before hand. Have seen some training firms offering the practical training for around £1500 now but you might have test fees on top of that. The broker my work used handled everything from start to finish for that 3 grand fee.

[castros_bro]

Well done.

I did mine in 1980's in that London in some ole crash box thing whilst it was snowing - ideal experience for first job driving vast 6x6 in the Sahara. 

[bangernomics]

Congrats that looked to be a well earned pass. Good for you.

[DodgeRover]

1 hour ago, wuvvum said:

Little short arse trailer for urban deliveries.

It's also cheating* to do the test in an automatic truck.  When I'm president of the world, everyone will have to take their C+E test in a Leyland Roadtrain with a 13-speed crash 'box.

Leyland Octopus for taking the heavy rigid test - or whatever the equivalent term is over here.

[High Jetter]

Well done, great write up!

[sierraman]

Were the numerous Yorkie bars included for the £3,000? 

[Agila]

Got absolutely no interest in this thread due to doing it for a living for the last 20 years so I won't comment further.

But what I will say is keep all of you certificates safe and neat in a file. Not for sentimental reasons but in case the DVLA mess up and remove your entitlement for any reason. They have been known to send licences back with categories missing.

Good luck with it anyway.

[Missy Charm]

Congratulations, 10-4 and keep on trucking!  All the best with finding a job, too.  😁

 

[Bren]

In the mid 90's I was going to do mine - had a practical assessment ( old volvo with a splitter) but never did anything to follow it up.

Until 2023. Decided to take the plunge and do it. Went from car to C+E. Possibly the only thing - ever -  in my whole life I took to instantly. Did a full day and three mornings and passed with no faults. It was on my bucket list and my current job is fraught with risk - you really need a back up plan.

When I passed hardly anybody would take new passes - there seem to be more now.

 

Well done.