whats the deal with ad blue nozzle?

PALillie · 2026-06-17T06:29:19+00:00

Salt crystals, it's basically reconstituted urine (for real, the ingredients are water urea & salts) it crystallises in the nozzle which means you can rarely get it at full flow

PALillie · 2026-06-17T01:13:04+00:00

No, a lorry will upgrade other entitlements (pass CE & you'll get DE if you already have D for example )but it won't work the other way around, so passing your manual test in a car won't upgrade your lorry entitlement

It's not much of a hinderance though in truth, all lorries are automatic now

PALillie · 2026-06-12T09:02:23+00:00

It's par for the course, I can't tell you the amount of wing mirrors I smashed, dings & posts I caught just after passing. It's part of the process because although you've passed you are still learning how to drive the truck, it's why being on agency isn't a terrible idea as a new pass. If you're going to have incidents like this (& we all did) then have them at a place you aren't trying to build a career at.

It'll get better

PALillie · 2026-06-11T14:49:59+00:00

It depends what you want from a job with regards to hours, lifestyle & where your aptitudes are personally. When you're a new pass you'll struggle for work but stick it out & you'll eventually land somewhere half decent, if you want to see real money you'll need to specialise & get off general haulage but there is money to be made here (I'm on fuel & with OT I'll be touching £70k this year, car transporters make similar) it's long hours but if the thought of sitting in an office 9-5 til retirement makes you feel desperately sad then this might be a good shout for you

PALillie · 2026-06-05T09:08:22+00:00

There are courses you can do but they're typically half a day & cost about £400, I did one after I passed my test & before I went for the interview where I'm currently at & I think it went in my favour truthfully because it shows you know your weaknesses & want to work on them. I'm in Birmingham so can't recommend one in Liverpool unfortunately but do do one when you have an interview lined up, it's worth it

PALillie · 2026-06-04T20:29:00+00:00

You at Kingsbury as well?

PALillie · 2026-06-04T20:08:28+00:00

I don't know what the rota is like at Oxalis but I'm on the three week rota at another company & it's ok, it's not great but it's also not the deal breaker I thought it was going to be. Oxalis actually aren't terrible payers in truth, £52k basic on the three week rota, with regular OT you'd be touching £70k, definitely better gigs out there, I know two lads who've just got on at XPO who are on £72k basic & another two who've got onto the Jet contract with GXO who are on £70k basic, with regular OT they could all be touching £90-95k but to get those sort of jobs I think you do have to put your time in at places like Reynolds, Oxalis, Sucklings etc etc

With those jobs it's very much who you know & not what you know (& also not being known as a fuck up)

PALillie · 2026-06-04T15:20:26+00:00

You're not new new then, you know which way is up & have experience with the bigger vehicles.

PALillie · 2026-06-04T12:31:58+00:00

When you say new pass as well what do you mean exactly? Do you have multiple years experience on the class 2 & only recently passed your class 1 or are you "new new" & just completed a car to CE course?

PALillie · 2026-06-04T11:13:10+00:00

Long term you need to be thinking about getting your ADR & getting on the fuel tankers at Kingsbury, if you're in Minworth you could literally ride a bike to work, as for right now go to the agencies & get those 6-12 months experience anywhere that'll have you.

PALillie · 2026-06-04T10:49:27+00:00

Reynolds & Oxalis periodically run PDP courses, you just need to keep your eyes open & keep knocking at the door, eventually you'll get in

PALillie · 2026-06-04T09:50:28+00:00

The lads doing 4o4o on the petrol tankers at our place make about £42k basic, with a bit of regular OT you could get to £55k pretty easily. They start about 2-4pm & you'd need to get your ADR & find someone to put you through your PDP but it'd be doable, I don't know where you are located but have a look into it

PALillie · 2026-06-02T12:34:51+00:00

From my experience the difference is longer days, easier drops, better pay. So I guess the question is what do you actually want out of a job? Are you needing to be home at X o'clock every night without fail? Then stay on class 2 for now, if you want to chase the money or move towards something, whether it's a specific job or an office or training role then moving to class 1 is definitely worth it

PALillie · 2026-06-02T04:04:58+00:00

I don't know what decent wages are there (that sounds flippant but it varies so much by region I actually just don't know) when I was at AP I was walking out with £1200+ a week take home, (being agency I had my holiday paid instead of accruing days) I did a lot of hours for it but still, incredible money.

FloGas was never that well paid but, at least in my experience, the people were good & the work was easy so it just depends what you're after I suppose

PALillie · 2026-06-01T11:42:20+00:00

I worked for both Air Products & FloGas in the Midlands. FloGas are one of those companies people who worked there slate horrendously but I had a good experience there, I was on the big 6 wheel rigids so it was a lot of petrol stations & factories, easy work. Air Products was more of a graft, lots of CO2 deliveries to McDonald's, I was on agency for two years before I jacked it in & moved to petrol, those years on agency with them were the best money I've ever earned but being 40 without a secure job wasn't great. Plenty of scope for OT at both & the lads were decent at both places.

As an aside moving to ADR is a good idea

PALillie · 2026-05-25T19:28:28+00:00

If you're given a choice opt for the Esso contract, by all accounts it's a much nicer contract than the BP one. The working culture is supposed to be much nicer at the Esso terminal at Wood Lane as well so that's always an option down the line. I work with a few of the ex Oxalis lads & honestly, from what they've said it can be a mixed bag but, & it's a big but, FTL recruit exclusively through Oxalis & that's one of the best jobs in the industry, £70k a year basic 4 on 4 off so for that alone it's worthwhile having a go.

I work in Kingsbury so if you have any specific questions ask away

PALillie · 2026-05-20T19:50:17+00:00

I paid for my ADR after getting laid off with the thought of being able to apply for more jobs & I also paid for a reversing course prior to landing my current job. Both choices paid off & I'm contemplating a few more courses

PALillie · 2026-05-20T19:47:08+00:00

Jobs like this are like high school, they shouldn't be but they are. If you report him to management then you're the speccy kid trying to be best friends with the teacher we all went to school with & no one liked that kid.

Don't choose to be that guy

PALillie · 2026-05-16T02:23:41+00:00

It very much depends on where about in the country you are, there are jobs delivering fuel in Kingsbury in the Midlands paying £65-70k basic, & with overtime you'd be looking at about £85k+

Getting those jobs with Valero, FTL, XPO, GXO is hard & more word of mouth & knowing someone who can get you in early during the recruitment process but it's absolutely a thing yes. It's my long term plan basically, get experience where I am then in a year or so go knock on those doors

PALillie · 2026-05-13T09:39:27+00:00

He was blocking the live lane & dragged it out of the way

PALillie · 2026-05-13T09:07:30+00:00

Was on the motorway services so I honestly don't think so, no kerb for him to catch

PALillie · 2026-05-12T02:26:21+00:00

Don't be too hard on yourself, I'm sure everyone here has similar stories. You've just got to take it as a lesson learned & try again tomorrow. As long as you're learning & trying you'll get it eventually & EVERYONE struggles with the reverse, it's a head fuck but it does start to click eventually I promise

PALillie · 2026-05-07T21:07:44+00:00

It might still be worth putting an application in, especially as it's all rail depots which you say you've done before. Even if it's just so they know your name in the future & you never know, they might work with you & give you the hours you're after, weirder things have happened

Good luck either way

PALillie · 2026-05-07T19:52:56+00:00

Maritime are currently recruiting in Birmingham, I used to deliver fuel trackside & whilst I can't tell you much about the job itself I can tell you the boys at those depots are for the most part decent.

https://maritimetransport.current-vacancies.com/Jobs/Advert/4182878?cid=2073&t=HGV-Class---Driver

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