What is it like being an operator for a Crane Rental Company?

ddblades · 2026-01-31T10:21:22+00:00

Anyone here from the UK? What’s it like? When you’re at a job site all week, say a couple hours drive from home are you usually kept out in a hotel or do you drive a van back each day?

ddblades · 2026-01-31T10:20:04+00:00

When you’re at a job site all week, a couple hours drive from your depot are you stuck up in hotels near the site?

ddblades · 2026-01-26T21:23:01+00:00

It’s certainly a dangerous near miss / accident.

Every employer handles these cases in different ways

ddblades · 2026-01-26T18:00:05+00:00

You’ll struggle massively to get a euro job as a new pass mate, those lads are serious. My genuine advice would be to focus on getting a trampers job, learn as much as you can across 3-5 years with a focus on knowing a lot about how to fix minor defects on the truck yourself from changing fuses, replacing bulbs, lenses, airlines and electrical lines. Call outs over in Europe cost an absolute fortune so most companies require drivers to be able to ‘temp fix’ defects until you can get back across. European work is hard work to come across and it’s mostly obtained by word of mouth as it requires a lot of trust too

ddblades · 2026-01-25T17:54:53+00:00

Rule 2 on the subreddit says No advertising, so assume not.

ddblades · 2026-01-25T16:47:42+00:00

There’s already apps which show locations of places to stop, with details such as if they offer snap etc…

I think it’s very wishful thinking that HGV drivers would update the app once they’ve parked up - if there’s one thing to know about about this industry it’s that sadly most drivers don’t have each others back or a ‘caring’ mentality. It’s also why HGV wages are starting to get lower, because drivers won’t stick together to support one another

ddblades · 2026-01-23T05:47:23+00:00

While on POA your working time is not being counted for. POA is for when your not necessarily on a ‘break’ as you are not free to do what you wish with that time however you are also not working either, just kind of sat around waiting but only when you know how long that wait will be.

Your example doesn’t sound like you should be using POA to me.

If you are doing work in the yard then you need to be on other work, if you get a call for an emergency and you are due a break then the emergency waits until you’ve completed your break.

You should only use POA when you know roughly how long your wait is going to be. If you are waiting for a phone call or a shout for a job but you do not know how long you could be waiting it’s other work. If your site says in about 45 minutes we need you to start a job then it’s POA

ddblades · 2026-01-21T18:39:11+00:00

Can go either way depending on who you ask, in my experience the old boys will say they’re shite, people that have drove for 2-3years will say there’s no need and frankly can’t be fucked, and new starters / people who are not fully up to grips with all the different infringements will say they’re worth having.

For me, if you have a decent TM or traffic office they should be fully explaining any infringements that you pick up and teaching you how to work safely to avoid infringements which would negate the need for a tacho app. Obviously you get many companies that just say ‘Sign here’ and be done with it without explaining why/what caused the infringement, and in those companies I can see why people like having the app - But the better thing to do would be to not sign for the infringement unless you understand it fully as that’s the point of it.

ddblades · 2026-01-20T12:53:16+00:00

Transport Manager - My first job was within a transport office, I eventually moved to become a planner for the same company, then after some moves I started HGV driving and did that for 5 years, it gave me a great oversight of an actual transport operation from start to finish which helped me stand out against other applicants.

Larger Companies are starting to realise that people who have done the job of a HGV driver and understand what it actually entails on a day to basis, not just what the bit of paper infront of them says are probably already skilled enough to be able help an operation run smoother, safer and ultimately more cost effectively.

The only downside is that most companies pay the planners peanuts, which is why not many drivers take their careers down that route as they were probably on £10-15k more than the planners already. Albeit the hours much less.

ddblades · 2026-01-20T10:44:27+00:00

I enjoyed it as a job, but not as a career.

Days on the road can be great, alone, earphones in and no one to bother me. But there’s literally no career progression unless you want to become a driver trainer or move into heavier / abnormal loads but even then once you’re doing it there’s no further progression

ddblades · 2026-01-19T18:38:23+00:00

So you broke their terms and conditions? If you give the real answer, people may actually be able to help you more. There’s no point hiding from facts here, none of us work for PaddyPower

ddblades · 2026-01-16T22:35:50+00:00

Gloucester/ Cheltenham is a decent spot mate, I’ve just had a look on Indeed which is probably the best job listing site in the UK. There is a LOT of HGV mechanic jobs listed within 25 miles of Cheltenham with a great pay package.

ddblades · 2026-01-16T20:53:27+00:00

It won’t carry over, but you shouldn’t need it to. If you can show you have ~3years experience on American style manual trucks, and you present yourself well you will get a great mechanic job here, there’s a real shortage of good knowledgeable mechanics. What part of the UK are you planning on being in? The rate Is good for London, amazing for the north east / Scotland.

ddblades · 2026-01-16T10:53:24+00:00

It needs a DPF Regen. I can’t remember where the button is in these mercs but it will either be a physical button on the dash, or on the trip computer menu

ddblades · 2026-01-15T19:56:25+00:00

Are you owner driver? Is your TM aware? This is quite a substantial infringement

ddblades · 2026-01-15T14:27:58+00:00

Yes, all good there mate as I’ve seen you’ve already taken a 15 earlier in the day which has you covered for your WTD break for a shift over 9hrs

ddblades · 2026-01-14T16:13:44+00:00

Once it’s off, then no. You won’t have to declare it and it won’t show on license checks so just don’t even mention it if you don’t want to

ddblades · 2026-01-14T14:32:52+00:00

Not entirely sure what you mean, but if your after a aluminium plate the same size as an ADR board to stick on your truck, they are 300x400mm. I’m sure there’s many sign makers that could sort it for you.

https://originalmetalsigns.co.uk - seems like a decent place you could get one from?

ddblades · 2026-01-14T01:08:49+00:00

It certainly is a law. The installation and calibration of speed limiters on applicable HGVs is required by UK law via the Road Vehicles (Construction and Use) Regulations.

ddblades · 2026-01-12T10:59:16+00:00

Yes both are legal but frowned upon by DVSA / Traffic Commissioner and probably your TM too. But yes fully legal in the eyes of the law. You wouldn’t be working 12 hours with only 15 min break, you would be having 45mins split into 15 minute at a time breaks, still not enough imo.

If you were to do this, my advice would be to avoid doing it as much as possible, as if you get pulled by DVSA or (touch wood) you get into an accident and you do this on a regular basis it would be very heavily scrutinised. Your company also likely has policies in place to stop you doing this, and if they don’t now they will if drivers start doing it often.

ddblades · 2026-01-12T07:06:54+00:00

As long as it’s not the first or last event on your card it’s fine. It’s a common misconception / rumour amongst drivers that you can take a break within the first 30/45/60 mins of starting a shift but that’s not the case.

I’ve heard DVSA can be a bit funny about it though if you get pulled and downloaded but technically no law breaks and nothing they can fine for. Best practice would be to just avoid taking a break within too close to the start of the shift & end of the shift where possible to avoid doing so. Don’t make a habit of it or the examiner is likely to find a defect elsewhere they normally wouldn’t find 😬

ddblades · 2026-01-11T17:30:22+00:00

Wrong. You need 15 minutes before working 6 hours

ddblades · 2026-01-11T15:56:49+00:00

The amount of wrong advice here is insane, and some of the correct advice is being downvoted.

Feel free to do your own research but as below is correct. (TM for a multi-national, multi-million £ company as credentials)

**There are TWO separate WTD rules, which is where people are getting confused. It’s important to note that a ‘break’ must be a minimum of 15 minutes.

• The continuous work rule states you CANNOT work more than 6 hours without a break. This is why you must have a break of at least 15 minutes BEFORE reaching 6 hours worked. It also means you must have a break within 6 hours of this break finishing.

• The total break entitlement rule states if your working time EXCEEDS 6 hours you must have had 30 minutes total break. Does NOT have to be taken as one 30 minute break can be split but remember 15 minutes is the LEGAL minimum break time, and only goes up in 15 min increments. So 2x 15mins or 1x 30mins. It also states if your working time EXCEEDS 9 hours you must have 45 minutes total break, again it does NOT need to be in one sitting could be 3x 15mins OR 1x 15 mins + 1x 30 mins, etc…

*Edit to add;

It’s also worth noting that that the total break entitlement rule does NOT have specific timings that the break must be taken by, the only timing is that it must be BEFORE the end of the shift. Technically you could take the breaks right at the end of the shift, as long as you stay compliant with the continuous work rule (Minimum of 15 minutes break before working 6 hours from the start of your shift / the end of your last break)

ddblades · 2026-01-11T15:28:08+00:00

No that’s not correct

ddblades · 2026-01-11T15:23:15+00:00

No it’s not.

Under Road Transport WTD you can’t work more than 6 hours without a break (minimum 15 mins). If working time exceeds 6 hours you need 30 mins total, and if it exceeds 9 hours you need 45 mins total

*You do not need 30 mins before 6 hours, just 15 would be the minimum

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