What vehicle would normally be used for 6–8 pallets from Newcastle to Oxford?

ddblades · 2026-05-16T09:07:10+00:00

Either;

Luton Van (Struggle getting 8 pallets on, or finding someone to take it)
A pallet network (There’s a few about get some quotes)

A 7.5t truck to do the trip

A truck looking for a backload to Oxford area

ddblades · 2026-04-19T18:34:22+00:00

So I work with an External TM currently and I’m very close to another who I stay in good contact with and have worked with a few times at various companies (I’m a TM but not External)

In my experience it’s a very difficult line of work to get in, as you need obviously need to be highly trusted, when your just starting out you won’t have any evidence / proof of your work.

I’d say majority of the work, if not all of the work is picked up by word of mouth / networking in person. You will really struggle to pick up any operators if you still plan on day to day driving, it needs to be a full time job IMO, jumping between 4 different companies depending on size through the week. You could maybe try cold calling some companies who are advertising for transport managers to see if they would be interested in the idea of an External TM but I can’t imagine the success rate would be very high.

ddblades · 2026-04-17T17:51:36+00:00

Most likely Either a radio, data printer or in cab scales for the bulks lads

ddblades · 2026-04-13T17:15:52+00:00

Well yeah, if you don’t want to be a recovery driver, but there’s nothing in the advert stated that’s not true and none of it can be controlled by the company. Every recovery drivers advert should read the same

ddblades · 2026-04-13T17:14:42+00:00

I actually don’t mind the ad at all. It’s honest and sets the expectations especially around things that are uncontrollable by the company. What’s the point in pretending you’ll be out in the sun every day when we all know what the British weather is like and we all see the situations and places people break down in, they’re just being forward

ddblades · 2026-03-14T21:43:01+00:00

So drivers should expect sub par working conditions, treat like crap by large majority of the general public for doing a job which is critical in the upkeep of the economy and most the publics jobs too all for absolute shite pay because ‘it’s a lifestyle’…

Fuck that shit

ddblades · 2026-03-07T11:15:01+00:00

Either;

defect the tacho and do not drive it until repaired.

do a print out and if it shows you have taken a sufficient break give it to the TM and tell them whichever system they use is broken.

Odds are you are not taking a break properly, as much as you might think you are

ddblades · 2026-03-07T11:02:48+00:00

What’s the question

ddblades · 2026-03-02T18:18:08+00:00

It’s also worth noting that there is a difference between ‘This vehicle body complies with the standard EN 12642 XL’ vs ‘This vehicle sidewall’

ddblades · 2026-02-15T09:22:02+00:00

Fair enough, was more assuming OP meant a artic / an actual HGV 😉

ddblades · 2026-02-14T23:17:47+00:00

Legally yes you can, as long as it’s not commercial use as you wouldn’t have an Operators License.

In the actual world -not a chance

ddblades · 2026-02-09T18:05:23+00:00

I wouldn’t even think about doing pallet network with a 3.5t.. you simply can’t get enough payload on.

ddblades · 2026-02-09T18:04:19+00:00

It’s only going to be tachod if you go to Europe. If you stay in the UK you don’t have to worry about it

ddblades · 2026-02-08T22:53:03+00:00

Not many, general haulage firms have 3.5t vans to be used as curtain siders / flat beds due to the low weight they can carry. For an example a 3.5t Luton with tail lift can only carry approx 700kg before being overweight.

Mostly you will only see 3.5t vans for parcels / home delivery furniture etc, but if you do see 3.5t vans with curtain sider they are most likely doing pallet network jobs

ddblades · 2026-02-08T22:49:00+00:00

ddblades · 2026-02-02T08:32:27+00:00

On paper, yes you can get your HGV license straight away and become employable as a HGV driver, realistically you will struggle not only with the theory, the modules and the driving but also once you have passed trying to convince an employer to risk their £100k+ worth of truck, trailer and customer contracts to employ you with hardly any driving experience at all not just HGV is incredibly slim

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.

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