HGV Driving test

[Chrispb]

Hi Baz
Good luck with the test mate had mine 34 years now, used to love it in the early years, not so now can't wait to get home.
Legislation, rules and regs, traffic, other drivers cutting you up, I could go on but I wont it's your decision

[Madbaz]

Cheers Chris,

Despite all the woes and I hear you loud and clear, I'm still enjoying trucking, but I have to do the class 1 or I'll always regret it.

[Chrispb]

Not long now Baz 

[Mirez]

Dare I ask how much this test now costs?

[Chrispb]

All it cost me was Ã,£24 that was back in 1977, borrowed the truck and trailer from the firm I was doing the fitting for so it was to there advantage, went out for a week with various drivers doing roping and sheeting. I already had a good knowledge of trucks as my Dad was also a lorry driver.
Fortunately I passed in a Scania 80 with a 33ft trailer but a lot of vehicles of that era had no power steering and constant mesh gearboxes (non Syncro-mesh) so really sorted the men from the boys.
Nowadays vehicles are all power steering and if not automated manual boxes then fully synchronised.

I'm sure Baz will give us an up to date cost.

[Mirez]

Cor they were the days, you'd break about a million laws and regulations if you did that now I'm sure! Whilst not in the same league I've got to take the trailer test soon as I passed my test after the stupid new regulations so I'm not allowed to tow more then 750Kg

[Madbaz]

Are you ready for it....


~Ã,£1100

That's for 20 hours training, the test fee (Ã,£115) and I get 14 hours (2 modules) of driver CPC thrown in for free.

Bit of a blog HERE

Enjoying the training, it's a completely different mentality from driving rigids.

[Chrispb]

That's inflation for you, looked at your blog, am also a newbie on that site

[Madbaz]

ANYONE KNOW HOW TO TURN THE DIFFLOCKS ON?
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[Chrispb]

OMG is that snow, you don't need that today of all days, hopefully it will clear by lunch time, once again 

[Mirez]

Wow - its 10*c down here! Least it might slow everyone up a little Good luck!!!!

[Madbaz]

[attachimg=1]

[Chrispb]

 [OOPS]I take it thats the one you can't see when your reversing, bad luck mate better luck next time

[Madbaz]

That wasn't the actual cone, I knocked one over on the way into the garage, I got a bit out of shape and thought I could get it back, the first cone disappeared behind the headboard and I misjudged it, the rest of the test went okay 7 minors so would've been a pass. I'm a bit gutted cos I panicked a bit when the reverse exercise was one thing I had easily nailed in training.

[pabinlove]

sorry to hear you didn't get your pass
When are you going again?
I tool my cat c&e, 10 days after passing my cat c, and made it all the way back to the test center only to be told i failed on scrubbing the rear tyres twice on a tri axle trailer!!!! I didn't think that was bad for only driving one for 5 days!!!!!!!!!!! That was 6 yrs ago and i never went back.
But I'm going back in about 6 months to try again!!!!!!!!!!!!, wish i had carried on to bloody expensive!!!
Keep trying you will pass

[Madbaz]

Cheers for comments, I've put my bottom lip away now

I'll be retaking in May,

Just how do you scrub rear tyres on a tri-axle? I thought the pivot point was the middle axle
Anyhow I'm keeping at it, just really gutted, especially when I could've taken a shunt as well to get everything back inline.

[Chrispb]

Don't quite get the statement scrubbed tyres twice, tandem axle, tri axle, even tri axle (non steered units) when turning will scrub to some extent, obviously worse when heavily laden turning in a tight space, most of our shops (Sainsbury's) require doing a 180deg turn without the room for a shunt, some are that bad you to shunt back to get the trailer into a jack knife situation.
They would rather us do that than risk reversing in off main roads and through car parks where there's likely to be pedestrians walking behind and under the trailer if they could.

Also tri axles don't always pivot on the centre axle, wet and dry road surface has a great effect on that and also whether trailer loaded or empty and whether going forwards or reverse

[Madbaz]

I assume that the front/middle axle would've scrubbed the kerb before the rear, hence I think that Pablin is making the point of an unusual reason for that failure.

If the kerb was just kissed then even with Mr Grundy taking you out it wouldn't even result in a minor. I absolutely massacred a kerb on my class 2 test and only received a minor, I did expect a serious though for it.

[pabinlove]

Yer the scrubbing of the tyres was the only thing he failed me on! I was told that when turning on a sharp t junction i swan necked abit and made them scrub, to this day i just think he didn't like me! or if the stories are true he passed his quota for the day!. i was that angry on the day i gave up, silly really as when i checked my test paper sometime later, my examiner never dated, signed, or marked it pass or fail, i only have the mark for scrubbing the tyres. Wish i had checked earlier might have my licence now.

[Chrispb]

Kissing or touching the kerb I can understand but taking a corner wide that's B******S.

[pabinlove]

oh yer didn't say that at the time, it was quiet different!!!!!!!! That was all i failed on and at Ã,£100 a test cash was abit short, but gave up as felt i was being ripped off. A seasoned driver will scrub tyres at some point so he wanted perfection that nobody could give, hope he's not there when i go back to Peterborough again in the near future, i'm older now and know a few more words !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[Madbaz]

That's just ridiculous, maybe a mark in the eco driving box (which doesn't count towards pass/fail), I would've complained over the way the test was conducted if he couldn't be arsed to complete the test sheet.

[pabinlove]

hindsight is a wonderful thing!

[Madbaz]

Had the retest today.......



I passed , 7 minors, I wanted a cleaner drive but a pass is a pass .



NO CONES WERE HARMED IN THE MAKING OF THIS RETEST

[Mirez]

Damn right - well done mate, you must be well chuffed!

[gregers]

 

[pabinlove]

  well done matey not long till mine end of june early july i think again congtrats

[Chrispb]

Well done Baz would like to welcome you to the C+E club

[Mirez]

Am I the only one who's not a trucker on here?

[Chrispb]

We keep the country running! or not depending on your point of view

[Madbaz]

Thanks for the congrats chaps,

I'm over the moon. Now where did I put that Yorkie?

[gregers]

mirez,no your not the only 1 

[bigjeeze]

Well done!!