Any lorry drivers on here?

[Mike]

ive recently been given the good news by wor that they are paying for me to do my hgv2 test ( after 3 years of sayin i wanna do it)

do you have any advice on the theory tests as im quite poor at them where as practical tests i can get hang of easily

[Drew]

ive recently been given the good news by wor that they are paying for me to do my hgv2 test ( after 3 years of sayin i wanna do it)

do you have any advice on the theory tests as im quite poor at them where as practical tests i can get hang of easily

I did my class 2 HGV 2 years ago, the hazard perception test is what most people fail on because you react at different times to what the computer wants you to, the actual theory is mainly HGV based e.g speed limits 40 for single carriageway, 50 for dual & 60 for motorway (NOT 56mph as most are limited to) I would see if you can borrow a Theory test book & you should be able to get through with that. Also try to get it all done BEFORE end of August because otherwise the test will take approx 5 hours because you will have to do a drivers CPC aswell. The test itself is fairly easy, but dont be too overconfident because it can all go wrong very easily, I failed my practical on my 1st attempt, but passed second time, passed my class 1 first time tho 18 months ago Also remember that you can forget most things that you know about car driving because you can see far more infront of you, but far less behind you (an artic has about a 20-30ft blindspot behind it)

Hope that helps

[Mike]

yeah been told that by work lol dont leave me long at all

now currently on ebay looking for books and pc disks etc.

cpc everyone will have to do eventually any ways dont they?

[Drew]

yeah been told that by work lol dont leave me long at all

now currently on ebay looking for books and pc disks etc.

cpc everyone will have to do eventually any ways dont they?

Yeah all HGV drivers will have to do the CPC every 5 years, but that doesn't start until 2014 for current drivers & makes it a lot cheaper not to do it all at once because the current test is fairly short, my class 1 took me less than an hour from start to finish where as from end of August it will take a minimum of 1hr 40 mins for the practical test

[Mike]

they are on about sending me on a 3 day intensive course for practical in northampton

got some books in watchin now that end in a few hours,

then once this is done i get to do my crane test

[Andy]

Have you ever driven a 7.5 tonner? Because if you have you may have a advantage on the practical side off the test. A lot of companies that run the 3 day driving courses use 7.5 ton based trucks that have been *plated* by the Ministry at 10-13 tons which is Class 2 LGV, So the controls will be basically the same as a car, 5/6 speed box etc, the only thing you will have extra is a exhaust brake/engine retarder which you have to show the examiner you know how to use it at the correct times.

During the test you will start on a car park at the test centre and do a reverse park in to a cone garage moving round a cone before you park in the garage, And you have to stop when your tail bar is in a 6 inch wide box at the back of the garage.

Then still at the test centre you will perform a *Controlled stop* which will require you to drive at 30mph and stop as fast as you can without locking the wheels (easy now with ABS).

Then you will go on to the public road were you will have to perform several test of the control of the vehicle, You will do a uphill start (same as a car test), A *controlled down hill start under power* which your instructor will teach you it's very easy to do when you done it a few times. Then pulling away from a stop using all the gears and keeping the revs within the *power* band on the rev counter, most trucks have a green markings on the rev counter to show the *power band* so keep the needle within those marks, easy with a 5/6 speed solid box, I did my class 1 in a unit with a 4over4 split gearbox giving me 16 gears I had to change up and down through.

Remember to keep *On your mirrors* during the test as this is what the examiners like to see, So they know your aware of whats happening around you and always *make a show* of checking you blind spots when you pull off etc.

I know this isn't advice about the theory test, But when I did my HGV tests it was about 20 years ago when you didn't take a theory test just a practical test.

Anything you need to know or ask about, I'll be happy to try and help you mate

Andy

[Mike]

ive not got my 7.5 ton license either.got none of them, all ive ever done is drive a couple round the yard and put some away in the sheds we keep all the cement and plasterboard in ( reversed in) which i found quite easy tbh

[Andy]

When did you pass your car test mate?

[Drew]

As long as you are over 21 years old, you can do your class 2 hgv without doing your 7.5 tonne licence, I found this out because Sarah was going to do her HGV, but we cant afford the £1300 to do it

[Mike]

im 28 passed test in 1999

[Andy]

im 28 passed test in 1999

So it's not on your licence then already for a 7.5 tonner, But like Drew says you can do class 2 without it

[Mike]

yeah i just missed out, but work is paying for it all

[Andy]

but work is paying for it all

The good old taxpayer paid for my HGV........PSV, Motorbike, Forklift, Motorbike, Tracked vehicle, ADR, HIAB............

[Drew]

Have you ever driven a 7.5 tonner? Because if you have you may have a advantage on the practical side off the test. A lot of companies that run the 3 day driving courses use 7.5 ton based trucks that have been *plated* by the Ministry at 10-13 tons which is Class 2 LGV, So the controls will be basically the same as a car, 5/6 speed box etc, the only thing you will have extra is a exhaust brake/engine retarder which you have to show the examiner you know how to use it at the correct times.

During the test you will start on a car park at the test centre and do a reverse park in to a cone garage moving round a cone before you park in the garage, And you have to stop when your tail bar is in a 6 inch wide box at the back of the garage.

Then still at the test centre you will perform a *Controlled stop* which will require you to drive at 30mph and stop as fast as you can without locking the wheels (easy now with ABS).

Then you will go on to the public road were you will have to perform several test of the control of the vehicle, You will do a uphill start (same as a car test), A *controlled down hill start under power* which your instructor will teach you it's very easy to do when you done it a few times. Then pulling away from a stop using all the gears and keeping the revs within the *power* band on the rev counter, most trucks have a green markings on the rev counter to show the *power band* so keep the needle within those marks, easy with a 5/6 speed solid box, I did my class 1 in a unit with a 4over4 split gearbox giving me 16 gears I had to change up and down through.

Remember to keep *On your mirrors* during the test as this is what the examiners like to see, So they know your aware of whats happening around you and always *make a show* of checking you blind spots when you pull off etc.

I know this isn't advice about the theory test, But when I did my HGV tests it was about 20 years ago when you didn't take a theory test just a practical test.

Anything you need to know or ask about, I'll be happy to try and help you mate

Andy

You dont need to use the engine/exhaust brake anymore because lorries dont have to have them anymore as it isn't a legal requirement, none of the lorries that I have ever driven have had a working one. As for the size of the vehicle, it now has to be an 18 tonne lorry with a split shift gearbox of at lest 3 over 3 or the most common 4 over 4

[Andy]

You dont need to use the engine/exhaust brake anymore because lorries dont have to have them anymore as it isn't a legal requirement, none of the lorries that I have ever driven have had a working one. As for the size of the vehicle, it now has to be an 18 tonne lorry with a split shift gearbox of at lest 3 over 3 or the most common 4 over 4

Sure?, Because all our new trucks at work have a exhaust brake And I saw a learner yesterday in a 12 ton IVECO pulling a drawbar trailer.