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[Amigo]

Good on ya Guy! If your gaffer doesnt/wont put you through a digi-card course then contact VOSA and ask them to walk you through it. Do not be put off talking to VOSA, they really are there to help us too you know, and they do want to help. I have had to go to them over the last couple of years because of cowboys and they did really help me out regards hours etc. and all this without them asking who the employer was. The digi-card is a pain, but once you get the workings of it your day is easier, plus because of the way it works your always guaranteed to get some overtime out of the shift lol! Good Luck!

We've had the digi card talk via our compulsory so many hours a year NVQ/CPC but i can't remember any of it as i was trying to stay awake!....A bit like the 5 yearly ADR refresher.
   I'm only a truck driver. No wonder young folk have no interest, it'll be a Uni course soon!!!

[I am a Daisy]

I know what your saying Guy, lol! I only get paid from the neck down lol!

[tunnie]

Good stuff Guy, photos of the new beast when you get it 

[smoothomega]

Fingers crossed its all good news Guy, i remember well the first new truck i bought when i had my own haulage company, 62Ks worth of Foden with Cat 425  engine, picked it up from the factory in Sandbach and had a grin from ear to ear, times were tough back then, 1988, god knows how tough it must be for small hauliers nowadays, as much as i miss being out on the road, i really don't miss worrying about fuel costs and rates!!  :-/

[Amigo]

Had a look inside one of the new (55plate) motors today. All seemed well, lots of room, nice high bunk etc. then saw the gear lever. Oh dear. Looked down, no clutch pedal. You can semi auto them ie push forward to change up or back to change down & there is a split on each gear or you can knock it left again for the full slush puppy box. How can i call myself a real; trucker now? I prefer the 4 on 4 or 3on 3 range change with a split boxes, crashboxes, or even an Eaton twin split at a push but no clutch pedal?
    I'm turning into a luddite...we fear change...gearchange.

[Debs.]

Had a look inside one of the new (55plate) motors today. All seemed well, lots of room, nice high bunk etc. then saw the gear lever. Oh dear. Looked down, no clutch pedal. You can semi auto them ie push forward to change up or back to change down & there is a split on each gear or you can knock it left again for the full slush puppy box. How can i call myself a real; trucker now? I prefer the 4 on 4 or 3on 3 range change with a split boxes, crashboxes, or even an Eaton twin split at a push but no clutch pedal?
    I'm turning into a luddite...we fear change...gearchange.

You`ll be telling us next, that when you statrted driving lorries; all the drivers wore leather 'chaps' and looked like Stanley Baker!

[Sixstring]

When I took my Class 2 back in nineteen hundred and.............

NONE of the F88 Volvos we used had easy clutches, in fact my left calf is bigger than my right one even now cos it was so hard to push in!!

And the hours were "relaxed" more then too, Police were friendly towards us, and fuel was less than £2 a gallon....................

[tunnie]

When I watched Eddie Stobart Trucks on C5 other month, believe 95% of their fleet are autos now! Only a handful were manuals.

I guess they are brilliant in heavy traffic its fully auto?

What was it Guy, a Volvo?  Thought your trip thingy was for 06 plate onwards?

[Baron Von Spongebob]

Guy i drive an automatic Volvo and love it..No more thinking ahead when approaching roundabouts about your gears and in Europe when your looking for your delivery point it makes it easier to concentrate on finding your way..

Digi card is also better when you get used to it..Don't do over 4h.27m drive though or you will end up with more printouts than you care to imagine..

[Amigo]

My unit has'nt arrived yet which is fine as i love my old Gobstopper so will cherish every last day in it. I'm hoping to get a 55 plate so i can stay on paper tacho charts & if the made a manual that would be nice. With paper tachos you can get away with the odd 10 mins here & there which on a London run can be the difference between getting home or parking up for the night 10 mins. from home, (23 tax free) guess i'll have to adjust but i don't like it. Today the old T reg Volvo went, along with a W reg Volvo & my old W reg Scania.
      There's rumours of a new yard/workshop across the road which we really could do with. Looks like the Gaffer's cleaning house!!! :-/

[Baron Von Spongebob]

I am parked up tonight..11 mins short without any hold ups of getting back to the yard, so i stopped at a safe place... 1 hours drive in morning, 1 extra night out and a bit extra for working the saturday morning.. I would have only got home and had a few beers tonight anyway so saved a bit of spending and earned instead..Will be nice to be home tomorrow as i've been out 5 nights this week..

[Amigo]

I am parked up tonight..11 mins short without any hold ups of getting back to the yard, so i stopped at a safe place... 1 hours drive in morning, 1 extra night out and a bit extra for working the saturday morning.. I would have only got home and had a few beers tonight anyway so saved a bit of spending and earned instead..Will be nice to be home tomorrow as i've been out 5 nights this week..

Hello mate. I often have to run in on a saturday. I get more done that way as if i'm home i lay in bed half the day anyway just 'cos i can!! We're not out all week, maybe once or twice but two nights out is nearly £200 tax free over a month. Pays another bill & i'm quite cozy in my cab, night heater, fridge, kettle, lappy & dongle...crack on drive 8-)

[tidla]

Guy i drive an automatic Volvo and love it..No more thinking ahead when approaching roundabouts about your gears and in Europe when your looking for your delivery point it makes it easier to concentrate on finding your way..

Digi card is also better when you get used to it..Don't do over 4h.27m drive though or you will end up with more printouts than you care to imagine..

just dont forget when, on the odd occasion your back in a manual that the reason its shuddering on the approach to an island is that you need to dip the clutch..

[Amigo]

Guy i drive an automatic Volvo and love it..No more thinking ahead when approaching roundabouts about your gears and in Europe when your looking for your delivery point it makes it easier to concentrate on finding your way..

Digi card is also better when you get used to it..Don't do over 4h.27m drive though or you will end up with more printouts than you care to imagine..

just dont forget when, on the odd occasion your back in a manual that the reason its shuddering on the approach to an island is that you need to dip the clutch..

I've driven old Leyland Super Comets with crash boxes, Eaton twin splits & the usual range change but auto in a truck? even in semi auto do they hold back when you lift off or engage neutral like an auto car? There is an exhaust break but it seems alien to me.

[Baron Von Spongebob]

Going down hill they go into nuetral, as for normal driving they don't hold back as such unless you have the retarder/exhaust switched on..On my Globetrotter i have 3 different positions but leave it on A for auto unless going down steep hills then adjust to suit..Try the auto Guy, after a few weeks you will love it..You can also drive it in manual too, but for me auto every time..I do tend to try to dip the clutch at times and then realise theres not one there..Bet you will love it after a while..