23rd - 27th June 2008

Monday 23rd June
0700 Start. No rush this morning as there's nothing on until a 1000 collection, after a bit of fiddling about there's a later job that I can bring forward.

It's only a short job and barely worth taking the wagon out of the yard for, it's only down the hill at the quarry and it's our Volvo EW180 duck that could be driven back on the road. Still it's good practice loading the mechanical monstrosity as they're a bit awkward.



There's not loads of space out of the way down at the quarry and to get off the haul road the unit has to be jacked round.



The Volvo is returned to the yard, refuelled and offloaded. Once I'm done it's time to trundle off down to Harold Wood to do a reverse of a move I did last week.
There's a demolition company Komatsu 2o tonner there to go to Southend, it's at a school and has to be loaded on the road at the rear of the school. It's on and secured esy enough and I'm off to Southend Hospital with it. I'm thinking that not being rush hour might make it easier to deliver than when I was here last. I'm wrong obviously. There are now lots of blue badge disabled drivers parked on the double yellows opposite parked cars which means plenty of wing mirror folding but I get through and we switch the 20tonner with one of our JS220 machines to go back to the yard.

Back at the yard there's a chance to grab our fitter and get him to weld the plating down on the ramps where it has started to lift and manufacture some new blocks to support the rear of the trailer when loading / unloading. Somehow the clock had rolled around to 1700 by the time I went home. 117Km. 61t plant moved.

Tuesday 24th June
0645 Start. Nothing on till lunch today so I grab the chance to pull the trailer down the end of the yard and steam it and the unit down. I've just finished when I get an errand job to do in the van, collecting parts for one of our machines.

By the time I'm back it's time to go down to Maldon where I'm loading a JS130 for a groundworker, it's off to Abridge to replace one of ours there. I'm loading that one back, it's one of our Hyundai 140's and back at the yard there's some work to do on it before it can go out again tomorrow. Refuel & clean down, replace broken mirror and the fitter has some panel beating to do to one of the engine cover doors. It's all done on the trailer and it stays on ready for the morning. Finished 1645. 98Km.
27t today.

Wednesday 25th June
0630 Start. Off this morning down to Brentwood with the Hyundai 140 from last night, it's only a short job and our driver is ready and waiting when I arrive. It's soon off and I make my way across to Billericay where I'm loading at a farm there. First thing to load is a little farm type tipping trailer which they back up onto the swan neck so it's out of the way. I'm shown the machine that is going on, it's an old Fiat Hitachi FH130. It's seen some action that's for sure and someone at some point has removed the track levers leaving only the foot pedals to control the tracks. It also didn't want to do much unless given virtually full throttle and when it did move it lurched into action. Nevertheless it went on safely and was chained down as usual.



It's nice to go to different places and this one is going to Eridge in East Sussex, OK so it's not that different and I've been in that area plenty before it's been a few months since I was last that way and it's a nice part of the world. The machine is going to a farm there and gets mixed reaction from the two South African blokes working there. When I say mixed reaction it was more like "WTF has that numpty bought now?" I tracked the machine the off and gave them the task of removing the trailer with a tractor. I haven't got much of a clue when it comes to tractors but these guys were clearly no better and it took them several goes at reversing it along the trailer. Eventually we got it off and I'm off back through Tunbridge Wells and along the scenic route to Ebbsfleet to collect some plant by the International station.

There's a 3t and a Hyundai 130, the 130 is the predecessor to the 140's that I'm always moving and needs to be carefully chained to keep within the width for the Dartford Tunnel.




I decide to let them measure the load first today and pull in at the tunnel control rather than get turned around again. Today the story was "Well how wide is it? Did they escort you last time? No, well why haven't you gone straight through?" Honestly you can't win.

Once through the tunnel it's across to Cressing to unload at the customers yard, our 6 wheeler is there just finishing unloading and the driver lends a hand. Whilst I'm there I learn that the guy driving my usual truck has had an accident and has been taken to hospital. He'd loaded a machine and seemingly got hit in the face by a chain tensioner, the blokes on site found him on the floor sparked out. No one knows how long he was down for and he was carted off by ambulance. Initial reports suggest that he is OK but hurting like hell.

Back at the yard we reorganise tomorrows work so we can get the other lorry back, and advise the boss about a method statement for loading as requested by the HSE. Finished 1700. 299Km. 47t plant moved.

Thursday 26th June.
0630 Start. I'm off to Takeley first thing but in a works van that I'd taken home, I've got to collect my 6 wheeler from where the accident happened yesterday. Lucilky our fitter lives just next door to the site and he'd parked it at his house overnight. The van gets dumped and I head off with the Yanmar 8t machine that he started to load. It's nearly a month since I last drove this and it's quite nice to get it back, those 420 horses feel much more eager in this. Loaded as I am it's a similar weight to the unit and trailer empty, obviously the trailer is dragging 8 wheels (not me!) when empty but there's still a world of difference.




I'm off down to Harold Wood to deliver the Yanmar to a school, it's the one where I was earlier in the week with the demolition machine. The blokes here are the same guys who found the driver and they're concerned about his well being, apparently they thought he'd had a heart attack.

Once I'm done it's back to the yard for a swapover back to the artic, I'm off down to Southend where I've got another Hyundai 140 to load at a school there. It's well buried and getting it out will be a tricky affair, the groundworkers have no driver on site but I refuse to get it out as there are trenches beside it and overhead cables that have to be squeezed under. I think they realise that I'll leave without it and they bring it out to me on the road but bottle putting it on. That's no bother and it's soon on board.


Back to our yard now and I collect one of our blokes now, the machine is going back to the groundworkers farm and you have to unload on the lane outside. It's only down the road at Purleigh and no sooner than the ramps are lowered there's one guy there in a dumper for thebuckets and another to track the machine back. With that taken care of it's over to Brentwood to collect the Hyundai 140 that I delivered yesterday morning. This is another tricky one, right outside Sainsbury's delivery gate on a busy road and with overhead wires for good measure. There's a couple of so called "banksmen" who stop the traffic whilst the machine comes out but they let the traffic pass whilst the machine is going up the ramps, I always hold the traffic back until it's level just to be safe. The pair of numpties then bugger off to get brushes to sweep the road rather than see the driver round when he swivels the machine round.

Back to the yard and some bits and pieces to do there before leaving at 1630. 238Km today. 36t plant moved.

Friday 27th June
0630 Start. Off down to Basildon this morning to load up at a school there. The address is The Pioneer School, Ghyllgrove. On the map there are 2 Pioneer schools in the Ghyllgrove area but after going to both I can see no sign of building work or heavy plant. There is also a road called Ghyllgrove which has another school on it with a different name, it turns out to be the one I want.

The customer wants to try and move a JCB JS130, a 6t dumper and a Cat 120 roller, the dumper has got a fixed rollover bar and will be too high sitting completely up the top so the front wheels are bumped up and the rears are left on the lower deck against the step. The JS goes on next and the Cat roller is lifted on with a 20 tooner so it's sitting crossways against the headboard. It's a tidy bit of loading but unfortunately it was no getting chockablock with school traffic so I didn't get a pic.

This little lot was destined for Mill Hill, NW7 down a very narrow crescent that was off a narrow road itself. They were private roads and full of people who really didn't want this stuff coming down their road. We were able to placate them enough to get the 130 and dumper off and set about dragging the roller round with the machine. Everything had to be cleared off the trailer so the roller could be driven off and it nearly made a bid for freedom when it came down the ramps from the swan neck. Slideways. It stopped with me just about to bail out over the side.

Once the trailer was clear I threw everything back on and set too about reversing out of this hellhole before parking just up the road to put things straight again.


The next job was back at the yard which meant a detour to get around the M25/A12 junction as it was closed. I load a Hyundai 140 and borrow the driver who helped me out yesterday. I don't really need him but it'll be handy and it get's him out of the yard where there's nothing doing anyway.

The 140 goes off to Walthamstow and whilst he tracks into site I get ready to go so he can bank me out again, once we're clear we head back to Stock to collect a Volvo 140 that I delivered on my 2nd day on this. It was a horrendous place but I'm confidant that the last month will make this collection easier. I'm wrong obviously. I'm happy that there's no traffic behind as we approach the road that I need to reverse down, but that goes to pot when I discover a bloke in a 6 wheeler trying to line up with the improbably narrow gap between two buildings. The traffic is now horrendous and it takes some time before it's clear enough for me to reverse. It's about quarter of a mile reverse down to the site all the way down a very narrow road. A couple of times I have to shunt to let someone past and there's some complex shunting to get the 6 wheeler out with his machine and me back in to get mine. Eventually we get it loaded and drop it back at the yard. Finished at 1700. 47t Plant.

Saturday 28th June
0600 Start. I'm at the yard early and meet up with another of our machine drivers we're off to Marylebone to collect the 21tonner I delivered here last week. We're out the yard at 0615 and on site at 0740 and having a brew. At 0815 the guard opens the gate and we can fire up the machine and get it out and loaded. By 0840 we're good to go and I start the tricky reverse out of the narrow street past the awkwardly parked Merc, cut the corner across the pavement to miss the cars parked opposite and hopefully escape. It's a bit tricky at over 11' wide and a blindside to boot and I'm relying on my driver to act as a banksman on the N/S. The trailer headboard starts to touch the hoarding on the O/S so I shunt forward slightly and BANG, the N/S outer tyre on the trailers first axle exploded and ripped itself apart. I pull forward and report the bad news to the boss. I decide that as time goes on the space we have available will likely disappear so the best thing is to back out now and park up. We pack the kerb with timbers and after some mega tight reversing I get out of the side road, there's now traffic backed up behind so I drag the trailer onto Marylebone High Street and back on a parrallel road to await a tyre fitter.

Eventually at 1030 a Spaniard turns up and sets about jacking the trailer, there's no sign of an air wrench, only tyre levers and before long he's leverring the tyre off the rim as is. I take my hat off to the guy to change a trailer tyre whilst it's still on the rim, especially being a little 17.5 tyre on a lowloader trailer (with a 20 tonner above him) and having to crawl underneath and break the bead on the back whilst working round the inner tyre. By 1100 we're on our way hoping that the MET Police will let us bend the rules of our wide load permit (Midnight - 1000) due to exceptional circumstances. We're routed out A41 and have to contend with traffic at Lords and some crappy roadworks at Hampstead that are causing chaos. We get back to the yard at 1300 and park up and clear off home.

16th - 20th June 2008

Monday 16th June
0630 Start. Today should be OK, I'd been asked to do some on Saturday but they rearranged my days work so that I didn't need to. Ideally I'd have started earlier but the first job is down at Corringham, right next to some flats and opposite some houses in the town centre of sorts.



First thing to load is a 6t dumper, it's headed back to the yard but it'll be a long time before it gets there. Even up on the top deck it's not entirely out of the way, as there's a 22 tonne JS220 to ride along with it.



We're off to Southend Hospital, this being the job that I'd have ideally done on Saturday. It's about 0830 when I get near to the Hospital and there's rush hour and school run traffic to contend with. Just before I reach the site there's adisabled badge holder parked on double yellows right opposite other parked cars. I'm running at almost 11' wide and folding the wing mirrors still isn't enough, off come the chains and dogs and I can just squeeze through. The JS is off loaded and replaced by another 20t machine, this one belongs to a demolition contractor and has got buckets and a hydraulic grab fitted.



I thread my way out of Southend and head off down to a school at Harold Wood. There's plenty of room in the playground to turn around I'm told and this is true, it's just getting between the parked cars that's tricky. And it actually needs to be in a different road behind the school.



The machine comes off and I'm left with the dumper, and quite a lot of mud and crushed hardcore from the machines. My next job is a collection on the other side at Eltham, it's an awkward site but I reverse in without drama and the guy is ready to load his Hitachi ZX180 18t machine and umpteen buckets.



There's a bit of discussion about the best route to Watford, there's problems on the anticlock M25, the Blackwall is too low and the Woolwich is only running 1 boat. I decide to go Clockwise on the M25 and pull out of the site. At this point the landing legs on the trailer land and I'm almost bellied out. Full height on the unit and trailer and a helping of difflock gets me out eventually with no damage.


It's a long slog round via Heathrow, but it's constant running plus I don't need to stop at the Tunnel Control so they can umm and arr about whether the 9'6" machine plus about an inch of chain is or is not worth a £42 escort.


Round at J19 it's a simple place to find, an old pub at Leavesde, there's a big concrete block in the gateway but I pull alongside and the driver scoots it out of the way. Once I get in I'm able to unload the 180 and also the dumper as my colleague is on his way with an oasis unit.



I stop on break and watch the machine working away behind me.


When I leave the signs are not massively informative and I end up following the sign for St.Albans which takes down a road it decides is Unsuitable for HGV, after you've commited to using it. Unfortunately when it gets narrow I'm confronted with a car driving lady who won't budge as I shouldn't be there, she's also got anothe local expert behind who claims I'll never get through. I decide that I'd better reverse back about 1/4 mile and let them pass before deciding what to do. Once they're clear I consult the map and discover a side road that is unmarked leads me almost to the M25 but none of the locals had actually bothered to tell me that. I make clean my escape and head back to Essex.

I'd tried for fuel at the Shell garage by J21a but there was none so I forced to stop at BP at Boreham where they now have a mini M&S food shop there as well. Another reason why I'll continue to avoid it. It's 1600 and I'm pushing for time now, down to Ernest Doe at Ulting, we're borrowing, hiring or trying a demonstator Hyundai 140 as we've got none available.



It's quickly loaded and I belt down to Stock to swap it over at a waste transfer station for our Fiat-Kobelco 215 that I delivered here last week. Finally back to the yard for a finish around 1800.

11.5 hours, 416Km, approx 100 tonnes of plant moved today.

Tuesday 17th June
0500 Start. It's too early, I've done my share of earlies in the past but it's got to be done.



I've got the FK 215 on from yesterday and it's going to London, our wide load authorisation is only for midnight - 0700 so it means an early start.



A quick check of the marker boards and tail light in addition to the usual checks and I'm off out about ten past. I'm heading for Marylebone and I'd filed a route to take me in through Finsbury Park but the Met have altered it and given me a route of M11 / A406 / A41 neater on the map but the NCR round that bit is two lane / three lane / one lane at one point and it's full of lights. At least early morning it's not any bother. The A41 is clear too and I head down Baker Street, across Marylebone Road and turn into Blandford Street which is nice and wide.



It's only 0630 so it's not too busy, the site entrance is round the corner so I park up and get out on foot for a looksee.


I've got to turn into the side road.

I'm now stuck between a rock and a hard place, the wide load can't be moved after 0700 and the machine can't be started until 0800 as there is a restriction on the site hours so I settle down and wait. At 0800 our driver appears and I pull round the corner so we can unload when he's been inducted. Once I'm unloaded there's a very narrow gap to get through and an awkward corner but I get back onto Marylebone High St. and pick up my planned route out. This goes out of the window with a left turn with a traffic island round the corner so I end up trying to keep one eye on the A-Z whilst threading myself through the streets towards Marylebone Road. It's a no right turn when I do get there but I'm able to skirt the top of Regents Park into Camden and out via Finsbury Park.

It's back to the yard now to load a Hyundai 140, this one's going to Pimlico. It's only a 14t machine so no special rules apply here. A quick trip along the Embankment as far as Vauxhall Bridge and I'm virtually there. It's an easy drop to do, in and out without too much fuss and I'm heading out at 1330. That's all the planned work for today but as I'm getting on well I roll one of tomorrow's job forward and head down to Witham which I make in record time (1.5hrs)



It's a big machine here, 25t of Fiat-Hitachi and a very wide too.









Once I'm loaded it's only a short hop down the road to a site in Boreham, it's a reverse in off the road job, which is a bit daunting at 3.4m wide but it went in OK.

I'm just about to leave and I get a call telling me that the unit is booked for service at Truck East, Witham tonight. Normally the driver drops the trailer in the yard but as I'm half way there I don't bother and decide to leave it in their yard.



Now this made my brain work some, I've not uncoupled a trailer since passing my test but remembering the Black routine helped me out.

Swapped the unit for their parts van and off home via work to collect paperwork for tomorrow. Finished at 1700, 373Km approx 60t of plant moved.

Wednesday 18th June
0615 Start. The van goes back to Witham and the unit is parked up half under the trailer ready.



There's a big jumble of spaghetti lines and cables to figure out. More brainache remembering how to couple up. I'm naturally paranoid that the trailer is going to fall off later in the day.

My first job is a tricky one to get to, some very narrow lanes and lots of overhanging trees.



I know it's bad when the stones and dirt appear in the centre of the road.


Amazingly this quiet road stays quiet whilst we load up on the road, a Hyundai 140 (for a change) a 6t dumper and a fuel tank all go on.

I'm off to Chipping on the A10 but I don't get very far before I have a chain snap whilst I'm travelling. The dog tensioner flies off and there's a length of chain gone too. With the machine only half secured I drop the speed and get it to a safe place to stop rather than stop on the twisty single carriageway. I'm joined by a bloke in a VW Golf which has picked up a couple of scratches from the chain. He's OK about it, I think he realises it could have been more serious. I'm a bit puzzled as to what caused the chain to fail, I've got a theory but it's just that. After swapping details with the Golf man I rescure the load and I'm just about to go when someone else pulls up. Luckily they're not damaged but it's someone I've not seen for about 3 years or more at a previous job.

Once I get to Chipping the machines are parked up in a farmyard and I get the chance to grab a cuppa.


Once I'm done I trail back to the M11 and head to Walthamstow, we've got a Volvo 140 there which is playing up so it's being sent back to Volvo at Duxford to get it sorted. The machine is losing oil so I have to try and get in as close as possible, it's a pig of a site and at one point the rear of the trailer gets hung up by the level changes leaving the wheels mostly dangling. I get close enough and we go for the full bore get it on and shut down quick approach to loading.

It's back up the M11 to Duxford to drop the machine off, the yard there is stacked out with new gear.



Including 2 of these big 46 tonners



Once I'm done I'm able to grab some quiet break time and manage a cuppa and about 20 minutes kip. I'm back off again this time down to Wickham Bishops between Maldon and Witham. It's a horrible place to drive around, lots of junctions that cross at scissor angles and little narrow turns. And the 2 easiest routes in are barred by a 13t and a 20t bridge. The lane I need is very narrow and there's no way to get on to site. I've got a JS220 to load here and no one site can drive it so I have to rig the trailer and load it myself although there's a wheeled digger driver who does lend a hand.

The JS is off to Little Burstead near Billericay, it has to be unloaded on the road so it can be tracked up a narrow chase. Right next to the chase is a gang of fencers working, one of them wanders over and it's someone else I've not seen for years.

Unfortunately I'm not quite done yet, there's another machine to collect. It's a 1.5t minidigger! in Brentwood and it's got to be moved off site today, it's a bit embarrassing just that on the trailer. Thanks to some roadworks it takes nearly an hour to get back to Danbury for a 1815 finish. 401Km today and about 54t moved.

Thursday 19th June.
0645 Start. Finally an easier day, nothing urgent this morning so I climb up on the roof and change a bulb on the light bar and get our fitter to carry out a welding job on the trailer floor.



It's just fiddling about until about half ten when I leave to take the mini back to BTG at Ongar. With that heavy load gone I'm off down to Woolwich to load one of our Hyundai 140's. As it's going back through the tunnel it needs chaining carefully so the dogs don't stick out.

I'm under the 9'6" limit for the tunnel so I just join the queue and get as far as the toll booth where I'm stopped and a Traffic Officer comes over to talk to me. They're not convinced about the width and I have to double back past the control building so they can measure it properly. I'm fine so they let me through and I'm able to return to base without further incident.



The 140 comes off and gets replaced by a Volvo EW180 18t duck, one of the few machines of ours I've never moved. Luckily it's fairly easy (relative) to suss out and on it goes.



This is a short hop and being road legal could have been driven to site if there was a duck driver in the yard, it's only gone as far as Danbury Quarry where it's unloaded and I leave with the keys in my pocket. Oops.



Next job is a Hyundai 140 (just for a change) it's the one from Monday at the waste transfer station in Stock, it's loaded up and returned to the yard.

Finished at 1715 today, an easy 198kms and approx 48t plant moved.

Friday 20th June
0645 Start. Off to Hutton this morning with a Hyundai 140, it's a private estate so no noise until 0800 so there's some hanging about until I can unload.



Back to the yard and I load another Hyundai 140, this ones going even closer just down the road at Great Baddow. It's swapped over here for one of our new Doosan 140's


And off.

Once I'm swapped over and sorted it's seaside bound (well Shoeburyness, and I didn't see the sea either) to drop this one off.


Another one going.

My next job is a collection from Springfield in Chelmsford, I've got a description of where the machine is rather than an address. Unfortunately the description better suits a place where the machine is not - a little narrow lane with some nasty bends that ends at a house cum farm place with slightly less than enough space to turn properly. I don't cause any damage per se but the trailer wheels do have to run a blokes grass which he's not very happy about. It's not uncommon apparently, I'm not unsympathetic but I've been given crap directions. I get out with major disruption or damage (thankfully) and find a similar entrance (although less obvious) just up the road. Only there's no way to get the trailer through the gate. I leave it parked in the bellmouth and wander in to find the machine. There's 2 of our blokes there, 1 filling it with diesel and the guy who's going to drive it at the next site getting a quick refresher before he arrives. It's a Hitachi 13t duck, I drive it back whilst the driver brings his car out and the other bloke the yard pickup. We get it loaded on the trailer and then get a call to say the job has been cancelled.



Back to the yard to tip the duck off. Next job is at Gosfield so I trundle off and stop for fuel enroute. I pull up at the pump behind a bus and am amazed because it's got passengers on it and it's on a service run.

The machine at Gosfield is not one of ours, and the driver is surprised to see me as he wasn't expecting to move until Monday. He's as good as ready though so I get him loaded and off to Kelvedon to unload him. Back at the yard for a 1715 finish. 257Km today. 68t plant moved.

9th - 13th June 2008

Monday 9th June.
0645 Start. There was not much on the sheet today so I took the opportunity to catch up with our other driver as I've not seen much of him for a couple of weeks. Unfortunately leaving the yard at 0715 means that there's a fair bit more traffic knocking about. I'm off to Stevenage via the M25 & A1 and arrive at the site on the new Arington Business Park at 0845.

It's all small stuff, usually a move for the six wheeler but there's supposed to be some materials getting loaded too. However the materials have been dumped and it's just a 3t dumper, 5t Kubota mini and a 120 roller. Hardly worth the bother but it gets me out all the same.



I wander back across the A602 to Ware and up the A10 to the A120 where I follow all the way across to Braintree before dropping down to Witham to tip at the customers yard. I roll back in at our yard around midday and there's ot too much happening. There's a job being touted four this afternoon, but as usual the plan goes out of the window when we get a phone call about one of our self drive 14t machines, it would seem like it's blown the head gasket and needs a replacement machine to replace it. There's no self drive 13/14t machines in the yard, the only one we've got available is one at a site in Upminster that has just been offhired. I'm despatched to collect it and on the way it dawns on me that I'm going to need a half hour break before the day is out. It's a bit of a nuisance as I should have switched over to break in the yard.

The site in Upminster is down a narrow lane, I park outside the field entrance and leave enough space for vehicles to pass whilst going and getting the machine ready to load.


Once it's ready I back the trailer into the entrance and start to load the buckets right up the front out of the way. I then get the machine on properly and the ramps folded so I can stop blocking the road and let the few accumulated vehicles pass. Unfortunately the 6x2 unit hasn't got enough grip to push the trailer back, so I have to make everyone wait a bit longer until I'm ready to go.

I've got to take this machine to a housing estate in Bow, I've been there with a 6 wheeler and it's an arse. With anything bigger it's not far off impossible. At one point I though it was, I needed to turn right at a T junction, there's cars behind and cars parked close to the junction on my left and just round to the right. And there's a bollard. And some cars coming from the left after I'd been shunting back and forwards. Somehow I got round eventually, I'm not sure how though. This is where the rear steer really helps by pushing the back of the trailer round. Unfortunately it can hinder just as much as when you reverse you need to lock the wheels manually whilst they are straight. Go round a sharp corner and the wheels are hard round, can't quite make it so you need to reverse. Only now the wheels aren't straight and can't be locked, but if you reverse they counter your steering and the trailer pushes back straight.

When I'm roughly where I need to be there's another long stint of reversing, around a sharp corner and right down into the site. It's then a simple case of doing a like for like swap, one Volvo 140 for another no need to switch buckets.



Getting out is a slightly easier route and I discovered a slightly easier way in too. It's then back out onto the A12/M11/M25/A12 and back to the yard. The 140 comes off and I go home at 1745. 353Km

Tuesday 10th June
0645 Start. No hurry to leave this morning as I don't want to arrive on site too early. I'm off to Haverhill just over the border in Suffolk, ready to load a Fiat-Hitachi EX255. On arrival at site they want me to back in so I decline the blind side reverse and turn up the road so I can get in on the good side. First time so I'm happy with that. It's a 25 tonner this machine so it's a full wide load rig required with extended sides and markers pulled out. It's also got a wide footprint so the ramps are spread wide to make loading easier. Tracking the machine along the trailer from the widened ramps to the outriggers is best done carefully as there is more track overhanging the side than actually in contact with the trailer.



I'm all set and ready to leave just after 0900, which is handy because our wide load dispensation is not valid 0700 - 0900. About half a mile down the road one of the shutters on the cab side is flapping, they've had the shutters pulled off and windows smashed on the machines here and obviously the mount is damaged. I remove the flappy shutter and post it through the broken window it's designed to protect.


I can now get back on with dragging it back across to Witham, the road is a single carriageway windy A road and this machine is 3.4m wide so it takes some care through the villages that it passes. I'd usually cut the corner and avoid Halstead by dropping down through Gosfield but there's a right turn at a traffic light that I might not make so I head across to Braintree via Halstead and encounter no problems. Braintree to Withan has got some tight spots and one tight junction but I make it through safely and get the machine back intact (or at least as it left the site)



Once I'm offloaded the trailer gets shut up back to normal and I head off over to Kent for the next job at the Skanska site on the new A2. There's no one at the compound and although I saw them working I've no idea of how to get to them so I get them to come and escort me onto the new unopened bit of the coastbound A2.

I'm here for a drainage company and I've got to load trench boxes and other bits. This turns out to be 2x Magnum boxes which are 3.5m wide, 1 mini and 1 midi box, 2 stillages, about 30 sheet piles, some steel plate, some jacks, some buckets and a ladder. It's an hour and halfs worth of loading and strapping down, although not before shoving all the stuff off the deck onto the swan neck, that's hop up ramps, outriggers, chains & dogs, brush and shovel and various other bits.



Once I'm set with wide markers etc. I head back up the A2 to the M25 and pull into the abnormal loads compound at the Dartford Tunnel. I take the tag into the office so they can charge me £2.90 for the toll and £42 for an escort and I'm cleared to go through the tunnel with blue light escort behind. It's quite cool actually straight down the middle full bore making loads of noise, a bit like playing Grand Theft Auto with the cops on your tail. OK so maybe not. I'm dragging this lot back to Braintree so I follow the M25 and curve round via the M11 and A120. Unfortunately this way entails an hours delay as the M25 is closed further up and I arrive at Braintree at 1600. It's an hours job to unload there, too much clambering about slinging for my liking but I'm off by 1700. Back at the yard there's a Volvo 140 to load before going home just after 1800. 318Km

Wednesday 11th June 2008
0615 Start. I'm off to Walthamstow with the Volvo this morning, it's got one of our drivers going on it and once I'm there it's soon off loaded.



It's nice to get in early and come back out again looking at the traffic heading the other way, I'm straight back to the yard where I've got a Hyundai 140 to load. This is only a short run but I gain a passenger, the driver who's driving my 6 wheeler. We take the 140 down to Boreham and drop it off at the quarry there ready for a job starting tomorrow.



We head back to Great Baddow for the next load, but just as we get off the A12 I get a call saying it's not yet ready and to skip that job for now. It's off the A12 round the junction and back down the other direction as we're heading for Messing near Kelvedon. There's a JCB JS130 here to load, it's a bit of a mess with bits hanging off and broken and caked in mud. We've just sold an 8 year old one of these in much better condition.



The JS is going to a job in Danbury down a very narrow lane, there's a couple of iffy bends where the rear steer saves the day and finally we get there and unload in the road. It's straight on as there's nowhere to turn, through a ford and back to the Great Baddow job where we're loading one of our JS220 machines. It's right beside the road and has to be loaded on the road.



There's a heap of buckets and a large bunded tank to go too. This lot is off to a large site in Dunmow, it's soon taken off and I make a complete balls up of trying to turn around. Eventually I maneage and head bak to the yard. Finished at 1715. 291Km

Thursday 12th June
0645 Start. There's nothing doing first thing at the yard so I do some minor maintenance issues on the trailer and top up the oil on the unit and generally keep out of trouble. Before too long I'm found a job, I'm sent over to near Ongar where we've been storing / using one of our machines. It's the same place that I went last week but this machine has been getting some use over there.


It's a Fiat-Kobelco E215 21tonner, the site is a green waste recycling site and although it's clean it absolutely stinks. There's a load of buckets to chain up and load with it too.


It's raining a bit when I start, and I just get it loaded when the rain starts to get heavy.



I decided to shut down the machine and abandon ship in favour of a cuppa until it calms off a bit.




Once it stops I'm able to continue loading and get it hauled off back to the yard.



It's only a pit stop at our yard, a quick refuel and oil & water check and it goes back out again to a waste transfer station at Stock. The waste station is on an industrial estate adjacent to a steel yard so I sneakily park on the weighbridge when I'm empty and have a crafty look at the readout in the office. I've now got my unladen weight sorted, on the bridge at 18,740Kg.

Back at the yard, there's one of our Hyundai 140's to load up, it's off to Rayleigh for a short job. Nothing much else was doing so I call it a day at 1615. 150Km


Friday 13th June. (No pics today)
0630 Start. Off to Waltham Cross first, I'm meeting our fitter there and we've got to refuel and check over another of our Hyundai 140's it's moving from one self drive to another so won't be going back to the yard. A couple of weeks ago we couldn't move for machines at the yard, now we've only got a couple of ducks in and are hiring more tracked machines in.

The 140 is OK and ready to load so we track it out onto the High Street and load it on, complete with grapple and buckets. The grabble is a mechanical claw often used on demolition jobs, usually they sit in a corner of the yard for months but the next hirer also wants the machine with the grapple. We're off to Woolwich with this one where we unload in the road again. Before the machine is even off the road there's a road sweeper behind, he waits and sweeps the mud off the road. Nice one Greenwich Council.

There's some time to lose now before the next job and I decide to grab some fuel at the Shell garage in Erith, there's a Dutch Post Kogeko artic on the pump and I manage to squeeze up behind. He takes his time filling up (£630) and it would appear there was some issue with payment as it was half an hour before he came out of the shop. Unfortuntely I was stuck there as there's no way I was going to attempt to reverse out onto the busy road.

This pallaver had cut my time wasting down and my stop at the Thurrock services was shorter than I'd planned. I wasn't too bothered as there seemed to be so much dodgy activity going on there I was afraid to close both eyes.

My next job was to collect the Volvo 140 from Bow at 1pm, I decided to arrive early and hopefully get the machine or at least hurry them along. Today I found a slightly better route in and arrived at 1230, I'd not even got out of the cab when the bloke appeared and told me that he'd track the machine out. By 1245 I was loaded and on my way. Off through the Blackwall Tunnel and off to Brixton. Progress was OK except for Brixton town centre and I'm soon turning into the road off Brixton Hill. It's quite wide to start with but soon narrows to a very uncomfortable squeeze, I get through though and get the machine offloaded at the site. A check of the map and I can get through towards Tulse Hill, emerging at a Tesco Express I delivered milk to once on the worst shift I'd ever had (first ever solo class 2 / second ever shift run round S.London with a Scania 6 wheeler) Pretty much from here on I'd have been better walking to the A2 round the S.Circular Rd. as was the speed of the traffic. The A2 was OK until the M25 and then a queue through to the Dartford Tunnel. The last job was to whizz up to Rayleigh and load the Hyundai 140 I'd dropped yesterday and take it back to the yard. 1730 finish. 291Km