Monday
0630 Start. I'm empty this morning as the last job Friday had been dropping off a machine at the JCB dealer in Braintree. It's off to Colchester this morning to collect a JS220 that I delivered to site on my first day on artic 9 weeks ago. Somewhat fitting perhaps as this is the first day of my last week.
The 220 is loaded up ready and it's off to Tiptree to the Wilkin & Sons jam factory there. It's not a bad site to go to and there's a nice strawberry aroma in the air. Better than the one you get on a building site when they empty the tardis toilets.
I've just finished unloading and I get a call through, I've got to go to Shoeburyness near Southend. We've got a pair of 14 tonners standing here that have just finished a job and one of them is to be collected and brought back to the yard. It's one of our Hyundai 140's and despite being nearly 3 years old it is almost as good as new. The driver is obsessive about it and removes his boots before getting in the cab, this driver is not so bothered and jumps in size 13 and all. It's on the trailer, secured and dragged back to the yard. There's some work going on refurbing or 'bullshitting' our Kobelco 60 in the yard. I lend a hand in part with that before heading for home at 1600. 171km
Tuesday.
0645 Start. There's nothing to do this morning so I catch up with some paperzzzzzzwork in the office. I'm alert enough to look bust when anyone comes nearby though. I get a little errand to do in the van and when I get back there's a move come in, it's a 6 wheeler job really but they are both out and I'm pleased of the work. I'm off to Tiptree to load an 8t machine at one of my regular spots.
It's not a place that's accessible to the artic, so it stays outside and the machine will have to come out. The keys have been left in the machine although it is actually the 10 tonner there rather than the 8 that is going.
It's off to Southend, it's not an ideal drop but doable and only blocks the traffic for a couple of minutes. I pack up just as the rain starts (makes a change) and head back. I get another job come through which is loading a 13t machine from Gt.Baddow.
As I wander on the site the driver is just getting the machine ready, by the time I've reversed into the site access he's there waiting. It's loaded on and we're off to North Fambridge to unload.
This could have been worse, it's a one road in and out place and a dead end at that. Luckily the place where I dropped the machine has just got enough space for a tight blindside and I'm off back to Danbury after a peaceful half hour on the way back.
1645 Finish.
Wednesday.
Nothing really doing today, a few van errands nothing worth commenting on.
Thursday.
0700 Start. Whilst I was running errands yesterday, the Hyundai 140 that I'd brought back in earlier in the week had been loaded ready for this morning. There was a breaker that had appeared alongside which also had to go, although piped up this machine has never actually had a breaker on it so the first job was to couple it up and test it. The hydraulic couplings took some persuading but eventually we get it sorted and I'm off out down to Chelmsford.
This machine has joined the ranks of the self drive machines and will probably incur more damage in the next 36 hours of use than it has done in the 3600 that it has worked to date.
Once offloaded I'm off to Stock to load another Hyundai 140 at a waste transfer station, this one is the updated version and is a demonstrator from the dealer. It's had a bit of a hammering whilst it's been working, we picked it up at 100 hours and now at 320 hours there's a few scrapes on it already. See what I mean about the other one.
The demonstrator is going back to Ernest Doe at Ulting, where I'm collecting another Hyundai 140.
The latest addition to the Danbury fleet is going to the driver who's just lost his old 140. If they keep him and machine together it'll look the same in 3 years time, only cleaner.
The demo machine comes off, the buckets stood to one side and the new goes on and the buckets join it on the trailer. It's then off back to the yard so it can be fuelled and loaded up with the drivers kit ready for work.
Not much else happening in the yard and off home at 1600.
Friday
0645 Start. Not a lot happening this morning, there's some errands to run and I spend some time decluttering the unit of my stuff. There's no work on for my 6 wheeler today so I use the time to move house and stow all my maps and tools back ready for Monday.
I get a little job to do, loading the new 140 (glad we took it off) and running it down to Boreham ready for the driver to start work on Monday. Back to the yard and I finish swapping my gear across. There's just a little run across to Braintree to load some bits ready for Monday. 1615 Finsh.
Well that's my 10 weeks on the artic done. Approx 2100t of plant moved, and 12500 Kms travelled.
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