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Becky Hinshelwood 22nd February 2017

What’s In Your Cab?

Unless you’ve been in one yourself, you’ve probably never seen the inside of a HGV cab. This might not sound like a particularly exciting prospect, but inside these metal boxes men and women live a large portion of their lives out on the open road. So this month we wanted to take you on a virtual tour of the inside of a HGV cab, and explain what’s in there, and why.

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Your Sleeping Compartment

This is by far the biggest thing that will be in the cab of your lorry. Because HGV drivers travel such long distances, they are legally required to take rest stops at certain intervals. This often means they also need to stop overnight, which would add up to big hotel bills for HGV companies. So instead, HGV’s come equipped with a sleeping compartment for the driver. This is often why the cabs look so long and bulky – because they need to accommodate a fully grown adult both standing up and lying down. These compartments aren’t particularly luxurious and often only contain a bed and potentially a small fridge, but then they don’t need to be fancy, just functional.

Driving Tools

Let’s not forget the primary function of a HGV cab – to accommodate the driver as they drive. As with everything HGV, the driver tools are all slightly bigger than their standard car counterparts. The wheel and steering column and wider and longer, so the space between them and the seats needs to be larger. The seats need to be able to accommodate at least 3 people, and the dashboard is covered with extra instruments, including a tachograph for monitoring driving and communicating with your company and a sat nav for guidance. There are also a lot more controls on an HGV, so the dashboards tend to be taller to keep everything within easy reach for the driver.

Storage

Along with the basics and their cargo, there are a fair few things that need to be taken along on every HGV journey. Piles of delivery notes to be signed, essential provisions like food and drinks, along with supplies for every kind of weather (a shovel, blankets, sunglasses, high-vis jackets etc.), entertainment and tools. All of this takes up a lot of space, and so HGV designers have taken advantage of the height that the drivers need to be seated at and used it to their advantage. Underneath each seat is a storage compartment, not unlike a hollow bench seat, where the driver can store everything they need.

It’s a common expression to say someone ‘lives in their car’, and is particularly true if they are the kind of person who likes to be thoroughly prepared for anything. But for HGV drivers who work long distances, the cab of their vehicle is their home away from home. Their cab contains everything they need for a 2 or 3-day journey, including a place to sleep and ways to entertain themselves. Many drivers take portable cookware with them on long haul trips to avoid eating in roadside restaurants all the time, which means they only leave their cab to stretch and use the bathroom. This results in the cabs of many HGV’s looking like a small flat, all fitted snugly into a tiny space.

At Easy as HGV we pride ourselves on providing the highest quality of HGV driver training and mentoring in the country. Our instructors are all experienced HGV drivers with years on the road under their belts, making them the perfect people to show new drivers the ropes. For more information or to book on to your HGV training course, get in touch with us today.

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