Hi all,
I am considering my options and weighing up whether or not it would be viable for me to buy a tractor unit and start-up on my own.
I hear that you can do container runs from the docks at Tilbury etc… Does anyone on here already do this? if so, how do I go about it? What can I expect my initial overheads to be (roughly)?
Please help, I am a little lost and confused by the whole thing
Id ask in the Operators forum if I were you.
nsmith1180:
Id ask in the Operators forum if I were you.
Thanks pal… have also posted in there.
Ta [emoji6]
It’s a fantastic way of making a million pounds…
But first, start with two million pounds, that way you’ll have some money left over when you’ve lost your 1st million
peirre:
It’s a fantastic way of making a million pounds…But first, start with two million pounds, that way you’ll have some money left over when you’ve lost your 1st million
Oh, really?. I heard that it could be quite lucrative… perhaps not then?!? [emoji20]
Apparently there is no money in transport…
Ken.
Ask yourself what is the percentage of o/drivers in the industry today compared with say 20 yrs ago, if it was as lucrative as you seem to think 
…we would all be o/ drivers.
One or two on here will come on and say they are doing ok, but for every one there has been 10 others that have either tried and jacked or gone ■■■■ up.
I tried it in the 80s when you DID make money, but if I was the same age today as then, I would rather ram a prize size pineapple up my arse…less pain 
However you won’t know for sure until you try it, but you will never compete with the likes of Stobarts, they have spit out many an owner driver.
robroy:
I would rather ram a prize size pineapple up my arse.
Really?
Something you need to tell us?
Ken.
robroy:
Ask yourself what is the percentage of o/drivers in the industry today compared with say 20 yrs ago, if it was as lucrative as you seem to think
One or two on here will come on and say they are doing ok, but for every one there has been 10 others that have either tried and jacked or gone ■■■■ up.
I tried it in the 80s when you DID make money, but if I was the same age today as then, I would rather ram a prize size pineapple up my arse…less pain
However you won’t know for sure until you try it, but you will never compete with the likes of Stobarts, they have spit out many an owner driver.
Thank you lads,
Looks like it will be opening another road side cafe instead for me afer all then. As I am pretty tired of working for operators that either haven’t got the work to keep you working every day, or are just plain a…h…s.
I appreciate your feedback, comments and time.
Spudgun1983:
robroy:
Ask yourself what is the percentage of o/drivers in the industry today compared with say 20 yrs ago, if it was as lucrative as you seem to think
One or two on here will come on and say they are doing ok, but for every one there has been 10 others that have either tried and jacked or gone ■■■■ up.
I tried it in the 80s when you DID make money, but if I was the same age today as then, I would rather ram a prize size pineapple up my arse…less pain
However you won’t know for sure until you try it, but you will never compete with the likes of Stobarts, they have spit out many an owner driver.Thank you lads,
Looks like it will be opening another road side cafe instead for me afer all then. As I am pretty tired of working for operators that either haven’t got the work to keep you working every day, or are just plain a…h…s.
I appreciate your feedback, comments and time.
Wow, you give up easily 
It sounds like you have done little or no research on the subject tbh. You need to look into costs of buying/maintaining a truck, costs of tickets you’ll need (Cpc etc), likely fuel costs per week. Not to mention all the unpredictable costs like breakdowns. This before you even consider buying your own unit.
There’s a reason a lot of the big boys want you to go self employed rather than working for them…you take all the risk and little if any of the rewards.
As others have said, if there was that much money in being an O/D, we’d all be doing it
I’ve done the sums several times, working on the worst case scenario - usually pulling ferry trailers. How anybody can make it work with even a basic unit, let alone the Volvo 750 that I’ve seen about, God only knows. My basic costs work out at about £1.30 per mile, a lot of ferry trailers offer around £1.25 at best! Maybe if I win the lottery big time I’ll give it a go, but until then I’ll stick as I am, unless there’s anybody out there want to offer me a guaranteed £1.80 or so for all miles?! 
I looked at this last year and was willing to plough £70k into it. I was thinking along the lines of buying a decent tractor unit for £30k and two trailers, a skelly and a tautliner. I could not see a profit in it and people I talked to who were alredy doing it wished they had not started. All your assets need constant maintenance and need to be working 24/7 so the right contracts are vital. You need to make enough to maintain your capital input into the unit and trailers so you can renew although tax relief is a huge help there. I know one guy now that has built up to 8 trucks and he is still struggling to make it pay enough and when he thinks he has made headway a contract goes and puts him right back to square one.
I think it is more viable to buy a piece of land and turn it into a truck stop in the right area offering cheap parking rates and good facilities?
alder:
I looked at this last year and was willing to plough £70k into it. I was thinking along the lines of buying a decent tractor unit for £30k and two trailers, a skelly and a tautliner. I could not see a profit in it and people I talked to who were alredy doing it wished they had not started. All your assets need constant maintenance and need to be working 24/7 so the right contracts are vital. You need to make enough to maintain your capital input into the unit and trailers so you can renew although tax relief is a huge help there. I know one guy now that has built up to 8 trucks and he is still struggling to make it pay enough and when he thinks he has made headway a contract goes and puts him right back to square one.I think it is more viable to buy a piece of land and turn it into a truck stop in the right area offering cheap parking rates and good facilities?
Hi Alder,
Those were the rough figures I had in mind for startup etc. Thank you for the information. All you folks have been a great deal of help.
I think it is now definitely safe to say, I have well and truly sacked that idea off!
Thanks again all.
If you spend the money on whiskey and whores, you can at least say you got some satisfaction from the money invested
alder:
and need to be working 24/7 so the right contracts are vital
Not necessarily, It depends how far you want to take it, wether you want to be a one man owner driver or build a fleet and sit in the office, i.m quite happy being the former, several times over the last 15yrs i have been asked to put other trucks on the road but i have no interest in being anybody elses boss but my own, i only sub to one company so dont worry about ringing round for work, all my miles are paid both ways so 50% of my week is spent running empty, i only work mon-fri with the odd saturday which is paid at a premium rate
(66% on top of what the normal rate would be) so yes i know i am very lucky but some days when i get to work and find i.ve got a puncture at 5am and i have the jack and wheelbrace out to change it i thnk there must be better ways to earn a living but on the whole it does me, so if anyone fancys it you must find the right work that pays well and on time, if you can you will make a good living at it, if your just wanting to be an O/D because it takes your fancy and your willing to take any job just so the wheels are going round then really it would best not to bother, well thats enough from me this sunbeds getting too hot so i.m off to the bar for another bottle of San Miguel 
Fair play… good point well made. Enjoy the beverage
Good post chaversdad it all depends on your setup, parking, maintenance and contracted work etc. you are lucky and in a fortunate position well done. 
Rates for sub contract work are generally based on owner drivers not employing a transport manager.Which means that doing the management CPC course and getting the qualification is essential before even thinking about starting up.That will answer all your questions regards calculating rates.When you’ve got that you’ll find that fuel costs v rates are the main deal breaker assuming enough start up capital.
if you are determined enough to find the work for your truck im sure it would pay off . that would probably mean many hours spent on the net building a network of contacts , currying friendships
corij:
if you are determined enough to find the work for your truck im sure it would pay off . that would probably mean many hours spent on the net building a network of contacts , currying friendships
Most owner drivers dont use a network of contacts, they tend to sub to one firm and if they get paid on time thye stick with them, as i said in my post above theres a lot of confusion about becoming an O/D and becoming the owner of a haulage company, the 2 are massively different and sometimes the advice offered on here is relevant to one and not the other