Hi All
I have a queery concerning trailers on a o licence, you see some companies advertising for subbies i know of one which doesnt have any tractor units of there own,but have maybe 20 trailers and just use subbies for traction only, and charging a rate for the trailer, to pay for the lease on it i would expect, im not 100% sure if they have a OL and to be honest cant see Beverley dishing them one out,
Really the question is do you need a OL for trailers alone ? If you use subbies to drag them about on there OL
All the best for the new year guys
Im on my limit now with trailers on the OL so does this mean i could operate say 5 more trailers and put them out to subbies ? one seems to contradict the other
pjldaf:
Im on my limit now with trailers on the OL so does this mean i could operate say 5 more trailers and put them out to subbies ? one seems to contradict the other
No, as you already have an O-licence so must therefore abide by the conditions and limitations under which it was granted to you, including the number of vehicles AND trailers which you are suthorised to ‘operate’.
You could however set up a seperate company, which could buy trailers and sub-out the work on a traction basis allowing the trailers to be operated under the conditions of your subbies licences. You would have to be very careful not to cloud the waters between the “trailer” company and your “haulage” firm though and ensure that it was a genuine set up, as if Beverely got wind that there was anything fishy going on she would have your gonads in a vice fairly sharpish.
I can add more trailers just have to go through the O L app again , just wondered how you see other companies operate who only have trailers, it just gets the brain ticking ,
Who is responsable for maintainence programme ? Is the TC not interested cause you only run trailers ?
Do you need any form of permission to own operate even have them on the road ie insurance or does subbies insurance cover it all.
all you need to start is a trailer hire buisness, you give a subbie a load, knock a tenner off… i mean charge him £10 trailer rental for the day and everythings legal
bowser:
ohh i dunno , the gonads in a vice sounds quite good to me , especially if bevs doint it … it could be worse albu could still be doing the torture …
Flippin ridiculous ain’t it, so the firm that actually owns the trailers & is the primary recipient of the income for the work the trailer does isn’t responsible for maintaining them and it’s up to the subby to ensure the trailer he is pulling is properly maintained.
How on earth is that supposed to work then when he’s not paying for the maintenance or controlling itand doesn’t see copies of inspection sheets or invoices for parts.
This was I believe a massive problem at one time with ferry trailers as they had little or no maintenance.
The firm Im doing trailers for to be fair keep there trailers in good nick and have an on site fitter and tyre fitter to sort any problems with trailers.
So basically as i understand the replies people have posted, I could rent a yard/forecourt somewhere, set up a ‘trailer hire’ business, and operate 20 trailers with no O license or maintenance schedules for said trailers, and charge subbies £20 a day for the hire of my trailer?
Please correct me if i have misinterpreted the above replies?
Silver_Surfer:
Flippin ridiculous ain’t it, so the firm that actually owns the trailers & is the primary recipient of the income for the work the trailer does isn’t responsible for maintaining them and it’s up to the subby to ensure the trailer he is pulling is properly maintained.
How on earth is that supposed to work then when he’s not paying for the maintenance or controlling itand doesn’t see copies of inspection sheets or invoices for parts.
I hired a trailer from a rental company and got an inspection sheet from it’s last inspection, but maybe this has more to do with cusotmer service. It doesn’t do a rental companies reputation very good if thier trailers have suffer mechnical problems whilst out on hire or worse if thier customers get prohibitions because of the trailer they rented.
You wouldn’t go back if you’d hired the trailer, might even consider legal action if it landed you in the [zb].
kr79:
This was I believe a massive problem at one time with ferry trailers as they had little or no maintenance.
The firm Im doing trailers for to be fair keep there trailers in good nick and have an on site fitter and tyre fitter to sort any problems with trailers.
It was a big problem with the ones we pulled years ago, especially as most of them were Dutch any way so it was diffiuclt to know if they were even tested. I got pulled up by VOSA or the Ministry with one years ago, the bushes on the mounts that held the centre axle on had gone and under braking it was moving back and forwards. Apparently making a hell of a noise, not that I could hear it from the cab.
The man from the Ministry was pretty good, he gave me a delayed prohibition, enough time to tip and get it back to the depot, but it did go on my bosses record.
Silver_Surfer:
That’s about the gist of it from one man’s say so. I’d wait for a few more replies before going all in though!
Ferrymasters are a “Trailer” operator, their tractors went a while back, all subbies nowadays.
I would have thought it was in the “owners” best interest to keep them “tip top” R+M wise, as breakdowns/VOSA pulls can be very expensive
That is how it is in recent years, at the end of the day the trailer operator is the one who gets it in the neck from the customer for a late delivery. So if a brake drum flies off on the M62 an hour from Manchester, they have to get it repaired smartish, the same with tyres, years ago they ran crap tyres, now they have learned it is false economy, although some less than reputable hauliers would swap wheels before sending the trailers back to Holland.
It makes a good excuse for a ferry trailer driver to do his circle checks and do them well
