Hi all. looking for some thoughts from some experienced guys whether my first dabble into owner/driver should be with the likes of a franchise with bardon.
I am a cpc holder with 18 years experience as an employee but really want to be my own boss.
Can anyone help? thanks
ratt72:
Hi all. looking for some thoughts from some experienced guys whether my first dabble into owner/driver should be with the likes of a franchise with bardon.
I’ve no personal experience but I think the general conclusion from previous discussions on here about Bardon/Tarmac/Hanson/whatever franchises is that the fact that they make it so easy for you is reflected in the amount of profit you can expect to make. What I mean by that is that the fact that they hold your hand and do half of the work for you means they you’re probably only going to make half the profits you would do if you went it properly on your own.
Could be wrong though of course, as the full picture is rarely posted online, and there are plenty of people with these franchises running 2 or more trucks and employing drivers and presumably still making enough money to make it worthwhile.
Paul
i dont know about bardon or hanson , look after your truck dont fly about to chase last load ,dont over stretch yourself financialy,dont become slave to job, i have been on for tarmac 25 years now nearly left ten years ago but when i looked at other job,s i would not have poked my head out of bed covers for the wages.i come and go when i like do what i like i think its ok
I don’t know anything about either of the companies, but I can’t see how tying yourself to one customer makes you your own boss 
Denis F:
I don’t know anything about either of the companies, but I can’t see how tying yourself to one customer makes you your own boss
As far as I can see it’s a bit of a halfway house between employed and full owner driver.
You get some of the benefits of being an owner driver in that you get to choose/spec the wagon, you get to employ someone to drive it if you want a fortnight’s holiday without it being parked up losing money, you get to shop around for the cheapest/best servicing, and the cheapest fuel, tyres, insurance etc. You get to choose how much you pay yourself and how much you reinvest into your business.
Obviously on the downside even if you get offered twice as much money to work somewhere else you can’t and you have to do more-or-less whichever loads you’re given at whatever rates you’re given.
Personally I would be highly unlikely to go into any 3+ year contract on this basis unless there was some kind of fuel surcharge system built into the rates as otherwise it’s far too easy for them to leave the rates alone as fuel prices steadily rise. As far as I’m aware none of the big boys (Tarmac, Hanson, Cemex etc.) do this which makes it a very risky game in my view.
Paul
repton:
You get some of the benefits of being an owner driver in that you get to choose/spec the wagon, you get to employ someone to drive it if you want a fortnight’s holiday without it being parked up losing money, you get to shop around for the cheapest/best servicing, and the cheapest fuel, tyres, insurance etc. You get to choose how much you pay yourself and how much you reinvest into your business.
If you’re employed by the company you get paid holidays 
sometimes have a say in the truck spec, and don’t have to worry about the rest 
more a 1/4 way house than 1/2 imho
Personally I would be highly unlikely to go into any 3+ year contract on this basis unless there was some kind of fuel surcharge system built into the rates as otherwise it’s far too easy for them to leave the rates alone as fuel prices steadily rise. As far as I’m aware none of the big boys (Tarmac, Hanson, Cemex etc.) do this which makes it a very risky game in my view.
Paul
anything where the rates are set by someone else is going to have a problem somewhere down the line ! they probably only use subbies as it’s cheaper than running their own trucks
Denis F:
anything where the rates are set by someone else is going to have a problem somewhere down the line ! they probably only use subbies as it’s cheaper than running their own trucks
True enough but there seems to be plenty on here who have been running these franchises (particularly with Tarmac) for a decade or more so in the past they certainly haven’t been a completely bad idea. Of course with the way fuel prices are going at the moment it might be that they’re no longer as worthwhile as they once were.
Paul
repton:
True enough but there seems to be plenty on here who have been running these franchises (particularly with Tarmac) for a decade or more so in the past they certainly haven’t been a completely bad idea.
very true ! It’s a thing that suits some people and not others
Of course with the way fuel prices are going at the moment it might be that they’re no longer as worthwhile as they once were.
franchises or Uk haulage in general 
Given the current climate where the good folks at HMRC are keeping an even beadier eye over the transport industry (due to their pensions getting a bit low) how with these franchises can you be classed as Self Employed■■?
The definition of Self Employed is the freedom to work for whoever, whenever.
When the WTD came out at 1 stage they declared that to be classed as self employed you need more than customer. You can’t work 12mths a year for the same employer.
So given this fact how can say a Hanson tipper turn up 1 day at a Bardon quarry for a load whilst vehicle is all in Hanson colours. I Could be wrong and would love someone to correct me but where is the freedom of work?
If you are say in Hanson colours contract could you work the vehicle on a Tarmac job in the evening or at weekends or does it say you can’t work for anyone else?
Ben9:
how with these franchises can you be classed as Self Employed■■?The definition of Self Employed is the freedom to work for whoever, whenever.
When the WTD came out at 1 stage they declared that to be classed as self employed you need more than customer. You can’t work 12mths a year for the same employer.
Surely the easy way round all of that is just to incorporate yourself as a limited company. There’s nothing in law that means a limited company can’t be contracted to a single customer that I’m aware of.
Paul
when the company gives you work all of time why work for somone else,they give the work you make the profit ie how you use right foot and i also mean on the brakes waste fuel waste brake linnings buying the right truck ie one with good payload ect ect know best time to sell and replace.i work with a lot of od,s i have 25 years at it and just without thinking there are another 14 with over 20 years in so it can not be that bad i have had one slack period 94 i worked all over salt coal glass scrap turnings so we can work for other people infact we were helped by backloading ito other plants around the country put it this way the only other drive job i would do is shell or bp or somthing like that, dont take to much notice when you hear people moan about this job they only want to keep it to themselves mind you i would like more i have accses to barrister via house insurance prmium he said if you buy the main part of your tool for job and the profit raised by operating it you are self employed ,in 2009 everybody will adhere to the silly wtd i dont care because i dont work those crazy long hours but i dont think it will stand up in court of law ,it would be restraint of trade ect ect
I agree with Denis F, but a couple of blokes near me have contracts with Breedon, one has a 6 wheel tipper, the other has a rubber duck and they seem happy enough.
Im not sure how the new drivers fit in as these too have been at it quite a while although not always with Breedon.
Ben9:
If you are say in Hanson colours contract could you work the vehicle on a Tarmac job in the evening or at weekends or does it say you can’t work for anyone else?
Yes Hanson trucks run from our Tarmac quarry occasionally when Hansons don’t have any work for em’. Tarmac are funny about theirs running with others though. 
hammer:
Ben9:
If you are say in Hanson colours contract could you work the vehicle on a Tarmac job in the evening or at weekends or does it say you can’t work for anyone else?Yes Hanson trucks run from our Tarmac quarry occasionally when Hansons don’t have any work for em’. Tarmac are funny about theirs running with others though.
When I was on the tippers we would have Bardon coloured lorries running out of other quarries when the work went slack, don’t really have Hanson or Tarmac round here.
Regularly saw a Hanson 6 legger and drag loading at the Bardon Quarry
I would’nt do it . They are either so unorganised or realise it does’nt pay to have their own trucks. Try pm tipperdriver1 he has just finished with hanson.
Even though my contract has not worked out, i know plenty of guys that are making a decent living out of it…
im going to have another try at it anyway.
stay well away!!! i have first hand experience with bardon and just about to leave they promise the earth just to get you on board then its your on your own, lack of work and then they flood the plants with extra trucks holding that reserve just in case you do a runner but they say it is for major breakdowns?? if your going down that route i would say tarmac is the 1 as i have trucks with them to but the final road to go down is with you anymore questions drop me a pm
Tipper-driver01:
Even though my contract has not worked out,
Did I miss something?? 
can anyone explain what the attraction is of these setups? you buy the truck, you mantain it, you insure it and most painfull of all, you put fuel in it BUT they decide when you work and how much you get paid
just can’t imagine at what point anyone would sit down, consider the ins and outs of the job and come to the conclussion it looked a good way to make money?
surely anyone starting out would be better off buying a steel bodied tipper and doing muck away or at least finding their own costomers for agregates?
paul b:
can anyone explain what the attraction is of these setups? you buy the truck, you mantain it, you insure it and most painfull of all, you put fuel in it BUT they decide when you work and how much you get paid
just can’t imagine at what point anyone would sit down, consider the ins and outs of the job and come to the conclussion it looked a good way to make money?
surely anyone starting out would be better off buying a steel bodied tipper and doing muck away or at least finding their own costomers for agregates?
Never appealed to me either, I always enjoyed the raking about sorting my own work out, but I know a lot who don’t like.
Each to their own I suppose.