Finding a Niche

UK PROFESSIONAL DRIVERS FORUMS OWNER AND FLEET OPERATORS FORUM (INTERACTIVE)
1

Hello guys, lurked a while, but before I start, I’ll give you a little bio to save you all asking.

Late 30’s, & currently a taxi driver in Brum/Cov for the last 4 years, along with working at the Landrover plant for the last 8, until last year. So I had 2 jobs, now I’m down to 1. Taxi (Uber & Ola apps) is not terrible, and you can clock 1k before expenses in around 60 hours, if you work the right times. It’s okay. The flexibility keeps me motivated. I will always maintain the taxi job, as its truly flexible 24/7/365. I’d like to add another income stream, one that I won’t be dependant on straight away, so can start up slowly. My dad owns a luxury mini-coach, but its up for sale now due to Covid killing Shearings, and I was gonna get the PCV and do some work with him on the side.

Previous to that, my experience with delivers in particular, were not as the driver. Beds to hotel. Kitchens all over. Worked a fork a long time ago, so have experience in loading.

What initially led me here was researching driving jobs and potentially doing the C+E, but I’m looking at all the options, and chats with courier drivers recently led me to consider getting a big Sprinter for courier stuff, thinking I’d be bigger than most couriers, and it may be an advantage. And then I picked up a lad (car was being serviced) who worked in transport, and he said “get yourself a Luton with a lift & curtain, there are less of them, vans are saturated”

So, here I am. Just a few questions.

What do you think the prospects are for an individual with a luton curtain-side as opposed a full-fat Sprinter?

I understand straight off the bat my limit would be approx 750kg payload on a post 97 B licence right? So to drive a Luton with a heavier load, I’d need to upgrade the licence right?

I appreciate you reading, if you get this far.

2

Going to move this to the owner drivers forum where you may get better responses tailored to your situation BUT as it is not LGV related I am not sure if they will be able to assist but lets try …

3

Everyone and their brother and uncle runs a LWB Sprinter on courier work. The market is saturated, hence why they’re all working for peanuts. As for Luton curtain-siders, you’ll be competing with Krzysztof and Andrei from Poland and Romania who will happily do London to Scotland for 10 euros.

4

Vans are a busted flush mate. In 2000 I was moving 10 x 4 pallet loads a week from Middlesbrough to Zona Franca Barcelona for £1750 + VAT, by 2007 that had been undercut to £800 + VAT and that was British van couriers doing that. God only knows what Pavel with his curtainsider van is charging now!

Lutons have a place but carry eff all weight wise and have a permanent DVSA shaped target on their back doors.

If (and it’s a massive if) you can find niche work, then yes a living can be made, but if putting food on the table is your goal be prepared for a diet that’ll make the Atkins diet look amatuerish.

5

Thank you for the advice.

How about 7.5tonne owner driver? More exclusive?

6

carlbcfc:
Thank you for the advice.

How about 7.5tonne owner driver? More exclusive?

Potentially, yes. Can be more lucrative than artic work, but relies on contacts. If you don’t have existing contacts you’ll struggle to break ground.

7

Find good paying work if you can, and then get the vehicle best suited to it.
Vehicles are plentiful, good work is rare.

8

carlbcfc:
Hello guys, lurked a while, but before I start, I’ll give you a little bio to save you all asking.

Late 30’s, & currently a taxi driver in Brum/Cov for the last 4 years, along with working at the Landrover plant for the last 8, until last year. So I had 2 jobs, now I’m down to 1. Taxi (Uber & Ola apps) is not terrible, and you can clock 1k before expenses in around 60 hours, if you work the right times. It’s okay. The flexibility keeps me motivated. I will always maintain the taxi job, as its truly flexible 24/7/365. I’d like to add another income stream, one that I won’t be dependant on straight away, so can start up slowly. My dad owns a luxury mini-coach, but its up for sale now due to Covid killing Shearings, and I was gonna get the PCV and do some work with him on the side.

With a possibility of earning a grand on Uber. I would think very carefully of giving that up. I am also doubtful if the failure of Shearings is entirely Covid Related. National Holidays are based near me and it appears that Specialist Leisure Group are the ones who were doomed to fail. They have been working on overdraft for over 2 years and that agreement expires in 2020.

I can see the administrators being able to sell the hotels and coach operators, some of the vehicles are tired, but many hotels have had major refurbs. There is certainly more money in leisure than there is in any kind of courier or haulage business. I would Taxi on forward and watch this space, we are on the downhill section of Covid.

Go for your PCV, get your CPC done, if the holiday business does go ■■■■ up you’re halfway there with your medical and provisional licence for an LGV. We were booked on a coach tour later this year, it may still happen but it was a city break with days out, we can still do it independently.

9

I cant add anything to the good advice given above, but I will take the opportunity to welcome a fellow blue to this forum… hope it works out for you mate…K.R.O…

10

R420:
Everyone and their brother and uncle runs a LWB Sprinter on courier work. The market is saturated, hence why they’re all working for peanuts. As for Luton curtain-siders, you’ll be competing with Krzysztof and Andrei from Poland and Romania who will happily do London to Scotland for 10 euros.

Lol

You are quite right. Rates are on it’s are for this type of work. Who wants to drive around all day to make a fiver - I kid you not.

11

Everywhere you go you’ll find foreign regd vans, mainly curtain siders with sleeper pod over the cab, either plodding around the motorways or camped out 24/7 ready and waiting for that next job for bugger all rate, i too would stick with Ubering if you can really knock that sort of dosh up.

12

Chatting to a fella last wk, has decent business etc nothing to do with transport, cv19 completely messed them up, he’s got bills to pay etc so scratching around for any work.

Has work vans so decided to give delivering for Amazon a go, so you provide the van, tax it, insure it, fuel it, maintenance etc, they give you work (long days I’m guessing) & they pay you the grand sum of £168 a day!

Not exactly going to make you rich!

Anyway if you want to find a niche, then general haulage with a van certainly isn’t it.

Medical, refrigerated, hazardous, computers, agricultural, art, boats, high end cars etc etc are more so, all generally flooded still but usually better than general transport.

13

iguana:
Chatting to a fella last wk, has decent business etc nothing to do with transport, cv19 completely messed them up, he’s got bills to pay etc so scratching around for any work.

Has work vans so decided to give delivering for Amazon a go, so you provide the van, tax it, insure it, fuel it, maintenance etc, they give you work (long days I’m guessing) & they pay you the grand sum of £168 a day!

Not exactly going to make you rich!

Anyway if you want to find a niche, then general haulage with a van certainly isn’t it.

Medical, refrigerated, hazardous, computers, agricultural, art, boats, high end cars etc etc are more so, all generally flooded still but usually better than general transport.

DVSA and Police like lurking outside Amazon RDCs as a new hobby so more than a fair risk of getting done for a slightly illegal tyre or overloading just to add one more potential item to hit the bottom line.

14

Buy a 7.5,tonner. Put a false floor/bulkhead in, nip over to Calais, go to the pidou, pick up a few bottles of plonk, Chuck half a dozen Taliban in the secret compartment at 2k a pop,… Be a millionaire in a week Rodney… :laughing: :smiley: … Helpful no, sarcastic yes.

15

m.a.n rules:
I cant add anything to the good advice given above, but I will take the opportunity to welcome a fellow blue to this forum… hope it works out for you mate…K.R.O…

:smiley: Good to see a fellow blue on here.

I think I might just get my HGC/LGV, whatever it’s called these days, & go from there. Picked a young Romanian lad up the other day who said he does not struggle for agency work at all. He got his licence in Romanian at a cost of 3k 3 years ago, and then came here 2 years ago.

I’d like to supplement my Ubering with employed work. A steady days pay with trucks, and Ubering on the days I need to be flexible, and if a good gig comes up, I’m free to take it. If not, I keep Ubering! You see taxi driving is like fishing in the sense that you just don’t know what the day has in store, and in reality, the pay per hour works is similar, except you can work more hours and it’s more flexible. For example I take my kid foot on Sat, and I wake up early at 5am usually. I can knock 45-70 quid out before 8/9am, which ain’t bad for 3/4 hours flexible working.

Another reason I am considering the big licence is I have an employment tribunal with my old employer next Feb, and I believe investing in the licence before may be beneficial, as it may possible be reimbursed should it go in my favour, for which my barrister says is a erasable chance of success.

16

if your working the way your working,and a rand a week wages aint enough for you then your best option would be to write a letter to the pope and ask him to put an extra day into the week?
even the road commanders ,ex phd`s and fridge jesus dont do that week in and out.
( no doubt they might say differently,but thats only to be expected)…

17

You are missing the point. Although when there is not pandemic, you can crack 1000 if you put the hours in, minus 300 costs, it is a slog, and if you are off the road, you are ■■■■■■■

There are many advantages to adding another string to the bow.

Someone said above regarding the courier drivers earning £168 per day. That would be a Sprinter, and also plus 40p per mile. 100/140 parcels though.

18

Just a comment on tribunals.

One of my ex drivers decided to go to tribunal. His barrister was confident of 43-45k. He was that confident that he turned down an offer of 7k, which was what I was spending for the tribunal days.

He got 2.5 on a technicality, which as he had an award meant he couldn’t appeal. Some might even think that was a deliberate decision…

19

albion:
Just a comment on tribunals.

One of my ex drivers decided to go to tribunal. His barrister was confident of 43-45k. He was that confident that he turned down an offer of 7k, which was what I was spending for the tribunal days.

He got 2.5 on a technicality, which as he had an award meant he couldn’t appeal. Some might even think that was a deliberate decision…

I went through one in 2009, I understand the risks. This company are a mess though when it comes to HR, and they regularly get turned over. My lawyer & barrister have about 5 successful cases on the. Amongst other things, they’ve used the same manager in different stages of the process, and against Acas & their own guidelines. They are a huge vehicle manufacturer in the Midlands. Shouldn’t be hard to guess.

20

carlbcfc:

albion:
Just a comment on tribunals.

One of my ex drivers decided to go to tribunal. His barrister was confident of 43-45k. He was that confident that he turned down an offer of 7k, which was what I was spending for the tribunal days.

He got 2.5 on a technicality, which as he had an award meant he couldn’t appeal. Some might even think that was a deliberate decision…

I went through one in 2009, I understand the risks. This company are a mess though when it comes to HR, and they regularly get turned over. My lawyer & barrister have about 5 successful cases on the. Amongst other things, they’ve used the same manager in different stages of the process, and against Acas & their own guidelines. They are a huge vehicle manufacturer in the Midlands. Shouldn’t be hard to guess.

Fair enough.

Oddly the technicality that he got an award for was that out of 4 managers we used 3 and we should have used the fourth.

But then again we did get the impression the award was made to stop an appeal. His actual complaint was not upheld.