Owner drivers, is there any money in it?

UK PROFESSIONAL DRIVERS FORUMS THE UK PROFESSIONAL DRIVERS FORUM (INTERACTIVE)
21

GasGas:
I have known people put out of business because they’ve written off two tyres in month and couldn’t pay the bill when it arrived. They should never have gone into business in the first place.

I too have seen that, over the years I have seen many come and go, blinged up truck financed to the hilt but unable to service it properly because of a lack of cash, a little dip in the work and under they go, I brought my last truck outright and because I did I was able to negotiate a big discount and get extras added.
As said don’t do it lightly, just do the figures first, don’t get a truck and hope for work to come, find the work and how you will get paid and how quick then tailor your truck to your budget, as long as it does the job and earns the money you can get a better motor later.

22

G6Bob:
Sorry to jump in and ask a question on someone elses post, Is there certain types of truck that, pound for pound, makes more money than others? reason I’m asking my Dad used to be a tipper driver, and meeting hid OD friends always seemed to have a lot of cash about them (Flashy motors, big houses ect) Also got chatting briefly to a guy at a DCPC course, he was telling me he owned a few general haulage artics, ended up couldn’t afford to pay his drivers wages. He ended up buying a 8 wheeled tipper and operating it himself, he says he has never made so much money. Anyone got any info on this, as it’s a route I’m thinking of going down in the future :smiley:

yes you can earn up to a grand day with a 8 wheeler on the muckshift

23

I was much worse off as an O/D. Spent the quiet month of August renovating the trailer instead of taking a holiday.Finished late Xmas Eve,started early Boxing day.Only advantage was once in N.Spain on a cold rainy Monday morning & this steel works bod told me to completely strip the tilt for a load for Italy. I got back in the cab & drove empty to Swiss. Cost just over £100 in those days. I was glad when it came to an end & could use the boss’s machinery to make a living. :laughing:

24

NewLad:

G6Bob:
Sorry to jump in and ask a question on someone elses post, Is there certain types of truck that, pound for pound, makes more money than others? reason I’m asking my Dad used to be a tipper driver, and meeting hid OD friends always seemed to have a lot of cash about them (Flashy motors, big houses ect) Also got chatting briefly to a guy at a DCPC course, he was telling me he owned a few general haulage artics, ended up couldn’t afford to pay his drivers wages. He ended up buying a 8 wheeled tipper and operating it himself, he says he has never made so much money. Anyone got any info on this, as it’s a route I’m thinking of going down in the future :smiley:

Probably true, paid by the load and don’t abide by any of the laws of the road, there on a par with cyclists at red lights too.

Some ■■■■ in Thetford forest yesterday nearly took my mirror off yesterday I was down to 20mph as it was a tight road, tipper driver at warp speed 6 and over the white line.

[zb]!

The roads around there may be a little safer later this month when the sugar beet campaign ends. Possibly a little less mud on the roads as well.

25

G6Bob:
I’ve heard the phrase “Per tonne, per mile” used, is that the same as paid per load? and when there queued up don’t they get paid for waiting in that queue like £25-30 per hour?

Any Tipper OD’s on here?

Things may have changed drastically since my day (11 years ago) but for waiting to tip you had to wait an hour before you could claim anything, so for two hours you MIGHT get paid one hour, of course if you were too early on site the time only started when the material was ordered for. Waiting time then was around £17 per hour, we had to hand our tacho disc in to be photocopied in case you tried to fiddle it! :unamused:

If carting tarmac you can wait a couple of hours at the loading plant, you got nowt for that of course. Muckshifting seems the way to go these days especially if you get paid per day and not by the number of loads, quarry work was OK but you do a lot of cut rate loads especially on large tonnage jobs and the quarry companies fix the rate, the only choice you have is do it or stop at home!

Pete.

26

windrush:
If carting tarmac you can wait a couple of hours at the loading plant, you got nowt for that of course. Muckshifting seems the way to go these days especially if you get paid per day and not by the number of loads, quarry work was OK but you do a lot of cut rate loads especially on large tonnage jobs and the quarry companies fix the rate, the only choice you have is do it or stop at home!

Pete.

New to truck driving, and never done tipper work… What exactly is muckshifting?

Are 8 wheeled tippers cheaper to run than a artic? Also heard from a few guys, tippers can go through tyres easily due to driving off road, Could this be down to drivers battering it over rough terrain or is it going to happen regardless of how the vehicle is driven?

27

It depends what contract you can get on ?

And this is the part of the job below, we tend not to talk about out loud,

You got to try to earn above £2000 + VAT a week, so you can pay the weekly bills below

i.e. diesel depending if your on distance work (£1000 + VAT) or local (£700 + VAT) Weekly
Ad-blue, (£35 + VAT) Weekly
Red Diesel for fridge trailers (£50 + VAT) Weekly
Wages, Weekly
Trailer hire, (£250 + VAT fridges - £100 +VAT skeletal) Weekly
VAT, every three months,
Truck Servicing every 6 weeks
Operator licence holder (unless you have your own T/Manger CPC) Monthly
Weekend parking, (£20 + VAT each night) Weekly
Tyres, (if you have a blow out on the Truck £350 + VAT each, a bit less on trailers £290 + VAT)
Overnight parking depend what load you have on, if on Containers (£30 per night) Daily
Insurances, 1 Public liability 2 Goods in transit 3 Truck fully comp, Monthly
Financial standing for a standard national licence, 1st vehicle £7,700 than each vehicle after £4,200 each,
All Road Tolls & Bridges, Weekly
Truck hire, (£300 + VAT) Weekly unless you are lucky enough to own a Truck
Bank Overdraft a must for emergency

So if you can afford the above, weather you have work or your truck is standing idle broken down for a few days and still

pay your mortgage and never go on the sick, like doing long hours and early starts, go for it,

It can be great working for yourself, I did it for 5 years on Container work Monday to Friday and some Supermarket work

on the weekend, but then the rates dropped and the work got harder to find, so when you start to pay out more than you

earn its time to knock it on the head, which I did in December 2011, I work for a company now, and I miss being

self-employed, because the guy in charge of us is clue less, and that was the mean reason why I went self-employed in

the first place and bought 2 trucks in 2006, but that’s life you crack on, I hope this helps you with your question about

going as an owner driver, I wish you good luck,

and always ask question, that’s how I learned how to be a owner driver.

28

Welcome Welshgooner. Some good advice there. Do you have a stammer? I do after reading that though! :smiley:

29

waddy640:

NewLad:

G6Bob:
Sorry to jump in and ask a question on someone elses post, Is there certain types of truck that, pound for pound, makes more money than others? reason I’m asking my Dad used to be a tipper driver, and meeting hid OD friends always seemed to have a lot of cash about them (Flashy motors, big houses ect) Also got chatting briefly to a guy at a DCPC course, he was telling me he owned a few general haulage artics, ended up couldn’t afford to pay his drivers wages. He ended up buying a 8 wheeled tipper and operating it himself, he says he has never made so much money. Anyone got any info on this, as it’s a route I’m thinking of going down in the future :smiley:

Probably true, paid by the load and don’t abide by any of the laws of the road, there on a par with cyclists at red lights too.

Some ■■■■ in Thetford forest yesterday nearly took my mirror off yesterday I was down to 20mph as it was a tight road, tipper driver at warp speed 6 and over the white line.

[zb]!

The roads around there may be a little safer later this month when the sugar beet campaign ends. Possibly a little less mud on the roads as well.

He was on muck mate probably running it to/from A11, I’m no saint when it comes to speed limits but there is a time and a place and that was neither, it was just dangerous!

30

the maoster:
Welcome Welshgooner. Some good advice there. Do you have a stammer? I do after reading that though! :smiley:[/quo

what do do do you mean ?

31

welshgooner:

the maoster:
Welcome Welshgooner. Some good advice there. Do you have a stammer? I do after reading that though! :smiley:[/quo

what do do do you mean ?

Aye…aye…aye was wondering that myself :laughing:

32

G6Bob:
Sorry to jump in and ask a question on someone elses post, Is there certain types of truck that, pound for pound, makes more money than others? reason I’m asking my Dad used to be a tipper driver, and meeting hid OD friends always seemed to have a lot of cash about them (Flashy motors, big houses ect) Also got chatting briefly to a guy at a DCPC course, he was telling me he owned a few general haulage artics, ended up couldn’t afford to pay his drivers wages. He ended up buying a 8 wheeled tipper and operating it himself, he says he has never made so much money. Anyone got any info on this, as it’s a route I’m thinking of going down in the future :smiley:

All flash & no cash,the guy at the DCPC course sounds like a “Billy Bullpoo” merchant to me! in construction we are the first to be hit by recession but also the first to come out, but you never seem to get back your losses! ask your self why did Stobbies get rid of their tippers 40 years ago? if they were so profitable!

33

G6Bob:
New to truck driving, and never done tipper work… What exactly is muckshifting?

Are 8 wheeled tippers cheaper to run than a artic? Also heard from a few guys, tippers can go through tyres easily due to driving off road, Could this be down to drivers battering it over rough terrain or is it going to happen regardless of how the vehicle is driven?

Muckshifting = clearing the ground to prepare it for building etc, ie carting soil, broken brick rubble and whatever else needs to be shifted before construction begins. Some companies pay per load and others pay by the day so you can take it steady (like Muckaway on Trucknet! :wink: ) Not sure about 8 leggers being cheaper, the road tax USED to be higher but I am out of touch with that side of things, tyres can be an issue especially on rough sites or where steel etc is left partly buried. Foundries used to be bad for getting punctures due to all the cr*p laying around and you can easily get a split in a tyre on sharp rock etc or getting to some of the places where you will be expected to tip, climbing up kerbs and the like! Eight wheelers are also prone to scrub tyres on the second steer axle, just goes with the job and you have to accept that you will probably cut a tyre and ruin it before you wear the tread out.

Pete.

34

Eight-leggers are the truck equivalent of a heavy-duty 4x4 like a Land Rover Defender.

the are heavy on tyres and fuel, and the mechanical parts in the drivetrain seem to fight a constant battle against each other.

If you get stuck, then the nice gentlemen on the site may offer to help you on your way…which usually involves a really big bulldozer and a rusty chain round your bumper or all the lights being smashed of the back of your truck.

that’s why some tippers have ‘Do not push’ writ large on the tailboard!

35

peter s:

welshgooner:

the maoster:
Welcome Welshgooner. Some good advice there. Do you have a stammer? I do after reading that though! :smiley:[/quo

what do do do you mean ?

Aye…aye…aye was wondering that myself :laughing:

Lol :smiley: . I shouldv’ve worded it better. I should have said “welcome mate, interesting posting style, are you a fan of Japanese poetry?” Ya know, two lines at a time.

Dismal humour I know, but it has been a long week. :blush:

36

Find the work
then buy a truck to suit

37

Lankytim:
I’m an employed container driver, but when i’m out and about on my travels, especially at ports I see lots of owner drivers which got me thinking. Is there any money in it? I was always told that being an owner driver was very hard and it was difficult to make any money out of it, but loads of people seem to be doing it.

Is it a case of getting an O licence, getting an operating base and going out and buying a 10 year old DAF tractor unit then touting for work?

I’m not thinking of taking the plunge, i’m just curious…

NO !

38

Some of the wealthiest men I’ve worked for started off as owner drivers, john devanie for example he started jmd haulage back in the seventies. He now has over 60 units and he has the pick of the ACL work. From small acorns…

39

that’s right, go for it, tomorrow! it it were the seventies, that is…

40

Lets say your old granny left you 80 grand in her will.
you decide to take the plunge. Be free your own boss. What trusted steed would you buy? Truck and trailer.