Is scrap haulage with a bulk tipper better paying work than lets say curtainsider or flatbed work? I see lots about with flash motors etc. also i should imagine you can get more done with quicker loading and unloading times?
Agreed plenty of flash motors seem to be about.
I’m not sure the rates will be all that, it’s heavy going on the truck. Especially when getting tossed about by the loader operator.
Most yards will struggle to get loading going before 8am and struggle to get loaded after 16.00 round my way.
And then most yards have metal all over the yard floor, which will keep your tyre man happy but not you or mr plod. A friend has a scrap wagon I occasionally help him out with, if DVSa had him he’d no doubt have to replace every tyre on the whole set up.
Scrap metal= lots of cash…
The flash motor on the front won’t make any difference to scrapmetal vehicles being a favourite for getting pulled over. The trailer and tyres get beaten to death. Judging by the queues outside the local yards the turnaround isn’t quick either.
^^^^^
The above.
Mate of mine was on scrap in and out of Liverpool. It’s fair to say the company kept the local tyrehouse in business, and that was just his motor. Can’t speak for any others.
Also, the TC likes to see maintenance of scrap trucks at 4 weeks because of the arduous work, whereas run of the mill trucks are on 6 weeks+. More maintenance means more cost to the operator.
Ken.
I used to run a couple doing traction only on scrap for one of the big metal firms. We ran it alongside a few on general haulage and also a couple of motors of bulk waste work, so I got a sense of how the money compared.
I’d say the rates worked out maybe a bit better mainly because we were doing all local work around the M25 on the scrap, so we could get a few loads in on a good day. But then you have to take off it that your servicing costs are higher, you’ll shred tyres, and even when the loads are light the fuel is pretty rubbish because of the aerodynamics of the trailer.
Also not all drivers want to do that “pushing on a bit” type of work. The handy drivers are ones that don’t mind a bit of dirt, will still look after the wagon and keep it clean, and will give it a go when you say “reckon you can get another one in by 4pm” or whatever.
In case you’re serious about it, we learned there’s a few ways to get from loss to profit in it. For example, if you do traction only some sites will let you skip the queue and just drop the trailers on the yard, if one of your later guys (or a mate) will run it over the weighbridge. Also, not all jobs need tipping so some you can run with a regular unit. And as someone else said, it’s Mon-Fri, 7am-4pm type work, so I mixed it around with nights work for a parcel network on the same unit.
Hope it helps.