Hello all! After the New Year, I plan to start working on my own account on a van. I live in Liverpool and I count on your help. Every tips counts for me. I would like to drive on long routes (min 100-200 miles), I’m not interested in the courier’s job. The most important is what type of van is best to choose and where to look for a job? Are transport exchanges a good solution or is it better to cooperate with one company that provides loads? Can you tell me what rates I can expect? And is the beginning of the year a good start-up period?
I wouldn’t bother. Any idiot can buy a van and a bit of insurance, that’s why there are so many people doing it.
The rates on offer have always been low, the market is over-subscribed, and you will end up a busy fool with a worthless van due to its spaceship mileage.
It’s the worst time of year to start up.
Public exchanges such as anyvan and uship are a race to the bottom rates wise, and you will be competing with uninsured cowboys working for less than peanuts.
Industry exchanges such as CX are only good for the occasional backload if you are lucky.
There is work around but without contacts/experience you will struggle to find the decent stuff.
If you are determined to do distance work you are best signing up for a national same-day type company full time but be warned, you will be treated badly, rates are poor and you will do long hours for little return.
As for the vehicle, the bigger and most versatile the better. A 3.5t curtainside with tail lift will give you an edge over the thousands of panel vans out there.
With this type of vehicle you would be best to approach all your local pallet network depots, courier firms and smaller haulage firms. Most will use van subbies, but are probably already well sorted. Local work with a minimum charge will work out more profitable and is easier to obtain.
It will be hard to get a break at first but when you do, and you do a good job and are reliable and professional, your reputation will grow and it can be done but it’s not easy and won’t happen quickly.
You will need a good few grand in the bank to cover costs while starting and be prepared to wait 30, 60, 90 days or more for payment.
Good luck!
Oh drempels, you are so much more to the point than me! 
.
I started with vans before all this tinternet malarkey. I started with some local freight forwarders, then a plastics company that made trunking for cables. If you can get work from a manufacturer is the ideal and use the exchanges for backloads and top ups. January is a dreadful time of year. Rates, well I charge a bit over a pound a mile, all miles. As an OD you can charge less, but you need to have some idea of costs and what you want your wage to be first.
have a word with “gettin-on” hes a self made multi millionaire from running vans 
albion:
I started with vans before all this tinternet malarkey. I started with some local freight forwarders, then a plastics company that made trunking for cables. If you can get work from a manufacturer is the ideal and use the exchanges for backloads anecdotal top ups. January is a dreadful time of year. Rates, well I charge a bit over a pound a mile, all miles. As an OD you can charge less, but you need to have some idea of costs and what you want your wage to be first.
In the late 90s I was getting £1.50 a mile for LWB Sprinters and I didn’t think that was great. As iDrive points out, you will also have the uninsured chancers cutting it up, plus all the other headaches, for little reward.
Above 3.5t there’s some insulation from the likes of them, but in my opinion even the heavier end of the market is saturated, what chance has man and van got?
Realistically, it’s who you know. If your mate owns a factory and needs stuff moved, asks you if you’d be interested, then yeah, it’s worth a look.
Walking into the showroom and signing up for a motor that you then have to find work for is utterly mental. The good work is already being done by people whose mates own factories…
Drempels:
albion:
I started with vans before all this tinternet malarkey. I started with some local freight forwarders, then a plastics company that made trunking for cables. If you can get work from a manufacturer is the ideal and use the exchanges for backloads anecdotal top ups. January is a dreadful time of year. Rates, well I charge a bit over a pound a mile, all miles. As an OD you can charge less, but you need to have some idea of costs and what you want your wage to be first.
Above 3.5t there’s some insulation from the likes of them, but in my opinion even the heavier end of the market is saturated, what chance has man and van got?
1.50 all miles Drempels? So covering the empty miles as well? There’s rates for traction between 1.30-1.60 been quoted in 2018.
I still manage to pay my van drivers 9.25 an hour, more than some Class 1 by me, they stay forever , I’ve got three been with me over 20 years, and profit margin of 10%, so I seem to be doing alright.
albion:
Drempels:
albion:
I started with vans before all this tinternet malarkey. I started with some local freight forwarders, then a plastics company that made trunking for cables. If you can get work from a manufacturer is the ideal and use the exchanges for backloads anecdotal top ups. January is a dreadful time of year. Rates, well I charge a bit over a pound a mile, all miles. As an OD you can charge less, but you need to have some idea of costs and what you want your wage to be first.
Above 3.5t there’s some insulation from the likes of them, but in my opinion even the heavier end of the market is saturated, what chance has man and van got?
1.50 all miles Drempels? So covering the empty miles as well? There’s rates for traction between 1.30-1.60 been quoted in 2018.
I still manage to pay my van drivers 9.25 an hour, more than some Class 1 by me, they stay forever , I’ve got three been with me over 20 years, and profit margin of 10%, so I seem to be doing alright.
Yes indeed, trunking high-value stuff between hubs.
Drempels:
albion:
Drempels:
albion:
I started with vans before all this tinternet malarkey. I started with some local freight forwarders, then a plastics company that made trunking for cables. If you can get work from a manufacturer is the ideal and use the exchanges for backloads anecdotal top ups. January is a dreadful time of year. Rates, well I charge a bit over a pound a mile, all miles. As an OD you can charge less, but you need to have some idea of costs and what you want your wage to be first.
Above 3.5t there’s some insulation from the likes of them, but in my opinion even the heavier end of the market is saturated, what chance has man and van got?
1.50 all miles Drempels? So covering the empty miles as well? There’s rates for traction between 1.30-1.60 been quoted in 2018.
I still manage to pay my van drivers 9.25 an hour, more than some Class 1 by me, they stay forever , I’ve got three been with me over 20 years, and profit margin of 10%, so I seem to be doing alright.
Yes indeed, trunking high-value stuff between hubs.
Fair play to you then!
Guess what happened? A slimey yes-man with a fleet of scrap wormed his way in and the customer appointed a new “management team” who promptly demanded I matched Slimey’s prices.
Not being interested in a race to the bottom, I walked. Kept my two units for a while, but the hassle just wasn’t worth it, so they went too.
Drempels:
Guess what happened? A slimey yes-man with a fleet of scrap wormed his way in and the customer appointed a new “management team” who promptly demanded I matched Slimey’s prices.Not being interested in a race to the bottom, I walked. Kept my two units for a while, but the hassle just wasn’t worth it, so they went too.
It’s a common story drempels. I’ve had a good run, it’s the corporate carp that’s got to me.
albion:
Drempels:
Guess what happened? A slimey yes-man with a fleet of scrap wormed his way in and the customer appointed a new “management team” who promptly demanded I matched Slimey’s prices.Not being interested in a race to the bottom, I walked. Kept my two units for a while, but the hassle just wasn’t worth it, so they went too.
It’s a common story drempels. I’ve had a good run, it’s the corporate carp that’s got to me.
Yup, exactly the same approach here. I cannot abide oiks in pointy shoes thinking (and even worse, telling me) they know better than me.
That, coupled with the infantilisation of drivers (and society in general to some degree) made me just not want to waste my life fighting a losing battle with these morons.
In '89 I was fed up with driving ships and one day when driving thru Leeds on my way home to Scarbro i was passing a van sales place and purely on a whim went in and bought without checking it too much an Iveco Daily box van, got it home and thought ‘What the hell do I do with it now ■■’ to cut a long story short it never moved for 3 months so I decided to put out some flyers to the local businesses … I got ONE reply and that was from ICI Computer systems who were looking for a local carrier on a dedicated basis as the national one they were using was damaging too much equipment. Things went rapidly from strength to strength and we ended up with our own warehouse, 6 vans and a healthy bank account. Then my wife and business partner decided that she loved the bank account more than me and buggered of with the lot. After a month or so on the ■■■■ I sold all the vans bar one which I gave to my longest serving employee so he could continue the contract work and I went and took command of yet another ship and sailed around the west coast of Africa for awhile, when I eventually came back to the UK I discovered that by now my ex wife had applied to the court for permission to sell the house which was granted and I was even declared legally dead. Started off with nothing and ended up nearly the same and would I do it over again … not a hope in hell but do have a van at home which occasionally gets driven now and again. The van game is finished in my opinion unless you can find a niche market …
raymundo:
In '89 I was fed up with driving ships and one day when driving thru Leeds on my way home to Scarbro i was passing a van sales place and purely on a whim went in and bought without checking it too much an Iveco Daily box van, got it home and thought ‘What the hell do I do with it now ■■’ to cut a long story short it never moved for 3 months so I decided to put out some flyers to the local businesses … I got ONE reply and that was from ICI Computer systems who were looking for a local carrier on a dedicated basis as the national one they were using was damaging too much equipment. Things went rapidly from strength to strength and we ended up with our own warehouse, 6 vans and a healthy bank account. Then my wife and business partner decided that she loved the bank account more than me and buggered of with the lot. After a month or so on the ■■■■ I sold all the vans bar one which I gave to my longest serving employee so he could continue the contract work and I went and took command of yet another ship and sailed around the west coast of Africa for awhile, when I eventually came back to the UK I discovered that by now my ex wife had applied to the court for permission to sell the house which was granted and I was even declared legally dead. Started off with nothing and ended up nearly the same and would I do it over again … not a hope in hell but do have a van at home which occasionally gets driven now and again. The van game is finished in my opinion unless you can find a niche market …
That’s quite a story!
Best opening line I’ve seen in a long time too!
£1.50 would have been a great rate for a sprinter.
Never got that as a subbie, lucky to get £1. And loaded miles only…
Different for you own customers but £1.50 would have been top end apart from the odd golden goose.
Been out the loop for a while but last I knew the likes of speedy freight were paying around 80pplm. Can’t see that getting any better now they are owned by stobarts.
General van work now must be one of the hardest possible ways to make a living.
As Raymundo says, niche is the only way forward…
.
Quality plate!