Drivers wages, fuel, maintenance and finance if needed, have I covered them all, many thanks dan
SCANIA730:
Drivers wages, fuel, maintenance and finance if needed, have I covered them all, many thanks dan
you not having insurance then 
Road tax, income tax, holiday pay (even if self employed), truck replacement, just in case money … the list could go on and on.
Excluding diesel, I allow £600 per week for running costs
nick2008:
SCANIA730:
Drivers wages, fuel, maintenance and finance if needed, have I covered them all, many thanks danyou not having insurance then
I thought that would come in to yearly expense not general weekly costs…
SCANIA730:
I thought that would come in to yearly expense not general weekly costs…
It may do, or you may pay it by installments, but the point is that you need to break down all expenses into a weekly average to know your costs.
It’s the same with maintenance, you can go for six months without laying out anything other than the six-weekly inspection fee and then you can need £4,000 worth of work doing in a month. You still need to know what the weekly average is.
SCANIA730:
nick2008:
SCANIA730:
Drivers wages, fuel, maintenance and finance if needed, have I covered them all, many thanks danyou not having insurance then
I thought that would come in to yearly expense not general weekly costs…
but you haven’t mentioned anything about yearly expense in your post… 
You should have I think 2 sets of figures I say Think
1 standing costs = cost of having the truck stood in the yard / side of the road
2 running costs= that has the cost of your driver fuel etc
Just realised your title Weekly running cost but you still need to do a 1 and 2 breakdown for your figures
Harry Monk:
Excluding diesel, I allow £600 per week for running costs
Is this including drivers wages?
Wages £500-600 per week, fuel £900-1200 per week depending on mileage covered. Maintenance will be £100-150 per week, finance will depend on the age of vehicle you buy.
SCANIA730:
Harry Monk:
Excluding diesel, I allow £600 per week for running costsIs this including drivers wages?
No, basically my £600 standing costs per week are approximately £140 for finance, £100 for insurance, £100 for trailer hire, I allow £120 for maintenance, £40 for the operating centre, and about £100 for everything else, VED, tyres, mobile phone, broadband, stamps and envelopes etc etc etc…
Over the long term I gross about £2,350 a week, diesel is £1,000 a week, costs are £600 a week so there’s about £750 left, out of which I pay myself about £550 a week and leave the rest in the company account in case I ever want to buy a trailer or a second truck or something.
My point is though, whether you have to pay for something daily, weekly, monthly, annually, or as a one-off cost, you still have to break it all down into a weekly average to compare it with your weekly average income.
Harry Monk:
SCANIA730:
I thought that would come in to yearly expense not general weekly costs…It may do, or you may pay it by installments, but the point is that you need to break down all expenses into a weekly average to know your costs.
It’s the same with maintenance, you can go for six months without laying out anything other than the six-weekly inspection fee and then you can need £4,000 worth of work doing in a month. You still need to know what the weekly average is.
I understand what your getting at here Harry but the thought came to me that if you’ve a decent bloke doing your 6 weekly checks surely they’d see the problems before you needed the 4 grand solution
Tipper Tom:
Harry Monk:
SCANIA730:
I thought that would come in to yearly expense not general weekly costs…It may do, or you may pay it by installments, but the point is that you need to break down all expenses into a weekly average to know your costs.
It’s the same with maintenance, you can go for six months without laying out anything other than the six-weekly inspection fee and then you can need £4,000 worth of work doing in a month. You still need to know what the weekly average is.
I understand what your getting at here Harry but the thought came to me that if you’ve a decent bloke doing your 6 weekly checks surely they’d see the problems before you needed the 4 grand solution
but you never know when somethings going to go bang TT it could come out of inspection and then pop
I agree I principle on some things yes there’s no warning but surely the whole idea of these 6 weekly checks is to find small issues before they turn into major problems
Tipper Tom:
I understand what your getting at here Harry but the thought came to me that if you’ve a decent bloke doing your 6 weekly checks surely they’d see the problems before you needed the 4 grand solution
Quite often it is the six weekly inspection that flags up the need for more costly work, an example being that I had to have new discs and pads on all three axles last year, which was about £2,500 iirc, and this happened at the same time the M1 major service was due. I’ve also had a clutch release bearing fail which necessitated a complete clutch assembly, and although clutch wear can be measured, there’s no warning of impending release bearing failure.
In between, I’ve had long runs where I have needed next to nothing doing, the point is that maintenance costs are erratic, but you should still have an idea of how much they average per week.
Goods in transit insurance and insurance for anyone that may sue you for any reason.
Tyre call out cover/wage for a driver when you are ill or on holiday.
Funds to pay DVSA fines and if go abroad funds or an agent that will pay the deposit for the court.
If you die or injured,who pays what?
Book keeper charges or accountancy fees.
Pension pot.
Work clothes and PPE,money for frilly curtains.Air horn and enough lights to beam you up Scotty.
Six week saftey inspection will give you an idea on brake wear susspension bushes etc but wont tell you if the engine management is about to give up or a gearbox fault
Tipper Tom:
I agree I principle on some things yes there’s no warning but surely the whole idea of these 6 weekly checks is to find small issues before they turn into major problems
You can inspect, for example, a clutch every five minutes if you want, but when it’s worn out, it’s worn out, same with tyres, brakes, suspension components, cab bushings, alternators, starter motors, batteries, windscreen wiper linkages, fan clutches, A/C pumps/compressors, the list goes on…and on…and on 
Yes I understand there’s a lot of parts to make up a lorry.
But my point was rather than a sodding great bill you can plan to maintain the vehicle as you go along.
For example if you see a drag link that’s looking poorly plan to do it rather than wait til it’s completely dead
Cab bushes don’t just fall apart over night that’s something else that degrades over time so can be a planned expense.
Same applies to brakes and tyres (battling punctures)
Also to a certain extent clutches and wiper mechanisms.
If you can spot signs of wear on a component you can plan to replace it rather than waiting until it goes ■■■■ up
Tipper Tom:
Cab bushes don’t just fall apart over night that’s something else that degrades over time so can be a planned expense.Same applies to brakes and tyres (battling punctures)
Also to a certain extent clutches and wiper mechanisms.
If you can spot signs of wear on a component you can plan to replace it rather than waiting until it goes ■■■■ up
You do plan for it, that’s why you have months and months where you only have to pay out for a six weekly inspection, then you get a month with a 4 grand bill, which is why you’ll notice in Harry’s costings that he allows more for maintenance than just a six weekly inspection, this way the money’s there when it’s needed for a big repair 