Operating as a car transporter ?
If so, where are you based and is it working for you ?
Yes. Bedfordshire. No.
Yes
Berks/Oxon
Yes
Ok, using 7.5t or class 1/2 ?
Quick thread hijack. I’m looking at getting Rolfo super 10, minus the peak, for Euro work, anybody know what companies like Shift a car are like, and what’s the deal with the CDN, is it worth signing up to?
Hades3000:
Ok, using 7.5t or class 1/2 ?
I started out shifting cars, first with a 3.5 tonner and high hopes. Quickly discovered moving most modern saloons puts you overweight. Finding myself asked for more 4x4s and garden/horticultural machinery, along with the odd general haulage gig, I moved up to a 7.5 tonner and the world of O licencing.
I did nationwide, Ireland and the continent and had a ball, particularly as I’m well into my classics and had some nice jobs with them - but could not make the sums work. With cars, there’s always someone willing to run a 3.5 tonner overweight for less than a pound a mile; there’s always someone with a 7.5 tonner taxed as Recovery with no O licence, no calibrated tacho or card within, who’ll do it cheaper. But I guess that’s haulage, I still get undercut running artics so there we are !
Hades3000:
Ok, using 7.5t or class 1/2 ?
Tiddlers, 6.5t, 3.5t & 4x4
Having looked further into this, I cannot see how there would be much money to be made from operating a 3.5t one car carrier. One, because the payload available restricts you to only those cars under a certain weight and two the money you would make certainly wouldn’t be a supportive wage. I’m lucky in that I work 4 on 4 off so have an opportunity to get up and running alongside my job, but it appears as a new business that you would have to start with a 7.5t twin deck. Or money allowing, a rigid chassis with a 3 car body.
Anyone else in a similar position regarding getting started and deciding on appropriate truck and kit for the job ?
I started well over a decade ago with just a 3.5t indeed as you say is a tad restrictive, a trailer behind solved it & also let me go as a 2 car as I used a decent 7t train 3.5t not say a transit at 5.5t train weight= pointless, as was few yrs back the regs just needed tacho not full O licence.
A 5t or 6t + trailer is a good way now tho, twin decks are popular but for some reason I’m not a fan of the small ones, but does then let you be a 3 car when plus trailer.
You can get kfs built 3.5t alloy deck & rear chassis that when run minus spare wheel & winch etc really have a good payload, another league to a steel bed trannie etc.
You say 4days on 4 days off is that hgv driving as the other occupation? Even if not I can’t see how you would sort out your rest time periods etc, if you have a biggie vosa will clobber you for it & you may struggle with getting o Licence if they figure it out.
Hello iguana,
Yes my 4 on is class 2 driving, will need careful management of my driving and rest periods, but I don’t expect initially to be getting so much work, realistically a couple of jobs here and there.
It’s very difficult to forecast what work may come in, which makes it difficlut to decide what vehicle / payloads to purchase.