Starting up...

Hi just some quick question i am thinking about buying a curtainsider artic: ( I know i will need cpc, land etc mechanic)

-Can i park my trailer in a layby and take the trator unit home with me so long as i dont get any complaints? Also can i drive the trator unit without my card in ? if its for personal use?
-Would it be better to purchase a DAF on lease, or just buy a second hand one from ebay?
-I am just planning on owning 1 artic will it be worthwhile or not? ( Short answer is ok )

I dont have any work, but i have googled place like maritime and they accept people for sub-contract

so short answer is it worthwhile? i will be putting in 50hour average by week

Doing the CPC course will answer many of your questions and help you make the decision whether you want to go ahead. Even if you decide not, the knowledge acquired should help you to appreciate how to run any business. It won’t find you good paying work however, just teach you how to work out your costs. The short answer to most of your questions is however - No.

Would you like your next door neighbour cutting his grass at 4am every morning?

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

If you do a search on here you’ll find many of your questions about setting up on your own answered already as well as answers too many of the questions you have even thought of yet.

TruckDriverBen:
Hi just some quick question i am thinking about buying a curtainsider artic: ( I know i will need cpc, land etc mechanic)

O’licence, access to funds, money to run before you get paid.

TruckDriverBen:
-Can i park my trailer in a layby and take the trator unit home with me so long as i dont get any complaints?

You need an operating centre big enough to park the vehicles specified on your O’licence, so both tractor unit and trailer, so if you’re think of using your home as an operating centre it needs to be that large and you’ll need to advertise the fact you wish to use it, at which point various organisations and your neighbours can raise objections.

The long term practicality of bringing a tractor unit home (which isn’t your operating centre) on the odd occasion might be depend on where you live and how well you get on with your neighbours, I have brought mine home and can get it into the garden, but I live at the end of an industrial estate and it’s the only house here with a large garden and we share a driveway with a couple of industrial units in a converted barn next door, so nobody to really objects not even my landlord for driving a truck on his driveway.

TruckDriverBen:
Also can i drive the trator unit without my card in ? if its for personal use?

No, Any truck over 7.5t mgw, comes under EU drivers hours regs, even if it’s on private use.

TruckDriverBen:
-Would it be better to purchase a DAF on lease, or just buy a second hand one from ebay?
-I am just planning on owning 1 artic will it be worthwhile or not? ( Short answer is ok )

Why a DAF, you need to be looking the most practical truck available, regardless of make, from what others have said, it is unlikely you’ll get a lease deal as a start up company.

TruckDriverBen:
I dont have any work, but i have googled place like maritime and they accept people for sub-contract

Do a search on Maritime and OD’s on here, the general rule of thumb is if a company is advertising for sub-contractors it probably means rates aren’t so good. And its better to go out and find your own work, this is why its better to gain a few years experience in the industry and a few contacts.

TruckDriverBen:
so short answer is it worthwhile? i will be putting in 50hour average by week

The normal answer is financially probably not and if you running your own business I doubt you’d be averaging 50 hours a week, well maybe officially for WTD, but not unofficially.

If I ever ran my own truck again I would rent/lease rather than buy. It may be an ongoing expense but it evens out the cash flow- when things go wrong with the truck it seems to happen in threes and it can wipe out the last few month’s profit in a fortnight.

Whether you buy, lease or rent, you’ll need about £10,000 to fund your costs if you are paid “30 days end of month” which is the standard. That’s on top of what your O licence requires you to have in reserve.

You’ll need an operating centre and you’ll need to keep the truck there for the majority of time when it’s not in use.

I did see a realistic estimate of £20,000 to £50,000 being a good starting number for getting going and that’s without buying a unit. Got to have enough to keep the bills paid while people mess about not paying on time.

Rentals of unit seems to be £300 a week with a min of 10 weeks saw recently but at least you dont need to replace a gearbox or engine. Also they sort 6 weekly inspections etc. No one will lease without a credit rating as they need to know you’re going to keep paying longterm.

Parking trailer in layby - good luck finding it still there after the weekend or if the police don’t have it towed.

Driving without card - again yes, but don’t expect VOSA to be too happy when they spot it.

As for 50 hours, I believe on the operators licence form it asks how much time you’ll dedicate to transport manager duties. I guess 50 hours driving would still give you enough time for that (unless you employ an external
transport manager CPC holder) but you’ll need to do more to keep yourself afloat like any business.

Honestly dont know how anyone makes it work these days but it seems to be as risky as buying a fishing trawler these days, with more regulation. Nightmare.

This has to be a wind up

chaversdad:
This has to be a wind up

I thought that when it first appeared

Mind you, if you listen to some of the wannabees, their stipulation is always their dream truck, and never the one that will get them off the ground in the first few years at the lowest cost

Stanley Mitchell:

chaversdad:
This has to be a wind up

I thought that when it first appeared

Mind you, if you listen to some of the wannabees, their stipulation is always their dream truck, and never the one that will get them off the ground in the first few years at the lowest cost

^^^^^^^^^^^
check his previous 17 posts to put this one into perspective,then shake your head and wonder,is this the way its going to be for 2019?..

dieseldog999:

Stanley Mitchell:

chaversdad:
This has to be a wind up

I thought that when it first appeared

Mind you, if you listen to some of the wannabees, their stipulation is always their dream truck, and never the one that will get them off the ground in the first few years at the lowest cost

^^^^^^^^^^^
check his previous 17 posts to put this one into perspective,then shake your head and wonder,is this the way its going to be for 2019?..

I liked this one the best haha, sounds just like someone ready to run their own kit

TruckDriverBen:
Guys another question when reversing , sometimes i get in spots were i have to sort of jack knife the trailer to get it into a bay.

my question is if i jack knife the trailer too much at low speed will it just flat out die and will the company need to call recovery to move it?

Regardless…

Just concentrate on working for someone else…less stress.

Have a read at Tarmac Duck`s post recently " Is this the End"… tells you everything you need to know about even thinking about taking the leap.

I hope to God this is not Ben Webb and another one of his fantasies.

First of all you actually need to pass your class 1, not fool anyone else into thinking you have one. Secondly, you need to decide if you’re a coach driver, an airline steward, a baggage handler or a breakdown recovery driver. Lastly you need to stop upsetting everyone you work with

Ahem…

viewtopic.php?f=4&t=158518

chaversdad:
Ahem…

viewtopic.php?f=4&t=158518

I’ve got white tiger seal now for fillings too