decided after a bit of thought to call it a day,what swayed me was yet another last minute cancellation,this time it was a run to cornwall which was setup to do after i’d done a little 40 mile job to scunthorpe,i’d almost got to the yard to pick up the cornwall load when they rang,the customer had ordered some more tackle which meant it had to go on an artic,something i’ve been hearing all to often lately,these things happen i know but with it being my only booked job for the week it was a bit of a blow.
i don’t know if i was a bit optimistic setting up as a one man band with one wagon with no garaunteed work, probably so,especially as it’s a six wheeler,although the rates are good for the hiab deliveries it’s become obviouse that theres not going to be enough work through the winter to keep the wagon on the road so i’m gona sell it on and dare i say it,look for a job!
i honestly think if your going to be an owner driver then it’s got to be artic unless you can drop on some regular contract work, that is if you need a regular income,the six wheeler crane lorry’s a good earner through spring and summer with everyone wanting paving delivered but winters a different story,unfortunately i didn’t start while july so i missed the boat as far as earning the good money goes so i’ve got very little in the bank to see me through the slack times.
i’ll keep my o’license going and maybe have another go next year but if i do it’ll either be artic or big crane as theres some good money in the heavy lifting.
paul
paul b:
decided after a bit of thought to call it a day,
Sorry to hear that Paul.
i’ve rang round the couple or three firms i’ve worked for to tell em i’ll not be available once i’ve found a buyer for the wagon and ones come back with an offer of regular work,basicaly he’s got a wagon in with a firm in sheff,full time contract but by his own admision it dosn’t pay very well so he’s looking to pull his wagon out and sugested i take it over with him taking a drink out of it each week, reckons it pays on average £1200 a week less his dib it’s based on an hourly rate so the firms organissing the haulage and will obviously want you out on the road as much as possible so it would only be get by money till things pick up,only prob with it is if i commit to it i’ll have to turn anything else that comes, away.
it dosn’t pay very well so he’s looking to pull his wagon out and sugested i take it over with him taking a drink out of it each week
If it doesnt pay very well at full whack, then how bad is it going to be after he has his ‘drink’ out of it?
If he’s going to pull his truck out anyway, why not go for the job yourself, and do it for the full money.
whooah! hang on,
It doesnt seem that long ago that I read about your idea of setting up as an O/D
I know absolutely nothing about Hiab trucks, but I am sure someone on here does. I bet there is loads of work for one, but it is specialised haulage. so in that case , jobs are not advertised in the same way as International or General work.
Take a month to look around, ring anyone, visit builders merchants, steel stockholders, I bet there is someone out there looking for a truck with hiab and driver.
Good Luck Paul
seems the general cosensus is,after talking to a few lads in the simular line of work to myself that once christmas is out of the way work picks up quite sharply with it going beserk in march! decided against the contract work because the money wasn’t anything to clever and it would rule out the chance of big money in the spring and summer.spoke to a fella who runs seven hiabs and has done for a few years,he reckons i’ll only need a full year at it to build up a costomer base and get myself known and i,ll not have to worry about work again.
with regard to the rate being rubbish it may not pay a hauiler with 4 or 5 trucks on the job as his overheads are higher but an ownerdriver it may be worth it as sometimes over heads are lower
surely a haulier with 4-5 trucks has lower overheads per wagon than single truck operator? the rate for that particular job was £30 per hour,eight hours a day five days a week gauranteed which at first glance seems attractive but when you consider that some days you’d be doing 400 miles+ your working for very little although obviously the days where you only do say 200 mile you’ll earning something out of it. just not for me,i’d rather tout for work and hope to drop on that good earner every now and then.i’ve just done a job for truswell haulage who are a big firm up this end,the job just came out of the blue and was a decent earner,they’ve now asked me to be a registered owner driver with em so that might turn out to be handy for some regular work. i think theres plenty of work out there it’s just a case of getting yourself known and showing that your reliable enough not to make anyone look stupid.