Not wishing to take the ■■■■ out of owner drivers / operators on here but just how many of you actually own your own operating centre and do all you own repairs ? It’ seams know more common that small and 1 vehicle operators park in someone else’s yard ,lease lorries ,use an external Tm and don’t do any jobs there self ,and sub to large companies ,but like I said not poking anyone but just interested to see how many traditional style owner operators are still in existence and what type of work they do ?
i own my trucks and trailers, i rent at someones yard, ive got my eye on a yard but at the minute which also has a garage on it but i dont have £250k to hand 
so keltruck do my maintance on the units (and work 24hrs) and shawtrack do my trailers
I rent a space in a yard, I have the truck serviced by the Renault dealer in the same yard, I am my own TM, I do as many of the little jobs as possible myself but it’s a condition of my O Licence that all repairs must be carried out under covered premises.
My truck isn’t leased, it’s on HP, I think there’s about another 9 months to go on it. Maybe about £4,500 on a truck which is probably worth £12,000+.
I doubt that many traditional owner drivers have ever owned their own premises. What I do works for me, I sub-contract to Gregory Distribution with about 5% of my own work which pays considerably more, but all in all I earn a reasonable living at it. I look on the Gregory work as my bread and butter, and my own work as the jam.
I’ll never get rich running a truck, I’m simply not “driven” in the way that successful businessmen have to be, but what I do suits me, and as long as it suits me then I don’t really care what anybody else thinks about my little operation.
Own yard and workshop, always buy trucks outright. Do commercial vehicle repairs for customers and car trailer sales and service.
Quite a few out there. Weirdly some do their own quite involved repairs but still get us to do the inspections.
I have no desire to be bigger than a 1 truck operation as it suits me, i,m my own TM , i rent a football pitch size plot of land for £25 a week and i use a friend of mine to do my maintenenace at a very reasonable price, failing that my local MAN dealer is 3/4 mile from the yard, i take my hat off to anyone who runs 5-10 trucks but i couldnt be doing with the hassle and worry of it all
Mine own credentials are I have a olicence from home although i couldn’t have a artic here ,I rent a large yard with my 2 brothers where we have 6 lorries 3 old ones and 2 pick ups and trailers ect ,we are very close to buying a yard with workshops as we currently don’t have a shed big enough ,I have got most things like steamer ,12 speed miller/ drill welder ,compressor s and hand tools galore mostly inherited through out the ages ,I’ve just bought a 5 tonne lift fork truck to go with the 3 tonne cat I’ve got as i have a storage job on .
I am my own tm rent a space in a yard truck is main dealer maintained who I can not fault and do traction work it works for me, I would love a house with a small yard for the truck but this will never happen as I am not prepared to put myself in dept to get it
I have to confess to being a modern operator with a rented space in a yard and truck on a fully maintained lease. I have a external TM at the moment, but have just taken my CPC exam so am hoping to bring that in house. I do a mixture of my own work and sub contract for a small company.
Dan Punchard:
Mine own credentials are I have a olicence from home although i couldn’t have a artic here ,I rent a large yard with my 2 brothers where we have 6 lorries 3 old ones and 2 pick ups and trailers ect ,we are very close to buying a yard with workshops as we currently don’t have a shed big enough ,I have got most things like steamer ,12 speed miller/ drill welder ,compressor s and hand tools galore mostly inherited through out the ages ,I’ve just bought a 5 tonne lift fork truck to go with the 3 tonne cat I’ve got as i have a storage job on .
Got the t-shirt on buying a big forklift, for one job, and then sell it on for the same it cost, in theory. Fairly basic engine and hydraulic problems but parts were eye watering.
Workshop column lifts are good for getting heavy kit off and on for one offs.
I’ve often forklifts ,lorries and large generators coming in ,most go for export .
I run one truck and trailor , am my own Tm, unit is on full r n m and was bought on a straightforward hp deal 3 payments left n truck probably with 25 k
Trl maintained by reliable man with a van and resnobly priced labour rate trl paid for and worth around 10 k
Sub on construction work good rates and only mon to fri
Been doin it over five years more than happy keeps me in beer tokens and nice hols etc
No plans to change anything
Dan Punchard:
Not wishing to take the ■■■■ out of owner drivers / operators on here but just how many of you actually own your own operating centre and do all you own repairs ? It’ seams know more common that small and 1 vehicle operators park in someone else’s yard ,lease lorries ,use an external Tm and don’t do any jobs there self ,and sub to large companies ,but like I said not poking anyone but just interested to see how many traditional style owner operators are still in existence and what type of work they do ?
Im thinking DVSA would take a dim view of anyone doing all their own maintenance nowadays if they are the sole driver? I work 65 hours every week so where would I find the time to get my 45 hours off and maintain the truck.
I own my truck, brand new trailer on HP which suits me fine. Would rather have a brand new trailer on HP than an older trailer that I owned. My new trailer costs me less in HP payments than my older trailer was costing to keep on the road.
I am my own TM nowadays having passed my cpc first time last July. When I first started I used external TM but as she was a friend I only paid £25 per week. I do pay £25 per week for space in a yard which includes use of the pit (when/if needed) and use of the pressure washer. I could park on my dads farm for free but as its 12 miles away from where I live and further away fron where I do alot of work its more sense to park 5 mins from home.
I subcontract 99% of my work through one company and have done since I started. They take 7% off my topline (between £200-£280 per week) but they have really good work which is hard to get as a one man band on bulk haulage. I get no hassle from anyone just get my next job as im tipping and if I get rejected at a mill I have no ringing round to do.
Matt.
xfmatt:
Dan Punchard:
Not wishing to take the ■■■■ out of owner drivers / operators on here but just how many of you actually own your own operating centre and do all you own repairs ? It’ seams know more common that small and 1 vehicle operators park in someone else’s yard ,lease lorries ,use an external Tm and don’t do any jobs there self ,and sub to large companies ,but like I said not poking anyone but just interested to see how many traditional style owner operators are still in existence and what type of work they do ?Im thinking DVSA would take a dim view of anyone doing all their own maintenance nowadays if they are the sole driver? I work 65 hours every week so where would I find the time to get my 45 hours off and maintain the truck.
I own my truck, brand new trailer on HP which suits me fine. Would rather have a brand new trailer on HP than an older trailer that I owned. My new trailer costs me less in HP payments than my older trailer was costing to keep on the road.
I am my own TM nowadays having passed my cpc first time last July. When I first started I used external TM but as she was a friend I only paid £25 per week. I do pay £25 per week for space in a yard which includes use of the pit (when/if needed) and use of the pressure washer. I could park on my dads farm for free but as its 12 miles away from where I live and further away fron where I do alot of work its more sense to park 5 mins from home.
I subcontract 99% of my work through one company and have done since I started. They take 7% off my topline (between £200-£280 per week) but they have really good work which is hard to get as a one man band on bulk haulage. I get no hassle from anyone just get my next job as im tipping and if I get rejected at a mill I have no ringing round to do.
Matt.
I think you’re probably right about DVSA and maintenance. Mad that working on your own show truck all weekend would be fine.
Get someone else to do the inspections to satisfy the o-licence but no reason why you have to get them to do the work to remedy what they find. If there’s low brake effort on a trailer wheel nothing to stop you buying a chamber and doing it yourself to save money. If you did do your own inspections it’s not a bad idea to give it to someone else for a pre-mot to get a fresh set of eyes on it - interesting experiment on how much spurious work they like doing 
Your dad’s farm might be worth thinking about if you can put it in a barn. Since keeping ours indoors it is amazing how much it reduces corrosion even though they’re out all week and it’s only 2 days under cover. I think when parked up the water pools and settles and is much worse as when you’re driving the wind dries it off very quickly.
Dan Punchard:
I’ve often forklifts ,lorries and large generators coming in ,most go for export .
Fair enough, just avoid CAT.
Own our operating centre , own the lorries (when the finance is paid) , am the CPC holder but have somebody to do most of the maintenance
I’d struggle to maintain 4 wagons and drive/get a weekly rest
I’ve been doing same day courier work for the last 8 years but decided to step it up and did my Operators CPC earlier this year and passed my Cat C.
I’m now my own TM and rent space in a yard, £20/week. Got a 15K bank loan for my first 18 tonne truck which I drive most days. Got a licence for a second so will look at some point in the future when im settled.
Work is 50% sub contract 50% own customers at the minute.
Maintenance done by a local garage at good rates.
Only been going 3 months but so far so good. 
I do have a question for you guys. I’m thinking to start his business but I’m not to sure what to do . could you give me any advice please?
Two wagon n drags with a combined age of 25 , rented yard, telehandler , own tm , only subbed work is for other small hauliers. , independent garage does my spannering .
There is somebody who usually comments on every single post with some smart ar*ed remark who has not yet commented. I wonder why? Been everywhere but going nowhere kind of person,
Own tm trucks bought not leased same as trailers
Trucks on r&m or local garage if out of r&m and they do trailers
As if wanted to couldnt be bothrred to do myself
Space in rented yard as far cheaper than owning
Years ago did look at buying house with room for yard but now glad to park them up go home and forget