In today Climate nobody is going to become a millionaire as a owner driver but you can earn a decent living from it. But nobody on this thread yet has given a specific figure of what they are on or what firm they are pulling for.
As for me I have been in the haulage industry for 20 years and all that time I have been a Owner Driver and I couldn’t think of doing anything else.
If I had a different user name I’d gladly show my cards !
Harry Monk:
Left hand down!:
Who said anything about it needing to be an employed driver? I’m a one man ltd co., same as you but without a truck. The money is there, it’s simply a matter of making contacts, adopting a ‘can do’ attitude and keeping your nose clean and the rest falls into place. No reason why any other driver couldn’t do the same. Happy to post proof of earnings (again) if anyone doubts my claims.Nobody is doubting you. You have a good deal there, stick with it. You don’t need to post proof of earnings.
We do what we do and most of us seem to be able to get on with it and find the earnings satisfactory. There’s certainly nothing “trapping” me into running my own truck, I could walk away tomorrow.
At the risk of repeating myself.
But would you not agree that dragging ferry trailers around the country for £1.35/mile is the o/o equivalent of working as an employed driver for national minimum wage but with a whole load of extra hassle? That’s basically what it boils down to in terms of profit and earnings. A complete waste of time.
GID:
In today Climate nobody is going to become a millionaire as a owner driver but you can earn a decent living from it. But nobody on this thread yet has given a specific figure of what they are on or what firm they are pulling for.
The firms you OD’s work for will be millionaires @ £1.35 it’s happening pretty quick too.
My rates are irrelevant as I don’t do traction but my mates do
- Pulls another companies trailers, he gets £1.65 a mile plus waiting after 2 hours (unless notified prior) he has to do 1 job every 2 weeks that includes a night out (no extra)
- Has his own trailers, he has to provide 3 trailers, he gets enough work for 5/6 days a week except a couple of weeks a year, he has pulled for the same company for years, he rarely backloads, he is out a couple of times a week, the load probably only weighs 5 tons so mpg is good he drives a very nice big scania with frillie curtains he says he is on 99p round trip been on that for years he said it hasn’t gone up for 10 years.
I have asked him if he can get another unit in there as I will buy one for that deal.
Living the dream I’m off to work again today another 10 hours pumping turds = living the dream
Left hand down!:
But would you not agree that dragging ferry trailers around the country for £1.35/mile is the o/o equivalent of working as an employed driver for national minimum wage but with a whole load of extra hassle? That’s basically what it boils down to in terms of profit and earnings. A complete waste of time.
I don’t pull ferry trailers so I don’t really understand the maths involved. But I do know that there are numerous small hauliers operating two, three, half a dozen trucks with employed drivers doing ferry trailers. Presumably the driver earns the going wage for the area and the haulier makes enough profit to make it worth doing. So I can’t really see how an OO, who takes both the wage and the profit, is wasting his time.
Be careful Harry you’ll be getting barred for making logical posts and common sense. 
Harry Monk:
Left hand down!:
But would you not agree that dragging ferry trailers around the country for £1.35/mile is the o/o equivalent of working as an employed driver for national minimum wage but with a whole load of extra hassle? That’s basically what it boils down to in terms of profit and earnings. A complete waste of time.I don’t pull ferry trailers so I don’t really understand the maths involved. But I do know that there are numerous small hauliers operating two, three, half a dozen trucks with employed drivers doing ferry trailers. Presumably the driver earns the going wage for the area and the haulier makes enough profit to make it worth doing. So I can’t really see how an OO, who takes both the wage and the profit, is wasting his time.
Exactly!
I have mates that run a few motors on traction/short sea boxes and they all make a decent living, they also run decent plant, pay good wages and have fairly high standing costs, yard rent and that sort of thing due to being within the M25.
The one thing that they all do is local work, two or three jobs a day at least, the ppm figure is irrelevant as it only applies to big mileage jobs, stay local on a job rate and you can make a good living.
I drag ferry trls round all week I like the job I drive a 13 plate lorry which will be paid for by the end of the year my wife has a 63 plate car paid for and we own our own house and the only money I owe is a weeks derv bill so tell me how the job is a waste of time and all this has been achieved by pulling ferry trls
Professor:
I drag ferry trls round all week I like the job I drive a 13 plate lorry which will be paid for by the end of the year my wife has a 63 plate car paid for and we own our own house and the only money I owe is a weeks derv bill so tell me how the job is a waste of time and all this has been achieved by pulling ferry trls
Forgive me for not believing you.
newmercman:
Harry Monk:
Left hand down!:
But would you not agree that dragging ferry trailers around the country for £1.35/mile is the o/o equivalent of working as an employed driver for national minimum wage but with a whole load of extra hassle? That’s basically what it boils down to in terms of profit and earnings. A complete waste of time.I don’t pull ferry trailers so I don’t really understand the maths involved. But I do know that there are numerous small hauliers operating two, three, half a dozen trucks with employed drivers doing ferry trailers. Presumably the driver earns the going wage for the area and the haulier makes enough profit to make it worth doing. So I can’t really see how an OO, who takes both the wage and the profit, is wasting his time.
Exactly!
I have mates that run a few motors on traction/short sea boxes and they all make a decent living, they also run decent plant, pay good wages and have fairly high standing costs, yard rent and that sort of thing due to being within the M25.
The one thing that they all do is local work, two or three jobs a day at least, the ppm figure is irrelevant as it only applies to big mileage jobs, stay local on a job rate and you can make a good living.
Job or day rates are a whole different kettle of fish to jobs paid by the mile.
This is true, which is why a blanket statement like ‘you can’t earn a good living doing traction’ is wrong.
There are plenty of people earning a good living out of it.
newmercman:
This is true, which is why a blanket statement like ‘you can’t earn a good living doing traction’ is wrong.
I never said that but I don’t think it’s too far from the truth. However, that’s another thread entirely.
Left hand down I am not bothered wether you believe me or not as I have nothing to prove there are people on here who know me and will tell you I speak the truth.I agree with you that for some people it is a waste of time but we all do things different ways ,It’s not wot you earn but what you save doing the job my new lorry is better on derv so money saved I have had no money to spend on matiance so more money saved I have also had very little tax to pay because I bought a new truck money saved I bought the truck just at the right time and got a very good deal so more money saved,my wife drives a Peugeot and not a BMW we live in a 3 bed semi and not a dedatched I drive a fiesta van and not a 4x4 and both with my van and the wife’s car we bought just as the model was being replaced so over the two we saved thousands and ended up with new but last years modals but that does not bother us so it’s up to you if you want to believe me or not but I still stand by what I say it’s not a waste of time for me anyway
Professor.all this money you have saved you must be sat on a pile about 10 feet high… 
There’s one big factor in being successful as an O/D on traction work and that is luck.
The kind of luck you make yourself. It’s fairly simple to make too, all you need to do is be a generally pleasant person, not getting up people’s noses and being a typical whinging lorry driver, being punctual and informing customer and shipper of any delays and generally being a nice bloke.
You can see examples of both sides of this at any firm. There will be drivers or O/D’s that drive a nice lorry/car, they live in a nice area, dress smartly etc and then you have the drivers that run around in an old banger, look like they’ve slept in a ditch, never got any money for a night out or breakfast, don’t turn up for work because their 500quid car has broken down etc.
Both kinds do the same job, yet one has a much better
way of doing it than the other.
newmercman:
There’s one big factor in being successful as an O/D on traction work and that is luck.The kind of luck you make yourself. It’s fairly simple to make too, all you need to do is be a generally pleasant person, not getting up people’s noses and being a typical whinging lorry driver, being punctual and informing customer and shipper of any delays and generally being a nice bloke.
You can see examples of both sides of this at any firm. There will be drivers or O/D’s that drive a nice lorry/car, they live in a nice area, dress smartly etc and then you have the drivers that run around in an old banger, look like they’ve slept in a ditch, never got any money for a night out or breakfast, don’t turn up for work because their 500quid car has broken down etc.
Both kinds do the same job, yet one has a much better
way of doing it than the other.
Should make the bolded bit a sticky! i reckon half this job is akin to being a diplomat; a good attitude goes a long way.
BTW, I manage all the criteria bar the car - my own personal van is a permanant tip and I buy sheds, but 5 hairy dogs just trash it and I gave up the fight
Left hand down!:
Professor:
I drag ferry trls round all week I like the job I drive a 13 plate lorry which will be paid for by the end of the year my wife has a 63 plate car paid for and we own our own house and the only money I owe is a weeks derv bill so tell me how the job is a waste of time and all this has been achieved by pulling ferry trlsForgive me for not believing you.
What part do you not believe? I suppose you could argue that he doesn’t drive a 13 plate lorry, but only because it has a personalised plate. It is a 2013 model lorry though.
What is the point of posting on this part of the forum to state that an OO cannot earn a reasonable living pulling ferry trailers, then when your point is addressed by somebody who does pull ferry trailers, calling him a liar?
newmercman:
There’s one big factor in being successful as an O/D on traction work and that is luck.The kind of luck you make yourself. It’s fairly simple to make too, all you need to do is be a generally pleasant person, not getting up people’s noses and being a typical whinging lorry driver, being punctual and informing customer and shipper of any delays and generally being a nice bloke.
You can see examples of both sides of this at any firm. There will be drivers or O/D’s that drive a nice lorry/car, they live in a nice area, dress smartly etc and then you have the drivers that run around in an old banger, look like they’ve slept in a ditch, never got any money for a night out or breakfast, don’t turn up for work because their 500quid car has broken down etc.
Both kinds do the same job, yet one has a much better
way of doing it than the other.
lol spot on 
, one thing i tell anyone that works for me, never ever shout at anyone, just be NICE 
just like the link fasr forward to 2m 25s just be nice
Cliffystephens my pile is somewhat short of 10 ft lol and newmercman you are spot on. I have always been good with money and never wasted it I put this down to when I was a kid of 12 every body in my class was getting new bikes and like the rest I wanted one my dad bought me one it cost £65 a really smart ten gear racer but he made me buy it back at £1.20 a week and I was only earning £1.40 at the time doing paperounds,at the time I thought he was mean but it was the best thing he ever done for me as it taught be the value of money and because I had bought it I looked after it very well and when I was 16 and wanted a moped I was able to sell it for £65 as it was in so good a condition. I have been working since the age of 12 and been lucky and never been out of work I do a full week every week and always run my time out like tonight I ran 40mins past my house but it will make all the difference with tomorrow’s job as now I will be able to turn the job round I am on an ind est as I hate paying parking it’s the little things like this which all add up and makes the difference of a profit or not, I know my English and grammar is crap but the wife handles all the paperwork but I can handle a calculator and know wether it’s worth doing the job or not.
Good to here that… I can also see that you enjoy your work which makes a lot of difference …Am going to disagree with a few about this luck thing.you can plan what you want but whats gonna happen “will” luck or not…