I hope no 1 minds me askin but what type of haulage does every one think is the most profitable… and how much profit do you think an owner driver would make in a year after wages etc etc… i hope no 1 minds the question as i am thinkin of setting up on my own
Shaun6820:
I hope no 1 minds me askin but what type of haulage does every one think is the most profitable…
Something that is in a more specialised sector and is not general type haulage.
Shaun6820:
and how much profit do you think an owner driver would make in a year after wages etc etc…
On general type haulage these days, after taking everything into account, not a lot.
To become rich in haulage, you gotta start off richer 
As Coffeeholic said, you’re better off in a specialist area - tankers, cranes etc. The only thing I would add is make sure that it’s something you already know about. Trying to learn the specifics is better doe as an employee. Should also give you some ideas who and who not to work for.
i know its no help, but as has been said before
“if you have to ask questions like that you shouldn,t be doing it”
Shaun6820:
i am thinkin of setting up on my own
Shaun, try working a few years if have not all ready done this
as work experience will help you decide what you can do .
As regards transport, try reading all the points on this site; as regards
O/D and listen to those who offer advice ,IF you can get into a niche
which will make a profit and is one which will last long time, then you
may just be one of those who can survive and does make enough
profit that you and your accountant and the tax-man are happy,
what ever you do all the best,
Rob K:
Shaun6820:
i am thinkin of setting up on my own
How about you offer something constructive rather than try and run down anyone who wants to try and improve their lot Rob.
I have yet to see a single positive comment from you.
eddie stobart knew nothing about walking floors but that didnt stop them buying them.
Is there anything you fancy doing??
I fancied 44 tonne bulk tippers but found out the hard way that they are all just busy fools. I can say the same for flat bed work.
local quarry work on the other hand is a lot better number. I know a bloke that makes the same, if not more than me with a little 4 wheeler tipper delivering asphalt doing 200 kms aday whilst I’m chasing my arse doing up to 500 kms, but, I wouldnt want it any other way. sitting around tipping tar into wheel barrows would ( and did ) try my patience (so I buried them!! ).
theres also a few O/D’s around here making a good living muck shifting. and a few have gone down to london moving contaminated soil doing £600 a day every day.
So Ive told you the route I took and so far (3 years) its been ok. so what ever you try then good luck
Semtex:
Rob K:
Shaun6820:
i am thinkin of setting up on my own
How about you offer something constructive rather than try and run down anyone who wants to try and improve their lot Rob.
I have yet to see a single positive comment from you.
Well don’t ■■■■■■■ read my posts then. Is anyone twisting your arm? No. So STFU.
The reply is plenty constructive as it sums up the owner driver forum from the past 12-24 months, ie. people that have been doing the job for decades and are very experiences at it have all shut up shop and openly stated that it is no longer worth it and there’s not enough money to be made to make it worthwhile. Add on to all that that we’re heading into a recession and it just further compounds it.
It’s not ■■■■■■■ rocket science is it? 
There will always be people that wish they have never started but it cant all be bad… i have been doing the job for a bit and would like to have a go… no point going to the grave and still havin a wish list… will do a bit more research and try ad find a nish…thanks every one
Shaun, i,ve just started and my advice would be to do plenty of market research and make sure you’ve got about 2 months running money, buy a truck from a named dealer and get some mechanical breakdown cover, plus, get an independant pre service vehicle inspection as the people selling it could ‘gloss’ over certain things. Trust me mate, its hard work but if you can make it work its better than working for some other fat transport manager who hasn’t got a clue. I,ll even tell you where to build your own easy cheap website! www.123-reg.co.uk
Best of luck.
Luck = Life Under Controlled Knowledge
dozer:
eddie stobart knew nothing about walking floors but that didnt stop them buying them.Is there anything you fancy doing??
I fancied 44 tonne bulk tippers but found out the hard way that they are all just busy fools. I can say the same for flat bed work.
local quarry work on the other hand is a lot better number. I know a bloke that makes the same, if not more than me with a little 4 wheeler tipper delivering asphalt doing 200 kms aday whilst I’m chasing my arse doing up to 500 kms, but, I wouldnt want it any other way. sitting around tipping tar into wheel barrows would ( and did ) try my patience (so I buried them!! ).
theres also a few O/D’s around here making a good living muck shifting. and a few have gone down to london moving contaminated soil doing £600 a day every day.
So Ive told you the route I took and so far (3 years) its been ok. so what ever you try then good luck
depends what you do with a flat, i,m quite happy
i know its no help, but as has been said before
“if you have to ask questions like that you shouldn,t be doing it”
Why have I seen so many replies like this posted on this forum, Am I not correct in thinking if we dont ask the questions then we dont get to know the answers. This lad is after some advise not some other driver running him down. Is one of the reasons for this forum not to help each other out ?
wagonlad:
i know its no help, but as has been said before
“if you have to ask questions like that you shouldn,t be doing it”Why have I seen so many replies like this posted on this forum, Am I not correct in thinking if we dont ask the questions then we dont get to know the answers. This lad is after some advise not some other driver running him down. Is one of the reasons for this forum not to help each other out ?
That is correct, but you appear to be forgetting that there are approximately 3 billion threads in the Owner Driver forum already about the exact same thing. People should learn to use the ‘search’ function as that’s what it’s there for.
wagonlad:
chaversdad:
i know its no help, but as has been said before
“if you have to ask questions like that you shouldn,t be doing it”Why have I seen so many replies like this posted on this forum, Am I not correct in thinking if we dont ask the questions then we dont get to know the answers.[/'quote]
Very true. However, as far as I can see the above is a perfectly legitimate answer to his question and was pretty much my first thought when I read the post. I felt it was a strange question in as much that if he had been told one sector was the most profitable he would set up doing that. The better paying sectors are better paying because they generally require some kind of specialist knowledge, and a new OD is not going to walk straight into that work without that knowledge.wagonlad:
This lad is after some advise not some other driver running him down.I don’t think that advise was in any way running him down. We’ve had post from people thinking of going down the OD route along the lines of - ‘I want to be an owner driver, what do I need to do and how much should I charge?’ Or - ‘Which is the best truck for an Owner Driver?’ Would you say someone posting those sort of questions was anywhere near ready to become an OD? I think the question that started this thread is in that category and advising the OP that he needs to do a lot more research doesn’t seem out of order to me.
wagonlad:
Is one of the reasons for this forum not to help each other out ?
It is but it sounds as if you are expecting the OP to receive nothing but positive advice and if that was the case it would render the whole forum worthless. The pitfalls need to be pointed out as well, which is what the answer given by chaversdad was doing.
I AM ALSO LOOKING AT GOING IT ALONE IN THE VERY NEAR FUTURE. YOU MIGHT BE INTRESTED TO TAKE A LOOK AT MY POST ENTITLED START UP COSTS, STANDING COSTS AND RUNNING COSTS. MAYBE WE COULD SWAP ANY INFORMATION WE HAVE GAINED THROUGH OUR RESEARCH. BEST OF LUCK
chavers dad - I had half decent out bound loads but on the back load side of things, by the time every shark had took their cut it was not worth doing them. that in return made the ppm on the out bound load poor aswell.
dozer:
chavers dad - I had half decent out bound loads but on the back load side of things, by the time every shark had took their cut it was not worth doing them. that in return made the ppm on the out bound load poor aswell.
thats the difference, i only work direct for the customer, i wont stand a middle man taking his cut just for sitting on his backside with a phone in his hand, its taken me a long time to get to this stage, but as a return load rate i,m looking to be getting £1.50 a mile or i wont do it, an as for the origonal sp question, i wasnt having a go,merely stating that if you have to ask questions like that then you dont know enough about the industry and the type of work anybody can do and the type of work you will make a living out of
and rookie, TURN YOUR CAPS LOCK OFF PLEASE
just for my two penneth, neil is of course correct, specialisation is more than often the key to success - but it’s not as easy as ‘should i do box work sub contract and scrape a living, or specialise and do quite nicely, hmmm’
to specialise for a start you’d usually need to have gained experience of the field working for somebody else maybe for quite some years, then there are usually higher capital costs, more maintenance (for many different reasons), less utilisation of vehicles and higher running costs and ancilliary expenses - and higher wages to get good, experienced staff if not driving yourself or expanding
in addition to the factors above, add in stuff like replacing tackle and sheets, reams of permits and authorisations to be kept upto date, higher insurance premiums etc etc and I budget that even a 3+3 artic costs us over £ 1500 per week before turning a wheel 