First of all I welcome any constructive negativity I may get on this subject as I am more than willing to take any advice on board. However, please don’t use this to tell me I need my head seeing to or say I must be mad for thinking of setting out on my own! I am currently employed as a driver for a bulk haulage firm doing mainly grain and feedstuffs but I may have the oppurtunity to start out on my own with the firm. I know the work they do and it’s pretty good stuff, ie not alot of stone and coal etc. The company take out 7.5% from the trucks earnings but they do absolutely everything, no need to find my own work or worry about suddenly being without work etc. I am realistic enough to know that i cant go straight out and buy a brand new topline scanny and trailer for example and am willing to go with secondhand kit to get started up. I usually use between 900 and 1200litres of fuel a week and do anywhere between 1200 and 1600 miles per week. The downside at the moment is i dont actually know what all the rates are although I do pick up on some of them. My question is CAN I MAKE IT WORK??!! I am more than willing to put the hard work in to run a succesful business and my main thought is that if others can make a living from running their own wagon on the same job then why cant I? Repton - your advice on this would be much appreciated. Cheeers.
For a number of years I made a very good living from bulk haulage as an owner driver and I think like most haulage in the UK the rates haven’t improved in line with the costs, do the firm your working for currently employ ‘subbies’? Because they’d be a good info hotline on how good a firm your company are to sub for, I know a few people subbing for a certain Penrith (green & white??) haulier and they’re still making a decent living but it seems EVERYONE in the job is complaining about ‘empty miles’ running for loads.
Check out the average gross earnings of your truck, remove the 7.5% (remove another 5% as it won’t be their wagon any more) and compare it to your fuel costs, if the fuel is more than 35% you need to think seriously, very seriously!! The company I work for (I don’t drive any more, but did this week!!) still work in bulkers and still return a good profit with fuel currently regularly LESS than 30% of gross earnings, but we only do middle distance so don’t do too much empty running.
Good luck, Ross.
Cheers mate, i’m sure that if subbies for the green and whites can make a go of it then I can too! They do massive miles and alot of it is stone and coal etc etc. My only problem is finding out the rates for each job and therefore being able to work out my gross earnings for the week as a driver! I have spoke to subbies for the firm and all I get is moans about the price of diesel etc but why are they doing it if they arent making money?!?! To be fair to the firm we dont do alot of empty running maybe an hour at tops but obviously this becomes less in harvest and possible a little bit more when work is a bit quiet. What else do I need to take into consideration apart from fuel, wagon repayments and maintenance etc! Feel free to PM me if you would rather it wasn’t on here?
what reason did the company you work for give you when they offered you the work as an OD ?
The company I work for are actually subbies for the company I want to get a wagon on for so I wouldn’t be subbing for my old boss! i know the firm would be happy enough for me to get my own wagon on with them as I know the job and just get on with it without moaning! They already have a few owner drivers on for them aswell.
Any more advice anyone can give me please? Need as much advice as I can get to help me with my decision!
If others can make it pay you probably can too but (and it’s a big but) you have no idea what they are paying themselves as a wage. Some ODs will have few financial commitments and/or a wife with a really well paid job and be happy enough to only take home a few hundred quid a week.
Try and get an idea of earnings before you commit. If they are serious about taking you on they should be happy to give you an example based perhaps on one of your recent weeks work.
If you decide to go for it then when it comes to buying kit think weight. Every half ton saved could potentially be worth 2 or 3 grand a year depending on your work and that could easily be the difference between staying in business and going bust. Don’t get a huge trailer if most of your work is grain. A 57yard Fruehauf is over half a ton lighter than a 72yard one, for example. Neither of those is really suitable though as although you can get 30t of Wheat into a 57yard trailer it won’t be big enough for much else and something in the 62-66yard bracket is probably about right.
Regarding someone else’s post about fuel as a percentage of earnings, you’ll be very lucky on general bulk work to keep it down as low as 30%. With the work I do it tends to be more like 40% rising to 50% at times except for at harvest when it’s down nearer 20-25% but that’s only 6-8weeks each year. Fuel at 50% of earnings isn’t the end of the world as long as you’re earning enough. Personally I have an amount I feel I want to be earning “after fuel” each week as fuel is the main variable cost (in terms of both the amount you use and the price) and so at the end of each week I can get an idea of if the week has been profitable or not.
Paul
Thanks for the input Repton. As you say weight is an issue on the bulk job which is why I am aiming for a 65ish cube trailer and probably a CF or lightweight XF unit both secondhand. I have got commitments such as mortgage for example which is one of the main sticking points as if i’m only earning slightly more as an OD then I may aswell just carry on as a driver without the hassle of running my own wagon. That said i’m really ambitious of having a go at it and making my own business a success. Do you know how the rates are calculated for the bulk job? I know its paid on tonnage but how do they work out price per ton in relation to distances covered and time involved etc? If you don’t wish to disclose on here please PM me.
xfmatt:
Do you know how the rates are calculated for the bulk job? I know its paid on tonnage but how do they work out price per ton in relation to distances covered and time involved etc?
There isn’t really a hard and fast formula. You will in time get to know instinctively what is a good rate and what isn’t.
Paul
if you are around 30% fuel on bulk at this time your doing v well !
radial miles are quite common round these parts bulk haulage (quarry/stone)tends also be prone to rate cutting.
turning over big bucks is no good if your only making a good wage,to run at 44 ton on bulk day in day out will son wear out older trucks and trailers and start to cost if you dont do the repairs/servicing yourself,
to go from proffit to loss on todays margins wont take much of a repair job and with vosa on every corner things can’t get left
what do you normaly do at a weekend ? this will change if you go it alone
moose
What other expenses do I need to be thinking about, i.e percentages set aside per week for maintenance, breakdowns, running costs etc. Appreciate all the advice just a case of putting it all together and doing more research now!
Hi,If I were you the best time to start in the bulk game is 1st Aug when theres plenty of work about, the grain is going to slow up in a month or so,As for costs most insurance companys will cover you for breakdowns (£250-300pa) On a bulker allow £3000 pa for tyres, insurance £2500-3000 All in pa,RFL £1200 pa ,maintenace £350 per month if your very lucky,parking £100 upwards & put £500 away each month for tax & never spend the VAT paid to you cause you gotta pay it back after 3 months less what you claim back & I would never work 100% for another company unless they were supplying a fuel card-Remember You Ain,t Got Any friends in Business-Best of Luck.
Hi,If I were you the best time to start in the bulk game is 1st Aug when theres plenty of work about, the grain is going to slow up in a month or so,As for costs most insurance companys will cover you for breakdowns (£250-300pa) On a bulker allow £3000 pa for tyres, insurance £2500-3000 All in pa,RFL £1200 pa ,maintenace £350 per month if your very lucky,parking £100 upwards & put £500 away each month for tax & never spend the VAT paid to you cause you gotta pay it back after 3 months less what you claim back & I would never work 100% for another company unless they were suppyling a fuel card-Remember You Ain,t Got Any friends in Business-Best of Luck.
Cheers mate I was aiming for just before harvest so i’d have a good busy period to get some cash behind me ready for the inevitable breakdowns and tyre replacement! To be honest I am aiming to work for 1 company all of the time but they do have their own stores aswell so always get plenty of work in and out of there. They are also expanding rather than cutting back at the moment. I do also have some farm contacts and some other bulk haulage firms as contacts so i’m confident I wouold be able to keep the wheels if things did dry up but i’ve been subbying with this company as a driver for a few years and we’ve never had a dead patch really.