Does anyone know if its possible to start subbing container work with a Class II unit.
I know that I will be limiting myself, but hopefully once I have my class 1 things will change
Any advice will be greatly appreciated
Thanks
hgvsteve:
Does anyone know if its possible to start subbing container work with a Class II unit.I know that I will be limiting myself, but hopefully once I have my class 1 things will change
Well, I’m no expert but I would think you’ll be severely limiting yourself for a few reasons.
Firstly even if you have a 4 axle vehicle plated to 32t you’ll be limited to containers up to about 22t max, with a 3 axle 26t vehicle limited to more like 16 or 17t. This is going to quite significantly limit your work you can do.
Secondly any vehicle you use for this is going to have to be custom made and therefore cost a lot of money, whereas with C+E container work you can get started with a cheap unit and skelly you can get very easily.
I could be wrong but I would think this is a non starter.
Paul
to carry 20ft’s you mean? theres plenty of work transporting empties as well as container derived cabins but your at a disadvantage if you can’t unload em on sites i.e with a crane. if it’s loaded boxes? i would amagine it would be very limited indeed purely because the gross weight of an eight wheeler.
Good point paulb, I had assumed he meant loaded 20 footers and hadn’t thought about the work carting empties about.
As paul says, there is work around carting empty containers and site cabins if you have a rigid with a half decent HIAB on it. The money isn’t far off what you get running a max weight artic on containers as a subby if you can find the work and the running costs will be a lot less.
Marlow on here drives a 6 legger foden with a HIAB doing this kind of work, although he’s an employed driver not an OD.
Paul
Call around to the container forwarding outfits. Not the actual hauliers. Think of a two or three axle unit & you might get lucky with Personal Effects ( Thats household removals ) There might be a gap in the market. I did it for an agency with a small 4 wheeler & the hours were better than an artic. //More money ,that is.//
We have a bloke from Sheffield who loads 20fts for Yang Ming who loads ex our place, he has got a couple on it, he says its a “niche” that nobody want to do.
Rigids get into places where trailers cannot, so, its a special service, he was talking of getting somemore, IF he could attract the right calibre of driver.
I said, DO NOT HOLD YOUR BREATH.
You do see eight wheelers aswell doing containers, the guy from Sheffield uses six wheelers, a four wheeler will not give the flexibility, I would go for three axles, then you can get the heavier box without the extra cost of the four axle rig.
Not all boxes are very heavy, most are quite light, the ones we load are 4 tons plus the box.
Good luck.
Thanks for the replies, at least its given me a starting point
A cheapish way to try the water might be to get a second hand 3 axle tipper, remove and sell the body and get twistlocks fitted. I would guess that would give you a vehicle that’s about the right length, and if you look hard enough you might find one with a lifting rear axle.
Paul
I have noticed O’Connors of Widnes have a few 3 axle rigids running around with a 20footer on the back. I have seen, what looks to be like a couple of 3 axle units that have had their chassis stretched, with 20 footers on the back coming out of Stourton.
Jase
the drawback with twist locks only is most cabins are 10ft wide plus you need at least 25ft of body to carry three 10ft’s and then you need to spin em round.