Muckaway:
I was thinking of a 4wheeler as my employer only have 2 and there’s normally a waiting list if a customer must have a small lorry. From what customers have said the delivery and collection charge is the same as a 6w. The Cotswolds are just down the road, posh houses in tight villages…downside to an 8w is they’re ten a penny around here.
In that case forget what I said previously. A 4 wheel tipper will do well, a mate of mine drove for C W Knight and he drove a 4 wheeler, they kept him busy enough.
I have another mate up in Yorkshire who has had a four wheeler tipper for about 25 years, he is ill at the moment but even when things are quiet, that lorry keeps working.
Four wheeler’s were popular around here while they were getting paid for 14 tonne per load, but as soon as that was dropped and they just got paid on weight carried they all but disappeared as they struggled to make it pay. That was when six wheelers became popular, best of both worlds.
Good luck to you mate if your hearts set on it, sometimes its not all about the money, im seriously thinking of becoming an owner driver myself somedays, trouble is, i have got 6 trucks of my own at the minute…honest mate, now is just not the time to be doing it.Wait till the econmy improves.
I wish anyone well in wanting to become an o/d, but you need to stay away from finance, if you have to rely on it you are going to struggle and have huge headaches, cost of the truck, insurance, goods in transit, road tax, maintenance, servicing, breakdowns, all that before you get your first load, then when you do, you gotta wait for 28 days to get paid, maybe 2 months to get the first months payments ( unless you are lucky )…then in that period, you have to put fuel in it, then you have to pay for your own/familys cost of living, mortgage, gas/electric/tv, shopping etc, maybe you will want a holiday, thats gotta be accounted for. Also take into account the cost of the CPC, applications to vosa, parking etc…have i put you off yet !!..maybe the bank manager will !!..when you ask him for £100 thou with no collataral, plus a mortgage, and very little savings, just watch the look on his face, and at the end of the day you are relying on others to keep you going, and for what a wage thats normally lower than an employed driver, remember, what you make is not yours, its your trucks, and you will never ever meet a rich owner driver, but you can meet drivers who have a comfortable life, but thats normally after a few years of being established. A friend of mine was an o/d for our company for over 20 years ( unit only ) and has just walked away from it, gave the truck back to the finance company, got absolutely nothing, and is now working for an agency…so think long and hard, but good luck.
windrush:
Four wheeler’s were popular around here while they were getting paid for 14 tonne per load, but as soon as that was dropped and they just got paid on weight carried they all but disappeared as they struggled to make it pay. That was when six wheelers became popular, best of both worlds.
Pete.
I’d agree with that, to a point. The big quarry firms are pushing all the time to send EVERYTHING on 8x4’s. The quarry I subbie for regularly send 2 or 3 tonnes out on 8x4’s. 6’s and 4’s are being pushed out all the time. I understand that Muckaway might not want to work for the quarries but the advantage of them is that they always pay.
Muckaway, I’d be very wary about supplying material to people. Although the margins are far greater, its often difficult to get the money off people. The bills can quickly mount too. I know a lad who took an order for 50t of MoT to a blokes house. Ended up supplying 300t, thought he had it made. Sent a bill. And another. And another. Went to the house, banging on the door. A couple opened it, “who are you?” says my mate. “We live here” says the couple! The bloke had sold the house and buggered off. 300t of MoT at £10-12/tonne with the haulage is a lot of dough.
The lad told he’s had to go to other customers (farmers) and only receieved payment once a horsebox/Ivor Williams trailer etc. has been hitched to his 4x4.
Think if i was in that game i would be trying to secure payment on delivery
Surley the new owners of the house had the address the people had moved to?
windrush:
Four wheeler’s were popular around here while they were getting paid for 14 tonne per load, but as soon as that was dropped and they just got paid on weight carried they all but disappeared as they struggled to make it pay. That was when six wheelers became popular, best of both worlds.
Pete.
The two four wheelers at these quarries near here are still capped to 14 ton Pete.The six and eight wheelers are getting less in numbers.There are several who have jacked it in since Christmas.I think a few packed it in and some just got the jitters.Can’t blame them with running costs going up and the rates not keeping pace.
Cheers Dave.
hammer:
Muckaway, I’d be very wary about supplying material to people. Although the margins are far greater, its often difficult to get the money off people. The bills can quickly mount too. I know a lad who took an order for 50t of MoT to a blokes house. Ended up supplying 300t, thought he had it made. Sent a bill. And another. And another. Went to the house, banging on the door. A couple opened it, “who are you?” says my mate. “We live here” says the couple! The bloke had sold the house and buggered off. 300t of MoT at £10-12/tonne with the haulage is a lot of dough.
The lad told he’s had to go to other customers (farmers) and only receieved payment once a horsebox/Ivor Williams trailer etc. has been hitched to his 4x4.
I know of someone who’s had that happen to them, Hammer; He had several lorries, admittedly they were pimped up heaps of crap plus a secondhand Scania that was so heavy he used to ask the weighbridge to bump up his payload/knock a ton off his tare weight. There was a pipeline job done nearby that we supplied shingle to and said operator undercut us for the muck, tipping at our tip just up the road. He got a good rate to tip brash/stone in our place but muck was full price. It turned out later on that the stone he tipped should’ve gone to the landowners’ farm but he tipped his muck there and the stone at ours It backfired on him again when the useless contractor went bust and he then lost his Hanson franchise through shall we say, “vanishing loads”
Dave the Renegade:
Whats the chance of getting your own customers Nathan and delivering ex quarry/pit.I know it’s getting your money in and finding the right customers,but with a four wheeler you could as you say get some decent paying loads.
and if you put a HiAb behind the Cab you are anywhy the searched one.Lots of small Jobs to do for HiAbs
Dave the Renegade:
The two four wheelers at these quarries near here are still capped to 14 ton Pete.
Dave, is this only on Tar though? In our place we all get paid what we carry on dry and 19/16/14-tonnes on tar for 8/6/4-wheelers.
10 milers out of our place pay £2.48/tonne. You need to do a lot of them in a day on a 4x2 to make any headway. Years ago, with a decent weighbridgeman I would have said a 4 would be ok. I was going to do it myself when i started. However, with modern quarries ‘computerising’ and trying to send everything out on 8’s and charging premiums to the customers for 6’s and 4’s its pushing the smaller trucks out. Its amazing how many builders/groundworkers suddenly find room for an 8x4 when it starts costing them a £30-50 premium to have their 10 or 14 tonnes sent on a 6 or 4…
i wouldn’t go subbing work, especially with a tipper.
get a tipper with a clamshell grab.
advertise for commercial and residential work, if you have an onboard weigher, you can charge by the ton, rather than by the guess like i did.
limeyphil:
i wouldn’t go subbing work, especially with a tipper.
get a tipper with a clamshell grab.
advertise for commercial and residential work, if you have an onboard weigher, you can charge by the ton, rather than by the guess like i did.
Phil yer a genius
now if i go out and er borrow one of those put it on false plates and run it on cherry and move my carav er i mean mobile home every few weeks to a new location
in 12 months i would of made enough cash to go legit after doin all that flytipping and drive tarmacin and borrowing other peoples cables and metal
Dave the Renegade:
The two four wheelers at these quarries near here are still capped to 14 ton Pete.
Dave, is this only on Tar though? In our place we all get paid what we carry on dry and 19/16/14-tonnes on tar for 8/6/4-wheelers.
10 milers out of our place pay £2.48/tonne. You need to do a lot of them in a day on a 4x2 to make any headway. Years ago, with a decent weighbridgeman I would have said a 4 would be ok. I was going to do it myself when i started. However, with modern quarries ‘computerising’ and trying to send everything out on 8’s and charging premiums to the customers for 6’s and 4’s its pushing the smaller trucks out. Its amazing how many builders/groundworkers suddenly find room for an 8x4 when it starts costing them a £30-50 premium to have their 10 or 14 tonnes sent on a 6 or 4…
Still capped to 14 ton this way hammer on dry and black.There are now only two four wheelers left in t----c colours.
Cheers Dave.
Dave the Renegade:
The two four wheelers at these quarries near here are still capped to 14 ton Pete.
Dave, is this only on Tar though? In our place we all get paid what we carry on dry and 19/16/14-tonnes on tar for 8/6/4-wheelers.
10 milers out of our place pay £2.48/tonne. You need to do a lot of them in a day on a 4x2 to make any headway. Years ago, with a decent weighbridgeman I would have said a 4 would be ok. I was going to do it myself when i started. However, with modern quarries ‘computerising’ and trying to send everything out on 8’s and charging premiums to the customers for 6’s and 4’s its pushing the smaller trucks out. Its amazing how many builders/groundworkers suddenly find room for an 8x4 when it starts costing them a £30-50 premium to have their 10 or 14 tonnes sent on a 6 or 4…
Still capped to 14 ton this way hammer on dry and black.There are now only two four wheelers left in t----c colours.
Cheers Dave.
There are no 4x2’s in T***ac colours at all round here and never have been in the 8 years I’ve been up here. Its 6 years since there was anything other than an 8x4 is their colours.
The problem with these big firms is that, at the click of their fingers, they can take away the 14tonne. This is exactly what they did to us about 4 years ago. “Good news! We’re putting rates up 5%…” then when you read the smallprint they’re taking the 17 and 20 tonne guaranteed payment off the 6’s and 4’s and dropping dry loads to what you carry only for everyone.
I’ve got some rates our lot have been paying subbies on 8wheelers;
£65 per load on muck from Raf Brize. Subbies do 6 per day which I reckon is crap when you deduct about £90 wages and say £150 for fuel and running costs.
Another job in Oxford is £80 per load but is a real crap skow going job where you’re lucky to do 4.
Quite simply, I don’t think it’s worth the hassle for such small returns.
Muckaway:
I’ve got some rates our lot have been paying subbies on 8wheelers;
£65 per load on muck from Raf Brize. Subbies do 6 per day which I reckon is crap when you deduct about £90 wages and say £150 for fuel and running costs.
Another job in Oxford is £80 per load but is a real crap skow going job where you’re lucky to do 4.
Quite simply, I don’t think it’s worth the hassle for such small returns.
Agreed, 8-leggers want £400 a day I would have said. IMO, a lot of o/drivers are either those who’ve been doing it for years and know no different, those who are tied to finance and have no choice but to continue and those who are unable to work for others.
From what I hear, all the actual cuts to government/council budgets will come in soon. I reckon we could easily have another dip in the economy very soon, particularly in construction. Hope I’m wrong though.
The bloke had sold the house and buggered off. 300t of MoT at £10-12/tonne with the haulage is a lot of dough.
