Hi all ill give you a little background info first I’m 23 a class 2 hook lift driver, employed by a large metal recycling company I currently earn about £2200 - £2400 p/m gross no nights out about 2-5 collections a day and have got a 63 plate DAF I think it’s quite a good crack to be honest I’ve been there about 2 years and it’s become apparent that I’m one of the better ones to put it lightly lol and now I carnt help but get the urge to go it on my own and sub myself out to other companies now my question is how do you price your jobs up ? And what sort of money are OD’s earning ? With the money I’m on do you think it will be financially beneficial to consider this as a option ? Sorry I’m a bit vague but hopefully you can see what I’m trying to get at as I havnt got a clue about owner driving so all and any information with be greatly appreciated Thanks folks
samstone90:
Hi all ill give you a little background info first I’m 23 a class 2 hook lift driver, employed by a large metal recycling company I currently earn about £2200 - £2400 p/m gross no nights out about 2-5 collections a day and have got a 63 plate DAF I think it’s quite a good crack to be honest I’ve been there about 2 years and it’s become apparent that I’m one of the better ones to put it lightly lol and now I carnt help but get the urge to go it on my own and sub myself out to other companies now my question is how do you price your jobs up ? And what sort of money are OD’s earning ? With the money I’m on do you think it will be financially beneficial to consider this as a option ? Sorry I’m a bit vague but hopefully you can see what I’m trying to get at as I havnt got a clue about owner driving so all and any information with be greatly appreciated Thanks folks
I did 2 years on a RoRo too, had a lot of punctures in that time, something to bear in mind pal
Young_AL:
samstone90:
Hi all ill give you a little background info first I’m 23 a class 2 hook lift driver, employed by a large metal recycling company I currently earn about £2200 - £2400 p/m gross no nights out about 2-5 collections a day and have got a 63 plate DAF I think it’s quite a good crack to be honest I’ve been there about 2 years and it’s become apparent that I’m one of the better ones to put it lightly lol and now I carnt help but get the urge to go it on my own and sub myself out to other companies now my question is how do you price your jobs up ? And what sort of money are OD’s earning ? With the money I’m on do you think it will be financially beneficial to consider this as a option ? Sorry I’m a bit vague but hopefully you can see what I’m trying to get at as I havnt got a clue about owner driving so all and any information with be greatly appreciated Thanks folksI did 2 years on a RoRo too, had a lot of punctures in that time, something to bear in mind pal
yes that’s very true mate I get my fair share see this is why I put this post up its the silly things i overlook but end up costing you loads
Hope you have deep pockets!
Waste licence and an O licence are a fortune!
stagedriver:
Hope you have deep pockets!Waste licence and an O licence are a fortune!
No they’re not .
samstone90:
I havnt got a clue about owner driving so all and any information with be greatly appreciated Thanks folks
I,d say on that statement your a long way from going it alone, if its a decent job and your happy ,honestly i,d stay as you are for now
Isn’t waste only around £100 from what I’ve read on here.
Things you need to thing about is obviously punctures, smashing your lights off when tipping if you’ve not pushed the bin back far enough plus all the other damage that can occur like when being loaded by over zealous grab drivers!!! A dint in the roof is gonna cost you if you lease a truck.
Also there is pretty much a ford transit tipper everywhere you look, ok there small and can’t carry much but there like ants there’s millions of em. Personally I’d get my self a unit a decent tipper and an international O licence and sub to the likes of booths at Rotherham or any of the EMR sites just to name a couple
chaversdad:
samstone90:
I havnt got a clue about owner driving so all and any information with be greatly appreciated Thanks folksI,d say on that statement your a long way from going it alone, if its a decent job and your happy ,honestly i,d stay as you are for now
Yes that’s true I’m not nieve enough to know that I don’t know anywhere near enough to actually take the jump but you have to start somewhere and this is probably the best place 
I just want to see if it’s worth thinking about in the future
If you ever do it let me know how it goes because I fancy it myself but for the life of me I cannot see how I’d earn the same money a year for the same hours. You have the rental or finance on the truck the wear and tear god knows how much down time due to tyre repairs a month and I’m generally on local work and my motor still uses £550-£600 a week diesel. I think the o/d that have been around a while and are well established do good but I can’t think of a worse time to get in than now. The days of being loyal to one person because they offer a good reliable service are dwindling it’s all about the next person who will do it for a tenner a day cheaper. If you ever see it as a viable option and go for it I wish you the best of luck and upmost respect because I’m to scared to risk what I have on doing it, until I grow a pair I will continue to look after my truck as if it’s my own and just let my boss have it back when it needs tax, diesel, mot, safety inspections, servicing insuring and so on .
samstone90:
chaversdad:
samstone90:
I havnt got a clue about owner driving so all and any information with be greatly appreciated Thanks folksI,d say on that statement your a long way from going it alone, if its a decent job and your happy ,honestly i,d stay as you are for now
Yes that’s true I’m not nieve enough to know that I don’t know anywhere near enough to actually take the jump but you have to start somewhere and this is probably the best place
Most owner drivers I see have a bells and whistles V8 Scania, yet plead poverty. Either their upto their eyes in debt or their doing alright for themselves.
Karl86:
If you ever do it let me know how it goes because I fancy it myself but for the life of me I cannot see how I’d earn the same money a year for the same hours. You have the rental or finance on the truck the wear and tear god knows how much down time due to tyre repairs a month and I’m generally on local work and my motor still uses £550-£600 a week diesel. I think the o/d that have been around a while and are well established do good but I can’t think of a worse time to get in than now. The days of being loyal to one person because they offer a good reliable service are dwindling it’s all about the next person who will do it for a tenner a day cheaper. If you ever see it as a viable option and go for it I wish you the best of luck and upmost respect because I’m to scared to risk what I have on doing it, until I grow a pair I will continue to look after my truck as if it’s my own and just let my boss have it back when it needs tax, diesel, mot, safety inspections, servicing insuring and so on
mate that’s exactly my thinking how do they make it pay ? I do Wales , shrewsbury ect a lot from West midlands and I put in about £1000 a week fuel
Economies of scale.
With one truck, you can just about cover the driver’s wages, and the inevitable disaster (two tyres in a week, especially bad if they are on the same wheel) can break you.
Run 100 trucks and everything is cheaper (because you are buying more of it) from the trucks themselves to tubs of grease and if each truck only makes a profit of £10 a week, your operation makes £1000 a week = £52,000 a year.
Round our way dont know of any subbies running roll ons if your set on staying in the wasteindustury id go for a skip lorry and build up that way.
The thing is all these firms make there money from sorting waste metal etc trucks are a necacery evil wheras you will be looking to make a profit from it.
Thanks folks lots of great posts there I think I’m going to stay as I am for a while and build some more cash up get my class 1 and do that for a bit see how it goes then might consider buying class 1 cab instead… I think it’s just the satisfaction of owning your own motor… only time will tell
samstone90:
Thanks folks lots of great posts there I think I’m going to stay as I am for a while and build some more cash up get my class 1 and do that for a bit see how it goes then might consider buying class 1 cab instead… I think it’s just the satisfaction of owning your own motor… only time will tell
I run my own truck, a tractor unit on traction work which is pretty much the bottom of the Owner Operator food chain, but I make a decent living at it- a bit more than I’d earn doing similar work as an employee, enough to make it worth while carrying on anyway.
And I’ll be honest, I love the whole dynamic of it being my own truck, which I can have looking exactly how I want, which never has anybody else driving it, and knowing that I succeed or fail largely on my own abilities and judgement.
One month I might make £5,000 for myself, the next month I might lose money. It’s real “seat of the pants” stuff. I talk to other OO’s and I think most of us get off on that to a degree!
If you want to do it, then formulate a plan and work towards it, it took me about a year from taking the decision to being handed a set of keys and a log book. Meanwhile, save as much as you can, get your Operator’s CPC, do as much research as you can, make sure that you know what your income and your outgoings will be and what margin there will be in between the two, and if you do all of that then you should have a sensible business plan…
A lot of od’s with the flash motors have been at it a while so have over time built up enough equity to bang down massive deposits/no finance to clear etc, initially and then minimal finance, and so on so forth when it comes to renewing the unit.
Although I do concede some must just be in hock to finance companies up to the eyeballs.
I would not do it.When a truck(your truck) goes bang its a very expensive bang,could involve a wrecker lifting it to a workshop.You could be hiring a motor to keep your contracts serviced.
kr79:
Round our way dont know of any subbies running roll ons if your set on staying in the wasteindustury id go for a skip lorry and build up that way.
The thing is all these firms make there money from sorting waste metal etc trucks are a necacery evil wheras you will be looking to make a profit from it.
+1
Around MK, we’ve got Biffa/Shanks, Grundons, Viridor & a few smaller companies & I don’t think I’ve ever seen any OD’s driving their own RoRo’s, all these companies use their own vehicles or hire vehicles in for their own drivers to drive.
A Tractor unit gives you more flexibility, you can be on tippers throughout the summer & if it goes quiet, traction for supermarkets or containers in the winter or coming up to Xmas. General haulage is easier on the motors & tyres, staying away from Poxy Landfills, (we get some building sites & they can be lethal if you don’t take it easy)
Check out the commercial magazines & papers for contacts & start building a list of local contacts, there’s nothing to stop you asking around at your drops now, just to get a feel of who uses what.