Hello, I have posted this to ask for some of your much valued advice, I have been running wagons for a few years now and like allot of other hauliers at the moment i regret to say that i am begining to find things are getting pretty tough. It does have to be said that i went into the whole thing on a "wing and a prayer"and as i am sure i will be told thats not the way to do it. Having more, ■■■■■■■■ than brains, is nt always a good thing. I would appreciate it if i could PM somebody as its more about the financial side of things rather than the workload that i need some pointers on. I am based in yorkshire and run artics pulling steel and fridges. Many thanks.
■■ pm away
we are all here to help if we can, so theres no harm in asking
Cue Rob.
Ken.
I’d be glad to offer advice, I also carry steel
Steve
One simple thing that you need to remember is costs, sounds like a silly statement, but it’s not. In today’s market you really cannot do anything about rates, they are what they are and what they are is crap, for the most part anyway, unless you’re in a niche market you are pretty much governed by the cheapest competitor out there, but one thing you can control is your operating costs, look through your paperwork and identify where every penny you spend goes, eliminate all unnecessary payments and try to reduce or eliminate everything that attracts an interest payment, maximise the efficiency of your lorries and drivers, can you go out on the road yourself and run things from the cab so you save on a wage? The list goes on and on, but really it all boils down to how well you know your business, you should know where every penny goes and why it goes there 
are you mechanically minded? asin, who does your servicin, inspections and minor repairs?
if you are paying someone else to do it, learn yourself! i can guarantee, your labour rates are cheaper than your mechanics
Im running fridges pal but its proper hard work at the mo. Rates are on their arse.
shuttlespanker:
are you mechanically minded? asin, who does your servicin, inspections and minor repairs?if you are paying someone else to do it, learn yourself! i can guarantee, your labour rates are cheaper than your mechanics
Too right, and when you do it yourself
a;It gets done when its planned to be done, no ‘‘Sorry mate, we’ve not got to it, can you bring it back again’’ and another day off the road FFS 
b;You know its been done 
c;Nothing that doesn’t need doing gets done, if you get my drift
Hello, gents thanks to all for replying been having problems with pc, think its time for a new one. your replies all make perfect sense and I cant think why I did nt do it earlier. I drive five or six days at the moment so already making a saving there, and although i have no facilties i could service the wagons myself but my mechanic tells me inspections have to be done by himself 
wonder why, and keeping track of my costs more closely makes sense as well, could do with knowing what is required for a service as far as amounts are concerned for a daf xf 430, thanks again hope to pm some of you later.
When I worked in Swiss the drivers did their own service & light repairs .But we were on a good salary. The cost of a service without labour is a few filters ,oil & lube.
oil and filters for a service yes, but if its just a 6 week inspection then its just a quick grease round and make sure nothings dropping off, i used to do mine myself but have a really good deal at the moment so i,ll let someone else get there hands dirty for the time being
When I just had the one I used to do everything myself, but as I got more I started using a workshop to do my 6 weeklys, it didn’t cost a fortune and it was a local bloke who had a very good and well deserved reputation, one of those places that actually fix things, not just throw parts at a problem, a rare find these days, I’m pretty mechanically minded, but a bloke that spends all day, every day, rolling around under lorries may spot signs that I wouldn’t, if they catch something that can have a knock on effect it can be cheaper to let the professionals do their thing, while you concentrate on what you’re good at, sometimes you can spend a tenner trying to save a fiver.
I sat down one weekend and worked out every penny I was spending, talk about depressed after that little exercise 
after that I kept a close eye on things and had a chat with a couple of my drivers, the ones who were going through brakes, tyres and diesel quicker than the others, it wasn’t by much, but all those few quid savings here and there really add up over the course of a year.
I also took on some container work, short sea stuff, all palletised loads, at first I did night runs only, but then I started doing day jobs too, middle distance stuff, the rates ain’t too terrible (or they weren’t before the Poles etc bolloxed the job) but I went a bit further, I transhipped the loads onto curtainsiders and got backloads, a container job paying, say for easy maths, a pound a mile round trip turns into 1.50+ a mile round trip with a backload, it’s not perfect, but if you can connect all the dots it can put a good few quid in the bank with not a lot of extra investment (fuel and time)
Thanks again for your help lads, thinkin differently now, unit and trailer are in for insp tomoro and that should be last time, up to me then. Workin on other unit unit and trailer on sunday aft replacing suzie and leaking air valve, then setting off sunday night so as I can fit in a Wales on monday. Thanks again. Keep u posted. 
Remember if you’re changing who does your maintenance you need to tell the ministry.
Paul
OK matey, have lokked at costs and found money leaking else where so gonna keep my mechanic on with the inspections while I do the servicing and small repairs, newmercman made some sense (spending a tenner to save a fiver). Thanks again. 
sampopmat:
OK matey, have lokked at costs and found money leaking else where so gonna keep my mechanic on with the inspections while I do the servicing and small repairs, newmercman made some sense (spending a tenner to save a fiver). Thanks again.
Well done on finding some savings, I hope it gives you the results you need
I’ve been following this thread with a bit of interest as I don’t think you’re the only one who needs to have a close look at where the moneys going. 