Hi fellas, ive been looking into this and thinking about giving it a go. Just wondered if anyone has had any experiences with this and what your thoughts are??
I would say im in quite a good position to start off on my own financially as i still live at home with little outgoings and have a little bit of cash saved and a few cars i can sell. Also im lucky enough to have the support of my old man who ran his own unit when i was growing up but then unfortunatly went bust (he said he made the mistake of going with crap companys like Euroway and Kingswood etc etc) so at least i can learn from that and other things. The downside to all this is that im 21 with little experience and not sure if companys would let me pull their trailers even if i am insured to their requirements, maritime is £6.500 per tonne i think. I am hard working and i dont think i am naive in the sense that working for myself i dont expect to be back bang on 6pm on a saturday evening ready to go on the ■■■■ with my mates etc.
I suppose the biggest reason that i want to go on my own is that of the fact that i am young and i am struggling to find class 1 work with no experience, although running my own truck is an ambition of mine so i am thinking why not do it now??
I have herd that the trucks from Maritime are well looked after and are faultless in that department but not sure how good the “buy with work” scheme actually is, obviously they big it up on their website but just seeing if i can get a better insite to things. I am getting ahead of myself hear but if this all some how comes together could i still subbie myself out to other firms whilst still on Maritimes books?
Thanks for reading
George
Hi Farnboroughboy
if you do a search there are several topics about maritime and all come to the same conclusion WASTE OF TIME if you need further info Mr spanky will be along shortly i am sure but it is a no go as far as most suggest on here.
keep your money safe in the bank for now as times aint to good and i think they are going to get worse sooner than better
i bought a unit off maritime october 07 and would not touch there work. from what people say they only give you enough work to make sure you can meet your costs, so there will be no big wage left. i have been told of people taking as little as £1200 for 5 days, however im sure some people will have a good story to tell.
FarnboroughBoy11:
Also im lucky enough to have the support of my old man who ran his own unit when i was growing up but then unfortunatly went bust (he said he made the mistake of going with crap companys like Euroway and Kingswood etc etc) so at least i can learn from that and other things.
I think the general consensus on this forum will be that if you’re thinking of going with Maritime then you will be making the same mistake your father did…
FarnboroughBoy11:
Also im lucky enough to have the support of my old man who ran his own unit when i was growing up but then unfortunatly went bust (he said he made the mistake of going with crap companys like Euroway and Kingswood etc etc) so at least i can learn from that and other things.
I think the general consensus on this forum will be that if you’re thinking of going with Maritime then you will be making the same mistake your father did…
Paul
No paul, no one could make a bigger mistake than his father did surely
If you want to earn a drivers wage and not much else but be able to say “I run my own lorry” then Maritime’s for you, good luck. I personally would not recommend it. Their second hand trucks although well looked after are over priced and too flash for the taxi rates they will be paying you. They are not alone, Wincanton are the same, don’t know about Elite but if I was a gambling man… You can bet most other firms that use subbies in the container game are the same, granted there will be a few exceptions but if you find any of them I would not be surprised if the month was all sundays.
The only real recommendation to get started in owner driving is if you know a few chaps on a decent gig and can get your feet under the table as well then bingo, these types of jobs are not advertised in the truck mags and all good things can…and usually do. As has been said before on this forum most companies only use owner drivers as a way to reduce their cost and risk, they know some blokes like driving “big trucks” and being able to boast I “own” and run it (the own is in comas as most are financed to the hilt). They take advantage of this.
The rate at Maritime is £1.14 per mile give or take a few pence. The diesel cost to run a 44 tonner is very roughly 50 pence per mile and going up every week (I stand to be corrected) luckily i’ve never had to pay that much attention to my costs. That’s 64p per mile to you for everything else, you don’t want to know about the waiting time on containers either when you will not be earning although you get a pittance after 3 hours hanging around. This time next year Rodders… it ain’t.
Maritime will see you about break even on the scale of thing’s .
They offer you work but what will happen is all the crap run’s that they dont want there driver’s doing .
I would stay well clear truck’s are well over the market value and the money they offer dont compensate for it neither.
As you say your dad went bust because not getting paid from work carried out etc , there are a lot more NONE payer’s out there now than what they was so lot more risk.
I would say get some experince behind you first as it sound’s a little as you are struggling to find work because your age for insurance purppose’s so see this as a easy way into work.
I wouldnt even consider thos @ 21 life’s to short go enjoy yourself while still young as it soon catch’s up.
your in good postion regard’s living at home etc but now is a risky time even for owner driver’s with years of experince under there belt.
Just do search of the forum .
Also i don’t like the maritime deal because i see it as putting all your egg’s in one basket which is not good as am sure some will agree , well i hope
21 and no experience■■? have you thought about insurance?? i rang up for a laugh when I was 21 and was quoted nearly £13K hahah!!! just a thought anyway!
scaniadub:
21 and no experience■■? have you thought about insurance?? i rang up for a laugh when I was 21 and was quoted nearly £13K hahah!!! just a thought anyway!
Hi George, first off i dont know anything about the container market so i cant help you there. But i am 21 and i do run (with my dad) a small transport company. I have always wanted to run my own haulage company so i am loving what i am doing. Over the past 18 months or so it has been very very difficult and running a business has been much harder then i thought it would be. I have only been doing this for about 4 years so i am very inexperienced in the transport industry but in those 4 years i have learnt so much. I currently drive a 18t rigid and am hoping to take my class 1 training soon. If i was working for someone else i wouldnt be able to drive the vehicles i do now, so running your own business does have its perks.
Regarding a social life, it is affected but i do get to see my mates and go on nights out. It does help if your enjoy the job like i do, then it isnt so bad getting up at 5am on a Saturday morning when most people my age are just getting in from a night out!
Make sure you utilise this site as there are some very experienced drivers and company owners on here.
Good luck mate.
I suspect the work they’ll put your way will be just enough for you to pay your bills & draw some sort of a wage. Put yourself in their position, would you sell someone a truck & provide them with enough paying work to mke a fortune?? Of course you wouldn’t!! You’d put a driver on & make the money yourself. They don’t do that at the moment because they’ve got people coming in the door offering to do the job because the grass looks very green on that side of the fence. It’s too late once you’ve signed up & committed yourself to paying for a lorry.
I’ve never done container work but I know mates wh have & they spend hours sitting around waiting to tip & re-load boxes. If you’re going to be paid on a pene per mile basis with a gauranteed minimum weekly earning, rest assured that’s what you’ll be earning. Set a trip up on autoroute & see the miles you’d need to cover to earn a good days money. Think about needing to do this sort of miles every day just to earn enough to keep going. While you’re whacking the miles under the bumper, you’ll be wearing out a good truck & heading for some strong workshop bills. All the costs will have to come out of the work given to you by the container firm you advertise by driving round with their name all over your lorry.
If I was in your shoes, I’d go & see a good accountant, ask them to work out how much you’ll need to earn to keep going & ask yourself how much container work you’ll need to be doing to achieve it.
At your age, I’d go & get a job with one of the big national companies & use their trucks & wages to earn a good living & gain some experience. The owner driver thing will still be there if & when you’re ready for it. There are firms out there useing subbies who do earn a living & get paid for their work but there are firms who have built schemes out there which just & just allow you to pay your way while advertising their services.
Given my time over again, I’d have stayed working for TNT, still had my 6 weeks off a year & had a pension to look forward to. I’ve run my own for over 25 years & still taking one step forward & two steps back so think very long & hard before signing the line.
Just my opinion & I wish you well in what ever you decide to do.
Basilbrush:
I suspect the work they’ll put your way will be just enough for you to pay your bills & draw some sort of a wage. Put yourself in their position, would you sell someone a truck & provide them with enough paying work to mke a fortune?? Of course you wouldn’t!! You’d put a driver on & make the money yourself. They don’t do that at the moment because they’ve got people coming in the door offering to do the job because the grass looks very green on that side of the fence. It’s too late once you’ve signed up & committed yourself to paying for a lorry.
I’ve never done container work but I know mates wh have & they spend hours sitting around waiting to tip & re-load boxes. If you’re going to be paid on a pene per mile basis with a gauranteed minimum weekly earning, rest assured that’s what you’ll be earning. Set a trip up on autoroute & see the miles you’d need to cover to earn a good days money. Think about needing to do this sort of miles every day just to earn enough to keep going. While you’re whacking the miles under the bumper, you’ll be wearing out a good truck & heading for some strong workshop bills. All the costs will have to come out of the work given to you by the container firm you advertise by driving round with their name all over your lorry.
If I was in your shoes, I’d go & see a good accountant, ask them to work out how much you’ll need to earn to keep going & ask yourself how much container work you’ll need to be doing to achieve it.
At your age, I’d go & get a job with one of the big national companies & use their trucks & wages to earn a good living & gain some experience. The owner driver thing will still be there if & when you’re ready for it. There are firms out there useing subbies who do earn a living & get paid for their work but there are firms who have built schemes out there which just & just allow you to pay your way while advertising their services.
Given my time over again, I’d have stayed working for TNT, still had my 6 weeks off a year & had a pension to look forward to. I’ve run my own for over 25 years & still taking one step forward & two steps back so think very long & hard before signing the line.
Just my opinion & I wish you well in what ever you decide to do.
Thank you very much for all your replies. Its given me a better insight whether or not to go down this maritime route or giving owner driving on its own a go aswell. I think people’s genral point of view is that i should perhaps get into a firm and gain experience and earn a consistant wage, as yes i am 21 and whos to say i couldnt give it ago a few years down the line. I just need someone to give me a break though as ive applied for about 30 jobs all over the country and none of them are interested in what they think is a cocky 21 year old whos got his class 1 who drives with his arm hanging out the window in all weathers Thanks again
Im from Farnborough, north Hampshire right on the Surrey boarder. Ive been applying for jobs all over the place mate, some even 2 hours away just for day work but if thats what it takes to get my foot in the door then its gotta be done. Ive even tried a few companies up north to see if they want drivers for nights out. Im prepared to travel anywhere for a job if im out all week. cheers mate.
Basilbrush:
I suspect the work they’ll put your way will be just enough for you to pay your bills & draw some sort of a wage. Put yourself in their position, would you sell someone a truck & provide them with enough paying work to mke a fortune?? Of course you wouldn’t!! You’d put a driver on & make the money yourself. They don’t do that at the moment because they’ve got people coming in the door offering to do the job because the grass looks very green on that side of the fence. It’s too late once you’ve signed up & committed yourself to paying for a lorry.
edited for space saving
Given my time over again, I’d have stayed working for TNT, still had my 6 weeks off a year & had a pension to look forward to. I’ve run my own for over 25 years & still taking one step forward & two steps back so think very long & hard before signing the line.
Just my opinion & I wish you well in what ever you decide to do.
sammy dog:
why is it martime dont come on this forum and try and defend themselves
carnt you lot ever remember the article a few years ago by mr williams “maritime owner” in the article he did say YOU WONT GET RICH WORKING FOR MARITIME!!!A SO WHAT DOES THAT TELL YOU, maritime doesnt need to come on here, they printed in in comm motor YA WONT GET RICH FOR US
surely
.
