I will be leaving the Armed Forces shortly and am thinking of becoming an OD. During my time in the forces i have done agency work over weekends and leave periods. I am CPC qualified up to european level and hold a C + E licence. My initial thoughts are to purchase a second hand unit for about £17500 and hire a trailer when required. I am currently researching the Daf XF 95 and 105 models. does anybody know ho to go about setting up R and M contracts on second hand trucks. I am planning on doing 70000 miles a year, am i being a bit to ambitious ?
Hello Rookie, welcome to Trucknet. 
I’m not an OD in the area you are thinking of entering. However, having read previous threads it seems that you might be being a tad ambitious to start with. Perhaps starting with an older unit is the way to start till you find your feet?
IMO, the biggest issue is finding the work first, it really is the key to making everything else work. As for R&M deal on 2nd hand trucks, they might be possible but I would imagine only on ‘nearly-new’ (and therefore v.expensive!) stuff.
I’m not trying to put you off but it is important to consider absolutely everything before taking the plunge. Any more questions, feel free to ask - someone on here will tell it to you straight!
Hi, now I’m not being funny but there are loads of posts on here which answer all of your questions, have a good look around.
As for the R&M question, of course you can get cover on any vehicle, but oh boy will you pay for it!. Anyway, R&M is not such a great deal regardless of how new the motor is. Think about it, you’re the owner of the repair shop, you get paid a set amount per month to look after a vehicle, you will do as little as you can get away with per month so as to maximise the profit margins. To my mind, thats not in the operators best interests.
what sort of work have you got ?
rookie, if i were you i would buy a taxi instead, if you have £17500 to spare you shud put it into that, for the following reason:
you get paid every day
hours to suit
home every night
its a cash payment business , no waiting around 30 / 60 days
not as expensive to run as trucks
your plate will be worth the same if not more in years to come
and you will earn far more…
the industry is over saturated with people starting up and havin a go only to be wiped of the map financially within a couple of years and it may not even be your fault, sum1 could just simply shut up shop and not pay you!
also you just have to look at the amount of foreign hauliers here in the uk, i pass the toyota place on the a50, will betz is always in and out, no uk hauliers or local haulier doin it, betz and another one i see yellow, warenber or sumthin like that.
average profit margin is approx 2% so if ya turning over £100,000 your profit will be a whopping £2000
to turn over £100,000 per year u need to be bringing in £2000 per week, week in week out and personally i dont think thats enough to run a truck. it works out around the £1.10 pence per mile and you need to be doin 3000 kms every week for that.
to be ok you need to be on around £1.50 per mile ( u wil be extremely lucky if you can get thaton general haulage)which would generate around £2800 which is acceptable i think but your call,
if the big players struggle to make a profit then i fail to see how the ods do it unless ya very lucky
now taxis is a different ball game…
I’m just an employed driver myself and not a greatly experienced one at that, but I often think I’d like to start up on my own one day…having read a lot on this forum and heard and seen things elsewhere the biggest stumbling block seems to be finding good, regular, profitable work and I’m rapidly forming the opinion that you need either contacts, a specialist niche you can fill or a lot of luck.
Andyroo:
the biggest stumbling block seems to be finding good, regular, profitable work and I’m rapidly forming the opinion that you need either contacts, a specialist niche you can fill or a lot of luck.
you need the lot…
sadly and foolishly most new starts do it the other way round, they really dont do enough research into the work ( myself guilty of this when started) , more interested in the truck and speccing it up ( not guilty of this!!! I may say!!)
If thorough research was done a new start would quickly realise the following:
- not big enough to get decent work direct to the manufacturer or supplier and being able to compete
- Traction / subbying/using a freight forwarder is the only option forcing you to be paid in the region of around £1.10/£1.20 per mile ( this is a general consensus for new starts , im not saying all new starts do this!!)
Its a catch 22 situation am afraid, all the decent work is swallowed up by the likes of Stobart/ Innov@te etc but to make it and survive thats what is needed.
You can do it, get in with smaller companies, probably companies that you have never heard of , it takes a lot of research, calls, emails, chats etc etc
the internet is ya best tool really, it opens lots ofdoors details of companies etc , look at the manufacturers/exporters/importers,resellers,meat processors,food manufatcurers web pages. Theres a web site dedicated to the importers and exporters of the UK list every company .,These are what you need to research to make it…
An example is Ian Parkinson Transport, got in with a company called Gafoor, meat producers, how many people on this site have heard of them ? really ?
He managed to find a decent company who have been trading some time and got work off them!!
Subby to another haulier or do traction work or go on the containers or even worse work for a low life freght forwarder you will just become another casualty I am afraid, like so many before you and ending up broke!
if anyones bothered about the opinion of someone who actually does the job?
i would honestly say that for someone with no experience, no contacts and no work lined up you’d either have to be some sort of rich excentric or stark ravin mad! fuel prices are set to go up and up, insurance premiums the same way whilst the rates are coming down! does that sound like a recipe for success?
don’t get me wrong there is decent money to be made but i would say that prob 80% of work available to an o/d isn’t viable so unles your already into the 20% that actually pays decent rates your going to be up against it from day one!
forget boxes or anything else on a mileage rate, those rates are hugely stacked in favour of the company handing out the work! some have took upon themselves to put figures on the job without having a clue what they’re talking about i.e “2% profit” where you get that from, the back of a cornflakes packet? 
simple fact is, you need £1.50 -£2 a mile on a regular basis to make the job pay, if you’ve not got that lined up then be prepared to get your fingers burnt.
I was going to say that sort of thing but you beat me to it, Paul.
The only jobs that pay a decent rate are specialised work and/or work that requires a specialised knowledge. I had tankers and did ok, but then again, the milk and dairy side of it is inundated with idiots and rate slashers so even that is going by the wayside. My food barrel with pump was always in demand and I could command good rates with it.
If you go into the job blind then you will drop everything into a black hole. I know of people turning Barcelona around for 1700 quid ferries paid. I wouldn’t do one way for that with a barrel on.
You need something the big firms lack. Continuity and absolute reliability are a given, but you need something more. It’s worth remembering that you will get all the jobs that can’t be done easily which puts you under heaps of pressure.
The R&M thing is not worth the paper it is written on. As Tramper said, you will get a minimum done for a flat rate and they ALL operate on a “let it develop” principle. If you, as the driver, notice something different then the repairers will leave it until it becomes something serious, which often means you will be stuck by the road facing a huge bill for recovery.
If you have good work lined up then you will be all set, but the O licence, first few months running, and any ancillary costs will need to be borne by you and you alone.
paul b:
if anyones bothered about the opinion of someone who actually does the job?
arghh, thats where i went wrong…
eeeer just to correct you, sorry, i ran 6 of them ,my brother still operates and the other brother works for another haulier but i wouldnt kno what im on about really would i because im not actually doing the job now
some have took upon themselves to put figures on the job without having a clue what they’re talking about i.e “2% profit” where you get that from, the back of a cornflakes packet?
some… you refer to …**obviously me…**dont u read the press about companies annual accounts ? was refering to the larger companies profits which have been widely publicised over the last year.
paul you are always on the defensive and have this i know better than most attitude because im an od and i know the score and i earn tonnes of cash and make a decent profit so dont listen to people who dont know what they r on about because they dont actually do the job…the only od with common sense to see how the industry was developing on this forum is coffeeholic and hes no longer an od, says it all really.
are you asking me for a job?
paul b:
:? are you asking me for a job?
Dont be silly now…
for what it’s worth in my opinion the days of the bloke who wants to get off his arse and make a go of something and get in front are gone in this country weather thats running a wagon or anything else, everything is stacked against you from all angles!
give it another five year and everyone will be going to work on a pushbike, clocking in at 8 and clocking out at 4 like robots.
routier:
the only od with common sense to see how the industry was developing on this forum is coffeeholic and hes no longer an od, says it all really.
Oi! I’m still going, and now I’m back to one vehicle and one trailer, I’m making more cash than ever I was with 5. A lot less pressure too!
Although I have never been credited with common sense
There are a lot of guys out there as OD’s, not all of us are skint, as I remember it Neil baled out due to his lucrative contract going bad, his decission wa right for him, there are other contacts…its just finding them.
damm thats what ive done wrong!! , should of bought a taxi !! then i could of sat around all night before taking the drunks on a short trip home while trying to stop them being sick in my car and making sure they dont do a runner
hhmmmmmm on second thoughts NO i reckon ill stay in my nice clean truck and just bobble along doing my own thing 
paulb i keep meaning to ring you , i may get round to it next week 
thought you may have been abducted by aliens.
Well Rookie there you have it, many responses there in answer to your question alright, theres some who have made it, theres some who are happy to tick over and theres some who , whatever reason, have bailed out whether through choice or forced.
Im not on here to slate anyone or put anyone off so , Im merely pointing out the most common pitfalls that sink most new ventures and starts andf I wouldnt want to see anyone throw their money down the drain or get ripped off.
Fair play to anyone who makes it and does well, its a struggle from day one I can appreciate having been there.
If you managed to pick up this weeks CM theres a grand article in it on a company called SMS, who only into 9 years of trading, has a turnover in excees of £5 Million, looking to do £10 million this year. Started of with a white Van!!
He has managed to do his homework and got into the pharmaceutical industry who I only think have a few players in it, Pulleyn being one that comes to mind, Thorburn was another, to name 2 of them. But the point is this, hes got into specialised work, his fridges do not carry food or fruit or general stuff.
It must pay some money because he is running and operating top kit and trailers. His IT infrastructure is second to none to monitor and perform the every day to day running of a successful business.
I wish you well
ive been an o/d for 9 years and been through many hard times along the way. but like every other business go about it the right way and you will make a right few quid, but do it in a professional manner. dont be afraid to say no to jobs that arent worth it. subbing is okay to start but find your own customers and give them fair ppice and reliable service and they will keep comming back.
treat any failures as a lesson and learn from it. never stop looking for sources of income. stay legal ALWAYS. i worked for three years before i didnt feel guilty about taking a wage from my business (honestly). reinvest every penny back into your business, dont be afraid to fail it will work if you go about it slowly but
professionally, but find work first.
Tramper:
as I remember it Neil baled out due to his lucrative contract going bad,
Not strictly true. I never had a contract with anyone in my entire 18 years as an OD. The firm I did the majority of my work for did lose a major contract but i could have stayed and still been going today. My mate is still there but he works about ten times harder than I do. He seems to be always stressed about something or another and earns about the same as I currently earn. When they lost the contract it meant i would have to start working harder for a living, albeit still with them. While the rates had been adequate for the amount of effort involved I felt they weren’t enough to warrant the extra effort that would now be required. With costs constantly rising I didn’t feel a rate of around £1.40 a mile made it worthwhile so I packed it in. Regrets? If I do start having any or start harbouring thoughts of giving it another go I call my mate, five minutes on the phone with him soon cures me. 
paul b:
:lol:
for what it’s worth in my opinion the days of the bloke who wants to get off his arse and make a go of something and get in front are gone in this country weather thats running a wagon or anything else, everything is stacked against you from all angles!
give it another five year and everyone will be going to work on a pushbike, clocking in at 8 and clocking out at 4 like robots.
I think you’re right here!