paul b:
right, the wagons a six wheeler rear lift twenty four foot flat with caged sides,front mounted 10.5mtr crane,payload of 14t it’s the ideal tool for the bock job but the crane is a bit restrictive for anything else,as you say it’s not big enough for containers/cabins although the trucks perfectly usable for flatbed work.
my problem is the firm i’ve been working for and who’ve given me virtually full time work, deal in railway matterials and paving,the paving has dropped right off but the railway side keeps going all year and is apparently at it’s busiest over christmas when a lot of non essential repairs to the lines are carried out but upto that it looks like it’ll only be, for me,only three or four load a week which dependant on where they are probably won’t cover the cost of the wagon but if i park up,cancel insurance,tax etc and take some agency work etc i risk losing the customer that will give me the bulk of my work next year at top rates!
hopefully all this wont matter as i’ve spoke to a firm yesterday that specialise in crane work but have no grab wagons and they’ve promissed me a lot of subin work through the winter and are happy for me to mix it in with my own work so fingers crossed it might work out just right.[/quote
Must be an old thread revival record at almost 12 years! 
What ever happened to “Paul B” did my memory make me think he headed to Canada??
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I was just thinking did he do his class 1 or pick up other work.
Am I right in thinking yes he did class1 maybe and started hauling re-bar for a steel-works down round Coventry somewhere and that contract didn’t work out in the end too??
Didn’t him and “RobK” reg lock horns ref O/D work??
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What ever happened to rob k?
Knew everything about everything!
I think sometimes these old post resurrections are quite interesting, what ever happened to Repton moderator of the o/d section, went down the owner driver route, big build up, constant posts plotting progress, 2 Renault premiums and the kiss of death centre spread in the commercial motor later he’s gone!
Moose:
What ever happened to rob k?
Knew everything about everything!
I think sometimes these old post resurrections are quite interesting, what ever happened to Repton moderator of the o/d section, went down the owner driver route, big build up, constant posts plotting progress, 2 Renault premiums and the kiss of death centre spread in the commercial motor later he’s gone!
didn’t he have major engine (I think) trouble with one of them before he disappeared? agree about rob k total bell-end from memory.
Driveroneuk:
Must be an old thread revival record at almost 12 years!
And you forgot the bit regards Jonothan .
Didn’t even look at the OP date. Ill keep my ICOPAL and AdBlue Ibc delivery suggestions to myself then.
Funny this thread should pop up. I am in a similar position to the op. but in 2016, not 2004.
Work has dropped off now with my main customer who supply topsoil in tonne bags and pallets of turf. I got set up by April and had hoped for a good hot summer to really give me a boost on start up as they go crazy in the fine weather, but instead a long wet summer has made things a bit slower than might have been. They reckon they are down 20% on last year so have put a stop on all outside contractors.
On the plus side that has pushed me to do the door knocking and ringing round to drum up new customers earlier than expected.
I’m getting a few days here and there with Builders Merchants and odd jobs for small builders but always trying to think of others that might have a use for me.
It has turned out that buying a truck has done wonders for my driving career as a bunch of places I’ve tried are now calling me in as a relief driver for their vehicles, which is great, but I don’t want my truck gathering dust while I am doing it. Hopefully some of these will start getting me in with the truck in due course as things go on.
Deff not planning on all the hassle of parking up, cancelling insurance and all that. Far too much hassle. I’d rather limp it through the winter (the truck I mean, not a pejorative term for agency work!) until things pick back up.
Interested in any other suggestions anyone can think of that I might not have tried. eg. the AdBlu etc. mentioned above, different trades I hadn’t considered before.
Oh, it is 18t fwd mounted hiab crane, 1.3t at 7.7meters, hook or brick grab and 22’ bed.
Hopefully next summer’ll be a scorcher. [emoji3]
Cheers, L
Looooo:
Funny this thread should pop up. I am in a similar position to the op. but in 2016, not 2004.Work has dropped off now with my main customer who supply topsoil in tonne bags and pallets of turf. I got set up by April and had hoped for a good hot summer to really give me a boost on start up as they go crazy in the fine weather, but instead a long wet summer has made things a bit slower than might have been. They reckon they are down 20% on last year so have put a stop on all outside contractors.
On the plus side that has pushed me to do the door knocking and ringing round to drum up new customers earlier than expected.
I’m getting a few days here and there with Builders Merchants and odd jobs for small builders but always trying to think of others that might have a use for me.
It has turned out that buying a truck has done wonders for my driving career as a bunch of places I’ve tried are now calling me in as a relief driver for their vehicles, which is great, but I don’t want my truck gathering dust while I am doing it. Hopefully some of these will start getting me in with the truck in due course as things go on.
Deff not planning on all the hassle of parking up, cancelling insurance and all that. Far too much hassle. I’d rather limp it through the winter (the truck I mean, not a pejorative term for agency work!) until things pick back up.
Interested in any other suggestions anyone can think of that I might not have tried. eg. the AdBlu etc. mentioned above, different trades I hadn’t considered before.
Oh, it is 18t fwd mounted hiab crane, 1.3t at 7.7meters, hook or brick grab and 22’ bed.
Hopefully next summer’ll be a scorcher. [emoji3]
Cheers, L
As you mention you have all your usual costs so really need to be out earning it with your vehicle at profitable rates.
firstly, hi to all!
would like some advice from you experienced o/d’s please,
i started up this year as an o/d and after toying with the idea of tipper work decided to go for a flatbed hiab mainly because a company who’s owners i’d known for some years promissed me work and true to their word i’ve ended up doing all their hiab deliveries,the problem being it’s 90%paving and sleepers supplied to garden centers,landscapers etc.in the last two or three weeks the work has dropped off with the unset of winter to a point where there is nothing like enough to keep the wagon going and looks as if it won’t pick up again until after christmas but having looked at all the o/d oppertunaties available,no one seems to want a blockgrab vehicle but there seems to be vast amounts of artic/traction work to go at.having gone through all the greaf of getting an o license,parking,fuel account,maintainence etc etc i’m determined to carry on,the question is, have i put myself in to much of a niche market with the wagon and would i better off going artic in the long run or does everything go quiet this time of year?
should mention that i don’t currently hold a class one so artic would be a whole new game to me.
any tips would be appreciatted.
paul
paul b:
any tips would be appreciatted.
paul
I don’t know anything about artic traction either ( see sig for another niche 
) but my plan for the last 3 1/2 years has been to do a bit of agency driving if it went too quiet, fortunately that hasn’t happened yet
jumping in at the deep end as a an O/D artic would be brave - I’d want some experience as a driver first 
If you do go for it Paul, and get an artic, you can always drop the trailer and hire a skelly and do some boxes for a couple of months in the winter, or do some work with somebody else’s trailer or whatever really to tide you over. with a rigid its harder to get other work, but you can take the grab off fold the crane up and carry palletised stuff but you’ll need a couple of sheets.
Denis F:
paul b:
any tips would be appreciatted.
paulI don’t know anything about artic traction either ( see sig for another niche
jumping in at the deep end as a an O/D artic would be brave - I’d want some experience as a driver first
i have considered agency work but it would mean parking up or i’d still have the same over heads but would only be getting a wage.
as for the artic,i think the waters just as deep when you go to work for someone,at least as an owner driver you can’t get the sack if you make a pigs ear of something
paul b:
[
i,at least as an owner driver you can’t get the sack if you make a pigs ear of something
Paul, have you thought about approaching companies that deal in porta cabins? Your motor sounds ideal for this kind of work. Also, local plant/farm machinery dealers.
Regards, Jonathan.
If you’ve got a 4/6 wheel flat with a hiab try your local builders merchants.
Containers/portacabins might be a problem unless you’ve got a 16t/m crane at least.
Another source of work could be a timber merchant/steel stockholder etc.
Hope this helps.
Hi Paul
Can you post a few more details of the vehicle you run, how big is the arm? Where is it positioned on the truck? How big is the deck.
If your considering the portakabin / container hire market then as Robert pointed out your going to want something around the 16/ton/meter mark. You can manage with something like an atlas 4008 or Hiab 140 but I don’t see many of them about on the block job (normally Hiab 90 or atlas 3006) Also if you have been kitted up to do the blocks then your deck size wont be enormous. Your going to need at least a 22’ deck to do that type of work. If your arm is rear mounted then you can’t make up for a short bed with any overhang.
I’m trying to put mysen in your position. As has been said you can try the local building / timber merchants but there all in the same position in that work within the building trade is very slack at this time of year. When I had my own the brick crane trailers, they were parked up for the winter although as one had a roll on crane we could take it off and use it as a flat
As has been suggested you can drop the grab and fold the arm and run as a flat. Your going to be lucky to get a 10 ton payload on the truck (4 wheeler) Then you have the problem of will customers want there goods sheeted when there are plenty of curtainsiders around. Having said that have you thought about buying an old curtainsiders body and fixing it on top of your flat bed? You have an arm to lift it on and off as you want (I know of a decent 24’ for £500) This would give you the flexibility of doing parcels etc. on the run up to Christmas. (parcel carriers busy period) and many parcel company’s won’t see a 8 ton payload as a disadvantage
Failing that then I would be tempted to park the truck up until it picks up. I know your customer has said that will be after Xmas but I reckon it will be nearer Easter before anything to mean owt happens. You’re a bit stuck without your artic licence. I know that you may feel that it’s a backwards step but the thing is that you need to keep your overhead down and hang on to your wage/drawings. I think that by signing on with an agency you have chance of achieving this.
Come the new year then things are going to go slack all round. This might be an ideal opportunity to take your Artic licence. Just a thought. Remember that everyone is skint after Xmas so you might be able to negotiate a good deal with the C&E licence training. It doesn’t mean that you have to buy an artic but it will give you more flexibility if you do for next year and also make you more employable as a driver or have you thought about been self employed as a driver over the winter months. (remember that C&E pays that bit more than ridged)
right, the wagons a six wheeler rear lift twenty four foot flat with caged sides,front mounted 10.5mtr crane,payload of 14t it’s the ideal tool for the bock job but the crane is a bit restrictive for anything else,as you say it’s not big enough for containers/cabins although the trucks perfectly usable for flatbed work.
my problem is the firm i’ve been working for and who’ve given me virtually full time work, deal in railway matterials and paving,the paving has dropped right off but the railway side keeps going all year and is apparently at it’s busiest over christmas when a lot of non essential repairs to the lines are carried out but upto that it looks like it’ll only be, for me,only three or four load a week which dependant on where they are probably won’t cover the cost of the wagon but if i park up,cancel insurance,tax etc and take some agency work etc i risk losing the customer that will give me the bulk of my work next year at top rates!
hopefully all this wont matter as i’ve spoke to a firm yesterday that specialise in crane work but have no grab wagons and they’ve promissed me a lot of subin work through the winter and are happy for me to mix it in with my own work so fingers crossed it might work out just right.