Hi is there much call for owner drivers of tractor units??
Yes.
But getting good rates is a different kettle of fish
Yes plenty of euro work and sub contracting about but rates are not to good but if you earn more than your weekly wage considering running costs I would go for it!
SCANIA730:
Yes plenty of euro work and sub contracting about but rates are not to good but if you earn more than your weekly wage considering running costs I would go for it!
Lol 
Was just a y not moment, am just about to take class 1 and was just flicking through eBay lol what are the rates roughly??,
(In Fagin’s voice) Yes my pretty, there’s plenty of precious shakels to be had. (Another unscrupulous groomer rubs his hands in glee…)
If you want to end up in the poor house but a unit before you’ve got any work for it.
There’s good work out there for ODs I reckon but it’s few and very far between. Most are making a profit of less than they imagined by a bloody long way
tommyboy1712:
Was just a y not moment, am just about to take class 1 and was just flicking through eBay lol what are the rates roughly??,
Ask the same question in about 5yrs time after you learn how to drive a truck 1st before operating one!!! 
Big Truck:
tommyboy1712:
Was just a y not moment, am just about to take class 1 and was just flicking through eBay lol what are the rates roughly??,Ask the same question in about 5yrs time after you learn how to drive a truck 1st before operating one!!!
Sound advice
Sound Advice indeed !! You need to know what area of the industry you want to work in , work for someone doing that sort of work for at least five years and then think about becoming an OD. Thats how I started
Cheers for the advice peeps. Like I said was just looking through eBay and thinking y not. I want to try and get on the fuel tankers as it I no that’s Gunna take time. Abnormal loads looks fun
Plenty of steady work around for good ODs Just ask the right people
Never heard of ODs on fuel tanker work though, (although never had anything to do with tankers myself)
Like others have said work for others first. When I was young it was my big dream to own trucks. Then I started driving them and realised its a lot easier to just work for other people!
tommyboy1712:
Cheers for the advice peeps. Like I said was just looking through eBay and thinking y not. I want to try and get on the fuel tankers as it I no that’s Gunna take time. Abnormal loads looks fun
Fuel tankers is probably a closed shop- unless you can get on subbying for one of the smaller independent retailers, and I doubt the rates on that work will be fantastic- Abnormal loads is an opportunity, but takes a huge investment. one hugely expensive trailer may not be suitable for the next load, so you need a variety of trailers and once you get into STGO cat trailers they are not cheap…no point in buying a triple extender if your loads are going to be 15 foot high, similarly no point in buying a low bed if your loads are going to be 30 metre long it is one area that you need to go into with good contacts and an idea of the work , and spend spend spend but only on what you need.
tommyboy1712:
Cheers for the advice peeps. Like I said was just looking through eBay and thinking y not. I want to try and get on the fuel tankers as it I no that’s Gunna take time. Abnormal loads looks fun
There’s a lot more o it than just buying a tractor unit but it can be done
What I would do is get on with Somone like stobarts or maritime as an employed driver get some Experiance under your belt then see if you still fancy it I
It can be v rewarding owning and operating your own unit but it can also be v sole destroying if its what you want to do to for it n don’t let the doom merchants put u off
I’ve been going it alone for 5 years now and I’m doing ok
Not one overly negative comment■■? Trolls must be asleep 
monarch of the highway:
I’ve been going it alone for 5 years now and I’m doing ok
Yea, I’ve been going a fair bit less long, but I’ve been on the road for 17 months now and I do ok at it. Certainly there would be nothing stopping me from packing it all up tomorrow and taking an employed job but I won’t be, so it must just about be worth my while soldiering on. 
tommyboy1712:
… Abnormal loads looks fun
…as has been said, first get your licence, then get a job, then get some experience, then get some money, then get your CPC etc, then find some work, then buy a truck!
Check out the link below to give you some idea about what type of kit you might need to invest in…
Good luck!