Owner drivers, how does it work and is it worth it?

I’ve got lots of questions about this and couldnt find any answers anywhere so here it goes:

If I buy my own truck where do I find work?

Are there any HIAB owner drivers and where do they get jobs from?

Is buying a second hander with work a good idea? (I’ve seen an offer from Maritime in combination with a second hand truck dealer)

Is it financially worth it?

How much do you charge an hr?

Do I need an operator licence to drive my own 1 lorry as a Ltd?

Thanks

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You need to check out the owner drivers forum…All you need to know is on there

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You’re unlikely to get any information about this in the new drivers forum, so I’ve moved it to the Owner/Operators forum

It’s all on here. Take the time to read it.

Think we should have some of these older threads as stickies

Try this one. Others available

viewtopic.php?f=4&t=139939

Yoni:
(I’ve seen an offer from Maritime in combination with a second hand truck dealer)

Stop right there! :stuck_out_tongue:

Harry Monk:

Yoni:
(I’ve seen an offer from Maritime in combination with a second hand truck dealer)

Stop right there! :stuck_out_tongue:

“Before you go any further do you love me and will you love me forever?
Do you need me will you never leave me?
Will you make me so happy for the rest of my life?
Will you take me away and will you make me your wife?”[emoji28]

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Oooh didn’t even see that forum, numty [emoji15] [emoji16] i’ll go and check it out tnx.
And that offer yes too good to be true

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Yoni:
Oooh didn’t even see that forum, numty [emoji15] [emoji16] i’ll go and check it out tnx.
And that offer yes too good to be true

The thing is that while you might earn a living doing Maritime work with a £20,000 tractor unit, you won’t with a £65,000 tractor unit. I’m told, and others in the past have heard the same, that because of the sheer number of trucks Maritime buy and the discount that comes with that, that they can sell an 18 month old truck for more than they paid for it brand-new.

Basically you get a CPC an O licence an operating centre and buy or rent a truck and trailer, you pay for insurance and maintenance and repairs. Skip any of these and expect a huge fine or imprisonment.

Then you find some work that generates enough income to pay for the above, you carry out the work then this is the good bit you wait from anything from 30 days to 120 days to get paid.

Now if you’ve done your homework and got your sums right you may make enough to earn a living, you may build on this buy a new truck or a nice car and then you start thinking I’m getting good at this. I think I will buy another motor or maybe 2 or 3 if I get that new contract. STOP…! Here lies danger because that guy you employed doesn’t give a [zb] about you your customer your truck he just wants paying and your going to have to pay him every week good or bad and pretty soon you realise I’m not making money I’m just paying wages and the trucks are breaking down and insurance is going up and diesel is going up and those rates you negotiated aren’t that good.

Maybe you had it better when you were employed and you got paid every week and had holidays.

Well good look, hope you’re doing the right thing…!

backload:
Basically you get a CPC an O licence an operating centre and buy or rent a truck and trailer, you pay for insurance and maintenance and repairs. Skip any of these and expect a huge fine or imprisonment.

Then you find some work that generates enough income to pay for the above, you carry out the work then this is the good bit you wait from anything from 30 days to 120 days to get paid.

Now if you’ve done your homework and got your sums right you may make enough to earn a living, you may build on this buy a new truck or a nice car and then you start thinking I’m getting good at this. I think I will buy another motor or maybe 2 or 3 if I get that new contract. STOP…! Here lies danger because that guy you employed doesn’t give a [zb] about you your customer your truck he just wants paying and your going to have to pay him every week good or bad and pretty soon you realise I’m not making money I’m just paying wages and the trucks are breaking down and insurance is going up and diesel is going up and those rates you negotiated aren’t that good.

Maybe you had it better when you were employed and you got paid every week and had holidays.

Well good look, hope you’re doing the right thing…!

Tis true. Get your sums right.

backload:
Basically you get a CPC an O licence an operating centre and buy or rent a truck and trailer, you pay for insurance and maintenance and repairs. Skip any of these and expect a huge fine or imprisonment.

Then you find some work that generates enough income to pay for the above, you carry out the work then this is the good bit you wait from anything from 30 days to 120 days to get paid.

Now if you’ve done your homework and got your sums right you may make enough to earn a living, you may build on this buy a new truck or a nice car and then you start thinking I’m getting good at this. I think I will buy another motor or maybe 2 or 3 if I get that new contract. STOP…! Here lies danger because that guy you employed doesn’t give a [zb] about you your customer your truck he just wants paying and your going to have to pay him every week good or bad and pretty soon you realise I’m not making money I’m just paying wages and the trucks are breaking down and insurance is going up and diesel is going up and those rates you negotiated aren’t that good.

Maybe you had it better when you were employed and you got paid every week and had holidays.

Well good look, hope you’re doing the right thing…!

I only want to know more about it. But reading all the comments on this and other threads it sounds like lots of stress and little gain.
I’m a Ltd company driver so no holidays or sick pay or pension for me.

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backload:
Basically you get a CPC an O licence an operating centre and buy or rent a truck and trailer, you pay for insurance and maintenance and repairs. Skip any of these and expect a huge fine or imprisonment.

Then you find some work that generates enough income to pay for the above, you carry out the work then this is the good bit you wait from anything from 30 days to 120 days to get paid.

Now if you’ve done your homework and got your sums right you may make enough to earn a living, you may build on this buy a new truck or a nice car and then you start thinking I’m getting good at this. I think I will buy another motor or maybe 2 or 3 if I get that new contract. STOP…! Here lies danger because that guy you employed doesn’t give a [zb] about you your customer your truck he just wants paying and your going to have to pay him every week good or bad and pretty soon you realise I’m not making money I’m just paying wages and the trucks are breaking down and insurance is going up and diesel is going up and those rates you negotiated aren’t that good.

Maybe you had it better when you were employed and you got paid every week and had holidays.

Well good look, hope you’re doing the right thing…!

Great points!

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did it the other way round, was a owner driver for 10 years now a Ltd driver on agency.
It was a hard 10yrs but I enjoyed it (well some of the while), Had plenty of sleepless nights worrying about getting paid so I could pay my bills etc
Plenty of dreams about vosa (think I best stop there)

Never did containers, I did ring the big boys at Felixstowe for work but the rates were poor. the only way I could make it pay was run the risk of ending up as someones ■■■■■ in jail (wouldn’t do me piles any good)!

Find Ltd better now, far less hassle and to be honest earn more money out of it

jacobs transport:
did it the other way round, was a owner driver for 10 years now a Ltd driver on agency.
It was a hard 10yrs but I enjoyed it (well some of the while), Had plenty of sleepless nights worrying about getting paid so I could pay my bills etc
Plenty of dreams about vosa (think I best stop there)

Never did containers, I did ring the big boys at Felixstowe for work but the rates were poor. the only way I could make it pay was run the risk of ending up as someones ■■■■■ in jail (wouldn’t do me piles any good)!

Find Ltd better now, far less hassle and to be honest earn more money out of it

Yes, I like being Ltd. I think i’ll get my Class 1 and a couple more certificates and i’m sure I wont worry about not getting enough work.
I’d love to have my own truck but I rather not if it means avoiding stress.

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Yoni:
I’ve got lots of questions about this and couldnt find any answers anywhere so here it goes:

If I buy my own truck where do I find work?

Are there any HIAB owner drivers and where do they get jobs from?

Is buying a second hander with work a good idea? (I’ve seen an offer from Maritime in combination with a second hand truck dealer)

Is it financially worth it?

How much do you charge an hr?

Do I need an operator licence to drive my own 1 lorry as a Ltd?

Thanks

Sent from my D5803 using Tapatalk

Here we go.

  1. You don’t. If you find work, you then find a Truck.

  2. Yes there are several but you need to consider if buing a HIAB equipped vehicle will affect your flexability for finding work.

  3. A second hander can be a reasonable idea but again, you need to balance the increased risk of breakdown against the lower cost. I’m going for a new leased unit so that any nasty surprises fall on the lease company rather than me.

  4. That I won’t know, because I don’t know what the truck, the job and the rates are. Sorry.

  5. You need to figure that one out yourself. Most will either work for a mileage or a day rate though. Your TM CPC course will teach you the basics of costing a vehicle.

  6. Asking that question is really proof that you have not done enough pre-research on this. A forum is a useful tool but if you want to get it right your best sources are the .gov website, the FTA and the RHA.

nsmith1180:

Yoni:
I’ve got lots of questions about this and couldnt find any answers anywhere so here it goes:

If I buy my own truck where do I find work?

Are there any HIAB owner drivers and where do they get jobs from?

Is buying a second hander with work a good idea? (I’ve seen an offer from Maritime in combination with a second hand truck dealer)

Is it financially worth it?

How much do you charge an hr?

Do I need an operator licence to drive my own 1 lorry as a Ltd?

Thanks

Sent from my D5803 using Tapatalk

Here we go.

  1. You don’t. If you find work, you then find a Truck.

  2. Yes there are several but you need to consider if buing a HIAB equipped vehicle will affect your flexability for finding work.

  3. A second hander can be a reasonable idea but again, you need to balance the increased risk of breakdown against the lower cost. I’m going for a new leased unit so that any nasty surprises fall on the lease company rather than me.

  4. That I won’t know, because I don’t know what the truck, the job and the rates are. Sorry.

  5. You need to figure that one out yourself. Most will either work for a mileage or a day rate though. Your TM CPC course will teach you the basics of costing a vehicle.

  6. Asking that question is really proof that you have not done enough pre-research on this. A forum is a useful tool but if you want to get it right your best sources are the .gov website, the FTA and the RHA.

Thank you

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Yoni:

backload:
Basically you get a CPC an O licence an operating centre and buy or rent a truck and trailer, you pay for insurance and maintenance and repairs. Skip any of these and expect a huge fine or imprisonment.

Then you find some work that generates enough income to pay for the above, you carry out the work then this is the good bit you wait from anything from 30 days to 120 days to get paid.

Now if you’ve done your homework and got your sums right you may make enough to earn a living, you may build on this buy a new truck or a nice car and then you start thinking I’m getting good at this. I think I will buy another motor or maybe 2 or 3 if I get that new contract. STOP…! Here lies danger because that guy you employed doesn’t give a [zb] about you your customer your truck he just wants paying and your going to have to pay him every week good or bad and pretty soon you realise I’m not making money I’m just paying wages and the trucks are breaking down and insurance is going up and diesel is going up and those rates you negotiated aren’t that good.

Maybe you had it better when you were employed and you got paid every week and had holidays.

Well good look, hope you’re doing the right thing…!

I only want to know more about it. But reading all the comments on this and other threads it sounds like lots of stress and little gain.
I’m a Ltd company driver so no holidays or sick pay or pension for me.

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As a Ltd surely a pension plan is a tax efficient way of taking your directors remuneration?

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backload:
Basically you get a CPC an O licence an operating centre and buy or rent a truck and trailer, you pay for insurance and maintenance and repairs. Skip any of these and expect a huge fine or imprisonment.

Then you find some work that generates enough income to pay for the above, you carry out the work then this is the good bit you wait from anything from 30 days to 120 days to get paid.

Now if you’ve done your homework and got your sums right you may make enough to earn a living, you may build on this buy a new truck or a nice car and then you start thinking I’m getting good at this. I think I will buy another motor or maybe 2 or 3 if I get that new contract. STOP…! Here lies danger because that guy you employed doesn’t give a [zb] about you your customer your truck he just wants paying and your going to have to pay him every week good or bad and pretty soon you realise I’m not making money I’m just paying wages and the trucks are breaking down and insurance is going up and diesel is going up and those rates you negotiated aren’t that good.

Maybe you had it better when you were employed and you got paid every week and had holidays.

Well good look, hope you’re doing the right thing…!

Good post.
Ive been an O/D for 20 years plus , have always kept within budget and means by buying used trucks outright with no finance ect , the only new one ive ever bought is the one currently on order. Expanding , buying more vehicles and employing more drivers will only ever work if you can rely 100% on your employees and this as the above post mentions is where it can all go wrong…

AndrewG:

backload:
Basically you get a CPC an O licence an operating centre and buy or rent a truck and trailer, you pay for insurance and maintenance and repairs. Skip any of these and expect a huge fine or imprisonment.

Then you find some work that generates enough income to pay for the above, you carry out the work then this is the good bit you wait from anything from 30 days to 120 days to get paid.

Now if you’ve done your homework and got your sums right you may make enough to earn a living, you may build on this buy a new truck or a nice car and then you start thinking I’m getting good at this. I think I will buy another motor or maybe 2 or 3 if I get that new contract. STOP…! Here lies danger because that guy you employed doesn’t give a [zb] about you your customer your truck he just wants paying and your going to have to pay him every week good or bad and pretty soon you realise I’m not making money I’m just paying wages and the trucks are breaking down and insurance is going up and diesel is going up and those rates you negotiated aren’t that good.

Maybe you had it better when you were employed and you got paid every week and had holidays.

Well good look, hope you’re doing the right thing…!

Good post.
Ive been an O/D for 20 years plus , have always kept within budget and means by buying used trucks outright with no finance ect , the only new one ive ever bought is the one currently on order. Expanding , buying more vehicles and employing more drivers will only ever work if you can rely 100% on your employees and this as the above post mentions is where it can all go wrong…

You must share your secrets then .new truck ordered. Purchased all your trucks outright.your doing well then :wink: