Just looking for some advice really, I’m thinking about starting up as an owner driver, and wondered what other owner driver experiences were? Was it with it? Costs involved etc ?
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OTTOMH in addition to the startup costs you have to prove £7k available funds to meet running costs. You’re going to need an operators centre, what are you planning to do for work?
Before even considering it do a proper business plan, do the research on the startup costs, what rates are, what the competition is.
That’s awesome thank you. I know a guy who said he can get me work paying 475 a day, which I know it’s brilliant , but it’s something with a tiny profit (from what I’ve calculated with outgoings) same guy also promises weekend parking for £30, I just wondered wether it was worth it all or am I better off just sticking with the company I’m with
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It might be worth asearch through the many previous threads on the subject, especially on the Owner Driver and Fleet Operators forum.
You’ll also need a permanent operating centre, not just weekend parking and unless you have an Operators CPC, you’ll need to pay someone to act as your CPC holder.
£475 per day for what?
Van, 7.5 tonner or artic.
£175 per day for you
£200 per day for fuel (massively variable obviously)
Leaves you with £100 for the vehicle.
I suspect you may want to look for more than £475
Don’t be a busy fool, but good luck whatever.
Did it for 10 years, enjoyed it but its a tough life. Now doing agency work and earning more money without the hassle. Glad I did it but I wouldn’t do it again. You wouldn’t believe the stress involved and that was running a couple of wagons.
Best of luck if you give it a go.
Gremlinc82:
£475 per day for what?
Van, 7.5 tonner or artic.
£175 per day for you
£200 per day for fuel (massively variable obviously)
Leaves you with £100 for the vehicle.
I suspect you may want to look for more than £475
Don’t be a busy fool, but good luck whatever.
Living the dream 175 per day that’s said like it’s what you could get just driving for someone, in your dreams
elsa Lad:
Did it for 10 years, enjoyed it but its a tough life. Now doing agency work and earning more money without the hassle. Glad I did it but I wouldn’t do it again. You wouldn’t believe the stress involved and that was running a couple of wagons.Best of luck if you give it a go.
I’d pretty much echo that myself. I wouldn’t say I earn more doing agency work, in fact there was probably a bit more in running my own truck, but the trade-off was having to put a lot more time into it and, as you say the stress. Every weekend when I got home there would be something to deal with, VOSA, Taxman, VATman, accounting, invoicing etc etc etc. Now I just sling the keys back over the counter on a Friday afternoon and forget all about it until Monday morning.
However, like you I don’t regret having done it, it served a purpose at the time and when it wasn’t going ■■■■-up I did enjoy it.
£475 a day is nowhere near enough though unless it’s a job which involves mostly sitting around all week using £30’s worth of fuel a day using an £8,000 tractor unit.
How much experience you got mate?..I’m assuming you’re fairly new, if so I’d get some flying hours in first, before you ever thought about going on your own.
My advice would be don’t even bother, keep getting your wage and leave the worries to somebody else.
Road haulage is a dog eat dog cut throat game,.and you have not got a chance in hell of competing with the likes of Stobarts, Wincantons and the like who cut the rates to ribbons to get work, and even if you subbie for that type of firm, it’s them who have the better end of the deal by far.
You’d be better putting your money into something less stressful and more lucrative.
I was an owner driver in the 80s, working up to about 6 or 7 trucks, and doing great …until the firm I worked for (direct btw) went bust and took me with him, lost the business the house the lot. Hit me hard at the time, but I don’t give a toss now, it was life experience and it made me a better person…I think. 
So maybe I’m not the right guy to advise you, but I’ll say this, I was as mad keen as you appear to be to do it in those days, BUT if I was the same age today?..Not a chance in hell would I even think about it, especially the way the job is today compared to then.
Good luck in whatever you decide mate, but bear in mind, in this game there are a lot more snakes than what there are ladders. 
It’s dog eat dog one slip one mistake one break down one delay one ■■■■ up because you’re a one man operating it can set you back weeks playing catch up
Bigtruck3:
Gremlinc82:
£475 per day for what?
Van, 7.5 tonner or artic.
£175 per day for you
£200 per day for fuel (massively variable obviously)
Leaves you with £100 for the vehicle.
I suspect you may want to look for more than £475
Don’t be a busy fool, but good luck whatever.Living the dream 175 per day that’s said like it’s what you could get just driving for someone, in your dreams
14 hours @ £12.50 = £175
Not dreams just simple maths.
Ok call it £150, that leaves £125 for the vehicle.
Not enough, not even in a dream.
Bigtruck3:
It’s dog eat dog one slip one mistake one break down one delay one [zb] up because you’re a one man operating it can set you back weeks playing catch up
Only one super single blow and call out, and replacement (usually the most expensive tyre they bring out, as you are a captive audience) .and your week’s Friar Tucked…
Christ even reading all this stuff brings back some horrible memories.
Sorry for the late reply, been a tad busy at home [emoji1787] but thank you all so much for your feed back. I been doin the job about 8 years now, and don’t get me wrong I’ve got a fairly decent job with fairly decent pay. But for me , ever since a kid, the dream was to own and run my own truck. But looking at some of the feedback I may be changing my mind [emoji23] I’m really glad I came on here first before jumping the gun and diving head first. Yeah what I was offered was £475 a day on artic Scotland runs. Like what’s been said, it may be better on the road, but do I really need the added stress of financial worries , on top of a young family to provide for? Thanks again everyone, you’ve all been a massive help [emoji1305]
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Just to add it’s not just what you earn it’s what you save too as in I park my lorry behind my house ,I don’t ever take it anywhere to have anything done I do everything my self from tyres n paint to body building diffs n engines electrics ect ,I have my own cpc ,I refuse contracts and price per mile jobs ,many times I’ve declined being full a time subbie .
Yeah see that’s another expense I’d have - I have little mechanical knowledge myself so repairs/ servicing etc would have to be paid for, which I’m assuming is pretty costly when running an artic
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steveyboi:
Yeah see that’s another expense I’d have - I have little mechanical knowledge myself so repairs/ servicing etc would have to be paid for, which I’m assuming is pretty costly when running an articSent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
Especially on modern trucks, all the electronic crap on them, and diagnostic computers needed, gone are the days when you could get your mate with a bit of mechanical knowledge to service your truck, it’s all high tech ■■■■■■■■ these days.
I was single when I started, if as you say you have a wife and young family relying on you, it’s a whole different ball game mate.
I’d stick to your job if I was you.
steveyboi:
Yeah see that’s another expense I’d have - I have little mechanical knowledge myself so repairs/ servicing etc would have to be paid for, which I’m assuming is pretty costly when running an artic
A fairly good rule of thumb I found when estimating how much a repair job on my truck was likely to cost was to think how much it would cost on my car and then multiply it by five.
If you have some money, for example from an inheritance, and you have an itch to scratch then by all means go for it but do not EVER put your family’s home up as security against a truck.
As a final thought, consider buying an end of life tractor unit for a couple of thousand quid and slowly restore it as it ages and becomes a classic, then do the show circuit with it.
This was a recent thread on the owners board
trucknetuk.com/phpBB/viewto … 4&t=163028
Conor:
Before even considering it do a proper business plan, do the research on the startup costs, what rates are, what the competition is.
Never did any of that. Actually wouldn’t know how to do a business plan.
steveyboi:
That’s awesome thank you. I know a guy who said he can get me work paying 475 a day, which I know it’s brilliant , but it’s something with a tiny profit (from what I’ve calculated with outgoings) same guy also promises weekend parking for £30, I just wondered wether it was worth it all or am I better off just sticking with the company I’m withSent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
Full of negativity again…“but” if you only want to operate a single unit, want to take home 175(as others comment), your name on the truck from day 1, just living the dreams… I agree to others don’t bother.
If you want(dream) to start from ground and slowly build up, at least try for it without huge debts or put your home at risk. You don’t have to pay yourself 175++, pay 12500 tax free , then draw from dividends, so you wont pay high income and employer tax - anyway you probably know all these…The goal should be how can I add more units other than how to get Kelsa bar…
475 would be a start and have to accept it. Have to work every other weekend, away from home, drive more miles, get a weekend driver-not agency(better someone you know already and can trust that he wont bang your lorry or drive like never release the gas pedal)…basically get out of comfort zone to achieve goals/dreams…
Before others start shooting their keyboard bullets as I give positive thoughts, have a think of; Losing 10 15k or whole life thinking “what if…”
Just do this and save yourself a world of pain.
