Just a few questions that Ive always been curious about and until i joine TN,I didnt know who to ask! Being an owner driver is something Ive always been curious about but,especially in the current climate,is something I dont know if I`d have the courage to try!
Anyway,the questions…
How do you guys get your work? I know a lot of you have been doing it for years but where do “first jobs” come from?
How much for a decent,reliable motor? Every time I look at truck sale websites it always says £POA.
Do you charge per mile?
If you do get a job,how easy is it to get a backhaul?And if so,where do hear about them?
Sorry for being a pain but I`m just curious.Besides,if you answer,and are going to “The Doo”,I might even buy you a drink for answering my questions!
ive been doing a lot of research and havnt stopped doing research for about 6months now because im wanting to start aswell!!
For a motor that doesnt have the ‘POA’ go onto www.autotrader.co.uk/TRUCKS/trucks.jsp theres a section that ya can select to show trucks for sale with POA or SHOW PRICE’S, theres loads to choose from!
for your backloads question…theres a few dedicated web-sites available like… www.loadup.co.uk
also check the back of magazines like truck&driver, trucking and CM.
You need to check for your insurance and get covered what you need to be covered on.
You need an operators licence and a CPC or u can pay someone a lot of money to hold these for you! (i would rather have my own)
what im going to try and do is do some subbie work at first, build a few contacts up and get some experiance then look at buying my own trailer!
i hope ive helped a little and missed o lot out but someone with plenty of experiance will help more.
oh yeah forget to mention…hope uve got plenty of money to start of with and balls of steel!!
dont stop doing research aswell and dont give up, im looking at doing sometime this year or beginning of next year!!
i am in the same situation as yourself i looked at maritime and few others that you can rent a trailer off and it seems to me to be a very expensive way of doing it especially if you are starting off
chappy261:
ive been doing a lot of research and havnt stopped doing research for about 6months now because im wanting to start aswell!!
For a motor that doesnt have the ‘POA’ go onto www.autotrader.co.uk/TRUCKS/trucks.jsp theres a section that ya can select to show trucks for sale with POA or SHOW PRICE’S, theres loads to choose from!
for your backloads question…theres a few dedicated web-sites available like… www.loadup.co.uk
also check the back of magazines like truck&driver, trucking and CM.
You need to check for your insurance and get covered what you need to be covered on.
You need an operators licence and a CPC or u can pay someone a lot of money to hold these for you! (i would rather have my own)
what im going to try and do is do some subbie work at first, build a few contacts up and get some experiance then look at buying my own trailer!
i hope ive helped a little and missed o lot out but someone with plenty of experiance will help more.
oh yeah forget to mention…hope uve got plenty of money to start of with and balls of steel!!
dont stop doing research aswell and dont give up, im looking at doing sometime this year or beginning of next year!!
Thanks Chappy!
Its definetly an eye opener!
I read in one of the posts that an initial investment of about £40,000 would be needed to start up!
I wonder how much i would get for my kidneys on ebay?
christ £40,000 i am gona be a few quid short it depends on how quick you can get the money coming in i have no idea how people start up on 90 day payment terms
You’re plan of starting subbying and getting your own customers as time goes on is a good one. However, I think you will find it quite considerably harder than in days gone by as there are less manufacturing companies in the Uk compared with years ago and the big boys have a LOT of the work sewn up . Its not impossible but can take a long time to do while you’re putting up with rubbish rates etc.
However, it isn’t impossible. You need to consider you’re costs very carefully. Things like six weekly checks interrupt your working schedule and you’re cash flow because you will find the motor will probably require something else while its there. Having a trustworthy maintenance contractor is worth its weight in gold too. From what I’ve heard main dealers are expensive and service quality varies WILDLY.
You need to keep some money in reserve and insurance is very important. Who takes the liability, what are you carrying, what is it worth - basically are you covered for all eventualities? This can be expensive so is worth looking into closely.
Aside from the basics of CPC etc you will need some cash in reserve. I had a very-near write off on my 5th DAY and was off the road for 3weeks. Bad times. I would say I was still paying the price for that up until about 6months ago. My accident was June 2005! I was lucky it was totally not my fault, my insurance company did well for me and I didn’t spend all my start-up dough on the wagon and left some in reserve. I lived off that for the next couple of months until my first paycheck came in. It could have been so different.
I am not trying to put you off but its all stuff you might wanna consider.
im glad to see that u never gave up after a near write off after only 5 days!! its stuff like this that people like me and others that are wanting to start up are needing to hear, reality checks!!
so maybe its good then to hear from past experiences of other O/D’s on whats happened to them selves or others so we know what to expect when something bad happens?
£40k is probably a good start off figure, if uve got less (like me), its possible to start off, just be very careful.
it would also depend if u wanted to hire or buy ur truck! if u hire ur truck, expect around £250-300p/w with a maintanance contract so it will cover all repairs except ur tyres etc.
if u buy a truck outright without finance then its yours but your responsiblty to get it fixed but then again ur saving around £300p/w!!
there is companies that offer finance on trucks u buy from them, but make sure u budget for it because its an extra expence along side ur repair fees!!
theres so much to take in, ive been writing a lot of it down so i dont forget it all
As said there are lots to look at . your bank can help by means of a buisness consultant they will help you with the finance and money handeling sort of stuff vat etc then you may need an accountant at some stage.
Good luck in what ever you do
As said there are lots to look at . your bank can help by means of a buisness consultant they will help you with the finance and money handeling sort of stuff vat etc then you may need an accountant at some stage.
Good luck in what ever you do
As said there are lots to look at . your bank can help by means of a buisness consultant they will help you with the finance and money handeling sort of stuff vat etc then you may need an accountant at some stage.
Good luck in what ever you do
A word of warning - be very careful of obtaining finance from a bank. Yes, they will give you a ‘business advisor’ who will probably know bugger all about haulage and not be worth a ■■■■ overall.
I started with a small business loan, after two years of paying it off I asked to renegotiate so I could pay it off sooner and save money long term. As they brag about their flexibility to businesses I thought they would be able to help. In fact, they upped my interest rate (which was already uncompetetive in the market) and only marginally reduced my loan term which was my goal. I told em to stuff it, took a loan in my own name and ‘loaned’ the money on to the business. I saved 14months off the term and approx. three grand!
Maybe it was just my bank but I was totally unimpressed and wouldn’t return there for finance.
its crap at the moment, a lot of firms have gone to the wall!
i know someone who works for reed boardall, and he said that 70 people applied to work there in one week and there wasnt even a vacancie!!
ive seen a lot of tipper drivers tho!
if anyones wanting to be an O/D at the moment, be prepared to work away from home for a long time!!
I would say I was still paying the price for that up until about 6months ago. My accident was June 2005! 
lot of it down so i dont forget it all 
