Can anyone give me info on the running costs of a truck.
I’ve looked into the start up side of things… ie: “O” license, cpc and so on, but I’d like to know more about costs such as tyres, fuel tec. Being an HGV mechanic to trade I plan on doing as much of my own maintenance and repairs as i practically can. I’m also looking at container work in Scotland… can anyone give me any info on this such as rates and contacts. Any response would be much appreciated
Part of the o licence application involves an amount of about £4000 per truck I think. This has to be shown by way of a bank statement or maybe even a credit card statement, This is before the licence is granted, fuel prices vary around the UK and Scotland is dearer than the South, Tyres need to be costed along with your maintenance costs so you can replace them when needed.
Someone will be here shortly to give you exact costs 
i’m affraid running costs are a crystal ball job cus you just know whats round the corner! with the fuel some of the lads on here who run artics will give you a better idea than me but i think it’s fair to say figures are always better on paper than in reality so er on the high side for the unit you’ll be running.i know tramper does boxes so he’ll be able to steer you in the right direction.
Not easy to work out your costs, specially on containers as you may get heavy boxes that use your fuel at a fair rate or light ones that push your fuel figures up. At a rough estimate, half of what you earn will go in the tank. If you dont have your own trailer, then thats another £100 a week. Road tax at 38t is about £50 per month or at 44t £100 per month, insurance will be around £6000 depending on age of truck. Then of course you’ve got your truck repayments and the maintenance costs.
It can all look rosy on paper but when it comes to real-life, it comes out different.
spoke to someone the other day who’s in the same line of work as me about rates and costs etc and he uses a simple sum when judging a particular job against running costs-
drivers wages £96
operators profit £80
then 1.5 x the fuel used on the day to cover running costs
ie.wagons going to do a job from rotherham to sevenoaks 700k round trip
fuel @ 3k per ltr = 234 ltrs@ .69p =£161.46 x 1.5 = £242.19+ £96 + £80 = £418.19p price for job @ .60p per k .
return load alters figures and is clear profit minus k’s needed to pick up and deliver goods ie pick load up at watford and deliver to sheffield = 100k on top of the 700.
100k @ 3k per ltr = £23.
rotherham to sevenoaks £420
watford to sheffield £180
total haulage £600
fuel and other running costs £265.19
drivers wages £96
total costs £361.19p
operators profit £233.16
figures based on six wheel hiab wagon working direct for client with no other haulage company involved and two full loads.
so basically he’s working on 60p per k- 96p per mile minimum with the return load making it 86p per k- £1.38 per mile
if i sub-contracted this job i’d expect to get something like £340+£140 but would probably only take it on with the back load without it,it would be a bit tight.
i would imagine that these figures wouldn’t alter much for artic.
As has already been stated it depends on your circumstances and what you are pulling. I work on £1.00 per mile cost, this is mainly because I tend to pull fully laden all the time and my back loads are mainly heavy as well. My actual running costs are probably around .82p per mile but at the £1.00 I can forecast my earnings and at the end of the month my profit does look better.
Its not difficult to work out if you know the mpg and all your running costs ie, tax ins. oil, wages, yearly projected milage etc. but do not add in your fixed costs as they are not running costs.
Just as an after thought I am still glad I went and took the plunge, I am not rich by it but I am very contented and happy.
i think it’s fair to say if you can find regular work for a wagon there is a decent living to be made even with the initial costs of setting the job up, if you can then find work for another 1 or maybe 2 wagons you can earn i nice few bob that is if you want the greif of employing people which is a different ball game altogether!
having run a busines in the building game for several years i’d have to say that haulage is by far the easier game to be in once your established with beleave it or not far less red tape.
my advice to anyone thinking about it,sort some work first even if it’s only a couple of days a week then buy the wagon to suit and be prepared to take things on that at first don’t seem ideal or maybe not the sort of work you were thinking about to keep things turning over then once you get going and people know you can provide a reliable service you can start to pick and choose.
it’s supprising just how much good work there is to be had even for someone not long started with an older wagon.
paul b:
my advice to anyone thinking about it,sort some work first even if it’s only a couple of days a week then buy the wagon to suit.
paul,
I tried the ‘ring-round’ plan to get some idea of rates being offered by some of the biggest advertisers in the trucking press. I was after info so as to be able to put a business plan together that I could present to the bank to start as an Owner Driver.
All the time I came across the same kind of response “Get back to us as soon as you’ve got a truck on the road and we’ll talk figures with you.” Now if that isn’t a ‘chicken and egg’ situation I don’t know what is!!
And so Paul, your above quote of ‘sort some work first’ is perhaps the most difficult bit of setting up.
What I will say is that I have gleaned more info from these DB’s by reading posts for few days than have been able to get by going direct to the companies. Thanks to all for that; keep it coming!!
Just my two pence worth.
When working out your fuel you will not get 3km per ltr. I have got a 4 series scanny, and run fairly light most of the time(under 30t gross), and generally run home empty, and I average 3km per ltr. When heavy (38t upwards) this drops to about 2km per ltr. This gives an average of 9 mpg when light and dropping to 6mpg when running heavy.
ps. My motor is the most economical motor on our fleet.