Ithought about starting up again about March last year as i was offered some work by an ex employer of mine…all i had to sort out was my O licence and parking an of course a unit…he was offering work,fuel,tyres,maintenance and a trailer with i would of been hiring off him.
I was looking at a Renault premium (04-05 plate)because they represent good value for money…i even looked at an ERF ECX olympic,but dismissed it because of age.
The only reason i didn’t start up is because of what is going on at the minute…the offer of work is still there once the work has picked back up again,but at the minute he can cover the work with the vehicles he has…so i am just waiting to see how things go over the next 6-12 months and possibly look at it again then.
I think it would be wise to wait until things pick up again before you consider starting up…especially if you have a half decent job at the minute…there would be nothing worse then to leave your current job to have a go and it all goes ■■■■ up if things go wrong and you find yourself with no business AND no chance of a job in the present climate…you only have to look at the big established companies that have gone to the wall recently because of the economic downturn…if they are struggling then what chance does a new o/d have…and if you get into difficulties,the banks wont help you either…whats 12 months or so,far better to wait and make sure there is going to be an industry to actually run a truck in…
WHEN IT PICKS UP AGAIN■■? it aint picked up since the early 80"s/late 70"s its just gone down and down hill since,so god knows when the right time will be?
globby 480:
WHEN IT PICKS UP AGAIN■■? it aint picked up since the early 80"s/late 70"s its just gone down and down hill since,so god knows when the right time will be?
Yeah i know what you mean…just trying to put over to Lee that the grass is not as green as he may think it is being an o/d in the current climate…if he has a good job it would be unwise for him to leave it to start up only to find he is out of business within a year…
I dont think there is a good time to start up when i was doing my cpc i was told i must mad as fuel prices are sky high now its theres no work as of when the work picks up again i wonder what will happen with the price of fuel hmmm! staying where i am cards in is ok but theres no guarantee that will last as for the big boys folding by the day hopefully that makes an opening for the o/d with the low overheads
As for the fuel prices…we will have to wait and see what happens…they are slowly starting to creep back up.
There will always be the need for O/D’s…it’s just sourcing the right work for the right price…look at what they are paying and ask how many miles as an average they do per week for that amount and divide it to give you a rough figure of how much per mile you are working for,only YOU will know if it is worth doing for that figure(per mile) as you are the only one who will know what your overheads will be…as i said in my earlier thread i was putting all my eggs into one basket when i was going to start as an O/D for one of my ex employers last year…the beauty of doing this is i can to some extent fix most of my costs so i know what i need to make to cover my costs.
Good Luck for the future Lee
I hope things work out for you m8…
PRICE of fuel ■■ lol go dowm memory lane when derv was say 33p plt?? there was owners back then who gave up saying derv was to much. derv will always be liquid gold,even when it was at 60p plt, owners gave up, now its around 83 pplt yep it went up to £1.30pplt,
what i am trying to say if you started to day with derv prices as they are say in 5 yrs time when it may be around £1,60pp pplt, you will say if derv was the price back in they days?? derv will always go up thats why hauliers can go pop with the cost but there will always be a new o/d starting up etc with mad dreams , so in reality its a load of tush fuel is this and that if you can understand what i am trying to say never is a good time to start but if you want to start say 2 yrs time fuel will be more anyway so your back to square one when fuel is cheaper i will become a o/d?? in other words if in doubt at all stay where you are and get ya monies every week and have fun at the w/ends and all
Youre spot on about the price of diesel Globby…weve always moaned about it and always will
In Feb 1992 I was paying .45 ppl …In Feb 1997 I was paying .60ppl …so it went up 15 ppl in 5 years (3 ppl a year on Average)
Last week it was .84 ppl…so since 1997 its gone up on average just over 2 ppl per year…dont seem so bad when you look at it like that, but im still gunna moan about the price every chance I get…its part of the job
lee mat:
what is it with volvos seen some quite tidy ones there supposed to be a strong truck but they dont seem to hold there money to good as they get on is there any bad points with them
Poxy cab on Volvo’s even th XL,they are very sore on diesel aswell.
went out yesterday morning looking at some motors had a look at an ec12 not bad high mileage but had been looked after looked at an fh12 460 cd trim t reg needs money spending on but good engine but then the sales man talked me into looking at an 02 erf ecs talked a good point to use my head the erf lot newer lower miles plain white new mot all new tyres tacho re calibration just done spotless inside its lighter and better mpg perfect start up motor but its not what i thought i wanted is it silly to buy something where your hearts not in it but your head says get it or does it turn in to a headache cos you just end up hating the dam thing
i know what you mean leemat about the truck and your heart bieng in the truck you want, but maybe thats somthing you could look at in a few years time, ive been looking at renault premium 420dci’s and daf cf85 430’s to get me started up and then ive been looking at getting them remapped for the added oomph up the hills and more importantly the mpg!! when or if i can, i will upgrade my truck to something i actually want!
are you looking at buying or leasing your trailer or going down the subbie route and pull a trailer for someone else?
looking at the same as yourself premiums and dafs are well priced premiums direct from renault dealers themselves look a good offer the 85s look good to but if you are tramping all week i think the premiums cab is better if i am getting one i would buy it leasing i havent realy looked into as sad as it may sound though i am very tempted by this erf i have seen very tidy motor just dont no anything about them may be going back on monday for a second look as for the trailer going to buy the cheapest have decent probably heep of junk i can get anything that will do the job and get me going are you having much look reguarding work up your way ive had a pretty good week ringing round one stopped me dead in my tracks asking me to price running to 5 areas and another saying they will give me a start and i think i have found a trailer not to sure if it is to small though getting mixed opions
i havnt tried anywhere for a while, but what ive heard of ppl its fairly crap ooop north!! we got letters at work asking what we would like to do, drop hours with a lump sum payment, early vol redundancy or just keep the hours that weve got! ive put interest into the early vol redundancy package and would get a sizeable sum and enough to get me started as an O/D!!
i think either the premium or the cf85 is gona be a good choice but the bunk on the daf is far more comfy
theres nothing wrong with an erf espcially to get started up on, defo roomy enough and the flat dash to put ur telly on
lee mat:
looking at the same as yourself premiums and dafs are well priced premiums direct from renault dealers themselves look a good offer the 85s look good to but if you are tramping all week i think the premiums cab is better if i am getting one i would buy it leasing i havent realy looked into as sad as it may sound though i am very tempted by this erf i have seen very tidy motor just dont no anything about them may be going back on monday for a second look as for the trailer going to buy the cheapest have decent probably heep of junk i can get anything that will do the job and get me going are you having much look reguarding work up your way ive had a pretty good week ringing round one stopped me dead in my tracks asking me to price running to 5 areas and another saying they will give me a start and i think i have found a trailer not to sure if it is to small though getting mixed opions
Leemat,if the Erf you are looking at is the same version as the Man cab,they are a good truck,the only things that i found on the one i used to drive is the trim finish is a bit flimsy (especially on higher mileage ones),the one i had,the door panels on the inside used to fall off when closing the door ,but they a good truck for the money with a well proven drivetrain under the cab…the only other thing i would say is that if the truck is fitted with the ‘COMFORTSHIFT’ gearbox…the one with the button to press to change gear instead of depressing the clutch between changes,watch for syncro wear on the gears(especially going down the ‘box’) as using the button for the gearchange tends to rev the engine between changes with will cause the problem…all of our ERF’s had to go back to the dealers for this repair under warranty …but one of these will certainly be good enough for the work you are thinking of doing,they are light and good on fuel…as with the above threads,you can look at something a bit more ‘special’ later on once you are a bit more established…hope this is some help to you…
lee mat:
the erf is the same cab as the man f2000 i think sainsburys used them and tescos petrol tankers
Be carefull with the ERF ECX as I asked about them on this forum back in 2004 when I was starting up and alot of guys said that they give quite a bit of electrical problems.
Hence the reason they are cheap!!
noticed it was still up for grabs cant believe it aint gone yet try more photos when ive been browsing ive took more notice of the ones with loads of photos like the interior with yours been a superspace aswell may be worth a shot especially if its as clean on the inside as it is on the outside other than that how are you going on still earning i hope
Just the one comment dont get an erf no matter what you do, mine has never been without some problem or other in the last 2 yrs, this is totally true Believe it or not i am an erf fan, i have an a series and a c series as toys and an ec as a crane truck which we use daily, the ec is totall junk and i cant wait to get rid of it, if it didnt have a big crane attached to it she would be long gone,After the e series the quality just left the product unfortunatly Good luck!
…In Feb 1997 I was paying .60ppl 
