Get at least a couple of years driving/industry experience under your belt and then consider it again.
The first big hurdle will be gaining the Operator Licence. For this you will need to show that you are a fit and proper person, have financial standing (access to around £7k - cant recall the exact figure) maintenance facilities or a signed contract for inspections/repairs, operating centre (this could be a corner of someone else’s yard but you will need a signed agreement). There’s more but that’s a very rough outline.
It takes around 9 weeks for the licence to be granted if all goes to plan.
But my honest advice is to forget it for now, get some experience and then revisit it. Some owner drivers make a decent living. But, truthfully, you’ll earn almost as much driving for someone else and they have all the worry. I also understand that it’s an itch that needs scratching. Been there, done it, made no money, got out again!
I was thinking of just doing site clearance for local builders and general public, rather than just hauling aggregates around.
Was also thinking of seperating the concrete from the the soil that would come from foundations at the yard, then crushing the concrete and selling on to avoid what seems to be huge tipping fees at landfill and waste recycling centres and creating an extra revenue stream.
Does this sound like something that would work? Or just pie in the sky?
I understand the costs are fairly high to set all of this up, but looking long term, it may profitable
In my opinion there would likely be a lot less competition for a flatbed with a lorry mounted crane. A big muckaway operator, of which there’ll be at least one in every region, has all the advantages in disposal and probably their own workshop so they can add a grab wagon to the fleet for very little extra overheard to them compared to a small operator.
With the flat bed and crane combo big operators have much the same costs as you and employed drivers often have a can’t do attitude to tricky jobs.
Own Account Driver:
In my opinion there would likely be a lot less competition for a flatbed with a lorry mounted crane.
With the flat bed and crane combo big operators have much the same costs as you and employed drivers often have a can’t do attitude to tricky jobs.
+1 the I cant tell you the number of times I’ve pulled up on jobs and driven away £10 better off having moved somebody else’s goods dropped by a an imbecile whose first words out of their mouth are, “elf 'n safety”. Which is Plobber for, “I’m going to drop it where its easy, and I don’t give a ■■■■ if its useful…”
I hadn’t really thought of that to be honest. What kind of work would you target with that kind of set up?
The reason for my post comes from always having an interest in driving trucks and also, currently having an extension done. We had a grabber come and take away 2 loads of 18T of our foundations at 250 quid per trip, and it got me thinking, as there doesn’t seem to be many companies doing this in my area.
Obviously this is all very new to me, so trying to piece together where I’d dispose of the waste and how much this would cost, as there is surprisingly limited information on the olde internet
At Least you got your moneys worth out of them loads 18t payload would probably see an 8 wheeler Grab over weight usually tare at around 16t ish!
If you also wanted to crush/screen waste you’d probably need a good sized yard to store materials and plant etc, think you’d need a waste management licence too?? lots of red tape to go with the O licence for the Lorries as well!
As said lot of waste companies already on the ball in that game. Maybe worth looking for a niche that not many companies do or offer?
Best advice is get your licence first go work for someone that does that work for a while and go from their.
Don’t even waste your time thinking about it till you do that
There’s lots of cliches about starting up in transport, my favourite is ‘How do you make a million running lorries? Start with two million’ but and it’s a big but, all the naysayers are driving a lorry for someone else, they’re making a living and the owner is making a go of it, so it can’t be that bad can it!
First things first, learn how to manage money and how the business side of things works, then start small and work your way up, yes the cheques you get will be smaller, but so will the cheques you write.
Remember that you learn more by listening than talking, so get on a job doing whatever you hope to do as a business owner and learn the basics.
If you start tipping and sorting loads and crushing you will need a waste transfer licence and a crusher your looking at serious wedge there.
Don’t know where you are but there’s so many at it round our way the price of recycled material is rock bottom.
There’s a good living to be made with a grab but you need good contacts for work and in transfer stations and tips.
Get a job driving one and learn a bit about that first before shelling out.
To buy a half decent 8 wheel grab that ain’t a total money pit you are looking over 30k
Yeah, I get that impression from reading through various threads on here
I currently run myself as a self employed contractor in the banking sector, but it’s horrendously boring, but I have sound financial knowledge and experience running a business
My research so far would indicate around 50k start up but around 35 of that on the truck.
Seems like a DAF is the best best for this type of work. Anyone have any opinions on any better suggestions?
As others have said you’d need to get experience in the sector you want to work first. I know of owner drivers with tipper/grab lorries that have done this and I would say they knew the job inside and out and probably all the tricks in-between
On the flipside of that I also know of owner drivers you’ve packed up and gone to work for larger companies too so works both ways.
I think working for yourself you have to have the drive, determination and ability to do it. Heard somewhere that the first few years you’ll maybe only break even at best so you’ve got to be patient and you’ll probably never get rich doing it but you can make a living obviously. I remember when I did my 360 excavator ticket the trainer (who’d been on them most of his working life) said “you’ll not get rich doing this” and I think the same applies to lorry driving or owning you can earn decent money but you’ll not be Rockafella unless your very lucky!
