Rob K:
I see. So you packed up “making a decent living” at being an OD because you “simply didn’t fancy working stinking of animal feed”. Okay. I believe you.
That’s not quite how it happened, I was working with a Daf XF & a curtainsider trailer that I owned outright and was just about making a living, my option was to sell the trailer for £4 - 5k, put 10 grand of savings / loan to it to buy a decent bulker? No contest, with a full time job on offer back ‘on the tools’ so I sold everything, banked all the moneys owed over the next three months, paid the VAT & all outstanding bills.
I watch our trucks make money week in week out on bulker work as I said in a previous post, being based in Liverpool does help with the bulk terminals in the docks but I think bulkers are one of a few jobs where there’s still a chance of profit. Could that be because it’s one of the Jobs that Stobart has left alone??
Ross.
Right, so now you’re saying there’s money to be made on bulkers but yet you weren’t prepared to put up the £10k investment to reap the rewards. Yeah that makes loads of sense. Just face it Ross, you’re digging yourself a deep hole by trying to come up with excuses for the fact that there is no money in OD anymore and that is the real reason why you packed up and took a full time job. Anyone with an ounce of intelligence can see that this is what your posts are saying once the layer of fluff is removed.
Yeah course I know how much 1000 litres of diesel is, I fuel my truck up every week don’t I?! The 20-30k I was talking about was just for the unit and trailer, not for everything that I would need for breakdowns, fuel, insurance etc!
repton just a thought how long do you estimate it will take to replace your initial 40k investment back into the bank?
or will the truck and trailer be warn out and need replacing first on which the cycle will start all over
as an o/d myself i started with a £1000 4 wheeler ( which i still have ) then changed for a 6 then onto an fm tractor unit flat cab fleet spec! then a fh which i have had just under 6 years to date
If i had to start over now i dont think there would be the proffit to make the hasstle worthwile ( on building products anyway) as the rates have not kept up wit the rises in fuel etc
with this in mind the truck now works mainly between may and october, having kept one trailer the truck is taxed all year round for the odd well paid job wich turns up now and again and i do other fitting/welding/ sandblasting jobs in the slower months
I often wonder if some folk can see how much can be spent on fuel/running costs before owt comes in the way of payment!! as we all know abut the 30/60/90/120 day payment terms its ok to know what fuel costs but its a different story when you are stumping up and the bank balance is in meltdown
cheers moose
Rob K:
Right, so now you’re saying there’s money to be made on bulkers but yet you weren’t prepared to put up the £10k investment to reap the rewards. Yeah that makes loads of sense. Just face it Ross, you’re digging yourself a deep hole by trying to come up with excuses for the fact that there is no money in OD anymore and that is the real reason why you packed up and took a full time job. Anyone with an ounce of intelligence can see that this is what your posts are saying once the layer of fluff is removed.
Rob K:
Right, so now you’re saying there’s money to be made on bulkers but yet you weren’t prepared to put up the £10k investment to reap the rewards. Yeah that makes loads of sense. Just face it Ross, you’re digging yourself a deep hole by trying to come up with excuses for the fact that there is no money in OD anymore and that is the real reason why you packed up and took a full time job. Anyone with an ounce of intelligence can see that this is what your posts are saying once the layer of fluff is removed.
I didn’t say I didn’t continue as an O/D because of a £10k investment, I didn’t see myself coming home each night, or sleeping in the cab parked up in some feed mill stinking of animal feed, in a cab stinking of animal feed wearing clothes etc etc…
Ultimately, it matters not whether you believe me about why I jacked in, the fact is I was getting offered less and less decent paying Euro’ work and faced with a future of either making less and less profit, or spend £10k of hard earned to come home stinking of dusty PK, soya, citrus, wheatfeed, etc etc. Oh, and continue in a job where FPN’s were becoming a real threat to my pocket, I made what I still see as the right decision.
Did I say that I have kept my ‘O’ licence?? Just in case
I make proper money when a customer comes to me under the following circumstances . .
a , they have forgotten to book a truck
b . they have been let down
c . they have rung all the cheapest hauliers and none available
d . fri night , sat , sunday or bank holiday last minute
all of the above result in the same thing …think of a figure , double it then add more for good measure oh and make sure they pay by credit card as they will agree to anything until you’ve done a job and after the event find every excuse not to pay “that astronomical price” …
thankfully most of my work arrises during the above circumstances
Rob K:
Right, so now you’re saying there’s money to be made on bulkers but yet you weren’t prepared to put up the £10k investment to reap the rewards. Yeah that makes loads of sense. Just face it Ross, you’re digging yourself a deep hole by trying to come up with excuses for the fact that there is no money in OD anymore and that is the real reason why you packed up and took a full time job. Anyone with an ounce of intelligence can see that this is what your posts are saying once the layer of fluff is removed.
I didn’t say I didn’t continue as an O/D because of a £10k investment, I didn’t see myself coming home each night, or sleeping in the cab parked up in some feed mill stinking of animal feed, in a cab stinking of animal feed wearing clothes etc etc…
Ultimately, it matters not whether you believe me about why I jacked in, the fact is I was getting offered less and less decent paying Euro’ work and faced with a future of either making less and less profit, or spend £10k of hard earned to come home stinking of dusty PK, soya, citrus, wheatfeed, etc etc. Oh, and continue in a job where FPN’s were becoming a real threat to my pocket, I made what I still see as the right decision.
Did I say that I have kept my ‘O’ licence?? Just in case
Ross.
Respect where respect is due then. The way you were talking seemed to be heading in the usual direction that these threads normally go.
Moose:
repton just a thought how long do you estimate it will take to replace your initial 40k investment back into the bank?
It’ll take a good few years to get the money out as I run the business but I could pack in tomorrow and get all the money back I would think. The unit and trailer are worth getting on for half that and by the time all the outstanding invoices are paid and the cash I have in the bank are factored in that would cover the other half.
I ran about europe for ten years without an o licence,got to Portugal and half way back with cherry from my farm,or use heating oil or fridge juice on as 24 pumps in France,did my own servicing on route,and a full service in the uk,and had my trailers shipped out to me in the French ports.
One chap loaned me his permit,another chap made one up on his computer,he died in Spain,went off the mountains near to Baillen,he was beheaded in his Ford Transcon.
My truck was on a permanent export certifcate from the DVLA,so when stopped,it was on its way out of the country.Back then the red was about 12 pence per litre,got nicked for it a few times,700 pound a time,but not an arestable offence,pay up,move on,from the French Douanes.
I never ran bent,only the once to Lisbon,did not want to attract future attention.
Years ago,depending on the reg of the truck,you could not go home at the weekends,i had a way around that,so was allways on the move when other nations had to stop.
toby1234abc:
I ran about europe for ten years without an o licence,got to Portugal and half way back with cherry from my farm,or use heating oil or fridge juice on as 24 pumps in France,did my own servicing on route,and a full service in the uk,and had my trailers shipped out to me in the French ports.
One chap loaned me his permit,another chap made one up on his computer,he died in Spain,went off the mountains near to Baillen,he was beheaded in his Ford Transcon.
My truck was on a permanent export certifcate from the DVLA,so when stopped,it was on its way out of the country.Back then the red was about 12 pence per litre,got nicked for it a few times,700 pound a time,but not an arestable offence,pay up,move on,from the French Douanes.
I never ran bent,only the once to Lisbon,did not want to attract future attention.
Years ago,depending on the reg of the truck,you could not go home at the weekends,i had a way around that,so was allways on the move when other nations had to stop.
So, running round Europe for ten years without a permit is not running bent?
Portugal and halfway back on cherry is not running bent?
Borrowing a permit is not running bent?
No wonder the honest one’s amongst us struggled to compete!
Wheel Nut:
You are not into racing motorcycles are you Rob?
Wrong thread Malc?
No I meant Ross has more time to go bike racing and polish his F16
Absolutely spot on Malc, up to 06 I managed between 5 & 8 race weekends a season (April to Oct) then in 2007 I did 14, in 08, I did 12 including the MotoGP at Donington (I was hoping to meet you at that one) then 09 I managed 12 outings including one BSB round. (also Donington)
So jacking in haulage has made a BIG difference to my life in the most positive way possible, it got me out of a rat race!!
Rob K:
Respect where respect is due then. The way you were talking seemed to be heading in the usual direction that these threads normally go.
This topic has been done to death many many times. There are countless threads in this forum if you do some reading. My opinion remains the same as it’s always been : there’s no money in the job unless you can get into a specialist area and pull direct. All your bog standard stuff such as containers, curtainsiders, bulkers, boxes, fridges, traction work etc all have no money in it. And by “money” I mean that you’ll be making the same income after deductions/expenses as a PAYE driver. Why go to all the hassle for no gain other than the pretence of “being your own boss” ?
Rob K:
All your bog standard stuff such as containers, curtainsiders, bulkers, boxes, fridges, traction work etc all have no money in it. And by “money” I mean that you’ll be making the same income after deductions/expenses as a PAYE driver. Why go to all the hassle for no gain other than the pretence of “being your own boss” ?
I’ll go one step further, ‘bog standard stuff’ won’t even make you as much as an employed driver in most cases once the company your subbing for has taken their 10% (yea right!! as much as the job will stand!!!) leaving (at best) NEXT to nothing, at worst, nowt!! These companies count on the fact thatlots of drivers think ‘if I work hard enough I must make money’ wake up call people.
The only people wroking (particularly) in container haulage are the contractors who are teking on jobs that simply CAN NOT be done in profit at the rates offered, taking 10%, then giving it to the poor subbie. These companies dont gove a toss for anyone but themselves, they often run trucks themselves and cream off all the decent paying jobs, only doing the poor paying ones as a ‘fill in’ and to convince the owner drivers it’s all fair.
Rob K:
All your bog standard stuff such as containers, curtainsiders, bulkers, boxes, fridges, traction work etc all have no money in it. And by “money” I mean that you’ll be making the same income after deductions/expenses as a PAYE driver. Why go to all the hassle for no gain other than the pretence of “being your own boss” ?
I’ll go one step further, ‘bog standard stuff’ won’t even make you as much as an employed driver in most cases once the company your subbing for has taken their 10% (yea right!! as much as the job will stand!!!) leaving (at best) NEXT to nothing, at worst, nowt!! These companies count on the fact thatlots of drivers think ‘if I work hard enough I must make money’ wake up call people.
The only people wroking (particularly) in container haulage are the contractors who are teking on jobs that simply CAN NOT be done in profit at the rates offered, taking 10%, then giving it to the poor subbie. These companies dont gove a toss for anyone but themselves, they often run trucks themselves and cream off all the decent paying jobs, only doing the poor paying ones as a ‘fill in’ and to convince the owner drivers it’s all fair.
Ross.
And for all the naysayers, what Ross has just written is exactly what Rob has been saying since 2004, do some research, talk to an accountant, bank manager, honest haulage man before you sign away your wifes next new pair of shoes on a badly thought out dream. Some have made it, thousands havent, me included but we have all learned some valuable lessons on the way.
I can think of about three wannabe owner drivers who argued with Rob, those three are very silent now as prophecy overcame profit.
Rob and I are from Yorkshire, we tell you how it is, not what you want to hear
Many of the 10% men are very fair, they take 10% off the rate and add 10% to the cost of trailers, fuel and tyres if you are pulling their equipment
Rob K:
All your bog standard stuff such as containers, curtainsiders, bulkers, boxes, fridges, traction work etc all have no money in it. And by “money” I mean that you’ll be making the same income after deductions/expenses as a PAYE driver. Why go to all the hassle for no gain other than the pretence of “being your own boss” ?
I’ll go one step further, ‘bog standard stuff’ won’t even make you as much as an employed driver in most cases once the company your subbing for has taken their 10% (yea right!! as much as the job will stand!!!) leaving (at best) NEXT to nothing, at worst, nowt!! These companies count on the fact thatlots of drivers think ‘if I work hard enough I must make money’ wake up call people.
The only people wroking (particularly) in container haulage are the contractors who are teking on jobs that simply CAN NOT be done in profit at the rates offered, taking 10%, then giving it to the poor subbie. These companies dont gove a toss for anyone but themselves, they often run trucks themselves and cream off all the decent paying jobs, only doing the poor paying ones as a ‘fill in’ and to convince the owner drivers it’s all fair.
I was untill late this afternoon when I was taking the battery cover of a wagon and stood up under the ladder on the front of a bulker and smacked me head, I knew I’d done some damage as me hand (pressing the area bumped) was getting warm. By the time I got a bandage from the first aid kit my collar was wet with my best ‘A-B negative’ but within min’s i’d got the bleeding stopped, just in time in fact for me to sign up for a few wagons to go subbing for a container firm who are desperate for subbies and recon I’ll make a fortune!! They wouldn’t say it if it wasn’t true??
Rob K:
the is fact that there is no money in OD anymore
So why are there so many of them out there
Surely not everyone’s working for nothing
Some have been at it for many years, some have grown their business from a seed their parents planted, some have fallen into a niche market, some are lying, some are successful. But for a new start, with no experience or contacts, many have more chance of plaiting fog successfully.
Most owner drivers who are making money have direct work, own their equipment and premises and probably trailer. Any one working for the likes of Maritime or DHL are simply working for a poor wage with all the hassle including the 10 or more percent.
Do a business plan, do a good month against a probable poor month. Do you understand the tax, NI and VAT requirements as paying an accountant.
At the moment your boss pays the parking, for the soap and steam cleaner, the rent on the yard. Unless you can get this for free, that is another hand dipping into your little pot of money.
I had a go, it didn’t work for me, but I did learn some stuff from the long journey!
