just a continuation from another topic i ve put on here before i need further advice on tippers would i get away with running at 41t or should i be looking at 44t not looking at moving scrap metal looking at more grain crops etc going to be manchester based am i right in saying more work east i e yorkshire can you recomend a trailer supplier and make rung a few numbers and for a start off trailer is 12k about right dont knock me for asking as i will be doing and am experienced in similar type of work may be a silly question but i there a max height limit on tipper trailers ie bucket loading or under hoppers pushing my luck but whats a rough cost for having on board weigh equipment fitted any advice would be highly appreciated
I’ve done a fair bit of tipper work as a driver and some research into starting myself as an OD and from what I can tell you’re wasting your time at 41t. Margins are pretty tight at 44t and so knocking 10% off your payload (roughly 30t down to 27t) which translates directly into a 10% cut in turnover is going to be enough to wipe out any profit you would make. You would probably be better off at 40t with a 4x2 unit as you would get the same payload but with one less axle to drag around and fit tyres to. Either way I doubt you would make much money, the only way to do it as far as I can tell is to go 44t and get your tare as light as possible to ensure you can carry the right side of 30t legally.
If you do go the tipper route then the key things other than reliability (which is obviously important in any line of work) are fuel economy and low weight. Running at 44t all the time if you can top 7mpg you’re doing alright and every 0.1mpg makes a big difference to your costs. Every few kg off your tare will also make a difference (an extra half ton might mean an extra 40-50quid a week on your turnover which soon adds up over the year). Alloy wheels on all six axles will give you an extra 300kg which is certainly worthwhile if you can get the wheels at a good price off eBay (I’ve seen full sets of trailer wheels with tyres go for little over 500quid which would pay for itself in under a year even if the tyres turned out to be scrap and you can always move the wheels onto any new trailer you bought).
Getting the right trailer is also key. I do a fair bit of driving work for a company that has some 72 cubic yard fruehauf trailers and they’re way too big for the job. We never fill them anywhere near the top and so we are just carting too much steel and aluminium around which results in a crap payload. Conversely their spare trailer is a 57 cube trailer and with that you get an extra 600kg of payload but you sometimes struggle to get your weight on, especially when you’re loading something like soya meal off the docks. I’ve come to the conclusion that the ideal is something around 61-64 cubic yards to get the right balance between payload and volume when you’re on grain work. Disc brakes usually come in lighter than drums which is also worth bearing in mind, and although some people don’t like them due to fears over maintenance costs personally I’ve never really had a problem with them.
Wow, that’s a lot of rambling, I hope some of it is of some use.
Paul
dont expect to be busy as everyone is now chasing what work thats left.
quarry work is dead so you ll have a lot of empty running and expect to wait for hours to tip in grain terminals i know ive painted a black picture but thats the way it is at mo
sammy dog:
dont expect to be busy as everyone is now chasing what work thats left.
quarry work is dead so you ll have a lot of empty running and expect to wait for hours to tip in grain terminals i know ive painted a black picture but thats the way it is at mo
here here why does every one seek tipper work when other jobs dry up I know why its dam easy to rate cut but they will be in for a shock ware and tare doubles for starters fuel 7 mpg etc etc
thanks for the info good of you to go into detail so far so good its what i have been thinking so must be getting something right it must be pretty annoying for you o/ds running all year on a contract and then as it gets quiet everyone jumps ship onto whatever it maybe that you are doing thats doing well but i suppose business is business and moving around is better than going under tough game
repton:
Alloy wheels on all six axles will give you an extra 300kg which is certainly worthwhile.Paul
its 500 kg’s on 6 axle’s,300 on unit 200 on trailer.
164480:
repton:
Alloy wheels on all six axles will give you an extra 300kg which is certainly worthwhile.Paul
its 500 kg’s on 6 axle’s,300 on unit 200 on trailer.
according to the Alcoa website, it is 250 to 300kg over the whole truck and trailer
shuttlespanker:
164480:
repton:
Alloy wheels on all six axles will give you an extra 300kg which is certainly worthwhile.Paul
its 500 kg’s on 6 axle’s,300 on unit 200 on trailer.
according to the Alcoa website, it is 250 to 300kg over the whole truck and trailer
i worked at a place a while ago & they changed all 6 axles & saved 500 kg’s also did a 8 wheeler & saved 300 kg’s.
repton:
I’ve done a fair bit of tipper work as a driver and some research into starting myself as an OD and from what I can tell you’re wasting your time at 41t. Margins are pretty tight at 44t and so knocking 10% off your payload (roughly 30t down to 27t) which translates directly into a 10% cut in turnover is going to be enough to wipe out any profit you would make. You would probably be better off at 40t with a 4x2 unit as you would get the same payload but with one less axle to drag around and fit tyres to. Either way I doubt you would make much money, the only way to do it as far as I can tell is to go 44t and get your tare as light as possible to ensure you can carry the right side of 30t legally.If you do go the tipper route then the key things other than reliability (which is obviously important in any line of work) are fuel economy and low weight. Running at 44t all the time if you can top 7mpg you’re doing alright and every 0.1mpg makes a big difference to your costs. Every few kg off your tare will also make a difference (an extra half ton might mean an extra 40-50quid a week on your turnover which soon adds up over the year). Alloy wheels on all six axles will give you an extra 300kg which is certainly worthwhile if you can get the wheels at a good price off eBay (I’ve seen full sets of trailer wheels with tyres go for little over 500quid which would pay for itself in under a year even if the tyres turned out to be scrap and you can always move the wheels onto any new trailer you bought).
Getting the right trailer is also key. I do a fair bit of driving work for a company that has some 72 cubic yard fruehauf trailers and they’re way too big for the job. We never fill them anywhere near the top and so we are just carting too much steel and aluminium around which results in a crap payload. Conversely their spare trailer is a 57 cube trailer and with that you get an extra 600kg of payload but you sometimes struggle to get your weight on, especially when you’re loading something like soya meal off the docks. I’ve come to the conclusion that the ideal is something around 61-64 cubic yards to get the right balance between payload and volume when you’re on grain work. Disc brakes usually come in lighter than drums which is also worth bearing in mind, and although some people don’t like them due to fears over maintenance costs personally I’ve never really had a problem with them.
Wow, that’s a lot of rambling, I hope some of it is of some use.
Paul
I don’t think I could add anything to that, I think that’s one of the best ‘idiot’s guide to bulk tippers’ I’ve read.
The only thing I would emphasise is, Weight and economy is King, as you so succinctly put
And be prepared to be slated for pulling a bulker apparantly were the worst drivers out 
164480:
its 500 kg’s on 6 axle’s,300 on unit 200 on trailer.
164480:
i worked at a place a while ago & they changed all 6 axles & saved 500 kg’s also did a 8 wheeler & saved 300 kg’s.
A unit has 8 wheels and an “8 wheeler” has 12 wheels so they can’t possibly both end up with a 300kg saving.
Alcoa’s own website claims 300kg over 6 axles.
MAN’s website claims you save 152kg with the alloy wheel option on the TGX unit, which about tallies with Alcoa’s claims.
Paul
repton:
164480:
its 500 kg’s on 6 axle’s,300 on unit 200 on trailer.164480:
i worked at a place a while ago & they changed all 6 axles & saved 500 kg’s also did a 8 wheeler & saved 300 kg’s.A unit has 8 wheels and an “8 wheeler” has 12 wheels so they can’t possibly both end up with a 300kg saving.
Alcoa’s own website claims 300kg over 6 axles.
MAN’s website claims you save 152kg with the alloy wheel option on the TGX unit, which about tallies with Alcoa’s claims.
Paul
sorry i do apologise it is 300 on 6 axles & 250 on a 8 wheeler 
dont know were i got the 500 from,never mind.
i think your basically saying if you have a 41 t old unit and a bargain basement trailer theres not much point would need a higher volume one as well to cover what is hopefully going to be my regular work -regular work high volume no weight thats why i could run at 41t but when it goes quiet it would be low volume max weight
well that was a naff couple of days ringing round making enquires for work is there anyone wanting o/ds out there started off ringing what i wanted ended up ringing anyone in still nowt
plenty of salt coming out of winsford but its not the best of paying jobs.
164480:
plenty of salt coming out of winsford but its not the best of paying jobs.
ed weetman makes all the money terrible rates back to east anglia like £11 a ton to norwich
truckerbuster:
164480:
plenty of salt coming out of winsford but its not the best of paying jobs.ed weetman makes all the money terrible rates back to east anglia like £11 a ton to norwich
you want to be foning hansons(hargreaves) dont know what the rates are but if you do a load of salt to east/west yorks they will probably give you a load of coke back to winnington or northwich,depending where abouts the salts going you might get 3 loads a day out of them.
rung hargreaves told nothing rung a couple of tipper companies nowt i aint ready to run yet just enquiring as if i was
lee mat:
rung hargreaves told nothing rung a couple of tipper companies nowt i aint ready to run yet just enquiring as if i was
Bloody Hell! 
I’ve never known Hargreaves turn a potential subbie down. Did you ring the Castleford office?