Update & help

UK PROFESSIONAL DRIVERS FORUMS THE UK PROFESSIONAL DRIVERS FORUM (INTERACTIVE)
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Added later, sorry to anyone that didn’t read my original post, I have been planning for about 5 years to buy a vacuum tanker with jetter, massive investment and very difficult to get the work, the work took the most planning, well no actually the 119k for the truck was pretty difficult.
Well back in the spring I was ready to take the plunge, took longer than I thought to get my O licence approval, they didn’t seem to like the idea of me maintaining the truck, So in June I finally took delivery of my turd carrier, had it sign written, posted leaflets, made the phone calls, 10 days in, first job, a bit of a milestone yesterday I’ve done 20,000 km’s (in 6 months)
massive hey, sounds naff but actually I’ve done 65% of my target turnover. I do a tiny amount of work for a water company. I spent a bit more than I intended on the truck initially & then quite a bit since, extras mainly the 38mm extraction pump as a special requirement, oh and I’ve added an auxiliary compressor.

My advice (though I’m as new as they come) is if you want to be an owner driver do it, I love it, I drive in the countryside in a truck worth as much as a house emptying ■■■ out of peoples holes, did I say “I LOVE IT”
Seriously, learn the job, learn about accounts, learn about the law, learn how to maintain a truck, learn how not to spend money, have an income so your not reliant on the truck, save up so you can buy the truck outright, find the work before the truck.

Help needed, I have a whale tank with hydraulic back door, the hydraulics seem to be shutting the door too tight only sometimes, to the point it creeks, I think it is this that is disforming the seal around the door, whale tell me the hydraulics are pressure set and therefore can’t differ. Whale think I’m imagining it.
I have replaced the hydraulic filters twice, I have bled the system a dozen times.
Any ideas ?

:laughing: I did wonder about drilling holes in the tank so it would be lighter then possibly I’d get better mpg.

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Not many OD’s want to haul ■■■■■ about though mate! 65% of targeted turnover sounds a bit low, that’s not a criticism, it’s great that you can still make it pay on 65% of projected turnover, if you’d have hit 100% you’d be coining it in I presume.

Can’t help with your problem I’m afraid, I know nowt about tankers.

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Well done, so many negative posts about OD work on here. Nice to see a positive one.

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I worked in drainage for about 7 years using a whale. Good bits of kit I found. Only problem we had with the rear door was if someone tried to open it without making sure the 4 checks werent fully out. Make sure you wash the rubber seal well prior to closing and there is no debris, small stones etc in the seal. As long as its not leaking it’s fine.
Whale were never any good at hearing anything negative about their vehicles though, deny deny deny must be the company motto.
It’s odd but I liked the job as well, if not some of the bosses, and never got bothered by the smell of two bob bit. Odd that I couldn’t change a nappy without gagging & still can’t.

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You just reminded me of an old sticker I saw last week just outside Mold on a tank that looked like it was towed once by a tractor (was rusted up)
It said “We take the logs out of your bogs” :laughing:

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:slight_smile: