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[Kate]

Hi all.

I just did a couple of days training as a recovery driver but decided not to go ahead with the job due to the long working hours (Six days on and two off with 12 hours shifts). Also, it was self employed but the company provided the truck and fuel.

I really like this job and it suits me really well but there is no way I can work 72 hours a week.

Is it possible to make a profit in this business if you have your own truck?

Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

[bigegg]

Might be worthwhile if you could get some contacts - maybe garages? MOT testing places? or even on ebay offering to deliver vehicles for buyers?
I've had need of a recovery truck a few times, and will be needing one soon to remove my old MV6 shell to the scappy 

Dunno how much you'd make tho.

[belldarr]

I looked into this a while ago as something I wanted to set up with a transit type recovery truck but after reading all the regs you have to comply with in order to get insurance I understood why there are loads of these recovery trucks on ebay as people have started to bail out of the sector - sorry to sound negative but if like me you were thinking that the truck was the major outlay then be aware the insurance is just as much if not more.

Darren

[Kate]

I looked into this a while ago as something I wanted to set up with a transit type recovery truck but after reading all the regs you have to comply with in order to get insurance I understood why there are loads of these recovery trucks on ebay as people have started to bail out of the sector - sorry to sound negative but if like me you were thinking that the truck was the major outlay then be aware the insurance is just as much if not more.

Darren

So I'll need to get a quote.

Would ordinary van insurance be cheaper? To move furniture instead?

[tunnie]

Could you not negotiate the hours days? Don't blame you though that is a long shift rotation.

For me its 3 days on, 3 days off.

[Kate]

Could you not negotiate the hours days? Don't blame you though that is a long shift rotation.

For me its 3 days on, 3 days off.

I asked but it was a firm no.

[Nick W]

That's pretty common for the industry; our normal pattern is 5 12-hour shifts, plus 3 nights on call per week, with split days off. Times are bad at the moment, so we're on reduced hours of 10 hour shifts.

I don't pay the bills, but insurance for the vehicle isn't going to be cheap, plus you'll need accidental damage cover if you're going to work for dealers and body shops. If working in the LEZ, you'll need a compliant vehicle. A Transit or Sprinter with ramps(they don't have the weight capacity for a slidebed) is going to seriously limit the size and weight of cars you can legally pickup. The Transit we used to have couldn't legally carry an Omega, and they're not that heavy.

Ramps make loading and unloading cars with damaged suspension much more difficult. Did you do any winching of non-rolling cars? It's difficult to explain without actually doing, as some of the techniques are counter-intuitive.

My '60plate Canter does 300 miles on £100 of fuel.  That's a sensible day's work.

Many(most? all?) of the cheaper trucks are priced like that because they're knackered; the Isuzu I had last sold for £5k with 540,000 miles on it but it was only LEZ compliant for another12months, and it still needed a a fair amount of work(which was why we sold it!) on both the truck and the body. And that was a well maintained one, but when a replacement alternator is £400, brake pads are £120, tyres £80 each(and it has 6) just the basic running costs soon mount up. At that sort of age/usage, hydraulic and electrical issues are also common.


So unless you're a really good saleswoman, with a healthy amount of cash to buy some decent kit, I think you're unlikely to make any money.

[Jabe]

So I'll need to get a quote.

Would ordinary van insurance be cheaper? To move furniture instead?

Because you are moving other peoples goods you would need 'special' insurance.

I was tempted to enter the long distance courier trade once and the company I was to work for first hire you as self employed to see how efficient you are then hire you full time, but after phoning around for this 'special' insurance (sorry forgot what it was called, something like 'Goods in Transit' cover) I was quoted £8,700 for a 2004 Mercedes Sprinter LWB.

I immediately went home. Lol.

[Kate]

Thanks very much for the thorough advice.

It is obviously not possible for me to do this then.

Maybe private hire taxi work would be possible for me then?

[Rods2]

A friend of mine is an owner operator and did very, very well in the past, now he is struggling. He has several contracts with garages and insurance companies, but doing the work and getting paid are 2 different things. He used to regularly do 8-10 scrap cars a day, now he is lucky if it is 1 or 2 a week.

If you have your own vehicle you will need an operators licence and IME if you appear of VOSAs radar for any reason then expect regular random spot checks. You will also need a waste disposal licence.

Personally, I think you would be better looking for work in a growing rather than declining industry.

[Vamps]

That's pretty common for the industry; our normal pattern is 5 12-hour shifts, plus 3 nights on call per week, with split days off. Times are bad at the moment, so we're on reduced hours of 10 hour shifts.

I don't pay the bills, but insurance for the vehicle isn't going to be cheap, plus you'll need accidental damage cover if you're going to work for dealers and body shops. If working in the LEZ, you'll need a compliant vehicle. A Transit or Sprinter with ramps(they don't have the weight capacity for a slidebed) is going to seriously limit the size and weight of cars you can legally pickup. The Transit we used to have couldn't legally carry an Omega, and they're not that heavy.

Ramps make loading and unloading cars with damaged suspension much more difficult. Did you do any winching of non-rolling cars? It's difficult to explain without actually doing, as some of the techniques are counter-intuitive.

My '60plate Canter does 300 miles on £100 of fuel.  That's a sensible day's work.

Many(most? all?) of the cheaper trucks are priced like that because they're knackered; the Isuzu I had last sold for £5k with 540,000 miles on it but it was only LEZ compliant for another12months, and it still needed a a fair amount of work(which was why we sold it!) on both the truck and the body. And that was a well maintained one, but when a replacement alternator is £400, brake pads are £120, tyres £80 each(and it has 6) just the basic running costs soon mount up. At that sort of age/usage, hydraulic and electrical issues are also common.


So unless you're a really good saleswoman, with a healthy amount of cash to buy some decent kit, I think you're unlikely to make any money.

A bit like this one that took out old Mig to meet it's maker........

[henryd]

That's pretty common for the industry; our normal pattern is 5 12-hour shifts, plus 3 nights on call per week, with split days off. Times are bad at the moment, so we're on reduced hours of 10 hour shifts.

I don't pay the bills, but insurance for the vehicle isn't going to be cheap, plus you'll need accidental damage cover if you're going to work for dealers and body shops. If working in the LEZ, you'll need a compliant vehicle. A Transit or Sprinter with ramps(they don't have the weight capacity for a slidebed) is going to seriously limit the size and weight of cars you can legally pickup. The Transit we used to have couldn't legally carry an Omega, and they're not that heavy.

Ramps make loading and unloading cars with damaged suspension much more difficult. Did you do any winching of non-rolling cars? It's difficult to explain without actually doing, as some of the techniques are counter-intuitive.

My '60plate Canter does 300 miles on £100 of fuel.  That's a sensible day's work.

Many(most? all?) of the cheaper trucks are priced like that because they're knackered; the Isuzu I had last sold for £5k with 540,000 miles on it but it was only LEZ compliant for another12months, and it still needed a a fair amount of work(which was why we sold it!) on both the truck and the body. And that was a well maintained one, but when a replacement alternator is £400, brake pads are £120, tyres £80 each(and it has 6) just the basic running costs soon mount up. At that sort of age/usage, hydraulic and electrical issues are also common.


So unless you're a really good saleswoman, with a healthy amount of cash to buy some decent kit, I think you're unlikely to make any money.

A bit like this one that took out old Mig to meet it's maker........

I reckon that was at its limit with a Mig on the back

[Jabe]

Thanks very much for the thorough advice.

It is obviously not possible for me to do this then.

Maybe private hire taxi work would be possible for me then?

If you don't have family that rely on you, I know a guy who makes £700 a week doing airport transfers working 4 days a week (but very very long hours. 20 hours to be precise.) He always snags up the airport transfers which are the easiest. No hassle, no drunk people, no getting lost trying to find direction, simply relax and cruise.

He drives a slightly tuned 2006 2.4T Volvo V70 running on LPG. Not exactly the usual Ford Galaxy's you see but a damn sight more economical.

[Vamps]

That's pretty common for the industry; our normal pattern is 5 12-hour shifts, plus 3 nights on call per week, with split days off. Times are bad at the moment, so we're on reduced hours of 10 hour shifts.

I don't pay the bills, but insurance for the vehicle isn't going to be cheap, plus you'll need accidental damage cover if you're going to work for dealers and body shops. If working in the LEZ, you'll need a compliant vehicle. A Transit or Sprinter with ramps(they don't have the weight capacity for a slidebed) is going to seriously limit the size and weight of cars you can legally pickup. The Transit we used to have couldn't legally carry an Omega, and they're not that heavy.

Ramps make loading and unloading cars with damaged suspension much more difficult. Did you do any winching of non-rolling cars? It's difficult to explain without actually doing, as some of the techniques are counter-intuitive.

My '60plate Canter does 300 miles on £100 of fuel.  That's a sensible day's work.

Many(most? all?) of the cheaper trucks are priced like that because they're knackered; the Isuzu I had last sold for £5k with 540,000 miles on it but it was only LEZ compliant for another12months, and it still needed a a fair amount of work(which was why we sold it!) on both the truck and the body. And that was a well maintained one, but when a replacement alternator is £400, brake pads are £120, tyres £80 each(and it has 6) just the basic running costs soon mount up. At that sort of age/usage, hydraulic and electrical issues are also common.


So unless you're a really good saleswoman, with a healthy amount of cash to buy some decent kit, I think you're unlikely to make any money.

A bit like this one that took out old Mig to meet it's maker........

I reckon that was at its limit with a Mig on the back

Limit? I recon it was on the bump stops.....

[henryd]

Vamps,that mig looked way to tidy to be heading to car heaven