Advice Buying/Building/Running a Timber Lorry

[woodsmanmatt]

A suitable operating centre?

A crane operators card, or certificate,

A loler test on crane, older cranes every 6 months now, so I've been told.

A professional CPC, not the drives one if operating for hire and reward.

 

Thanks, added to the list! I have a suitable operating centre I think. Do you know exactly which crane ticket would I need? Would this be sufficient?

 

NATIONAL DRIVING CENTRE LONDON

[woodsmanmatt]

Hi what a list of questions,any way here goes.

What ever lorry you look at over 3.5 tonne as soon as you put wood on it and go onto the road you will need white diesel,hgv road tax operators licence

a maintenance schedule with a commercial garage a hgv licence and drivers cpc.If you want to go onto FC land add weigher ,spill kit ,first aid certificate and kit .

The trucks abroad look like a good deal but be careful get the ID number and check with the manufacturer in the UK to make sure it will be compliant with UK regulations.A friend of mine imported a tractor unit and took 3 months to get all the paper work sorted before he could get a UK mot,this cost money as well so you would be better off looking here.

The vehicle:A second hand 6 or 8 wheeler timber truck will be hard to find if it is any good,most will be worn out and sold for export.

What I did was look for a decent brick lorry as they are short wheelbase take off the brick crane and put on a proper timber crane put bolsters and pins on and away you go.

I have ended up with a volvo fm12 globetrotter 6x2 rear lift and steer with a

loglift 60 crane and 2 bays This will carry 14 tonnes legaly at 26 tonne gross

Add the trailer and put another 14 tonnes on.The lorry will get in and out of almost any where and does not need that much more roon with the trailer.

I have had the crane for 12 years now and this is the 3rd truck I have put it on.I only use it to carry my own timber so it is not getting bashed about every day,I used to haul timber untill the late 90s but got fed up with the cost of diesel and not getting paid.

Hope this answers some of your questions,

Cheers Chris.

 

Thanks, that's really helpful. Definitely starting to feel that I'd be better off converting a decent UK truck with a proper timber crane.

 

Out of interest, what are the fuel costs of running a truck like yours? I need to work this out for my business plan.

[woodsmanmatt]

If it was me, I'd not bother with that one.

 

For one it's very short, two, it would need all that skip gear removing (an extra cost) and three, a crane isn't a loader.

 

An hiab type crane is generally for lifting individual heavy loads, whereas a timber loader is designed for doing several operations at once and repetitve loads quickly. That's not to say you can't use a crane as a loader, but it will be slower, and when you're on by the tonne, you'll want to be in and out with each load as quick as you can.

 

Something like an old brick lorry would be a step closer as the cranes on those are much more like a timber crane and might already have a high seat and longer kingpost.

 

Great advice, thanks Chris!!

[aspenarb]

I dont understand the scare mongering around running HGV`s . We maintain our own trucks and other than the time which amounts to very little they are very cheap to keep on the road. Tyres get chopped to bits on sites so I will only fit runners at £80 a piece and the servicing cost are no more than a 4x4. The old Foden I have run now for about 12 years has had a clutch @£250, some air valves @ app£100, and one brake drum which was £80. Its always run through its plate ok and I think the biggest costs are the damage like tearing off mudguards , tyres and mirrors. The small 10ton LDV is not much different all that has had is brake shoes and rear light units ( must get them guarded). The trailers are no problem at all.

 

Bob

 

 

Edited April 26, 2015 by aspenarb

[mendiplogs]

I dont understand the scare mongering around running HGV`s . We maintain our own trucks and other than the time which amounts to very little they are very cheap to keep on the road. Tyres get chopped to bits on sites so I will only fit runners at £80 a piece and the servicing cost are no more than a 4x4. The old Foden I have run now for about 12 years has had a clutch @£250, some air valves @ app£100, and one brake drum which was £80. Its always run through its plate ok and I think the biggest costs are the damage like tearing off mudguards , tyres and mirrors. The small 10ton LDV is not much different all that has had is brake shoes and rear light units ( must get them guarded). The trailers are no problem at all.

 

Bob

 

 

 

Hi BOB WHAT weight will yours take thanks Jon

[woodsmanmatt]

Ok starting to get somewhere with my business plan now! Based on my calculations I need to move a minimum of 2000t per year to make it worth the investment, so now I need to talk to the firms I've been working for to see how likely this would be. That's somewhere in the region of 45-65 days work depending on payload of the lorry, so wouldn't necessarily need to be full time, but it would be needing to go out once a week at least.

 

One thing I wanted to check - I've allowed for the truck to return about 10mpg - is that about right?

 

Also what do think I should be budgeting insurance wise?

 

Thanks!

[log on tommy]

Ok starting to get somewhere with my business plan now! Based on my calculations I need to move a minimum of 2000t per year to make it worth the investment, so now I need to talk to the firms I've been working for to see how likely this would be. That's somewhere in the region of 45-65 days work depending on payload of the lorry, so wouldn't necessarily need to be full time, but it would be needing to go out once a week at least.

 

One thing I wanted to check - I've allowed for the truck to return about 10mpg - is that about right?

 

Also what do think I should be budgeting insurance wise?

 

Thanks!

 

Don't run a wagon myself but I've been following this thread with interest. I had a drainage contractor deliver me some stone at the weekend on a roll on roll off skip lorry and he said that only did 6mpg.

[aspenarb]

The running costs of the truck will depend on what truck you go for. Firstly the subject of MPG, the newer trucks are more fuel efficient and have better aerodynamics . An old pig like mine could be as low as 5mpg if your dogging it fully loaded or as high as 12mpg running light downhill with the fly`s going the same way. I know a carefully driven newer Volvo will crack 10mpg freighted so there is a big difference between old and new. Insurance fully comp on the truck and three trailers is £1500 a year with no goods in transit insurance. The Taxation class is an interesting one, it basically revolves around weight vs axles.

Three axle tractor units with three axle trailers @ 44 ton are £1200 a year. If that was a newer truck with a reduced pollution cert and road friendly trailers ( rear steer) it comes down to under half that which is less than some 4x4 cars. So newer is better on fuel and cheaper to tax. The trade off is a truck thats simple to work on and wont stop until you pull the stop lever Vs a newer truck littered with electronics that needs main dealers to keep it all going.

 

Check out the the taxation classes vs weight and then see the difference in costs drop off as you add axles.

 

https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/419799/V149_Budget_2015_Final_version.pdf

 

Bob

[Johny Walker]

The running costs of the truck will depend on what truck you go for. Firstly the subject of MPG, the newer trucks are more fuel efficient and have better aerodynamics . An old pig like mine could be as low as 5mpg if your dogging it fully loaded or as high as 12mpg running light downhill with the fly`s going the same way. I know a carefully driven newer Volvo will crack 10mpg freighted so there is a big difference between old and new. Insurance fully comp on the truck and three trailers is £1500 a year with no goods in transit insurance. The Taxation class is an interesting one, it basically revolves around weight vs axles.

Three axle tractor units with three axle trailers @ 44 ton are £1200 a year. If that was a newer truck with a reduced pollution cert and road friendly trailers ( rear steer) it comes down to under half that which is less than some 4x4 cars. So newer is better on fuel and cheaper to tax. The trade off is a truck thats simple to work on and wont stop until you pull the stop lever Vs a newer truck littered with electronics that needs main dealers to keep it all going.

 

Check out the the taxation classes vs weight and then see the difference in costs drop off as you add axles.

 

https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/419799/V149_Budget_2015_Final_version.pdf

 

Bob

 

dosnt running on susp bring down aswell

[Billy]

Road friendly suspension attests a cheaper rate, but it's pretty rare on tippers and timber wagons.