Starting self drive plant hire company

[JAClark96]

Hi there.

Im considering starting a plant hire company in the near future. I owned a mini digger a few years ago now and was contacted by a local contracting company to see if I could hire out. I agreed to this and manage to have a small income coming in on top of my wages (out with the construction industry). Things were going well until contaminated diesel was put in and with my lack of knowledge in the maintenance sector it put me back. Luckily my father owns an award winning car repair vehicle centre so he was able to help me out. I then sold the digger to help me towards buying a house.

I really enjoyed hiring out although I was put back slightly from the fuel contamination but id love to start again.

Obviously I have very little experience in the hiring sector and wondered if I can make a successful business and would it work?

I know I have to create a business plan and do a lot of research eg insurance, maintenance costs, whether I can get a reliable independent plant maintenance business to help me out when things go wrong etc.

Theres a few major hire companies where I live (Scottish Highlands) although I'm around 20 mins away from any hire company. so I need to take into consideration is there to much competition but I do know that there are few major contracts running just now and a good few more to come.

I would be hiring to local business's and the public.

If I do my research right and can see a gap in the market I would need some sort of investment to help me get started buying equipment. My plan would hopefully be a mini digger with a couple of digging attachments, trailer and a form of transport either pickup or van. I do have a caddy van but unfortunately not suitable for towing a digger.

I wondered if anyone had any experience starting a self operated plant hire company or could anyone give me tips

Any help is very appreciated.

thanks.

 

[doobin]

Hello mate, good to see you here. I'm bodgitt&scarperLTD on the other forum you'll find a good bunch of lads here.I'll copy and paste my rely here for some context and to start things rolling.

Maintenence need not be key- it is peanuts to extend the warranty to five years when buying a new machine from many manufacturers. All my diggers have five years warranty. Still helps to be able to do your own oil changes, but servicing packages were surprisingly cheap (around £1k for three years) last time I bought a machine.

Your main problem will be insurance. Standard plant insurance will not cover you for renting them out self drive. With companies, you can ask to see their hired-in plant insurance (and of course perform due dilligence). With homeowners, JCB insurance offer plant insurance for hirers by the day, but it is very expensive (as much as and often more than the hire) and the insurance has to be applied and paid for by the customer directly, which is also a hoop not many are willing to jump through.

Big plant hire companies can charge you insurance as a percent of the hire- there's a legal term for it, something about you taking on an interest in their insurance. But I'd imagine it's a very expensive policy for a couple of machines, and you'd need to find a specialist broker.

There is a lot of theft from hire companies currently. They're brazen about it. False ID and insurance. Or even just turning up in a lorry on a Friday afternoon- "hello mate, I'm here from A-plant, come to collect the three tonner". Most of the time the unaware site operatives help them load it!

One positive- lightly used plant residuals are rock solid currently.

And for petes sake get trackers on any machines you get.

 

[JAClark96]

Cheers pal once again thank you for all the advice

 

[doobin]

Some figures for you too mate. I've got a new micro digger from Bobcat. 1.2t, really handy machine, servo controls like a proper mini. I have five years warranty on it. For the next five years, it will cost me £233 a month on finance, and then I own it. The 1.7t machine is £280/month, again, over five years with five years warranty.

Run your costs/expected income per machine against that sort of figure.

What's your day job? Are you free to do weekend work with it? You might make as much doing that (aim for around £250 a day to start) as hiring it out, with much less worries about it getting nicked.

 

[Regy53]

Watching this with interest. I am about to get into some specialist hire. Good luck

 

[JAClark96]

Thank you.

When I was hiring the Volvo ec15b before I sold it I was charging it think if I remember right £225 a week.

I work for my father at his vehicle repair centre. I’m a semi skilled mechanic but mainly helping stripping cleaning brakes, bits and pieces on services etc so I have slight knowledge but not huge. I’m also very tidy so the garage is as spotless as it can be.

I have a few contacts with the construction industry that hopefully I’d manage to hire out the likes of a mini digger while still working for my father and if it works then do it full time.

i often still have people asking me do I still have my digger so that might be an option to do things myself at weekends but unfortunately I don’t have tickets and would I need a different insurance?

 

[JAClark96]

Watching this with interest. I am about to get into some specialist hire. Good luck

Thank you and best wishes to you too

 

[doobin]

Thank you.

When I was hiring the Volvo ec15b before I sold it I was charging it think if I remember right £225 a week.

I work for my father at his vehicle repair centre. I’m a semi skilled mechanic but mainly helping stripping cleaning brakes, bits and pieces on services etc so I have slight knowledge but not huge. I’m also very tidy so the garage is as spotless as it can be.

I have a few contacts with the construction industry that hopefully I’d manage to hire out the likes of a mini digger while still working for my father and if it works then do it full time.

i often still have people asking me do I still have my digger so that might be an option to do things myself at weekends but unfortunately I don’t have tickets and would I need a different insurance?

If you can do brakes etc then basic maintenance will be a piece of cake, and uou can always ask for help on here.

If people are still asking about it that's half the battle. If you have old self drive customers you trust then ditto.

You don't need tickets unless the client (usually large building firm) says you have to to come on their site. I've no tickets, and I keep three machines busy. If you work for your dad, talk to him and see if he'd be willing to let you step away a few days at a time as and when your woprk comes in- it doesn't sound like you're a key member of staff.

Insurance is not mandatory but is a bloody good idea and probably not too expensive. I'd highly reccomend JCB insurance for the theft/fire protection, and I'm sure they could do you public liability in the quote too. Won't cost anything to ring them, tell them you're buying a new machine worth around 18k and want to insure it and be insured to work with it. Talk to them about self drive cover, but bear in mind what I said above. It will make your policy more expensive and the customer will still have to have their own policy,..

 

[doobin]

@Regy53- new member, fresh meat. Where's my commission?

I had that Lumag high tip out for it's first job yesterday and Sunday. Reckon it saved a days labour compared to using the Muck-Truck like i would have otherwise. Thanks mate..

 

[Regy53]

@Regy53- new member, fresh meat. Where's my commission?

I had that Lumag high tip out for it's first job yesterday and Sunday. Reckon it saved a days labour compared to using the Muck-Truck like i would have otherwise. Thanks mate..

Have you been poaching :O

Pleased to hear about the Lumag.. Any issues or any pointers good value?

 

[JAClark96]

Thanks again doobin.

I’m sure my father would bemore than happy with that.

I should probably ask obviously I have no experience in the plant hire world other than hiring my old digger out a few years ago to a local contractor.

Should I get experience first working with a hire company or could I make it work if I went straight into the deep end?

 

[JD450A]

You would be better off shoving your cock in a blender is my honest opinion i'm afraid.

Simple fact is the odd hire to a local builder whom you know won't pay for the damage caused on the majority of hires.... likewise I can get a brand new Dumper up to 6t for £120 a week or a brand new digger up to 1.5t for £140 a week. Insurance is 10% of the hire charge per week. You can't fault it. Transport is either £35 or £75 each way depending on if it has to go on the lorry.... BTW Jewsons will do anything delivered for a £5'er apparently

Vetting the customers is the other issue.... theres a reason people shop around, normally it seems that it's due to them being bad at paying and on stop elsewhere.

The other reality, is when Ted Clegg rolls your £18,000 1.5t investment over and let's it seize up you not only have the cost of the repair, but also the cost of the recovery.... then the question of does Ted's insurance cover it?

We did at one stage have a play with hiring out small tools (compressors, Wackers, Trench Rammers, etc) Utterly thankless thanks to cockwombles that don't care.... oh and BTW mate we only used it for about a hour... how much do I need to pay

Sorry to give a very morbid and negative reality... but If it was worthwhile i'd have everything out on hire.... but it's not IMHO so that's up to 5 excavators and 3 Dumpers that can sit for as long as they want.... they aren't loosing money parked in the yard! I'm not saying it's impossible to run on a small scale. but IMHO there are better ways to earn coin.

 

[doobin]

Have you been poaching :O

Pleased to hear about the Lumag.. Any issues or any pointers good value?

Nah, he'll get more specific help here than on ukbusinessforums.

Yes yes and deffo yes at the price you did me had to cut and adjust handlebars upwards to make it useable, mind your fingers against walls etc when using it compared to a hydraulic machine, but very handy, light, much quicker than a hydro machine. Creep box is bloody useful for tight manouvering. It's a halfway house (in terms of useability, weight and price) between a basic track dumper or MuckTruck and a proper hydro skip loader, which is exactly what I wanted. So long as it lasts!

 

[doobin]

Thanks again doobin.

I’m sure my father would bemore than happy with that.

I should probably ask obviously I have no experience in the plant hire world other than hiring my old digger out a few years ago to a local contractor.

Should I get experience first working with a hire company or could I make it work if I went straight into the deep end?

Surely you drove it a few times when you owned it? Crack on mate, put an advert up and ask away on here, you'll learn plenty fast enough.

If you drive it youself then you need just one day a month at £250 to cover the finance payment.

 

[JAClark96]

You would be better off shoving your cock in a blender is my honest opinion i'm afraid.

Simple fact is the odd hire to a local builder whom you know won't pay for the damage caused on the majority of hires.... likewise I can get a brand new Dumper up to 6t for £120 a week or a brand new digger up to 1.5t for £140 a week. Insurance is 10% of the hire charge per week. You can't fault it. Transport is either £35 or £75 each way depending on if it has to go on the lorry.... BTW Jewsons will do anything delivered for a £5'er apparently

Vetting the customers is the other issue.... theres a reason people shop around, normally it seems that it's due to them being bad at paying and on stop elsewhere.

The other reality, is when Ted Clegg rolls your £18,000 1.5t investment over and let's it seize up you not only have the cost of the repair, but also the cost of the recovery.... then the question of does Ted's insurance cover it?

We did at one stage have a play with hiring out small tools (compressors, Wackers, Trench Rammers, etc) Utterly thankless thanks to cockwombles that don't care.... oh and BTW mate we only used it for about a hour... how much do I need to pay

Sorry to give a very morbid and negative reality... but If it was worthwhile i'd have everything out on hire.... but it's not IMHO so that's up to 5 excavators and 3 Dumpers that can sit for as long as they want.... they aren't loosing money parked in the yard! I'm not saying it's impossible to run on a small scale. but IMHO there are better ways to earn coin.

No not a tall I really appreciate the advice.

 

[doobin]

Rory is always as subtle as a house brick through the window... realistic advice though

 

[JAClark96]

Surely you drove it a few times when you owned it? Crack on mate, put an advert up and ask away on here, you'll learn plenty fast enough.

If you drive it youself then you need just one day a month at £250 to cover the finance payment.

Yes was forever playing about with it up at my mum and dads. and helped out a friend at his house doing some work.

 

[JD450A]

No not a tall I really appreciate the advice.

Good mate, glad it's useful. I don't like seeing people fall and IMHO too many people wear rose tinted specticals/

IMHO best contracting setup I have seen recently is a 3.5t tipper with trailer, 1.5t digger, little trackbarrow and operator.... All transportable in one hit, can tackle most jobs no issues. The man goes out for £400 per day including all the gear and knocks down to £350 if there for longer than one day.

Rory is always as subtle as a house brick through the window... realistic advice though

Start with the most shocking thing you can say, everything else sounds reasonable afterwards.....

 

[hiluxman]

Start with the most shocking thing you can say, everything else sounds reasonable afterwards.....

Im stealing that saying

 

[JAClark96]

Good mate, glad it's useful. I don't like seeing people fall and IMHO too many people wear rose tinted specticals/

IMHO best contracting setup I have seen recently is a 3.5t tipper with trailer, 1.5t digger, little trackbarrow and operator.... All transportable in one hit, can tackle most jobs no issues. The man goes out for £400 per day including all the gear and knocks down to £350 if there for longer than one day.


Start with the most shocking thing you can say, everything else sounds reasonable afterwards.....

I really appreciate all the help and advice I can get even if your telling me it’s the wrong path to go down. Although I would love to make it work I’d rather know true facts and no go down the drain.

That sounds like a brilliant setup