7: The Unofficial Owner Driver Summit

24:43and you know back then no one wanted to do it they wanted to be in the bar and doing the job yeah yeah very true but we're still out here flying the flag anyway yeah exactly somebody's still going that's the main thing yeah you think we're only owner drivers so we can do what we want to do like do Italy and do where we go is that apart from being an owner driver do you think I think probably is yeah it feels like it gives

25:09Luke Power-Hippisley:it feels like it gives you the power to make the decision doesn't it you sort of think oh I'll pick I'll do the work I want to do but in reality you don't really say no to anything no but you do I'd say what you can do in this when you're on your own is you can pick I'll do UK for a bit I'll do European for a bit because you do get sick of it don't you whereas you know it's drivers for them to do that you've just got to keep jacking the job yeah yeah keep carrying your truck out and going to start somewhere else yeah which a lot of drivers do they do do that they do get on European get off it get on it so you get the luxury you ain't got to do that I suppose because you wouldn't necessarily have to be a bad driver there you could probably be really good at the job but because you keep doing that a potential employer looks at a cv goes oh well about three pages of companies you've worked for and you think well you're you're in just to get the t-shirt and then you're gone yeah yeah no one knows just to get the t-shirt doesn't look so obvious i mean before before i settled down on boils I went for a stage where I went through jobs because they weren't going where I wanted to go.

26:15I was doing European, but Italy's always where I've wanted to be. And it was only when I got the car, I was on Citra before I went to Boyles, which was all right, but it was only cantalopping. I had no interest in doing it at all. And as soon as Neil phoned me up and I knew it was going to be Italy every week, I couldn't wait to clear my cab out of Citra. Yeah. and now being an owner driver i don't mind coming down here once every couple of months but i don't think i could come back i could go back to being away i don't want to be away anymore that's for a start but i come down here now a when the job's absolutely right and the money's right yeah i'm down here because i want to be here yeah yeah so you're more likely to turn something down then Mason if it's if you don't want to do it as such like as you said earlier if someone offered you a load of Switzerland you'd kind of much more likely to say no because you'd rather not do it I never say no I'd price myself out

27:13Luke Power-Hippisley:he always used to like sniffing out a CMR but I see since we spoke Matt last time I've picked up a lot of traction work that I'm doing right and it's great because obviously it's Dover it's local-ish you know the furthest we go to Birmingham and back in the day. Yeah. And that's been great. It just kept me busy. But as soon as Matt said about coming to Italy, I was like a dog with a bone with it. I couldn't, you know. Yeah, couldn't wait. The normal part was I had to go to Spain before coming here, but that's by the by. Those two rights. I can't stand it. That was the best part of the job. Yeah, I agree.

27:50Luke Power-Hippisley:I agree. Some of us did better than others before going down to Spain this year. I needed a win after last year anyway. Yeah. I just like coming through France, I think. I think that's why I like doing Italy, because I like France. What, are you serious? See, we're all different, aren't we? Because I prefer Spain, Matt prefers Italy, and me prefers France. Yeah. I prefer France than the Ruggiers. I still find it old school, sitting in the Ruggiers, having your glass of wine at night, buffet meal. With the Ruggiers taking your glasses on. Your glass, your bottle. I see about you saying about Spain being brilliant.

28:28Well, you know, Spain just doesn't fit with me at all. I don't like it. I'd rather do Italy, but part of that is because I get to transit France all the time. And it's funny because I think we've all had this discussion, and I've put it on the social media before as well, because after speaking to Leicester Stevenson, who was Italy mad in his ERF, it really is, you kind of like one or the other. It's Italy or Spain and not really both. I think Matt might be a bit of an exception there, but I mean, personally, if I never go to Italy again, it wouldn't bother me, but I'd happily go to Spain.

29:02Luke Power-Hippisley:We're starting to hear the horror stories now in Italy about trucks being impounded over like decimal points on CMRs and horrific fines to get them back. So yesterday, it's in the back of my head just thinking, just get me out of this country, which is what I'm like in Germany. I think just get in and out without getting, even if you think doing anything wrong, but you think, just get me out of there before I cop a fine. and I'm starting to feel that about Italy now after certain things seen on Facebook. You know what it is though? You're talking about that thing on European truck, isn't you? And the thing is, it is obviously still valid, but you've got to remember, there's thousands of instances.

29:34Probably more to the story. Yeah, and there may be that, and there's thousands of instances and you don't hear about of people like, you know, not getting any problems. You just hear about that one problem. You think that they're going to be waiting at the Blanc for you to jump out and add you a 40 grand fine. Yeah, yeah, definitely, yeah.

29:48Luke Power-Hippisley:So you're not having your truck back for three months. Yeah, yeah. I do think when you're being pulled over as an owner-driver, I do think it's your attitude to any of these authorities is different when you're an owner-driver, because straight away you're thinking of the financial repercussions of what's going on. Your livelihood's on the lane properly, aren't you? Yeah, so, you know, you treat people how you want to be treated anyway in life. So when you do get pulled, you are, yes, sir, no, sir, three bags full. Whereas, you know, I don't think you're in that mindset so much when you're a driver, because you're thinking...

30:19you're not going to really wear the proper repercussions. You might get a little slap on the wrist. You think you can be copy about things. That's not what they want to see, is it? Yeah. I mean, I've always tried to be just nice and try and help them with whatever I can, just because I want to get on my way as quick as I can, hopefully without a fine. I mean, I've been quite lucky. I've not really had many fines in my time. So I just think, just be polite and nice and helpful. And it does go a long way, doesn't it? Because, again, if you get out and you're all bullshit and they are going to get angry, Because I would, if I was a traffic cop and I was given a whole load of attitude, I'd be thinking, I'm going to find something wrong here just to annoy you now, you know.

30:59Luke Power-Hippisley:Yeah, I've been stopped a few times over the years. And each time it has been a fair cop. You're not supposed to have your headphones in in most countries. So I got done for that. And straight away, I just said, well, it's the headphones. I went, yeah, I went, well, fair enough. There's the 90 euros on my way. And once was the seatbelt. Didn't have my seatbelt on. That's better though because if you get that then they leave you alone. If they've got to start digging that's when they find that. I know, yeah. But as I was saying I'm saying about these horror stories and worrying about going to this country and that country but I think in the next 16 years I've been doing it I've not had a massive fine for anything.

31:31Luke Power-Hippisley:You're going to get one of them for anything. Career is in fine. Yeah, let's get off the subject of fines. Yeah, yeah. Let's go back to drinking. Let's go back to me drinking my beer. Yeah.

31:48so i mean have you have you got any sort of more expansion plans truck wise sort of luke luke max i know mason's obviously quite happy with just the one now but would you consider adding again to the fleet or are you quite happy keeping it small can i just add matt that i'm probably am gonna have to add very soon oh yeah yeah so if you're looking matt there's a job going no we've all got we've got a mutual friend called dominic and between matt and dominic talk me into... He's got a mention. Is he giving 50 quid to get a mention? He did give 50 quid to get a mention. We've got to plug his company now.

32:23How did you go? He's got a face intent. He's only getting that if he sponsors the podcast. But I probably am going to put another one on in the next couple of months. Right, okay. I don't want to, but I've got to. Right, fair enough. and it's funny as well because talking about horror stories and whatnot and you guys will definitely be able to relate to this again I was watching a TikTok video the other day and I meant to write his name down and I forgot I think it's Trucking Life Levi or something a Brummy chap who by the look of it was known a driver nice and busy the company who was pulling for like put another truck on we've got plenty of work so bought another truck found a driver put it on plenty of work keep going can you put a third truck on alright I saw this You see this?

33:12Yeah. So he's got his free trucks on there, loads of work. Then the invoice changed the payment terms from 30 to 60 days. And then after a little while.

33:23Luke Power-Hippisley:That's when your alarm bells have got to start ringing, really. Yeah. Yeah. And lo and behold, invoice didn't get paid. So he's on the phone. So the lady's not in till Friday. And then they went bust. He's got no money and he ends up going bankrupt. That's the problem when one customer's your sold income. yes yeah someone said that like you shouldn't it's just some other sort of business advice thing where they said you shouldn't have more than like 60 % of your turnover dedicated to one person yeah yeah I'm not saying that is him that fellow I'm not saying that is him as well but I was talking I spent a week with Richard Matt down in at Fuller yeah he said he gave you a podcast soon but I said to him when I first started my dad said to me he wasn't talking me out of it but he wasn't sort of you know he wasn't saying yeah he wasn't encouraging he said all I really remember of owner drivers is there was always skin like down in italy and things like that and i said that to richard he said yeah he said he said there was a lot of people back then and it's probably you know not saying everyone but it's pretty little bit so now that they're not very they're not business minded at all do you know i mean they've got no business out you know good truck drivers but they're just not got business not very good business sense so you know and it quickly quickly find you know can come undone then can't it oh definitely yeah i mean we were saying about that matt won't be about that sort of attitude with older owner drivers back in the day and i I don't know if you ever worked for anyone, Matt, that's done it, but a lot of places used to give you running money and things like that.

34:44Yeah, exactly, yeah. Anyone could go and buy a cheap door and go and get on with it. Yeah, back then, it was easy to finance a truck. You know, people were throwing money around in the late 80s, early 90s. And shipping companies, I mean, Brynor and that, used to go down on a Sunday and Brynor would have an envelope down in Dover of all the owner drivers that were having a draw before they'd even done the job. Wow. It sounds like a restful disaster, didn't it, what you think about it? It does, yeah, that's right. It's a hand-to-mouth thing, isn't it? Yeah. I've done all this on the boat, on the kettle and the fruity.

35:13Yeah. I hope. I'm really hand-to-mouth now, but that's because I've got an expensive lifestyle. That's all these fruity ages. You don't have a bun here, normally. This is my second hotel of this trip, so I can't moan to.

35:29Luke Power-Hippisley:Yeah, you've spent more nights in hotel rooms than you have in your cab on this trip. I've spent more on hotels than I have diesel.

35:38Perhaps he's got it right. But no, it was easier to be an owner driver back in the day, I think, wasn't it? Yeah.

35:50Luke Power-Hippisley:I think that it seems as if it's easier now to set up. I know you've got to jump through certain hoops if you are going to do your CPC and all the rest of it, but you can get external transport managers. It does seem like a lot... Well, basically, we've spoke about Amazon, haven't we? It's like they've made it a lot more accessible for people to just go and get a tractor unit and start working for them. Just as if you were just buying a transit man's car and work for DPV or something. This episode of Matt's Trucking Great Podcast is proudly sponsored by Creasy Drainage. If you're dealing with blocked drains, flooding or drainage problems, Creasy Drainage is a team to call.

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36:49I'm someone that doesn't agree with external transport managers. No, not me. I think, you know, if you're going to be an owner-driver or a company owner running trucks, I think it should be a legal requirement that you know enough to have that license yourself. Well, the thing is, especially because I did my transport manager CPC a couple of years ago, and it really opened my eyes to just how much knowledge you need to be running a business. So if you're going to be an owner-driver with, say, me as your external transport manager, you might not have a clue about how to work out, say, depreciation on a vehicle, for starters.

37:29Yeah. And working that out was just shocking. It was just like flipping heck. and then it's like you know you've got to give the customer this rate you know X amount but that's not how the world works the customer tells you what it's paying I know but not the other way around

37:42Luke Power-Hippisley:yeah this is a business where if you had a plumber to come around and fix your boiler you don't turn around after he's done it and go there's 50 quid he says no that's your bill for 300 whereas in transport in a lot of cases they say no this is what we're paying you you've got to have enough makes you laugh you see these people on Facebook saying oh I think about coming in on the driver and that and there'll be people saying well, you know, before you buy the truck and before you get the old licence and before you get the monies you need to have some contracts in place for work and you're like, what planet is this on?

38:10I've never seen one of these contracts. Yeah. You know the other thing about your plumber story there, Luke, is when he does the job he gets paid straight away. Why do we in transport think it's acceptable to get paid 60 days end of month? And everyone goes to that. Is that acceptable, is it? Good. Or even 90. I mean, I know of a company that will pay, like, drivers. I know they haven't got the expense of a truck or whatnot, but they don't pay their limited company drivers to 90 days after the end of the month of the invoice.

38:45Luke Power-Hippisley:Yeah, that could be 120 days since you first done the job. That's a quarter of a year. I mean, again, you can't tell the bank manager, well, I'll pay my mortgage in four months when I've been paid for that work. But again, how has that been allowed to happen? It boggles me. It's bad. It is so far in someone else's business aren't you? Do you know what it is as well? We moan about this year but also this is probably keeping a lot of chances out of it as well. You know, stopping man and van going and buying a lorry and things like that so it's, it might be doing something like that. But I suppose also once you're into it like again, you've been out 16 years, Luke's been several, so has Mason.

39:22Once you're in and rolling and you've got say 30 days and whatnot, you'll just, you know how that pay structure is going to work. It's like right, that invoice is going to get paid then i've got to pay for my tires then and diesel's like weekly so so you you you know roughly what your costs are in and out sort of month week by week month by month because you know when you took it here it's easier to just yeah well it goes back to what matt said a minute ago about

39:43Luke Power-Hippisley:being business minded and if you are you do you don't look at that money and go oh well andy there's like 30 grand now i'll start spending it you think that needs to be for a rainy day that could be the tax bills coming around the vat that i'm going to need tires this and that so So, like you said, if you're not a business model like that and you say you are getting paid quickly for like the first three to six months or whatever you're doing, and then you move to a different customer and you've not been keeping an eye on that money and you go, well, now I've got to go from seven to 30 days, a 60-day payment, and you've spent your rainy day fund.

40:20Yeah, and I think that goes back to what Mason was saying about if you are going to be an owner-driver, you should hold that transfer manager CPC really just, just to have an idea of how, how it should be right. Because if you're not very business savvy, like me, I'm, I probably could get my head around it, but I just choose not to.

40:38Luke Power-Hippisley:I could probably do it easy. I think you, once you've done that CPC as well, you have a lot more respect for what's on the line because yeah, that first day I done, when they start doing the legal stuff, you sit there and I'm looking around the room at most of them thinking, they're thinking, what on earth am I letting myself in for? because some of them are only doing this to be the transport manager at like Asda or something. And they're thinking, oh, I could end up in the nicknames with this then if a driver is not abiding by the rules and kills someone. Yeah, if you're a seriously rogue driver, it's down to you, isn't it?

41:10And a lot of employed drivers, one of their biggest moans is they'll get back and there's taco infringements and stuff they've got to sign. And they're, well, what have we got to sign that? It's like, right, there's a legal chain here because the company has to be seen to be taken action because there's an infringement. If something happens and they've done nothing about your driving, they're up for the high jump as well. Yeah. What do you think of the taco you're talking about? It's Mexican food, Mason. You'll love it. You don't often get it in a French routier, though. Funny enough, Matt, when I get back from this trip next Saturday, I'll fly out to Mexico for a fortnight.

41:51Oh, very nice. Very nice. I think they've got an attack out there.

41:56Luke Power-Hippisley:Yeah, that expensive lifestyle he's talking about. I'll tell you what, it's become more and more tempting being on a drive for two weeks in Mexico. Yeah, Misa's definitely the success story, isn't he? Yeah, yeah. He's in a hotel. He's going to Mexico. I'm going to Plymouth at the end of May for three days. I was quite excited about that. Oh, no. Oh, I'm a mighty fallen, man. Well, Misa, send you a postcard. Yeah, or a taco. you know I always think when people like you say Luke about those posts oh think about becoming a loaner driver I would never discourage anyone to have a go no me neither that's what my next question was going to be fun enough would you would you encourage or would you encourage people yeah I said last time just go in with your eyes open and do your research yeah it's not as easy as three months money to live off before you start we knew a bloke didn't we Luke I won't name him but he tried to treat you like an employed job really didn't he Monday to Friday etc wouldn't do this wouldn't do that wouldn't work Saturday mornings that was family time and he went skid away and you think you know you've got to be committed yeah because you get some drivers who say oh I'm going to be an only driver because their mentality they just look the boss is having it bang off I'm doing all the work and he's he's having it bang off off my back and then once they have to do it themselves and they realise even just one truck they think Christ that's a lot more work than I thought I was going to have to do there yeah they don't realise it has to be I say it's got to be on your mind 24-7 because if it isn't, you will fail in the job.

43:27Luke Power-Hippisley:Whether you've only got one truck or five trucks, it needs to be constantly at the back of your mind, especially if they're out working at the weekend and you're whatever, while on holiday, you can still get a phone call and have to deal with it. You can't go, well, it's Saturday, I ain't dealing with that. But someone's got to deal with it. And if you're the boss, you have to. It's like you need to keep yourself up to date with the rules and just the industry in general. because it's very easy for something to change and get left behind. You know what it is? You need to have an interest in it as well.

43:56Exactly, yeah. If it's just a way of earning money, it won't work. Do you think being owner-drivers makes you a better driver in as such that you're more considerate on fuel and tyres, which are probably your biggest costs, really, aren't they? I'm definitely not.

44:13Luke Power-Hippisley:What are the splitters you had on the front of that Scania, Matt? Is that the silver splitter? Oh, no, the splitters are too low, aren't they? I meant the fuel consumption I've got a web fleet thing and I've got the worst square out of all of us and you've bought a twin tag just because it looks cool and you don't really yeah and it's overlinked in Switzerland yeah so the answer to that one is probably no Matt no because I I like to try and drive thinking if I've got to put the diesel and put the tyres on here this is how I drive it so I don't so I'm not costing the company just for stupid thing like I've talked to before about pulling new turns when you don't need to oh yeah you know just just think just things like that you know just just the simple things but and just idle time on you know just leaving trucks running for no apparent reason for for ages yeah did you did you this morning Luke did you like he just started the truck up this morning he started straight up and with his foot flat to the floor I thought it just made me cry I just couldn't believe it I thought yeah well our friend the negotiator he was a changed man once he got his own truck because he used to work for me and uh yeah like thrashing around everywhere flat out screwing tires around it was all just yeah another day at the office for him but now he's a he is a right nerd yeah yeah yeah he's he's telling you what his fuel consumption is down to like the fourth decimal point for that day and you think yeah bloody hell you weren't like that when you work for me

45:44so uh so Matt has also we spoke about Luke's FL10 recently and Matt's Matt's got the turbo star so I'm just wondering Mason as you've got to buy a second truck is it going to be something of a an 80s or 90s ilk to keep up with these two so then when you get a you get a nice Italy all three of you could go in your retro trucks I do you know there's been a couple of Magnums put up recently but the thing is Matt I'm older than you lot so like Matt's Turbo Star and Luke's FH I can't see them as classics yet because I was driving them and I look like

46:17Luke Power-Hippisley:the thing is as well though Matt is Mason won't change the headlight bulbs on his staff at the moment I'd like to see him get in the bunker I'd like to see him get in the bunker that Turbo Star anyway I used to or the other bell that would be a spectator support Matt Luke he's right there I don't even change the headlight bulbs on my lorry you know I've got full R of them on it. I'll let Daph deal with it. So I'm not... That's a show of wealth, that is, and you're really winning. It's a job. You're going to have to dirty your hands with the wafer bleeds. We don't do dirty hands. When time permits, I will get myself a classic car.

46:55That's the aim for the next probably 12 months. I want to try. If you was getting one, Mason, what would it be then if you was going to get one? What, a lorry? A classic lorry. A classic lorry. I did see one come up the other day. It'd probably be the old turbo liner. But money-wise, I'd like a flat-top tag-axled F10. Very nice. Good choice. Yeah. Yeah. I just remember when Johnny Bywaters moved down to Kent from Shropshire, he was pulling Norbert Donson's Belgian trailers out of Dover. And by the way, Matt, if you call them ferry trailers, I'm hanging up. Did you not hear the recent episode where I made sure I didn't?

47:40Yes, yeah. Because these two try and call them ferry trailers as well. Yeah, they are. They look so cool, this F10 with the spoiler on the top. Yeah. And my friend Derek Lynch run a couple. I just remember thinking they look so cool. And yet my dad was always an 88, 89 fan. and when the switch happened to the F series, he had an F10 for like three months and then swapped back with someone to go back to an 89. Flipping heck. Yeah, my dad never liked them, but I just thought they looked the coolest thing going. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Yeah, I do like the look of a tag axle. That's just like being kicked up the backside when you're driving that axle up a lot of time, isn't it?

48:25Yeah, yeah, our friend's got a tag axle Daff and it just looks cool going along the road even now. Yeah, definitely. But it's just, yeah, I took one for MDF up to somewhere in Scotland and it's just all the way up. It's like a nodding donkey. It's just like this is, I can't wait to get a full load on it and drop that blimmin' axle down. Because, again, if I've been just like any old driver, I'll just drop that down and run with it down so I've got a smoother ride. But it's like, no, I can't do that because I'm wearing a tyre for no reason. is seeing a tractor unit solo. Yes. The midlift down. Yeah.

48:59So, yeah, you know that's not an owner driver, don't you? Yeah. And I look and I'm like, lift the axle! I see it. It's just like, what are you doing to yourself? Because that's going to ride horribly.

49:11Luke Power-Hippisley:Especially in the wet. Yeah. Oh, good God. Yeah. I always, because I'm an optimist, I think, oh, maybe they've got a problem with the lift axle and it can't lift. But I think... You're giving them too much credit, Matt. I'm giving it to you. I'm too nice, I think. That's the problem. I'm on the phone to their boss reporting them.

49:35I think they should actually make it illegal. That way they can get pulled over and fined for it. That'd make them stop. Yeah, definitely. Yeah, well, actually, yeah. You think that's worse than being on the phone watching TikTok while you're going up here in the seats?

49:47Luke Power-Hippisley:Yeah, well, Merck do a low-ride six for two now, and you can't lift the axle. It's twin-stair. Because obviously with how low the deck is, it's not possible. It's got the weight transfer for getting traction pulling away. So I thought, yeah, like if you are to have to run solo, whatever, up the road and just tipping it down the ring, you've got no choice. There's no lift in that axle. Flipping egg. I'll tell you what I'd done when I first started driving. I was doing containers for somebody. I mean, I do mean I was driving somebody else in. I had a heavy 20-footer and I tipped the heavy 20-footer and I had it closed up.

50:18And I thought, well, why would I open it back up again? Because it's just going to make it longer, and more of a nuisance to drive. So I just took it back to the dock like that. And I thought, in all the years I've done it since, I thought, I've not seen... It's not a common mistake you see people making that, is it? No. No, I didn't have eluded one. It's illegal. I thought I'd seen it slid up. Yeah. Yeah, it's illegal, isn't it? I don't think it's illegal, is it? I don't think it's illegal. I've never seen anyone else doing it.

50:43Luke Power-Hippisley:No, well, yeah, but you get those, like the ones that got the tanks on them. They're a lot of... They're longer, aren't they? The weight's distributed better on them. it's about 30 foot them tank container ones aren't they I think yeah whether it affects the braking characteristics on the trailer or something when it's slid up yeah well all I just think is that I had no traction but I was just being a bit slapdash and thought I'll just get to the port and get this box off what I'm thinking now Matt is I'm taking Don's slider down to pick that container I've been for the best when I get back off holiday and I was going to run with that that closed up but I don't know about empty but I'm sure someone told me it's illegal after I've told someone else about it.

51:24You're going to be running down

51:25Luke Power-Hippisley:through Austria and Germany. Are you going to take the chance of sliding it up? There's no benefit anyway, is there? Not really. Well, I'm sure somebody listening to this will be quite au fait on containers, hopefully. And might be able to give a bit of advice. So just one last thing, Matt. What have you done to your hand? Oh, I broke my finger. Yeah. That's all you were going to say about that.

51:53Is he not going to say? So the turbo star's got a slow puncture on it and it keeps, obviously it was just sitting there, isn't it? So it just pops off the rim every now and then and it popped off the rim the other day and normally I just get the valve stem out and I can pump it back up but it wasn't having it and I thought, right, I know what I'll do. I'll put it up on a block on one side and I'll put a cranking strap around it and pull the tyre in so it pushes it out against the rim. So I've done that and I'll put an air in it and it's, you know, bearing on this is taking a while to get to this point um and it's caught air it's catching air for happy days it's pumping up sweet but now i can't find the valve stem i'm like uh uh i need to get that thing off but i'm gonna lose all my hard work if i don't put the valve stem at the same time so i'm like right i'll just leave it on there but i'll better get that strap off because it's you know it looks like it's going a bit now i've gone to undo the strap but as the straps come up it's fouling on the spray suppression so i can't actually undo the strap so now let's go and get a screwdriver and i've popped the strap You know, like when you do the bit underneath, you just put the flange down, you know, and it's gone off like a...

52:51It's gone off like I've not seen a strap ever go up before and broke my finger. Yeah, so that was a bit of a... It wasn't my smartest move. So now I've got to deal with this broken finger, which is very annoying. Yeah. How long ago was that? Two weeks ago. Is it still painful? It's actually got a bit better now, but it's just I daren't knock it, so I've got this splint on. Yeah. it's the first broken bone I've had and I just you know you just think a moment of stupidity a moment of stupidity and I've got this for like the next couple of months now

53:21Luke Power-Hippisley:the thing is you said as well though wasn't it you said for all of that that tyre is still on the rim oh I said oh yeah once I realised you've got nothing to shoot no progress yeah once I realised my finger was broken and dangling about and I did take a couple of seconds to think how can I still save my progress and I thought you've got bigger problems now so I just had to pop it off with the broken finger Matt can you still use your bank in it no i might be struggling out before i take this load tomorrow yeah yeah do you not do you not think do you not think it's worth getting the slow puncture fixed i've got him i've got the time i might be listening to this he went around there to fix it and he did because it got two tires like it and he just changed the valve stems and i thought that's all right that's done but it didn't make a blind bit difference so it must have us it must have a slow puncture somewhere but it didn't have a slow puncture when i parked it up so i don't know i won't be looking at it for another few weeks now that's for sure anyway I mean, it might just be leaking on the rim.

54:14Yeah, that's what I thought. Maybe the tyres just, you know, the tyres need a bit of... It's got a bit hard or something, maybe. I don't know. Yeah. But, yeah. So that was that, yeah. Fair enough. Well, there you go, kids. Don't... Yeah, don't be stupid. Yeah. I thought you were saying, there you go, kids. Don't become owner-drivers.

54:36Luke Power-Hippisley:Same thing, innit? Just remember, safety first, children. Safety first, children, yeah. But I think in conclusion, really, you'd all encourage people to become an owner-driver and give it a go, essentially. Yeah. Yeah. Which is good to hear, really. And I've hopefully got a few other owner-drivers lined up to speak to at some point as well. So it'll be interesting to hear how they're getting on. Because, I mean, I've always said, I take my hat off to you boys and girls doing it because I wouldn't want to do it. I wouldn't want all the stress and aggro. And fair play to you for plotting away at it, really.

55:09Yeah.

55:09Luke Power-Hippisley:You do have your deeds when you sit there weighing it all up, thinking what am I doing this what am I doing yeah working myself but then things like this you're thinking like when you're even a water and on a good job you think yes best thing I've done yeah do you make it's also do you think it's not also made us unemployable yeah yes definitely so you've got no you've got no choice now yeah even though like we said institutionalized my mate packed in for a couple of times and I said Tim how do you feel when you packed in and he went oh it's like a weight off my shoulders he said I went and drove for somebody for like a few weeks and after a few weeks I'm sitting there driving down their own and I'm thinking about what they're getting for this loan and then I'm like why am I driving there bloody Laurie I should be getting my own Laurie on the face of the finance company again I was all geared up for jacking in in March just because I wanted to look after myself a bit more and be home a bit more but luckily Luke and Matt and our friend Dom that's his fifth mention by the way So, you know, they sort of like took me out of it.

56:13And I'm so glad they did because, you know, business is going really well and I'm really enjoying it again. I'm actually – I'd rather actually be out earning money in my truck than be at home now. Fair enough.

56:25Luke Power-Hippisley:You had a bit of a scare, didn't you? And you had to basically just reassess what you were doing, really. That's the last of my interview with you last time, Matt. I come home from that and I had a little bit of a scare with my health. And so I spoke to you on the Saturday, the following Monday. I was in hospital. Flipping heck. Yeah, it did. It made me think about things, but I took a bit of time out, took a couple of weeks out and that. But now, yeah, I'm absolutely loving it again. And jobs like this help, don't they? You know, I'm basically out here in Italy, eating and drinking with two mates, having a laugh and getting paid for it.

57:00Well, we say before, aren't we, Matt?

57:04Luke Power-Hippisley:Thinking about this job is you can have something in a diary and you're thinking, oh, I'm really looking forward to that job. And we said, is there like a bricklayer or a scaffolder? He's thinking, oh, yeah, I can't wait for that job we'll be doing in a couple of months. Like you can have a right cream number lined up, can't you? And you think, yeah, I can earn all right out of that one. I'll be with my mates or it's a nice run to like Spain or Italy, wherever. And I thought you don't get that with most industries, do you? Like there's no one sitting there thinking in their office and thinking, I can't wait to do that for us accounts in a couple of months' time.

57:33Yeah. Yeah, very true. Yeah. Yeah. Right, Gensel, I think I've taken up more than enough of your time because you need to get back to the bar, really, and help support us. The bar's open, yeah. The dinner bell's just wrong as well, I think. You've got to support the local industry, haven't you? Exactly how I see it, yeah. Yeah, absolutely. So it's been an absolute pleasure. We'll see how this sounds on the end product, and we'll perhaps revisit it several months down the line if you're all together again and see where we're at in the future. Are we going to get any royalties, Matt? Well, if I do, then you do.

58:10How's that?

58:12Luke Power-Hippisley:We're going to have a percentage of what you're getting, eh? Yeah, we'll do the ad, Reid. You don't mind doing that. Yeah, you have a percentage of nothing. It's absolutely not a problem. See, I'm nearly an owner driver. Your other one, Matt, it was sponsored by Fortune Tyres, wasn't it? Yes, it was, yeah. Yeah, get them on board. Yeah, I did get a discount. I've got all fortunes on my truck now. Oh, fair enough. Well, I mean... Come on, let's go on the way home. We're looking home. I'll see if I can get Michelin on board. You never know, do you? Yeah, I do, yeah. If you get me a deal with Continental, it'll be nice.

58:45If we get Goodyear and Schmitz on board, and then a DAF XG on board, we'd all be happy. Yeah, fair enough. Yeah.

58:51Luke Power-Hippisley:I mean, we'll get Crohn involved as well. Yeah, I mean, yeah, if anyone from DAF, Crohn, Michelin, Goodyear, or anyone like that... Or Mill Wilkins. and we'd like to sponsor us that would be very much appreciated yeah well they've all had a free plug now haven't they now they need to show us their money well exactly

59:13oh dear right gents I shall let you get to the bar it's been great fun and we'll talk to you soon see you later cheers Matt cheers ta-da bye bye

59:34Thank you.