Traction only is the cheapest way to add pulling power to a trailer fleet you have already paid for. Your trailers stay yours, loaded to your standards and sealed by your team. We hook, run and drop, so you pay for movement rather than for assets standing idle between peaks.
It suits operators whose trailer fleet and unit fleet have drifted out of balance, which happens to almost everyone eventually. A contract win adds trailers faster than drivers, a unit goes off the road for maintenance, or a seasonal spike needs double the traction for six weeks and none of it in February. Buying units you will underuse for ten months of the year is the expensive way to solve that.
Every movement runs under an operator licence with proper driver hours, tachograph records and insurance. You keep the trailer, we carry the regulatory load.
What you get
- Tractor unit and qualified Class 1 driver supplied together
- Drop and hook, live load and tip, or shunting on your site
- Day, night and weekend trunking including back to back shifts
- Ad hoc single movements with no minimum commitment
- Standing weekly and monthly traction at agreed rates
- Peak and seasonal surge cover booked in advance
- Trailer condition checked and reported before departure
- Driver hours, tacho compliance and insurance carried by us
How a job runs
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Tell us the movement
Collection, destination, trailer type, weight and the window. A postcode pair and a date is enough to price it.
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We confirm rate and unit
A fixed price for the movement, not an estimate that moves later, and confirmation of the allocated unit and driver.
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Hook and run
The driver walks round your trailer, reports any defect before pulling away, and runs to the agreed window.
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Proof back to you
Signed paperwork or digital POD after the drop, with exceptions flagged the same day rather than at invoice.
Often needed alongside this
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General Haulage, Full and Part Loads
Vehicle and trailer supplied together for freight moving anywhere in the UK. Take the whole trailer, or pay only for the space you actually fill.
Read more -
Dedicated HGV Contracts and Shuttle Runs
Committed HGV capacity on agreed days at agreed times. The certainty of running your own fleet without the acquisition, maintenance and compliance overhead.
Read more -
Backloads and Return Journeys
Every loaded run creates an empty one in the other direction. If your freight fits that empty leg you pay a fraction of the dedicated rate, and we stop running fresh air.
Read more
Traction Only Haulage: common questions
Do I need my own operator licence to use traction only?
No. The vehicle runs on our licence with our driver, tachograph records and insurance. If you already hold a licence, using our traction does not affect your own vehicle authorisation.
Is my trailer insured while you are pulling it?
We carry goods in transit and liability cover for the work we perform. Trailer own damage cover normally sits with the trailer owner, so we confirm exactly where each liability sits in writing before the first movement rather than leaving it assumed.
Can I book a single trailer movement?
Yes, with no minimum commitment and no contract. Rates improve when volume is regular and planned because we can plan a return leg against it, so tell us if a one off is likely to repeat.
What trailer types can you pull?
Curtainsiders, box and dry van trailers, skeletals and container chassis, flatbeds and step frames. Tell us coupling height, kingpin position and any ADR or temperature requirement and we will confirm suitability before quoting.
Get a price for traction only haulage
Two postcodes and a date is enough to price most jobs. For anything urgent, phone us: it is faster than a form.
- One fixed price covering vehicle, driver, fuel and insurance
- No fuel surcharge added after the fact
- An honest view on whether a cheaper option suits you better
- No minimum volume and no contract required
Urgent? Call 07546 614442