Fat Solutions Ltd

Name: Fat Solutions Ltd
Address: Opperating Centre is on Holloway Drive, Swinton, Manchester, M282LA, GB
Telephone: +441617060881
Price range: ££

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Fat Solutions Ltd

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Fast Acting Transport Solutions Ltd or "TEAM FATSO" as we are affectionately known to our customers! We make you look good by keeping your promise to deliver!

Fast Acting Transport.... We are a small family run transport business that specialize in urgent sameday Freight from anywhere to anywhere in the UK & across Europe We currently operate 4 X 18t curtain side vehicles and 1 X 26t curtain side, all fitted with tuck under tail lifts. All clean and tidy vehicles tracked by GPS with our company Logo and name sign written on them so you can't miss us. Basically we are here to keep your promise to deliver the goods anytime 24/7...... We trade on our reputation of great service from experienced, polite and friendly people to do business with.

28/10/2026

Got a job from Stranraer to Dublin tomorrow going via Belfast and I’m looking for recommendations of where to park loaded on Thursday night between Belfast and Dublin? Closer to Dublin than Belfast because I need to be in Dublin City centre at 6am Friday morning for my delivery….. Any suggestions?

27/10/2026

So….. Owner driver update as requested

I promised to do a weekly round up of how the previous week went….. The Good, The bad and the Ugly 😂

Did I make any money last week? Is it possible to make any money as an owner driver any more?

I could say stuff like “Who dares wins Rodney” 😂

But did I make any money?

Well that depends on whether a mahooosive fine is in the post winging it’s way to my house as I type this? 😂

Ok Let’s assume (for now) it’s just a warning letter I got the other day telling me to do better research next time on the rules of returning to the UK in an empty truck even if you’re empty with no illegal immigrants you can still be fined for not having all your ducks in a row 😂

You can be fined just as much for NOT having any stowaway passengers as having any!!!!

But seriously…….

I did just two jobs last week

Both jobs tested me to my limits but both paid well enough for me to say I was glad I did them and would do them again with hindsight because they were priced out fairly covered my costs adequately (hopefully 😂)

1) I did a proper 15 hour night shift with a 10 hour drive loading near Chester and delivering to London and home empty….. in one hit, it was a long night and I slept for 14 hours straight when I finally went to bed and had a few days off to recover!!!

2) And I did this nightmare of a Job from Manchester to central Paris with all the riots and delays and customs issues, it properly tested my patience and I can only hope at this point that a mahoosive fine isn’t on its way for NOT importing my quota of illegal immigrants??? 😂

Ok here goes

I forgot to add the standing costs of £700 net per week every week all year round

I invoiced £7320 gross or £6100 net for last week!

I drove 1472 miles in total and averaged 14.1 mpg!

Fuel was 186.54 gross pence per litre or 155.45 net if you like?

I spent £986 gross altogether on…….

Le Shuttle, road tolls, customs clearance, secure parking and a few things like “Attention Angles Morts stickers etc for my trip to the EU

Did I make any money and was it worth it?????

I think if you are prepared to do the jobs other people shy away from then when it’s time for a holiday for example you get to have 12 weeks or more of pure enjoyment not worrying about how much you spend 😂

Obviously fingers crossed 🤞 that that letter is the end of my eu journey 😂

25/10/2026

Thought this would be helpful for some newer drivers????

Going to Europe starter kit for the first time euro driver or old timers like me that have not been for a few years!!!!!!

If you don’t want to be held up and interrogated at the boarder heading back to the UK even if you’re empty and have nobody hiding in the back ….

That’s not enough!!!!!!

If you don’t want a letter threatening to take your first born for a sacrifice to the immigration boarder gods 😂

Things you will need to be able to hand over when you’re stopped are…….

Mostly the things you take for granted in the UK are included but you need to be able to hand over copies of actual documentation that are carried in the truck!

Driving licence
Passport
Log book for the vehicle
Insurance docs that show you are insured in the country you are entering!
Copy of the operator licence
Valid Mot

But also you need stuff like
Duct tape to repair any curtain cuts before you enter the port!!!

Plenty of paper tacho rolls to print out tacho info as requested!

A vehicle check list filled in to match each time you stopped and they will check your tacho print outs match the time and place you did the checks….. For every time you stopped for a break or any other time like stopping for fuel and left the vehicle unattended for even a few minutes!!!!! You need to confirm in writing by filling out the checklist that nobody’s in the truck except you!!!!!

You need a sticker on each corner of your vehicle and trailer that says

“Look out I am a truck” 😂

“Attention Angles Morts” 😂

You need a TIR cord fitted (not like I did just have it in the locker 😂)

The same thing applies to a padlock or seal on the back door….. it must be in place not in the driver’s door pocket 😂

This applies even if you are empty!!!!

You need some blank CMR notes that are just basically delivery notes that can be used anywhere across Europe if you want to cross a border and deliver something!

Then comes the GMR and ELO that are just bar codes sent to the driver by whoever does the customs clearance for you to show all the behind the scenes customs documents are in order but ……..

Please check the vehicle reg on the GMR is correct and matches the vehicle 😂

not like mine was where they put a 0 zero instead of an O for Oscar in BO22RUN and I got turned away from check in after queuing up for an hour 😂
Let’s see what else……. Make sure there is nothing in the cab that’s considered illegal in the country you are entering like pepper spray for example is legal in some countries but not others!!!! 😂

Hope this helps someone else from going through the nightmare of getting a Tug and not being sure why????

Can anyone add anything helpful to a newborn truck driver 😂

25/10/2026

So the wife has suggested that we should sell BO22 and that money together with the money that I made this week…. We could buy this house on wheels and with the money left over we could buy her a new car to go in the back😝

24/10/2026

Ok where does this Paris job start going wrong then?

Let me see……. Well before I was even loaded it started going wrong for sure 😂

I agreed the price for the job

It was loading 6 tons of plywood and plasterboard plus tools and equipment etc at a shop fitters in Denton at 1pm on Wednesday to deliver to a job in Paris 8pm Thursday night. Just over 500 loaded miles and two days to do it!

All sounds good for a relaxing timeline and booked the euro tunnel tickets online!

Got a phone call Wednesday morning asking if I could swing by a few different places around Manchester as all the gear isn’t in one place….. ok I said but that would be extra obviously?

Customer agreed to additional costs and 5 hours later and 4 different collection addresses I was loaded and on my way to Folkestone with the promise that all the customs clearance would be done for me and sent to my phone long before I get to Folkestone!

So as it took so long to get loaded, I was getting to the end of my shift, I pull over for the night after a long day at Mardyke truckstop nowhere near Folkestone and still no customs clearance????

In the morning I was promised not to worry it’s on its way and to head to the train station but after another phone call an hour later I was told to pull over at the Ashton International truckstop while they sort it out……

Over 9 hours in the truckstop later about 7:30pm I was asked to start my shift again and go to the inland boarder facility to get a document and forward it to the customer!!!

I did that then sat there waiting for my GMR…. It never came?

And by 10:30pm it still hadn’t been done and they wouldn’t let me stay at the customs facility for the night and I couldn’t get on the train so I headed back to the truckstop only to be told sorry we are full go find somewhere else?????

I ended up at Dover Truckstop 15 miles away and called it a day, changed my train to the next day reorganised the delivery for the next night at 8pm and relax, we discussed the extra cost and the customer said no problem I will get paid the extra!!!!!!

In the morning I had an email with all the documents included and headed to the train station……

An hour long queue to check in …… the timing is starting to look tight now for an 8pm delivery 😂

I get to check in and I am only then told my GMR is no good because the reg is wrong???

My Reg is BO22 but the GMR says B022 with a zero not an O for Oscar sorry driver go away sort it out and join the back of the queue again 😝

3 fookin hours later I get on the train 😂

Another long day on the road through France!

I made it to the centre of Paris by 7:30pm for an agreed 8pm delivery slot………. Nobody else is there yet????

Sat there till 10pm waiting to unload watching all the banks and jewellery shops being boarded up all around me as they prepare for another night of rioting….

I was getting nervous for sure but please note some of those pictures are tongue in cheek AI generated memes ok?😂

Once I was eventually unloaded I had 39 minutes of my 15 hour shift left to get out of Paris and find somewhere to park up….. twitchy bum time 😂

I was literally on zero minutes left when I put the tacho on break 😂

And as you can see from my previous posts my troubles didn’t end there 😂

A slashed curtain and a Tug at the boarder control on the way home empty that took another hour to get a warning letter that I may be prosecuted for an insecure truck because I didn’t put a padlock on the back doors or my TIR cord on an empty truck!!!! My bad eh! 😂

On the upside I think I broke my record again for the biggest takings invoiced in a single week with one truck 😂

I’m gonna take a few days off now ok? 😂

24/10/2026

Oh the joys of doing European work just gets better every time 😂

Managed to get unloaded last night eventually after 3 days of paperwork processing problems 😂

Then heading home empty I got a tug at boarder control checkpoint at Le Shuttle….. Spent an hour explaining where I have been and who I am and analysing my tacho print outs…. Finally let me go with a warning letter!

Anyone ever had anything more than a warning letter for the following crimes 😂

They said they pulled me in because I had no TIR cord on and no padlock on my back door and a slash in my curtain…. Hopefully I will just get away this warning letter and no fine in the post?

24/10/2026

My job to Paris was an adventure for sure and will take some explaining 😂

I finally got unloaded at 11pm last night in the centre of Paris with 39 minutes left of a 15 hour shift 😝

So I parked at the first lay-by I came to on the A1 out of the city centre with zero time left on the clock…. I might have even gone a minute over 🤣

Oh the joys of parking in a layby near Paris…… woke up this morning to an inevitable slash in the curtains even though the back doors were open!!!!!! (Angry face 😠)

I will do a post explaining how it almost all went so “Tits Up”

Honestly you couldn’t make this s**t up 😂

I will need therapy once I finish this trip and get back to Blighty 🤣

I might feel better after agreeing the final cost with my customer…… and taking a few days off 😝

lots to talk about how a European job can go wrong for sure 😂

In the meantime here’s a picture of my beautiful BO22 in the morning sunshine ☀️

I love 🥰 this picture, the red is soooo bright in the 🌞

22/10/2026

Ok honest Truck Stop review time……

Positive (mostly 😂) feedback is as follows……

I had a long frustrating day yesterday trying to get loaded in Manchester and was running out of options as I was coming south heading for Le Shuttle to 🇫🇷 and decided to pull over for the night around 10pm!

From several followers recommendations …… I called it a day here!

Welcome to Mardyke Truck Park……

At £39 inc vat to park for the night this close to the M25 it is on the cheaper side of stupidity expensive for a parking spot in muddy field 😂

Late arrivals welcome 🙏

They still let me in at 10pm…. They were not completely full like most truck stops by 6pm!

Had a quiet, safe night with nobody bothering me, (fuel tank alarm stayed quiet 😂) and no running fridges within earshot like in a motorway services 😝
and a barrier at the gate with 24 hour security to keep the diesel fairies and curtain slashes out 😝

Decent showers and clean toilets with a drivers area that’s very pleasant with “Help yourself” facilities and it’s comfortable enough if you’re stuck here for a weekly rest with a cinema too !!!

Ok now for the not as good points 😂

The overflow truck park is very muddy and full of potholes (not as bad as some like the Red Lion used to be 😝) but well overdue for a makeover 😂
all that mud walking back to my truck drags a lot of crap into my cab on my boots!

The cafe is shut (don’t know why?)but there is a petrol station a short walk away with a Greggs so it’s not so bad for me especially 😂

They take my fuel cards so I can fill up here!

All in…. a reasonable expense I can include in my price to my customer to keep their load safe overnight!

So I will give it a generous 7/10 compared to the others it’s well above average 😂

21/10/2026

Looking for suggestions of where to park tonight on my way from Manchester to Folkstone…… it’s taking longer than expected to get loaded and I don’t want to get on the train tonight and end up out of driving time when I get off the train in Calais

So best start my day close to Folkstone so I can have a good run to Paris for delivery at 8pm…… I could be several more hours getting loaded here and then end up with nowhere good and safe down in the south of Dartford tonight?

20/10/2026

Morning world 😝

That long walk (after a very short notice 15 hour night shift yesterday) in the afternoon sunshine was wonderful and I thoroughly enjoyed it especially the bit were I got lost in Worsley woods and had to consult google maps to find the path back to the road 😂

I love 🥰 the comments from I guess mostly truck drivers who find it so hard to believe that I actually chose to walk home from Rye Motors in Trafford Park to my yard in Wardley Industrial Estate 😂

Who in their right mind would choose to walk that far I hear you shouting ????😝

I really like long walks and needed to stay awake for a few more hours to try and keep my body clock on days and I really needed to get some exercise so yes I chose to walk ok? 😝

Also after reading some of the comments from my last post about getting hopefully the same truck service for £80 a month less, I thought I would have nightmares about my truck being mistreated while in for inspection 😂 😂

I’m confident Rye Motors will take good care of my truck and want my repeat business as well as a good honest review from me!!!!

But seriously I did manage to stay awake until the afternoon 😂

I had a wonderful meal with Kay and a few beers catching up with the bike racing from last weekend that I missed

And then went to bed around 6pm 🤣 I was asleep before my head hit the pillow 😝

I slept for 14 hours (with just the usual pitstop at 3am 😝)

Feeling refreshed and ready to face the world again at 8am this morning Job done, I did 2 days work for 3 days pay and it’s only Tuesday 😂

Now to walk back to Trafford Park to pick up my Truck and see what Rye Motors have in mind for the service schedule going forward!!!!

Just quoting a job to Paris for tomorrow and watching the rioting on the internet wondering how safe it is to be driving into Europe these days? 😝

Address

Opperating Centre Is On Holloway Drive, Swinton
Manchester
M282LA

Telephone

+441617060881

Website

http://fatsolutions.co.uk/

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