Transport

[Cordiale]

Evening all,
I know that several of you use a small lorry to move your tackle about. I was just wondering what you need to run one, operators licence, MOT etc and what the likely costs might be, as I am toying with the idea of buying one.
Thoughts and advice would be most welcome.

 

[Tonym]

I changed to a Leyland Daf 45 a year ago and would not go back to the 4wd and trailer as it feels so much safer.
For private use you do not need an operators Licence and I pay £165 road tax and around £120 for insurance with a 3000mile limit With the NFU on a vintage vehicle policy as it is over 15 years old. MOT was around £130.
It averages around 19 MPG so is not much less than the 4wd.
Downside is it does not like wet fields but a lot of matches have parking on hard standing for lorries and I have only needed a pull once.
All in all very pleased.

 

[Pennine Ploughing]

I have this, £165 tax Insurance is £150 no mileage limit, MOT £120 fuel about 17mpg but running near full weight all the time, you dont need operators license,
1 thing to remember is, if you dont have a HGV license, and passed your test before 1997, then you will have a 7.5 tonne entitlement, but this only lasts till your 70 years old, then when a man i know renewed his at 70, he loosed the right to drive anything over 3.5 tonne, there will be 1 or 2 old boys that dont know this, and will be running with no license or insurance, this applies to 4x4 and trailers as well,
@massey765 you asked me about running a wagon, did you know about the above ?
and does anyone know away round it ?

 

[massey765]

View attachment 523274

I have this, £165 tax Insurance is £150 no mileage limit, MOT £120 fuel about 17mpg but running near full weight all the time, you dont need operators license,
1 thing to remember is, if you dont have a HGV license, and passed your test before 1997, then you will have a 7.5 tonne entitlement, but this only lasts till your 70 years old, then when a man i know renewed his at 70, he loosed the right to drive anything over 3.5 tonne, there will be 1 or 2 old boys that dont know this, and will be running with no license or insurance, this applies to 4x4 and trailers as well,
@massey765 you asked me about running a wagon, did you know about the above ?
and does anyone know away round it ?

Where do you look to find these regulations John, cos if you're right there will be a lot of over 70s riding around in wagons and 4x4s not knowing
Do you have to take a test and medical .....surely driving a 4x4 should not be dependent on age

 

[Tonym]

I am 72 and lost my entitlement for a 7.5 tonne truck but all you have to do is fill in the forms and have a medical and it is re- issued to you. You have to have the medical every 3 years but this automatically updates your car license.
This allows you to drive up to 7.5 tonnes with a trailer weighing no more than 750kg.

 

[arcobob]

A 4x4 plus trailer with gross weight of 3.5 tonnes takes you close to 6 tonnes gross train weight, thus more than 3.5 tonnes. At 70 you have to renew your licence and also make special application for the over 3.5 tonne entitlement. It took me five months to get mine issued mainly because of medical requirements, delays in sending the correct forms and numerous cockups by the DVLA. My advice is don't delay and send everything recorded delivery when the time comes.

 

[massey765]

Hope this right ......I am looking for a sleeper cab 7.5 ton wagon

 

[Tonym]

A 4x4 plus trailer with gross weight of 3.5 tonnes takes you close to 6 tonnes gross train weight, thus more than 3.5 tonnes. At 70 you have to renew your licence and also make special application for the over 3.5 tonne entitlement. It took me five months to get mine issued mainly because of medical requirements, delays in sending the correct forms and numerous cockups by the DVLA. My advice is don't delay and send everything recorded delivery when the time comes.

When I renewed at 70 I stated I wanted b+e which is the trailer towing part of the license and it came back with it on and no medical or any other problems.
I was told to photocopy my license before sending it off by a friend as they removed his b+e on his new one and then made him take the trailer test.
You are right Bob send it recorded and photocopy everything you send to them.
Another friend sent his off and heard nothing back so contacted Swansea and they told him they had no record of him having a license and made him take a test.

 

[arcobob]

From memory you can download all the standard forms online except for the medical form required for over 3.5 tonnes which you have to request and they only send by post. It took DVLA six weeks to send my form, three weeks to get an appointment for medical and so on. It is no use sending the forms back without the medical form because they will issue the wrong licence. I complained to my MP who sent me a copy of the letter he received from them. They said it was all due to increasing EU legislation

 

[Pennine Ploughing]

Thanks, that explains the 70 years job, i was not sure how it works, but will all of changed by i get there likely,
@massey765 my wagon might be for sale

 

[MrNoo]

Thanks, that explains the 70 years job, i was not sure how it works, but will all of changed by i get there likely,
@massey765 my wagon might be for sale

What length bed has it? We are looking at going down the lorry route as we have 2 tractors/ploughs to get to matches, Andrew Drinkwater says 2 will fit on his bed with ploughs but was unsure how long his bed was!! I would guess a bit of "overlap" would be needed.

 

[Pennine Ploughing]

What length bed has it? We are looking at going down the lorry route as we have 2 tractors/ploughs to get to matches, Andrew Drinkwater says 2 will fit on his bed with ploughs but was unsure how long his bed was!! I would guess a bit of "overlap" would be needed.

it's 20 foot, but don't think you would get 2 tractors on, you would need 24 + foot for that

 

[Tonym]

What length bed has it? We are looking at going down the lorry route as we have 2 tractors/ploughs to get to matches, Andrew Drinkwater says 2 will fit on his bed with ploughs but was unsure how long his bed was!! I would guess a bit of "overlap" would be needed.

If you have c1e on your license you can drive a 7.5 tonne lorry with a trailer up to a train weight of 12 tonnes which would solve your problem and give you more weight to play with.
You might just get away with 2 t20 Fergusons on a 7.5 tonne truck but anything bigger you would be over your weight limit.

 

[ploughman61]

A 4x4 plus trailer with gross weight of 3.5 tonnes takes you close to 6 tonnes gross train weight, thus more than 3.5 tonnes. At 70 you have to renew your licence and also make special application for the over 3.5 tonne entitlement. It took me five months to get mine issued mainly because of medical requirements, delays in sending the correct forms and numerous cockups by the DVLA. My advice is don't delay and send everything recorded delivery when the time comes.

I know someone who was stopped three miles from bakewell market, asked were he had come from told the officer
replied that he was just within his limit without a taco. Asked what he ment, officer told that more than 50miles from home towing a trailer you need to have a tachograph fitted to your vehicle.

 

[arcobob]

I know someone who was stopped three miles from bakewell market, asked were he had come from told the officer
replied that he was just within his limit without a taco. Asked what he ment, officer told that more than 50miles from home towing a trailer you need to have a tachograph fitted to your vehicle.

Only if you are working under an operator`s licence and even then the information is not correct. You do not need a tacho for private use. The police have little knowledge of the law relating to these things and don`t normally put their money where their mouth is. It is VOSA who you want to worry about because they are a hungry lot of Gestapo officers. You do not need to use a tacho in a 7.5 tonner for private use but it is advisable to do so if the vehicle is also used commercially under an operator`s licence. Watch out if you are carrying equipment belonging to another person as this could be construed as for hire and reward. There is another grey area that arises with cash prizes which can also be considered as payment.

 

[Fergie Ploughman]

Similar story to the 7.5t truck users above, mostly positives from me. The big things for me are gliding along at 60mph, nice and stable on the road, no snaking in the motorway tramlines, leave it all loaded up with all the gear I need, just jump in and go, no messing your posh 4x4 up in dirty fields (if that's what you run), you can pull a caravan and still have your tractor with you, plus another toy to play with! Downsides are cost, more tax to pay, another (expensive) MOT, more insurance, more maintenance, place to store, etc plus if you want to do an overnighter at a match can be challenging to find somewhere to stay and your only transport is your truck. If and when I swap mine I'll go for a sleeper cab.

I don't believe the 50mile with tacho rule is true for PLG use.

 

[Ley253]

View attachment 523274

I have this, £165 tax Insurance is £150 no mileage limit, MOT £120 fuel about 17mpg but running near full weight all the time, you dont need operators license,
1 thing to remember is, if you dont have a HGV license, and passed your test before 1997, then you will have a 7.5 tonne entitlement, but this only lasts till your 70 years old, then when a man i know renewed his at 70, he loosed the right to drive anything over 3.5 tonne, there will be 1 or 2 old boys that dont know this, and will be running with no license or insurance, this applies to 4x4 and trailers as well,
@massey765 you asked me about running a wagon, did you know about the above ?
and does anyone know away round it ?

No real problem with retaining the "Grand fathers rights" its just a form filling exercise, plus a medical (another form filling exercise, but done by your Dr, for which you pay!)

 

[Ley253]

If you have c1e on your license you can drive a 7.5 tonne lorry with a trailer up to a train weight of 12 tonnes which would solve your problem and give you more weight to play with.
You might just get away with 2 t20 Fergusons on a 7.5 tonne truck but anything bigger you would be over your weight limit.

Sorry Tony, thats not right, there is a code attached and it clearly states max is 8250 KG, . It used to be restriction 107, but I think its had a name change! Its all on the back of the licence.

 

[Pennine Ploughing]

Sorry Tony, thats not right, there is a code attached and it clearly states max is 8250 KG, . It used to be restriction 107, but I think its had a name change! Its all on the back of the licence.

sorry Harry, he is right

https://www.gov.uk/driving-licence-categories

 

[Ley253]

sorry Harry, he is right

https://www.gov.uk/driving-licence-categories

Sorry John, he is not! I have just read it from the back of my licence! Its in column 12! As I said, it used to be called restriction 107, We went through all the permutations with Dons high cut kit and caravan, the way he can tow his caravan as its over the 750 kg limit was to down rate the lorry by 500 kg, that brought everything back inside the 8250 limit. If you have passed a test, then Tony is correct, but only if a test has been passed. We did in fact look into that aspect as well. Just had a double check. Licence states code 79 then goes on to give the weight. Looking code 79 up, it goes back to the weight stated on the licence.