Driving 3.5-7.5 tonne vehicles... talk to me

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Bryan

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Is there a category you can do that allows you to drive up to 7.5 tonnes or do you have to do the full HGV license? It's always a barrier for me with this 3.5T thing so I'm thinking about doing the necessary test but I wouldn't have a need to drive something absolutely massive.

My question refers particularly to spec lift recovery vehicles.

Upon reading this:
Driving larger goods vehicles (LGV) on a car driving licence | nidirect

and particular this section:

There are special licensing arrangements allowing you to drive larger vehicles without having to hold the higher Large Goods Vehicle (LGV) driving licence entitlement. Holders of a full category B (car) driving licence may drive any of the large vehicles listed below:

goods vehicle fitted with apparatus designed for raising a disabled vehicle partly from the ground and for drawing a disabled vehicle when so raised (whether by partial superimposition or otherwise) being a vehicle which is used solely for dealing with disabled vehicles and isn't used for the conveyance of any goods or load other than a disabled vehicle when so raised and water, fuel, accumulators and articles required for the operation of, or in connection with, such apparatus or otherwise for dealing with disabled vehicles and has an unladen weight not exceeding 3.5 tonnes


So does that paragraph mean that I can legally drive a spec lift vehicle so long as the recovery vehicle itself is less than 3.5 tonnes unladen (such as a Transit)?
 
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RCT

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I think you can do a test for it, but you might as well do the full rigid test if you going to have to do a test anyway. Think alot of the horsebox people do the small test for up to 7.5T. I just went and done the full test for class 1 at the time.

Once you go over 3.5T then you also need an operators licence and have to do the daily check sheets for each vehicle and the 8-12 week inspection as well.

Any of those transits are generally overweight anyway and they don't normally have a spec frame, just a recovery body on the back. My 3.5T recovery truck is on the axle limits and it's a full aluminium body built for lightweight, no side skirts etc, so any of them transits have to be on/over limit all the time.
 

Bryan

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I had this yoke a few years ago and it was great. Weighed in at 2.7 tonnes unladen.

lifting-cortina-jpg.54179


According to this a spec lift recovery vehicle used solely for recovery (and not transport) does not require an operators license.
https://www.gov.uk/government/uploa...file/210144/guide-for-recovery-operations.pdf
 

Mrt20

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My understanding was that a spec lift was treated as a trailer. Not that stops all these popup recovery companines
C1 is the licence cagegory your looking for 3.5t to 7.5t
C is7.5t and above also know as Class 2
So really you need C1+E to use a spec
Are you looking to get into recovery Byran?
You dont need an operators license if you are 80km of your base
More info here
https://www.gov.uk/government/uploa...file/210144/guide-for-recovery-operations.pdf
 

Bryan

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Not in a big way.... I've no interest in the flatbed/beavertail Transit type things because as said above they are all overweight by the time you put a car on them. The spec lift (like the Bedford above) will probably still be under 3.5 tonnes even with a car suspended on the back because some of the vehicle weight will be on its own back wheels but then this weight will likely take it over 3.5 tonnes train weight. With a car on it it was likely to be somewhere 3.5-4 tonnes.

So a cat B license allows you 3.5 tonnes gross weight with a 750kg allowance for an unbraked trailer so this technically means you are allowed 4.25 tonnes gross train weight?? Or is the 750 to be included in the 3.5?

I never actually got round to using the Bedford due to all of these license requirements etc. but I wouldn't mind another one - maybe something a bit more modern though.
 
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Apis

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One of these would keep the weight down. Would be a great business around Belfast for nipping through the traffic jams.
 

Nicky

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To obtain the 7.5t licence through Ian's, its £649 plus a medical (£25-50), plus the theory test fee, which will see you limited to 7.5t vehicle.

The rigid body licence which is anything short of an artic (up to '8 wheeler' sized vehicle) is £699 plus the medical and theory test fee.

Personally, I see it as a no brainer and wouldn't even contemplate limiting myself to 7.5t when the test, training, theory etc are all pretty much identical for both classes anyway over the head of £50.

Just watch with the likes of a spec lift as unless it's used solely for breakdown recovery to get vehicles from a broken down spot to the nearest available place for assistance, it can be a minefield. A mate of mine had an LDV spec like yours seized as the cop insisted the car was classed as a trailer when on the spec and he didn't have the trailer category on his licence, thought had a HGV licence. Was a very long drawn out process and took a lot of time and hassle to get it rectified.
 

Bryan

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To obtain the 7.5t licence through Ian's, its £649 plus a medical (£25-50), plus the theory test fee, which will see you limited to 7.5t vehicle.

The rigid body licence which is anything short of an artic (up to '8 wheeler' sized vehicle) is £699 plus the medical and theory test fee.

Personally, I see it as a no brainer and wouldn't even contemplate limiting myself to 7.5t when the test, training, theory etc are all pretty much identical for both classes anyway over the head of £50.

Just watch with the likes of a spec lift as unless it's used solely for breakdown recovery to get vehicles from a broken down spot to the nearest available place for assistance, it can be a minefield. A mate of mine had an LDV spec like yours seized as the cop insisted the car was classed as a trailer when on the spec and he didn't have the trailer category on his licence, thought had a HGV licence. Was a very long drawn out process and took a lot of time and hassle to get it rectified.

No brainer indeed.

So in reality for a smaller spec lift (like the one I had before) going by what I've posted above a category B+E license will cover you if solely used for recovery purposes only?
 

Big Pimp

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I done both B & E (to allow me to tow a trailer up the maximum GVW of the jeep I was driving (but cannot exceed 3.5Tonnes)) and then my C license, which allows me to drive everything up to a tractor unit (but without trailer attached)
 

Bryan

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Spec lift is such a minefield/grey area but the paragraph quoted above clearly talks about spec lift vehicles and clearly says they can be driven on a B license even when "drawing" a vehicle.

So if B&E only allows you to go to 3.5T really you need to do C&E?
 

Mrt20

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Spec lift is such a minefield/grey area but the paragraph quoted above clearly talks about spec lift vehicles and clearly says they can be driven on a B license even when "drawing" a vehicle.

So if B&E only allows you to go to 3.5T really you need to do C&E?

C1+E would do . C+E wouldn't cost much more though
 

Mrt20

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BTW there is no money in recovery unless you are prepared to work 24/7 Bryan.
 

Nicky

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Spec lift is such a minefield/grey area but the paragraph quoted above clearly talks about spec lift vehicles and clearly says they can be driven on a B license even when "drawing" a vehicle.

So if B&E only allows you to go to 3.5T really you need to do C&E?

I'm almost certain that the following is correct, but it's my understanding of it after dealing with Ian's driving school.

B+E - Maximum weight of vehicle + up to 3.5t trailer (the 3.5t is inclusive of the trailer and load) as long as the tow vehicle is rated to tow that weight. You can not exceed this with just B+E. Trailer and load can exceed the weight of the vehicle, ridiculously.

C+E - rigid truck up to and over 7.5t and up to 3.5t trailer (as above). Not all heavy commercials will be plated to tow a 3.5t trailer, so watch for that too.

C1+E - up to 7.5t vehicle (includes weight of vehicle and load) and up to 3.5t trailer, but the trailer and load can’t weigh more than the vehicle.

There's not a massive amount of vehicles with a 3.5t towing capacity, but most Land Rovers (Freelander aside), late model D-Max pickups (very few pickups can legally tow much over 3t), Trooper, some Shoguns, Touareg etc.
 

Big Pimp

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So if B&E only allows you to go to 3.5T really you need to do C&E?

C1+E would do . C+E wouldn't cost much more though

C1 would allow you to drive up to a 7.5 Tonne Lorry with a trailer of no more than 750kg

C1E would allow you to drive a 7.5 Tonne Lorry with a trailer up to the weight of the Lorry you're driving, e.g., if your 7.5 Tonne Lorry weighs 4 Tonnes, your trailer cannot weight more than 4T.

C will allow you to drive vehicles more than 3.5 Tonne.
CE will allow you to drive artics & trailers
 

Nicky

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C1 would allow you to drive up to a 7.5 Tonne Lorry with a trailer of no more than 750kg

C1E would allow you to drive a 7.5 Tonne Lorry with a trailer up to the weight of the Lorry you're driving, e.g., if your 7.5 Tonne Lorry weighs 4 Tonnes, your trailer cannot weight more than 4T.

C will allow you to drive vehicles more than 3.5 Tonne.
CE will allow you to drive artics & trailers

Wasn't 100% sure if the CE was inclusive of 40ft trailers, but after looking at the GOV.UK website, it states as follows:

Gov.Uk said:
You can drive category C vehicles (vehicles over 3.5t) with a trailer over 750kg.

No limit for the trailer, though total weight can not exceed 44t (y)
 
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