Driving overweight van
Discussion
bigmowley said:
The best way to organize things is a 3500Kg gross weight trailer, which weights about a ton so that’s 2 and a half ton capacity. The Sprinter has a gross train weight of 6500Kgs so fully loaded trailer plus just under a ton in the van and we are all good to go.
Still great vans.
The issue with doing this is you then need C1+E and a tacho fitted (unless one of the exemptions/derogations apply). Still great vans.
Cat
Edited by Cat on Friday 25th August 14:41
In 2020 I was delivering bikes for a firm in Rochdale, we had a Fiat Ducato thing no idea of model, we had a deal on FJR1300 Yamaha's another dealer in the south of England bought four which I got in the back quite easily just worked it out..... those four bikes had a combined weight of just under 1200kgs no wonder it wallowed about a bit...
Cat said:
bigmowley said:
The best way to organize things is a 3500Kg gross weight trailer, which weights about a ton so that’s 2 and a half ton capacity. The Sprinter has a gross train weight of 6500Kgs so fully loaded trailer plus just under a ton in the van and we are all good to go.
Still great vans.
The issue with doing this is you then need C+E and a tacho fitted (unless one of the exemptions/derogations apply). Still great vans.
Unsure if 6 weekly vehicle/trailer checks and 90 km/h speed restriction apply. Arm of the law certainly gets heavy (to match the combination
).grumpy52 said:
When doing agency work at a plumbers merchant they were very surprised when I told them that all their 3.5 t van were overloaded every day. I was driving 7.5t trucks .
Much activity between the office , head office and various van dealers and yes the vans were grossly overloaded. 3.5 t vans with box bodies and tail lifts had a load capacity of 650kg approx. Loading them up with sanitary ware , boilers , radiators, pipework and fittings soon hit the limit. A pallet of rads exceeded the limit on its own.
So many small branches of even very large companies don't have a clue about the legal side of transport. Many one man operations don't give it a thought.
I have personal experience of operating a 3500kg van. Weighbridges simply don't feature at all.Much activity between the office , head office and various van dealers and yes the vans were grossly overloaded. 3.5 t vans with box bodies and tail lifts had a load capacity of 650kg approx. Loading them up with sanitary ware , boilers , radiators, pipework and fittings soon hit the limit. A pallet of rads exceeded the limit on its own.
So many small branches of even very large companies don't have a clue about the legal side of transport. Many one man operations don't give it a thought.
Some customers apply considerable pressure to take overweigh loads. Worst I've experienced is a 1500kg load in a van rated at 1000kg. Didn't come to light until the van had been loaded and they sure as hell weren't going to offload it. Van's handling and braking were noticeable degraded. Fortunately the journey was short at just 30 miles.
Overloading in the 3500kg van sector is rife. Wouldn't want to get caught.
bigothunter said:
Doesn't commercial towing over 3500kg GTM invoke the need for an operator's licence as well?
Not if you are carrying your own goods and the unladen weight of the trailer is less than 1020kg. bigothunter said:
Unsure if 6 weekly vehicle/trailer checks and 90 km/h speed restriction apply. Arm of the law certainly gets heavy (to match the combination ).
They don't for the combinations bigmowley was suggesting. . ).Cat
Yes overloading of 3.5t vans and tippers is totally normal. I know someone with a fleet of them and he said every day, every van that leaves here is overweight!
Every single small builder/landscaper runs overweight.
Some less favourable members of the public buy transit tippers, have massive sides fitted and then uprated springs, they dont just have half a ton over i have seen them put 4t on a transit tipper with these bodies, the whole thing must weigh 7t.
Im not sure why they wouldn't just use a 7.5t without the o licence etc as its clear they don't give a s
t about any laws.
Myself? i got fed up with it and got myself a 7.5t lorry. it takes a touch under 4t legally. One of the best things i have done tbh.
Every single small builder/landscaper runs overweight.
Some less favourable members of the public buy transit tippers, have massive sides fitted and then uprated springs, they dont just have half a ton over i have seen them put 4t on a transit tipper with these bodies, the whole thing must weigh 7t.
Im not sure why they wouldn't just use a 7.5t without the o licence etc as its clear they don't give a s
t about any laws. Myself? i got fed up with it and got myself a 7.5t lorry. it takes a touch under 4t legally. One of the best things i have done tbh.
Cat said:
bigothunter said:
Doesn't commercial towing over 3500kg GTM invoke the need for an operator's licence as well?
Not if you are carrying your own goods and the unladen weight of the trailer is less than 1020kg. I remember some sort of distance restriction. Along the lines of maximum 50 km radius from business address for the exemption to apply?
m3jappa said:
Yes overloading of 3.5t vans and tippers is totally normal. I know someone with a fleet of them and he said every day, every van that leaves here is overweight!
Every single small builder/landscaper runs overweight.
Some less favourable members of the public buy transit tippers, have massive sides fitted and then uprated springs, they dont just have half a ton over i have seen them put 4t on a transit tipper with these bodies, the whole thing must weigh 7t.
Im not sure why they wouldn't just use a 7.5t without the o licence etc as its clear they don't give a st about any laws.
Myself? i got fed up with it and got myself a 7.5t lorry. it takes a touch under 4t legally. One of the best things i have done tbh.
The regulations are a bureaucratic nightmare. Operating a small scale business to the letter of the law, becomes unviable (in a competitive market). No wonder they get ignored.Every single small builder/landscaper runs overweight.
Some less favourable members of the public buy transit tippers, have massive sides fitted and then uprated springs, they dont just have half a ton over i have seen them put 4t on a transit tipper with these bodies, the whole thing must weigh 7t.
Im not sure why they wouldn't just use a 7.5t without the o licence etc as its clear they don't give a s
t about any laws. Myself? i got fed up with it and got myself a 7.5t lorry. it takes a touch under 4t legally. One of the best things i have done tbh.
bigothunter said:
Yes an exemption for local traders. But not if you are transporting goods commercially.
I remember some sort of distance restriction. Along the lines of maximum 50 km radius from business address for the exemption to apply?
Nope, you are thinking of tacho exemptions. The exemption for O licences is different and has no distance restriction or restriction on only carrying tools and material ls for doing another job. The reference to own goods for the O licence exemption means you can't engage in general haulage etc. but could for example transport your own goods to customers. I remember some sort of distance restriction. Along the lines of maximum 50 km radius from business address for the exemption to apply?
The tacho distance restriction is within 100km radius of the operating base.
Cat
To clarify the above, there are two classes of domestic O licence, restricted & standard national. Restricted O licences permit operating trucks to move the operators own goods eg. from site to site, specifically prohibiting the use of vehicles for hire & reward. Standard national allows own use & shifting other people's goods I.e. on a commercial basis. There's more to it around maintenance, management competency & operating centres but that's effectively the top line. I've been a haulier my whole career & I can promise that the rules are taken very seriously with severe penalties for operators who disregard them.
President Merkin said:
To clarify the above, there are two classes of domestic O licence, restricted & standard national. Restricted O licences permit operating trucks to move the operators own goods eg. from site to site, specifically prohibiting the use of vehicles for hire & reward. Standard national allows own use & shifting other people's goods I.e. on a commercial basis. There's more to it around maintenance, management competency & operating centres but that's effectively the top line. I've been a haulier my whole career & I can promise that the rules are taken very seriously with severe penalties for operators who disregard them.
Correct but you don't need a restricted O licence for vehicle with a GVW of 3500kg or less towing a trailer with an unladen weight of less than 1020kg. Cat
Cockaigne said:
This campervan craze I do look at some and think they will be overweight. Some people are just clueless.
The VW Californias which are sold with the heavier 4motion drivetrain have an amusingly small payload capacity once the weight of all the camping equipment is fitted. From memory it's only a few hundred kg which is easy to exceed with 4 bodies and a couple of eBikes.m3jappa said:
Yes overloading of 3.5t vans and tippers is totally normal. I know someone with a fleet of them and he said every day, every van that leaves here is overweight!
Every single small builder/landscaper runs overweight.
Some less favourable members of the public buy transit tippers, have massive sides fitted and then uprated springs, they dont just have half a ton over i have seen them put 4t on a transit tipper with these bodies, the whole thing must weigh 7t.
Ha, Ha, this reminds me of my rallying days in the 90’s. We had a LWB Talbot Express service van/workshop, full of tools, rally car spares, gearbox, front suspension, rear axle, wheels/tyres, Jerry cans, geni, etc etc AND we used it to tow the rally car and trailer . Must have been well illegal?Every single small builder/landscaper runs overweight.
Some less favourable members of the public buy transit tippers, have massive sides fitted and then uprated springs, they dont just have half a ton over i have seen them put 4t on a transit tipper with these bodies, the whole thing must weigh 7t.
Almost all the other teams were the same.
Old Merc said:
m3jappa said:
Yes overloading of 3.5t vans and tippers is totally normal. I know someone with a fleet of them and he said every day, every van that leaves here is overweight!
Every single small builder/landscaper runs overweight.
Some less favourable members of the public buy transit tippers, have massive sides fitted and then uprated springs, they dont just have half a ton over i have seen them put 4t on a transit tipper with these bodies, the whole thing must weigh 7t.
Ha, Ha, this reminds me of my rallying days in the 90’s. We had a LWB Talbot Express service van/workshop, full of tools, rally car spares, gearbox, front suspension, rear axle, wheels/tyres, Jerry cans, geni, etc etc AND we used it to tow the rally car and trailer . Must have been well illegal?Every single small builder/landscaper runs overweight.
Some less favourable members of the public buy transit tippers, have massive sides fitted and then uprated springs, they dont just have half a ton over i have seen them put 4t on a transit tipper with these bodies, the whole thing must weigh 7t.
Almost all the other teams were the same.
Just over 6t all up .
grumpy52 said:
Old Merc said:
m3jappa said:
Yes overloading of 3.5t vans and tippers is totally normal. I know someone with a fleet of them and he said every day, every van that leaves here is overweight!
Every single small builder/landscaper runs overweight.
Some less favourable members of the public buy transit tippers, have massive sides fitted and then uprated springs, they dont just have half a ton over i have seen them put 4t on a transit tipper with these bodies, the whole thing must weigh 7t.
Ha, Ha, this reminds me of my rallying days in the 90’s. We had a LWB Talbot Express service van/workshop, full of tools, rally car spares, gearbox, front suspension, rear axle, wheels/tyres, Jerry cans, geni, etc etc AND we used it to tow the rally car and trailer . Must have been well illegal?Every single small builder/landscaper runs overweight.
Some less favourable members of the public buy transit tippers, have massive sides fitted and then uprated springs, they dont just have half a ton over i have seen them put 4t on a transit tipper with these bodies, the whole thing must weigh 7t.
Almost all the other teams were the same.
Just over 6t all up .
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