Using A Car As A Pick Up - Am I Breaking Any Laws?

[KTMsm]

I transport motorbikes and I'm thinking of changing my van to a 2008 Mondeo

My question is, would I be breaking any laws ?

I want to unbolt the tailgate, build an internal partition behind the front seats and bolt in a self loading bike ramp

The ramp will stick out a maximum of 60cm past the back bumper

I know everyone's gut reaction is it's a stupid idea - but I can get an much lower mileage, better spec, economical vehicle, far cheaper and I like having something different

As I'm not cutting the shell it won't need IVA etc

A motorbike and the ramp will weigh 250kg which is less than 4 passengers and luggage but I'm happy to uprate the rear springs / add air springs if required

Would I be breaking any laws - other than taste ?

As the ramp is bolted in and the hatchback would bolt back on, I can't really see much difference to taking the seats out of an MPV to transport a bike

[steveo3002]

imagine you would need to tell the insurance about the changes ?

[elanfan]

And if say a motorbike crashed into the rear there’d be all sorts of bits that would cause serious injury. Not a good idea in my book. Get a small van.

[OutInTheShed]

1) Would it get an MOT?
2~Metalwork sticking out the back. not sure about that,
3) Should its V5 be altered from private car or whatever?
4) It will have the proverbial 'drag factor of a Bingo Hall' and will no longer meet its CO2 class.
AIUI, lots of vehicles technically don't meet C&U regs. The question is, would you get away with it?

As well as the question of whether you'd actually be guilty of breaking any laws, ask yourself how many hours you want to spend at the side of the road debating the matter.
Then there's the old worry that an accident that wasn't really your fault looks like it's your fault because your vehicle is the weird one.


It 's a bad idea. Lots of bits which are suppose to be inside the car will be exposed to the weather. Things will rust, electrics will stop working etc etc.
A bike is maybe only 220kg or whatever, but your putting that mass high up and rearward. Have you considered the effects of that?

[thewarlock]

I don't quite follow.

Is the bike going to fit inside the car?

is it going to stick out the top? You say you're not going to cut the shell, but it sounds an awful lot like you are?

[donkmeister]

Dunno if you've seen the Eurobiler Audi TT pickup truck conversions (they've been on PH before on the car-to-truck conversion thread), but the hatchback-to-truck without monocoque alterations is an approach that has been done before in Denmark at least.

https://www.motor1.com/news/3391/excl-interview-au...

Suggest you calculate where the CofG will be for the bike+ramp and look both at the rear axle loading AND the towing nose weight of the standard car (as that will indicate the torque moment that can be applied safely around the rear axle). If your calculations reveal all is well there, then check the MOT regs and see if you'll be breaching anything there. If so, check the IVA regs to see if you could get it approved.

ETA I realise that a "she'll be reet, no bother" answer is what you really want, but doing the calcs and getting the paperwork in order is a small ball-ache compared to trying to do it later after the police pull you, or you have an accident and can't prove you were driving a roadworthy vehicle.

Edited by donkmeister on Tuesday 22 March 11:39

[KTMsm]

Regarding crashing it would be a lot safer than hitting a trailer or any of the implements a tractor tows or a ladder etc

I've measured a hatchback you get approximately 4.5ft of the motorbike within the car so approximately 2 feet are outside it

I have modified car trade insurance

I don't see that it's any different to the bicycle racks you attach on a towbar or the motorbike racks that do the same

Hence my question

[thewarlock]

So, very loosely, this:

[url]|https://thumbsnap.com/RYyXhP2a[/url

Only, the back wheel is actually outside the vehicle, supported on a ramp that's cantilevered out the back of the tailgate?

[KTMsm]

Donkmeister - my googling revealed the TT as I was originally thinking about doing it to a coupe but I decided a larger car would be better

If you consider a fully laden Mondeo will carry far more weight (674kg) and could carry a 100kg roof rack and tow a caravan and that 4+feet of the motorcycle is inside the car, only 2 feet is over the back I can't see it's an issue in the slightest

Having worked in the building and car industries I'm used to massively overloading vehicles without an issue - if you use common sense - I'm not intending to do a trackday with it

[wpa1975]

Why start another thread: https://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&...

[KTMsm]

thewarlock said:

So, very loosely, this:

[url]|https://thumbsnap.com/RYyXhP2a[/url

Only, the back wheel is actually outside the vehicle, supported on a ramp that's cantilevered out the back of the tailgate?

Not quite, not quite this either




Somewhere between the two

[KTMsm]

wpa1975 said:

Why start another thread: https://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&...

Because I was hoping to only comment on the legal aspects or more specifically what the police think the legal aspects are, to see whether it's possible

[thewarlock]

KTMsm said:

Not quite, not quite this either




Somewhere between the two

Can you give a bit more detail?

That picture, the floor seems to be missing in the boot?

What are you planning on cutting away, and how does this self loading ramp detail work? Is it manually operated? How is it fixed in place, when in its stowed position?

If you are talking about having 2 foot of bike hanging out the back, it's not somewhere between the 2. It's 'worse' than either of those.

[wpa1975]

KTMsm said:

wpa1975 said:

Why start another thread: https://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&...

Because I was hoping to only comment on the legal aspects or more specifically what the police think the legal aspects are, to see whether it's possible

I seriously doubt cutting a car around to that degree is in anyway legal or safe.

[mickyh7]

I think if you start enough different threads, somebody, sooner or later will say it's OK to do.
So then it will be OK to do!
Good Luck with it

[Pica-Pica]

Maybe it will change from M1 category to N1. Ask DVLA not here.

[Hammer67]

Buy a WAV.

Most of those have lowered floors and mounting points for lashing down occupied wheelchairs.

[KTMsm]

mickyh7 said:

I think if you start enough different threads, somebody, sooner or later will say it's OK to do.
So then it will be OK to do!
Good Luck with it

I was hoping for the exact opposite of your reply - facts

[scorcher]

So you can buy a better car and then hack it to pieces to make it virtually worthless . Vans and trailers were invented for a reason. People aren’t cutting cars about because it is a st idea.

[KTMsm]

scorcher said:

So you can buy a better car and then hack it to pieces to make it virtually worthless . Vans and trailers were invented for a reason. People aren’t cutting cars about because it is a st idea.

Jesus Christ - can anyone on this forum read ?

YOU CANNOT CUT A SHELL OR YOU NEED AN IVA

If I was allowed to cut the shell I'd make a mondeo pickup, like we used to years ago with Zodiacs etc

ZERO CUTTING & ZERO WELDING IS INVOLVED