Best way to tow a lot of weight

[Josho]

So I'm 23, business is going well enough to take on a full time mechanic I think. Been doing too many evenings and I'm hoping I can make it work with someone else.

However I really want to get more into buying and selling. All above board.

I've made small fortunes selling stuff and this is because I've not actively sought out vehicles to buy, just bought cheap.

£350 and £300 for two 2012 LWB Ivecos for example. One broken up returned over £4000 and I still have the other.

I've got an advantage as broken down or crash damaged vehicles are no bother for us.

Anyhoo I've found a few vans etc I can make money on the issue is transport.

I don't have B+E but can get it no bother.

The trouble is what's best to transport 2.5 tonne legally.

A recovery truck is out of the question.

I can either get a Daily and put a lightweight body on. Just over 1.2 tonne payload and 3500 towing capacity.

That means tachometer and I assume O licence?

Would a Toureg need a tacho and o licence?

A 5th wheeler would be great 3.5 trailer plus the 1 tonne on the rear axle but what licence do I need for that? O license?

Totally confused!

Cheers

[R0G]

Will you need to travel more than 100km from base/home ? - if less then its tacho exempt

Best idea under B+E rules is = http://www.brianjames.co.uk/range/range_details.as... = under 800 empty with 3500 MAM = max load of 2700+

You would need a vehicle with a 3500 towing capacity to make full use of that trailer

Dual-purpose vehicle and trailer
combinations
A dual purpose vehicle and any trailer
drawn by it, is identified as being exempt
from operator licensing under existing
legislation. Therefore, where you use a
4x4 and trailer, an operator’s licence will
not be required.
Examples of dual purpose vehicles can include
4x4 all-terrain vehicles or even estate cars –
vehicles which are constructed or adapted for
the carriage of both goods and passengers.

[ZX10R NIN]

I'd say get a 6.5T Spec Lift recovery truck as you don't need an O License for one of those, or buy a transit which you can carry a set of dollies in.

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Recovery-Truck-mot-exemp...

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Renault-Mascott-6-5-TON-...

Dolly

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Car-Towing-Dolly-Recover...

Transit with the Dolly in:

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/J-J-Recovery-Dolly-Rdt-C...

[Josho]

Ah cool cheers guys. Quite possibly need over 100 km away from base which could be an issue.

So I could get a Discovery or something and a decent trailer but can't use the better suited van?

Cool, the spec lift from what I understand is only for recovery and not for moving bought vehicles? Also I'm limited to 3.5 tonnes!

[R0G]

Using a dolly - vehicle being towed must be fully road legal + the brakes of the vehicle towing it must activate the brakes of the vehicle being towed

[ZX10R NIN]

That can't be the case otherwise the AA Green Flag etc would be breaking the law when they use their dolly units from the back of their Transits.

[Willy Nilly]

Josho said:

Ah cool cheers guys. Quite possibly need over 100 km away from base which could be an issue.

So I could get a Discovery or something and a decent trailer but can't use the better suited van?

Cool, the spec lift from what I understand is only for recovery and not for moving bought vehicles? Also I'm limited to 3.5 tonnes!

A friend of mine carts a lot of small plant about and was using an L200with a trailer while his business got established. He then got an 6 wheel lorry but still needed to move small loads. He now has the 6 wheeler, an artic and 2 MAN 7.5 tonner plant trucks, for want of a better description. They were dirt cheap, like £3,500 and he says they are a lot cheaper to run than the L200. He now has a Discovery 4 commercial instead of the L200, but does put that on the back of the MAN's and they hardly notice it's on the back.

[Josho]

Okay cheers guys.

Trying to avoid of license etc looks like 4x4 is the way to go.

So these still require tachograph?

[R0G]

ZX10R NIN said:

That can't be the case otherwise the AA Green Flag etc would be breaking the law when they use their dolly units from the back of their Transits.

They have an exemption as it is for breakdowns

Simply using a dolly to move a vehicle from A to B for repair etc is not exempt

The same applies to rope and bar towing

Putting the vehicle on a trailer removes all the legal issues

[R0G]

Josho said:

Okay cheers guys.

Trying to avoid of license etc looks like 4x4 is the way to go.

So these still require tachograph?

If going more than 100km radius from base then YES