Transit Recovery for Hire & Reward Help

[Scoobyjimbo]

Hi everyone I'm thinking of buying a transit recovery truck to buy cars and sell them so it will be for reward, and maybe a bit of transporting as well on the side but no recovery work at present. First of all what's the correct insurance I need and does it need an o licence as its only going to be 3.5t, and if I have a winch does that class as a recovery to VOSA.
Car I park this legally on my drive/road ?
Any insight would be appreciated thank you.

[martin mrt]

As ong as its below 3.5t then no o licence is required

However you are limited to what you can carry on a Transit plated to 3.5t as the unladen weight can be, and usually is, more than you expect

[Scoobyjimbo]

Thanks I have seen some that have new BMW or MERC'S on the back and do look very overweight, should the plate say the unladen weight or will that be from what it was originally a Luton or pick up etc. It does become a bit of a mine field, should it say recovery on the V5 as I've been told to stay clear if it doesn't.

[Spudler]

Scoobyjimbo said:

Thanks I have seen some that have new BMW or MERC'S on the back and do look very overweight,

Very likely are.
My Transit Tipper will carry (according to weighbridges) a ton & a third inc driver legally.
Saying that, it's more than happy to carry two tons (on site) without looking overloaded.

[MJK 24]

Scoobyjimbo said:

Thanks I have seen some that have new BMW or MERC'S on the back and do look very overweight, should the plate say the unladen weight or will that be from what it was originally a Luton or pick up etc. It does become a bit of a mine field, should it say recovery on the V5 as I've been told to stay clear if it doesn't.

Before any money changes hands, get it on a weighbridge and see what the unladen weight is allowing for yourself and a full tank of diesel. Might come as a bit of a shock.

I used to have a Volkswagen LT35 that was 1,810 unladen but when having it built, I adopted a Lotus like obsession for aluminium and weight saving. Any Transit with a steel body and winch is going to be around 2,300kgs leaving you just 1,200 for a car. That precludes any modern Golf sized car.

Most people these days are using front wheel drive Peugeot/Citroen/Fiat as the weight of the chassis cab is very low. Add a minimalist alloy body and you'll end up with something you can actually legally use.

[Scoobyjimbo]

Thanks might stay clear of the Transit for now, I'm going to just buy small cars for mow but its best to have the extra capacity in case I do get some cars a little bigger. What insurance would I need for doing this as I'm obviously going to use it for gain.

[dowahdiddyman]

If you go this route be prepared to make very close friends with vosa. 99.9% of Transit style recovery vehicles are overweight as soon as a medium sized car is put on them. If you get a couple of pulls by vosa in a Transit etc and are found to be over weight firstly any profit from the car on board will disappear and secondly you will be a marked man and would get a tug even if you just nip down to the shops in it.

[jagracer]

dowahdiddyman said:

If you go this route be prepared to make very close friends with vosa. 99.9% of Transit style recovery vehicles are overweight as soon as a medium sized car is put on them.

VOSA are currently waging a war against "white van man" (their quote not mine) and this type of vehicle will fall into that category so be careful and do your homework thoroughly before making any decisions.