transit HGV ???????

[FredTransit]

Actually you get 2 certificates.One to be kept in the van and one to be kept at home.

Probably cost you more to get the plates made up than it would getting it downrated.

That's a bit of an improvement, but I find if you have anything that's not the norm, the roadside checkers will either dig deeper or want to get you off the road. Can the downrating be checked, cert or no cert, ie down the line via the ministry's computer? I'm a big believer of getting lost in the crowd (which is obviously why I have decided to drive a 25ft classic luton!!!), by that I mean if your vin plate can be checked, that's that, if it's not right they will dig, and even if you can prove otherwise, well, they have started to dig so will want to unearth something.............

[vannut]

Eh up! Been away from the board for a while! Just read this one - bit of a sticky one eh?



Firstly, anyone who passed their test after 1st Jan 1997 can only drive vehicles up to 3.5 tonne gross weight (or maximum authorised mass as they call it now!).



Anything falling between 3.5 tonne and 7.5 tonne falls into Category C1 on the driving licence. You can drive this at 18 but you need a separate test and medical the same as HGV, which is costly. (Cheaper to wait til you're 21 and get your full HGV licence which covers the lot!)



Regarding the plates, is it the manufacturer's VIN plate which is showing the weight or a ministry plate? (the ministry plate is pink or blue paper laminated in a frame). Also what does your V5 say regarding the gross weight?



My approach would be to get a new plate made by Tag plates, as suggested earlier, (or you do get the odd blank plate on ebay...) and just take it to a different MOT station. You can buy the stamps from Machine Mart.



Also, if you plate it down to 3 tonne (3000kg) it falls into the normal car mot category so you could take it to any MOT station. (3.5 tonne falls into the Class 7 category which is more stringent!) Complicated innit....





If it's any consolation the plods aren't exempt and it's causing them major headaches as most of their recruits fall into the post '97 category and they all need extra training and testing for their minibuses (D1) and bigger vans (C1) Ha!





Hope this all helps!



p.s. you don't need a tachograph unless you are carrying goods in the course of a business.

[100ps_drw_hicube]

at long last i am getting somewhere just spoke to steve at tagplates he is making me a new plate as i type so it should be here tommorow or monday just a case of rearranging an mot and hope that it passes

[100ps_drw_hicube]

have got my new plate identical old apart from it reads 3500kg instead of 3995kg just a case of riveting it in and take it for an mot

[img][img]http://i13.photobucket.com/albums/a252/drw_hicube/Picture031.jpg[/img]

[/img]

[FredTransit]

Mate, I am glad you are getting sorted out, but not too sure you should have posted a pic of the plates on the forum! Though I notice you haven't put up all of your chassis number, thank god!

[vannut]

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/FORD-ESCORT-RS200 ... dZViewItem

[madvanman]

I was expecting the same problem with my 3.8 ton ex police riot bus.
But i made a small plate to cover the gvm figures with the figures from a similar civilian bus (3.1 ton) stamped on it, and took my V5 with me ( it shows revenue weight 3.1 ton) and the MOT station said it can be tested as a class 7 ,as if there is any doubts they must go with the paper work ie. the V5.

[100ps_drw_hicube]

I was expecting the same problem with my 3.8 ton ex police riot bus.
But i made a small plate to cover the gvm figures with the figures from a similar civilian bus (3.1 ton) stamped on it, and took my V5 with me ( it shows revenue weight 3.1 ton) and the MOT station said it can be tested as a class 7 ,as if there is any doubts they must go with the paper work ie. the V5.

bloody hell your lucky bet that was a lot cheaper than getting a new plate made up i dont think i could of have done that with mine as the log book doesnt have a weight printed it is blank

[pictishpunkgirl]

5 years ago we took our 7 tonne coach to be MOT tested at the ministry MOT station as a private non-HGV vehicle cos there wasn't a garage big enough to test it- no word about it being HGV weight and it all went smoothly. At that time you just told them on the log book about changes in use and we also changed the weight that way but I think you may need to get it weighed and certified to change the weight on the plate and if it's under 7.5 tonnes it's non-HGV provided it's not used for carrying things or people for commercial purposes. That may have changed.

Edit: PS. Yes, as someone said above, it was because Smooth Hound got his licence 20 years ago that he can drive 7 tonnes without an HGV licence - that's why you should get an older person to take it in if you're worried about you not being able to but you seem to be getting it sorted out anyway.

I'd say you should have a word with your local Ministry MOT station - if you don't like what they say, try another one and if they interpret the legislation more to your liking then you can refer your MOT station to them if there are problems. Advice does vary and they can be helpful

[Neil]

I wonder about this! how i would get on with my mk1 pickup! its now a twin wheeler, log book says weight 1300kg unladen and thats it!
no chassis plate on van not even chassis number!!
i was going to stamp my own with GVW3500KG - do you reckon this would be ok?

a mate has a mk1 twin wheeler and his log book says 3500kg gross!!

luke it will depend on model type my 67 twin wheel was 2800 gvw because early twins had 3 different gvw s

[stevew]

Ah Crap!

[madvanman]

Just passed MOT as class 7 like this:

But i have V5 to back it up.

[FredTransit]

Just passed MOT as class 7 like this:
But i have V5 to back it up.

It's metal correction fluid!!

[100ps_drw_hicube]

Ah Crap!

what a pain in the ar*se why dont the police downrate them before selling them on ????

[Gunslinger]

lol, this thread has got me wondering what mine says as it started out life as a minibus, guess i will have to go find the plate i took off, its kicking around somewhere