mk5 transit recovery question

[glenandemm]

hi guys im looking at getting into recoveries and trapnsporting cars about and been looking at a few mk5 transits with flatbeds on but ive heard that a transit recovery with a car on will be illegal for weight issues, is this with certain trannies ie swb etc, as i dont want to go and buy a recovery truck and find out its not legal for most average sized cars?

[sc_BK]

Most transit chassis cabs will have a gross weight of 3500 so the payload depends on what the kerb weight is.
The kerb weight can vary a lot cos there's so many different bodies/beds fitted

[MinorMatt]

Have a word with "mk5 recovery"

a 190 recovery would have a gross weight of 3500kg. Most of them with "average" beds will weigh 2100-2200kg, so you will be able to move cars up to about 1.3tonnes.

Obviously every truck varies and this is just a guide...

[jay]

or use a spec lift......dont forget insurance if u will be moving other peoples cars about..

[glenandemm]

cheers guys i believe i'll need liabillty and some sort of extra insurance to cover the type of vehicle,think i'll look for a mk5 do'er upper preferably one where theres an 10ft after the rear wheel!!, they look shocking and dangerous

[glenandemm]

just looking at towing dolleys that go under front wheels,thinking about maybe putting towbar on my bus and use a towing dolley if there any good,anyone had any experience with these and any bad points?

[andy a]

If you want to use a dolly and be legal get a braked one...

[sc_BK]

Is there many people willing to pay to have their car dragged behind a minibus?

[glenandemm]

Is there many people willing to pay to have their car dragged behind a minibus?

who knows but i was thinking about getting into scrapping cars with a mate,he's been doing it years and although the price of metal is low,he does other things like strip the cars and sells the bits on ebay,he makes plenty of money out of it even while the price of metals gone right down,
also he puts some back on the road that are mot failures with just a bit of work needed that the owner cant afford or cant be bothered to fix?
the customers cars that i'll be mostly dragging are taxi drivers cars and most of these guys just want them moving without paying alot,i dont really see a difference between a small rac transit dragging them or my minibus as long as its all legal and done proper?

[dazrecoverymad]

the only downfall of using a towing dolly is that once you have a car on the back in the eyes of the law it becomes a trailer weighing more than 750kgs /eg needs brakes to be legal/also you need a driving license for towing a trailer over 750kgs/also the weight of the dolly and whatever you are towing cannot weigh more than what it is being towed by/and a combination of the two cannot exeed the towing vehicles gross train weight/
and a dolly is only legally permitted to be used to tow a broken down vehicle to the nearest place of saftey /transporting cars is stricctly illegal with use of a dolly. please look into the law properly as there are many legal issues regarding recovery ect.

[glenandemm]

good info there mate,didnt know that,think i'll stick to the plan of looking for a decent mk5 recovery,thinking along the lines of one of these on ebay,what do you think?

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll? ... :IT&ih=020

[dazrecoverymad]

you can pick up bargains from ebay but just be carefull a lot of dishonest people out there/
all in all you are better off with a propper recovery truck/if the transit is the one you are going for thats fine as there are plenty of them about.just make shure you buy one with a working winch and ramps /saves you looking for extras later/

the best thing to watch out for on a transit recoverys is to make shure that the beavertail is not to steep /otherwise you will catch the sills of cars /not a problem for scrap but not good for customers/.
they will weigh in the reigon of 2 tonne for one coverd with alloy/and about 2200 kgs for one coverd with steel.

steel is bette for scrap as dragging up bent cars on ally will tear it eventually.

[dazrecoverymad]

also that link /thats not a bad looking truck /as long as the engine is a good runner/also youve got the side locker box for straps / you cant go far wrong/at least hes pictured it with a reasonable size car on the back /unlike some be carefull i had one with a 12 foot back only just got my 306 on once the winch was fitted .you nedd 14 ft + ideally ive just sold a 15.5 foot and that was ample/

that truck isnt bad price

[trigger]

cheers guys i believe i'll need liabillty and some sort of extra insurance to cover the type of vehicle,think i'll look for a mk5 do'er upper preferably one where theres an 10ft after the rear wheel!!, they look shocking and dangerous

Not sure what insurance you would need for recovery work but you will need public liability insurance especially if you are doing this as self employed for a living, this covers you if you injure or kill someone during the course of your work and they decide to sue you for damages, also you would need to tell the tax man (unless it's just a sideline to your regular work)

[glenandemm]

not got any quotes yet,take it i'd have to find a specialist insurer for this type of work,im currently covered for upto 5 million quid on my public liabilty for my psv bus but i suppose if there was a big accident,theres up to 14 people on my bus plus whatever i crashed into-or crashed into me!