Getting a 7.5t lorry for paving buisness....

Getting a 7.5t lorry for paving buisness....

Author
Discussion

m3jappa

Original Poster:

6,587 posts

225 months

Thursday 3rd March 2016
quotequote all
It does appear that I'm stupid and follow rules while it appears many others (not all) seriously overload their tipper vans (saw a new transit tipper earlier having 3 ton put on the back!...) or some I know of who don't have an O licence.

Still if I have an accident or get pulled I'd rather be legal.

So I am considering a 7.5t tipper.

Can someone tell me if I'm right here, this is how I see it off the .gov site.

I don't need a tacho as I am transporting my own goods within a specific radius of buisness address.

I don't need a cpc as driving the lorry is not my main buisness activity.

I could well have 12-16 week inspections? Who carries these out? How much roughly does it cost? I suppose in a way it's sensible as at least it keep the tipper in good shape. However that said I see plenty of very shabby looking lorries about (possibly the same people I mention at the start of the post).

Normal yearly mot?

Any other small businesses on here taken the step from a van to lorry? Things like fuel consumption and running costs don't seem easy to find out. (I'm considering a mitsubishi canter tipper, around 2011 ish).

Thanks smile


citizensm1th

8,371 posts

144 months

Thursday 3rd March 2016
quotequote all
be interested to see if what I think is right IANAL and not that hot on rules for operators

cpc I would have thought you would need one

tacho I would have thought the same

your inspections can be done by any reputable garage that can provide a paper trail

Nickyboy

6,704 posts

241 months

Thursday 3rd March 2016
quotequote all
m3jappa said:
It does appear that I'm stupid and follow rules while it appears many others (not all) seriously overload their tipper vans (saw a new transit tipper earlier having 3 ton put on the back!...) or some I know of who don't have an O licence.

Still if I have an accident or get pulled I'd rather be legal.

So I am considering a 7.5t tipper.

Can someone tell me if I'm right here, this is how I see it off the .gov site.

I don't need a tacho as I am transporting my own goods within a specific radius of buisness address. Only if the vehicle runs on Natural gas or LPG

I don't need a cpc as driving the lorry is not my main buisness activity. this is correct however you will need one to hold an O licence (see below)

I could well have 12-16 week inspections? Who carries these out? How much roughly does it cost? I suppose in a way it's sensible as at least it keep the tipper in good shape. However that said I see plenty of very shabby looking lorries about (possibly the same people I mention at the start of the post). most places will do goods vehicle inspections, a lot of coach companies with their own workshops do them

Normal yearly mot? Yes but a lot more stringent

You'll also need an O licence and operating base (your house will not be allowed)

Any other small businesses on here taken the step from a van to lorry? Things like fuel consumption and running costs don't seem easy to find out. (I'm considering a mitsubishi canter tipper, around 2011 ish).

Thanks smile

trench

33 posts

133 months

Thursday 3rd March 2016
quotequote all
m3jappa said:
It does appear that I'm stupid and follow rules while it appears many others (not all) seriously overload their tipper vans (saw a new transit tipper earlier having 3 ton put on the back!...) or some I know of who don't have an O licence.

Still if I have an accident or get pulled I'd rather be legal.

So I am considering a 7.5t tipper.

Can someone tell me if I'm right here, this is how I see it off the .gov site.

I don't need a tacho as I am transporting my own goods within a specific radius of buisness address.

I don't need a cpc as driving the lorry is not my main buisness activity.

I could well have 12-16 week inspections? Who carries these out? How much roughly does it cost? I suppose in a way it's sensible as at least it keep the tipper in good shape. However that said I see plenty of very shabby looking lorries about (possibly the same people I mention at the start of the post).

Normal yearly mot?

Any other small businesses on here taken the step from a van to lorry? Things like fuel consumption and running costs don't seem easy to find out. (I'm considering a mitsubishi canter tipper, around 2011 ish).

Thanks smile
When we got our operators licence (restricted) we were told we didn't need to use a taco for the same reasons you state, but we do anyway , just in case somthing did happen.
You are right about the cpc. I have this in writing from vosa.
A local independant commercial garage does our 3 month checks , about £70 a time I think. They also take it for its annual test.

I would avoid Mitsubishi altogether we had a 7.5 ton and still own a 3.5 ton parts prices are crazy they use to much fuel are horrible to drive and not that reliable.
We have 2 daf 7.5s they have been no trouble at all and return about 18 to the gallon.
Have you got somewhere to use as your operating centre?
Hope that helps.

renorti

727 posts

203 months

Friday 4th March 2016
quotequote all
you will need an o licence, restricted possibly if you carry your own goods for use at work, but if your carrying materials to use on a job that you receive money for then its full national o licence.not a big deal,worse part is you need to find a cpc holder{manager} to manage your one lorry{ not a cpc card holder. inspections are about £40-£70 every 6 weeks. tacho has to be used,if digi tacho on truck you need to be able to download the digi card info via internet. and you'll need a yard to park it,can,t be at home or on roadside parking. they don't make it easy at all for anything over 3.5t gvw.
easier to get 3.5t transit, if caught overloaded all you get is a fine £100-£300 and unload truck and you're on your way, use anything over 3.5t,without tacho/o licence it's up to £5k fine,court and they can take your truck off you,very unlikely to get it back as dvsa self funded so your truck is a bonus for them. getting the o licence is the only real option with these vehicles.

m3jappa

Original Poster:

6,587 posts

225 months

Saturday 5th March 2016
quotequote all
Thankyou for the replies. I looked again after reading them at the .gov site and yes it does appear I'd need a tacho. I'm not sure why I read I wouldn't, I might have dreamt it hehe

How much aggro/cost is associated with a tacho?

The reason why I looked at the canter was because the 7.5t can legally carry 4 ton, which along with the izuzu is the biggest payload. The iveco types can only carry 2.5t which is not really worth it.
I know they are expensive I've got a 3c15 canter which was playing up, 4 new injectors, yes that's £1600 plus vat please....

Ilovejapcrap

3,297 posts

119 months

Saturday 5th March 2016
quotequote all
Tachometer is not any real bother every time you get in you fill in a taco and stick in the slot.

Unless your planning of going over your driving hours.

iguana

7,056 posts

267 months

Saturday 5th March 2016
quotequote all
Assuming within 100km- 62m of base no don't need tacho, for your use cpc exemption too, (you will have v interested vosa guys when you are stopped however, so need to be within the terms of both exemptions) does need o licence.

For weekly checks if really low miles you could perhaps extend further, but I'd say 8wks would see the transport commissioner happy.

grumpy52

5,717 posts

173 months

Saturday 5th March 2016
quotequote all
The recovery truck I used to drive for a garage cost about £4000 per year to keep on the road .That included road tax ,services mot and inspections .
Ours was kept in tip top condition as it was the face of the company out on the road and you needed it to work when you jumped in it at 2am .

All that jazz

7,632 posts

153 months

Wednesday 9th March 2016
quotequote all
You mention it being a paving business. If you're doing that paving work for other people then you're doing it for reward which falls under the "hire and reward" terms of the O-licence = full O-licence required. Depending on the size of the jobs you do I think that even a 7.5 tonner will be pushing it weight wise. 4 standard size pallets of paving slabs is all it will take to put you overweight as a 7.5t drop sider payload is roughly 4 tonne.

m3jappa

Original Poster:

6,587 posts

225 months

Wednesday 9th March 2016
quotequote all
Thanks you for all the advice, it's something I will probably look further into. smile

hashtag

1,116 posts

161 months

Wednesday 16th March 2016
quotequote all
How about pickup and 3500kg trailer?

Assuming you cab get a pick with sufficient towing capacity..

Defender 130?

TooMany2cvs

29,008 posts

133 months

Wednesday 16th March 2016
quotequote all
hashtag said:
How about pickup and 3500kg trailer?

Assuming you cab get a pick with sufficient towing capacity..

Defender 130?
Still tacho, although no need for an O.

GC8

19,910 posts

197 months

Wednesday 23rd March 2016
quotequote all
All that jazz said:
You mention it being a paving business. If you're doing that paving work for other people then you're doing it for reward which falls under the "hire and reward" terms of the O-licence = full O-licence required. Depending on the size of the jobs you do I think that even a 7.5 tonner will be pushing it weight wise. 4 standard size pallets of paving slabs is all it will take to put you overweight as a 7.5t drop sider payload is roughly 4 tonne.
Disagree. Restricted operators licence. Using your logic there wouldnt be any restrkcted O licences.

OP will also need a CPC, which he is confusing with a worthless DCPC.

All that jazz

7,632 posts

153 months

Wednesday 23rd March 2016
quotequote all
GC8 said:
All that jazz said:
You mention it being a paving business. If you're doing that paving work for other people then you're doing it for reward which falls under the "hire and reward" terms of the O-licence = full O-licence required. Depending on the size of the jobs you do I think that even a 7.5 tonner will be pushing it weight wise. 4 standard size pallets of paving slabs is all it will take to put you overweight as a 7.5t drop sider payload is roughly 4 tonne.
Disagree. Restricted operators licence. Using your logic there wouldnt be any restrkcted O licences.
Yes, thinking about it again you are right. It's his own stuff he's carting about, not other people's so ROL is correct. Who he's doing the actual paving for makes no odds.

ZX10R NIN

28,386 posts

132 months

Wednesday 23rd March 2016
quotequote all
I'd recommend the Iveco Cargo it was pretty much built for that kind of work .

markymarkthree

2,545 posts

178 months

Saturday 26th March 2016
quotequote all
If you can get a waggon that has a good ole paper taco fitted.
Non of that downloading nonsense needed just a cardboard box.