Driving Licence Catagories

bastonjock

Guest
Hi guys

I was looking at M/Hs today and one of the things that i was doing was checking out the Vin plate and looking at Axle loads etc.

Its not a prob for me or the missus as we both have the pre 1997 type of licence,infact i have HGV on mine.

If the Vin plate reads at 3500 KG then that can be driven on any full car license but if it reads 3850 Kg then you need to have either the older license or sit an additional test,is this correct?

The bessacar that i looked at had the original plate at 3500 kg,but it had an ALKO upgrade and was rated at 3850 kg so is the bessacar still driveable on a new stile license
 
yes and no. it would need to be plated at 3.5 .may need down plating.
requires more info .what does log book say.?
can be confusing. at 3.5 it may hardly have any pay load.
get a 7,5ton truck and do it yourself nice little isuzi or mitzy canter .lots payload and no bigger than a coach built.
cheers alan.
 
It's not the license that matters just the date you passed your test. I believe if you passed your test after 1997 then you have to take another test to drive above 3.5 ton, but if you passed your car test before 1997 then you can drive up to 7.5 ton. BTW the road tax is slightly cheaper if the van is over 3.5 ton :rolleyes:
 
Hi have a look at this thread,very interesting

www.arvclub.co.uk

Wyn

Link is not working ! it is at the top of the forums on the above site
 
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It is the licence that matters, to drive a motorhome with a MAM of more that 3500kg you must have category C1 or C. See: Driving motorhomes : Directgov - Motoring

Drivers who passed their test before 1.1.97 would have had C1 included on their licence, but this category is sometimes lost if a licence has been renewed or replaced. Also at age 70 all drivers have to renew their licences and if they want to retain an existing C1 entitlement they need to provide a D4 ‘medical examination report’ completed by a doctor.

AndyC
 
Thanks for the replys guys,ive been on to the dvla website and it looks to me that anyone with a full driving license can drive a vehicle that is rated up to 3500 KG after that,it starts getting a little bit more complex

Those of us who passed before 1997 can drive up to 7.5 tons with a trailer as long as the train weight does not exceed 12 tons

This had given me to wonder as to how it will effect resale values in the coming years,if you have a MH with a rating greater than 3500kg,s then there will be fewer folks with the 7500 kg,s on their license
 
unfortunately c1+e as a restriction107 not more than 8.250kg on pre 97 licence.
di+e does not have the same restriction its daft.
there is booklets from dvla with all th regs andthey are quite easy to understand if you sit quiet somewhere.
 
bastonjock said:
This had given me to wonder as to how it will effect resale values in the coming years,if you have a MH with a rating greater than 3500kg,s then there will be fewer folks with the 7500 kg,s on their license
Click to expand...

I often wonder how this affects tuggers as well, being restricted to a van up to 750kg must be quite restrictive especially if young family.
 
basildog said:
Do not think they have restricted caravan weights yet !!!!!!
But do think a towing test should be brought in as have seen a fair few trying to reverse which is hillarious to watch ???
I was lucky as learnt to reverse trailers on a farm as a boy and have done a fair bit and have even jumped in a few tuggers cars and done it for them !!! LOL
Click to expand...

Yes they have as the post above implies.
New drivers need a trailer test over 750 kg
 
the best bit is if you keep to upto 3.5ton its a b ..licence if you have b+e you can tow any trailer no matter how heavy so long as you dont exceed the train wt of towing vehicle.
iveco do a mini artic for use with b+e lic.it as a train of 8.7ton. if the same truck was left at its original gross wt. it would be driven on c1+e then it could only be 8.250kg.
further proof thast authority is daft. cheers alan.
ps. originally it would be a 4.5ton
 
interestingly enough , although I gave up my C licence at age 70 , my new licence came through as B + E , so I can tow any trailer up to the maximum capability of the vehicle
 
hi lebbesset. thats the secret .at 70 get the right tow truck and a 5er /artic .makesa joke of regulations.
mine puts 2.5 ton on to the pin ,but move the wheels forward on the trailer and it could be towed by my 6.3ton mitzy down plated to 3.5 ton gvw. and keep the train as 9.8 ton .at moment i have to lower the train to 8.250kg so others can drive it on c1+e.
moving the wheels forward would not be so good for off roading so have,nt done it yet.
there are other reasons ,like drop the trailer wt to 3.5 for mot purposes (lack of).vehicles over 3.5ton pulling a living van thats a true artic dont need mot.
its a mine field but with careful planning you can have cheap motoring . at 70 it changes .
cheers alan.
 
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