 | Home > Off Topic > weight limit on a recovery truck |
 
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| Smyles_ Member Since: 26 Aug 2018 Location: Copenhagen Posts: 512   
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Terrible photo from a terrible day but, this is what collected me when some calliper bolts fell out...
 Click image to enlarge My guess is that it was ok? Stuart
Cummins 130 Build Thread 04 110 Double Cab - Black (gone) 58 130 Double Cab HCPU - Cairns Blue |
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10th May 2021 10:46am |
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| rallysteve Member Since: 10 Feb 2014 Location: Cumbria Posts: 2200  
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VOSA could have a field-day around here! There are hundreds of 3.5t transit flatbeds, including a load of badly home made ones carrying large vehicles (incl. other transits, Jags etc.). They could just hang around outside the local banger racing track and have their fill of defects and overloaded vehicles.
Then again there are also plenty of 7.5t 'privately owned' trucks around here which do plenty of cash in hand scrap car buying and have no tachos and I am sure in many cases no C/C1 licencing. One of the usual suspects also uses our residential street as a casual lorry park for 7.5t and larger vehicles. 02' 110 TD5 Double Cab Rebuild Thread 84' 90 3.9 V8 Caged Pickup Build Thread - Now For Sale |
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10th May 2021 10:54am |
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| excossack Member Since: 22 Feb 2012 Location: North West Posts: 5745 
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Do these conversion not need to be inspected to ensure they are safe, have the correct plating showing max weight etc and be registered as a recovery vehicle and not still be registered as a box van ?
Or can anyone get an old transit and weld up a new bed and call it good? 1999 Defender TD5 110 Regards John M0VAZ Econet Station 48 no clock |
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10th May 2021 12:07pm |
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| kenzle8a Member Since: 12 Feb 2020 Location: None Posts: 1074 
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Its the same with 7.5 tonne horse boxes, save for the hunt lorry style ones most of them are probably running overweight without even knowing. Its why we have the Landy on the farm as towing with it is easier to work out GTW & MAM. Most of the 7.5 tonne boxes we looked at could only take 2.2 tonnes of load, which when you add three horses, tack, kit, water, hay etc too you are easily over the limit, ours aren't even that big as they are all sub 500kg ponies. |
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10th May 2021 1:41pm |
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| en48 Member Since: 17 Jul 2019 Location: Wiltshire Posts: 38 
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Hmmm...
I've got this to look forward to on Friday. I've hired a 3.5t beavertail to go and collect a car. In their defence, they did 'make me aware' that the 3.5t was the total limit, and that the van itself was a little over 2t. I'm retrieving an old MGB. Mostly intact, but no roof (note to self - take tarpaulin), windscreen surround or any glass... My (perhaps foolish) assumption was that I'm legal. Might go away and check now though..! |
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10th May 2021 4:42pm |
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| excossack Member Since: 22 Feb 2012 Location: North West Posts: 5745
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Maybe this helps?
https://classics.honestjohn.co.uk/reviews/mg/mgb/specs/ 1999 Defender TD5 110 Regards John M0VAZ Econet Station 48 no clock |
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10th May 2021 4:48pm |
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| Bluest Member Since: 23 Apr 2016 Location: Lancashire Posts: 3997 
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Its slightly more involved than just adding the two vehicle masses together and then subtracting from the gross limit. Axle weights need to be considered as its entirely possible to within the gross but over on an axle. 2007 110 TDCi Station Wagon XS
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10th May 2021 4:48pm |
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| rallysteve Member Since: 10 Feb 2014 Location: Cumbria Posts: 2200
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Doubt an MGB (even one still mostly made of steel
 ) much over a tonne so I wouldn't be too worried about that sort of vehicle, that is exactly what 3.5t trucks are ideal for!
Steve 02' 110 TD5 Double Cab Rebuild Thread 84' 90 3.9 V8 Caged Pickup Build Thread - Now For Sale |
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10th May 2021 4:50pm |
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| Projectblue Member Since: 22 Nov 2011 Location: Devon Posts: 1096 
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Yeah, 6500kg GVW Iveco with an ali slide. Plus it's a pro recovery company so they won't take a chance. New project and it's green: www.projectoverland.info |
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10th May 2021 9:05pm |
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| Projectblue Member Since: 22 Nov 2011 Location: Devon Posts: 1096
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The thing to remember is physics. The weight aft of the axle increases with the distance away from the balance point. Also, an easy (but not full proof way to work out a van size is by it's numbering. Most german vans use weight.power so a 316 is 3000kg, 160PS and a 516 is 5000kg etc. New project and it's green: www.projectoverland.info |
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10th May 2021 9:12pm |
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| Supacat Member Since: 16 Oct 2012 Location: West Yorkshire Posts: 11018 
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It says something about the engineering of these 3.5t vehicles that it actually moves when overloaded by 2t:
Click image to enlarge |
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13th May 2021 1:24pm |
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| Rashers Member Since: 21 Jun 2015 Location: Norfolk Posts: 3344 
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I was watching Bangers and Cash on Yesterday the other day. What do Mathewsons use for shifting all those classic cars around? I think one of their vehicles is a Peugeot. This would be a 3.5t van, wouldn’t it?
They also tow a car transporter trailer some times. Are their vehicles ok? |
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13th May 2021 1:46pm |
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| Bluest Member Since: 23 Apr 2016 Location: Lancashire Posts: 3997
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You are probably ok with many classics on a 3.5t transporter. Just depends what you are carrying. Modern cars have just got really heavy and it’ll get worse with electric ones. The key is making sure you know the payload of your van and the actual weight of what is being carried. The trouble is you’ll be running so close the limit a lot of the time that ensuring you are never over on at least an axle if not gross, will be hard.
Towing with a car trailer is still potentially problematic as you’ll probably need a tachograph and o-license if the max weight of the combination is over 3.5t. So, whilst you might be running comfortably within the legal weights for your vehicle, you are not meeting the regs for operating a commercial vehicle. The Traffic Commisioners do not have much of a sense of humour about this stuff and your vehicle can be scrapped. This catches a lot of people out who tow commercially using an SUV, or they hope they’ll be able to convince the authorities they are towing for leisure if they get pulled. Really a lot of these businesses ought to just bite the bullet, get a bigger truck and an o-license. 2007 110 TDCi Station Wagon XS |
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13th May 2021 2:17pm |
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| cee-b Member Since: 25 Jan 2018 Location: South West Posts: 114
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I once recovered a friend's MGC roadster on a very heavy trailer connected to my Vauxhall Viva estate (I was the only 1 of our little crowd with a towbar). The first indication that something might be wrong was the back end of my car lifting a few feet in the air as the MG was driven onto the back of the trailer. The next was total brake fade as I approached a set of traffic lights on a downhill; we went through just as they turned red, with lights flashing and horn blaring. I eventually brought it to a halt when the road levelled out. I definitely learned about towing from that! In my defence, I was a teenager driving my first car. I'm now a pensioner and have never knowingly towed overweight since. Good luck with the (presumed) restoration of the 'B'. |
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13th May 2021 2:33pm |
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