How to tell if you need a towing licence

[Marula]

I'd say class 1 and 2 from experience, the split gear box and procedure would baffle you without training. If you touch a curb anywhere you're done, if you do your test in a small town or village it's bloody difficult with training, without, no chance.

[Astreeservices]

Once you have your B+E licence your only really limited up to a transit and a trailer up to about 1.8 tonne depending on if it's a single or a double cab. Some tree firms run 7.5ton trucks which then they need a C+E licences.

[Billhook]

My mother was in the WRNS in the war and before she went her uncle persuaded her to take her driving test.

 

When she ended up at the Naval Station at Treligga in Cornwall aged 17, she found that she was the only Wren there with a licence so she had to drive the ambulance and the fire tender, both large machines but the fire tender really was a quite big lorry, which #i think towed a big trailer, so she always maintained that she had a licence to drive a lorry till the day she died

Was she correct?

[roseyweb]

Let's face it, if we're in a transit it's over loaded if we're in a trailer there's a good chance the youngster ain't got +e and is probably still overweight with dodgy brakes and no lights

 

Or a mog running on.... Well let's not go there

 

Personally we work far and wide and I'd rather not have to talk Vosa out of a sodomising so I have a class one and o licence

[richardwale]

So what's the biggest thing they would fail on ?

 

I'm interested in that question as well. I tow pretty much every day and like to think of myself as pretty damn good at it

[skyhuck]

It would probably be cheaper to read up and then take the test, if you fail you will probably have gained the knowledge required to pass next time.

 

Total cost £230, probably cheaper than training and less time consuming or irritating

[briquette_seller]

Which is why the law was changed to stop exactly that situation of people being legal but no training to do it.

 

If you think BE is costly dont expand & need C1 C1E C or CE you will **** your pants.

 

Its the same test just in bigger vehicles.

 

A 17 year old boy/girl with a car license can legally drive a tractor and trailer with a combination weight of up to 31 tonnes with absolutely no training and be perfectly legal.

500hp tractor (no MOT) at 25mph and 31 tonnes, but he/she cant tow a trailer behind a car without adequate training. Makes sense....

[josharb87]

Thank you Justme for posting helpful stuff

 

Its quite black and white as to when you need the licence or not.

 

 

Let's face it, if we're in a transit it's over loaded if we're in a trailer there's a good chance the youngster ain't got +e and is probably still overweight with dodgy brakes and no lights

 

Or a mog running on.... Well let's not go there

 

Personally we work far and wide and I'd rather not have to talk Vosa out of a sodomising so I have a class one and o licence

 

 

You have no place here Roseyweb.

 

 

I mean, you've got common sense, doing things legally, might even know what you're talking about

[Stoke Wood Project]

A 17 year old boy/girl with a car license can legally drive a tractor and trailer with a combination weight of up to 31 tonnes with absolutely no training and be perfectly legal.

500hp tractor (no MOT) at 25mph and 31 tonnes, but he/she cant tow a trailer behind a car without adequate training. Makes sense....

Yeah, that is a tiny weenie bit BONKERS!!! Near me there are always spotty lads driving silage trailers about like Nigel Mansell, in their £100k tractors.

 

Sent from my E5823 using Arbtalk mobile app

[Marc]

A 17 year old boy/girl with a car license can legally drive a tractor and trailer with a combination weight of up to 31 tonnes with absolutely no training and be perfectly legal.

500hp tractor (no MOT) at 25mph and 31 tonnes, but he/she cant tow a trailer behind a car without adequate training. Makes sense....

 

Well we wouldn't want to upset the farming community they are struggling and on the poverty line enough as it is.

 

Cynicism aside, personally I think it comes down to how to make large sweeping changes.

Like MPH-KMH we have embraced metric but still work in mph, could you imagine the cost of changing the signs to km/h country wide easier to stick with status quo.

 

3.5tonne vehicles have slowly crept up in curb weight, dealers decieve- one guy I work for is adamant his 3.5t had a legal payload of 2ton trying to tell him that's chassis only and he probably has 1.5 ton of chip body crew and kit already loaded before chip is hard.

 

But these modern 3.5ton vehicle can often handle the weight safely the likes of Cabstar make 4.5ton version and it's nigh on the same chassis and brakes.

 

Tree surgeons are not the only trades to be affected by this weight limitation which is outdated with these modern vehicles that can take the weight and drive no differently.

 

Same with trailer weights. When emissions come into play on the 6" machines it will be interesting to see how the likes of Timberwolf keep a 750kg plate weight with dpf/egr system added to engine.

 

Realistically is a Forst ST6 any worse to tow than a TW230.

 

For years I stuck my fingers up to the law, mainly because money had to be earnt mentality. Oddly now I am managing the crews I personally cannot send someone out without the correct license, 15+years ago we just got on with it.

 

We all have our B+E now which was simple and painless, and will be going for C+E.