3.5t to 7.5t

[Jimbo9]

Hi all, 

 

I currently run a 3.5t cabstar, but I'm considering up grading to a 7.5t of some sort. I'm interested to hear from folk that have made the switch with regards to truck make, fuel consumption, reliability issues, general cost of running a lager truck. The obvious issue will be size but looking at any Info beyond that. 

 

Cheers in advance 

[Mark Bolam]

You don’t want to be running a lager truck mate, it will end badly.

 

I speak from experience.

[lux]

Depends what work you are doing surely. What’s the reason for up scaling ? What are your other options ?

[Jimbo9]

28 minutes ago, lux said:

Depends what work you are doing surely. What’s the reason for up scaling ? What are your other options ?

The main reason would be be load capacity, making larger jobs more practical. Less visits to the tip site... 

[Jimbo9]

48 minutes ago, Mark Bolam said:

You don’t want to be running a lager truck mate, it will end badly.

 

I speak from experience.

Go on then spill the beans.. 

[lux]

The main reason would be be load capacity, making larger jobs more practical. Less visits to the tip site... 

If you are producing lots of waste each day and your sites allow for larger vehicles buy one. They are cheap as chips in comparison to a 3.5t van.

[Al Cormack]

Go on then spill the beans.. 

He won’t remember after so much lager in his truck[emoji23][emoji481]

[richy_B]

Just going through it myself. Been holding off for a while but the new ULEZ is forcing my hand so I thought I'd I am changing vehicles I'd make the jump.  

 

My take - 3.5t is a great place to start but it's just that, a start. You have a pretty small legal payload and if it's your main vocation it's going to be holding you back. Something like an iveco 70c is barely larger than a transit but has over 3t payload compared the 1t if you're lucky. That's 10m3 of chip compared to 3m3. For me it's about keeping it legal and not 'getting away with it'. I'd rather just concentrate on my work and not have the worry of getting pulled etc.

 

To get a C1E is costing about £800 including theory and medical (provided you have experience with larger vehicles and trailers). O license is costing me about £1500 with a company assiting with the paperwork. 10 weekly checks are going to cost a few hundred per year plus anything they find. In fairness this is not going to be loads more than the transit when averaged out. 

 

I got some instance quotes and interestingly they are the same as my transit. 

 

Overall it's going to cost more per year but compared to the time is saves with two or three trips to tip off I think it is worth it. 

Edited August 29, 2019 by richy_B

[Matthew Storrs]

8 minutes ago, richy_B said:

Just going through it myself. Been holding off for a while but the new ULEZ is forcing my hand so I thought I'd I am changing vehicles I'd make the jump.  

 

My take - 3.5t is a great place to start but it's just that, a start. You have a pretty small legal payload and if it's your main vocation it's going to be holding you back. Something like an iveco 70c is barely larger than a transit but has over 3t payload compared the 1t if you're lucky. That's 10m3 of chip compared to 3m3. For me it's about keeping it legal and not 'getting away with it'. I'd rather just concentrate on my work and not have the worry of getting pulled etc.

 

To get a C1E is costing about £800 including theory and medical (provided you have experience with larger vehicles and trailers). O license is costing me about £1500 with a company assiting with the paperwork. 10 weekly checks are going to cost a few hundred per year plus anything they find. In fairness this is not going to be loads more than the transit when averaged out. 

 

I got some instance quotes and interestingly they are the same as my transit. 

 

Overall it's going to cost more per year but compared to the time is saves with two or three trips to tip off I think it is worth it. 

If your doing a license is it not worth just jumping straight to Cat C so your not limited again in the future- imagine it’s not much difference in cost compare to C1?

 

 

[richy_B]

I debated this with myself for a few weeks! It came down to cost and short term need. 

 

I drive transits around London all day long and I am very confident in my ability to use them. I had a tester lesson and the instructor said just do a few hours instruction and do the test. Equally C1+E is identical to the B+E test that I've already done. So it's costing maybe £500 to do these both. The test vehicle was an iveco panel van, no bigger than my t350 so didn't feel much of a stretch. 

 

I'm not confident I could jump in an 18tonner with drawbar trailer and get  C+E in 2 days. Quotes I got were around £2k+. It's also time I am away learning to drive a lorry I am not earning. Overall It would be £3k real difference between the 2 options. 

 

I get that a C+E is the best to get overall but I can't see me using anything over a c1+E in the next 5 years.

 

Time will tell if I am right! 

 

Edited August 30, 2019 by richy_B