Sub 7.5 tonne van best for towing

[Big J]

Quick question.

 

In discussions at the moment with a sawmill manufacturer about distributing here but being American the mills are huge, and too long to tow on a B+E licence.

 

So, I'd have the get the C1+E licence, and my searches on the internet for best towing van (would like a van as would serve the purpose of being a vehicle I could deliver timber in) have been fruitless.

 

Budget is limited, would need to tow 3 tonnes, medium wheel base.

 

What do you reckon?

 

Jonathan

[treequip]

Quick question.

 

In discussions at the moment with a sawmill manufacturer about distributing here but being American the mills are huge, and too long to tow on a B+E licence.

 

So, I'd have the get the C1+E licence, and my searches on the internet for best towing van (would like a van as would serve the purpose of being a vehicle I could deliver timber in) have been fruitless.

 

Budget is limited, would need to tow 3 tonnes, medium wheel base.

 

What do you reckon?

 

Jonathan

 

Jesus how long are they?

[Daniël Bos]

Quick question.

 

In discussions at the moment with a sawmill manufacturer about distributing here but being American the mills are huge, and too long to tow on a B+E licence.

 

So, I'd have the get the C1+E licence, and my searches on the internet for best towing van (would like a van as would serve the purpose of being a vehicle I could deliver timber in) have been fruitless.

 

Budget is limited, would need to tow 3 tonnes, medium wheel base.

 

What do you reckon?

 

Jonathan

 

Hmm, fairly sure the maximum length for B+E is 18m which is the same as C(1)+E isn't it?

 

The other thing you should know is that getting a C1 license is a waste if money, as the requirements, test and costs are the same for getting C. I imagine The same would go for C1+E versus c+e but you'd still be limited to the C1 weights.

 

And as an actual answer, my Merc 814 would tow a house with ease, turned tighter than a LR 90 and was superb for reliability and maintenance.

[difflock]

Iveco, plated at 5.2 tonne tows 3.5 tonne.

For us pre 1997 car licence holders plate at 4.75 tonne if wishing/needing to tow the full 3500kg trailer. Otherwise keep at 5200kg for better van payload.

A good truck but some parts are pricier than Merc stuff:confused1:

Pulls like a train imho.

marcus

PS

I suspect the C1 + E is more attractive to older men like myself as we already have the 7500kg veh entitlement, we merely need to "top up" the trailer bit to 3500kg/12,000kg GTM.

For the post 1997 drivers , yes go straight for the "C", though I suspect one requires to wait a set period (12 months?) before adding the "E".

Edited January 10, 2013 by difflock

[Big J]

Jesus how long are they?

 

 

You can actually only tow 7m plus tongue on a B+E licence. That is the actual size of the Woodmizer too.

 

The sawmill in question has an overall length of 11.4m, so is a good way out. Speaking to a police officer friend, he said it's just not worth the risk as they will simply confiscate it.

 

I do love older Mercedes trucks, but they are quite expensive I suppose. Ideally, I would like to not have to purchase another vehicle for work, but I think that the sawmill is good enough to warrant it. I like the Ivecos are well - good to hear that they both have hefty towing capacities as information about that is quite hard to find online.

 

Jonathan

[Peter]

Difflock, no waiting period, you could take the C+E test the next day if you wanted to.

 

Jon, are you allowed any overhang on the trailer? I know on bigger trailers you can have 3.05 metres at the back, that plus a metre over the drawbar would give you 11 metres.

[Daniël Bos]

Last I checked there was no limit on trailer size? Just overall length of 18m, maybe that's changed?

 

I had an '88 814 with 500k km on that I bought for £1250, never broke down, servicing easy and cheap, sold it 70k km later minus the big alloy box it had on when I bought it for £1450.

[Peter]

http://www.ntta.co.uk/law/law/dimensions.aspx

 

18 metres plus 3.05 m overhang is a pretty scary combination!

[difflock]

I did toy with the idea of buying an Iveco SWB 5.2 tonner equipped with a 5th wheel, i.e set up as an artic tractor unit.

They were a UK factory option though not many ever sold.

Mostly for big exhibition units large on volume but light.

They may also have appealed to the pre 1997 licence holders as the GTW of 8250kg allowed quite some flexibility.

I was toying with legally transporting a nominal 3.5 tonne excavator, on the "grandfather" "B" + "E" catogory.

Could be a tidy "yoke" but work out quite expensive.

11.4m + allow 6m for Van/pickup = sub 18 m = job done.

[openspaceman]

In discussions at the moment with a sawmill manufacturer about distributing here but being American the mills are huge, and too long to tow on a B+E licence.

 

 

It may qualify as an agricultural trailed appliance and depending on number of wheels it could be up to 15m (18m including drawbar or overall, not sure) long when towed by an agricultural machine (Fastrac or unimog) but would be restricted to 40mph on all roads.