New sawmill coming next month - need to sort out towing issues

[Big J]

Have you got some quotes for haulage?

 

The amount of money you're thinking of spending on a tow vehicle would go a long way in paying someone else to move it, and you wont have the headache of running another vehicle.

 

That is one train of thought that has crossed my mind certainly. There are several ag-spec Unimogs that I know of locally, so legal issues regarding the axles are avoided.

 

Perhaps the best conclusion would be to see how the mobile work picks up with this mill and then consider a suitable tow vehicle.

[treequip]

It's mainly as so much has to come off the length to make it legal here - we're talking 3m. It would have meant completely redesigning the sawmill, meaning a huge increase in cost and a compromise of the mill itself. I don't have a problem with driving a larger vehicle - I wouldn't want to tow something of that size with the Navara, and the extra width of a larger tow vehicle would protect the head rig.

 

Well the way I see that is, its a fold 1m or 3m makes no difference and if you want to tow it on the UK roads you are going to have to swap the axle anyhow, its not much of a re design because there isn't much to it, its a ladder frame on axles and a headrig.

 

Having is shorter to tow will make it a different beast in many ways, it will be a lot less prone to wag, it will be easier to store and the obvious manoeuvrability

 

If I were the manufacturer I would use this opportunity to make a euro compliant model, export sales and all that.

[broonie]

Aye once you see it in the flesh might be easier for you to come up with a solution after maneuvering it about in the yard.

[broonie]

dunno about the weight of the frame but, what if the rear overhang chopped and made to be a slip fit joint?

[gensetsteve]

You mean this one:

 

Chevrolete GMC vandura pickup 5th wheel | eBay

 

So what is the law regarding towing a fifth wheel trailer?

 

Yes I came across it last weekend although cant see the fifth wheel I assume it must be seperate. No idea on the law on fifth wheel towing but I know someone who was going to produce trailers to take advantage of the 8250kg with out o licence. That gmc looked wide with enough power sensible fuel consumption low miles and not knackered and about 20k cheaper than a mog.

[difflock]

see link,

first one that came up,

searched for "UK 5th wheel towing restrictions"

I had reaserched this topic a few years ago in respect of moving a 4 tonne excavator, but it turned out to be simpler to spec a 7.5tonne beavertail.

5th wheel confusion UKCampsite.co.uk Caravan Towcars and Towing Advice Forum Messages

re brakes, same search question, 2nd or 3rd search topic.

With specific reference to American sourced kit!!

http://www.direct.gov.uk/prod_consum_dg/groups/dg_digitalassets/@dg/@en/@motor/documents/digitalasset/dg_200827.pdf

[Peter]

Caravan forum is FOS, so much wrong I dont even know where to start.

 

Second link is very interesting though, still limited to a 7 metre trailer on a 5th wheel setup if the towing vehicle is 3500kg or smaller.

[agrimog]

here is a copy of the latest info from DOT on agricultural tractors and trailers, it might clear up a few misconceptions.:-

 

 

This information sh

eet

provides an overview

of the safety requirements for agricultural tractors used

on the public road and

covers

the

main

points that are likely to arise

,

but for the definitive

requirements, the regulations themselves

or a knowled

geable trade association

such as NFU

,

AEA

or BAGMA

should be consulted. Details of how to obtain the regulations

are

in

section

4

below

.

1.

Overview

.

An

Agricultural

tractor

i

n

road vehicle

legislation i

s

a vehicle that is designed for, and

used solely

for

,

agricultural purposes

. If it is a multi

-

purpose

tractor

, used partially for Agricultural purposes,

and partially for general haulage, it is no longer an Agricultural

tractor

and it must meet the

stan

dards applying to standard road

-

going

haulage vehicl

es

.

Haulage vehicles are subject to

„plating‟ and annual testing with VOSA, Operators licence, use of

tachographs,

and use of white

diesel only.

Agricultural purposes

is defined more precisely by HMRC on their website and is interpreted

exactly the same w

ay by the D

epartment for Transport

.

The following link gives guidance.

HM Revenue & Customs

geLabel=pageExcise_ShowContent&id=HMCE_CL_000164&propertyType=document#P312_3128

3

Many

Agricultural

tractors (when new)

are

subject to

type approval

(the governm

ent inspection of a

vehicle before it is registered).

Other categories are exempt.

(Consult the manufacturer for details).

All

tractor

s

still need

to comply with the standards

for road use

that ap

ply to all vehicles in Britain.

2.

Maximum weight, length a

nd width

.

The maximum

(gross or fully laden)

weight

of an

agricultural

tractor

is 24,390 kg.

The maximum

weight of

a

n

agricultural

combination

(tractor plus trailer)

is

also

24,390 kg

.

The maximum

length

of a

n agricultural

tractor

is 12m.

This is unlik

ely to be exceeded so it is more

useful

to list the maximum length of trailer that is allowed. This is normally 12m.

In the case of a

“

Composite trailer

” (

semi

-

trailer

and

converter dolly

) the maximum length is 14.04m. In the case of

an

Agricultural traile

d appliance

,

in other words towed equipment

(with gross weight less than

double the unladen weight) the maximum length is 15m.

The maximum

width

of a tractor (or trailer)

is 2.55m. Certain essential parts such as lights and

mirrors can be ignored when mea

surement of width takes place.

Under special circumstances Agricultural vehicles

wider

than 2.55m are permitted to use public

roads. The Road Vehicles (Authorisation of Special Types) (General) Order 2003 (known as STGO)

permits the road use of Agricultur

al vehicles that are up to 4.3 metres in width, subject to terms and

conditions. The key ones are as follows:

Wid

th

–

between 2.55m and 3m:

speed must not exceed 20mph.

W

idth

–

between 3m and 3.5m:

maximum

s

peed

20mph

as above, plus if the journey

is ove

r 5 miles or the speed limit in the road is 40mph or lower, (or both), the

operator

must notify the Police in advance of the journey.

W

idth

-

between

3.5

m and 4.3m: the P

olice must be notified, the maximum speed is

limited to

12 mph and the vehicle(s)

must

be accompanied by an attendant, who may

ride in a different vehicle but must ensure no danger is caused to the

vehicle

or other

Information sheet

AGRICULTURAL

TRA

CTORS

:

a brief guide

road users. The police, following notification, may place restrictions on the use of the

vehicle in the interests of road safet

y or to avoid undue traffic congestion.

For full details

on the requirements applicable to agricultural vehicles wider than

2.55m, the

legislation can be found at:

The Road Vehicles (Authorisation of Special Types) (General) Order 2003

3

.

Braking requirements

The braking requirements depend on the speed at which the tractor travels

, and its age

:

Agricultural

tr

actor

used at speeds

not exceeding

20mph,

or

which was manufactured before

1986

–

braking efficiency of at least 25% is required. In the event of failure of any part, the brakes

must still be capable of bring the vehicle to rest in a reasonable distance. A

mechanical parking

brake is required, which can hold the vehicle stationary on a gradient of at least 16%.

Agricultural

tractor

manufactured since 1986

and

used at speeds exceeding 20 mph

-

braking

in line with ECE Regulation 13 or EEC Directive 71/320/E

EC.

Consult the manufactur

er to check

whether the tractor

complied when it was new. Most tractors do not comply with these requirements

so should

only

be used at speeds up to and not exceeding 20mph.

4.

Amber w

arning beacon

Tractors which are incapable b

y design of exceeding 25mph,

may

be fitted with a

flashing or

rotating

amber warning beacon

, which may be used where necessary to warn other traffic.

If such a

tractor is used on an unrestricted (i.e. 70mph national speed limit) dua

l carriageway,

other

th

an crossing it by the quickest manner practicable,

an amber beacon

must

be fitted and must be

kept on.

Any amber warning beacon fitted, whether voluntarily fitted or required by regulation, must be fitted

in compliance with the requirements of Schedule 16

of RVLR. Schedule 16 requires the centre of

the lamp to be not less than 1200 mm above the ground, and the light to be visible from at least one

beacon (but not necessarily the same beacon) from any point at a reasonable distance from the

vehicle (i.e. t

hrough

a full

360



).

5. Other lighting

.

Lights are not required on a tractor which is only used

on the road

during the hours of daylight

, in

conditions of good visibility. If this is the case, the driver is required to use hand signals to indicate

chang

es of direction a

nd when he is slowing down.

Otherwise, lighting is required

as in the table

, based on the maximum speed of the

tractor

and also

when it was first used.

Maximum Speed

Types of lamp required to be fitted

Any speed

Front position lamp

(

side

light)

Rear position lamp

(

tail light

)

Rear retro

-

reflector

More than 15 mph

As above, and also

Dipped

-

beam headlamp

*

Direction indicator

*

Hazard warning flashers (4 way direction indicators)

*

More than 25 mph

All of the above, and also

Main

-

beam hea

dlamp

*

Rear fog lamp

*

Stop lamp

*

*

-

not required on agricultural vehicles first used before 1 April 1986

Direction indicators are not required on agricultural vehicles

(e.g. ATVs)

with unladen weight less than 255kg.

6. Maintenance of agricultural

tractors in a safe condition: Farm vehicle health check scheme

The manufacturers of agricultural tractors must build vehicles which comply with the rules when

they are new, but it is the

owner’s responsibility

to ensure that the tractor is properly servi

ced and

maintained so that it remains in a

safe condition

. This is legally required under various Health and

Safety laws.

To help farmers and contractors achieve this, industry partners have prepared guidance in the form

of a Code of Practice, setting out

a Farm Vehicle Health Check scheme. This is available on

BAGMA‟s website and sets out what is required in plain language:

http://www.bagma.com/newsroom/bagma

-

news.html

7

.

T

he Road Vehicle (C

onstruction and Use) Regulations 1986

, and the Road Vehicles

Lighting Regulations 1989

.

These are the two main sets of regulations governing vehicle construction standards.

T

he

first

set of

regulations

(

Construction and Use: or C

&U)

are not available on

the internet

,

and

both

sets

have

been amended

several

times

, particularly C&U,

which

mak

es

it

difficult

to piece together the latest

version

of the

se

regulations. However these regulations are available in a consolidated format in

most city reference libra

ries, from companies who publish law. One example is 'Sweet and Maxwell'

who publish the “The Encyclopaedia of Road Traffic Law and Practice”. This publication is

continuall

y updated and Volume 4 contains

full version

s

of the

above

-

mentioned regulations in

consolidated format.

Other p

ossible suppliers include InterRegs, who charge

around

£16

0

for a fully

consolidated version of the Construction and Use

R

egulations. This can be obtained from:

SELECTREGS.COM from InterRegs

-

SI1078

8

.

Other matters

–

driving licence

It is important to ensure the correct

driving licence

entitlement is held.

More information is

here:

http://www.direct.gov.uk/en/Motoring/DriverLicensing/WhatCanYouDriveAndYourObligations

Agricultural tractors are class F, if you have this entitlement you can

also

use your tractor to

draw

any (legal)

Agricultural

trailer although there are some restrictions for young drivers.

The standard car licence (B) gives entitlement to class F automatically. However it is advisable to

undergo some training and practice off the public road, before driving a tractor for the

first time on

the public road.

9

.

Important

disclaimer

about this Information Sheet

The views expressed in this Information Sheet are based on the Department‟s current understanding of what the law

means and are not definitive. Only the courts may inter

pret legislation definitively. If you are in any doubt about your

legal obligations, you should take independent legal advice as this Information Sheet is not a substitute for such

independent legal advice.

[agrimog]

whoops, that didnt copy across quite as well as I had hopped, sorry about that

[difflock]

Hey if "J" kin tow a trailer as long as that copy/pasted doc.

'es on a proper winner:biggrin: