Anyone done 3.5t car transporter work ? Looking to buy a van and set up on my own, any advice on the job and what van ect, fancy a sprinter with a lightweight aluminium body but a Fiat/Citroen/Peugeot is 150kg lighter and that could make the diference in running overweight or not, want to stay below 3.5t to start so I am not restricted by tacho and so I don’t need an o licence ect. Pro’s and Cons?
My advice would be run legally with insurances etc.
The main problem here is youl be competing against 100’s running illegally and for next to nothing.
Seeing the number of Romanian and other EE sprinter sized vans parked up at night and weekend all over the shop i reckon the van work, car or distance is, like haulage, about buggered.
However you do it you need to carry two cars at least, one only will not make a full time wage for you…i know blokes with all the contacts who can’t make single car carrying pay.
Yes, have other stuff but get a lot of use from the 3.5t ones.
Ignore any steel decks, pointless, just no capacity left, are many that when fuelled & driver & tools & straps have a 1000kg load capacity= not too useful.
The KFS body ones not cheap but give the most payload, as they make their own alloy cab back chassis rather than the usual van chassis, run with no spare & ditch the pas seats the payload is very good, ditching the winch is good again but a bit restrictive without one, you can get to near the KFS capacity with the right alloy deck tho but their chassis does save a 100-150kg sounds daft as that’s nothing on a larger truck, but is very little to play with on 3.5t so its a big saving.
As well as open, I’ve got an enclosed one non KFS, fwd & alloy deck but the cover does add weight obviously so yes a very limited capacity with only 1200kg load (properly weighted inc fuel & driver, straps & inc a spare wheel plus if needed is the 5% allowance before prosecution) so that one is a bit restrictive & mpg worse than open of course, but it’s for a specific use & is great.
Insurance is mad money if you want proper cover, esp for EU & more & more insurers have dropped out of motortrade use cover, if you stick to just UK & have low sums insured its not too scary.
Ref the above & needing to run as a 2 car, certainly for me years ago that was definitely the case, trouble is law changed couple of yrs ago & its no longer just a tacho in a hire & reward 3.5 towing, ok needs no dcpc, but needs O licence & if you are doing that a 5t or over gives you a lot more capacity on the unit & on the train weight & easier to just buy an extra 3.5t single car unit for when no tacho & 80mph & 35mpg is useful.
I’ve been doing it a long time, know most of the little dodges, its tough no doubt, seen a lot of guys come & go the rates for regular stuff is just madness you can’t survive on that.
The 3.5t car transporters seam a waste of space. They wouldnt be legally allowed to carry most modern cars. Better of getting a landrover or crewcab pickup with 3.5t tow capacity will carry most cars and 4x4 an not need o licence
m_attt:
The 3.5t car transporters seam a waste of space. They wouldnt be legally allowed to carry most modern cars. Better of getting a landrover or crewcab pickup with 3.5t tow capacity will carry most cars and 4x4 an not need o licence
The flaw in that idea is that at that weight the customer might as well hire the kit and haul it themselves.In addition to the arguable dodgy stability nature of towing a trailer which could be considerably heavier than the towing vehicle.Realistically get a 7.5 tonner and a decent trailer for more capacity if needed and all the required licences. 
7.5t is the route i would take, but the OP didnt want an O licence.
m_attt:
The 3.5t car transporters seam a waste of space. They wouldnt be legally allowed to carry most modern cars. Better of getting a landrover or crewcab pickup with 3.5t tow capacity will carry most cars and 4x4 an not need o licence[/quoteYou can run at 1700+kg on many which isnt peanuts, the increasing weight on modern cars is high indeed, but that covers many bases.
10mpg more than the 4×4 & trailer route, outside lane & 70+mph & no tacho, younger drivers don’t need trailer test licence means it ticks many boxes for a lot of folks.
Vosa however do target them a lot, but 4x4 & trailers are not immune from their attention either.
iguana:
Yes, have other stuff but get a lot of use from the 3.5t ones.Ignore any steel decks, pointless, just no capacity left, are many that when fuelled & driver & tools & straps have a 1000kg load capacity= not too useful.
The KFS body ones not cheap but give the most payload, as they make their own alloy cab back chassis rather than the usual van chassis, run with no spare & ditch the pas seats the payload is very good, ditching the winch is good again but a bit restrictive without one, you can get to near the KFS capacity with the right alloy deck tho but their chassis does save a 100-150kg sounds daft as that’s nothing on a larger truck, but is very little to play with on 3.5t so its a big saving.
As well as open, I’ve got an enclosed one non KFS, fwd & alloy deck but the cover does add weight obviously so yes a very limited capacity with only 1200kg load (properly weighted inc fuel & driver, straps & inc a spare wheel plus if needed is the 5% allowance before prosecution) so that one is a bit restrictive & mpg worse than open of course, but it’s for a specific use & is great.
Insurance is mad money if you want proper cover, esp for EU & more & more insurers have dropped out of motortrade use cover, if you stick to just UK & have low sums insured its not too scary.
Ref the above & needing to run as a 2 car, certainly for me years ago that was definitely the case, trouble is law changed couple of yrs ago & its no longer just a tacho in a hire & reward 3.5 towing, ok needs no dcpc, but needs O licence & if you are doing that a 5t or over gives you a lot more capacity on the unit & on the train weight & easier to just buy an extra 3.5t single car unit for when no tacho & 80mph & 35mpg is useful.
I’ve been doing it a long time, know most of the little dodges, its tough no doubt, seen a lot of guys come & go the rates for regular stuff is just madness you can’t survive on that.
Thanks that’s just what I’m looking for. O licence would be considered in the future but I want to walk before I run so start on my own and see how it goes.
Before you jump into anything look at the race to the bottom rates others are offering to move cars. Youd struggle to make money even if you pushed it for half the journy
m_attt:
Before you jump into anything look at the race to the bottom rates others are offering to move cars. Youd struggle to make money even if you pushed it for half the journy
Have been looking for a while and the rates whilst not making you rich seem reasonable enough for an owner driver to make a living.
I work for a firm the owner runs 11 cars and 5 car transporters i am the only in a little one and i have to say if you are in contact with the right people you can make a good living. we do euro work closed and next weekend i am off to Sweden. Auctions have plenty of work and certain web sites where you bid for work go for it love my job now
What is the max gross weight for a 4x4 + trailer.
If you use a 4x4 and trailer for hire and reward and it gets over 3.5t you need a tacho.
The new izusu dmax has a 3.5t tow capacity and a 1t payload. Also come ready to just plug a tacho in.
If you are going to go tacho route might just as well get an o licence and 5t merc and take 2 cars, rather keen to stay of tacho to start with to be honest.
Just my two penny’s worth, having been involved with vehicle recovery & car transportation for 25+ years - but not actively for the past 5…
As Iguana says it is all about payload and with a 3.5T beavertail that is very limited. From memory I’m sure the best payload was around 1440kgs, I suspect that over the past few year this may have been improved, but only slightly?
One big problem with these small vehicles is, although ‘challenging’ to not exceed the max 3,500kgs, if you look at where the weight is carried - its mostly over the rear axle!
You could have a longer chassis and body but it’s more weight and that’s the last thing you want.
I have attached a handy link to most passenger car kerb weights - look at how many are 1500 kgs or less - there the ones you can legally carry, but will the rear axle be overloaded??
Not wishing to be a killjoy but with VOSA/DVSA or whatever they call themselves this week, actively pursuing any & everything, will this be viable for you? You may be exempt tacho/O license etc. but with this benefit comes the above problems.
If you are planning on carrying only moving light vehicles any you have a niche market, go for it and the very best of luck. If you are looking to do anything car/car derived van related, there is no other option other then the 7.5T route.
I hope this helps you?
Paul
Thanks for the comments they are very much appreciated, weight is going to be critical and with the right chassis cab and body I’m aiming for a 1600kg payload, fancied a sprinter but can save 150kg+ by going for a front wheel drive van so a Ducato,Boxer,Relay or Movano looks more likely with a lightweight all aluminium body.
MrH:
If you use a 4x4 and trailer for hire and reward and it gets over 3.5t you need a tacho.
But not an o-licence if it’s dual purpose vehicle qualifying.
7.5t equals o-licence and if you want to tow a trailer with it class 1 too.
Pickup and trailer is a god shout if you want flexibility. Get a flat bed with a removable tilt type cover and you’ve got plant and machinery type work available and shove some bit off the reverse auction sites in the the back of the pickup.
Get an old enough one and you can have a paper chart tacho which can disappear as you weren’t towing the trailer that day,
m_attt:
The new izusu dmax has a 3.5t tow capacity and a 1t payload. Also come ready to just plug a tacho in.
Has about a 6.5-7t GTW, same with the Ford Ranger and I believe the Navarra is now the same - longest warranty on the Isuzu. If you gross the trailer out at 3.5t you can’t usally get the full 1 ton in the bed.