Hi guys! I posted this in the normal forum as it’s my first post so am putting here now! Doh!! 
Firstly… stunning site, i’m always able to seek out an answer to a question that i may have, but i’d like to find the answer to this one. I’m hopeing to buy either an early FH12, or an FL10 in the coming year, restore it and have a good tinker, and then use it to show, go to charity events and use it as a sunday car… i thought of getting a classic car but a unit is much more fun! I’m planning to keep it parked on my driveway, it’s on an estate with good access. What would the rules, laws and legislation require me to do to allow me to do this? Do i need to contact the local council? And also would i still need to carry out the 8 week inspections? Also would i be able to tax and insure it as a classic vehicle under limited milage?
I know there’s a few questions there but any help and or advice would be brilliant as i’d like to be armes before making a move!!
Thanks in advance. 
Wilfy.
Tiddlysnail:
Hi guys! I posted this in the normal forum as it’s my first post so am putting here now! Doh!!
Firstly… stunning site, i’m always able to seek out an answer to a question that i may have, but i’d like to find the answer to this one. I’m hopeing to buy either an early FH12, or an FL10 in the coming year, restore it and have a good tinker, and then use it to show, go to charity events and use it as a sunday car… i thought of getting a classic car but a unit is much more fun! I’m planning to keep it parked on my driveway, it’s on an estate with good access. What would the rules, laws and legislation require me to do to allow me to do this? Do i need to contact the local council? And also would i still need to carry out the 8 week inspections? Also would i be able to tax and insure it as a classic vehicle under limited milage?
I know there’s a few questions there but any help and or advice would be brilliant as i’d like to be armes before making a move!!
Thanks in advance.
Wilfy.
the locals might complain if the truck is in veiw, taxation class would be PLG, no 8 week inspections,limited milage on trucks works on a radials from base as a rule and not miles covered during the year, you would need the right licence to drive the thing and before anyone says “you would need to remove the fith wheel” thats rubbish!!
if it’s a council estate parking the thing on your drive may cause poblems.
moose
Moose:
Tiddlysnail:
if it’s a council estate parking the thing on your drive may cause poblems.
moose
You might have problems on a private estate also, some don’t allow parking of commercials, it’s written in the property deeds, if the neighbours complain, you’ve a problem!
Bernard
if you take all your paperwork to your local dvla office they will change your registration document to private hgv. my scania 113 is £165 a year to tax. its insured as historic hgv on limited mileage 3000 miles a year £ 214. you dont need an operators but still need an lgv drivers licence
jonmea:
if you take all your paperwork to your local dvla office they will change your registration document to private hgv. my scania 113 is £165 a year to tax. its insured as historic hgv on limited mileage 3000 miles a year £ 214. you dont need an operators but still need an lgv drivers licence
Perhaps you can shed some light on what I was told recently by a Trade Plater Driver, He said if the unit didnt have a fith wheel fitted it could be driven on a car licence ■■?, Regards Larry.
Lawrence Dunbar:
jonmea:
if you take all your paperwork to your local dvla office they will change your registration document to private hgv. my scania 113 is £165 a year to tax. its insured as historic hgv on limited mileage 3000 miles a year £ 214. you dont need an operators but still need an lgv drivers licencePerhaps you can shed some light on what I was told recently by a Trade Plater Driver, He said if the unit didnt have a fith wheel fitted it could be driven on a car licence ■■?, Regards Larry.
This seems to be an out of date myth thats been brought up many times before on Trucknet. The answer is that a tractor unit [such as the Volvo FH mentioned] with no trailer [or even no fifth wheel] requires a LGV C licience or class 2 to drive.
I am also one of those strange people that keep a truck as a toy, a Scania 142 in my case. A big consideration with keeping it on the drive should be how its condition will fair agaisnt the weather. Its surprising how being stood outside can affect a vehicle, if you are planning to keep it as a showtruck then it’d be worth looking for secure indoor storage. This may be a major cost factor on wether the whole thing is feasible.
For insurance try NFU but other places will do a specific classic policy, thats not a problem really.
My truck is still taxed as a working LGV at 28 t but the cost is about the same as JonMea’s 113.
Hope this helps. Please just ask if you have any other concerns.
Neil.
Some great answers there guy’s, thanks!
I had heard about the ‘5th wheel urban myth’, so am glad that’s cleared up, and to be honist i did’nt think that it would be as cheap as that to tax! I do have a class 1 licence and is all up to date, i don’t drive an HGV daily but i keep myself up to date as it were and keep my hand in. The unit would be kept on my drive to begin with untill i’d found somewhere under cover. I’m edgeing towards a Volvo FL10 as you just don’t see many of them around… and the fact that i learnt to drive in one, the ‘wendy-house’ appeals to me! As soon as i get myself together and buy one i’ll keep you guys in touch with the progress of the restoration. Thanks again for your time.
Cheers
Wilfy.
good that myths are being busted because there does seem to be some right old rubbish bandied about regarding this subject. I had to confess I thought you could have/drive a unit for show reasons if you had an ‘ordinary’ driving licence, i.e you passed before 1997 and had 7.5 tonne entitlement.
Cavlad:
good that myths are being busted because there does seem to be some right old rubbish bandied about regarding this subject. I had to confess I thought you could have/drive a unit for show reasons if you had an ‘ordinary’ driving licence, i.e you passed before 1997 and had 7.5 tonne entitlement.
You are right Bill,provided it doesn’t exceed 7.5 tonne’s of course.I know a couple of blokes this way that do exactly that.
Cheers Dave.
5th wheel or not the other way is to down rate a unit on paper to 7.5t. I have seen units with small generator in tool box registed as mobile plant test exempt and driven on car license.
Dan Punchard:
5th wheel or not the other way is to down rate a unit on paper to 7.5t. I have seen units with small generator in tool box registed as mobile plant test exempt and driven on car license.
thats quite right dan, taxed as engineering plant, as long as the vehicle is what it is taxed as then a car licence and no need to even mot the thing, never mind taco’s and limiters!
as long as you go about it the right way its no problem, the thing is you see many trucks advertised for sale that are “mot exempt” but a lot would fall foul of the law in the event of an accident,
its not that long ago that most of the stud welding plants around this area were operated in this way, not sure if this is still the case? as they would have been well over 7.5 ton
moose
Don’t get me started on ‘MOT exempt’ it winds me up something rotten when I see all those slidebed and beavertail recovery trucks on eBay and the likes saying they’re text exempt when they definitely are not.
It’s all very well getting an exemption form from the Post Office, but quite something else if you have an accident or inspection and VOSA tear you a new arshle.
Cavlad:
Don’t get me started on ‘MOT exempt’ it winds me up something rotten when I see all those slidebed and beavertail recovery trucks on eBay and the likes saying they’re text exempt when they definitely are not.
It’s all very well getting an exemption form from the Post Office, but quite something else if you have an accident or inspection and VOSA tear you a new arshle.
You’re right, it’s too easy to tax a motor without MOT at the Post Office. Even though the renewal form says MOT needed, I do mine (genuine exempt) every year. I just print off a form from the DVLA site, sign it and hand it over with the insurance certificate and tax reminder at the PO instead of an MOT. The girl just looks at it, gives it back and writes me up a tax disc. As far as I know there’s nothing on her computer screen that tells her it’s exempt so she has to take my word for it. So, anyone could do the same. I’ve read somewhere that under the new rule where all pre-1960 motors are exempt MOT, the tax reminders will show it, maybe that’ll make it harder for the vehicles that aren’t exempt.
Bernard