Hi all, does anyone here run / operate one of the above type of car transporter?
Anything specific to look out for? I know that you have to be very careful about what size / plated weight vehicle you buy with regard to how easy it could be to go over weight when loaded. Some will be ok with the average Ford Focus on the back but stick a Range Rover on there and you could be in trouble!
Also, im thinking more along the lines of vehicle movements / transportation for agents, main dealers, private customers etc and NOT roadside recovery.
Have had my licences for 31 years, got the international and National CPC`s etc but have been out of the game for a while.
Any in put would be well appreciated, many thanks.
bullitt:
I know that you have to be very careful about what size / plated weight vehicle you buy with regard to how easy it could be to go over weight when loaded. Some will be ok with the average Ford Focus on the back but stick a Range Rover on there and you could be in trouble!
This is your major issue. I’m not an expert in this field but I don’t think there are many (if any) 3.5t car transporters that tare in much under 2000kg. That only leaves you with 1500kg for the vehicle and more cars these days are over 1500kg than under.
Personally unless you’re going to be happy running overweight a lot of the time I can’t see how you can make a viable business out of running a 3.5t transporter. You’ll be turning down nigh on half the work and your customers will soon lose interest at that.
No real way to shift vehicles around commercially on a hire&reward basis without tacho and o-licence.
Cheapest and lowest overheads is probably a 4x4 car with tacho fitted and 3.5t Ifor/Brian James type car trailer, which you’ll get everything including Range Rovers on weight wise. There used to be quiet a lot of guys doing it part-time with this sort of combination but I think there’s less as they struggled to make it pay.
Once you get something like either a 5ton or 7.5ton there’s not much advantage over any other HGV outfit other than being able to drive on a pre 97 licence.
As the others have said really. We have a chap who parks in our yard with one of these. He has an O licence and tacho fitted. He used to get stopped quite a lot by the Vosa boys to check he had them. Not so much these days, probably down to ANPR and such. He is quite busy but it took him a while build it up and cut his empty mileage.
repton:
I’m not an expert in this field but I don’t think there are many (if any) 3.5t car transporters that tare in much under 2000kg. That only leaves you with 1500kg for the vehicle and more cars these days are over 1500kg than under.
Paul
You’re not wrong Paul. I was surprised when I chatted to him about it iIRC your Focus is knocking on 1400kgs from the factory with a splash of fuel in, new mini a wee bit more The BMW 1 series is the heaviest I think he can load on the front at just over 1500Kgs depending on spec
I saw one the other day with a ■■■■■■ van on the back and one hanging on barely to the trailer behind being escorted into Sandbach by the battenburg
Bet that cost him a bob or three
Dont know the weight of that particular vehicle Rog, I just snipped the image from google to use as an example.
I have thought about the IFOR / Brian James set up but much prefer the purpose built single car transporters. There are plenty of beaver tailed transits / movano type set ups around but they all seem to have a 3.5 tonne GVW which, as stated, is no good if you want to transport a Range Rover for example!!
As billiybigrig has pointed out, if you want to avoid VOSA or the Traff-Pol you have to do it properly! Looks like that would mean the “O” licence and tachos. I was hoping to maybe avoid that but then again,as Repton states, you wont be able to carry anything over a certain weight which limits your customers, what you can actually do and therefore your earning potential!
my brother used to drive a 3.5 ton sprinter transporter towing a trailer,small stuff on the truck bigger stuff on the trailer.They ended up replacing it with a 4.5 ton version then 6.1/4 tonner with trailer eventually ending up with a 7.5 ton 2 car truck,like everyone else has said to do it right you gonna have to get something with a tacho.
Thats the thing Rog,a 1700 kg payload is just to restrictive, its to low. For proper flexibility it seems you have to go to 7.5 but then you`re heading into tacho and “O” licence land, which i was hoping to avoid!
Thats the thing Rog,a 1700 kg payload is just to restrictive, its to low. For proper flexibility it seems you have to go to 7.5 but then you`re heading into tacho and “O” licence land, which i was hoping to avoid!
Curb weights creep up very easily on used/owned motors. It’s keeping your axle weights OK as well that’s tricky our chap says
Thats the thing Rog,a 1700 kg payload is just to restrictive, its to low. For proper flexibility it seems you have to go to 7.5 but then you`re heading into tacho and “O” licence land, which i was hoping to avoid!
i looked into this kind of work myself bullitt as a poss way of starting up.
its abit of a rock and a hard place, small van like the sprinter in your 1st post avoids tachos o’licence etc, but very restricted.
i looked at 7 and halfs, specced right and you could carry 2 maybe 3, go abit bigger, and you could stick a brian james type trailer on the back, but then you are under all the regs etc.
i think the covered car transporters are a good idea, but when you look, there are a good few at it, and well established.
Own Account Driver:
No real way to shift vehicles around commercially on a hire&reward basis without tacho and o-licence.
Cheapest and lowest overheads is probably a 4x4 car with tacho fitted and 3.5t Ifor/Brian James type car trailer, which you’ll get everything including Range Rovers on weight wise.
Using a dual purpose 4X4 would mean no O licence but as the total MAM is over 3.5 tonnes then it will come under tacho regs
Own Account Driver:
No real way to shift vehicles around commercially on a hire&reward basis without tacho and o-licence.
Cheapest and lowest overheads is probably a 4x4 car with tacho fitted and 3.5t Ifor/Brian James type car trailer, which you’ll get everything including Range Rovers on weight wise.
Using a dual purpose 4X4 would mean no O licence but as the total MAM is over 3.5 tonnes then it will come under tacho regs
You still need tacho and o-licence as what the OP is wanting is hire&reward. I only realised (off here) myself recently that the rules have changed and more are dragged into the net.
Every hire&reward car transport option now needs tacho and o-licence apart from low payload 3.5t Transit type thing.
Own Account Driver:
No real way to shift vehicles around commercially on a hire&reward basis without tacho and o-licence.
Cheapest and lowest overheads is probably a 4x4 car with tacho fitted and 3.5t Ifor/Brian James type car trailer, which you’ll get everything including Range Rovers on weight wise.
Using a dual purpose 4X4 would mean no O licence but as the total MAM is over 3.5 tonnes then it will come under tacho regs
You still need tacho and o-licence as what the OP is wanting is hire&reward. I only realised (off here) myself recently that the rules have changed and more are dragged into the net.
Every hire&reward car transport option now needs tacho and o-licence apart from low payload 3.5t Transit type thing.
Own Account Driver:
…Every hire&reward car transport option now needs tacho and o-licence apart from low payload 3.5t Transit type thing.
Cheers OAD, and there lies the rub. To make it pay and allow for proper flexibility 3.5 transit / movanos / sprinters etc are no good. So you need to go upto 4 /5 /7.5 ton and with that comes the wonderful world of tacho`s and "O"licences!!
On a similar note, could anyone decipher the data on the plate below.
Its been a few years now. It comes from a Transit transporter but with a 4.6 ton GVW and apparently a 2.5 tonne payload! So what does the 6.5 tonne signify
Own Account Driver:
No real way to shift vehicles around commercially on a hire&reward basis without tacho and o-licence.
Cheapest and lowest overheads is probably a 4x4 car with tacho fitted and 3.5t Ifor/Brian James type car trailer, which you’ll get everything including Range Rovers on weight wise.
Using a dual purpose 4X4 would mean no O licence but as the total MAM is over 3.5 tonnes then it will come under tacho regs
You still need tacho and o-licence as what the OP is wanting is hire&reward. I only realised (off here) myself recently that the rules have changed and more are dragged into the net.
Every hire&reward car transport option now needs tacho and o-licence apart from low payload 3.5t Transit type thing.
It’s not clear though if they need to be under 2040kg though from VOSAs statements, which none of them would be. The legislation change is clearly aimed at bringing anyone operating a hire&reward transport operation with a train weight over 3.5t into the o-licensing regime.
Folk trailering cars around with 4x4s used to be ten a penny so whatever the factor something must be making it a non-starter.
iIRC your Focus is knocking on 1400kgs from the factory with a splash of fuel in, new mini a wee bit more 
