Hi all ,
got asked today what class 3 was? presume it was upto 7.5 t but not sure, am i correct?
cheers guys
I think class 3 was up to 10 tonne Class 2 was everything up to a bendy.
I remember my dad had a class 3 he drove a 10 tonne cake van, when they upgraded the 4 tonne Bedfords in the Army they went to class 3 HGV vehicles but by the time I took my test in the early 90’s Class 3 had been phased out to just 2 and 1.
class 3
a goods vehicle designed to have no more than 4 wheels in contact with the road , having a gross weight not exceeding 16 tons
or something very similar!
No longer relevant, done away with 12 years ago.
Used to drive a 7.5 on the removals in the eighties on my car license, what class was that because the only thing I was classed for was an idiot.
aranger:
Used to drive a 7.5 on the removals in the eighties on my car license, what class was that because the only thing I was classed for was an idiot.
Far be it for me to make any judgement about that statement and any possible connection with a large proportion of 7.5 tonne drivers!
(runs for cover)
a friend of mine asked me this the other day
he passed his test in march 2005, has nothin but just a car license, can he drive a 7.5ton ■■
i didnt no the answer haha
There used to be three HGV licences.
Class 3 was a four-wheeled rigid bodied truck
Class 2 was a 6 or 8 wheeled truck
Class 1 was an articulated lorry.
The licencing categories changed from HGV to LGV in the mid-1990’s, but somehow the new name never caught on
Which is why nobody ever says “I am an LGV driver”.
mark h:
a friend of mine asked me this the other dayhe passed his test in march 2005, has nothin but just a car license, can he drive a 7.5ton ■■
i didnt no the answer haha
No, he’s limited to 3.5t.
mrpj:
mark h:
a friend of mine asked me this the other dayhe passed his test in march 2005, has nothin but just a car license, can he drive a 7.5ton ■■
i didnt no the answer haha
No, he’s limited to 3.5t.
cheers 4 tha i had an idea it was tha, think u had to pass ya test before 1999 to drive 1 on a car license i think
wasnt sure, thanks
mark h:
mrpj:
mark h:
a friend of mine asked me this the other dayhe passed his test in march 2005, has nothin but just a car license, can he drive a 7.5ton ■■
i didnt no the answer haha
No, he’s limited to 3.5t.
cheers 4 tha i had an idea it was tha, think u had to pass ya test before 1999 to drive 1 on a car license i think
wasnt sure, thanks
pass before 1997 to get 7.5tonne automatically on your license I think
1997 was the transitional year. 
Not sure if this is relevant but what the heck…
HGV/LGV terminology.
Using the terms ‘Class’ & ‘HGV’ will get many confused as they are no more.
LGV terms are C1. C & C+E and they have a different meaning to the old terms.
OLD -
HGV class 3 - rigid over 7.5 tonnes with 2 axles
HGV class 2 - rigid over 7.5 tonnes with more than 2 axles
HGV class 1 - ARTIC
HGV classes 2 & 3 drivers may also have entitlement to drive Wagon & Drags
NEW -
LGV C - any rigid vehicle over 7.5 tonnes (including an artic unit)
LGV C+E - any C which has a trailer - be it Drag or artic trailer.
HGV classes 2 & 3 drivers who have entitlement to drive Wagon & Drags will have a code 102 (Drawbar trailers only)
Now here come the ‘funny’ bit 
- A driver with the 102 code can drive a W&D to the DSA LGV test centre on their own - put L plates on it - do a LGV C+E test in it - if they pass then they have full LGV C+E so can now drive ARTICS - if they fail they can still drive out of test centre on thier own as they still have a W&D licence 
Krankee:
1997 was the transitional year.
That was when the C1 entitlement was removed from the car licence, the old style ‘class’ licences disappeared before then, 1990 IIRC. I know that my licence issued in 1991 had the “new” style categories on it 
There used to be three HGV licences
no there weren’t , there were 4 .
these were then subdivided into 1. 1A…2 2A…3 3A… and 4 4A
the A referred to automatic transmission.
don’t quote me ,but
class 4 a gooods vehicle to which the trailer is attached by partial superimposition, not exceeding 2 tons unladen wieght
class 4 A ditto… with auto
class 3 a goods vehicle designed and constructed to have no more than 4 wheels in contact with the road not exceeding 16 tons
class3A ditto … with auto
class 2 a goods vehicle designed and constructed to have more than 4 wheels in contact with the road
c,■■■ 2A ditto… with auto
class1 a goods vehicle to which a trailer is attached by partial superimposition having an unladen weight exceeeding 2 tons
class1 A ditto … with auto
something very similar to the above. seems a long time ago now!!
The weights were irrelevant, a class 3 was a vehicle over 7.5 tonnes GVW with 2 axles - it covered 16 tonnes and when the limits went up 17 tonnes (possibly even 18 tonnes , cant remember wether the weights went up to 18 tonne before the licence change) - With a class three you could also drive a wagon and drag- when the law was changed to make wagon and drag a class one criteria class 3 drivers who could show they drove a wagon and drag got a grandfather right exemption to continue driving wagon and drags but couldnt drive artics
Class two was a multi axle rigid + trailer, same clause as above
Class one was articulated
Life was so much simpler then
The “A” clause is correct tho, although there werent that many automatic trucks about in those days
Class 4 did exist. My dad told me about them when i was doing my Class C Training
They were a similar setup to the picture below. A Pickup Truck with a mini 5th wheel coupling
Class 4 licences were usually used for driving Scammell Scarabs, Scamell Townsman and Karrier Bantams . The unit had to weigh less than 2 tons
Usually had scammell automatic couplings not a fifth wheel.
GPO, British Rail and BRS used them mainly.
mrpj:
mark h:
a friend of mine asked me this the other dayhe passed his test in march 2005, has nothin but just a car license, can he drive a 7.5ton ■■
i didnt no the answer haha
No, he’s limited to 3.5t.
my friend has now asked how does he go about gettin a license to drive a 7.5tonne? is it just a class 2 license??
mark h:
mrpj:
mark h:
a friend of mine asked me this the other dayhe passed his test in march 2005, has nothin but just a car license, can he drive a 7.5ton ■■
i didnt no the answer haha
No, he’s limited to 3.5t.
my friend has now asked how does he go about gettin a license to drive a 7.5tonne? is it just a class 2 license??
C1 allows you to drive anything up to 7.5t, C allows any rigid. As the medical, theory and test (obviously it’ll be a larger test vehicle for the C) are the same he may as well do the latter.