need a bit of help from the professionals and law knowing citizens amongst you…
i passed my class two in january, and my boss seems to think that i can drive a Tractor unit if it isn’t pulling a trailer, ie . just a solo… now i have asked around a few people, and had mixed answers, ranging from yes… as it is just a rigid… to no… because it has a fifth wheel, but i can if i cover or remove the fifth wheel.
now i need “someone in the know” to inform me the truth.
anyone??
Yes, you can drive a solo tractor unit on a Cat C (class 2) licence…or that’s what they teach at CPC, anyway… 
Yeah I’m with Lucy, I’m sure you can.
As long as there’s no trailer attached your okay, 5th wheel needs to be removed if using a car licence only
A tractor unit is no differnt to any other rigid set up to tow.
Presumably yes.
When I did my C llicence it was a rigid with a 5th coupling for a trailer which surely is the same thing.
But you can trust a cop to argue with you over the niceties of the law with you
Its normal practice to use class 2 drivers to move tractor units about.
The only problem is they often get the same money but cannot do the trailer work.
Thanks for all your help guys…
i knew i could rely on the truth from the people in the know.
and tommorrow i will be put to the test… moving a solo FH12 480c down from Cambridgeshire to North London… talk about thrown in at the deep end!
Minimerc Goes Globetrotting! hehe
Minimerc:
Thanks for all your help guys…
i knew i could rely on the truth from the people in the know.and tommorrow i will be put to the test… moving a solo FH12 480c down from Cambridgeshire to North London… talk about thrown in at the deep end!
Minimerc Goes Globetrotting! hehe
Well it won’t be a 480 FH12 that’s for sure 
More like a 380 or 420. Just go steady with it. If you can block gear up well enough you can [zb] on Impreza’s away from traffic lights with that sort of power when not hitched up but if you’re not very experienced and haven’t driven an artic unit before then do take it steady else you’ll end up wrapped round a street light or something. 
yep quite right… FH12 420c 6x2 44 t , and yep…it did pull away a bit… and being high up… it felt … weird… but… a good experience… 4 over 4 box, first time i have come accross a range changer on a good long run, and first time i have experienced cruise control… hmm… lovely ride!!
and its nice to get behind the wheel of something other than a merc… made me open my eyes a bit !!
although i am told my next “learning curve” is an axor this in a weeks time… from Dagenham, to Stansted… something about semi automatic gearbox !!hmm !
Sounds like your having a great itme Minimerc… I bet you cant get that grin off your face all day can you??..
Where abouts in Nam are you gonna be??..
I will be at home in the mornings next week, ya welcome to call if for a coffee…
AndyM:
Where abouts in Nam are you gonna be??..I will be at home in the mornings next week, ya welcome to call if for a coffee…
gotta drop a replacement unit into the “dagenham dustbin dealers” and take the Axor off for a service, then return it and take the replacement back to Edmonton the next day, probably be tuesday and wednesday, or weds and thurs
“i am told my next “learning curve” is an axor…”
Minimerc, the Axor is a brilliant truck for pulling - extremely potent. A firm I do the odd day for has a fleet of 6x2 2543s on hire from PFB. Its the only truck I’ve got into that seems to want to race away - they’re fantastic going up hills.
The only exception is that they’re extremely vicious in the wet. You have to be careful when pulling out of T-junctions or negotiating roundabouts, you can lose the back end - even when coupled to a fully freighted fridge ! The 6x2s are usually fitted with a mid-lift axle which I would suggest you use if driving it solo and then, still take it carefully. I can’t iterate enough how vicious they are in the wet - watch out !!!
Apart from that they’re comfortable and relatively easy to drive - a vast improvement over the old SK and that appalling excuse for a truck - the Actros !