Sorry to ask this well asked question but can u on a class 2 licence drive a Artic solo without changing tax , fifth wheel etc . Im 99% sure u can but my dad disagrees . I have tried searching previous threads but cant really find what im looking for . Thanks in advance rich.
yes afaik you can because a unit only is classed as a rigid vehicle so the answer is yes
i thought it was what it was capable of doing . so if its capable of pulling a trailer then i would have said no… could be wrong tho… 
Where’s RobK’s pic of Duncan Bannatyne?
Yes.
Let me guess your dad thinks you need to ‘‘deactivate the 5th wheel’’ 
Yes you can drive a artic unit on your class 2 licence, it isnt towing a trailer so you don’t need +E 
Category C (which is class 2) allows you to drive any rigid goods vehicle. As a solo unit is simply a rigid goods vehicle the answer’s yes.
s2rich:
Sorry to ask this well asked question but can u on a class 2 licence drive a Artic solo without changing tax , fifth wheel etc . Im 99% sure u can but my dad disagrees . I have tried searching previous threads but cant really find what im looking for . Thanks in advance rich.
It’s very surprising you couldn’t find anything with a search as this question has been asked many, many times.
Here’s a few examples.
viewtopic.php?f=7&t=57415
viewtopic.php?f=2&t=53214
viewtopic.php?f=2&t=34595
Of course you can drive a unit only on a C Licence. A C licence is for all rigid goods vehicles and without a trailer then a unit is a rigid goods vehicle. Nothing needs removing or changing, just get in and drive it.
The problem is using out of date terms such as Class 1 and Class 2. These days we have Category C for all goods vehicles and Category E if you want to pull a trailer.
once again confusion reigns because people still think
they have a class 1 or2 or 3 licence
all thats said about taking the fifth wheel off putting a cover on it
singing in a lower octave or whatever may have been true last century
but it aint the case now
Class C allows you to drive a rigid vehicle
It just goes to show how bogged down in ever changing regulations this industry is in.
I had a disagrement with my bosses over this. I said I could drive a tractor unit home, but they no, they had spokle to the DVLA, who told them only if the 5th had been removed. 
They even saw my viewpoint. It’s just a rigid HGV on it’s own, but after what the DVLA told them you can understand that they wouldn’t want to risk it.
Yet I know from pervious replies on here somebody had been told by the DVLA saying yes you can.
Fastfoward 12 months, & at my recent CPC, I thought I’d have a word with a supposed all knowing instructor who has been a lorriest for umpteen years, with all the driving qualifications you could think of.
“Not without the fifth wheel being removed” was his answer to the question. 
So that’s two indepent & supposed well sourced replies say no you cant drive them on a “C”.
You can bet your arse that all the enforcement agencys will have differing opinions from person to person as well , & as you may have to go to court to find the ultimate truth of who’s right, then my advice would be to not to drive 'em.
Alternativly write to the DVLA & if you get a letter saying yes you can, keep it with you in case your stopped by an doubting officer. 
Secretelephant:
It just goes to show how bogged down in ever changing regulations this industry is in.I had a disagrement with my bosses over this. I said I could drive a tractor unit home, but they no, they had spokle to the DVLA, who told them only if the 5th had been removed.
They even saw my viewpoint. It’s just a rigid HGV on it’s own, but after what the DVLA told them you can understand that they wouldn’t want to risk it.
Yet I know from pervious replies on here somebody had been told by the DVLA saying yes you can.Fastfoward 12 months, & at my recent CPC, I thought I’d have a word with a supposed all knowing instructor who has been a lorriest for umpteen years, with all the driving qualifications you could think of.
“Not without the fifth wheel being removed” was his answer to the question.So that’s two indepent & supposed well sourced replies say no you cant drive them on a “C”.
You can bet your arse that all the enforcement agencys will have differing opinions from person to person as well , & as you may have to go to court to find the ultimate truth of who’s right, then my advice would be to not to drive 'em.
Alternativly write to the DVLA & if you get a letter saying yes you can, keep it with you in case your stopped by an doubting officer.
Go and ask that CPC plank what is the case with a prime mover from a wagon drag outfit. That has the ability to pull a trailer yet I bet he says you can still drive it
Secretelephant:
It just goes to show how bogged down in ever changing regulations this industry is in.I had a disagrement with my bosses over this. I said I could drive a tractor unit home, but they no, they had spokle to the DVLA, who told them only if the 5th had been removed.
They even saw my viewpoint. It’s just a rigid HGV on it’s own, but after what the DVLA told them you can understand that they wouldn’t want to risk it.
Yet I know from pervious replies on here somebody had been told by the DVLA saying yes you can.Fastfoward 12 months, & at my recent CPC, I thought I’d have a word with a supposed all knowing instructor who has been a lorriest for umpteen years, with all the driving qualifications you could think of.
“Not without the fifth wheel being removed” was his answer to the question.So that’s two indepent & supposed well sourced replies say no you cant drive them on a “C”.
You can bet your arse that all the enforcement agencys will have differing opinions from person to person as well , & as you may have to go to court to find the ultimate truth of who’s right, then my advice would be to not to drive 'em.
Alternativly write to the DVLA & if you get a letter saying yes you can, keep it with you in case your stopped by an doubting officer.
You don’t need to ask the DVLA or anybody else or carry letters. This would never get as far as court as the truth is staring you in the face. Just look at the thing and ask yourself a couple of questions.
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Is it a goods vehicle?
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Is it pulling a trailer.
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What licence is required to drive a goods vehicle.
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What licence is required to drive a goods vehicle pulling a trailer.
Answer those four questions and you have the answer to this question.
It has never been the case you had to remove the 5th wheel, even in the days of Class 1, 2 and 3. The 5th wheel thing was to enable units to be driven on a car licence as removing it made it an incomplete vehicle, just like those bus chassis you used to see being driven up and down the motorway by guys looking like Michelin men and wearing crash helmets, they didn’t need a PSV to drive those. Would someone who doesn’t have the B+E category have to take the tow bar of a car? Would a class C driver have to remove the coupling from a draw bar to drive just the prime mover? Of course they wouldn’t so why would the 5th wheel need to be removed.
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Years ago, before I had my C+E licence, I used to work for a firm that repossessed vehicles, usually cars and vans. On the odd occasion, we’d go after trucks… My boss had the old Class 3 licence and, if I remember correctly, he could only drive tractor units providing the fifth wheel was locked and the key was kept elsewhere. He couldn’t have it on his person and he couldn’t keep it in the truck. When we were moving the tractor unit the key to the fifth lock was kept in the accompanying car.
Now this is nearly 25 years ago…
Bob
lumpygreenpoo:
Years ago, before I had my C+E licence, I used to work for a firm that repossessed vehicles, usually cars and vans. On the odd occasion, we’d go after trucks… My boss had the old Class 3 licence and, if I remember correctly, he could only drive tractor units providing the fifth wheel was locked and the key was kept elsewhere. He couldn’t have it on his person and he couldn’t keep it in the truck. When we were moving the tractor unit the key to the fifth lock was kept in the accompanying car.Now this is nearly 25 years ago…
Bob
Sorry but the 5th wheel thing has never applied, if it was a 4x2 tractor he could have driven it on a Class 3 without locking the wheel or anything like that, you would have required a Class 2 for a 6x2 unit.
Coffeeholic:
Sorry but the 5th wheel thing has never applied, if it was a 4x2 tractor he could have driven it on a Class 3 without locking the wheel or anything like that, you would have required a Class 2 for a 6x2 unit.
IIRC you used to be able to drive a tractor unit on a car license if the fifth wheel was removed, something about it being an “incomplete vehicle”. I’m sure Chapter and Verse has been posted on here before.
did’nt the same apply to buses and coaches .■■ as long as the passengers had’nt paid a fare you could drive them on a car licence , or is that another myth…■■
Harry Monk:
Coffeeholic:
Sorry but the 5th wheel thing has never applied, if it was a 4x2 tractor he could have driven it on a Class 3 without locking the wheel or anything like that, you would have required a Class 2 for a 6x2 unit.IIRC you used to be able to drive a tractor unit on a car license if the fifth wheel was removed, something about it being an “incomplete vehicle”. I’m sure Chapter and Verse has been posted on here before.
Indeed, I said as much in a previous post on this thread. Same as those bus chassis you used to see being driven by blokes in a padded suit and a crash helmet, they didn’t need a PSV for them and could drive them on a car licence as they were incomplete vehicles.
One of my rigid driver training trucks broke down for a day a few months ago, solution, put ‘L’ plates of my tractor unit and off we go!
Examiner saw me and tried moaning but only because he was a dinosaur and hadn’t kept up with current advice.
You can defo drive a tuneit on class 2.
Tockwith Training:
One of my rigid driver training trucks broke down for a day a few months ago, solution, put ‘L’ plates of my tractor unit and off we go!Examiner saw me and tried moaning but only because he was a dinosaur and hadn’t kept up with current advice.
You can defo drive a tuneit on class 2.
I thought a training vehicle had to be fitted with a solid box or curtainsided body since recent changes
Wheel Nut:
Tockwith Training:
One of my rigid driver training trucks broke down for a day a few months ago, solution, put ‘L’ plates of my tractor unit and off we go!Examiner saw me and tried moaning but only because he was a dinosaur and hadn’t kept up with current advice.
You can defo drive a tuneit on class 2.
I thought a training vehicle had to be fitted with a solid box or curtainsided body since recent changes
You can’t take your test in a tractor unit.
Tockwith Training:
One of my rigid driver training trucks broke down for a day a few months ago, solution, put ‘L’ plates of my tractor unit and off we go!Examiner saw me and tried moaning but only because he was a dinosaur and hadn’t kept up with current advice.
You can defo drive a tuneit on class 2.
You would have thought a trainer would know there is no such thing as a Class 2 and using those terms is what leads to this confusion.