Dear mates, I must smile a little. Isn’t Great Britain a member of Europe? I do not t think of to the EU money!
If Germany, Holland, Austria, Yugoslavia, France, Italia and Turkey is countries in Europe is where is Britain? Yes I think it is easier say Europe because of so many countries. We have some great makers of curtain siders. Click on links below.
bigr250:
Registering, now I’m not suggesting for a moment you should try this but a friend of mine bought two new Trailor tilts in the late 80’s and ran them for over 10 years without ever putting them on a UK plate!! If his drivers were stopped they just said they were pulling them ‘traction only’ as if they were French owned!! He never got caught despite having his name & BOLTON ENGLAND on the back doors
Just out of interest. What would be the situation if you bought a trailer in Europe, kept the Dutch, German or French plates etc and pretended you were pulling it on traction work if questioned, and then were involved in an accident of some sort or the trailer/load was damaged. Would the fact the trailer is not MOT’d and such like make your insurance void in the same way it would with a car if you’re not taxed and tested?
if ur after euro spec trailers have you rang (katem logistics)? they have a fleet of shmitz triaxle euroliners someof which wll be coming up for replacment.
if were all in europe you should be able to buy a trailer anywere in eu and it should be up to standard . but as this is gb we have to fit parts that all the other goverments deem not needed.
Has anyone got any experience of buying a trailer abroad (i.e. from Spain, Italy, Germany etc) and what paperwork etc in necessary to make it legal for use under a UK o’licence?
I’m a after a couple of ‘euro spec’ tauts/euroliners (i.e. 4m with 2.6m internal and a sliding roof). I’ve had a look in the UK but all I can find are tatty old nails for top-spec money!
I’ve found plenty on the continent, and even taking into account the exchange rates and running out bob-tail to pick them up it’s still cheap for the spec and condition of trailers.
FH16Globetrotter:
Has anyone got any experience of buying a trailer abroad (i.e. from Spain, Italy, Germany etc) and what paperwork etc in necessary to make it legal for use under a UK o’licence?
I’m a after a couple of ‘euro spec’ tauts/euroliners (i.e. 4m with 2.6m internal and a sliding roof). I’ve had a look in the UK but all I can find are tatty old nails for top-spec money!
I’ve found plenty on the continent, and even taking into account the exchange rates and running out bob-tail to pick them up it’s still cheap for the spec and condition of trailers.
Anyone done it?
Not with a trailer but I have looked into it and I’ve just brought a Volvo F16 unit back that I bought in Germany. Getting it back is the easy bit, just drive over, hook up to it, (remembering that most euro trailers use ‘palm couplings’) get a return load and head for home.
Registering, now I’m not suggesting for a moment you should try this but a friend of mine bought two new Trailor tilts in the late 80’s and ran them for over 10 years without ever putting them on a UK plate!! If his drivers were stopped they just said they were pulling them ‘traction only’ as if they were French owned!! He never got caught despite having his name & BOLTON ENGLAND on the back doors
Surely somebody like Curries would have a trailer to go? Even if it only paid diesel & ferry.
Would think the best source for your answers on registering it here would be VOSA.
Might need plastic wheel arches, spray mats & rear fog light fitting.
As we do not register our trailers I imagine all you need is a bill of sale or right of ownership, an ID mark welded to it and this document, plus the test fee of course.
A trailer must be submitted for examination not later
than the end of the calendar month in which falls the
first anniversary of the date on which it was first sold
or supplied by retail e.g. A trailer first sold in Jan 2011
must be submitted for a first examination by the end
of Jan 2012. From the 1st February 2012 it cannot be
used legally without a plating certificate and Goods
Vehicle Test Certificate.
We do it regular here, not a problem.
Bring the trailer up to UK spec, MOT and plate it and Bob is your uncle
Trailers are non registred in teh UK
Don’t buy any trailer without ABS, makes the process very hard.
Watch for the following: to be able to GVW 44ton, the distance between Kingpin and centre rear axle must be 800cm or more.
Many Euro trailers have a very short wheelbase, and most of them don’t have a moveable Kingpin.
Most trailers are only suitable for 40 ton for this reason,
the trailer will be in the vosa system once tested, ie they will know all the details of the trailer but they wont know who owns it, so it wont be registered as its not req by law
there is a form avalable to register said trailer in your name/co name but most dont bother as its not law to do so ( it would make it harder to pinch them as your name would be linked to the chassis no )
good point on the 8 meter centre of pin to back axle centre, as stated above spray flaps,fog light,side marker lights,and side gaurds and also rear underun bar will all need to checked to make sure they comply
also rear marker boards and reflectors will also need a look,they may need to be changed
Once it has been through the VOSA MOT system it will be registered with them.
And I bet if you rang VOSA with a VIN number, they wouldn’t have a zb clue what you were talking about!
Look at the descriptions you see on Truckpol, “stolen blue trailer with white writing”
I could pick a trailer up in any layby and within half a day you would not recognise it, a mini grinder is all you need to remove the pigeon ■■■ welding
Incidentally, what is the process for buying a tractor unit abroad? Is it just a case of bringing it back, getting a UK MOT on it and popping into the local DVLA office with MOT and proof of ownership to get a logbook and tax it? Not that I’m thinking of doing it, as realistically a left-■■■■■■ 4x2 isn’t much use to me, but purely in the interests of theory.
FH16Globetrotter:
Thanks guys, you’ve been most helpful!
Incidentally, what is the process for buying a tractor unit abroad? Is it just a case of bringing it back, getting a UK MOT on it and popping into the local DVLA office with MOT and proof of ownership to get a logbook and tax it? Not that I’m thinking of doing it, as realistically a left-■■■■■■ 4x2 isn’t much use to me, but purely in the interests of theory.
We buy RHD on the continent because of much better prices, importing is a bit more involved, especialy if we add a 3rd axle, you need type approval of the vehicle manaufacture, swap the clocks for speedo’s with miles and headlights are different.
But it can be done quiete rapidly, it’s easiest if it is already registred in a country abroad.
But it’s worth the hassle.
i bought a trailer from holland a few years back as already mentioned its type approval but dont let the jargon get to you its relatively cheap to get a trailer to our m,o,t standerds
main thing is side markers and spacings sprey suppretion and rear lens colors
And a new “improvement” on Britains roads means that all trailers will need under-run bars, and side-guards. This is worrying many tipper operators and round timber hauliers.
FH16Globetrotter:
Thanks guys, you’ve been most helpful!
Incidentally, what is the process for buying a tractor unit abroad? Is it just a case of bringing it back, getting a UK MOT on it and popping into the local DVLA office with MOT and proof of ownership to get a logbook and tax it? Not that I’m thinking of doing it, as realistically a left-■■■■■■ 4x2 isn’t much use to me, but purely in the interests of theory.
Its fairly straight forward but don’t be tempted to buy one out of the EU as it may not be type approved & then it becomes a quagmire (please believe me on this). You just buy it MOT it on the chassis no after you’ve fitted all our silly plasic & whiskers to it, maybe changed the lamps (I’ve only done this on 1 LHD so far) have the tacho calibrated is a good idea too. Oh I had problems with a fifth wheel too once because the plates where missing but VOSA where just having a go that day. Then register it with the DVLA paying your tax at the same time & they’ll issue you no plates etc & off you go.
FH16Globetrotter:
Thanks guys, you’ve been most helpful!
Incidentally, what is the process for buying a tractor unit abroad? Is it just a case of bringing it back, getting a UK MOT on it and popping into the local DVLA office with MOT and proof of ownership to get a logbook and tax it? Not that I’m thinking of doing it, as realistically a left-■■■■■■ 4x2 isn’t much use to me, but purely in the interests of theory.
Its fairly straight forward but don’t be tempted to buy one out of the EU as it may not be type approved & then it becomes a quagmire (please believe me on this). You just buy it MOT it on the chassis no after you’ve fitted all our silly plasic & whiskers to it, maybe changed the lamps (I’ve only done this on 1 LHD so far) have the tacho calibrated is a good idea too. Oh I had problems with a fifth wheel too once because the plates where missing but VOSA where just having a go that day. Then register it with the DVLA paying your tax at the same time & they’ll issue you no plates etc & off you go.
It’s not something I’m seriously considering at this time, as a 4x2 is as much use to me as a cholcoate teapot.
However I am toying with the idea of buying something to lightly restore, and which is likely to hold it’s value when used as a personal ‘toy’, such as a series-1 FH16 or MP1 V8 - and the best source of such a truck is bound to be the continent.
