simcor:
5/6 tonners usually have those black plastic nut covers on wheels, where as the 3.5 ton version generally don’t. It’s most likely a 5 or 6 ton van as I said earlier.Sent from my CPH2173 using Tapatalk
Twin wheels for iveco bigger than 3.5 tonne gross also for 3.5 tonne gross with more than 180 hp too so almost certainly is 3.5 tonner .
Sidevalve:
See lots of them about, usually seem to be running empty on East European plates. Few seem to carry any owner’s name.Given the vast majority are single wheel rear axle I’d guess they’re plated at 3500kg so non-tacho and thereby avoid DVSA checks. One has to wonder how they make a living; unless it’s by carrying stuff they really shouldn’t be carrying? Or even scouting for stuff that others might carry without asking permission?
Call me a suspicious old devil, but is there any connection between them being about and curtains being cut, etc?
Downtown Ipswich is a few East European food shops ,look very ordinary shops but iv seen those really tall caged loads getting offloaded theyre Always shrink wrapped with black film and most anytime im passing theres a load on its way into the shop.Going back ten years there was always a stream of euro folk coming in or out with a bag of food or alcohol not seen these days id wager the shops moved into more lucrative stock now
Punchy Dan:
simcor:
5/6 tonners usually have those black plastic nut covers on wheels, where as the 3.5 ton version generally don’t. It’s most likely a 5 or 6 ton van as I said earlier.Sent from my CPH2173 using Tapatalk
Twin wheels for iveco bigger than 3.5 tonne gross also for 3.5 tonne gross with more than 180 hp too so almost certainly is 3.5 tonner .
Good point. Didn’t look to see if it had twin wheels at the back tbh.
Sent from my CPH2173 using Tapatalk
I always thought they were working for just-in-time supply lines for car manufacturing plants.
[/quote]
Your right mate , plenty of these parked up around Wellesbourne going to dhl / JLR warehouse
Conor:
Only for the racists. These guys literally don’t stop until they drop. And given that they’ll have customs to go through what are they going to do with what they steal when they’ve no paperwork for it?I think you’ll find it’s homegrown thieves who are more likely to be curtain fairies.
You’ll note that I mentioned scouting. Not the Baden-Powell dib-dib sort, but if you’re going to be on the lookout for potential loads to nick, and you want to be mobile, low-cost and fairly discreet, those things are the perfect front for it. Not all of them obviously; I do see the odd one pulling out of the car parts plant which is one of our main customers but not very often.
According to the Surrey copper who I spoke to a few months ago at Cobham, most of the thieving is organised crime not the caravan dwelling types though they’re not entirely innocent, but they mostly go for diesel; and the vast majority of organised crime gangs operating in the UK are not British born. So call me racist if you like, but I have my suspicions.
Sidevalve:
Conor:
Only for the racists. These guys literally don’t stop until they drop. And given that they’ll have customs to go through what are they going to do with what they steal when they’ve no paperwork for it?I think you’ll find it’s homegrown thieves who are more likely to be curtain fairies.
You’ll note that I mentioned scouting. Not the Baden-Powell dib-dib sort, but if you’re going to be on the lookout for potential loads to nick, and you want to be mobile, low-cost and fairly discreet, those things are the perfect front for it. Not all of them obviously; I do see the odd one pulling out of the car parts plant which is one of our main customers but not very often.
According to the Surrey copper who I spoke to a few months ago at Cobham, most of the thieving is organised crime not the caravan dwelling types though they’re not entirely innocent, but they mostly go for diesel; and the vast majority of organised crime gangs operating in the UK are not British born. So call me racist if you like, but I have my suspicions.
Wouldn’t you need to steel a# lot of diesel before the van paid for itself
Macski:
Wouldn’t you need to steel a# lot of diesel before the van paid for itself
The way it`s going?
About ten litres will do it! 
Macski:
Sidevalve:
Conor:
Only for the racists. These guys literally don’t stop until they drop. And given that they’ll have customs to go through what are they going to do with what they steal when they’ve no paperwork for it?I think you’ll find it’s homegrown thieves who are more likely to be curtain fairies.
You’ll note that I mentioned scouting. Not the Baden-Powell dib-dib sort, but if you’re going to be on the lookout for potential loads to nick, and you want to be mobile, low-cost and fairly discreet, those things are the perfect front for it. Not all of them obviously; I do see the odd one pulling out of the car parts plant which is one of our main customers but not very often.
According to the Surrey copper who I spoke to a few months ago at Cobham, most of the thieving is organised crime not the caravan dwelling types though they’re not entirely innocent, but they mostly go for diesel; and the vast majority of organised crime gangs operating in the UK are not British born. So call me racist if you like, but I have my suspicions.
Wouldn’t you need to steel a# lot of diesel before the van paid for itself
I wasn’t referring to the van drivers stealing diesel, as you’d have realised had you bothered to read it properly.
Sidevalve:
Macski:
Sidevalve:
Conor:
Only for the racists. These guys literally don’t stop until they drop. And given that they’ll have customs to go through what are they going to do with what they steal when they’ve no paperwork for it?I think you’ll find it’s homegrown thieves who are more likely to be curtain fairies.
You’ll note that I mentioned scouting. Not the Baden-Powell dib-dib sort, but if you’re going to be on the lookout for potential loads to nick, and you want to be mobile, low-cost and fairly discreet, those things are the perfect front for it. Not all of them obviously; I do see the odd one pulling out of the car parts plant which is one of our main customers but not very often.
According to the Surrey copper who I spoke to a few months ago at Cobham, most of the thieving is organised crime not the caravan dwelling types though they’re not entirely innocent, but they mostly go for diesel; and the vast majority of organised crime gangs operating in the UK are not British born. So call me racist if you like, but I have my suspicions.
Wouldn’t you need to steel a# lot of diesel before the van paid for itself
I wasn’t referring to the van drivers stealing diesel, as you’d have realised had you bothered to read it properly.
Ok re read, nut still think it is a lot of money to spend for a look out vehicle.
Dunky123:
Hi, was parked up on Friday and noticed this van parked near me.
Seemed an awfully big cab for a van
Oops picture has went on it’s side.0
I saw this the other day, or very very similar, it had pulled at, was Swindon it was empty and was showing 500kgs overweight, was directed to return direct to Dover.
Washwipe:
Dunky123:
Hi, was parked up on Friday and noticed this van parked near me.
Seemed an awfully big cab for a van
Oops picture has went on it’s side.0
I saw this the other day, or very very similar, it had pulled at, was Swindon it was empty and was showing 500kgs overweight, was directed to return direct to Dover.
The vast majority of these appear to be 3500KG GVW vans, the giveaway being the single wheel on the drive axle. This as I understand it is the maximum GVW in the UK with single wheels; but as noted due to the sheer size of these things they are more than likely at or near GVW under UK law even when empty, particularly with the sleeper cabs.
It being a given that vehicles under 3500KG GVW are exempt from tachograph restrictions, one has to wonder if the owners aren’t pulling a fast one by using vehicles which appear leagal but actually aren’t if you look closely.
Perhaps the law is different in Poland, where most seem to hail from; I suspect that if DVSA were to really crack down on these vehicles rather than pestering us all the time for a failed marker light, they could easily take at least half of them off the roads. That would at lest mean more spaces in the truckstops for us!
I bought and specced one of these vans brand new on an 05 plate. It was a Sprinter with a 5 metre curtainsider body, barn doors, sleeper pod, long range fuel tank and night heater. It carried (legally) 700kg of payload. That was fine because I bought it for a specific job where the load weighed less than 500kg.
When that job ended after a few years and I had to find more conventional loads for it it was pretty useless tbh and I used to spend a lot of time running in the middle of the night! 
Sidevalve:
Washwipe:
Dunky123:
Hi, was parked up on Friday and noticed this van parked near me.
Seemed an awfully big cab for a van
Oops picture has went on it’s side.0
I saw this the other day, or very very similar, it had pulled at, was Swindon it was empty and was showing 500kgs overweight, was directed to return direct to Dover.
The vast majority of these appear to be 3500KG GVW vans, the giveaway being the single wheel on the drive axle. This as I understand it is the maximum GVW in the UK with single wheels; but as noted due to the sheer size of these things they are more than likely at or near GVW under UK law even when empty, particularly with the sleeper cabs.
It being a given that vehicles under 3500KG GVW are exempt from tachograph restrictions, one has to wonder if the owners aren’t pulling a fast one by using vehicles which appear leagal but actually aren’t if you look closely.
Perhaps the law is different in Poland, where most seem to hail from; I suspect that if DVSA were to really crack down on these vehicles rather than pestering us all the time for a failed marker light, they could easily take at least half of them off the roads. That would at lest mean more spaces in the truckstops for us!
More controls over vans that are unfairly in competition with properly regulated heavier goods vehicles? No tachos, O-Licence, etc?
Sounds good to me.
The EU has introduced rules for all goods vehicles over 2.5T to be on O-Licences. There is much talk of tachos being introduced for these vehicles too.
The UK has not followed on O-Licences and indeed is changing driving licence rules about vehicle weights and trailers.
Some call this “free enterprise”. Some call it “the race to the bottom”.
