Looking for some help,a freind of mine lives part time in spain,he has bought a couple of old tractors over there and plans to bring them back,one at a time, on his 7.5tonner shortly.The 7.5 tonner is registerd for private use and vosa have confirmed he does not need an O licence or has to use a tacho.He is shipping Plymouth - Bilbao and driving to the Grenada area,my question is,will he be ok in Spain with no tacho and no authorisation.He speaks decent Spanish and could argue the toss with them but we all know what they can be like over there,i’m worried they may relieve him of telephone number sized fines.Any advice gratefully recieved,cheers
Davyboy:
Looking for some help,a freind of mine lives part time in spain,he has bought a couple of old tractors over there and plans to bring them back,one at a time, on his 7.5tonner shortly.The 7.5 tonner is registerd for private use and vosa have confirmed he does not need an O licence or has to use a tacho.He is shipping Plymouth - Bilbao and driving to the Grenada area,my question is,will he be ok in Spain with no tacho and no authorisation.He speaks decent Spanish and could argue the toss with them but we all know what they can be like over there,i’m worried they may relieve him of telephone number sized fines.Any advice gratefully recieved,cheers
I have a 7.5 tonner that I use as a race bike transporter and I’ve been to Spain twice with it so I know exactly what your mate is going through, I was never comfortable over there given their attitude to ‘dotting I’s & crossing T’s’ but had no problem. (but i didn’t get stopped!!) As per commercial use, make certain he takes ALL his documents, V5, insurance etc, etc and despite not (strictly) needing one for hours recording, always have a disc in the tacho head to prove speeed just in case of an accident.
There is a European convention on the use of goods vehicles for private use & I would recomend printing a copy (if you can find it) & carrying it with him whilst over there. I have it saved somewhere if you need it I might be able to post it on here to copy.
Ross.
There should not be too many problems providing
he takes all relevant paperwork proving that it is not for hire and reward and solely for private use, although use of the tacho is not required make sure it is calibrated and use it and stick to the rules otherwise he may find some awkward sod who wants promotion 
and he will end up paying a large find and then spending more money trying to claim it back afterwards.
cheers for replies,he knows to take v5,mot,insurance so looks like he will be ok.The eu convention paperwork sounds a good idea if you have a copy handy,evry little helps as they say 
.Great help people,thanks again
your mate should also make sure that a ferry actually goes from plymouth to bilbao or he’ll waste a lot of time going to plymouth to find out it doesn’t exist 
Drive through the night,less chance of speed traps,less lod bill doing checkpoint charlies.Once loaded at a cement mixer warehouse by the airport in Lisbon,the depot was a “front” for the tax man,as the owner showed me his private lock up warehouse,which was full of rare and collectable old cars,along with fast new cars,he told me he exported them,and drove all night from Lisbon to anywhere over europe.One car was owned by the Portguese dictactor form the 70`s.
welshboyinspain:
your mate should also make sure that a ferry actually goes from plymouth to bilbao or he’ll waste a lot of time going to plymouth to find out it doesn’t exist
bilbao,santander,whatever,its all foreign to me you know wot i meant
when’s your mate doing his trip then?
will keep an eye out for a 7.5t with a tractor on, shouldn’t be hard to spot
2nd week of march,was going with him but too much work on here,were going to have a few days “R+R” too 
,ner mind,cheers
Ask for huevos con bacon,eggs and bacon,for breky,at rest stops,most staff that work there are not from Spain,try and get off a boring motorway,the best places are off the routes in a small village or town,they are truck friendly in Espana,you will find a drivers menu,that range in price from 7 to 15 euros,with that you get a soup/salad starter,then a second warm plate of pasta or spaggeti,mains of fish or meat,pudding,then coffee,they throw in free bread,and cheese too.
If stopped by the Guardia Civil,remain polite and cheerfull,even though it may appear you may have just murdered his granny,i always open the drivers door,that does help a lot.
Euskadi is the Basque area in North,they are a law on their own,and want independance from Spain,(Madrid.),it is the most picturesque area of the country,most Brit tourists dont stay there much.The hills and mountains are similar to Switzerland,with rolling green meadows,with cow bells in the backround,and wooden chalet type houses.
Northern Portugal,is also dodged by tourists,as they all flock to the over priced Algarve coast,which is a shame.