i own a nissan navara and want to pull a car transporter trailer for buisness purposes that would mean id have to have a tacho fitted am i restricted to the hours rule and how would i manage as its my means of transport for private use aswell would i have to use the tacho when using for pleasure so to speak.
sammy dog:
i own a nissan navara and want to pull a car transporter trailer for buisness purposes that would mean id have to have a tacho fitted am i restricted to the hours rule and how would i manage as its my means of transport for private use aswell would i have to use the tacho when using for pleasure so to speak.
No you wouldnt need it for pleasure or if it is under the weight ( if that makes sense )
You will only need the tacho if you are pulling the trailer as that makes it over the limit
animla is right,you’ll only need to use it if your towing the trailer with a motor on it.
other to look into is can they fit to your pick up??
you’d need a digi & not sure if anyone can fit it or where it would go or if the technology is available for pick ups??
I guess you’ve done the sums already but it’s worth confirming them;
look at the manufacturers weight plate fitted to the Nissan. Is the Train weight over 3.5 tonnes? If it is you now need to add the Gross weight of the Nissan to the Gross weight on the trailer plate. If this exceeds 3.5 tonnes then the use of the vehicle will come under EU drivers hours rules (when the trailer is attached) and a Tacho will need to be fitted and used. Remember this is the weight given on the plate, not the actual weight. Should also add that it doesn’t matter if the trailer / vehicle is loaded or not, the rules apply if the weight thresholds are exceeded.
If the vehicle was first registered on or after 01/05/2006 then a digital Tacho must be fitted.
Many vehicles, particularly 4x4’s couldn’t be fitted with the type of sender unit required by a digital tacho. However, there is now a piece of kit called an ‘M1/N1 adapter.’ This allows the sender to take it’s signal from another system like the abs pulse sensor and means that digital tachos are easier to fit to many more vehicles.
On days where you use the vehicle with the trailer (for anything other than the non commercial carriage of goods) you will need to obey the EU drivers hours rules and keep records using the Tacho.
On days where you have the trailer attached for part of the day you will need to obey the EU rules regarding continuous driving when the trailer is attached. You will also have to have an EU daily rest period. You will need to keep a record of all that days’ duties. Probably best to use the Tacho and use the ‘out of scope’ function for the time you drive without the trailer. If you are driving the Nissan without the trailer and you’re using it for work, for example collecting bits for fitting to cars then you will fall under the control of the UK Domestic Hours Code.
If you use the vehicle on a day entirely for private purposes eg. going shopping, taking the dog for walkies in the park, taking your caravan on holiday (you get the picture) then the vehicle use falls outside the EU or Domestic rules and no records need be kept.
Good point there Geebee45 but tbh if it was me I would keep a recored of the personal miles that I do just in case then they are all accounted for
geebee45:
I guess you’ve done the sums already but it’s worth confirming them;look at the manufacturers weight plate fitted to the Nissan. Is the Train weight over 3.5 tonnes? If it is you now need to add the Gross weight of the Nissan to the Gross weight on the trailer plate. If this exceeds 3.5 tonnes then the use of the vehicle will come under EU drivers hours rules (when the trailer is attached) and a Tacho will need to be fitted and used. Remember this is the weight given on the plate, not the actual weight. Should also add that it doesn’t matter if the trailer / vehicle is loaded or not, the rules apply if the weight thresholds are exceeded.
If the vehicle was first registered on or after 01/05/2006 then a digital Tacho must be fitted.
Many vehicles, particularly 4x4’s couldn’t be fitted with the type of sender unit required by a digital tacho. However, there is now a piece of kit called an ‘M1/N1 adapter.’ This allows the sender to take it’s signal from another system like the abs pulse sensor and means that digital tachos are easier to fit to many more vehicles.
On days where you use the vehicle with the trailer (for anything other than the non commercial carriage of goods) you will need to obey the EU drivers hours rules and keep records using the Tacho.
On days where you have the trailer attached for part of the day you will need to obey the EU rules regarding continuous driving when the trailer is attached. You will also have to have an EU daily rest period. You will need to keep a record of all that days’ duties. Probably best to use the Tacho and use the ‘out of scope’ function for the time you drive without the trailer. If you are driving the Nissan without the trailer and you’re using it for work, for example collecting bits for fitting to cars then you will fall under the control of the UK Domestic Hours Code.
If you use the vehicle on a day entirely for private purposes eg. going shopping, taking the dog for walkies in the park, taking your caravan on holiday (you get the picture) then the vehicle use falls outside the EU or Domestic rules and no records need be kept.
cheers for the info on that geebee,my brother is a bulider who uses a navaro to pull his twin axle trailer when he’s working.,so he should be using a tacho,he knows but won’t pay out for it,can’t blame him really lol
if there’s a system in place for getting them fitted i’ll get him to look into it.
It would be a digi one now and even if analogue, you can get the ones that fit into a standard radio sized DIN slot. Its just then a case of giving it power and a feed from the gearbox speed sensor then calibrating it.
cheers lads thanks for all the replys the other thing is i have an 03 scania tractor unit which im refurbing a step frame trailer the lorry is on analog tacho so probably have to keep my disc as well as the didgi card im asuming.
JRL Driver said;
cheers for the info on that geebee,my brother is a bulider who uses a navaro to pull his twin axle trailer when he’s working.,so he should be using a tacho,he knows but won’t pay out for it,can’t blame him really lol
Your brother may be able to claim an exemption from the EU drivers hours rules and therefore wouldn’t need a tacho fitted. He must get all four parts of the exemption, if he fails to qualify on one or more points he cannot claim the exemption;
- Maximum authorised mass (Train weight in this case) doesn’t exceed 7.5 tonnes.
- carries goods, materials or equipment for the use of the vehicle crew.
- driving is not the main occupation of the driver. This one can be tricky to work out but a rule of thumb is that if 51% of his working day is spent doing something other than driving then he should be classed as ‘non driving.’ The other useful guide and the one I prefer is; if your brother lost his licence to drive (for whatever reason) could he still be a builder? The answer is probably ‘yes’ although life may be more inconvenient.
- the vehicle is only used within a 50km radius of base. Note this is a straightline distance and not a distance by road.
If your brother can answer ‘yes’ to the above 4 points then he won’t need a tacho fitting to the vehicle. If he answers ‘no’ to any point then he will need a tacho. If he gets caught using the vehicle with no tacho fitted in the first instance he will get a £200 fixed penalty and the vehicle will be prohibited from further use until the tacho is fitted. Further offences means he gets his day in Court where the £200 might look quite cheap by comparison
Animal said;
Good point there Geebee45 but tbh if it was me I would keep a recored of the personal miles that I do just in case then they are all accounted for
Good point, I would probably do the same, but there is no legal requirement to do so.
Conor said;
It would be a digi one now and even if analogue, you can get the ones that fit into a standard radio sized DIN slot. Its just then a case of giving it power and a feed from the gearbox speed sensor then calibrating it.
Tachos must be installed and calibrated by an approved Tacho Centre. There is nothing to prevent somebody from fitting the components themselves and then taking the vehicle to a centre for calibration and sealing. However, expect the Tacho Centre to inspect they system very carefully, they will be checking to make sure that nothing has been fitted that shouldn’t have been.
and finally, Sammy Dog said;
i have an 03 scania tractor unit which im refurbing a step frame trailer the lorry is on analog tacho so probably have to keep my disc as well as the didgi card im asuming
Short answer; Yes.
geebee45:
JRL Driver said;cheers for the info on that geebee,my brother is a bulider who uses a navaro to pull his twin axle trailer when he’s working.,so he should be using a tacho,he knows but won’t pay out for it,can’t blame him really lol
Your brother may be able to claim an exemption from the EU drivers hours rules and therefore wouldn’t need a tacho fitted. He must get all four parts of the exemption, if he fails to qualify on one or more points he cannot claim the exemption;
- Maximum authorised mass (Train weight in this case) doesn’t exceed 7.5 tonnes.
- carries goods, materials or equipment for the use of the vehicle crew.
- driving is not the main occupation of the driver. This one can be tricky to work out but a rule of thumb is that if 51% of his working day is spent doing something other than driving then he should be classed as ‘non driving.’ The other useful guide and the one I prefer is; if your brother lost his licence to drive (for whatever reason) could he still be a builder? The answer is probably ‘yes’ although life may be more inconvenient.
- the vehicle is only used within a 50km radius of base. Note this is a straightline distance and not a distance by road.
If your brother can answer ‘yes’ to the above 4 points then he won’t need a tacho fitting to the vehicle. If he answers ‘no’ to any point then he will need a tacho. If he gets caught using the vehicle with no tacho fitted in the first instance he will get a £200 fixed penalty and the vehicle will be prohibited from further use until the tacho is fitted. Further offences means he gets his day in Court where the £200 might look quite cheap by comparison
once again,thanks geebee45,i know he can definatley answer yes to the first 3 & he only rarely uses the trailer on distances longer than 50kms,so he’d probably be ok when he’s working locally & just be careful when/if he does have to use it further than 50km’s,he’ll just have to blag it 
If I could just add to this post, whilst it may not applie to you sammy dog, it surprises me how many people particularly those drivers under thirty ie passed there car test after 96 are unaware, if your towing a trailer/ caravan then make sure you have category B+E on your licence, this enables you to tow heavier than 750kg, even if you have a class two licence if you took your car test after 96 then the chances are you don’t have B+E, unless your class 1 truckie of course,
Was at a site seen security refuse a guy in his early 30s entry as he never had B+E but was towing a generator which was heavier than 750kg, this meant if the car or trailer was involved in an accident his insurance would be invalidated, the guy had to phone for someone else to come out and drive the vehicle on site, regards
stampy:
If I could just add to this post, whilst it may not applie to you sammy dog, it surprises me how many people particularly those drivers under thirty ie passed there car test after 96 are unaware, if your towing a trailer/ caravan then make sure you have category B+E on your licence, this enables you to tow heavier than 750kg, even if you have a class two licence if you took your car test after 96 then the chances are you don’t have B+E, unless your class 1 truckie of course,
Was at a site seen security refuse a guy in his early 30s entry as he never had B+E but was towing a generator which was heavier than 750kg, this meant if the car or trailer was involved in an accident his insurance would be invalidated, the guy had to phone for someone else to come out and drive the vehicle on site, regards
direct.gov.uk/en/Motoring/Dr … G_10013073
A post 97 ‘B’ car only licence holder can tow a trailer more than 750kgs
Legal example - Towing vehicle kerb weight of 2 tonnes with a trailer weighing 1.5 tonnes