Hi,
We had a vehicle stopped by vosa in a road side check last week and because we were pulling a mega trailer with a standard unit with 315X70X22.5 tyres we had to take the wing tops off because the trailer was rubbing on the wing tops, the vosa guy said you are not allowed to do that and after a few words he put a PG9 on the unit.
Now I thought that there was a measurement between the top of the wheel to the underside of the trailer that allowed you to do this because the bottom of the trailer acts as the wing top ? he said no ? So does anyone know where I can find the info on this within the vosa manual !!
what was the drivers attitude like?
i’ve often replied to vosa with “mmmm i see, i understand where you’re coming from, but could you help me out with something? if i could see the rules in black and white, then at least i can show the boss. it’ll be much appreciated. i know you’re busy, but i’m always willing to learn. would you like a coffee?”
attitude is usually a big issue when it comes to getting a prohibition.
MADBAZ:
It’s also in the MOT guide for testers, summat along the lines of the trailer acts as the mudguard, but the tops must be carried with the unit.
I’ve just done a few years on a lowride “mega”. I never had the wing tops on because the trl would catch and rip them to bits. They were ratchet strapped to the back of the cab. I had various tugs in both the UK and Europe by vosa and there equivalent. Never had any problems.
Volvo wing tops fit nicely down between the chassis rails at the back of the lorry. Many foreigners carry them on the back of the cab or in the trailer however most dont carry them at all I reckon.
i run with mine off because i was sick of putting them back on when the trailer pulled
them off
the test station like to see them on for MOT the vosa tester told me you are allowed to remove them if there is less than 100mm clearance between the trailer & wing tops
the thing with prohibitions is what can you do about it?
a copper told me i had a bald tyre and i was given an immediate prohibition, i was supposed to get it recovered. it didn’t happen. when i went to the test station they said the tyres were fine but wouldn’t put anything in writing as they said it could affect relations between them and the police.
limeyphil:
the thing with prohibitions is what can you do about it?
a copper told me i had a bald tyre and i was given an immediate prohibition, i was supposed to get it recovered. it didn’t happen. when i went to the test station they said the tyres were fine but wouldn’t put anything in writing as they said it could affect relations between them and the police.
The chap who does my maintenance had a similar problem not too long ago. A customer’s vehicle got a prohibition in a roadside check for excessive play in something or other (a steering joint I think it was) and when he got back they took it straight to the test station to have it removed where the tester said there was nothing wrong with it and cleared the prohibition straight away.
There’s nothing the operator can do though as if you start to try to complain they just all close ranks on you and you get nowhere.
limeyphil:
the thing with prohibitions is what can you do about it?
a copper told me i had a bald tyre and i was given an immediate prohibition, i was supposed to get it recovered. it didn’t happen. when i went to the test station they said the tyres were fine but wouldn’t put anything in writing as they said it could affect relations between them and the police.
The chap who does my maintenance had a similar problem not too long ago. A customer’s vehicle got a prohibition in a roadside check for excessive play in something or other (a steering joint I think it was) and when he got back they took it straight to the test station to have it removed where the tester said there was nothing wrong with it and cleared the prohibition straight away.
There’s nothing the operator can do though as if you start to try to complain they just all close ranks on you and you get nowhere.
Paul
Same story if it fails on the rollers at one station but passes at another without any work, they don’t want to know. Things might change on that as it’s clearly the plan to go totally over to ATFs.
limeyphil:
the thing with prohibitions is what can you do about it?
a copper told me i had a bald tyre and i was given an immediate prohibition, i was supposed to get it recovered. it didn’t happen. when i went to the test station they said the tyres were fine but wouldn’t put anything in writing as they said it could affect relations between them and the police.
The chap who does my maintenance had a similar problem not too long ago. A customer’s vehicle got a prohibition in a roadside check for excessive play in something or other (a steering joint I think it was) and when he got back they took it straight to the test station to have it removed where the tester said there was nothing wrong with it and cleared the prohibition straight away.
There’s nothing the operator can do though as if you start to try to complain they just all close ranks on you and you get nowhere.
Paul
This has happened to an operator i work for. We couldn’t do anything about the prohibition having been issued but we did get the points removed from the OCRS score. This was for a track rod end with excessive play. it had only been on the vehicle a few weeks (it was fitted for MOT) and the test station removed the prohibition no problem. I caused a fuss at the test station - one of the managers came to see me on our site and said he’d see what he could do. I constantly check the OCRS and reports and the points were there one month and gone (event still there) the next. Not sure if this is an official line or the guy just wanted to stop me causing hassle.
ibson:
So all these foreigners running small tyres and mega trailers carry their wing tops?
I dont have mud wing tops on - ever, nor do I carru any, cos I aint got none! They are a pain in the behind, nor do I carry them. When VOSA moan about it I politely remind them that where we come from we have probably three days rain per year, and in Gib there really isnt anywhere (apart from the runway) where you could go fast enough to create any spray anyway.
ibson:
So all these foreigners running small tyres and mega trailers carry their wing tops?
Sometimes they put them in the chassis where the mid axle would be, they get smashed to bits and end up with holes in when there on.
The fact is, unless they drop their trailer (& how often do you see Bogdan driving around bobtail?) there’s NO NEED to even carry them so what’s the problem?