Can I drive a van?

jsmoke · 8 Aug 2020 at 11:46

Cyber-Mav said:
So you get a van that weights 3550kg, you dump the spare and remove passenger seats and sound deadening and get it to 3470kg. Is it fine to drive on class b licence then?

Well what would be the point of an unladen van or empty van, may as well buy a car as soon as you fill up back it will be over 3.5t. Now the chances of getting caught I'd imagine are slim however if you do,

You can be fined up to £2,500, be banned from driving and get 3 penalty points for using a vehicle in a dangerous condition.

jsmoke · 8 Aug 2020 at 11:49

wedrum said:
i past my test august 1997 a few months after they stopped you driving a 7.5t

Still need a cpc to drive 7.5t commercially. Just saying.

Nasher · 8 Aug 2020 at 11:54

I thought they retroactively changed the 7.5t thing for everyone a few years back?

jsmoke · 8 Aug 2020 at 11:56

Nasher said:
I thought they retroactively changed the 7.5t thing for everyone a few years back?

The 1997 entitlements still stands if that's what your talking about however to drive a between 3.5-7.5 as a job you still need CPC.

Just take you class C then you can drive anything rigid up to 18t.

rpmmatt · 8 Aug 2020 at 11:56

jsmoke said:
Well what would be the point of an unladen van or empty van, may as well buy a car as soon as you fill up back it will be over 3.5t. Now the chances of getting caught I'd imagine are slim however if you do,

Not how it works. He would get done for having the wrong class of license as the MAM of this hypothetical van would be over 3500kg and therefore need C1 to drive it. Assuming post 97 pass.

jsmoke · 8 Aug 2020 at 11:58

rpmmatt said:
Not how it works. He would get done for having the wrong class of license as the MAM of this hypothetical van would be over 3500kg and therefore need C1 to drive it. Assuming post 97 pass.

He'd still get done though what did I say wrong?

rpmmatt · 8 Aug 2020 at 12:07

Your confusing MAM with actual weight.

His mythical 3550kg van would a MAM over 3500kg. What he did to reduce its weight is irrelevant to fact he has the wrong license as it's MAM stays the same. Driving without a license is more serious than overweight.
As it already weighs 3550kg replating wouldn't help here.

rpmmatt · 8 Aug 2020 at 12:14

jsmoke said:
Just take you class C then you can drive anything rigid up to 18t.

This is also wrong. You could drive ANY rigid vehicle of ANY weight and axle configuration legally allowed on the road.

jsmoke · 8 Aug 2020 at 13:13

rpmmatt said:
This is also wrong. You could drive ANY rigid vehicle of ANY weight and axle configuration legally allowed on the road.

That's wrong, I made a mistake it's 32t not 18t I meant. But you can't go over 32t with class C.

Any idea what you need to drive a road train or will that still be under 32t?

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Road_train

Edit I got it.

In the United Kingdom in 2009, a two-year desk study of Longer Heavier Vehicles (LHVs) including options up to 11-axle, 34-metre (111.5 ft) long, 82-tonne (81-long-ton; 90-short-ton) combinations, ruled out all road train type vehicles for the foreseeable future

rpmmatt · 8 Aug 2020 at 13:38

jsmoke said:
That's wrong, I made a mistake it's 32t not 18t I meant. But you can't go over 32t with class C.

You sure about that?? While typically the heaviest rigids are 8 wheel tippers at 32t, I've never heard of an upper limit regarding the license. Cat C is defined as any rigid truck over 7500kg.

jsmoke · 8 Aug 2020 at 13:43

rpmmatt said:
You sure about that?? While typically the heaviest rigids are 8 wheel tippers at 32t, I've never heard of an upper limit regarding the license. Cat C is defined as any rigid truck over 7500kg.

Many websites quote 32t.

https://www.jldlgv.co.uk/cat-c-rigid-class-2

rpmmatt · 8 Aug 2020 at 13:45

Category C
You can drive vehicles over 3,500kg (with a trailer up to 750kg MAM).

You would think DVLA would mention it.....

koooowweeee · 8 Aug 2020 at 19:44

Got to love a thread where no one knows what there talking about

Vince · 8 Aug 2020 at 19:50

I've literally got a short wheel base on hire at the moment 90 quid for a weekend which I thought was an absolute bargain. I am emptying my mums house as she is moving abroad.

I have no idea why but I love driving a van.

koooowweeee · 8 Aug 2020 at 19:55

Vince said:
I've literally got a short wheel base on hire at the moment 90 quid for a weekend which I thought was an absolute bargain. I am emptying my mums house as she is moving abroad. I have no idea why but I love driving a van.

Me to and I've done it for 10 years. Still enjoy driving it.

Is it a white one? Not sure any other colour would have the same affect

Vince · 8 Aug 2020 at 19:57

koooowweeee said:
Me to and I've done it for 10 years. Still enjoy driving it.

Is it a white one? Not sure any other colour would have the same affect

It is. It's a white new style SWB transit but I have hired LWB, Mini busses and all sorts before. Something about the 5 feet in the air driving position that makes me smile

builder22 · 8 Aug 2020 at 20:01

jsmoke said:
Just phoned DVLA, cat B allows you to drive any van up to 3.5tonnes however you have to remember MAM(maximum authorized mass) so you could have an unladen van of 3.3t loaded with 0.5t giving you a MAM over 3.5t.

As for B1 she said it was a sub category of B required by the EU but she didn't really know the point of it.

that would just mean you're overweight...assuming it's a 3.5t van - which would be over the MAM...

I THINK the 32t limit is only mentioned because that's the max capacity allowed for rigids, rather than the driving licence having a limit - but things like cranes with 100 axles o will be over 32t but can still drive them on a standard C rigid licence..

koooowweeee · 8 Aug 2020 at 20:02

Vince said:
It is. It's a white new style SWB transit but I have hired LWB, Mini busses and all sorts before. Something about the 5 feet in the air driving position that makes me smile

I borrow the in-laws range rover for the weekend. (4.4 petrol sport Khan edition) didnt get the same buzz of that. Been wanting a good for ages aswell

Edit: the thing does 13mpg's wasn't worth borrowing. Didn't really put my foot down either. That was on the motorway

muon · 9 Aug 2020 at 01:52

Why does the OP not have B1? I thought you got that with B.

In fact there should be a couple more.

I reckon OP should check here.

https://www.gov.uk/view-driving-licence