Driving a recovery lorry, what do i need??

sc86

hi guys, looking into buyin a 3500 tonne recovery lorry and doin a bit of work with it, i can drive that on my normal car licence but is there anything else in need??

any opinions on this trade in general?

Alanstrainor

Surely you'll need a C1 license for a recovery truck. The 3.5 tonne weight allowance for your B license includes any loads you carry. So if your truck ways that much, you can't legally carry anything with only a B license.

K80

hi you have think of the load as well if you a jeep or big van you would be over weight and if any thing did happen the insurance company would run a mile and new thing now is you need a cpc for driving a lorry now its varies in price and cost beetween 50 and 70 euro to do and a whole day to do it from 8-5

sc86

K80 wrote: »

hi you have think of the load as well if you a jeep or big van you would be over weight and if any thing did happen the insurance company would run a mile and new thing now is you need a cpc for driving a lorry now its varies in price and cost beetween 50 and 70 euro to do and a whole day to do it from 8-5

thats what i thought but a few lads that used to do it said you would get away with a car licence, im gona do the c licence anyway to be safe

whats a cpc licence mate?

User Friendly

sc86 wrote: »

thats what i thought but a few lads that used to do it said you would get away with a car licence, im gona do the c licence anyway to be safe

whats a cpc licence mate?

its not a cpc licence.... its a piece of paper you get after sitting a course,there are 5 courses,you must do 1 per year.the first module is on health and safety,i di mine last week. i think,i may be wrong,but anyone who didnt have the cpc course done before the 9/11/10 has to sit a 5 day course.

1 of the main aims of the course is to catch out people who have false licences.... ie it is compulsory for all drivers with a hgv licence to have completed a cpc course while driving a HGV

i'll come back on this tommo..

User Friendly

By the way...isnt there some thing now where you have to do some course if you dont have a trailer/caravan on your licence?... luckily i have it on mine,a lot of the lads i did a course with last week did not have the same as mine(i did my driving test in the Uk)

ianobrien

Im open to correction but if you're collecting burnt out car, you'll need a waste operator's licence as well.

CiniO

Alanstrainor wrote: »

Surely you'll need a C1 license for a recovery truck. The 3.5 tonne weight allowance for your B license includes any loads you carry. So if your truck ways that much, you can't legally carry anything with only a B license.

That's not really correct.
He not only can't carry anything legally on B licence, but he can't drive it legally even when a truck is empty.
3.5 tonne limit on B licence applys to the GVW (gross vehicle weight) which is a weight of the vehicle itself + biggest load it can carry.

It's stated in your VRC in point F.1 what is the GVW of the vehicle.

Other thing is, that I'm sure there are some towing truck with GVW of 3.5 tonne or less

CiniO

K80 wrote: »

hi you have think of the load as well if you a jeep or big van you would be over weight and if any thing did happen the insurance company would run a mile and new thing now is you need a cpc for driving a lorry now its varies in price and cost beetween 50 and 70 euro to do and a whole day to do it from 8-5

In the first place no insurance company would give you cover for a vehicle with GVW more then 3.5 tonne if you have only B licence.

CPC for 50 - 70 euro which lasts whole day, is a annual training for drivers that already have CPC. It's just to keep your CPC.
For someone new, you will have to pass additional test to get CPC.
Besides - It's not required to drive a truck.
It's required to work as a truck driver.
It you want to drive a truck privately or volounterly, you don't need CPC.
Also it doesn't apply to vehicles with GVW od 3.5 tonne or less.

CiniO

sc86 wrote: »

thats what i thought but a few lads that used to do it said you would get away with a car licence, im gona do the c licence anyway to be safe

It's not a matter of being safe or not.
If you want to drive a vehicle with GVW more then 3.5 tonne, then you need C1 or C licence. No one will even provide you with insurance for such a vehicle unless you have proper licence.

CiniO

User Friendly wrote: »

its not a cpc licence.... its a piece of paper you get after sitting a course,there are 5 courses,you must do 1 per year.the first module is on health and safety,i di mine last week. i think,i may be wrong,but anyone who didnt have the cpc course done before the 9/11/10 has to sit a 5 day course.

You are a bit wrong.
CPC is actually kind of a licence, which allows you to work as a professional driver.
If you had a C licence before 10th September 2009, then you automatically got your CPC. Only thing which you need to do to keep it, is to do 1 day training every year.
If you didn't have C licence before 10th Sept 2009, and obtained it later, then you have to pass a test to get your CPC. AFAIK test consists of 2 theory tests and 2 practical test. And this is in addition to your normal C licence test. So pretty much to get C licence + CPC you have to pass 3 theory + 3 practical testes. Some of them lasts for couple hours, and might be quite difficult. After you get it, you still need to do 1 day training every year, to keep your CPC.

1 of the main aims of the course is to catch out people who have false licences.... ie it is compulsory for all drivers with a hgv licence to have completed a cpc course while driving a HGV

i'll come back on this tommo..

Never heard about it.
I think main aims of the course, is to educate drivers, about safety, ecology, etc....

CiniO

User Friendly wrote: »

By the way...isnt there some thing now where you have to do some course if you dont have a trailer/caravan on your licence?... luckily i have it on mine,a lot of the lads i did a course with last week did not have the same as mine(i did my driving test in the Uk)

Nothing like this.
If you have C licence, and want to drive trucks with trailers or articulated trucks, then you have to just stand a EC licence test. CPC has nothing to do with it.

beam99

The ford transit tow truck is one that you can drive on a car licence.

cormie

You'd be seriously limiting your business by only having a B license. If you want to do it properly, get the proper license and do the proper tests. You wouldn't even be able to tow a van if you only have a B.

knifey_spoonie

Well it all depends on what you are looking at doing, and what chassis you want to put the body on.

If you put it on a Canter you wont legally be able to take a mini. If you put it on a transit chassis you will be looking at a legal payload of about 1300KG, If you out a body onto a Dyna you will be looking at a payload of about 1400KG.

User Friendly

CiniO wrote: »

User Friendly wrote: »

its not a cpc licence.... its a piece of paper you get after sitting a course,there are 5 courses,you must do 1 per year.the first module is on health and safety,i di mine last week. i think,i may be wrong,but anyone who didnt have the cpc course done before the 9/11/10 has to sit a 5 day course.

You are a bit wrong.
CPC is actually kind of a licence, which allows you to work as a professional driver.
If you had a C licence before 10th September 2009, then you automatically got your CPC. Only thing which you need to do to keep it, is to do 1 day training every year.
If you didn't have C licence before 10th Sept 2009, and obtained it later, then you have to pass a test to get your CPC. AFAIK test consists of 2 theory tests and 2 practical test. And this is in addition to your normal C licence test. So pretty much to get C licence + CPC you have to pass 3 theory + 3 practical testes. Some of them lasts for couple hours, and might be quite difficult. After you get it, you still need to do 1 day training every year, to keep your CPC.



Never heard about it.
I think main aims of the course, is to educate drivers, about safety, ecology, etc....[/QUOTEHow you doing? you never heard about it........well ive just told you,and ive told you what the aims of the course are,as by the instructor
2If you had a C licence before 10th September 2009, then you automatically got your CPC. Only thing which you need to do to keep it, is to do 1 day training every year."I have a c licence prior to sep/09...... i have to do a 1 day course every year for 5 years now,all different modules,and it is not a licence,it is as i said,a piece of paper,that you are required by law to carry in your truck while driving.

it infuriates me when people who know and have gone through the process get checked by Knowitalls......:mad:

User Friendly

CiniO wrote: »

Nothing like this.
If you have C licence, and want to drive trucks with trailers or articulated trucks, then you have to just stand a EC licence test. CPC has nothing to do with it.

i dont know what your talking about

who said anything about cpc and pulling a trailer?i was referring to a car licence.

i'll say this again very clearly.

i have a caravan(what looks like a caravan,its got 2 wheels) on my licence,i have it on my licence since 1993,i compared my licence to some others i sat a course with last week........ some of these guys did not have the same licence as me.... :facepalm:

CiniO

cormie wrote: »

You'd be seriously limiting your business by only having a B license. If you want to do it properly, get the proper license and do the proper tests. You wouldn't even be able to tow a van if you only have a B.

Take under consideration, that if you get a truck over 3.5 tonne, you need C driving licence, road haulage operator licence, CPC for transport managers (or you have to employ someone who has it), drivers CPC, and in the end you need to obey all the tachograph rules, which limits time that you can work.
Considering all these, costs are way higher, and it might be worth just to get 3.5 tonne truck and limit the business to it. At least for the beginning.

CiniO

User Friendly wrote: »

How you doing? you never heard about it........well ive just told you,and ive told you what the aims of the course are,as by the instructor

Insructors say many different things. Many of them might be wrong.
Try to find this info on any official materials from RSA. Good luck.

I have a c licence prior to sep/09...... i have to do a 1 day course every year for 5 years now,all different modules,and it is not a licence,it is as i said,a piece of paper,that you are required by law to carry in your truck while driving.

it infuriates me when people who know and have gone through the process get checked by Knowitalls......:mad:

OK, my fault, I used wrong word.
It's not a licence. I'm not native english speaker and I don't know how to decribe it correctly. Let's describe it as a thing for the purpose of this thread.

And in what you said you are almost correct, but not entirely.
1. You have to do 5 modules over 5 years, but that's not it. Most likely there will be another 5 modules after it. Most likely every C and D driver will have to do them every year to the end of his career.
2. After finishing that 1 day training, you got cert (just a peace of paper), but you are not reqiured to carry it with you while driving. As a proof that you have CPC is your licence issued before SEP/09. After 5 years, you will have to get a small card, which then will be a proff that you have CPC. To get this card, you will have to present all 5 certificates from yearly courses.

CiniO

User Friendly wrote: »

i dont know what your talking about

who said anything about cpc and pulling a trailer?i was referring to a car licence.

i'll say this again very clearly.

i have a caravan(what looks like a caravan,its got 2 wheels) on my licence,i have it on my licence since 1993,i compared my licence to some others i sat a course with last week........ some of these guys did not have the same licence as me.... :facepalm:

What do you mean you have caravan?
Do you operate by pictures, or by licence categories?
If you have EB so you can pull trailer by your car or van.
It's obvious if someone wants to get EB has to pass a test for it.
But on the other way, you still can pull a trailer with your B licence, only there are some more restrictive weight limits then on EB.

sc86

CiniO wrote: »

Take under consideration, that if you get a truck over 3.5 tonne, you need C driving licence, road haulage operator licence, CPC for transport managers (or you have to employ someone who has it), drivers CPC, and in the end you need to obey all the tachograph rules, which limits time that you can work.
Considering all these, costs are way higher, and it might be worth just to get 3.5 tonne truck and limit the business to it. At least for the beginning.

yes thats my plan to keep it simple, just want to do a few jobs in the evenings nothing to serious
il be towing cars thats it, no lorrys or big vans like some chaps seam to think

User Friendly

CiniO wrote: »

User Friendly wrote: »

How you doing? you never heard about it........well ive just told you,and ive told you what the aims of the course are,as by the instructor

Insructors say many different things. Many of them might be wrong.
Try to find this info on any official materials from RSA. Good luck.



OK, my fault, I used wrong word.
It's not a licence. I'm not native english speaker and I don't know how to decribe it correctly. Let's describe it as a thing for the purpose of this thread.

And in what you said you are almost correct, but not entirely.
1. You have to do 5 modules over 5 years, but that's not it. Most likely there will be another 5 modules after it. Most likely every C and D driver will have to do them every year to the end of his career.
2. After finishing that 1 day training, you got cert (just a peace of paper), but you are not reqiured to carry it with you while driving. As a proof that you have CPC is your licence issued before SEP/09. After 5 years, you will have to get a small card, which then will be a proff that you have CPC. To get this card, you will have to present all 5 certificates from yearly courses.

CiniO,Not you,myself nor the instructor Knows whats happening after 5 years........ You Are required by law!....... to carry a copy or the original CPC cert,and why you say any different is simply wrong.Im not coming back to this again.If the traffic corps require you to produce it............. then you must.
Dont know where your based,but we here in ENNIS had a cop on a bike named ROBOCOP, think he is now based in Limerick,any Truck driver who had the misfortune to bump into this guy will tell you,you better have all your documents with you or He would park you up in a second.

CiniO wrote: »

What do you mean you have caravan?
Do you operate by pictures, or by licence categories?
If you have EB so you can pull trailer by your car or van.
It's obvious if someone wants to get EB has to pass a test for it.
But on the other way, you still can pull a trailer with your B licence, only there are some more restrictive weight limits then on EB.

i give up...... communication problem here...... when you read and understand what ive said,from my original post,come back on here then.im just repeating my self here.... over and out

R.O.R

sc86 wrote: »

yes thats my plan to keep it simple, just want to do a few jobs in the evenings nothing to serious
il be towing cars thats it, no lorrys or big vans like some chaps seam to think

The maximum the vehicle can weigh in total is 3.5Ton's. That the weight of the vehicle itself, and what ever it's carrying.

I put a box body on to the back of a Transit chassis cab a couple of years ago, and it came to 2550kg including tail lift. With the hydraulics in the lift on a recovery truck and the flatbad, it's probably going to weigh the same as a GRP body with tail lift.

That would leave you able to carry 950kg of car legally. A Fiat 500 1.2 Petrol weighs 865kg (unleaden) so that's OK. A new Golf 1.6Tdi weighs 1,314kg so that would put you around 350kg over weight.

If anything happens while you are overloaded, I'm sure the insurance will find any way to weasel out of a claim. That could be the cost of not just your truck, but whatever you have on the back too.