1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
26
27
28
29
30
31
32
33
34
35
36
37
38
39
40
41
42
43
44
45
46
47
48
49
50
51
52
53
54
55
56
57
58
59
60
61
62
63
64
65
66
67
68
69
70
71
72
73
74
75
76
77
78
79
80
81
82
83
84
85
86
87
88
89
90
91
92
93
94
95
96
97
98
99
100
101
102
103
104
105
106
107
108
109
110
111
112
113
114
115
116
117
118
119
120
121
122
123
124
125
126
127
128
129
130
131
132
133
134
135
136
137
138
139
140
141
142
143
144 
WEIGHT FOR TACHO
Page 55
If you've noticed an error in this article please click here to report it so we can fix it.
Qi was very interested to read your article on vans or minibuses towing trailers, and whether such vehicles are subject to 0licensing. I would be interested to see the same exercise carried out with respect to the need for tachographs.
I run a Sherpa 240 minibus which tows a cartransporting trailer weighing less than 1,020kg unladen, but the total laden weight could be over 3.5 tonnes. Some of the seats have been removed and it now seats six passengers in addition to the driver.
It never draws any other trailer, so perhaps it could be classified as a specialised breakdown vehicle, or perhaps a passenger vehicle. Its load, if it carries one, is a form of goods, but always a broken-down vehicle.
I have read somewhere that the exemption for trailers less then 1,020kg ULW applies to tachographs as well as 0licensing, but I am reluctant to believe this. I am about to phase out this vehicle in favour of a much better vehicle, namely an ex-AA Relay truck. However, as an academic exercise I would be interested to learn whether I have been breaking the tachograph rules over the past few years when I have been using this vehicle.
I have a CPC and an HGV1, but do not profess to know all the answers, and sometimes the laws re quire careful interpretation. Perhaps you will know of a precedent. D M, Dunbar AIf the total weight of your minibus and trailer when laden exceeds 3.5 tonnes, you need a tachograph.
Regulation 3820/85 EEC Article 4 reads: "This regulation shall not apply to carriage by i) vehicles used for the carriage of goods where the maximum permissable weight of vehicle, including any trailer or semi-trailer, does not exceed 3.5 tonnes."
The fact that you have made the minibus dual-purpose by removing seats and therefore leaving a space that could be used for goods means that the vehicle cannot be classified as a specialised breakdown vehicle.