chrispuxley Posted October 11, 2006 Share Posted October 11, 2006 I need a LWB panel van with additional seats for an upcoming tour. I had no idea it was going to be so difficult to find one from one of the usual hire companies. The 'splitter' van hire I have looked at is no good as there are too many seats (normally 8 or 9) and not enough room for equipment. For reference I need to seat 4 people and have approx a SWB load of kit. Any ideas? Cheers, Chris Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
andy_s Posted October 11, 2006 Share Posted October 11, 2006 how about people carrier and trailer? Tiger Tours do a 1.5tonne one. Scroll down to the bottom of the vehicle specs panel. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
soundo26 Posted October 11, 2006 Share Posted October 11, 2006 Pity I didn't know last week, our band just sold ours for £250!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mikey Posted October 11, 2006 Share Posted October 11, 2006 Hiya, Try SHB hire - shb.co.uk.They mainly do 4x4s and building site vehicles but they also have minibuses and the like. As well as lots of really good Land Rovers! Mike. (A Landy Driver) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dj Dunc Posted October 12, 2006 Share Posted October 12, 2006 get a 130 double cab if you can (with a truckman rear) or a 110 if you do go down the landy route Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rob_Beech Posted October 12, 2006 Share Posted October 12, 2006 Hi Chris, whilst I can't suggest anywhere specific, I will point out (as I'm sure you've accounted for but just incase you haven't) that the payload will be much lower with a LWB van to a SWB. so a SWB worth of gear in terms of weight will be too heavy for the LWB, and thats without the 4th person! the Car + trailer option is there, but as I've found out on many an occasion it can be a bit of a pain, lower speed limits, parking, storage, not to mention needing B+E on your license to pull one over 750kg, which of course you wont have if you passed after 1997. Rob Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MrPete Posted October 12, 2006 Share Posted October 12, 2006 Just a tad off topic, but... ...the Car + trailer option is there, but as I've found out on many an occasion it can be a bit of a pain... not to mention needing B+E on your license to pull one over 750kg, which of course you wont have if you passed after 1997. As far as I was aware (having passed my test in 1997 just after the change in regs), you are allowed to tow a trailer over 750kg, but the maximum combined weight of car/van + trailer is limited to 3500kg maximum, providing the maximum allowed weight of the trailer does not exceed the unladen weight of the towing vehicle. Where you would need category B+E on your licence would be if the maximum allowed mass of the trailer exceeded the unladen maximum allowed mass of the vehicle. As an exaggeration, that'd be like driving a metro with a 2 ton trailer full of sand, heh. Further information here (.pdf file), from the DVLA's website. Hope that helps a little!Pete. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Simon Lewis Posted October 12, 2006 Share Posted October 12, 2006 Furthermore, when used for business purposes, driving a vehicle (like the people carrier suggested above) and adding a large trailer (so the total weight is over 3.5t) takes you into tachograph territory! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bruce Posted October 12, 2006 Share Posted October 12, 2006 Going even further off-topic - it is one of the daftest rules that DVLC have introduced. you are allowed to tow a trailer over 750kg, but the maximum combined weight of car/van + trailer is limited to 3500kg maximum, providing the maximum allowed weight of the trailer does not exceed the unladen weight of the towing vehicle. So on a category B license, you could legally drive a Fiesta (weight 1500kg) and pull a 2000kg trailer. (although there is a recommendation that max trailer weight should be no more than 85% of vehicle weight. Also, the max towing capacity specified by the manufacturer is 600kg). But those "rules" still say a Fiesta can pull a 2000kg trailer. Yet a Land Rover Defender 110, with a gross weight of around 3000kg, can legally only pull a 500kg trailer! Now, the fiesta example is unrealistic - but lets look at a 600kg trailer. Pulling that 600kg trailer with a fiesta is perfectly legal, and meets all the manufacturers and DVLA recommendations.But pulling that same trailer with a land rover is illegal (total weight 3600). Which of these 2 options is safer? Bruce.(another land rover owner) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Seano Posted October 12, 2006 Share Posted October 12, 2006 Which of these 2 options is safer? Option 3: Get some extra driver training (and if necessary take a further test) so you're no longer limited to 3.5tonnes GVW. Its an anomaly, but not a big one. If you accept that extra training over and above the minimum to get a car licence is necessary before driving a 7.5tonner, then I don't see it as too much of a stretch to say the same for a 5ton articulated vehicle. (3tonne landy towing a 2tonne trailer).I don't have a problem with that at all, but then I passed my car test (and my Class1 HGV test) well before 1997. :huh: Btw: You're right about the Fiesta example being unrealistic: Under construction and use regulations its illegal to exceed the 600Kg that the manufacturer says it can tow. The Ford Ka, for example has a rated towing rate of zero, and so its illegal to tow anything with one of those. Driver licencing is irrelevant here. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
paul the paranoid lampy Posted October 12, 2006 Share Posted October 12, 2006 if looking to take the 7.5ton test, get a quote on the Class 2 cat licence, it generaly cost the same to do and give you a much bigger truck to drive bearing in mind the next to useless payload most 7.5 ton trucks have. paul yet another land rover owner Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Simon E Posted October 13, 2006 Share Posted October 13, 2006 if looking to take the 7.5ton test, get a quote on the Class 2 cat licence Only of course a 7.5ton test is now called a C1, and a Class 2 a C since '97, But paul is quite right theirs not that much point in taking a C1 test, as its identical to a C, but in a slightly smaller truck (you still need the same medical etc) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
handyandi Posted October 13, 2006 Share Posted October 13, 2006 Once you go above 3500kg in a van/truck don't you have to have an operators licence (unless you are moving house etc)? :huh: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sam Jelfs Posted October 13, 2006 Share Posted October 13, 2006 I know we are straying a bit far o/t here... but, any trailer over 750 kg needs to be braked, and can not exceed the weight of the towing vehicle (except under certain conditions, such as the manufacturer having designed the vehicle to tow greater than 750kg)... though all of this is from distant memory having been in a vehicle when we were pulled over for being over weight (but managed to get away with it as it was "agricultural use" :D ) back on topic... check places like shb, but also look on fleabay... we picked up a big old minibus for about £800, took out the majority of the seats and drove it, along with a pa and lighting rig to the south of france and back... was cheaper than hiring one and paying for the extra insurance to take it out of the country... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
soundmanjim Posted May 15, 2009 Share Posted May 15, 2009 I know we are straying a bit far o/t here... but, any trailer over 750 kg needs to be braked, and can not exceed the weight of the towing vehicle (except under certain conditions, such as the manufacturer having designed the vehicle to tow greater than 750kg)... though all of this is from distant memory having been in a vehicle when we were pulled over for being over weight (but managed to get away with it as it was "agricultural use" ;) ) back on topic... check places like shb, but also look on fleabay... we picked up a big old minibus for about £800, took out the majority of the seats and drove it, along with a pa and lighting rig to the south of france and back... was cheaper than hiring one and paying for the extra insurance to take it out of the country... I'm quite concerned about all this. I've just come back from The Great Escape festival (Brighton) this weekend, having taken a band and done their sound at a venue as part of the show; on the way back going around the m25 we were stopped by VOSA and my van was put on the weighbridge and I was 450kg overweight! I had no idea I had overloaded the vehicle, I had a full drumkit, two fender champs, an ashdown combo and 4x10 cab, plus the bands otfits and other sundry gear - I also didnt realise the gross weight of the vehicle was 3.5 tonne; I thought that was how much it could carry (doh)! The upshot of this, was that I had to leave the band at the weighbridge station so they could get a cab to the next travelodge and I had to take the gear back to their rehearsal room, unload it, then go back to the Travel lodge the next day to pick them up. Now im aware of the legalities regarding overloading, but im confused as to what to do to prevent a nick in future (I was let off); my splitter is a converted iveco daily 3.5 tonne long wheelbase and has all the creature comforts for the band im contracted to; but now it looks like im going to have to strip out at least 800kg of excess weight in order to stay within legal limits; how do other people get on when they hire splitters? are they even aware there are regs regarding how much weight you can put on a splitter? I'm looking to buy a new van and get it properly converted, but now im at a loss to know what I should go for; I like the look for the VW crafters and the new Sprinters look good too but I need a vehicle that I can carry 6 people (including me) plus all their gear, merch and clothes - it's pretty serious as ive got the rest of the year booked with them and I need to sort this out soon or I'll lose the contract. sorry this is rambling but I dont know what else to do and there isnt much help on the dvla website - the VOSA guy told me to get an operators licence (£3000) and get a more butch van - but thats a tacho isnt it? any advice greatfully recieved! by the way, im 42 so I can drive up to a 7.5 tonne on my licence as I passed donkeys ago. Lasty - could I get away with using a camper van instead? Jim H Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Archived
This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.