Driving Categories and Horseboxes

[TealH0rse]

Hi all

Hoping someone can confirm how I’ve interpreted the licence categories.

I know I can drive a 3.5t box on a cat B licence. Gov website says this is the MAM, aka maximum weight. Is this including horses and tack inside/the most it could possible hold?

Think I’m getting confused because of a redwings article that seems to be wrong and talks about laden weight instead of the MAM. https://www.redwings.org.uk/news-and-views/transport-and-law

Would rather avoid the costs of a C1 tests if I can as I can’t imagine I’ll be driving a 7.5t anytime soon!

 

[Roxylola]

Yes 3.5 is the box and everything in it must be no more than 3.5 tons. You'd struggle for one to carry 2 horses plus tack, especially if you take a passenger

 

[SilverLinings]

Yes 3.5 is the box and everything in it must be no more than 3.5 tons. You'd struggle for one to carry 2 horses plus tack, especially if you take a passenger

And of course water and fuel, which a lot of people forget they carry but both weight quite a bit.

It's a shame that instead of scrapping the trailer towing test to free up examiners/test centre slots for HGV tests they didn't go back to the pre-1997 rules that allowed anyone with a car licence to drive a lorry up to 7.5 tons (I say that for purely selfish reasons though ). That would have also freed up examiners/slots, and been very welcome for horse people.

 

[Elf On A Shelf]

3.5t is the total weight with everything in it. Most 2 stall trucks only have a 1t pay load so your horse, kit, fuel, yourself, any passengers etc need to weigh 1t or less in total before you go overweight. Also don't always believe the weight cert as many people put them on a weigh bridge stripped bare - no partition, no rubber mats, as little fuel as possible to get them there and back to a garage. They do this to make it look like the truck has a larger payload than it does.

So if you do buy one I would check the weight before you buy.

 

[ROG]

When loaded you can legally take it to your nearest weighbridge and if overloaded you can go directly back to where you loaded it and remove the excess weight

 

[Merry neddy man]

There are loads of weight bridges all over the place most will let you weigh a vehicle for a small charge, don't let a seller fob you off that there's no where to get it weighed.