HGV Horsebox

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Whoopit

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For those of you with a proper sized HGV horsebox, other than a licence to drive one, what other considerations are there? Tax, test, insurance, maintenance, obviously - generally what are these like on an average aged lorry?

Also, as Dad kindly pointed out, are they considered in the same light as say a tractor unit that a haulage firm would use and regulations that apply to those? Don't haulage vehicles have to go for service every six weeks or something ridiculous? If it's technically a leisure vehicle I didn't think so? I've no idea what he's on about so I can shed no light on what he means at all!

So, what I mean in is once you'd passed your Class1 HGV (if you had to!) what other considerations where there before buying a wagon to go with it?

Ta!!
 
Whoopit said:
For those of you with a proper sized HGV horsebox, other than a licence to drive one, what other considerations are there? Tax, test, insurance, maintenance, obviously - generally what are these like on an average aged lorry?

Also, as Dad kindly pointed out, are they considered in the same light as say a tractor unit that a haulage firm would use and regulations that apply to those? Don't haulage vehicles have to go for service every six weeks or something ridiculous? If it's technically a leisure vehicle I didn't think so? I've no idea what he's on about so I can shed no light on what he means at all!

So, what I mean in is once you'd passed your Class1 HGV (if you had to!) what other considerations where there before buying a wagon to go with it?

Ta!!
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Do you mean over 7.5 ton or over 3.5ton ????
over 3.5 ton is a hgv... for all the laws about operators licence to apply if it is being used for a business like a pro rider or horse transport, if you are useing it as a private lorry
just to haul your own horse/s for leisure then its classed as a private hgv and you just have a annual
MOT tax and insurance.. If its over 7.5 ton you have to use the tachograph and keep to driver's hour regs ...private hgv tax is £165 for 12 mths mot about £120, insurance that depends on you and maintanance how long is a piece of string .....
 
We have a 17.5tonne box that OH drives on a class 2 license, as long as the box was registered as a private vehicle before April 2007 you don't need a tacho in it. Plating (annual) cost us about 220 last time including some work that needed doing but the wagon has to be taken to a VOSA site for the plating (but they cannot do any work on it, you need to find a garage that does HGV's for that but there are plenty about), if I remember correctly the plating has to be paid up front when you book the wagon in and is now about £95. The insurance for ours, stalled for 4 with living was again in the region of £225 but OH is in his 50's. You have to remember that if you can do work on it yourself it is a big vehicle, check engine access etc to make sure you can get to it without needing other equipment. Ours has cost us nothing in maintenance other than the bit of plating work (loose battery connection and something else minor), we were very lucky with it and bought a good one.
 
hch4971 said:
We have a 17.5tonne box that OH drives on a class 2 license, as long as the box was registered as a private vehicle before April 2007 you don't need a tacho in it. Plating (annual) cost us about 220 last time including some work that needed doing but the wagon has to be taken to a VOSA site for the plating (but they cannot do any work on it, you need to find a garage that does HGV's for that but there are plenty about), if I remember correctly the plating has to be paid up front when you book the wagon in and is now about £95. The insurance for ours, stalled for 4 with living was again in the region of £225 but OH is in his 50's. You have to remember that if you can do work on it yourself it is a big vehicle, check engine access etc to make sure you can get to it without needing other equipment. Ours has cost us nothing in maintenance other than the bit of plating work (loose battery connection and something else minor), we were very lucky with it and bought a good one.
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Sorry but if its over 7.5 ton you must use the tacho on every trip that is the law unless it was scrapped recently there was a lot of fuss about it but im 99.9% sure this is law and if you are stoped an dont have a chart or card in you will be done.. sorry BTW the law came in april 2007
 
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Perfect11s is correct
you do need a Tacho for HGV, VOSA are doing regular checks regarding this, particularly regarding horseboxes. I had the rules explained to me last year after being escorted off the M6 for a spot check, (6.30pm on a Sunday night!) and had to e-mail my working hours to them as I have a full time job and they need to check that you're not over the hours allowed.

I thought that with being a private HGV, I didn't need a tacho however they politely informed me that I did so make sure you fill one in whenever you get in the wagon. I have to say, they were helpful and they said that they were finding a lot of people didn't understand the rules for Private HGV's and that they were carrying this out as an educational programme.

Hope this helps :)
 
Yes Perfect11s is correct to a point.

Anything over 7.5 tonne whether used for private or business must have a working tacho fitted and used everytime the vehicle is on the road.

However if you tow with a trailer for business (and I don't just mean horse trailers) then anything over 3.5tonne must also have a fitted and working tacho. Therefor a tacho must be fitted to the vehicle that you tow with.

As Mrs Pink said the Police are 'educating people' at the moment but in a minute they will be stopped and given an immediate PG9 which means you are not allowed to move that vehicle from wherever you have been stopped until the problem is fixed.
 
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Yes ,over 7.5 tonnes needs a tacho to be used on every trip,even for private use. But thats easy really. An unmaintained private lorry is just as deadly as an unmaintained commercial lorry. Go to dft.gov.uk, and you will find all sorts of usefull information. In particular read "guide to maintaining roadworthiness" I would also suggest that you read carefully the requirements concerning an operators license. Not hauling for hire and reward does not automaticly make the use private. eg, taking hirelings hunting,requires a restricted license, as does a horse dealer, or professional showjumper.
 
Sorry, yes I do know about tachographs (Dad used to help a haulage owning friend out when he was short on drivers). Perfect11 was on the lines of what I was after - it is just private and at the moment its for days out just me and a friends horse as mines only a baby and she won't go to any shows without me! Even if we compete it's highly unlikely we'll win anything anyway!!!!

hch4971 - what's plating? I insure my 12yr old car Ford for £300!! I'm not far off my thirties, so I'm not quite a whippersnapper but not quite ready for Saga insurance! :D

I'll have a look at what falls under Operators Licence as don't want to get caught out by anything cheeky! Incidentally, I am about to start lessons for my HGV but Dad is legalled up to drive something if I see one I want but thought it best to check out first before I decided to buy a super-sized one with plenty of living rather than just a 7.5t one with ample living. The olds like to come for a day out you see, so got to accommodate them!! :D

I should maybe speak to a coachbuilders or speak with my local police station regarding rules and regs? Not that they'll know much about that sort of thing at my station, I feel!!!

Thanks to everybody who has contributed - it's going to be a minefield of information I feel! :)
 
Whoopit said:
Sorry, yes I do know about tachographs (Dad used to help a haulage owning friend out when he was short on drivers). Perfect11 was on the lines of what I was after - it is just private and at the moment its for days out just me and a friends horse as mines only a baby and she won't go to any shows without me! Even if we compete it's highly unlikely we'll win anything anyway!!!!

hch4971 - what's plating? I insure my 12yr old car Ford for £300!! I'm not far off my thirties, so I'm not quite a whippersnapper but not quite ready for Saga insurance! :D

I'll have a look at what falls under Operators Licence as don't want to get caught out by anything cheeky! Incidentally, I am about to start lessons for my HGV but Dad is legalled up to drive something if I see one I want but thought it best to check out first before I decided to buy a super-sized one with plenty of living rather than just a 7.5t one with ample living. The olds like to come for a day out you see, so got to accommodate them!! :D

I should maybe speak to a coachbuilders or speak with my local police station regarding rules and regs? Not that they'll know much about that sort of thing at my station, I feel!!!

Thanks to everybody who has contributed - it's going to be a minefield of information I feel! :)
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Plating can refer to having a mot test or the plate in the cab which shows the legal weights for the truck, the rules are simple if its private use.. just tax, insurance mot, and you having the right licence, personaly I would avoid a hgv over 7.5 ton because of the limitations of useing the tacho and a lot of roads are 7.5 ton or less ... a well built 7.5 can have a 2/3 horse cap and full living or day living 3/4 horses .....
 
Vosa are your best source of information.Find out where your local vosa test station is ,and go and have a chat. Its dfifficult over the phone unless you can find a direct number.They arent the enemy realy.They just want you to drive safely and legally.
 
If you're only ever going to carry 2 horses then you may as well go for a 7.5T and then you don't have to concern yourself over the taco (as far as I am aware!). You would only need an LGV licence to drive a 7.5T but you may as well do your HGV as they costs are not much different and this means you can drive a larger vehicle if needs be without having to take an additional test.

We have a 7.5T Iveco - it has a bigger living than our previous 7.5T but we can only carry 2 horses in it whereas the other you could have fitted 3 medium sized horses in (not sure how it would have been weight wise mind). We only ever really take 2 horses anywhere at a time anyway and wanted the larger living (have a toilet now and more seating space). Think about what your needs are when it comes to a wagon.
 
It is a minefield, ours has been plated/mot'd 3 times since 2007, hasn't got a tacho fitted and has never been queried at the VOSA testing so I am completely at a loss to understand any of it. OH is a HGV driver so understands it more than I and I am aware of the working hours directive because of his job being affected by it but obviously don't understand the tacho bit as well as I should! I will have to look further into it but sorry if I gave you completely duff info:rolleyes:
 
hch4971 said:
It is a minefield, ours has been plated/mot'd 3 times since 2007, hasn't got a tacho fitted and has never been queried at the VOSA testing so I am completely at a loss to understand any of it. OH is a HGV driver so understands it more than I and I am aware of the working hours directive because of his job being affected by it but obviously don't understand the tacho bit as well as I should! I will have to look further into it but sorry if I gave you completely duff info:rolleyes:
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it must have one maybe not a seperate one if its a few years old , look at the speedo it should have a key hole and two little knobs at the top and you open the front up and put a round chart in .. not wishing to worry you but you need to sort this out because he may well be braking the law
on drivers hours if he drives a hgv as a job and the horse box as well...
 
Perfect11s I was thinking the same

hch4971 - what weight is your wagon, gross vehicle weight 7.5t or 17t?

As Perfect11s said, if it's over 7.5t and over a certain age and depending on when you passed your test or OH did, you may have a problem, also you must take into account your working hours too.

I was lucky, I understand the drivers hours completely, but didn't realise I needed to fill the Tacho in believing as I was Private Heavy Goods, I didn't need to, they could have fined me quite a hefty amount, and there's nothing worse than watching the VOSA car overtake you and then flash the sign saying `Follow me to the next check point'. I keep a diary in the wagon now of hours worked to save any problems.

As Mike007 mentions, check the VOSA website, it's the best source of info
 
Ours is a 17.5t (maybe 17, I could have got that wrong) and 1988 so not over 25 years (which would entitle it to be exempt according to VOSA), OH says it does have a tacho so must be on the speedo but he says it doesn't need to be used (I should have known this as the box used to belong to WFP and there are a load of old tacho discs from trips all over Europe, and a little lucky mascot that has to stay in the front!!). As I said it has never been questioned at MOT (nor calibrated), He said something about an exemption certificate but I am so confused that I haven't got a clue how that would work if he doesn't have to renew it. We are aware of drivers hours, it has played havoc with showing etc as all has to be worked around his working hours. He will have to look into it all again to make sure we are still legal without using the tacho but chances are it will be sold soon anyway so won't be an issue, we just don't have time to get out with it so it isn't really viable to keep it.
 
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hch4971 said:
Ours is a 17.5t (maybe 17, I could have got that wrong) and 1988 so not over 25 years (which would entitle it to be exempt according to VOSA), OH says it does have a tacho so must be on the speedo but he says it doesn't need to be used (I should have known this as the box used to belong to WFP and there are a load of old tacho discs from trips all over Europe, and a little lucky mascot that has to stay in the front!!). As I said it has never been questioned at MOT (nor calibrated), He said something about an exemption certificate but I am so confused that I haven't got a clue how that would work if he doesn't have to renew it. We are aware of drivers hours, it has played havoc with showing etc as all has to be worked around his working hours. He will have to look into it all again to make sure we are still legal without using the tacho but chances are it will be sold soon anyway so won't be an issue, we just don't have time to get out with it so it isn't really viable to keep it.
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Sorry for the bad news ,you do have to use your tacho.It does have to be checked every two years and calibrated every six. When you fill out the exemption form at the test station ,the onus is on you,that it is correct. Unfortunately you are required to use the tacho so you have also made a fraudulent declaration.
 
Mike007 said:
Sorry for the bad news ,you do have to use your tacho.It does have to be checked every two years and calibrated every six. When you fill out the exemption form at the test station ,the onus is on you,that it is correct. Unfortunately you are required to use the tacho so you have also made a fraudulent declaration.
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eek, but we didn't fill out an exemption form (I think he meant the one that came with it but we haven't renewed it and didn't take it when it went for testing), completely lost now, will look into it!
 
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