How to get 7.5 ton lorry license?

[AGAGE]

For my xmas present my parents and husband are going to tax and insure our horsebox again and pay for me to get my lorry license. However, looking on the DVLA website it doesn't seem that clear how you go about getting a lorry license. I passed my driving test in 2003 and therefore need to pass another test to drive our 7.5 ton lorry.

Have any of you passed the lorry test? How do you go about it?

Do I need need to upgrade my license to a 'Learner' category C or category C1? The lorry is a 7.5 ton plate. I will not be using a trailer with it.

Obviously I will also need to be insured to drive parents lorry.

Can my parents teach me to drive it -parents passed their driving tests prior to 1997 and currently drive lorry? I already have car license.

Do I need to pass a theory test- even though I did this for car license?

Do I need a medical?

How much does lorry test cost?

 

[Super_starz]

Lucky you!
I passed my C1 test about 4 years ago, I was under 21 at the time so was unable to do the full cat C. You will need to get a medical and do a therory test. Your parents will be able to sit in with you.
I did a weeks intensive course and i think it was about £900.

Good Luck!

 

[goneshowjumping]

i am just in the process of doing this, as i passed my test in 1997.
i have got to go and have a medical (which costs a fortune!) and then send my licence off to get my provisional, again costing money, then the theory, which i brought the cd to practice the tests, and it aint easy! then i have to pay around £1500 for a intensive course, but that includes the test and theory tests.
good luck with it all, i think its def worth doing!

 

[Santa_Claus]

if I was you I would do your HGV as that will allow you to drive 7.5T as well and to be honest most test centres once you have done the training it costs the same which will be about £1000 for an intensive course and test at the end. Actually I have a feeling now you can drive HGVs at 18 that they are one and the same test anyway!

Yes you do need to do a theory and yes you do need to do a medical even if only doing the test for 7.5t vehicles. Infact I think the theory has three parts. There are lots of sites about if you google HGV theory which will give you all the info you need

 

[Santa_Claus]

not all doctors charge a fortune look around. For mine I found a doc about 30miles away via internet who only charged me £30 compared to my doc who wanted to charge £70. Guess which Doc I went to, as you are not restricted to your own doctor for the medical.

 

[SpottedCat]

First you go to your Dr and hand over about £40 for a medical certificate.

Then you get your provisional Cat C added to your normal driving licence by sending your driving licence off with the required forms and medical certificate. Whilst you are waiting for it to return you buy the latest theory test book from ebay or amazon and read it - you need to know all kinds of nonsense which you will never use because you are learning to drive a lorry NOT a horsebox - hence you need to learn about load distribution and securing etc.

Then you take your theory and hazard perception test.

Once you have all of those, you then book onto an intensive course (most places won't do Class C any other way - or they wouldn't when I did mine about 5 years ago), spend about £1K on lessons and the test, get failed by an examiner who says 'you are perfectly safe but I am not going to pass you', retake and get the same examiner who says 'you drove identically to last time but this time I will pass you' (he did not think girls should drive trucks, and no, I am not making this up - the only reason I did not complain is he was 3 months off retirement and I was told point blank they knew what he was doing and agreed it was wrong but that they would stall the case until he had retired so there was no point - outrageous but true!).

I wouldn't bother doing just the 7.5 tonne one - the cost/test/training is identical for the full class C and lets you drive any rigid vehicle up to 30 tonnes, can't see why you'd bother doing just the 7.5 tonne one personally.

 

[AGAGE]

Thanks for all your help! Makes more sense now.

Not looking forward to the theory test- last time I did it was without the hazard perception bit, which sister and brother have informed me it isn't easy!