Just a word of warning 3.5t vehicles

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Woodland

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My friend had 2 15.2hh arabs (and passenger and all the gear) in her renault master and got pulled over by the police today in Essex today. She had to abandon her journey and go to the nearest weighbridge to be told she was overweight. I think they may start pulling a few of us up driving these vehicles in the future because of the weight. Which is good because of the danger driving an overweight vehicle I spose. Just thought id best warn you all... It irritates me when companies say they can carry 2 16.2s, fair enough you may be ok with 2 on but your overweight when the driver gets in!
 
a good rough guide is that each "outfit" weighs 3/4 of a ton......= 1.5 ton.
if the unleaden weight of these little lorries is over 2 ton then you are over.
 
[ QUOTE ]
What make was yours?
Marlborough and George Smith are the only makes that can take the weight, thats why they are more expensive.

[/ QUOTE ] The Scott Horse Shuttle is also correctly made!
 
I hope she doesnt get fined. My OH company lorry went out overweight and cost the company about £7000. £2000 fine for the driver and £5000 for the company.
It really is essential to check the weights of the lorries. The police are getting much hotter on this. She was also lucky she was even allowed to take the horses home in it! They can stop you doing that and make you arrange for alternative transport!
 
Sorry to hear that your friend was pulled up and I hope she wasn't fined. However, it's about bloody time this happened - why should some of us pay very close attention to the weights of our vehicles and the combinations we tow when others are being plain ignorant and "can't be bothered" to get their vehicles checked for the correct weights. We saw a Honda CRV towing an equi-trek with 2 horses in it today! These vehicles can tow about the same as Freelander (so about 1800kg). "I didn't know" is no excuse any more as if you had an accident and hurt yourselves, passengers, horses or third parties then your insurance would not cover you if you were illegal.
 
Out of interest, is there a website where you can locate the nearest weighbridge to you? I'm just abouit to buy a 3.5 T and want to check I have enough payload to carry one large horse.
 
I totally agree with you although I know my friend wouldn't of put her horses in danger, she obviously just thought she would be ok with her fine spindly arabs, the main point that irritates me is that companies are saying that they can carry 2 16.2s apart from the companies that vicijp said, marlborough and george smith who are capable of carryng that weight. I saw a peugeot estate towing an ifor the other day with 2 horses in, couldn't believe it
 
Stella!
Im going to hire one of those next weekend to see how I get on with it.
How do you find yours? What engine do you have?
I only have 1 14.2 so was going to take the partition out and see how she travels.
 
She wasn't over by much so they made her take out her water canisters, tack, removable storage filled with stuff and the passenger! She then took her horses straight home and picked everything up later.
 
[ QUOTE ]
Stella!
Im going to hire one of those next weekend to see how I get on with it.
How do you find yours? What engine do you have?
I only have 1 14.2 so was going to take the partition out and see how she travels.

[/ QUOTE ] Mine is the 2.5DCi, because of the type of fuel injection, its more powerful in the lower gears than the 2.8 CDi! If you go to this website http://www.northernhorseboxes.co.uk/ and click on past customers, mine is the Jade Green one
smile.gif
 
well thats still probably approaching .5 tonne as water carriers are very heavy if full depending on size.

does make you realise.

Someon I know to get on ferry back home had to strip small 3.5t lorry of everything detachable (and i mean everything including the passenger seat!!) other than the two 14h2 ponies and the driver. luckily someone on the same boat back they knew had an empty trailer coming back having sold a pony so everything went in the trailer otherwise they would have truely been stuck up a creek without a paddle!!
 
That is exactly why I elected to go for a light Non - HGV and not a 3.5T, Though I think we may take ours to the local weightbridge and check it our unladen
 
anyone heard about this then....its true and its in operation already, I work for a company that has a large transport element..


for about a year there has been a system installed on the M25, near Junction 9, called WIMS (see title) this system, installed without most peoples knowledge as i am informed, it involves a channel dug into the ground across the road where sensors are placed that can weigh vehicles axle weights as they drive over it, combined with a computer system and gantry camera's they can identify the type of vehicle, take a picture, calculate its gross vehicle weight and can even determine how much overweight the vehicle is down to even a particular axle, basically an unavoidable, unmarked mobile weighbridge

such example picked up after a quick google http://www.goldenriver.com/ns/m671.html

if a vehicle is found to be outside the legal limits for weight/weight distribution the nearest VOSA patrol car is then notified, and they tug you over (over 40,000 so far since the system was installed), and a prohibition order is immediately placed on the vehicle and the driver, i.e you drive to the nearest available place to stop and you go no further, then if youre unlucky and cant sort the distribution of weight out on the spot, they throw the book at the driver, and subsequently the vehicle operator. If you are very unlucky you get tugged by a jobsworth (the majority of VOSA inspectors) and they give you no grounds for squirming, and thats the end of your licence, and if the operator cannot prove that the driver was given accurate and sufficient training and instruction thats the end of their licence as well or at best a damn heavy financial penalty

the M25 junction 9 system is a trial, there are plans to set them up on every motorway in the UK, followed by A roads, you can probly guarantee at least 4-6 on the M25 alone

best bit, we paid to buy and install it, so if anyone is ever wondering why public transport and other such worthy causes never get better, its because all the money goes on things like this, not that we didnt know it already, but still
 
must admit, i had heard of such things....but never knew if they were based on fact or fiction
tongue.gif
Looks liek they could become a reality then if they aren't already !?
 
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