Lorry test and cost of running a lorry?

I agree that you are making a sensible move, star. At the turn of the year I sat my LGV C test as did my OH and we bought an older 6 horse lorry which, while we don't need all the space, gives us lots of room and we don't have to worry about weight travelling 3 horses. Compared to my old Discovery that drinks fuel the lorry is fair and I don't find costs a lot to run or maintain. Maybe that's why we have kept our 7.5t as well for shorter journeys or destinations with tighter parking restrictions! After years of lorry owning I couldn't go back to a trailer, and especially for staying away.

Good luck!
 
I have just done my C + E this morning, I had a 5 day course and passed with 1 minor the course was £1100 and my theory already stood from my cat C.

I have done it as I have my 7.5 tonne lorry already which we go eventing in and staying away but I am getting a trailer for hunting so I don't have to sink my lorry in wet fields!
 
ROG ! Help how do people negotiate getting all this right without you online to advise them.
All the info I supply is online and any good LGV trainer should be pointing this out

The problem with the online official version is that it is not always put in such a way that is clear to many

I like to use plain English unless it detracts from the law - some things can only be said in legalese !! (is that a word?)
 
Ooh, useful thread. Can I expect to save any money if I do my lessons and test in my own lorry? I've just bought a 7.5T horsebox.
 
I bought my lorry in 2007 (it was a 1999 T Mercedes Atego- the body was built in 2005) and it was 7.5t. I paid £18,000 as the man needed to sell it that week (it was up for £22k.)

I drove it everywhere - at that time my husband "sat me up" with L plates on, I think the law has changed now and you can only be "taught" by someone who has taken the test.
I was so used to it I used it for my lessons and test and passed first time.

I had three lessons of two hours (the instructor came to me) and the test.

Costs: This was March 2007

Test etc:
Medical £68.00
Test £90.00
Lessons £600.00
Hazard thingy: £20.00


My Lorry costs (sold lorry in 2010 for £2000 more than I paid for it):

Loan (I didnt have that sort of cash!) £265 per month (for 6 years)
Tax £15.00 per month
Insurance £30.00 per month
Breakdown £10.00 per month
Plating £100.00 per month (around £1000k per year)
Keeping it at our yard £30.00 per month (bit steep but had no choice)
Plus diesel


I sold it as my mare went to stud and my horse developed a heart condition and I didnt know how much work he would be able to do.

I am currently pregnant and only have a 2 year old so wont be going to a show for a couple of years, but I would really like another one one day!
 
Ooh, useful thread. Can I expect to save any money if I do my lessons and test in my own lorry? I've just bought a 7.5T horsebox.
Yes but your lorry must conform to the DSA vehicle test standards

Rules for lorries, buses and coaches used for driving tests

Any supervising driver MUST have passed the DSA test which covers the C1 - just having the free pre 1997 C1 does not count - new laws from April 2010
 
My lorry does not have a tacho; it's a bigger van type. I wanted to take my test in it- if the schools train you in vans like that, can you not do the test in it?
 
My lorry does not have a tacho; it's a bigger van type. I wanted to take my test in it- if the schools train you in vans like that, can you not do the test in it?
Does it comply to this?

A sub-category C1 vehicle is a medium sized lorry:
•with a maximum authorised mass (MAM) of at least four tonnes
•at least five metres in length
•with a closed box cargo compartment at least as wide and as high as the cab

It must be fitted with:
•externally mounted nearside and offside mirrors
•seatbelts fitted to seats used by the examiner or any person supervising the test
•a tachograph
•an anti-lock braking system (ABS)

I called the DSA compliance dept on 0115 936 6666 to find out and unfortunately it cannot be used for the test without one :(
 
I didnt know you could take trainign and tests in your own lorry?!
I have just brougth a 7.5Ton and drive it on L Plates with a friend who did her test 5 years ago and I am pretty used to drivign it now!
Although I am not sure I conform to teh standards as it doesnt have any seat belts! lol
 
I didnt know you could take trainign and tests in your own lorry?!
I have just brougth a 7.5Ton and drive it on L Plates with a friend who did her test 5 years ago and I am pretty used to drivign it now!
Although I am not sure I conform to teh standards as it doesnt have any seat belts! lol
It will not conform because of having no seat belts

Good idea that you have already got a legal supervising driver to go out with

How are you with the DSA procedures for driving such as checking the blind spot correctly?
 
Doing your C test will mean you don't have to worry about the tonnage of the lorry in the same way as you would if you were only qualified to drive up to 7.5t. Also, when I was looking, for £15k you would get a nice enough 7.5t, but some very lovely 10/12t that were pretty much the same size as a full up 7.5t (26ft?) but room to take 3 big horses legally and be very comfortable for overnighters.

:

Agree with this.

I looked at the cost of doing my C1 or C and found there to be little difference. I opted for the C because it was not much more expensive, I would drive a very similar vehicle for the test and I thought it would give me more options in the future when I come to change my lorry.

I currently have a 5.6t (I think you've seen it before - purple and silver) with day living and would like to upgrade at some point as we are starting to do away shows.

Looking at adverts I have seen some really lovely 10 / 12t lorries cheaper than the equivalent 7.5t and it gives you more to play with in terms of payload etc.

I have the theory test booklet and roadsense DVD somewhere if you want them??
 
Hmm thanks rog!

Presumably then despite the schools training you in big vans, they don't do
The test in them?!? How odd, or are those vans fitted with tacho? !!
 
They have tachos in them

Star - I have not read all the threads but simply put I was too young to have grandfather rights re over 3.5 ton.

I did my 'rigid' test and can now drive anything that is over 3.5 up to 32 ton. Arctic in old age terms means 'top' test - i.e. the bendy lorrys! I think its unlikely you will need this. The test i think you are talking about when you say HGV is the same as what i did. LGV is the same but the length of the vehicle is different and weight less i.e. can only carry up to 7.5 - oddly enough i was told that the longer the vehicle, the easier it is to move.

Personally, i would say do the one below HGV (or whatever its called now!) That way you can always upgrade to a 10 ton lorry without any extra test!
 
For anyone in striking distance of Birmingham I can point you in the the right direction for class 2 meds at £35.00.

Don't even think about your own GP, mine wanted £182.00 when my licence had to be renewed for PSV and HGV - your having a laugh I said !!

I have not used either of my licences for a while but, never knowing what is round the corner work wise, I do keep renewing them every 5 years with meds and cpc's, so to find that much money for something I don't use made it feel even worse, but I may well go back to commercial driving when I retire so it is worth maintaining the licence.

PM me if anyone wants the names of the doctors doing the class 2's.
 
Trying to work out the costs of running a lorry is nigh on impossible. Of course you know how much the insurance & tax is & also the annual test & roughly how much fuel you will use on various journeys, those are the easy things. It's when something goes wrong with the lorry that the bills mount up. Everything on a lorry is expensive, every part,even when you want to do an oil change it costs a fortune, you can't just buy a gallon of oil & expect it to be enough like with a car.

I recent months I've had to replace a radiator & an exhaust & that little lot hurt me big time. My lorry is only 11 years old, so older than some but newer than many. When something needs doing you don't have any option really, you have to get it done & you have to find the money. I know this doesn't really help you with a costing but whatever you work out it definately won't be enough because something unexpected always happens to drain you of cash. :(
 
The running costs of a lorry (apart from maintenance) are prettywell fixed. It is the maintenance thing that is the bugbear. If you start with a piece of poo , then even the best mechanic will find it hard to keep ahead of the faults. The idea of preventative maintenance is to fix things BEFORE they break.Oddly enough ,the more modern the lorry ,the harder this has become. The reason for this is that a modern lorry is a commercial vehicle with a very definate life expectancy. They are designed to work hard for a few years and then die. They are not designed for the living hell that the average horsebox owner subjects them to. You will find that the common rail electronicly controlled injection of a modern lorry is absolutely the last thing you want in a horsebox that is parked up for days on end.You might as well burn money or pay a vet:eek:....oh yes you are a vet:D sorry star I couldnt resist that:D
 
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