Up-rating a 7.5t horsebox

[Cragrat]

Has anyone up-rated their 7.5t horsebox?
I've just sent an enquiry form in to SVTech, but was wondering if anyone on here had any experiences, good or bad, to share? Was it worth the cost?
I'd like up to 8 to 9t if it's do-able......

 

[MrsMozart]

We once looked at uprating our 3.5t to a 4.5t if I remember right. Mechnic said not to do it, more hassle and stress than worth. I don't know if it would be the same for a bigger lorry.

 

[Melody Grey]

I don’t know about the practicalities, but like uprating a 3.5t, it’ll put it into a different catagory of licensing which may affect value- would go into class c rather than c1…so fewer people would be able to drive it. Only class C HGV drivers, whereas my 7.5t can be driven on c1 license or by those with grandfather rights. May also affect whether it’s classed as commercial or domestic. Worth looking into as it might be significant.

 

[Cragrat]

Thank you - good points. I will need to look into how it affects insurance etc. I do know it can remain classed as a private goods vehicle, but I'm not clear on tacho's yet - I've had some conflicting answers on that, so I'll go straight to DVLA/VOSA if it seems feasible mechanically.

The reason I'm thinking of doing is that the lorry is perfectly set up for me. Howver, it probaly wouldn't appeal to may others as it is I've spent a lot of time / effort getting it just how I want it, but I dumbly didn't think about the wieght of a few things, and I now want to carry 3 at times, so.....

I could strip the new floor out and put ali planks in, remove the heavy rubber mats and put EVA in, and look into removing some iron work for a closed off door at the rear. Possibly removing the huge and wonderful luton and putitng a new fibreglass pod on might also save some weight. But all that will also be quite expensive, and will probably only gain me 4 to 500 kg, which isn't really enough for another horse plus tack etc.

 

[neddy man]

Also going up a weight to over 7.5 will restrict who can drive it, over 7.5 you need a class c licence. Do you and oh both have the licence, many only have the 7.5 c1 licence, how many of your friend have the over 7.5 licence to drive you home in an emergency, I'm sure the insurance will be a chunk more money, worth giving your insurance company a ring to check. Plus i think for hgv the licence only lasts for 5 years and you then have to do a 35 hour refresher course to renew your licence. I'm over 70 and to renew my 7.5 licence I have to have extensive eye test and doctors health test every 3 years, it may not apply to younger people, but I'm sure there will be health and sight tests for over7.5 class c drivers.

 

[blitznbobs]

You would have to have a tacho system installed and use it for a start off and it will devalue your lorry as there are a lot less people who can drive it … it might be cheaper to sell it and buy a bigger one

You also need a different licence which I assume you already have

 

[Cragrat]

It is classed on the V5, and taxed, as Private HGV.

30.Vehicle is no longer used for the carriage of goods and is taxed as a Private HGVDECLARATION: I declare that vehicle registration mark……………….. is exempt from thetachograph fitment and calibration requirement for reason ……….. (1-30 as applicable) above.

Private/HGV Goods vehicles, with a revenue weight in excess of 3,500kg, used privately.

No mention on the gov web sites of it needing a tacho above 7.5t, if it's still used privately.

The resale value of mine is probably quite low as it stands, but I am very fond of it and have invested a lot of time as well as money hopefully making it reliable and trustworthy for a long future with me, so I am exploring all options before starting again

 

[tda]

I think you need to look at the plate, the actual metal plate inside the cab door maybe or in the engine bay to see what the axles are plated to. Or this info might be shown on a paper document

 

[Cragrat]

It has 5t and 3.4t, so I think that means I could go to 8.4t?

 

[tda]

I think you have to allow a bit, not go to the maximum so could maybe go up to 8 ton without amendments to the vehicle, which I think you said might not be enough.

I only know this because I asked my brother last week who has a haulage company , about uprating my 3.5ton wagon

 

[Cragrat]

I think you have to allow a bit, not go to the maximum so could maybe go up to 8 ton without amendments to the vehicle, which I think you said might not be enough.

I only know this because I asked my brother last week who has a haulage company , about uprating my 3.5ton wagon

Good to know, thank you. I could make 8t work, by also doing a few things like changing the floor matting. I would have to weigh up the cost:benefit.

 

[Polos Mum]

We uprated our 3.5 to 4.5 - it was really simple - mostly paper work and physical changes about £250 of changes to break blocks / springs.
SVTECH were really helpful and did most paperwork for us - for a chunky fee.

Insurance cost didn't change for us
We got a refund on the tax - which I don't understand but happy to have !
We now have to plate not MOT - so take it to a different garage - not spotted any meaningful difference in cost.

I wanted to carry two legally and nearly no 3.5's can do that - unless you have 12.2 light weights.

It does mean only us oldies can drive it - but that's fine.
Above 7.5 tonne I am pretty sure it's a special license.

Value wise - I wanted to actually use it so less of a focus - my rationale was that there's 100's of illegally driven 3.5 who are over weight.
When trying to buy a 4.5 they were few and far so hopefully the fact that I have a narrower pool of buyers (because you can't drive it on bog standard license) is outweighed by rarrity

I

 

[Cragrat]

Thank you Polo's Mum- that's encouraging. Nice to know SVTech were good.
My thoughts about value are similar to yours- I have no intention of selling ( though I realise situations change) and if I can uprate it I'll have a short, manoeuvrable lorry legally capable of carrying 3 x 600kg horses. There are plenty of people with their C licence that I know of.

 

[Identityincrisis]

You would have to have a tacho system installed and use it for a start off and it will devalue your lorry as there are a lot less people who can drive it … it might be cheaper to sell it and buy a bigger one

You also need a different licence which I assume you already have

They only need a tacho if it’s going to be used for business purposes, private horseboxes for personal use do not need them

 

[Northern Hare]

Another vote for SV Tech, except we didn't use them for a horsebox but for our motorhome!

Having had a 3.5t horsebox in the past which I struggled to keep under 3.5t (with just one horse on board + kit), it's exactly the same situation in the world of motorhomes, with many motorhomes sold as being 3.5t but with insufficient payload to be able to stay below the limit.

SV Tech were very helpful and told us how far we could uprate our motorhome as a paperwork exercise, which in our case was to 4,050kg.

We're always amazed when we chat to other motorhome users about payload weights and they are 100% oblivious! I used to think the same about many 3.5t horsebox owners - the amount of 3.5t horseboxes at events where they've got two horses plus a mountain of kit, water etc etc on board.

 

[Cragrat]

They only need a tacho if it’s going to be used for business purposes, private horseboxes for personal use do not need them

Thank you, that's what I had read too Mine currently has a tacho simulator in, but it would be relatively easy to plug a proper tachi in if I needed too - would just need calibrating.

 

[Cragrat]

Another vote for SV Tech, except we didn't use them for a horsebox but for our motorhome!

Having had a 3.5t horsebox in the past which I struggled to keep under 3.5t (with just one horse on board + kit), it's exactly the same situation in the world of motorhomes, with many motorhomes sold as being 3.5t but with insufficient payload to be able to stay below the limit.

SV Tech were very helpful and told us how far we could uprate our motorhome as a paperwork exercise, which in our case was to 4,050kg.

We're always amazed when we chat to other motorhome users about payload weights and they are 100% oblivious! I used to think the same about many 3.5t horsebox owners - the amount of 3.5t horseboxes at events where they've got two horses plus a mountain of kit, water etc etc on board.

Thank you - fingers crossed SVT can wave a wand over my lorry too