Vehicle transporters

[bobed90]

Im considering purchasing an ex recovery truck to transport my 90 to events on. I cant tow it on a trailer as the car we currently have is limited to 1700kgs and i cant change it for another 2 years. I dont have a c1 licence so i am limited to only 3.5 ton. I also need the vehicle to have a crewcab as i often take family along with me to events.

Are there any suitable vehicles out there? or is a landrover going to be to heavy. What ever i get, it will also need to be able to tow a caravan, as the wife will not sleep in a tent!! Which is another one of the reasons why i cant tow it on a trailer.

Any advice greatly received

Jason

[disco tony]

not sure about your licence, depends on when you passed your test afaik? anyway, suitable trucks are out there like this

[lrfarmer]

you may want to get you truck wighted as a 3.5ton truck with crewcab and a fully kitted out 90 say may be over the 3.5 M.G.W.

[plasticbadger]

As stated above ^ a Transit type recovery truck will be nearly 2000kg, a fully kitted 90 will be nearly 2000kg, so together you're over 3.5T.

If you don't have C1 presumably you don't have B+E to tow with either? Therefore you're better off getting your C1 license and buying a cheap 7.5 tonner - it will carry the 90 much better, probably be better fuel consumption under load and be fully legal.

Or, get your B+E and buy a specific tow truck and a trailer.

[cieranc]

Agree with the above. We've just finished building our Transit. We already had the van with a luton body on it. The bed is the deck off a Brenderupp tilt bed car trailer, which was already in the yard. A bit of steelwork, extended and angles the chassis and it's all done. Although built to be as light as possible, it still weighs off at 2060kgs, which only leaves a payload of 1440kgs, which your 90 will be over.

I'm guessing by the fact you can drive 3.5 ton that you've passed your test after 1997, when the entitlements changed?

If so, you'll only be able to tow 750kgs trailer anyway (used to be able to tow 3.5 ton trailer).

So be careful if you're going down the trailer route, and check the weight of the caravan!

Also, if you're thinking about doing your trailer test, price up a class2 or class1 course. One of our lads paid nearly £500 for his trailer course, could have done a class 1 for that!

[Bobtail-Jay]

My dads used an 7.5ton daf to get my landy about

much better than a 3.5ton thing

[bobed90]

I am going to take my trailer test in the next month or two. I have been thinking of doing my lgv test for a while. Currently i would not pass the required medical due to being struck down with a very painfull form of arthritus. Hopefully though i should be on the mend with the right medication soon though.

Ideally i need either a 3.5 or 7.5 ton recovery truck, to be able to put the landy on the back and tow the caravan. My other option was a motorhome and tow the landrover, which would be easier. But motorhomes under 3.5ton are very small and exspensive for what you get compared to a caravan. I can get a caravan and recovery truck for a 3rd of the price of a decent motorhome and trailer.

How much does a landrover 90 300tdi hardtop weigh with a full cage and all the usual kit? I managed to find some info on the web which showed the weight as around 1700kgs, which i thought would mean with all the kit on would weigh less than 2 ton?

Thanks for all the info so far.

Jason

[marsie]

My 90 truckcab with cage and winches loaded up with waffles,spare tyre etc. used to weigh 2250kgs so would be well over on a 3.5t transporter.i seem to remember somebody having a iveco transporter uprated to 5ton but cant remember who it was?. Personally i have always towed my car on a hired 3.5 ton trailer(costs about £120 for a weekend but over £5000 to buy!!!) that way i dont have to worry about maintainance and storage,but you need a good towcar!!

Paul

[j90 mud]

the easiest option is to pass your uprated test so that you can tow 3500kgs and do as paul says and hire a trl and or van.

make sure your insurance covers you for towing as a lot don't. once you start buying 7.5t you are straying into a max speed limit of 56 mph, servicing etc etc. we tow ours behind a transit in summer or 4x4 in winter.

the only trucks that were 4.5 to 6.5t are things such as mitsubishi canters that were built for car delivery or simlar and they are cheap to buy but have been worked hard.

[plasticbadger]

In my mind you can't beat a big old yank tank. I use my work's Ford F350 for some events, but I'm currently looking at buying my own. Full-size american pick ups are cheap in the current market, with some good ones now under £3K. Normally they're plated at 3.5T, which means you can't load them, so look for a class 7 registered truck.

Chuck in a hard top for the 8ft pick up bed and a £500 car trailer and you've a nice set up that will carry a ton and pull 3 ton all day long at 70 mph and you can sleep in the back! I've even spent plenty of nights on the back seat of the F350 while in Europe.

[lrfarmer]

I am going to take my trailer test in the next month or two. I have been thinking of doing my lgv test for a while. Currently i would not pass the required medical due to being struck down with a very painfull form of arthritus. Hopefully though i should be on the mend with the right medication soon though.

Ideally i need either a 3.5 or 7.5 ton recovery truck, to be able to put the landy on the back and tow the caravan. My other option was a motorhome and tow the landrover, which would be easier. But motorhomes under 3.5ton are very small and exspensive for what you get compared to a caravan. I can get a caravan and recovery truck for a 3rd of the price of a decent motorhome and trailer.

How much does a landrover 90 300tdi hardtop weigh with a full cage and all the usual kit? I managed to find some info on the web which showed the weight as around 1700kgs, which i thought would mean with all the kit on would weigh less than 2 ton?

Thanks for all the info so far.

Jason

to get the towing limit you'd need a big winniebaygo ahd a HGV

you may need a HGV for a 7.5ton and caravan as i was looking at it

[j999dpt]

i was in the same situation as you i got my licence in 2003.

i chose to do my BE trailer test. towing is ok. but a 7.5 tonner would be more comfortable but the cost of doing ya test buying storeing maintaining is more expecsive than hireing a trailer.

i will eventually upgrade to a 7.5 tonner it seems the most comfortable way to travel + sleep but costs ££££

[zardos]

Just go the whole hog and get something like

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/VOLVO-B10M-53-SEATER...93%3A1|294%3A50

We did :-)

You will need a HGV licenses for it though.

[kellyv8]

to tow a trailer behind a 7.5 tonner you need a hgv

a transit cant legally carry a landrover as it goes on axle weight not gross

[FLR100]

to tow a trailer behind a 7.5 tonner you need a hgv

a transit cant legally carry a landrover as it goes on axle weight not gross

i think if you look at your licence closeley you can tow behind a 7.5 ton truck upto a gross train weight of upto 12 tonne without a lgv licence, i have seen a landy on the back of a transit and it does not look nice and i would certainly not attempt to drive one

i use a 7.5 ton truck and it is far cheaper to run than my shgun and trailer in both fuel, and road tax, i can sit at 65-70mph in comfot and not worry about what a trailer is doing,

if you are prepared to tax/insure another vehicle then the only way to do it is 7.5 ton and get your license

[Mark90]

i think if you look at your licence closeley you can tow behind a 7.5 ton truck upto a gross train weight of upto 12 tonne without a lgv licence,

Only if you have passed a specific test to give full C1+E entitlement. If you have C1+E as a result of passing your test prior to 1997 then look closely at your license and you will see the train weight is limited to 8.25T

[Orgasmic Farmer]

Just for information. We once put a challenge spec 90 with a few spares on a 3.5 tonne transporter and took it to the local weigh bridge. It came in a 4.85 Tonnes! Saying that, chap I know who has the truck now regularly takes his comp safari motor (a bit lighter but not that much!) all round the country while towing a caravan behind.

IMHO a trailer behind a big 4x4 is the only sensible option for most people. For the price of a years tax. mot and insurance you can buy a decent trailer which costs nothing to keep when sat in the corner. Good second hand trailers don't seem to depreciate much either

[Orgasmic Farmer]

The daftness of the thing is that if the 3.5 tonne transporter is used to carry the caravan while towing the landrover on a trailer then it becomes legal!

[landmannnn]

Only if you have passed a specific test to give full C1+E entitlement. If you have C1+E as a result of passing your test prior to 1997 then look closely at your license and you will see the train weight is limited to 8.25T

True, but a 7.5 tonner weighs 3t unladen, land rover 2t and a caravan 2t (laden). Adding this up still gives 1.25t margin.

[extreamlandy90]

I use a plant trailer which is perfect for us as we then use it around the yard!!

But I do like D44's setup very much so :

http://www.devon4x4.com/gallery/204/howlin...ture-13015.html

Mark

[zardos]

Just for information. We once put a challenge spec 90 with a few spares on a 3.5 tonne transporter and took it to the local weigh bridge. It came in a 4.85 Tonnes! Saying that, chap I know who has the truck now regularly takes his comp safari motor (a bit lighter but not that much!) all round the country while towing a caravan behind.

IMHO a trailer behind a big 4x4 is the only sensible option for most people. For the price of a years tax. mot and insurance you can buy a decent trailer which costs nothing to keep when sat in the corner. Good second hand trailers don't seem to depreciate much either

Definitely don't do what I saw at a recent competition, somebody towing a 90 behind a what looked like a Vauxhall Astra

It is recommended that the trailer and it's contents weighs no more than 75% of the tow car weight.

75% to 100% is a grey area.

over 100% is seen as dangerous / careless driving.

Note the maximum towing capability of the vehicle has nothing to do with this as that is calculated on what the vehicle can manage a hill start with.

So on a Landrover that is easy, just put it in low box :-) to hill start with 3.5T

[Aragorn]

The 75% tow car weight is simply a recommendation.

If you have +E there is no limit on the weight of the trailer, as long as you dont exceed the maximum train weight or maximum towing weight set by the manufacturer of the vehicle thats going the towing.

Meaning putting a 3.5T trailer behind an empty landrover is perfectly fine, even though the landrover only weighs 1.7T empty

Discomikey: towing your 90 on a bar is fine, as long as the 90 is insured, taxed and MOT'd. If its not it cant be towed legally on a bar. Bars and ropes should only be used in emergencys anyway rather than a planned means of transportation, and theres NOTHING in the law to say you cant use a rope, simply that a solid bar is preferred, except for motorways.

Something i've seen recently involved a motorhome pulling a toyota yaris on an A frame. This is also illegal, as the yaris is then classed as an unbraked trailer, and exceeds the weight limits allowed for unbraked trailers (750kg)

[western]

The 75% tow car weight is simply a recommendation.

If you have +E there is no limit on the weight of the trailer, as long as you dont exceed the maximum train weight or maximum towing weight set by the manufacturer of the vehicle thats going the towing.

Meaning putting a 3.5T trailer behind an empty landrover is perfectly fine, even though the landrover only weighs 1.7T empty

Discomikey: towing your 90 on a bar is fine, as long as the 90 is insured, taxed and MOT'd. If its not it cant be towed legally on a bar. Bars and ropes should only be used in emergencys anyway rather than a planned means of transportation, and theres NOTHING in the law to say you cant use a rope, simply that a solid bar is preferred, except for motorways.

Something i've seen recently involved a motorhome pulling a toyota yaris on an A frame. This is also illegal, as the yaris is then classed as an unbraked trailer, and exceeds the weight limits allowed for unbraked trailers (750kg)

solid bar is the preffered method of removing a vehicle from a motorway or dual carriageway to a place of safety [i.e. nearest service area or next junction]

the A frames used on motorhomes are fitted with a braking system & some have a connection to the towed vehicles brakes, depending on the tow vehicles weight dependes on the vehicle size/weight than can be towed behind, recently spotted a coach sized motorhome with a volve xc90 on a A frame behind it & it was braked as I could see electrical & flexible hoses passing from the motorhome to the xc90.

[disco_al]

I thought the issue with using an A-frame for anything other than recovery was that the towed vehicle is classified as a trailer and then requires auto reverse brakes

correct, if it is over 750kg then the brakes/lights have to be linked into the towing vehicle, which then reclasses it as a large trailer IIRC, which theoretically speaking shouldn't need tax/test/insurance.

there are plenty of companies out there that do this for cars towed behind motorhomes, have seen a few Yaris's being towed behind large motorhomes, with the brakes/lights etc linked into the motorhome system.

as a side, in the disco manual, if it has coupled brakes then it can legally tow upto 4.5 tonnes.

[plasticbadger]

I'm still a fan of the big yank and trailer combo. You can, kinda, use the yank as a daily drive and you can drive the combo below on a pre-1997 licence.

Seriously though, as echoed above, my trailer cost £250 and is stored for free. You then just need to have something to it with, a disco would do.