Guest ALAN Posted February 9, 2005 Share Posted February 9, 2005 MY WIFE AND I ARE GOING TO BECOME FULL TIMERS SOON AND WILL BE BUYING AN AMERICAN RV.WHEN I SPOKE TO AN RV DEALER HE SAID THE HGV 7.5T CAR LICENCE LIMIT IS A GREY AREA & DOES NOT APPLY BECAUSE THEY ARE MOT CLASS 4 (CAR CLASS) AND TAXED AS A CAR,AND NOT A COMMERCIAL HGV VEHICLE.IS THIS CORRECT? I PASSED MY CAR TEST 20 YEARS AGO,CAN I DRIVE OVER 7.5T? CAN ANY ONE HELP? REGARDS ALAN. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Clive Posted February 9, 2005 Share Posted February 9, 2005 Only you can answer this one accurately. You must look at your driving license and the little booklet we now get with it. This shows all the classes. It is definately NOT a grey area. You are either entitled or you are not. If you gamble on this and have an accident your insurance will also be invalid if your licence is not appropriate. It is true that someone with a relatively new car license can no longer drive over 7.5 tonne, but us more mature drivers should still have this entitlement - providing it wasn't left off last time it was renewed by the DVLC by accident. You also need to be aware that the resale value of used large RV,s over 7.5 tonnes wil be reduced in the UK because of the restricted number of potential customers who can drive them. So there are some second hand bargains to be had if thats what you want to do! If you are full time touring on the continent then a Yank is OK. Don,t forget you will need a tender of some sort. I would question its suitability in the UK as a tourer. If you don,t intend to tour why buy a motorhome? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Derek Uzzell Posted February 10, 2005 Share Posted February 10, 2005 If you obtain the DVLA's leaflet D100 "What you need to know about driving licences" (available from Post Offices), you'll find a section on Motorhomes. This states: "A category C1 driving licence is necessary to drive any vehicle, including a motorhome between 3.5 and 7.5 tonnes, and a category C licence if over 7.5 tonnes." I passed my car test 40 years ago and I am only licensed to drive vehicles up to 7.5 tonnes, so it's unlikely you have a licence permitting you to drive anything heavier (unless you've taken an HGV test somewhere down the line of course). Besides confirming this with leaflet D100 (and checking your own licence details), it would be worth you referring to Mel Eastburn's series of articles "It Ain't Heavy - It's My Motorhome" beginning in MMM August 2004. If an RV dealer offered me such dubious advice, I would definitely think more than twice about the wisdom of purchasing a motorhome from that dealership. Clive: When you say "someone with a relatively new car license can no longer drive over 7.5 tonne", I'm sure you meant to say "...can no longer drive over 3.5 tonne". Since 1.1.1997 new drivers only get "B" category licences limiting them to 3.5t maximum-weight vehicles and a further test is required if they wish to drive heavier vehicles. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Pat Posted February 10, 2005 Share Posted February 10, 2005 HI for once I agree with Clive it is quite simple you just have to look at the gross weight of the RV usually displayed on a sticker or plate near the drivers seat this will give the weight in lbs, convert this to kgs if it is over 7500kgs you are not entitled to drive the vehicle. If you decide to go ahead and drive because of what you call " this grey area" and chances are that you will never be stopped or questioned on your entitlement to drive but you would NOT be insured an error that could cost you very dearly. There are plenty of RV's at or under the 7500kgs weight although the larger models at this weight would suffer from a distinct lack of payload. Pat Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Neal Posted February 10, 2005 Share Posted February 10, 2005 Alan Derek and Pat are absolutely correct. Unless you have an LGV/HGV licience you are definitely not permitted to drive an RV over 7.5 tonnes gross weight. No grey area. No doubt. Modern build techniques allow quite generous payloads (much better that some small euro models) up to and including 32 feet long. Clive made an error, either a typo or a mistake, recent liciences limit driving to 3.5 tonnes as Derek pointed out. Regards Neal Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Pol Emique Posted February 11, 2005 Share Posted February 11, 2005 Europe's motorways, europe's campsites and europe's petrol stations await you! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Clive Posted February 11, 2005 Share Posted February 11, 2005 Derek is of course correct in his correction. It should read 3.5 tonne. Thank you. Clive (HGV class1 and a "Grandfathers" coach license!) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Neal Posted February 11, 2005 Share Posted February 11, 2005 Alan Have no fear of europe's motorways or their petrol stations, you will have no problems. SOME of the campsites will be challenging, if not impossible, as they hark back to the old days when caravan was king. As each season passes these become less and less. The secret is to "reccy" each site BEFORE driving right in. Good luck and enjoy Neal Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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