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rafabreeze
Gold Member
757 Posts |
 Posted - 19 Mar 2009 : 08:52:18 AM
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Hi,
Im in the process of purchasing a lorry for the show season. I have been told that you to make sure your lorry has a weight certificate? Can anyone throw any light on this ie what happens if you havent got one etc and how do you get one if your lorry doesnt have one. Also about a new regulation for mirrors?
A ny other advise on what I should be looking for (I dont mean safe for horse to travel in as that is general common sense). Pointers please - Georgina and Rafa x
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rafabreeze
Gold Member
757 Posts |
Posted - 19 Mar 2009 : 12:24:15 PM
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| Someone must have a lorry and know the regs??? Georgina |
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misterei
Silver Member
United Kingdom
455 Posts |
Posted - 19 Mar 2009 : 3:30:33 PM
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VOSA (www.vosa.gov.uk) manage the regulations for drivers hours and the weight, load and safety of all vehicles. They are the people often working in conjunction with the police who may pull vehicles and check them over. They are looking for overloading, (or insecure loads for non-horsey vehicles), faulty vehicles (e.g. no brakes or worn tyres etc) and for commercial drivers who exceed their hours.
Just because a vehicle has space for 4 horses, doesn't mean it can legally or safely carry four heavy horses, the laden weight is the measure used for enforcement.
Vehicles are 'plated' annually, with the MOT and certified to carry a particlar load. The load depends on the size of the vehicle and any customisation etc. The driver may need an HGV licence depending on their age and the weight of the vehicle. It can be complicated, and it is possible to buy a customised vehicle and for it to be overweight without any horses in it, (this actually happened as the vehicle was down on its suspension, was pulled over, and the owner had just collected it after it had been customised. No horses on board it was already overweight. Good thing is he took it back, they helped him as they also work closely with trading standards).
Try the VOSA web site for more details, and ask to see the plate when you visit buyers. |
Here they are
Emira......Mazie...Fharida.....Shahi......Mazie.....Saffee..Malika...Emira
More at www.purespiritarabians.com |
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Jude
Bronze Member
United Kingdom
81 Posts |
Posted - 19 Mar 2009 : 4:28:15 PM
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Basically nobody is allowed to drive a vehicle weighing over 7.5 tons fully loaded unless they have passed an HGV driving test. If you passed a driving test before January 1997 you are allowed to drive up to 7.5 tons (grandfathers' rights) and if driving test passed after 1997 up to 3.5 tons. Obviously the unladen weight of any lorry purchased is important to enable you to calculate the payload - i.e. how much weight you can add before reaching the maximum load permitted (this is shown on the plating certificate inside the cab of the lorry). IMO there is very unlikely to be any lorry that can carry more than 3 horses and still be under 7.5 tons, in fact most "3 horse" lorries can only legally carry 2 plus humans, tack, water, fuel and the kitchen sink before being overweight. If the person selling the lorry cannot provide a weight certificate you should arrange to have the lorry taken to a public weighbridge before committing to buying it - far too many people have been caught out this way. Another way of finding out the unladen weight is to look at the last test certificate, which will give details (not necessarily accurate) of the weight of the vehicle when it was tested.
The regulation for mirrors (and the one for lights on the side of the lorry) depends on the age of the vehicle. VOSA website is the best source of information but the OHTO website is pretty informative as well. |
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Jude
Bronze Member
United Kingdom
81 Posts |
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rafabreeze
Gold Member
757 Posts |
Posted - 19 Mar 2009 : 4:35:11 PM
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| Jude, Can i ask is the weight certificate the same as the plating certificate? or is the weight certificate something else entirely? G |
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loosefur
Gold Member
584 Posts |
Posted - 19 Mar 2009 : 5:41:19 PM
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| A weight certificate is something different to the plating. Without a current plating the lorry is illegal to drive (like a car's MOT). A weight certificate isn't a legal requirement but something recommended to get when buying a wagon to make sure it has enough payload for what you need. To get a weighing certificate go to your local public weigh bridge, with a full tank of fuel and basically weigh your vehicle. My 3.5t box weighs in at 1.3 tonnes. This means I have 1.2 tonnes of payload to play with, which equates to two small horses and me, or one large horse and two passengers, or one small horse, gear and me. |
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Theo
Silver Member
England
368 Posts |
Posted - 19 Mar 2009 : 9:27:33 PM
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Hi Georgina,
As far as I understand the situation, at the last plating (MOT) of my 7.5t wagon, the vehicle got weighed as it was, without horses etc at the time of the test... this gave the 'unladen' weight of the vehicle, so for example if it weighed in at 6000kgs, this gives you up to 1500kgs of load allowance (ie 3 large horses or a family of miniatures!) as it stands... however, don't forget to account for extra weight of tack, overnight kit, water, gas bottles, hay, feed, bedding etc when you load up the vehicle. Hence if in doubt, always take your vehicle to a weighbridge and check upon it's unladen weight as Loosefur suggests. It's the driver's responsibility to ensure that the vehicle is not overloaded. I'm not aware that there are any new regulations as to rear view mirrors on the vehicles apart from the fact that you have to have mirrors both sides, blind spot mirrors do help, but then again we're not regularly driving horsboxes in central London for the sheer sake of it?
Good luck!
T :) x |
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Edited by - Theo on 19 Mar 2009 9:31:05 PM |
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Margaret
Silver Member
Scotland
372 Posts |
Posted - 19 Mar 2009 : 9:41:06 PM
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I think Theo was lucky if her lorry was weighed at her MOT - they don't usually do it. I got my old lorry weighed at my local weighbridge (at the quarry); not sure where you find your local weighbridge!
The plating actually refers to when the vehicle was originally registered; the annual check is a MOT just like your car has.
If you passed your driving test before January 1997 you can drive a lorry up to 7.5 tons without anything extra, but if it was after that you have to take another test (and theory test) - it's quite expensive particularly when you add in the specialist lessons, and you really need those. |
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misterei
Silver Member
United Kingdom
455 Posts |
Posted - 19 Mar 2009 : 10:03:03 PM
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If you do get it weighed I would (laughingly) suggest washing all the mud off the bottom first. When I was working with VOSA I laughed at them as one of the senior examiners described horse boxes paraphrased below, with a Somerset accent. Naturally the owner spoke like Mrs Forbes-Hamilton
'they come in in their posh clothes, and expect you to crawl underneath. they haven't washed the mud off so you can't see any rust or touch anything without getting an eyeful... Then, when you tell them it's muddy and you can't inspect it, they come back with,
'Why not, you're already covered with muck and grease...'
I am sure they didn't mean Arab horse boxes, which I believe float at a trot, and are very balanced in a canter, and very rarely |
Here they are
Emira......Mazie...Fharida.....Shahi......Mazie.....Saffee..Malika...Emira
More at www.purespiritarabians.com |
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precious
Platinum Member
England
2253 Posts |
Posted - 20 Mar 2009 : 08:29:11 AM
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Im sure on the plating report it will have the weight of the lorry on it ours did.
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Gemma Thompson
Birmingham West Midlands
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rafabreeze
Gold Member
757 Posts |
Posted - 20 Mar 2009 : 08:57:00 AM
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| Thanks very much for all your replies Im clearer in my mind now, apparently the lorry im going to look at at the weekend was weighed with a full tank and all the tact etc (no horse) and weight just over 5ton? so hopefully with Rafa in, it wont be overweight. Thanks for all your help anbd wish we luck at the weekend- Georgina |
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angelarab
Platinum Member
Wales
2876 Posts |
Posted - 20 Mar 2009 : 2:11:51 PM
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you did say in a previous post "the ever growing Rafa!" hope he doesn't make 1500kg that would be one hugeeeee Arab |
 "Until one has loved an animal, part of their soul remains unawakened."
www.northwalesarab.co.uk |
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rafabreeze
Gold Member
757 Posts |
Posted - 21 Mar 2009 : 7:02:02 PM
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| Hi Angel, upwards and not outwards lol (I hope) he is practically 15:3hh now and only just 4 well 4 next Wednesday, bless him - hope he doesnt get much bigger tho - Love GnR xx |
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