Does anyone know the rough cost of turning a 7.5 tonner into a 12?
Whole cost, parts, labour and replating?
Want to present a case to my TM, he’s not the most willing to spend fella on the planet, so I doubt he’d buy a new motor (but doesn’t do second hand) but he might listen to me if I can present him a cheaper option.
Cheers
This is a very strange question.
Put the whole idea out of your head, because frankly, none of it makes sense.
I’ve heard of it done before. Mate of mine worked for Lynx, and they upgraded a load of their 7.5s. He seemed to think they “just put some bigger wheels on” but I’m not daft enough to think that was all that was needed.
I don’t know the answer to your question but I would think the cost would be considerably more than selling your 7.5 tonner and buying a 12 tonner.
Paul
PaulNowak:
I’ve heard of it done before. Mate of mine worked for Lynx, and they upgraded a load of their 7.5s. He seemed to think they “just put some bigger wheels on” but I’m not daft enough to think that was all that was needed.
The only way to get the exact answer would be to take it to a test station, I would doubt its only the wheels, you’d need to upgrade the springs as well ( assuming your lorry was built as a 7.5 tonner and not downplated to one ) you may also need to do something to the brakes and the wheel hubs ( I’ve never seen a 12 tonner on 6 wheel nuts) .
Why do you need the extra capacity? Do you regularly run overweight?
It’s just not going to be economical to change from a 7.5 to a 12
A mate of mine bought an ex bread van 7.5t with a droptail Luton body & had it uprated for considerably less than the average price of buying a 12t with the same body spec for use in home removals. I remember him being very excited about all the £money he was saving 
I don’t know exactly how much he spent (& he ain’t saying) but he does wish he went the 12t route to start with, truck drives like a pile of ■■■ & is very underpowered when loaded.
What is it ?
Some are easier than others.
Aren’t most 7.5t vehicles designed as 10 tonners and rated at 7.5t? Sure I heard that once, if you look at an Iveco 100E18 or whatever isn’t it basically the same. The 13t chassis are bigger but not as large as the 18t’s
Or have I got that completely wrong?
We had it done on a 7.5 Iveco we had because it was converted as a race transporter etc. It is a chunk of hassle and my advise would be not to…
We uprated the springs- from 3 to 5 leafs on the rear and from 2-4 on the front, as well as having blocks fitted to lift the ride height a bit to give it the travel with the extra weight/leaves removing clearance. Wheels were apparently OK for the extra load, but all of the tyres needed changing. If its old enough (assuming its not if the boss dosn’t like spending!?) to not be speed limited then at 12T it will need a limiter fitted - I think its 11.5T this is needed? VOSA test station advised on this point.
You then need to check with VOSA Swansea who have a list of the design specs on most older trucks- you may find that the hubs/axles are only rated to 9T etc. In our case we were good to 9.5T with all of the running gear. Your brakes obviously still need to meet the test requirements at the new plated weight, but should do so if well maintained.
So all in all for us to do 7.5T to 9.5T cost the tyres (£200 x 6 ish) and the spring up-rate (£1200 from Wembley Springs i think), and an inspection from VOSA to re-plate.
The biggest problem was driving the bugger at 9T- no power, not enough gears and would struggle to hold 35-40 mph up many motorway hills, sluggish to respond to steering, rolls a lot, and is generally very unsuitable for the job, and ours was only occasionally used. Anyhow tugging the class 1 feels like being on a magic carpet by comparison.
If your tyres are good for it, it may cost very little, but having been there and done it I would advise against wanting to drive such a beast.
I talked to a LGV trainer who had done this and he said they had to uprate the suspension
It still had its original wheels and tyres
I think the minimum is to add a couple of new leaves into the springs or fit uprated springs if they are monoleaf. Like Dennis I imagine you would need 8 stud rims and also the engine may be a bit lacking. Much easier to speak to the local dealer and tell him what you need. Swapping a lorry would be the much easier option.
Years ago we used to downrate lorries for caravan work but that was done by fitting different bolts in the propshaft, removing bump stops and a leaf from the springs. I believe now it is just a paper exercise and only involves a trip to the test station for a onceover.
6 stud rims on the 12 tonner I saw being used for LGV training
The best people to ask are SV Tech at leyland they are very good,I wouldn’t think a 7.5 tonne would go to 12 though.
Wheel Nut:
I think the minimum is to add a couple of new leaves into the springs or fit uprated springs if they are monoleaf. Like Dennis I imagine you would need 8 stud rims and also the engine may be a bit lacking. Much easier to speak to the local dealer and tell him what you need. Swapping a lorry would be the much easier option.Years ago we used to downrate lorries for caravan work but that was done by fitting different bolts in the propshaft, removing bump stops and a leaf from the springs. I believe now it is just a paper exercise and only involves a trip to the test station for a onceover.
You’ve just lost what little respect I had for your lacklustre & meagre contributions to TNUK.
You have merely Googled this subject & aggregated the results of what you chose to read. You’re one of Rog’s sock puppets aren’t you?
Down rating a vehicle has only ever been a paper exercise.
Different bolts in the propshaft? This must surely rate amongst the lowest levels of BS that the TNUK muppets can produce.
Chas:
Wheel Nut:
I think the minimum is to add a couple of new leaves into the springs or fit uprated springs if they are monoleaf. Like Dennis I imagine you would need 8 stud rims and also the engine may be a bit lacking. Much easier to speak to the local dealer and tell him what you need. Swapping a lorry would be the much easier option.Years ago we used to downrate lorries for caravan work but that was done by fitting different bolts in the propshaft, removing bump stops and a leaf from the springs. I believe now it is just a paper exercise and only involves a trip to the test station for a onceover.
You’ve just lost what little respect I had for your lacklustre & meagre contributions to TNUK.
You have merely Googled this subject & aggregated the results of what you chose to read. You’re one of Rog’s sock puppets aren’t you?
Down rating a vehicle has only ever been a paper exercise.
Different bolts in the propshaft? This must surely rate amongst the lowest levels of BS that the TNUK muppets can produce.
That was the way it was in 1976 when we were converting Fiat chassis into caravan lorries. We had to change the centre bearing and the bolts. If you can find where I googled it from you are welcome to try. The vehicles were Fiat F10 OM75 & 55 and the companies wanted to get them into the next lowest tax bracket. Previously we had to get the lorries to weigh less than three tons so we weighed them without spare wheels, winch cables, floorboards or ramps.
Mercedes Benz already have a ready made answer for you and even now it surprised me to learn that it involves slightly more than a paper exercise.
Wheel Nut:
If you can find where I googled it from you are welcome to try.
I rest my case, my case is thoroughly rested. FFS. How can we possibly comprehend your particular brand of BS?
If we can’t Google what you Googled does that mean we’ve failed & not you ?
Chas:
Down rating a vehicle has only ever been a paper exercise.Different bolts in the propshaft? This must surely rate amongst the lowest levels of BS that the TNUK muppets can produce.
I did Google this for you Chas. Obviously MB and VW have been doing it wrong all these years and wasting the testers time
Cheers folks. I only ask, as I currently share 2 motors. My own spon new mint 7.5, and a year old 12 tonner with a few battle scars (not done by me)
I’m sick of getting in my motor, finding it with sod all fuel and AdBlu in it, and usually filthy.
Won’t bore you with the runs I do, but sometimes when I’m in mine, I’m sailing close to the wind weight wise, and sometimes I do my regular 12 tonner runs, with about 2.7 tonne on board. Max I ever have on is about 4.
Mine would carry that no bother, pulls like a train.
Hate sharing motors, but most of our fleet has recently been replaced, so I doubt he’d be looking to buy me a new 12 tonner of my own.
Ring these people and get the answers and price from the horses mouth. I’ve used these before to uprate a van. That turned out to be just a paperwork exercise. The vehicle never even seen a test centre.
svtech.co.uk/index.html
