As im a retired hgv driver…i do get bored and have recently been offered some part time recovery work…now i dont have class 1 entitlement anymore due to health reasons, but the guy offering the work knows i used to truck for a living…still have 7.5 tonne , but he said time to time there might be a tractor unit to recover, most tractor units come under the weight of 7.5 tonne but are restrictions lifted because its recovery…and not allways break downs it could be finance recovery…is it a no goer on tractor units ? or is there a loophole ? having said that mostly cars vans…puddle jumpers…upto 7.5 tonnes. are involved, anyone shed a light on this please, sorry just to add recovery would sometimes be in the sense taken to point of recovery and drive tractor unit away…not on the back of another vehicle. cheers…Shytalk. 
My 6x2 Renault Premium weighs in at 7940kgs unladen, and they are known for having a low ULW. So I reckon most tractor units will exceed the 7.5t limit.
damoq:
My 6x2 Renault Premium weighs in at 7940kgs unladen, and they are known for having a low ULW. So I reckon most tractor units will exceed the 7.5t limit.
Units may have gone up in weight as to now pulling 44 tonne gross, your probably correct matey…thanks for your reply.
It’s what the vehicle is plated at anyway isn’t it?? That would mean that every car driver in the country that passed their driving test before 1997 can drive a tractor unit otherwise 
Just a thought !
But, my MAN is plated at 23700 gross weight & 44 tons Train Weight.
Can’t tell you what she weighs solo as I hav’nt weighed her on her own, I know she weighs 15,680 with trailer ‘22’ hooked up/empty.
So I would have thought that you need at least a class 2 to drive one.
An old standard car licence allows you to drive vehicles up to 7500 MGW. (Now, you can only drive up to a transit)
It’s a bit like the weight restriction around Victoria 18 tons- just because I weigh 15,680/empty, it doesn’t mean I can drive through the weight limit.
Yes i realise that, but is there a loophole as to recovery by companys, as the question , my entitlement is still valid if i take and pass my medical…but im not as not going to drive hgv any longer, but adhock partime was the interest, if its possible , cheers for the reply.
AFAIK You need C+E for heavy recovery in England and C for Scotland
Not heavy recovery matey, just mainly upto 7.5 tonne, a lot of this chaps work is like repo’s , from cars upwards…so for example fred bloggs transport drip 6 units up and fail to pay the finance he would have 6 chaps drive the units away…its not break down recovery as such but does fall under this i suppose, he is just hired by the repo company to transport the car, van , tractor unit away.
shytalk:
Yes i realise that, but is there a loophole as to recovery by companys, as the question , my entitlement is still valid if i take and pass my medical…but im not as not going to drive hgv any longer, but adhock partime was the interest, if its possible , cheers for the reply.
Simply put, no it’s not possible. if you want to drive a lorry plated higher than 7.5 tonne you need an hgv, unless it’s not for hire or reward(like an old lorry for show use or similar). You don’t need a tacho for recovery but you do need a licence. Trade plating is different I think
SWEDISH BLUE:
AFAIK You need C+E for heavy recovery in England and C for Scotland
FFS so you think Scotland and England have different licence category’s ■■
There are NO “recovery” categories on a driving licence. The exception for driving a unit on a car licence was done away with in 1997. If the truck has a GVW higher than 7500 kg then a category C licence is required.
Tipper Tom:
shytalk:
Yes i realise that, but is there a loophole as to recovery by companys, as the question , my entitlement is still valid if i take and pass my medical…but im not as not going to drive hgv any longer, but adhock partime was the interest, if its possible , cheers for the reply.Simply put, no it’s not possible. if you want to drive a lorry plated higher than 7.5 tonne you need an hgv, unless it’s not for hire or reward(like an old lorry for show use or similar). You don’t need a tacho for recovery but you do need a licence. Trade plating is different I think
A tacho is required for recovery work (heavy or light ) if the vehicle travels outwith a 100km radius of base.
Cheers Tom, is it hire and reward taking a unit away that the buyer has defaulted on paying for ?..plateing i know you could drive a tractor unit only when you had class 2 , so it gets more complicated and fuzzy, unit may weigh 6.7 tonnes but plated to pull upto a maximum of 44, so in theory it weighs under the 7.5 tonnes, 
shytalk:
Not heavy recovery matey, just mainly upto 7.5 tonne, a lot of this chaps work is like repo’s , from cars upwards…so for example fred bloggs transport drip 6 units up and fail to pay the finance he would have 6 chaps drive the units away…its not break down recovery as such but does fall under this i suppose, he is just hired by the repo company to transport the car, van , tractor unit away.
That is NOT recovery work. The exemption from operators licencing for recovery companies is this. "Recovering a BROKEN DOWN or DAMAGED vehicle to a place of repair or it’s destination. "
I know what he means but no they’ve stopped doing that now.
you used to get a exemption if it was used for recovery ie on the old B licence you could have a train weight of 4 tonne something if used for recovery and then you could carry more on 7.5tonne licence but that all changed when they brought in the pre 1997 rule
gov.uk/government/uploads/s … ations.pdf
^^ the new guide lines
shytalk:
Cheers Tom, is it hire and reward taking a unit away that the buyer has defaulted on paying for ?..plateing i know you could drive a tractor unit only when you had class 2 , so it gets more complicated and fuzzy, unit may weigh 6.7 tonnes but plated to pull upto a maximum of 44, so in theory it weighs under the 7.5 tonnes,
If you’re being paid then yes it’s hire or reward. A word of warning, finance ■■■■■■ backs are for those that can handle themselves in my experience. I wouldn’t want too much to do with them. It’s almost never a simple case of turning up and driving the vehicle away.
shytalk:
. . . sorry just to add recovery would sometimes be in the sense taken to point of recovery and drive tractor unit away…not on the back of another vehicle. cheers…Shytalk.
Even a Police Constable needs to be properly licensed to drive a vehicle away.
Walk away old chap. You don’t know what you’re doing & it sounds to me like the bloke offering the job is willing to take advantage of that. You could even be asked to go drive away that nice new one parked over there & be none the wiser that you might actually be involved in theft.
■■■■■■ backs ARE NOT RECOVERY.
You need to be pretty clued up to work in recovery, IME there’s still a lot of operators out there who take advantage of their drivers naivety. You need to be even more clued up if you’re looking to get involved in ■■■■■■ backs or civil recovery.
Chas:
shytalk:
. . . sorry just to add recovery would sometimes be in the sense taken to point of recovery and drive tractor unit away…not on the back of another vehicle. cheers…Shytalk.Even a Police Constable needs to be properly licensed to drive a vehicle away.
Walk away old chap. You don’t know what you’re doing & it sounds to me like the bloke offering the job is willing to take advantage of that. You could even be asked to go drive away that nice new one parked over there & be none the wiser that you might actually be involved in theft.
■■■■■■ backs ARE NOT RECOVERY.
You need to be pretty clued up to work in recovery, IME there’s still a lot of operators out there who take advantage of their drivers naivety. You need to be even more clued up if you’re looking to get involved in ■■■■■■ backs or civil recovery.
Sound advice chas just what I was thinking. Regardless off the weight off a tractor unit the minimum licence requirement would be a class 2 and that obviously would only be for driving the unit without a trailer. It sounds like your being lured into believing you will be a recovery driver when in reality doing repo work is a world apart. The main difference being if your broken down you are generally very pleased and grateful for a recovery driver to turn up, if you haven’t paid your monthly instalment and some bloke turns up to take your truck I doubt you would be meeting someone grateful or particularly pleased to see you!. I like having a go as much as the next person if I’m pushed to it but to do that kind off work for a living, well not for me thanks.
Skippy70. For heavy recovery, lift and tow, a C+E is required in England BUT in Scotland you can lift and tow a 44 ton artic with a C licence, UNLESS they have changed the rules recently.
Thanks fellas for the replys…maybe not a good idea , it was passed to me to think about, ive thought about it , as said earlier it was a bit of boredom setting in…and not agency work, i wont be renewing my entitlement or doing the dcpc, so many thanks to all that gave advice and replied. Shytalk.
shytalk:
Thanks fellas for the replys…maybe not a good idea , it was passed to me to think about, ive thought about it , as said earlier it was a bit of boredom setting in…and not agency work, i wont be renewing my entitlement or doing the dcpc, so many thanks to all that gave advice and replied. Shytalk.
If you’re bored and you’d rather no drive hgv again (which is the impression I’m getting as you say you don’t want your entitlement back), then have you considered either taxis or trade plates?