Hi all-I need some advice please.
Does anyone know how I would go about registering/insuring/taxing a tractor unit for private use??
I really fancy buying an old Volvo or scania and restoring it. I have looked on fleabay and noticed some units are being advertised as ‘downrated’ with road tax being £165 per year.
That’s about as far as my knowledge reaches lol (apart from 8mpg!)
The £165 is private Hgv tax ,classic insurance ( over 15 yrs ) a round £100 +/- ,the down rated bit is for the non hgv licence holders ,some put a generator in a box and register as mobile plant to dodge the mot .
As far as the tax is concerned, I believe any vehicle built before 1st January 1974 is exempt form vehicle tax, I assume that applies to lorries as well as cars.
But I suppose it depends how old a vehicle you want.
I assume you want one down rated to less than 7.5 tonnes?
Thanks for the replies folks!
I really like the look of mid nineties Volvo FH’s,and my understanding after 10 mins research seems to be that I would be subject to tacho regs as that would be less than 25 yrs old.(Didn’t think about the tacho!!)
It looks realistic on my available budget that I could get the above mentioned,put a chrome stack on,decent paint job etc.
Im just trying to work out if its practical or would be a pain in the arse. 2 seats is enough for my circumstances.
eagerbeaver:
Thanks for the replies folks!
I really like the look of mid nineties Volvo FH’s,and my understanding after 10 mins research seems to be that I would be subject to tacho regs as that would be less than 25 yrs old.(Didn’t think about the tacho!!)
As long as you’re talking about just the unit without a trailer, and you’re using it strictly for private motoring/shows and not using it to carry goods it should be tachograph exempt.
tachograph:
eagerbeaver:
Thanks for the replies folks!
I really like the look of mid nineties Volvo FH’s,and my understanding after 10 mins research seems to be that I would be subject to tacho regs as that would be less than 25 yrs old.(Didn’t think about the tacho!!)As long as you’re talking about just the unit without a trailer, and you’re using it strictly for private motoring/shows and not using it to carry goods it should be tachograph exempt.
I was forgetting that it would not be a goods vehicle if it never carried goods …
Thanks Rog/Tachograph
Yeah,just tooling around in and maybe attending the odd truck show(providing I could afford to get one looking decent enough lol!!)-no trailer.My understanding is my class2 license would allow this as its a rigid LGV?
ROG:
I was forgetting that it would not be a goods vehicle if it never carried goods …
I figured you was thinking about the 7½t limit on private use to carry goods 
I’ve no idea whether or not it’s still regarded as a goods vehicle, but certainly you can drive it for private use as long as you don’t ever use it to carry goods.
eagerbeaver:
Yeah,just tooling around in and maybe attending the odd truck show(providing I could afford to get one looking decent enough lol!!)-no trailer.My understanding is my class2 license would allow this as its a rigid LGV?
That’s right you can drive a unit on a cat C licence.
But don’t be surprised if someone joins the thread to say you have to remove the 5th wheel or make it inoperable or some other such nonsense 
Didn’t chris Eubanks used to drive an American truck around just for fun . You’d get well over the 8mpg unit only
chester1:
Didn’t chris Eubanks used to drive an American truck around just for fun
He certainly did 
chester1:
Didn’t chris Eubanks used to drive an American truck around just for fun . You’d get well over the 8mpg unit only
That depends on your right foot lol
I know of a fella that bought and ran a unit for shows. A Volvo F16. Very nice too! He had no bother. Just a rigid (C) licence. Complete with fith wheel . All he did was insure it on classic insurance about the same price you stated. He was a bin lorry driver by day. He did most of the work himself, restored it. He reckoned running it about for a hobby wasn’t too bad cost wise. He got parts from breakers yards, eBay etc. he kept it on his drive, which was fairly long up the side of his house. He did say that he was pulled over by Northern Ireland’s version of DVSA. Once he explained it was his hobby motor, no problem at all and they just looked it over to make sure it was all bolted together ok like a car and off he went.
And thinking about it myself, the costs aren’t that bad for a choice of hobby vehicle. Some choose sports cars as a hobby (especially post 40 years old ) A colleague I used to work with bought a Ferrari 355. The fuel costs were slightly less than a tractor unit I guess, but everything else was a gazzillion times more expensive than running an F16
You do NOT have to remove the 5th wheel, you can simply cover it with a large lace doily
chester1:
Didn’t chris Eubanks used to drive an American truck around just for fun . You’d get well over the 8mpg unit only
Yeah, he used to drive it all around Brighton and park it in the most inconvenient places. All the bus drivers there think he’s a ■■■, me included.
tachograph:
As far as the tax is concerned, I believe any vehicle built before 1st January 1974 is exempt form vehicle tax, I assume that applies to lorries as well as cars.
But I suppose it depends how old a vehicle you want.
Not quite “any”, generally just ones that meet the age requirement and are used in a non-commercial capacity.
Vehicle Excise and Registration Act 1994 (and I don’t think any subsequent amendments have ever changed that, just the date, which is now an annual amendment to VERA 1994, via that particular year’s Finance Act. So if any future gov simply “forgets” to include it in the Finance Act, it stops rolling again)
Just to share, my 1988 17t horse box was private HGV, £165 tax, but not tacho exempt.
But, just to make life interesting as additional information, my insurance policy covered me for hire and reward…
So I could charge you to move something and still be legit.
Cheers
Paul
m1cks:
chester1:
Didn’t chris Eubanks used to drive an American truck around just for fun . You’d get well over the 8mpg unit onlyYeah, he used to drive it all around Brighton and park it in the most inconvenient places. All the bus drivers there think he’s a ■■■, me included.
I don’t think its just bus drivers that think he is a ■■■ .one thing to watch out for is parking when out in it .i used to run a transit as my main form of transport a few years ago and a lot of kirb side parking had a weight limits only to be seen in the small print which I only found out after a ticket.
Chester1-good point mate. I hadn’t thought too much about the parking side of things. Doesn’t put me off though,a bit of a walk from a sensible parking spec is a small price to pay in my book for tearing around in a blinged up unit!!
By the way-if you or mick are going to tell Chris Eubank that he is a ■■■,please,please let me know when its going to happen.
I will have my fully charged camera waiting.
Darb:
You do NOT have to remove the 5th wheel, you can simply cover it with a large lace doily
look at chris eubanks and you can see he has done the same on his 5th wheel