Since 1-5-06 all new vehickes registered since that date towing for hire or reward with a gross train weight of 3,500 kg are required to have a tamper-proof digital tachograph which uses a credit card-type record to monitor driving hours and journey times. Additionally all vehicles first registered from 1996 not previously fitted with a tachograph, but now used for towing for hire or reward with a gross train weight of 3,500 kg are also required to be fitted with a digital tachograph.

Even a small trailer when laden could exceed the 3,500 kg train weight limit, affecting customers such as plant hire operators or those in the construction industry.

Isuzu Rodeo owners can contact tachograph supplier VDO Siemens – which has more than 1,000 agents throughout the country – for the unit.

This uses an encrypted sender unit fitted to the gearbox which Isuzu has already designed to be tachograph-compatible.

Isuzu technical spokesman, Adrian Hogg, said: "To the best of our knowledge, Isuzu is the only pickup manufacturer to offer this facility. This is partly due to our expertise in the big truck market where tachographs of this type have been mandatory for some time. "Any manufacturer unable to accept the encrypted sender unit faces considerable re-engineering work so we are expecting extra business as a result."

The best-selling Rodeo Denver 3.0 litre diesel turbo offers a braked, 3,000 kg towing limit and a 1,000 kg-plus payload.

More at www.isuzu.co.uk

Also more at www.transportoffice.gov.uk (use the site seach)