Drive a flat bed on an ordinary licence? | Motoring discussion | Back Room Forum

Mon 5 Dec 2005 11:21

Drive a flat bed on an ordinary licence? - adverse camber

I am currently looking to buy a load of reclaimed oak floorboards. They are about 2.5 m long and being oak are quite heavy (I need enough to cover about 75sqm), I was wondering what I could easily hire to transport them. Would they be too long for a transit tyoe thing (and too heavy ?). What about a small flat bed ?

thanks

Mark

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Mon 5 Dec 2005 11:25

Can I drive a flat bed on an ordinary li - David Horn

You can drive anything up to a maximum laden weight of 7.5 tonnes provided you passed your test before 2001, IIRC. After that, you'll need to take additional tests, be over 21, and have held the license for more than 3 years.

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Mon 5 Dec 2005 11:37

Can I drive a flat bed on an ordinary li - R75

I think it was 1997 not 2001 Mr Horn. But the rest is almost correct.

If you passed before 1997 then you will have class C1 on your licence, this entitles you to drive a vehicle with a MGW of over 3.5t but not exceeding 7.5t. If you passed after 1997 then you can only drive a vehcle up to 3.5t.

Depending on what you have licence wise you should be able to hire either a 7.5t flatbed or if not a 3.5t transit sized flatbed. But most LWB vans will handle 2.5mtr lengths on wood as most sheet materiel comes in standard sizes and vans are designed around that so they appeal to the building trade. Only the weight might be an issue, on most 3.5t vans you will get a payload of between 1 and 1.5t. on a 7.5t flatbed you would get a payload of between 3 and 3.5t.

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Mon 5 Dec 2005 11:35

Can I drive a flat bed on an ordinary li - AngryJonny

Assuming the planks are about a foot wide they'll cover 0.8m each, meaning you'll want about 100. So weigh one, and if it comes in at less than 19kg you should get the lot in a 3.5 ton LDV Convy LWB (apparently they'll carry 1923kg).

You can get flatbed convoys which you can drive on a car licence too.
----
Life is complex; it has real and imaginary parts.

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Mon 5 Dec 2005 11:39

Can I drive a flat bed on an ordinary li - mare

Presumably delivery is not an option?

Just thought i'd discount the obvious.

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Mon 5 Dec 2005 12:13

Can I drive a flat bed on an ordinary li - Galaxy

If the distance over which they are to be carried isn't too far then they won't have to all be carried in one trip.

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Mon 5 Dec 2005 12:15

Can I drive a flat bed on an ordinary li - adverse camber

Thanks for the quick answers, I passed my test in 1984 so looks like I am OK for the flatbeds.

I'm not sure how much it will weigh but it isnt going to be light which I think will rule out the vans (just based on what firewood people claim a load of firewood weighs - its going to be less than oak)

Delivery could be an option but it doesnt come cheap (200 miles away) and would mean the bargain price wouldnt be.

cheers

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Mon 5 Dec 2005 14:03

Can I drive a flat bed on an ordinary li - Cliff Pope

I've just done a quick calculation based on your floor area, and assuming the heaviest kind of oak, 3cm thick. The total weight works out at just over 2 tonnes.
I'd just put it on my trailer with the flaps down and tow it home.

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Mon 5 Dec 2005 23:42

Can I drive a flat bed on an ordinary li - Hugo {P}

Cliff

Assuming your calcs are correct, most cars are not capable of towing that kind of weight.

You must add the weight of the load to that of the trailer. My Ifor Williams trailer will take 2 tonnes but it weighs 0.7 of a tonne (ok so it's a tipper). That means for his oak floor, that the vehicle must have a towing capacity of 2.7 tonnes or more.

You can discount most normal vehicles and some smaller 4 x 4s. IIAR the Freelander for example only has a designed towing weight of 1.8 tonnes. You would need to use a Discovery or similar. My Disco has a designed towing capacity of 3.5 tonnes provided a mechanical brake is used, or IIAC 4 tonnes with air brakes.

Mark - where abouts in the country are you and where is the flooring coming from?

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Tue 6 Dec 2005 00:28

Can I drive a flat bed on an ordinary li - henry k

Delivery could be an option but it doesnt come cheap (200

miles away) and would mean the bargain price wouldnt be.

Do the vehicles you plan to rent have a max mileage per day then charge per mile? You are looking at a 400 mile trip?

A few years back I needed to do a 400 mile round trip in a day and a finished up hiring a small tipper truck and covered over the load I carried.
The hirer was bemused when I said I was not interested in how the tipper bit worked.
It was by far the cheapest option for me.
I do not know if this bargin still exists.

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Tue 6 Dec 2005 05:05

Can I drive a flat bed on an ordinary li - adverse camber

I am near ripon and the flooring is down near the south coast.

I am now thinking that it isnt going to be such a good deal - especially since further questioning reveals that only some of it is oak, most is pine. It was a friend of an aquaintance. It sounded a good buy, but I think I will have a look on salvo and see what the actual going rate is for reclaimed flooring.

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