first ever question - who can drive? (1 Viewer)

[kevofcov]

Hi

Newbie with my first question.

I passed my test in ’82 so can drive anything up to 7.5 ton and can tow with little restriction. Over the years these permissions have been reduced down and down for new people passing their tests.

Will my offspring be able to drive my dream motorhome soon to be purchased? The vehicle will be very similar to a 2008 Auto Trail 840S 3 axle Ducato based (less than 3500kg I believe) My kids passed their tests in 2009 and 2010.

I don’t want to buy and then find that they cannot drive the vehicle.

Any help is appreciated.

 

[MC 55 FUN]

3500kg or below can be driven on a car licence

 

[Bill_OR]

If it's 3500 or under then it can be driven on a car licence. Over 3500 and you'll need C1 on your licence.

 

[icantremember]

Firstly a 3 axle motorhome of any make will never be as low as 3500kg.

For a heavier mh any driver will need C1 on their licence.

 

[DavidG58]

don't think a three axled MH will be under 3.5T, but do you really want them to drive it, might be the best mistake you make

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[Puddleduck]

As above when it comes to entitlement ...... but at less than 3500 kg is there enough payload to make it practicable ?

There are only two of us and we had our up-plated as with kayaks and cycles and all the gear we needed the extra allowance.

 

[Just smiffy]

2008 Auto Trail 840S 3 axle Ducato based (less than 3500kg I believe

3 Axle ? Normally 3 or tag axle are over 3500kg and the 3500kg refers to fully loaded...

 

[DBK]

If your children took their test relatively recently they won't have the C1 endorsement so won't be able to drive anything over 3500kg.

 

[kevofcov]

Brilliant thanks.

As long as I purchase below 3500kg gross then all is well for all of us.

Thanks for your help

Regards Kev

 

[vwalan]

fifth wheeler is the way forward . or a mini artic .
but for the young they would have to take the b+e test.
but if they took the b+e before 19th jan 2013 there was no trailer weight limit only the trainweight of towing vehicle .
all food for thought.

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[Puddleduck]

Brilliant thanks.

As long as I purchase below 3500kg gross then all is well for all of us.

Thanks for your help

Regards Kev

But how do you know what your gross weight will be (and if 3500kg is adequate) until you load up and take it to a weighbridge?

Never trust a dealer when he gives you the weight of the vehicle, insist on a proper weighbridge ticket - then add on the weight of driver, passengers, all your clothes, pots, pans, food, water, fuel and gas.

Sorry to sound negative but if you are overweight and caught you will be sorry. More and more vehicles are being checked - and found to be overweight.

 

[denisejoe]

They could always take another test

Joe

 

[Puddleduck]

They could always take another test

Joe

And with a C1 or C licence it opens up the possibility of more employment opportunities - even at management levels.

 

[Minxy]

As mentioned already no way will a tag (ie 3 axle) MH be under 3500kg.

As for others that are sub 3500kg make sure there is sufficient payload within that figure, at least 400kg so long as they aren't 'heavy people' - as you'll be buying second hand you should insist on a weigh-bridge ticket to check the payload. Also make sure it has genuine travel seats and not side-facing sofas which are not meant to be used for travel. You might also want to check out the insurance situation too as, depending on their ages, they may not be able to be added to yours, or the cost could be astronomical.

If your kids have kids then you need to also consider how they will be safely secured for travel as not all MHs make it easy to fit kiddie seats.

One final comment ... are you SURE your kids will want to use it and that you want them to use it? If you think their use will be very little then buy what you want and if they can use it then so be it ... we've bought in the past so that we could accommodate taking parents out in it and it rarely happened, but we had to 'live' with the layout when we used it so our priorities really were the wrong way round.

 

[Puddleduck]

Another alternative is that you use a car as well as the motorhome.

We often go on holiday with a family member who meet us on site. That works really well as we tend to stay on a site that charges by the unit (one van is one unit) rather than the number of occupants. Cheap accommodation for them and use of a car and driver for us. With children you might not want to be moving on every night or two.

If your family want to use the van (and you are happy for them to do so) then you could drive it to wherever (okay it is more of a caravan holiday than motorhome touring) and then they meet you at the site for hand over.

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[pappajohn]

Just checked the spec for the 2007/2008 tag axle Cheyenne 840s and its 5000kg with a 6000kg train weight so unfortunately your kids will have to catch a bus.

 

[kevofcov]

Brilliant advise thanks all