Vans

[Nick Reeves 3055]

im trying to find out if i can go and see a ducato at a dealer somewhere.

[Bob Johnstone]

Arnold Clark,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,, Might have one (smiley) Bob


Glasgow Van Centre


149 Kilbirnie Street

Glasgow,

G5 8JH

[Nick Reeves 3055]

have to try harder next time bob, the AC van centre is there servicing place. the local fiat van dealer is apparently near the southern general hospital so might go for a reccy

[John Greenfield]

Rob

I did not say "car derived vans". It is the max weight that is the issue and less than 3500 makes it a PLG and not PHG, a very important point which not even all traffic police know about.

John

[Nick Reeves 3055]

hi john,

it was my understanding until about 3 years ago that it was the weight and classification of the vehicle that determined it speed limits etc. i found out the hard way (3 points and a fine) that this is not the case to the point of nearly taking it to court.
my current transit is a 350 90 which is 90bhp and 3500t max, and was plg at the time. (plg now doesnt exist, replaced by some other acronim). i thought that as long as it stayed under 3500, i could do normal speeds. i had the van weighed when it was empty and it was 2400kg. as previously stated by someone, car derived vans can do normal speeds whereas non-car derived vans can only do 50 on single carriageways, 60 on dual, and 70 on motorways. i was caught doing bang on 60mph on a single carriageway (national speed limit) by a video camera van so the human police factor was taken out. it totally went on what the van was registered as within the big brother brain.
all i would say to anyone driving or buying a van is satisfy yourself that you know what the law is for your vehicle

[Bob Thompson1894]

Yes, I got done at 67mph on the A1 in my Transit some years ago. I knew the fixed camera was there and had been past at that speed many times as it was my commute at the time, but they had put a mobile camera a hundred or so yards in front of the fixed camera to catch 'camera surfers' and it got me.

[Rob Buckley]

Rob

I did not say "car derived vans". It is the max weight that is the issue and less than 3500 makes it a PLG and not PHG, a very important point which not even all traffic police know about.

John

John, my last van was a VW transporter with a max weight of 2800kg, but it was still a van under 7500kg so had goods vehicle speed limits.

Vehicle weight 'break points' change some things like licence category, MOT class, tax class etc, but speed limits are the same for all vans under 7.5ton (apart from 'car derived' ones).

[John Greenfield]

Rob

This is quite a complicated subject but I have this morning consulted with a collegue who is an Ex Traffic policemena and also the website.

https://www.gov.uk/speed-limits

He has confirmed my earlier comments but note
My van is classed as a motorhome on the logbook as I had it changed when I did the conversion. Please note that for motorhomes the it is the Unladen weight that is the controlling factor. The 3300 plated weight for my vehicle has relevence on the continet but as long as I run it in the UK at less than 3.05 t it can be driven at car speeds.

Each person should make sure of their vehicle category and specific details and not "assume" it is one rule for all.

John

[Rob Buckley]

John,

If you've got a motorhome you've not got a goods vehicle (van) any more, so the motorhome speed limits apply & vary according to weights as it says in the link

[Nick Reeves 3055]

john, whats the process for changing a panel van to a motorhome in the eyes of the dvla. as i said im planning a partial conversion and im wondering if it would be to my advantage to change its registered details