to stop them driving it?

[arielmanto]

Hi all, be grateful for any help here as my brain is a bit fried what with the heat. We are a small workshop and have a handful of staff at a range of ages. We have a small van (Vivaro size) and a big van. The big van, in its log book, is 3500kg.
The older guys here (test before 1997) have driving licences that say they can drive anything, but the rest of us do not have the C section rights they do.
Can we drive the big van? Can we drive it laden? It's not much use driving it empty. My boss swears that because the van is 3500kg and the B category definition is "UP TO 3500" that means its ok. But if it's got lots of produce in it - or even a sole lonely 1kg of produce in it, then its OVER 3500kg. Right? And that means that those of us without a C1 on our licence can't drive it..? Or is this a grey area and I should keep quiet? TBH it would be much more useful if we could all drive it, rather than forcing it on the few who hold the old, full licence. And as far as I can see if we do need additional testing to get to C1 level we need to pay out nearly £1000 per person and deal with learning to drive massive vans too.. seems very unfair but hey ho.

Help me, hive mind!

Your boss is wrong
A 3.5t vehicle means that the maximum laden weight is 3.5t so the empty van probably weighs about 2t and has a payload ( what weight you can add) of about 1.5t.

C1 is 3500 to 7500, so you can't drive it

I agree the answer is no you can't. I hold a C-cat licence and used to drive a 7.5tn library and we found it harder and harder to recruit drivers due to the laws regarding who can drive what weight vehicles. The link provided will help you see how it all breaks down.

Is that the actual weight of the van, or the maximum when it's loaded?

What is the big van?
Most are not that large, otherwise no-one would buy them since grandfather rights have been removed.

If you don't have C1 you can not drive a vehicle that weighs 3500 or above as the vehicle weighs that weight unloaded you can not drive it.
Phone DVLA they are actually very very helpful for stuff like this

If it says 3,5 t on the log book you can drive it on a normal licence.
Op, what’s the actual make and model ?
My horsebox is 5t on the log book. As in a Vauxhall movano 5t, it weighs just over 3 t, it can be 5 t fully laden and no more. ( and no you can’t drive that on normal licence unless you are old like me !)
A 3.5 t vehicle does not weigh 3.5t , that’s the maximum laden weight

It's a luton van, Renault Trucks Master 125.35 LWB.

nearlyoldenoughtowearpurple "A 3.5 t vehicle does not weigh 3.5t , that’s the maximum laden weight" that is very very interesting - am crossing fingers that is true.

We carry furniture - maybe 400kg max load in the luton at any one time.

ohhhh I see, I kept reading down the log book and 3500 is "revenue weight", and "weight in service" is only 2625kg. I think this is what you mean..?

Yes, that’s right
On a normal licence you can drive a vehicle up to 3.5 t total weight. This van can be legally loaded to weigh at most 3.5t. If loaded with a heavier load then 3.5t, no one should be driving it as that’s a traffic offence and your insurance would be invalid and all sorts.
So yes, get driving.
I only know this as drive horseboxes and weight is a real issue as 3.5t vehicles are really popular for the exact reason that they can be driven on a normal licence

A Luton van can be driven in a standard licence, even one that is dated after 1997.

On*