FridgeFreezer, the last part of my last paragraph was a bit unfair - you didn't mention any 'expert' - please put that comment down to my own frustration :cool2:
Your suggestion to seek advice from VOSA, FridgeFreezer, is a very valid one - but such written responses can take time to obtain - also members have posted anecdotal evidence in threads that such advice has been found to be not always correct, and can conflict with other parts of legislation.
Your comment about defining UNLADEN highlights very nicely how difficult it is for any of us to get to grips with the written form of road vehicle legislation and regulations - I thought I understood what unladen meant at one time, but now I don't!!!
We should recognise that NONE of us on here are masters at this subject - some of us have a good working knowledge of those parts of the legislation which affect our own vehicles (I'd say we have a responsibility to know this much), some have a much broader knowledge, some of us think we know more than we do, but none of us know the lot.
As an example - I thought I knew enough about Special Types legislation as it affected my work vehicles - thanks to the discussions on this thread I discovered that I had unwittingly not been complying in one respect (now corrected). Better to have learned here than at a roadside check or worse :embarrassed:
And yes the whole discussion did become overcomplicated - I reckon any budding large mv owner reading this thread will run a mile and sensibly buy a jeep :-D So if only for their benefit let's take 5 and sum up in simple terms where we are (again...sigh...):
1. The MOT rules governing large mvs and the way the vast majority of us use them (i.e. Historic tax, unladen / towing unladen trailer) are well established and quite simple - anything pre 1960 does not require an MOT, anything over 1960
does (except for certain classes of vehicle which are currently exempt from testing).
Problems can sometimes arise with testing (e.g. brakes, standards applied by examiners). Do not panic this group - nothing will change under this proposed MOT review.
2. Some of us have post 1960 vehicles which either don't fit easily into any curent vehicle category, or which are physically difficult to get MOTd, call them 'grey area' vehicles - Ferrett, Saracen etc. By registering them as a particular type (e.g. locomotive) we can legitimately operate them without an MOT.
3. Some of us choose to operate vehicles laden or towing a laden trailer. In which case we either have to have them tested or where possible take advantage of certain vehicle classes which allow laden use (or post 1960 unladen use) without testing (e.g. locomotive). Some of us get them tested voluntarily.
4. If we choose to do more than operate unladen with our vehicles then we need to understand what is required by legislation in terms of taxation and testing, and here too the exact definition of the vehicle (e.g. locomotive or recovery)
can
be important. The big boys with the big toys should be fully aware of what is and is not permitted under the legislation.
5. These MOT proposals seek to reduce the number of HGV based exemptions available to commercial operators, and two types of mv will be unintentionally caught up in this - the post 1960
grey area
vehicles (e.g. Saracen) and the vehicles operating LADEN (e.g. Locomotives, WW2 tank transporters).
6. The changes affect HVG based vehicles only - any vehicle not able to be tested at a current HGV testing station is likely to continue to retain a test exemption.
7. Consultations are taking place with representatives from the preservation movement to see if / how the effect of the proposed legislation on these old vehicles can be minimised. Through this thread HMVF has identified issues of concern affecting mv owners and has a representation at these consultations, and is actively encouraging discussion on ways to achieve this - and hopefully look at how certain vehicles might be accommodated for more convenient testing.
In my view HMVF has only managed to achieve this because of everyone who contributed to this thread!