Importing a couple of trucks from EU

[FridgeFreezer]

Hi guys, I was pointed here by John C as he said you are a helpful bunch:yay: so unfortunately I'm now going to ask a load of questions :???

 

Being the big kids we are, a mate and I are looking at importing a couple of trucks from Europe.

 

One is a Magirus Deutz / Iveco 110-17 AW, which is German and being TuV plated to 7.5 tonnes, at least while we get it home.

 

The other is a Tatra T813 Kolos, which is 14 tonnes unladen and 8x8. It's in Denmark, where they can't road register it but can buy a day's road tax to drive it about if they want. It has no documentation with it other than a receipt from the last seller, and the current owner is struggling to find a chassis or engine number on it (I suspect one too many layers of green paint).

 

Now, we've got as far as form V55/5 and VAT414 from the DVLA/HMRC but quite frankly the number of boxes that need to be filled in, or not, is hurting our brains.

 

Neither truck is especially military - they're green and used by the army but they aren't armoured, armed, tracked, or "officially" historic, so should both end up (we think) as Private HGV's, as we won't be hauling any goods and will just be using them for pratting about and overland travelling.

 

They have tachos but, again, we believe the official line is that we don't need to use them for private use - can anyone confirm or deny?

 

I'm wondering if any of you guys have any of the relevant info to hand from your own paperwork that you could share (feel free to PM me if you don't want to post it on the net).

 

I'm somehow doubting the Tatra will have a certificate of conformity, and hoping that that means I don't need to fill in a lot of those boxes! :whistle: The Deutz should have a load of TuV paperwork as zee Germans are very good at that sort of thing

 

I'll just put the stuff the DVLA ask on the form and hope someone recognises it, it's all written in bureaucrat speak anyway so even an explanation of what some of the terms mean would be appreciated.

 

- Type Approval Number / category details (From Certificate of Conformity)

- Variant (from CoC)

- Version (from CoC)

- HC (Hydrocarbon emissions) in g/km or g/kWh

- Max Net Power (kW) from CoC

- NOx (Nitrogen Oxide emissions) in g/km or g/kWh

- Revenue weight (found it now, see "1" below)

- Max permissible mass (whatever that means, point 14.1 of CoC, apparently)

- Euro status directive number (I'm assuming this is Euro-n emissions and hence the Tatra won't have a rating)

- Type of fuel (the tatra is multifuel, I'll probably just have to ask the DVLA what they want to see there!)

- CO2 g/km (From CoC)

- Mass in service (whatever that means)

- Particulates (pm) g/km or g/kWh

- CO g/km or g/kWh

- HC & NOx g/km

- Trailer weight (I'll have to call the DVLA on this one as I don't know if they mean maximum weight or what)

- Stationary sound level (are you allowed to put "f***ing loud" on the form? )

- Engine speed sound level (from the CoC)

- Drive-by sound level (from CoC)

 

DVLA website reveals:

1 - Revenue weight: Goods vehicles are taxed according to their revenue weight. This is the confirmed maximum weight for vehicles that have to be plated and tested. For non-testable vehicles this will be the maximum weight at which a vehicle can lawfully be used.

 

2 - Reference is made to the maximum authorised mass (MAM) of vehicles and trailers. This should be taken to mean the permissible maximum weight, also known as gross vehicle weight.

 

Maximum authorised mass (total weight of the vehicle plus the maximum load it can carry) determines the driving licence entitlement needed. If a vehicle has a maximum authorised mass which exceeds 3.5 tonnes but not 7.5 tonnes then a category C1 licence is needed; if the maximum authorised mass exceeds 7.5 tonnes then a category C licence is needed.

 

So three names for the same thing, wonderful! It's point 14.1 of CoC, apparently.

 

There is a lot of mention of SVA tests on the form, I'm hoping this would not be needed as it would be a right pain (and expense) and I suspect the Tatra would fail on the noise part if nothing else.

 

Sorry for such a long winded 1st post, as and when I get some answers from the DVLA I'll post up for future reference. And, of course, if I manage to get the thing home I'll post some pictures and maybe even try to get to a few meets.

 

John

Edited August 23, 2009 by FridgeFreezer
Found some info on the DVLA website

[Niels v]

Hi John

there has been some changes in the rules of the one day's road tax, that might effect driving vehicles for eksport, you might want to check them out.

and you can acctualy road register a Tatra in Denmark but its a lot of paperwork.

If I may aske how in Denmark are you buying the Tatra from.

 

Cheers Niels

[Stone]

When we registered the Bedford we left most of the boxes blank, they didn't bat en eyelid! Can't see it passing any kind of emissions test, to be honest..unless it was a tickbox 'yes, it does have some'

 

MAM is different to revenue weight because some vehicles are taxed at one weight but actually another weight. Something to do with being able to tax a truck as private LGV but then convert it into a living wagon or something? I know there's a really convoluted reason they need to keep them separate but I can't for the life of me remember what it is. It's very obscure though, so don't worry about it

 

What kind of 8x8 Tatra is it? I've got my eye on one for something else...could you fit a 20ft x 8ft x 8ft ISO container on the back?

 

Stone

[FridgeFreezer]

Cheers Stone, that's good to hear.

 

The Maggie will become a family camper wagon (although I've no doubt it'll see some off-road action too), the Tatra will stay mostly as-is as a service bus and cr*p carrier. I'm hoping to stick a HIAB or Atlas crane on it, some very long range fuel tanks, and that's about it... although a button-leather interior with wing-back chairs and a bookcase had been discussed

 

The Tatra is a late T813 "Kolos" - it's rather cool 8-)

Yes you can carry an ISO container (the bed is 2.5m wide x 6m long) you'd need the locks and that's about it I think. There's loads of stuff on the web (data & pictures) if you have a google.

 

Niels - I won't post details of where/who I'm buying the Tatra as we're still in discussions at the moment. It's currently stored on private land and doesn't look like it's been out much, the owner seemed to have bought a few various military vehicles and then not done much with them. They say they can register it for a day and drive it to the docks, which is all we need. We do have a plan B if that fails though

[Stone]

The Tatra is a late T813 "Kolos" - it's rather cool 8-)

Yes you can carry an ISO container (the bed is 2.5m wide x 6m long) you'd need the locks and that's about it I think. There's loads of stuff on the web (data & pictures) if you have a google.

Whatever you do make sure you don't declare it as over 2.55m wide on the forms, the DVLA are within their rights to refuse it a registration! :shake:

 

The internet seems to be saying 2.5m total width so use that, don't measure your one...

 

Stone

[FridgeFreezer]

Stone - we've not measured but all the tech specs say 2.5m which is the same as any other modern truck on the roads. In fact, the dimensions (2.5m wide, 8.8m long) are the same as the average 8x4 tipper truck you see in motorway roadworks etc. so it shouldn't be an issue.

[FridgeFreezer]

Right, after being cut off by the DVLA's automated phone system a few times I've managed to get through to a very helpful lady who talked me through the entire V55/5, so here's what she said:

 

A lot of the grey areas she said I should either write a covering letter with the form or visit the local office and get their opinion.

 

An awful lot of this seems to hinge on whether the vehicle is young enough to have been type approved, as that wipes out half the boxes in one swoop :-\ which I imagine would be the case for pretty much anything green & historic.

 

Reg mark - blank (they will issue one)

Tax class - (whatever you're going for, Private HGV in my case)

Make / model - As it says on the tin

Type of body / vehicle - Seems fairly free-form, others are registered as "agricultural", I'll probably put "flatbed" or something.

Wheelplan - As it says on the tin

Colour(s) - Green :-D

Type approval - Not relevant due to age (1986), leave blank

Variant - "

Version - "

Length - "

HC - "

Unladen weight - "

Numer of seats - As it says on the tin

Max net power - Not relevant due to age, leave blank.

Permissible maximum towable mass of trailer braked/unbraked - Not relevant, leave blank.

Width - "

NOx - "

Revenue weight - "

Number of standing places - "

Max permissible mass - "

Power/weight ratio - "

Date of original registration - As it says on the tin

Date of UK registration - As it says on the tin

Euro Status directive number - Not relevant, leave blank.

Country vehicle imported from - As it says on the tin

LHD/RHD - If you have to ask...

Type of fuel - Multifuel seems to confuse them (she asked if it was dual fuel like petrol/LPG cars), I'm guessing they'll just go for "Diesel".

VIN / Chassis number - She said if we can't find one the local office will issue one, we then need to MOT it on that number and then put the V55/5 in to get a reg plate.

Engine number - Fill it in if there is one.

Cylinder capacity - As it says on the tin

CO2 - Not required, leave blank.

Mass in service - "

Particulates - "

CO - "

HC + NOx - "

Trailer weight - "

Stationary sound level - "

Engine speed sound - "

Drive by sound level - "

Year of manufacture - As it says on the tin

 

I even had a sensible answer from HMRC on the import duty form VAT414, which was basically "Fill in whatever bits you can & send it in, chances are there's nothing to pay as it's coming from inside the EU"

[Stone]

I'm sure you already know this but you don't need an MOT if you have an exemption - have a quick flick through the form, you never know.

 

Also I was told to put 'Heavy Oil' in the fuel type instead of Diesel, might avoid confusion at the local office...

 

I would thoroughly recommend filling in as much of the form as possible and then taking it to a local office rather than doing it through the post - a helpless look goes a long way

 

Stone

[FridgeFreezer]

Cheers (again) Stone :bow:

 

I don't think I can go MOT exempt as it really is "only" a truck in the eyes of the law - and frankly I'd rather have a ticket than not, if you've got it and don't need it then you're better off than the other way round.