Class 1 car licence weight limit

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2sheddies, Jul 24, 5:56pm
As we all know, a holder of a full class 1 car licence is permitted to operate a vehicle weighing no more than 6000kg GVM. I've got somebody arguing with me saying the GVM can be 6000 but the on road weight must not exceed 4500! The on road weight is the GVM! Truck plus load!

Learner and restricted are limited to 4500kg.

serf407, Jul 24, 6:03pm

2sheddies, Jul 24, 6:08pm
Nope talking about small trucks

supernova2, Jul 24, 6:20pm
Wasn't there something about the laden weight when they changed the rules to allow car drivers to drive motorhomes? Or am I dreaming?

2sheddies, Jul 24, 6:26pm
Class 1 full is 6000kg GVM now. Much more useful than the old 4500kg.

However learners and restricted can still only operate up to 4500 GVM.

2sheddies, Jul 24, 6:29pm
They changed all the weighs a while ago. Class 2 went up from 15 ton to 18 for a rigid vehicle if I remember correctly.

henderson_guy, Jul 25, 5:21am
x1
When they first changed the weight limits for class 1, you could indeed drive a 6000kg gvm vehicle as long as it did not weigh more than 4500kg at the time of driving. It was intended for people with larger campervans. Then it changed again.

the-lada-dude, Jul 25, 8:21am
Is that with or without driver and passenger/s

martin11, Jul 25, 8:41am
Do you not know GVM means Gross Vehicle Mass which is the total weight of the vehicle including load ,people fuel etc . Also include the trailer if you are towing one .

henderson_guy, Jul 25, 8:41am
With.

captaink, Jul 25, 8:51am
Don't include the trailer in the GVM, trailer comes under GCM which is the total weight of truck,trailer and loads combined.

tweake, Jul 25, 10:07am
+1

the 2nd change to allow 6000kg is what a lot of people missed, including me.

mrfxit, Jul 25, 11:01am
Theres the confusion right there.
GVM = manufactures max overall vehicle weight rating for that specific vehicle.
The other weight limit is the drivers specific licence max weight limit.
Effectively a license specific GVM weight.

Not to be confused with Tare weight (gross weight capacity of load excluding vehicle).
(Just for those that missed that bit)

mrfxit, Jul 25, 11:02am
If the change had been marketed as a (license specific GVM weight) then maybe the general public would have understood it better

henderson_guy, Jul 25, 1:26pm
I think those holding a restricted class 1 have the 4500kg on road rule now, but don't quote me on that.

henderson_guy, Jul 25, 1:28pm
it wasn't that hard to understand. A class 1 licence holder could drive a vehicle with a gvm of up to 6000kg, as long as it didn't actually weigh more than 4500kg while they were driving it.

2sheddies, Jul 25, 1:41pm
They do I believe.

2sheddies, Jul 25, 1:45pm
The second change was definitely a change for the better, I assume they felt with the old ruling of 6000 gvm , on road 4500 it was too much of a grey area and a lot of people wouldn't understand it. New laws are great though, as it opens up a much more useful range of vehicles you can drive without the expense of getting a class 2.

Incidentally the class 2 weight also went up to 18 ton from ac previous 15 if I remember correctly.

2sheddies, Jul 25, 1:51pm
No, the Tare Weight has nothing to do with any load. The Tare Weight relates to the vehicle itself and is the empty weight of the vehicle without any load in it.

snoopy221, Jul 25, 1:56pm
Did back before they changed it and applies to class 1 learners and restricted
I.E. you CAN drive the truck empty if it's tare is under 4500 but can NOT drive it with a load on when it is on road and over 4500 kg's until you have nowadays a class 1 full and then you can drive it on road weighing up to 6 tonnes

2sheddies, Jul 25, 2:06pm
Exactly right. I was saying that the Tare is not a load weight but rather the weight of the truck itself without a load in it. So if the tare weight is 2600kg for example, that's the weight of the truck itself as it stands in the driveway, before you put a load in it.

mrfxit, Jul 25, 2:07pm
Still counts because it's tare plus load to equal 4500kgs.
Eg: 6t gvm truck unladen @ 3.5t equals 1t added for load to hit 4.5t for license weight limit.
Max GVM can't exceed 4.5T on a class 1 licence but allows you to drive a 6t classified truck up to the gross weight limit on your license
Eg: 6t classed truck has a tare of 4499kg lets a class 1 driver operate it but not put a load on it, Load includes passengers but excluding the driver.
can't remember, but could also include fuel in the max load.

2sheddies, Jul 25, 2:14pm
As I understand it nowadays it is this. Class 1 FULL licence holder can operate a vehicle (Just using a small truck as an example as that's what most of us would drive) weighing no more than 6000kg GVM. That means truck, load, driver and fuel. The all up on road weight must not exceed 6000kg.

Also I do believe with the new rules the vehicle you're driving must be of a licence specific GVM. That is to say if you are driving a truck with a sticker of 6500kg but you've only got it loaded to 5 ton, you're still in the shit because the manufacturer's GVM is beyond your license limits regardless of the actual weight at the time. You should hold a class 2 licence to be driving something above 6000kg. So to put it simply, any class 1 full licence holder has to be sure not to use a truck with a sticker above 6000kg.

Don't quote me on the last paragraph but I believe that's the case. Someone like Henderson guy who's in the trade should be able to confirm that.

henderson_guy, Jul 25, 2:27pm
Exactly right. The gvm is the max permitted total weight, as per the certificate of loading displayed in the windscreen. So even though a 9 ton truck may only weigh 4000kg when empty, you still cannot legally drive it in NZ without a class 2 licence.

henderson_guy, Jul 25, 2:40pm
Load includes the driver. And they've done away with the 4500kg rule for those with a full licence, but it's still there for restricted drivers *I think*