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7.5 Tonne Trucks for Sale (129)
7.5 tonners have been the workhorses of the UK economy for many years and are always popular buyer’s choice at Truckpages.
Always popular for local distribution, a 7.5 tonne box truck or curtainsider is relatively easy to navigate the urban environment but with a significant load volume.
Typical 7.5 Tonne Truck Dimensions
As operators can choose from a wide variety of bodies to be fitted to their trucks – even after the European Whole Vehicle Type Approval has removed some of the choice – you can find 7.5 tonnes box vans with body lengths from as short as 14ft and as long as 26 feet. A typical, average length would be 20 to 21 feet.
The body length is dependent upon the wheelbase length as the overhang over the rear axle is important – nobody wants to see a truck performing a wheelie!
Again, heights are variable – there’s no point in having a tall box body if your payload is a heavy one, as it will create unnecessary wind resistance because you will never be able to fill it up!
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More About 7.5 Tonne Trucks
When talking about 7.5 tonne tippers, body lengths are typically much shorter – you will normally see a 14ft to 16ft tipper body on a 7.5 tonne chassis, whilst dropsides and flatbeds are typically longer – especially those designed specifically for scaffolding work.
7.5 Tonne Truck Payloads
Here’s the problem with 7.5 tonne trucks – the payloads are not very good. A standard DAF LF with a day cab has an unladen weight of between 3.3 and 3.5 tonnes, depending on the wheelbase (there are no fewer than eight to choose from). That leaves about 4 tonnes for the body, driver and fuel. The overall payload depends on the weight of the body, the ancillaries, (like tail lifts, refrigerated units etc.) but in general, it means that you will be looking at a payload of around 3 tonnes to get to the 7.5 tonnes GVW (Gross Vehicle Weight).
When you compare this to a less popular 12 tonne truck, which looks almost identical to the 7.5 tonne version and weighs in at just 300kgs more, you will be able to carry 4 tonnes more than the 7.5 tonner! Most of this will be down to larger wheels and tyres – the only easy way to spot the difference these days.
So why are the 7.5 tonne trucks so popular?
The answer is that they are a lot less popular than they were 20 or so years ago. This is all down to a change in driver licencing rules.
Who can Drive a 7.5 Tonner?
If a driver completed their driving test prior to 1996 then they have the automatic right to drive a 7.5 tonne truck. However – to drive one professionally, they will still need to have a driver CPC. What this does mean is that there is still a relatively large pool of drivers who are able to drive at 7.5 tonnes, but not a t 12 tonnes GVW.
7.5 Tonne Truck Market
The other reason for the decline in the 7.5 tonne truck market is operators are either upsizing or downsizing their vehicles. We have seen that 7.5 tonnes is not terribly efficient, but operating at 18 tonnes is the most efficient way – compared to a 16 tonner, for example.
Equally if you don’t want the hassle of obtaining an operator’s licence (compulsory for vehicles over 3.5 tonnes GVW) then use a 3.5 tonne GVW van (like a Transit, for example) which can be driven by any car driver without a CPC.
Latest News About 7.5 Tonne Trucks
Volta Trucks reveals its full-electric 7.5- and 12-tonne Volta Zero variants
Volta Trucks has revealed the forthcoming 7.5- and 12-tonne Volta Zero variants – the second product family in its full-electric vehicle range. The company claim to be already sitting on a total order bank of around 6,000 vehicles for their 16-tonne version, with an order value of circa €1.3 billion. The 7.5- and 12-tonne Volta Zeros have been designed by Volta Trucks’ partner, Astheimer Design in Warwick, UK alongside Volta Trucks’ own engineering teams. The new full-electric vehicles bear a close but evolutionary visual relationship to the larger 16-tonne vehicle which is now undergoing extensive engineering development and testing ahead…
A Tonne Extra Payload Seals FUSO Canter Deal
If you have been used to operating 3.5 tonners, then you would expect to get a much larger payload from a 7.5 tonner. Unfortunately this is not always the case – unless you opt for a lighter chassis like the Fuso Canter which has a body and load allowance of over 5 tonnes. The 7C15 offers a combined body and payload allowance of 5,100 kg, roughly a tonne more than a conventional chassis with the same gross weight A new, high payload Canter, sourced from local Mercedes and Mitsubishi Fuso Dealer Rygor Commercials, has helped the Gloucestershire-based craft baker emerge…
New Isuzu N75 for Transporter for Ambulance Converter
A four tonne plus payload was the most important criteria for choosing a 7.5 tonner to carry completed ambulances for delivery. Specialist vehicle converter Blue Light Services needed a new delivery vehicle to carry its finished ambulances from its production facilities to customers and the Isuzu N75 came up trumps – the company’s first ever Isuzu. The long wheelbase Isuzu N75.150 (E) has a curtainsided, beavertail body manufactured by Truck Craft The southern based bodybuilder has taken delivery of the N75.150 7.5 tonne rigid chassis, fitted with a curtainsided, beavertail body to transport completed ambulance chassis for its customers all…
200,000th DAF LF built in the UK
Not only are DAF runaway UK market leaders in truck sales, they are the only business that assembles trucks here. Leyland Trucks is the PACCAR-owned facility that makes almost all right hand drive DAF trucks in the world. So, it is great news that the company has announced that they have just seen the 200,000th LF chassis roll off the production line. DAF LF number 200,000 rolls off the production line at Leyland Trucks. In front of cab from l-to-r: Peter Jukes, Leyland Trucks Operations Director, with Matthew Clayton from DAF Dealer Lancashire DAF receiving the vehicle keys from Leyland…
