When can we acknowledge, that we are not dealing with a passenger car, but with a truck. Simple answer, that then, when the vehicle is designed to carry a load, it is hardly exhaustive, and that's why, that it does not take into account the legal aspect of the issue.
All issues related to the conversion of passenger cars into trucks are regulated by the Road Traffic Law, while the rules for the approval of vehicles are contained in the Journal of Laws, a The Regulation of the Minister of Transport and Maritime Economy regulates the technical conditions of vehicles and the scope of their necessary equipment.
In practice, we can deal with two cases. Firstly, with a brand new vehicle to be registered for the first time, either immediately as a truck or with a vehicle to be registered once again, but after conversion from passenger car to truck.
APPROVAL
Pursuant to Art. Rights 0 road traffic, the manufacturer or importer of a new type of motor vehicle is obliged to obtain a type approval certificate for it, issued by the Minister of Transport and Maritime Economy.
Eligibility rules and conditions for vehicles of category N1, i.e. trucks with a permissible total weight of less than 3,5 tonnes are given in the annex to the regulation.
Application to change the vehicle category from M (for the transport of people) and N (for cargo transportation) may only be submitted by the manufacturer or his authorized representative. For the sake of safety, the possibility of an entity not approved by the manufacturer is excluded, because only he can correctly design the structure of the vehicle.
The change of the vehicle category may only take place for the hatchback-liftback car (carriage with flap doors at the rear) and van, if the following conditions are met:
■ the weight of the load is greater than the weight of the occupants when all available seats are used;
■ the cargo space is separated from the space for passenger transport by a partition that meets specific requirements and is equipped with hooks for securing the load;
■ there is a possibility of evacuation from the cargo area;
■ the change does not cause discrepancies in terms of partial approvals.
The used partitions and catches must also comply with the parameters specified in the regulations.
The partition should withstand a load equal to twice the mass of the load, which can be transported. This is achieved by applying the test load parallel to the longitudinal axis of the vehicle with a stiff vertical plate, perpendicular to this axis. The dimensions of the plate correspond to the dimensions of the face of the largest load, which can be placed in the cargo area.
The bulkhead shall be complete over the entire transverse section of the interior of the vehicle to an equivalent height 80% the seat backs, and above that height it was at least 100 mm in two perpendicular directions.
The hooks should be able to withstand the force load 250 andN, placed upwards at an angle of 15 ° to the vertical.
A truck must also meet certain general conditions:
■ axle loads when placing the load on the geometric center of the cargo space must not exceed the permissible values specified in the homologation certificate;
■ the range of changing the dipped beam at extreme vehicle load conditions should comply with the applicable requirements.
How to become the owner of a passenger car converted into a truck?
There are several ways, the simplest solution is to buy and register a new car from the manufacturer, of course as a truck. We will also act in accordance with the law, if we buy a vehicle in a specialized company, who purchased the car from the manufacturer and registered as personal, and then made the required changes and registered as heavy goods vehicles. We can also commission a workshop to convert our own car registered as a passenger car, and then in accordance with Art. 78 paragraph. 2 of the Road Traffic Act within a period not exceeding 30 days to notify the starost of a change of the facts that requires changes to the data included in the registration certificate.
In the last two cases, conversion of a registered passenger car into a truck, i.e. a change in the actual condition of the vehicle, must be confirmed by tests at a vehicle inspection station. Thus, the vehicle inspection station determines, whether the changes made to the registered passenger car entitle the owner to change the qualification to a truck in accordance with the applicable regulations.
It is hard not to notice a certain inconsistency in the regulations. What good are the stringent conditions imposed on producers?, if they can be 'circumvented' when re-registering the vehicle.