Full time through winter in search of new life

We found a free public weighbridge in France yesterday and weighed our old beast. Quite surprising really, better than I had expected.

It’s an old Hymer B544, ‘paper uprated’ to 3700kg an exercise undertaken principally due to the motorbike and chassis carrier we carry around permanently. The ‘uprate’ in capacity is to rear axle which is more helpful.

As we currently living in it full time with our dog, and it is packed with almost every imaginable extra to make our lives a bit more comfortable I have long wondered what it actually weighs fully loaded. It has awning, safari tent, oyster dish, roof aircon, rear semi-air, 6x panels and all the electrical paraphernalia inc dual batteries large invertor & B2B, dual roof air extract and dual cab fans, twin gaslow, TV, amp, subwoofer, head binnacle + 10 large speakers, a really heavy safe, a heavy rear chassis carrier carrying a motorbike, a lighter body mounted carrier carrying a push bike, a compressor, all my tools, tow rope and all the usual stuff like EHU, pipes, outside tables, BBQ and fuel etc, a proper gas oven and microwave (both put in by me), loads of pots and pans, our fancy water purification system, plus all, and I do mean all (though she denies it) of Bea’s clothes, shoes and coats…. though being fair there is a fair old amount of my stuff also, including crash helmets and all our motorbike stuff inc leathers. Though I’d maybe saved a few kg from using lithium batteries, it’s trivial when you see the weight of just the spare wheel and tyre…

So when we spotted the weighbridge it was with some trepidation that I drove on, especially as we’d just filled the tank to the brim with 120ltr of fresh water and we’d done a weekly shop - we were, ahem, ‘well stocked’ with corona, bottles of wine and food inc 8 tins of dog food. With the rear air springs (each with about 10kg of brackets..) as usual running at 6 bar to keep the rear end looking perky, I waited for the display to settle half expecting the number to start with a 4…

The van, loaded as above, with full tank of water, half a tank of fuel, myself, the mrs and the dog onboard was 3860kg. If I am correct in assuming that the law (at least in UK) allows 5%, then 3700kg + 5% = 3885kg.

So we are pretty much on the limit, but would not in theory get done. It’s good to know, especially as that is about as heavy as we can be… lighter already today with a few of the 36bottles of corona dispatched last night :) - It’s also nice to know we could immediately drop 120kg by pulling the plug in the bottom of the fresh water tank… (or drop 55kg by leaving Bea on the roadside :)) - should we ever get weighed on a differently calibrated bridge.
 
We found a free public weighbridge in France yesterday and weighed our old beast. Quite surprising really, better than I had expected.

It’s an old Hymer B544, ‘paper uprated’ to 3700kg an exercise undertaken principally due to the motorbike and chassis carrier we carry around permanently. The ‘uprate’ in capacity is to rear axle which is more helpful.

As we currently living in it full time with our dog, and it is packed with almost every imaginable extra to make our lives a bit more comfortable I have long wondered what it actually weighs fully loaded. It has awning, safari tent, oyster dish, roof aircon, rear semi-air, 6x panels and all the electrical paraphernalia inc dual batteries large invertor & B2B, dual roof air extract and dual cab fans, twin gaslow, TV, amp, subwoofer, head binnacle + 10 large speakers, a really heavy safe, a heavy rear chassis carrier carrying a motorbike, a lighter body mounted carrier carrying a push bike, a compressor, all my tools, tow rope and all the usual stuff like EHU, pipes, outside tables, BBQ and fuel etc, a proper gas oven and microwave (both put in by me), loads of pots and pans, our fancy water purification system, plus all, and I do mean all (though she denies it) of Bea’s clothes, shoes and coats…. though being fair there is a fair old amount of my stuff also, including crash helmets and all our motorbike stuff inc leathers. Though I’d maybe saved a few kg from using lithium batteries, it’s trivial when you see the weight of just the spare wheel and tyre…

So when we spotted the weighbridge it was with some trepidation that I drove on, especially as we’d just filled the tank to the brim with 120ltr of fresh water and we’d done a weekly shop - we were, ahem, ‘well stocked’ with corona, bottles of wine and food inc 8 tins of dog food. With the rear air springs (each with about 10kg of brackets..) as usual running at 6 bar to keep the rear end looking perky, I waited for the display to settle half expecting the number to start with a 4…

The van, loaded as above, with full tank of water, half a tank of fuel, myself, the mrs and the dog onboard was 3860kg. If I am correct in assuming that the law (at least in UK) allows 5%, then 3700kg + 5% = 3885kg.

So we are pretty much on the limit, but would not in theory get done. It’s good to know, especially as that is about as heavy as we can be… lighter already today with a few of the 36bottles of corona dispatched last night :) - It’s also nice to know we could immediately drop 120kg by pulling the plug in the bottom of the fresh water tank… (or drop 55kg by leaving Bea on the roadside :)) - should we ever get weighed on a differently calibrated bridge.
Out of interest, did you do the rear axle weight separately and compare against the plated weight for that axle?

PS following your story which is a great inspiring read!
 
I would love to do a classic car show on the front lawn of the chateau. I see how many of you chaps and ladies have some amazing stuff.
To see how the French can do classic car shows, you really must go to the Retro festival at a village near Saumur. We have been twice, a fantastic truly French experience. They call it a Grand Prix …….. but around the streets with hay bales to protect the spectators provide spectators with somewhere to sit. 🤔. The local vineyard provides wine at 1€ glass and everyone partakes including the drivers! Our friend who entered did the practice runs before lunch but refused to go out after lunch. The motorcycles with side car acrobatics are a wonder to behold.
48F85B9D-6E04-441E-A0CA-C8C1231DA484.jpeg
 
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Thanks !

No, I thought of doing axles seperate after I got off. But we camped close by so will try again tomorrow, I’m interested to see what’s on the rear. Would VOSA weigh axles independently?

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The van, loaded as above, with full tank of water, half a tank of fuel, myself, the mrs and the dog onboard was 3860kg. If I am correct in assuming that the law (at least in UK) allows 5%, then 3700kg + 5% = 3885kg.
Sorry to disappoint but it doesn't work like that especially abroad, if you're over, you're over. Even in the UK it's not so simple, it may also invalidate your insurance as you are knowingly travelling overweight.

Thanks !

No, I thought of doing axles seperate after I got off. But we camped close by so will try again tomorrow, I’m interested to see what’s on the rear. Would VOSA weigh axles independently?
Probably if you looked like you were bum heavy. Regardless they'd likely tell you to jettison stuff to get down to the correct weight, if not then I suspect you'd be fined and possibly prevented from moving so they'd recover you to their storage compound at great expense.
 
Sorry to disappoint but it doesn't work like that especially abroad, if you're over, you're over. Even in the UK it's not so simple, it may also invalidate your insurance as you are knowingly travelling overweight.


Probably if you looked like you were bum heavy. Regardless they'd likely tell you to jettison stuff to get down to the correct weight, if not then I suspect you'd be fined and possibly prevented from moving so they'd recover you to their storage compound at great expense.
ah, OK. Still it’s not an issue as we can jettison the water and be pretty much within the limit, especially if not immediately after the weeks shop.
 
Thanks !

No, I thought of doing axles seperate after I got off. But we camped close by so will try again tomorrow, I’m interested to see what’s on the rear. Would VOSA weigh axles independently?
Absolutely. It is usual to do both axles and then rear axle. The front will be both axles minus the rear. Generally vehicles exceed on the rear axle, if excessive it’ll be over on all axles as well (more than two axles : do each axle if necessary).
 
Thanks !

No, I thought of doing axles seperate after I got off. But we camped close by so will try again tomorrow, I’m interested to see what’s on the rear. Would VOSA weigh axles independently?
Yep
 
Hopefully for you the weighbridge was not weighing over by 5%.
Sue

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Hopefully for you the weighbridge was not weighing over by 5%.
Sue
Don’t you mean under?

I’m not at all bothered being a little overweight if I can drop the ballast (fresh water) to be within the proscribed numbers or guidance written down for law enforcement anytime. I always drive with a full tank of water as the mass is very usefully positioned, low down and central, which improves stability via reducing the centre of gravity a little. These old buses need all the help they can get. It also noticeably reduces reflected noise in the cabin.

The downside is obviously the increased potential to cook the brakes on long descents, I am however acutely aware of this and always use engine braking and very carefully measured speeds and braking in these instances. Anyone that’s ever suffered total brake fade coming down a switchback pass in the Alps (as I first did 30years ago) will not want to repeat it…

Interested to see the rear axle weight tomorrow, I suspect it will be bang on or just over the uprated 2000kg, but we have approx 50kg sitting in rear that can be quickly brought to the front to reduce rear axle load by approx 75-90kg (if my eyeball moment estimates are near enough). I find out tomorrow.
 
I suspect 70-80% of motorhomes are overweight…😎
You are probably correct smiffy. Stuff is designed with safety factors so absolutely not a problem as long as driver is aware and adjusts driving style, speeds and especially braking distances accordingly. I would say all of you very experienced pilots in your maybe slightly overloaded MoHo are between 100 and 1000x safer on the roads than any similarly loaded but young, inexperienced, stressed/angry white van man charging around to make his quota of drops. It is the likely reason that police are, in general, not generally at all interested in us as a group. Also why insurance so cheap etc

That’s two of the very few things that’s nice about getting old, plod tend to lose all interest in you and insurance becomes pennies… :)
 
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Message late tonight that owners of the chateau campsite are reconsidering our offer, all based on a new idea we put to them re termination of agent contract and restructuring to minimise all round tax liabilities (we have been studying) Oooo exciting, looks like we might possibly be able to just about squeak a deal over the line. Hope so! Next stop after that will be seeing how French banks respond to a brit asking to borrow a million or two :)

Face to face is scheduled for Friday, now to make another long drive North tomorrow.
 
For fun, my/our Motorhome journey!

1992 - 1978 Ford transit 1600 petrol builders van. Bits of scrapyard caravan interior put in for touring. £150. To Amsterdam and San Siro in Milan. Evicted from Monaco as suspected of being ‘travellers’
1994 - 1977 Bedford pop top petrol CF with blown 2.3 petrol slant block. £300. Early 70s Sherpa BMC1800 diesel engine welded in. Triumph overdrive, home made engine cover, propshaft, fuel lines, vacuum pump, exhaust, speedo cable and much else. Driven to the cafe on top of the Grossglockner and on to explore East Europe to Black sea. Van taken apart twice - Italian border guards after dog smelled residue of ‘something’ from Amsterdam and French Douanne in central France enroute home. Rubber gloves avoided in both instances.
1997 - 1981 VW LT28 home conversion £250. On last legs but made it to Strasbourg for job interview and Reims for crates of cheap Champagne for graduation party.

2007 - 1983 Autotrail Cherokee on Merc 307D base using 2.4 OM646 non turbo diesel. £1000. New partner Bea’s introduction to camper vans. I told her that compared to all previous, that this was ‘pure luxury’. It had hot water! All she remembers are the many leaks, extreme slowness, and that it smelled funny inside and out (mould/rot and being unemployed at the time I ran it on cooking oil). Used to introduce a Frenchie to my homeland the lakes.
2011 - 1992 Elnagh Magnum based on Talbot Express. £5000. Turbo engine. semi-winterised A-class. Fewer leaks. Taking advantage of living near the channel tunnel, we used to take it for ski weekends in Europe (sneak off work at lunch on Friday to arrive Val D’Isere or Chamonix (once St Anton, Austria!) about 10 or 11pm (or 2am St Anton) leave the pistes at 3pm Sunday and be back at work for monday morning!), we did that three times one winter. Used it for a 6month Euro tour and 1 month introducing a Frenchie to the majesty of Scotland
2018 - Now we talking… Fully winterised, zero leak, totally reliable 2002 LHD Hymer B544 based on x230 Ducato and 2.8JTD £21000. Now fully off grid capable, fully loaded and well proven….

Our beautiful ‘Helga’ will be offered for sale c/w all added goodies and extras to some lucky lucky people once we have bought (and moved into) our new campsite, wherever it is, towards the back end - I suspect we will have had quite enough of Motorhoming for a while, and won’t have time in summer, or even much time for short spring/autumn travels given the scale of the challenge..

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Well, I got it back on the weighbridge, a little lighter now as having used and drained most of the fresh water, and got through a few beers, food etc.

I first checked the plates, 1750 front 2000 rear total 3700kg

With all aboard we came in at front 1600kg, rear 2120kg, total 3720kg. Ignoring the 20kg as the van was wet with it raining we are bang on the plate limit, I wouldn’t have believed it possible given the stuff we are hauling round!

Rear a tad over just as expected because of the motorbike, but no issue at all as we can easily take 50kg of UDL off of the internal rear overhang at a mean 0.5m behind rear axle and relocate to min 1m ahead of rear axle to achieve perfect 1700kg and 2000kg if necessry - even leaving the motorbike with full tank of fuel and pushbike on the back.

This faithful old bus never fails to surprise. What a machine as Clarkson (probably wouldn’t) say :)
 
2018 - Now we talking… Fully winterised, zero leak, totally reliable 2002 LHD Hymer B544 based on x230 Ducato and 2.8JTD £21000. Now fully off grid capable, fully loaded and well proven….

Our beautiful ‘Helga’ will be offered for sale
That’s not @ianthebuilder’s old MH is it ? 🤔
 
That’s not @ianthebuilder’s old MH is it ? 🤔
I don’t think so, that one has a Merc badge.
 
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That’s not @ianthebuilder’s old MH is it ? 🤔
December 2015 , wow only seems last year.
Wish he would come on to tell us what he's up to now.
 
To see how the French can do classic car shows, you really must go to the Retro festival at a village near Saumur. We have been twice, a fantastic truly French experience. They call it a Grand Prix …….. but around the streets with hay bales to protect the spectators provide spectators with somewhere to sit. 🤔. The local vineyard provides wine at 1€ glass and everyone partakes including the drivers! Our friend who entered did the practice runs before lunch but refused to go out after lunch. The motorcycles with side car acrobatics are a wonder to behold.
View attachment 750846
Sounds like fun, and that is actually very close to where we hoping to buy.

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Well, I got it back on the weighbridge, a little lighter now as having used and drained most of the fresh water, and got through a few beers, food etc.

I first checked the plates, 1750 front 2000 rear total 3700kg

With all aboard we came in at front 1600kg, rear 2120kg, total 3720kg. Ignoring the 20kg as the van was wet with it raining we are bang on the plate limit, I wouldn’t have believed it possible given the stuff we are hauling round!

Rear a tad over just as expected because of the motorbike, but no issue at all as we can easily take 50kg of UDL off of the internal rear overhang at a mean 0.5m behind rear axle and relocate to min 1m ahead of rear axle to achieve perfect 1700kg and 2000kg if necessry - even leaving the motorbike with full tank of fuel and pushbike on the back.

This faithful old bus never fails to surprise. What a machine as Clarkson (probably wouldn’t) say :)
The rear is just within the 5% tolerance for a verbal warning, and as you say now you know you can re-adjust your load within the plated weights. I suspect most 3.5 tunners are over when in touring mode!!

👍🏼
 
Well, as expected, our cheeky offer of 65% of asking price for the riverbank campsite in the deep south near Montpelier, plus a share in proceeds from disposal of flood risk assets (would have taken them to about 75-80% of the very fair asking price) was flat rejected. No surprise really, on reflection it would probably have been a non starter anyway, we are certain that we would not have been able to secure any insurance, and with that no chance to borrow to invest or simply keep something in reserve.

Also she won’t admit it but the freckle faced celtic warrior (Bea is a Breton) seemed a bit perturbed when I explained that being riverside in the driest part of France, currently in severe drought, that she’d regularly be meeting all the Southern beasties she’s not used to, bitier insects, snakes, scorpions etc….

So we came back North to refocus on the other one. At last our tweaked (but not increased) final offer has been accepted in principle, yesterday we heard how we can proceed without paying any agent fees. It’s great but means no services whatsoever from that or any other immoblier (estate agent), so all detail negotiation must be done by us, and we have to find our own accountant, finance broker (to help with business plan and connect us to bank commercial lending departments), and appoint our own notaire. We don’t mind, it means less brown envelopes whose contents would ultimately make their way onto our bill. Today we go through contract novations, the huge list of sale contents, and working out how to allocate walls and business (murs et fonds) to appropriate buckets to minimise tax liability.

So some final negotiations today and a bunch of stuff to work through to secure the necessary borrowing. We’d be holding back a fair bit to immediately invest in improvement to facilities and accommodation (the place is in pretty poor shape), we are under no illusions of the scale of the challenge. We would be taking over post season in September and living on the site through the summer to give us a chance to get to know what is quite a large site with large buildings. Even the electrical diagnostics report runs to some 20 pages of faults, but that includes all the usual nonsense.

However, in the end, it looks like we have found the new life in France we were looking for. It is a very handsome but very run down little chateau in its own grounds with a large but tired camping operation. It’s going to be work and vast borrowing and investment, but we have ideas on how to almost double the turnover from 300k to about 550k as we would need to as financing, debt servicing and operational costs are all huge. With no experience of running campsites or restoring chateau, we are jumping in to the deep end :)

Maybe we will one day get to meet the 10% of you guys on this forum who I found might be happy to stay on a campsite when enroute to and from the southern europe sun…
 
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Well, as expected, our cheeky offer of 65% of asking price for the riverbank campsite in the deep south near Montpelier, plus a share in proceeds from disposal of flood risk assets (would have taken them to about 75-80% of the very fair asking price) was flat rejected. No surprise really, on reflection it would probably have been a non starter anyway, we are certain that we would not have been able to secure any insurance, and with that no chance to borrow to invest or simply keep something in reserve.

Also she won’t admit it but the freckle faced celtic warrior (Bea is a Breton) seemed a bit perturbed when I explained that being riverside in the driest part of France, currently in severe drought, that she’d regularly be meeting all the Southern beasties she’s not used to, bitier insects, snakes, scorpions etc….

So we came back North to refocus on the other one. At last our tweaked (but not increased) final offer has been accepted in principle, yesterday we heard how we can proceed without paying any agent fees. It’s great but means no services whatsoever from that or any other immoblier (estate agent), so all detail negotiation must be done by us, and we have to find our own accountant, finance broker (to help with business plan and connect us to bank commercial lending departments), and appoint our own notaire. We don’t mind, it means less brown envelopes whose contents would ultimately make their way onto our bill. Today we go through contract novations, the huge list of sale contents, and working out how to allocate walls and business (murs et fonds) to appropriate buckets to minimise tax liability.

So some final negotiations today and a bunch of stuff to work through to secure the necessary borrowing. We’d be holding back a fair bit to immediately invest in improvement to facilities and accommodation (the place is in pretty poor shape), we are under no illusions of the scale of the challenge. We would be taking over post season in September and living on the site through the summer to give us a chance to get to know what is quite a large site with large buildings. Even the electrical diagnostics report runs to some 20 pages of faults, but that includes all the usual nonsense.

However, in the end, it looks like we have found the new life in France we were looking for. It is a very handsome but very run down little chateau in its own grounds with a large but tired camping operation. It’s going to be work and vast borrowing and investment, but we have ideas on how to almost double the turnover from 300k to about 550k as we would need to as financing, debt servicing and operational costs are all huge. With no experience of running campsites or restoring chateau, we are jumping in to the deep end :)

Maybe we will one day get to meet the 10% of you guys on this forum who I found might be happy to stay on a campsite when enroute to and from the southern europe sun…
A bit late now,but have you looked at getting a TV company interested in your venture, as it's slightly different than the normal place in the sun things, buying a full business.?
 
Well, as expected, our cheeky offer of 65% of asking price for the riverbank campsite in the deep south near Montpelier, plus a share in proceeds from disposal of flood risk assets (would have taken them to about 75-80% of the very fair asking price) was flat rejected. No surprise really, on reflection it would probably have been a non starter anyway, we are certain that we would not have been able to secure any insurance, and with that no chance to borrow to invest or simply keep something in reserve.

Also she won’t admit it but the freckle faced celtic warrior (Bea is a Breton) seemed a bit perturbed when I explained that being riverside in the driest part of France, currently in severe drought, that she’d regularly be meeting all the Southern beasties she’s not used to, bitier insects, snakes, scorpions etc….

So we came back North to refocus on the other one. At last our tweaked (but not increased) final offer has been accepted in principle, yesterday we heard how we can proceed without paying any agent fees. It’s great but means no services whatsoever from that or any other immoblier (estate agent), so all detail negotiation must be done by us, and we have to find our own accountant, finance broker (to help with business plan and connect us to bank commercial lending departments), and appoint our own notaire. We don’t mind, it means less brown envelopes whose contents would ultimately make their way onto our bill. Today we go through contract novations, the huge list of sale contents, and working out how to allocate walls and business (murs et fonds) to appropriate buckets to minimise tax liability.

So some final negotiations today and a bunch of stuff to work through to secure the necessary borrowing. We’d be holding back a fair bit to immediately invest in improvement to facilities and accommodation (the place is in pretty poor shape), we are under no illusions of the scale of the challenge. We would be taking over post season in September and living on the site through the summer to give us a chance to get to know what is quite a large site with large buildings. Even the electrical diagnostics report runs to some 20 pages of faults, but that includes all the usual nonsense.

However, in the end, it looks like we have found the new life in France we were looking for. It is a very handsome but very run down little chateau in its own grounds with a large but tired camping operation. It’s going to be work and vast borrowing and investment, but we have ideas on how to almost double the turnover from 300k to about 550k as we would need to as financing, debt servicing and operational costs are all huge. With no experience of running campsites or restoring chateau, we are jumping in to the deep end :)

Maybe we will one day get to meet the 10% of you guys on this forum who I found might be happy to stay on a campsite when enroute to and from the southern europe sun…
Well done and I hope it all works out for you both👍👍
 
A bit late now,but have you looked at getting a TV company interested in your venture, as it's slightly different than the normal place in the sun things, buying a full business.?
no, not our thing. We will start up a youtube channel when we get started, uploading drone video and generally showing off the place. Though it all needs years of hard graft, it has an awful lot to it, as a Brit I almost can’t believe it.
 
We were on a tour last year and one of the couples was Belgian(French speaking), we’d toured Norway with them for 6 weeks 3 years previously and had got along well. He drove an A class that was plated at 3500. He had absolutely no idea that it had to be under that fully laden and had been driving for years including towing his dressage horses. When it was explained he just gave a Gallic shrug and said “what do you do? Huh” but it wasn’t actually a question, he wasn’t going to worry in the least!
 

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