I'm worrying about weight now.....

[Luvin156]

......and I hadn't even got a MH yet.
I am restricted to 3500kg due to MH licence and after reading a few posts on here it looks like I may have to reconsider what I'm looking for.

I'm looking for at least a 4birth I will be travelling with my wife, teenager and 8 year old. I'm about 100kg on my own (Might have to go on a diet) From what I can gather I will be using half the payload on us, leaving very little for water clothing and the rest we will be needing.

Has anyone else had these issues and how do you he over them? Oram I looking at it all wrong?

Thanks for any advice

Paul

 

[busby]

Appreciate your concerns but will you ever be weighed?...... I never have.............. has anyone? and if so what penalty?

If you feel you are over up-rate your suspension, safety should be your main concern....4 seat belts for instance

others will disagree..............

Up rating suspension will not help,,it will uprate the gross weight which he hasn't got the license for...BUSBY.

 

[Minxy]

Paul, you are being very sensible!

Your boys will continue to grow so the payload available for other bits will diminish over time.

3.5 ton is doable so long as you're sensible and don't get something with loads of extras fitted as they can add a heck of a lot of weight, and don't go for anything too big.

The Chausson range on the whole have a very good payload with the ones on the Ford base being better than the equivalent Fiat ones, I assume because the Ford is slightly narrower. We used to have a Chausson Flash 04 which had a 'true' payload of over 700kg and we never got close to using it!

If you can tell us:

• your budget
• age of vehicle you're looking for
• your preferred layout
• what 'toys' your likely to want to take with you
• what equipment you need on the MH

we can see if there's anything that meets your requirements.

 

[Spidey]

That is true about Chausson. We have a flash 510 and it had loads of payload. Very pleased when we weighed it. We had no problems the 4 of us going away last summer. But we don't take hoards of stuff, nothing really heavy like bikes etc.

 

[Minxy]

Appreciate your concerns but will you ever be weighed?...... I never have.............. has anyone? and if so what penalty?

If you feel you are over up-rate your suspension, safety should be your main concern....4 seat belts for instance

others will disagree..............

I totally agree with you that the first consideration should be safety (of course with 4 seat belts) but that's all I agree with ... you then go on to undermine this with your subsequent comments!

Driving a vehicle overweight could mean that the existing brakes etc are not up to taking the extra weight which is dangerous. You may be happy to do what you've said but I certainly would not recommend it to anyone.

Safety and legality ... if there was an accident do you think the insurance company will pay out if they can prove it was overweight at the time especially if this compounded the accident? If you haven't ever watched the Police accident investigation unit programmes on TV you really should ... its amazing what they can work out from skid marks etc!

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[Whitebirdyman]

First time we got done for overloading was in an Escort van,,,300 kg over,,cost us £900 ...Been prosecuted a couple of times when we had trucks,,both times axel overload,,with a solicitor in court (£500) fine was £300 both times.

I have the English guidelines for vehicles up to 7.5 tonnes in front of me.

If you are overweight between 1% and 5%, plead guilty at the first opportunity and have an income of more than £300 per week then the fine would be £570.

5% on a 3500kg MH would be 175kg.

The fine then increases with each percent overweight. the gap between each percentage point varies a bit but mostly around £50 per percent.

Don't forget that in court you would have other costs on top of that, probably costs of £85 and the victims of crime surcharge (10% of fine) so the minimum cost in court is going to be £712.

 

[Minxy]

I was thinking of up rating but no tag and lower speed limits in France.........am I right?

Yes you will be subject to lower speed limits abroad if you are over 3.5 ton (I assume by 'tag' you mean tag-axle) and possibly higher tolls - this can vary depending on whether they 'realise' you're a higher category or not, obviously the larger the MH the more likely they are to think so!

We uprated our PVC to 4.25 ton last year (I used a chap I discovered who was much cheaper than SVTech) even though we were just below 3.5 ton it means we don't need to worry especially as we often bring stuff back with us after holidays which will probably take us over (not necessarily alcohol either! ). The small difference in speed limits isn't worth worrying about, you're in a MH not a racing car (must remind hubby! ) so it won't cause you any problems.

The only other limit to be aware of is the 3.5 ton ones on some villages etc but I believe that these are mainly to prevent commercial vehicles going down them rather than private ones as we've often find that this has been the only way to get to the 'aires'!

In the UK there are reductions on speed limits too but that is based on the unladen weight being 3.050 ton NOT the actual MTPLM of 3.5 ton and over ... madness as it's very difficult to check this weight but that's the UK for you!

 

[peterc10]

I think the reference to tag is the French toll tag. That is only supposed to be for vehicles under 3.5t and 3m high.

Frankly tolls you will probably get away with, as long as you are under 3m high, because they only check the height automatically and not the weight. We were always charged at the lower rate through France and Italy when we were there earlier this year (we are 2.8m high and 4500kg). And I know people that use the French toll tag when they are over 3.5t and get away with it.

 

[Barclaybasher]

I totally agree with you that the first consideration should be safety (of course with 4 seat belts) but that's all I agree with ... you then go on to undermine this with your subsequent comments!

Driving a vehicle overweight could mean that the existing brakes etc are not up to taking the extra weight which is dangerous. You may be happy to do what you've said but I certainly would not recommend it to anyone.

Safety and legality ... if there was an accident do you think the insurance company will pay out if they can prove it was overweight at the time especially if this compounded the accident? If you haven't ever watched the Police accident investigation unit programmes on TV you really should ... its amazing what they can work out from skid marks etc!

I fitted air suspension to my last MH to improve handling (which it did) not to uprate payload which I didn't need.

I believe you can uprate your payload, in some cases, without making any modifications - does that make sense?.

Legality is important but I put safety first, replacing shock absorbers, brake discs and tyres as well when I bought it, just because they were as old as the vehicle (8 years with 50k on the clock)

...........As far as skid marks are concerned ...

............... you wouldn't want to measure mine.............

 

[Larrynwin]

From the DVSA website it seems that fixed penalties for overweight start at +5% so no fine below 5%. https://www.gov.uk/roadside-vehicle-checks-for-commercial-drivers/fixed-penalties

I wonder if that is a safety tolerance for innacuracies similar to that which has been the norm with the 10% tolerance on speeding .

5% on 3500kgs = 175kgs and on a motorhome that as in many cases was originally plated at 3850kgs but downplated for the forecourt so no safety issues.

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[Chris]

I need to upgrade mine.

What's the name of the company that does it for you?

 

[Jaws]

As a general rule of thumb, older A class vans have far better payloads than C class types

 

[peterc10]

Larry, that website is for commercial vehicles. Not sure it would be the same with a motorhome?

 

[Larrynwin]

Larry, that website is for commercial vehicles. Not sure it would be the same with a motorhome?

I haven't been able to find the non commercial section but it has been posted on fun in previous threads and is much the same.

 

[Ralph-n-Bev]

I need to upgrade mine.

What's the name of the company that does it for you?

SVTEC ( cost £260 plus vat) Ralphs only 50 so there's a few years before he has to think about it again now.
We're up to 4.250kg so we can both pile on loads of weight , and take plenty beer and bottles of prosecco with the new 1000kg pay load.

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[Chris]

SVTEC ( cost £260 plus vat) Ralphs only 50 so there's a few years before he has to think about it again now.
We're up to 4.250kg so we can both pile on loads of weight , and take plenty beer and bottles of prosecco with the new 1000kg pay load.

Thanks for that.

I will contact them next week

 

[pappajohn]

otherwise maybe a caravan.

Not always the best option.
I have a 26ft twin axle caravan with a user payload of just over 200kg.
That is an average weight for a european caravan.
Take into account the motor mover and solar panel I reckon on 150kg spare.....before and food and clothing goes in.

 

[Judge Mental]

As a general rule of thumb, older A class vans have far better payloads than C class types

Yes very true...if it has a van front end it will be longer, heavier with less payload

 

[Ralph-n-Bev]

Here's the link @Chris
Ralph said he man was as very knowledgeable and helpful .
http://www.svtech.co.uk/

 

[busby]

I have the English guidelines for vehicles up to 7.5 tonnes in front of me.

If you are overweight between 1% and 5%, plead guilty at the first opportunity and have an income of more than £300 per week then the fine would be £570.

5% on a 3500kg MH would be 175kg.

The fine then increases with each percent overweight. the gap between each percentage point varies a bit but mostly around £50 per percent.

Don't forget that in court you would have other costs on top of that, probably costs of £85 and the victims of crime surcharge (10% of fine) so the minimum cost in court is going to be £712.

Plus before you can continue your journey you will have to remove the excess weight from vehicle,,,more expense because some one will have to travel to collect it. You could always throw wife and kids out,,

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[Judge Mental]

Here's the link @Chris
Ralph said he man was as very knowledgeable and helpful .
http://www.svtech.co.uk/

you can DIY the process a lot cheaper @minxy nows all the tricks she is to weights what I am to importing

 

[Whitebirdyman]

From the DVSA website it seems that fixed penalties for overweight start at +5% so no fine below 5%. https://www.gov.uk/roadside-vehicle-checks-for-commercial-drivers/fixed-penalties

Most speeding offences are also eligible for a fixed penalty, but there are plenty of them that reach court for various reasons every week, so I would not rule it out just because a fixed penalty is a possibility.

In the context of a smart road weighing system plus camera that was mentioned earlier in the thread I guess they would first write to the registered keeper to find out who was driving, similar to how they do it for speeding.

 

[Speve]

We bought our Exsis with 4250kg GVW and with two dogs me and the missus two full 11kg gas tanks and full fresh water not forgetting fuel full we weigh in. At around 4000kg when doing a three month trip carrying a few extras I believe at a push you could get down to around 3500kg but may be tight also van is 7.2m long with 4 seat belts.and towbar.

 

[Chris]

I have a max weight now of 4250kg, any idea what I can upgrade to?

 

[Boringfrog]

I have a max weight now of 4250kg, any idea what I can upgrade to?

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[gus-lopez]

I have the English guidelines for vehicles up to 7.5 tonnes in front of me.

If you are overweight between 1% and 5%, plead guilty at the first opportunity and have an income of more than £300 per week then the fine would be £570.

5% on a 3500kg MH would be 175kg.

The fine then increases with each percent overweight. the gap between each percentage point varies a bit but mostly around £50 per percent.

Don't forget that in court you would have other costs on top of that, probably costs of £85 and the victims of crime surcharge (10% of fine) so the minimum cost in court is going to be £712.

Cheaper to shoot them.

" Victims of crime "?? Yes you have been when you've dealt with them.

Larry, that website is for commercial vehicles. Not sure it would be the same with a motorhome?

""NON COMMERCIAL DRIVERS""
"In genuine cases of ignorance e.g. moving house, and where the offence is unlikely to be
repeated, a prohibition should be issued and an overloading guidance leaflet handed to
the driver. To take into account the Public Interest Test no Fixed Penalty Notice should
be issued in these circumstances."


as long as your axle weights are under the plated weights vosa can't touch you.
They won't prosecute on total only.

 

[Chris]

I meant my van

 

[Speve]

I have a max weight now of 4250kg, any idea what I can upgrade to?

Probably 4500kg

 

[Larrynwin]

Cheaper to shoot them.

" Victims of crime "?? Yes you have been when you've dealt with them.




""NON COMMERCIAL DRIVERS""
"In genuine cases of ignorance e.g. moving house, and where the offence is unlikely to be
repeated, a prohibition should be issued and an overloading guidance leaflet handed to
the driver. To take into account the Public Interest Test no Fixed Penalty Notice should
be issued in these circumstances."


as long as your axle weights are under the plated weights vosa can't touch you.
They won't prosecute on total only.

Interesting as when a mhome is downplated from 3850 to 3500
they leave the axle weights the same so it's probably more unlikely it will be exceeded.

 

[Lenny HB]

Thanks for that.

I will contact them next week

Mel @Minxy Girl knows someone who is a lot cheaper, didn't let us know until after I'd done mine.

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[pappajohn]

The most surprising one was the grey metallic paint which supposedly weighed an extra 30kg

And there I was, thinking they had taken the lead out of paints years ago.

I think 30kg is a little optimistic.....even with lead included.