Luton van weight up plating.

[steven2002]

Ok folks a bit of out loud thinking going on here!
I am thinking of selling my rapido and fancy building a Luton type van conversion.
I have a few ideas of what I want but the 3.5ton max is a bit worrying.
Most Luton's have approx payload around 1000kg which wouldn't be enough for conversion and what I would need to carry.
So Is it possible to upplate a 3.5ton Luton type van as you can with a lot of panel vans?
Thanks

 

[Lenny HB]

I don't see why it would be any different to up plating a Motorhome.
You would need to look at the plate on any you are thinking of buying e. g. if the front & rear axles are 1850 & 2000 kg you could uprate to 3850kg, Mercs can often go a lot higher.

 

[Guigsy]

Out of interest, what's the general solution for the fact that the whole body is over the wheels, so the floor is really high? How do you get in and out? I guess the advantage is you can hang loads of stuff underneath.

 

[Jev88]

Speak to VanWeightEngineering
Impartial advice but obviously a fee to complete engineer report should you change weight.

 

[Googlebot]

Out of interest, what's the general solution for the fact that the whole body is over the wheels, so the floor is really high? How do you get in and out? I guess the advantage is you can hang loads of stuff underneath.

Often the wheel arches are still in the load area so not that high.

It’s a huge step up otherwise as you say.

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[Terry]

You need a low loader type van or a Gown van they have low floors with the wheel arches inside rather than body sat on top of wheels.As Lenny says look at axle weight Also some nice looking minibuses worth looking at

 

[cmcardle75]

Most Lutons can be easily upplated. Indeed, the 3500kg are typically downplated 4500kg dual rear wheel models. However, I'm not sure they make particularly good motorhome conversions, as there is no connection between the body and the cab. So you have to get out of the vehicle and back in the back. As well as inconvenient, it stops you adding swivel bases and using the driving seats as lounge chairs.

 

[steven2002]

Good info folks.i will try and get a look at the plates on a few to check the axle weight limits.
I am not sure yet if I will do it or not but checking the options.
If I couldn't uprate It wouldn't be viable.
Thanks again.

 

[Terry]

The Gown vans I mentioned in my last post have access to the back. If you’re serious about Luton’s you can seal the Luton to the top and sides then open up the back of Luton.and cab

 

[cmcardle75]

The Gown vans I mentioned in my last post have access to the back. If you’re serious about Luton’s you can seal the Luton to the top and sides then open up the back of Luton.and cab

I imagine one already with through design would be ideal. Personally, I'd be worried about structural integrity chopping apart the cab and body without some official guidance that it would be strong enough. However, if you found one, I bet the conversion would be much easier with straight walls, easy to insulate and install windows.

Also, I wouldn't be surprised if 4500kg plated ones were cheaper than 3500kg, given the more limited appeal and the fact they're basically the same vehicles underneath. However, I haven't looked.

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[Terry]

I imagine one already with through design would be ideal. Personally, I'd be worried about structural integrity chopping apart the cab and body without some official guidance that it would be strong enough. However, if you found one, I bet the conversion would be much easier with straight walls, easy to insulate and install windows.

Also, I wouldn't be surprised if 4500kg plated ones were cheaper than 3500kg, given the more limited appeal and the fact they're basically the same vehicles underneath. However, I haven't looked.

I would not worry about chopping the back of the cab off, they already supply “front only” cabs to MH manufacturers I prefer vans with creases (think they look better) rather than straight sides but can understand how it may be easier for someone to convert. To me it makes no difference because you still may have to scribe the backs of furniture/ units to wall etc