Motorhome Payload Stop Checks

[Crazy Grandad]

Have any of you funsters ever been stopped in the UK and had your weight checked. Just been on weighbridge and wondered if there is any leeway with regard to carrying extra food and fuel on a 3500 van weight

 

[Pausim]

Those that weigh their vans and know they have spare payload seem happy, the other 99% (of which I am one), have a vague idea of available payload, however, have never weighed their van and are unlikely to ever do so, however, they load their vans in a perfectly sensible manner, don't try and transport steel girders for the local scrap man and they drive off are equally as happy because they have a bit of common sense and would know if the van felt different, unstable or dangerous.

Payload figures are often a work of fiction. How do you even have a vague idea if you have never weighed it.

 

[Barclaybasher]

Payload figures are often a work of fiction. How do you even have a vague idea if you have never weighed it.

Do builders or scrappers check or care?

 

[Happy Jack]

That is not very nice thing to say amongst friends.

Nor is it particularly sensible comment.
I have already explained that my MH exceeds the specification for an up-plate, if I cough up a hundred quid.
So Jack, at what point, bearing this in mind, do I move from being your "complete ********" and become a safe and responsible driver? After I have undertaken a pointless bureaucratic process?
My bus is safe to go to 3850. I doubt that I am overweight by even 5%, when we are going on a long trip. I never exceed the speed limit. I never ever drive if I have had even one drink in the last 24 hours. Never. Can you say that?
Let he who is without sin, cast the first stone.

Overweight is overweight. Speeding is speeding. Jumping the lights, undertaking, hedge hopping, drink driving are all wrong and/or illegal

 

[Happy Jack]

Got my MWB van weighed on completion with the 2 of us onboard.
Nearly full tanks of fuel, fresh water, grey water and toilet cassette. Full fridge/freezer, also fully loaded with all the food and clothes we normally take.
Was 400Kg under.
Happy with that.
Happy Jack.

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[Ray-Vic]

Given that there are very many public weigh bridges available, and they're usually around £15-£20 to use, it's probably a little irresponsible to have never weighed, so have no idea whether you're even close to your plated weight. This is especially important with motorhomes where we know manufacturers are more than a little ambitious with some of the payload figures they present.

As a consultant engineer I consider myself to have a pretty good understanding of weights and loadings, but I was very surprised when I first weighed to find that I was a fair bit over our 3,850 kg plated weight, when I expected to actually be a bit under. I now know pretty much what I can and can't take at the same time, and weigh when I can just to make sure and build up a record of what I weigh with certain items on board.

It's worth weighing, even if it's nearly empty, just to know what "actual" payload you're working with to make sure you're on the right side of the law.

 

[bigtwin]

the other 99% (of which I am one), have a vague idea of available payload, however, have never weighed their van and are unlikely to ever do so, however, they load their vans in a perfectly sensible manner, don't try and transport steel girders for the local scrap man and they drive off are equally as happy because they have a bit of common sense and would know if the van felt different, unstable or dangerous.

That did make me smile.

How do you even have a vague idea if you have never weighed it.

Indeed.

As a consultant engineer I consider myself to have a pretty good understanding of weights and loadings, but I was very surprised when I first weighed to find that I was a fair bit over our 3,850 kg plated weight, when I expected to actually be a bit under.

Ahh, perhaps you haven’t got the appropriate quantity of common sense that Dolmen thinks that 99% of motorhomers who don’t weigh their vans have. You’re a perfect illustration of how, even for an engineer, the vast majority of motorhomers have no idea of the extent of their very probable overloading.

You can take horses to water but some of them won’t drink.

Ian

 

[Dolmen]

What a bunch of indigent, self righteous, self congratulatory responses I have ever seen, please try and enjoy life, it doesn’t last long

 

[Northernraider]

Must be a British thing always obeying the law
After 9 weeks in Turkey I've discovered I'm the only vehicle and I mean THE only vehicle obeying the law on these roads...80% of the time.
Everyone else is speeding all the time and many are driving dangerously.


But to be honest on UK motorways too 80% are breaking the speedlimit.


P.s I've never weighed my current motorhome .

 

[David and Sally]

What a bunch of indigent, self righteous, self congratulatory responses I have ever seen, please try and enjoy life, it doesn’t last long

Examples please. Especially my posts. Go ahead.

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[Jonno1103]

The same argument appears again and again on this thread “if it’s safe to register at 3850kgs it’ll be safe if I go over 3500kgs for which it’s plated for

We all KNOW it’s safe but it’s NOT legal, it’s not rocket science, if you know you’re overweight and get caught you should be fined like an HGV driver, £1000 for every ton OR PART THEREOF

Yes I weigh my moho at least 6 times a year under different scenarios with maybe carrying different stuff
I know my beer/coke etc has to be up front if the garage is full with all the chairs, tables, cooking stuff, scooter, washing machine, and quest pro4 OR I’m a few kgs over on the rear axle, I KNOW this, so I load accordingly
I do like to be Legal

My response & question was to those who deem it unsafe rather than legal. The legality of it is whole different argument which basically boils down to money or simply another avenue to get us to part with it. Me, I like to be legal too hence the trailer even though I have the space & rear axle weight to carry the gear inside the vehicle.

It will be moot soon enough as 68% - 70% of those currently with a licence in the U.K. don't have C1. After the results of the consultaion in June 2023 there's now also very strong support in raising the weight allowance to 5000kg with the need for DCPC training for those wishing to enter the commercial driving market. The exemption to this will probably be leisure vehicles, general emergency service vehicles and horse boxes.

 

[WESTY66]

My response & question was to those who deem it unsafe rather than legal. The legality of it is whole different argument which basically boils down to money or simply another avenue to get us to part with it. Me, I like to be legal too hence the trailer even though I have the space & rear axle weight to carry the gear inside the vehicle.

It will be moot soon enough as 68% - 70% of those currently with a licence in the U.K. don't have C1. After the results of the consultaion in June 2023 there's now also very strong support in raising the weight allowance to 5000kg with the need for DCPC training for those wishing to enter the commercial driving market. The exemption to this will probably be leisure vehicles, general emergency service vehicles and horse boxes.

Tbh the whole licence thing is an arse, it should be immediately reverted back to 7.5t it serves no useful purpose to keep it at 3.5t
All those that say “young irresponsible people shouldn’t get 7.5t” well like it or not, that was us many many moons ago

 

[Pausim]

Do builders or scrappers check or care?

Most scrappers get weighed in and weighed out whenever they drop their loads off at the yard. If they don’t care then that is their responsibility.

As a leisure user I don’t think I am any less responsible for my actions than a business user. I had my current motorhome weighed by the dealer before I took delivery and again went back to the weigh bridge after fuelling and loading it. The PVC I am now in the process of buying was driven to the local scrapyard on trade plates for weighing last week with me and my wife onboard, so that we can plan our payload. I don’t expect everyone to do as I do but I like to have a realistic idea of what the payload really is, it may well not be what I am expecting. This time it was only about 20kg less than the figures given by the manufacturer and much less than the 5% tolerance they often take. Last time it was 130kg less and close to the 5%. I like to know these things.

 

[nicholsong]

Tbh the whole licence thing is an arse, it should be immediately reverted back to 7.5t it serves no useful purpose to keep it at 3.5t
All those that say “young irresponsible people shouldn’t get 7.5t” well like it or not, that was us many many moons ago

Should be good for UK campsites when those drivers find they cannot go to the Continent, legally.

 

[Lenny HB]

Should be good for UK campsites when those drivers find they cannot go to the Continent, legally.

We were allowed to before 1997 so I would expect it to be the same if it gets changed.

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[gus-lopez]

Well it would empty the roads for years, delivery drivers waiting for tests......

Around here most refrigerated Luton vans run at 3,5Tonnes so only a B licence needed .That way they do not have to find drivers with a C1 (test required here & no employer wants to pay)Unfortunately they also only have around 200kgs of pay load.Most though just get overloaded daily

 

[dunnah01]

Allow 7.5t but make sure that you don't want to go over 50mph like the good old days

 

[DDJC]

Should be good for UK campsites when those drivers find they cannot go to the Continent, legally.

Won't make any difference. Each country uses its own system of awarding Driving Licence Category. The categories, A, B, C, D etc, are harmonised, but not the award.

And, the legality is obvious when you think about it. If you have a pre-1997 licence, then you are legal to drive up to 7500kg on the continent, yes? But a post-1997 driver isn't. I can, Mrs DDJC can't. Why is that? Because it is UK law that determines the categories that each driver has on their licence.

It always was, even when we were in the EU. If the 1997 govt had decided to not harmonise with the EU, then we would all still have C1 today. And the soppy thing is that Brussels never asked us to do it. Our government volunteered it!

 

[Carpmart]

So what’s the consensus of this whole topic then?

 

[The Artilleryman]

Given that there are very many public weigh bridges available, and they're usually around £15-£20 to use, it's probably a little irresponsible to have never weighed, so have no idea whether you're even close to your plated weight. This is especially important with motorhomes where we know manufacturers are more than a little ambitious with some of the payload figures they present.

Unfortunately public weigh bridges are a lot harder to find these days.
The one I used 3 years ago could not do axle weights (shame as I would probably up plated sooner), this one was convenient as we could weigh on our way to our first rally of the season - when we are at our heaviest.

The one I use now is in the opposite direction and difficult to enter and exit with the trailer on the back, so will probably weigh the moho on it's own and then use the other weigh bridge for just GVW of each & GTW.

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[G-RMPS]

If the police don't trust the data on weight plates, where do they get the data on axle loadings? My V5C only shows maximum permissible weight.

 

[Lenny HB]

If the police don't trust the data on weight plates, where do they get the data on axle loadings? My V5C only shows maximum permissible weight.

Yes, DVLA don't record axle weights so it will only be on the plate.

 

[Carpmart]

Is it an offence being underweight yet 2% overweight on one axle?

 

[BillyKontiki]

My personal reply to the OP is in 30 years I’ve never been stopped, or weighed nor do I know anyone who has.
I do weigh my Moho and normally just make it in the 5% leeway bracket.
What I can’t get around is by doing a paper exercise I can increase the overall total weight from 3500 kg to 4200kgs. Without any mechanical modifications whatsoever..

 

[WESTY66]

Is it an offence being underweight yet 2% overweight on one axle?

Technically yes, many 8 wheeler tippers fall fowl of being over on the rear axle but under overall, if they’ve been loaded by an idiot
And yes they’ve been done

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[Carpmart]

Technically yes, many 8 wheeler tippers fall fowl of being over on the rear axle but under overall, if they’ve been loaded by an idiot
And yes they’ve been done

I figured it would be an issue…

I’ve got my overcab bed loaded with fishing gear, including my Zodiac and other heavy kit, so that at least will help bring some of my mass forward. But it’s a continual challenge, even with a 5T rear axle limit!

I’m always going to be underweight now though, the up plating by 800kg has solved that issue!

 

[Barclaybasher]

It seems that the only folk that worry about weight around 3500kg are motorhomers.....

 

[The Artilleryman]

What I can’t get around is by doing a paper exercise I can increase the overall total weight from 3500 kg to 4200kgs. Without any mechanical modifications whatsoever..

That's probably due to the original plated weight (as per cab/chassis) was higher and is down plated to 3500 - at stage 2 - to allow it to be driven on a class B license.

 

[Bobbejaan]

Technically yes, many 8 wheeler tippers fall fowl of being over on the rear axle but under overall, if they’ve been loaded by an idiot
And yes they’ve been done

That's probably because the chickens didn't cross the road to the safe side when they could have.

 

[Tigger-Tim]

It seems that the only folk that worry about weight around 3500kg are motorhomers.....

My big 4x4 was picked up for repair by a 3.5 tonne beavertail. The driver mumbled something under his breath about weight, but then loaded it anyway.

I reckon he was easily up to 4.5 tonnes. And hugely over on the rear axle.

A few do get caught - such as this one pulled over by Wiltshire police at 5 tonnes.

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[Peterd82]

Can’t find a public weighbridge locally but noticed one last week on the way to Bridlington, the East of York so called in on Monday. Reassuring that gross weight was 3160 in holiday trim. Can understand if we had electric bikes, awning etc we could soon be near the limit. Biggest surprise was that both front and rear axles weighed the same but a full tank of diesel rather than half a tank would have changed that. The chap on the weighbridge couldn’t believe both were the same as never seen it before so did extra checks to check it was correct.