Now we HAVE to downsize...

[Northernraider]

That's unfortunate

But you could take a note out the French book.

Get the van downplated to under 3500kg or buy another under 3500kg and just run it as you like even if it actually weighs 4 tonnes.

Uncle Lenny HB runs his 3500 at 3800kg


Joking aside there are plenty folk run vans under 3500kg so it is possible , a compromise yeah but it can be done so chin up .


If I didn't have 4 dogs I'd be in a pvc.

 

[Orion]

Island bed seems to be the first thing to go.

Adria Compact Supreme SC has an island bed in a low profile coach built, which is the same width as a PVC and available as 3500kg.

Compact

The new generation Compact. Stylish, slim-fit and agile motorhomes, which can reach more places. Smart automotive styling and compact dimensions yet generous living spaces, with an unbeatable combination of style, practicality and comfort, all-year round.

www.adria.co.uk

 

[G-RMPS]

Thanks. I bet you cannot put anything much in that Adria garage. But looks nice.

Weight I mean, not volume.

 

[Orion]

Adria Compact Supreme SC has an island bed in a low profile coach built, which is the same width as a PVC and available as 3500kg.

Compact

The new generation Compact. Stylish, slim-fit and agile motorhomes, which can reach more places. Smart automotive styling and compact dimensions yet generous living spaces, with an unbeatable combination of style, practicality and comfort, all-year round.

www.adria.co.uk

And just to mention that the addition of rear air suspension could give all the advantages of a higher GVW, (up to 4250kg if the auto version is specified as it has the uprated front suspension, and brakes all round, and heavy duty wheels and tyres), so a somewhat laissez faire approach to payload might be adopted. It’s what we did prior to officially up plating.

 

[Minxy]

Don't confuse a MH being overweight with not having a licence to drive over 3500kg, 2 very different scenarios!

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[Orion]

Thanks. I bet you cannot put anything much in that Adria garage. But looks nice.

We survive quite nicely! Bikes go on a Thule tow bar carrier and I can’t think of anything I’d miss out on that doesn’t go in there. It’s snug with a full size Napoleon BBQ on a scissor cart for sure, but some custom racking and bit of lateral thinking regarding chairs, full size picnic table and even recovery ramps means it all fits with no problem. Certainly more room than a PVC I’d wager!

 

[G-RMPS]

I’ve been looking at Funster’s comments on the Malibu 640. Mostly very favourable, however…

One comment, insulation is crap. I guess bound to be worse than those with a double floor.

Heater under bed is noisy, especially if diesel.

Fridge noisy.

Woolly bunnet and ear plugs then

 

[Gerry77]

I've already tried to find out, pushed between consultant who supervised the treadmill, my GP, and the DVLA. No answer yet. I could wait more time (months?) for a retest or another kind of test, or.... Who knows whether I would be successful? And it could all happen again in two/three years.

So step three, accept reality and move on. It may be daft buying another van at this stage in life, but that's what I'm looking at. I just hope I get a few years use in return for the inevitable depreciation. Van number three will definitely be the last one. Won't it?

You can apply to DVLA under the freedom of information act, they have 30days to respond.
I applied when they refused my C1 renewal. I was refused on the results of echocardiogram tests and I was 5% below the required standard. It took me 12months to get my C1 back, too late at my age to wait so bought one under 3500kg with adequate payload.

 

[G-RMPS]

You can apply to DVLA under the freedom of information act, they have 30days to respond.
I applied when they refused my C1 renewal. I was refused on the results of echocardiogram tests and I was 5% below the required standard. It took me 12months to get my C1 back, too late at my age to wait so bought one under 3500kg with adequate payload.

My thoughts exactly!

 

[royandsharont]

G-RMPS we downsized from a large Bessacarr 4.0t, with garage over double bed to an Adria Twin SLB on the 6.36 chassis at 3.5t 2.5 years ago. Many reasons for doing so, non of them the C1 licence aspect as we’re still not near that age yet .

At first it was a real struggle coming to terms with the compromises. Space for storage is fine, payload is reduced but not significantly. The big thing we had to overcome was space to move around inside but after 2 x 2 month tours we got used to it. Driving, parking and accessing places more easily is a big big bonus.

Don’t be put off, it’s all about deciding what layout you can best use for your needs and pack accordingly. We don’t regret it one bit

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[Sue and Rick]

They are probably all working from home.

I bet they still dont know where the cheque book is.

 

[G-RMPS]

I've had a play with the Malibu configurator, from their website. It's interesting, not to mention depressing, to add "options" many of which aren't options at all, and watch the cost and the empty weight go up incrementally.

The model I chose to configure (640 LE RB) starts at 2944kg, so that's a generic weight for this model - Lennie will come along soon and say the actual weight of a specific van can legally be 5% higher.

This isn't a meaningful starting point because some of the options are not options, but required. Even more confusing, this isn't the starting weight of a base vehicle. It's the starting weight "in running order". Similarly, as you add options you are incrementing the weight "in running order", not the empty weight. So when you have finished configuring, the weight displayed is the final weight "in running order". To calculate a theoretical empty weight (to see if the van complies with the silly UK rule of 3050kg), you have to subtract:

70kg - a notional driver
67kg - 90% 0f 90l diesel
20kg - 20l water (of which around 10kg woukd be hidden in the boiler, which they don't tell you)
16kg - a full 6kg gas bottle

This whole calculation is silly as "the running order" doesn't include any heavy EHU cable, fire extinguisher, manuals, or whatever else you consider essential. I think you really have to find a proper empty weight to understand what you can subsequently add to still remain under 3500kg. Best done by weighing with known quantities of water and fuel, unless you trust the calculated figure, which I don't!

 

[Riverbankannie]

You can apply to DVLA under the freedom of information act, they have 30days to respond.
I applied when they refused my C1 renewal. I was refused on the results of echocardiogram tests and I was 5% below the required standard. It took me 12months to get my C1 back, too late at my age to wait so bought one under 3500kg with adequate payload.

Our thoughts too. Took 12 months for hubby to get his C1 and then they only put a year on the licence (they are not all 3 year ones). Just wasn’t worth the effort. I did it once and went through all the tests and passed but I was only ever going to bother the once.

 

[Pausim]

To calculate a theoretical empty weight (to see if the van complies with the silly UK rule of 3050kg), you have to subtract

I wouldn’t worry too much about the 3050kg. It only makes a difference to speed limits but you are unlikely to be challenged in a van registered at 3500kg because no one seems to have access to the real unladen weight. My Malibu van is registered at 3500kg and the other weight given on the V5C is the mass in service which is shown as 2935kg, well below 3050kg. The 2935kg was the starting weight given by Malibu as the weight in running order, which they now seem to be giving as 2944kg and still below 3050kg.

 

[Northernraider]

It all still comes down to one thing


How many members on this forum ?

How many have ever been stopped and weighed?


I'll start . I'm 51 , been driving campers , towing caravans and owned motorhomes since age 17 , so 33/4 years and I've never been weighed once .

I've personally used a weighbridge 4 times In my life.

I'm not overweight in this van but I'll be well surprised if I wasn't in the last van

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[gus-lopez]

I've been stopped & weighed once .France just north of Bordeaux in december 2019. mistake as they thought I was commercial.900kgs under

 

[pagey]

have a look at a sunlight t69s might suit you

 

[G-RMPS]

Assuming it’s a “safe” weight, and you can afford a fine and/or license points it’s just a nuisance. If you have to get under the weight limit that’s potentially a much more perplexing problem if you can’t just dump water.

Low risk, but potentially significant consequences. So how lucky do you feel?

Does a heavy PVC van look more, or less, suspicious than a heavy A Class?

 

[Just smiffy]

I can’t afford to lose any more weight… it’s difficult to drive with just one arm…

 

[G-RMPS]

You need an Alexa and some of Lennie’s mods!

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[Clive Bishop]

Last week, all set for 3 month's in Spain. Van loaded and almost ready to go. Ferry, campsite, hire car all booked months ago. Just one problem. Driving licence renewal, which I applied for at the beginning of September. It finally arrived, two days before we were due to set off. With the C1 missing :-( Next day, I got a letter saying the C1 had been revoked "have not met the required standard", whatever that means. I had been required to take an exercise stress test weeks ago which, as far as I knew, had gone OK. Certainly I had had no qualms about undertaking it, and it didn't seem particularly "stressful" at the time.

So, the van is in storage and I cannot drive it.

Step one. Cancel the campsite, hire car. Reschedule the ferry to November. Cost £12, but the £600 now re-invested in a club cabin for the future.

Step two. Decide what to do with the van. One option was to try to sell it for cash with a dealer. Dealers forecourts are stuffed with unsold vans. So doesn't sound like a practical proposition. Another option was to try to sell it privately. In min-December? When I cannot even demonstrate the van without a valid driving license. So part-exchange maybe? What replacement could carry a Hymer's load of possessions and remain below 3500kg, and at what incremental cost? Lennie says it's impossible. He may be right.

Episode two to follow!

Carry on driving and if you are unlikely to get caught don’t pay ant fines they will then arrest you and put you inside a warm little cell 3 meals a day.Wim Win situation.

 

[Clive Bishop]

Carry on driving and if you are unlikely to get caught don’t pay ant fines they will then arrest you and put you inside a warm little cell 3 meals a day.Wim Win situation.

By the way that was tongue in cheek before anybody has a go at me Happy Christmas all.

 

[G-RMPS]

I guess if you elect to travel overweight you should have a plan in the unlikely event that you do get weighed.

Telling your partner to catch the bus may not be well received, and won’t fix an overweight rear axle. Now you have to figure how to get two electric bikes into the front of the cab

 

[Pausim]

By the way that was tongue in cheek before anybody has a go at me Happy Christmas all.

Yes, we all know he would get community service at the sewage overflow where he will be given a net (hopefully on a long pole ) to catch the big bits. Happy Christmas.

 

[Bill-H]

Just lost my C1 with a failed stress test. I'd been down the up-plating route to take my Hymer from 3850kg up to 4090kg as I carry much 'junk'.
Took all the personal possessions out, tools, spare wheel, ramps etc - everything loose basically. Trip to the weighbridge gave me a ticket with 3100kg stamped on it.
I tow a trailer with a car on it for most trips and have 165kg spare capacity on the trailer's plated weight, so will just transfer spare wheel, tools, ramps and everything else from the motorhome to the trailer. I have just ditched 70kg's worth of Gel batteries and replaced with lithium and have saved another 40kg taking it to 3060kg.
Down-plating is a simple excersise of just sending the V5 off I think, so I'll drop it to 3500kg.
Have to be careful what I carry from now on and might be forced to lose a few kg myself !.
Whist originally quite cross at losing by C1 entitlement, it did prompt me to see my doctor for the first time in years which resulted in a course of statins and likely saved me from a serious and maybe fatal heart condition down the line, so on reflection it wasn't all bad.
The moho's VED will increase from £165 but hey! the motorhome which took me months to find will still be on my drive.

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[Clive Beeza]

Last week, all set for 3 month's in Spain. Van loaded and almost ready to go. Ferry, campsite, hire car all booked months ago. Just one problem. Driving licence renewal, which I applied for at the beginning of September. It finally arrived, two days before we were due to set off. With the C1 missing :-( Next day, I got a letter saying the C1 had been revoked "have not met the required standard", whatever that means. I had been required to take an exercise stress test weeks ago which, as far as I knew, had gone OK. Certainly I had had no qualms about undertaking it, and it didn't seem particularly "stressful" at the time.

So, the van is in storage and I cannot drive it.

Step one. Cancel the campsite, hire car. Reschedule the ferry to November. Cost £12, but the £600 now re-invested in a club cabin for the future.

Step two. Decide what to do with the van. One option was to try to sell it for cash with a dealer. Dealers forecourts are stuffed with unsold vans. So doesn't sound like a practical proposition. Another option was to try to sell it privately. In min-December? When I cannot even demonstrate the van without a valid driving license. So part-exchange maybe? What replacement could carry a Hymer's load of possessions and remain below 3500kg, and at what incremental cost? Lennie says it's impossible. He may be right.

Episode two to follow!

Last week, all set for 3 month's in Spain. Van loaded and almost ready to go. Ferry, campsite, hire car all booked months ago. Just one problem. Driving licence renewal, which I applied for at the beginning of September. It finally arrived, two days before we were due to set off. With the C1 missing :-( Next day, I got a letter saying the C1 had been revoked "have not met the required standard", whatever that means. I had been required to take an exercise stress test weeks ago which, as far as I knew, had gone OK. Certainly I had had no qualms about undertaking it, and it didn't seem particularly "stressful" at the time.

So, the van is in storage and I cannot drive it.

Step one. Cancel the campsite, hire car. Reschedule the ferry to November. Cost £12, but the £600 now re-invested in a club cabin for the future.

Step two. Decide what to do with the van. One option was to try to sell it for cash with a dealer. Dealers forecourts are stuffed with unsold vans. So doesn't sound like a practical proposition. Another option was to try to sell it privately. In min-December? When I cannot even demonstrate the van without a valid driving license. So part-exchange maybe? What replacement could carry a Hymer's load of possessions and remain below 3500kg, and at what incremental cost? Lennie says it's impossible. He may be right.

Episode two to follow!

You need to ask for a copy of the stress test result (if that is the reason for revoking your licence)
ask what the reason is and explain your pre booked holiday arrangements and costs paid out
there is an appeals procedure available too
the DVLA do make errors(although reluctant to admit it)
I challenged them when they took an age ro renew my C1 and made a formal written complaint
as I has lost out on a family surprise birthday gift of all inclusive motorcycling tour
although they eventually admitted their admin errors (which also took months)
I received compensation from them although not covering the losses involved
so challenge them ASAP.

 

[Bill-H]

Assuming it’s a “safe” weight, and you can afford a fine and/or license points it’s just a nuisance. If you have to get under the weight limit that’s potentially a much more perplexing problem if you can’t just dump water.

Low risk, but potentially significant consequences. So how lucky do you feel?

Does a heavy PVC van look more, or less, suspicious than a heavy A Class?

There are quite a few Weight In motion (WIM) sensors built in to roads around the country, primarily to check HGVs for being overloaded. Coupled with ANPR cameras linked to DVLA so the axle limits can be seen in real time. The location of the WIMs isn't published for obvious reasons.
Discussions I've read sugest a 5% axle overload on a motorhome may result in just an advisory letter, so 175kg over on a 3.500kg plated motorhome.......
There is currently an anomoly where an you can drive an electric vehicle of up to 4250kg on a 'normal' licence but not an ICE engined one. I believe there is EU ligislation slowly going through in Brussels to increrase the weight limit on ordinary licences to 4250kg and I expect the UK will adopt this as well, but it might take a year or three.

 

[Wully]

Just before Covid we downsized from a 4-bed house to a flat to facilitate this style of living. It suits us, and saves the anguish of a forced downsize in future. Maybe we should have done the same with the van

That’s what we did..but we bought a big old Hymer which was great to live in but not so much fun to drive so we recently sold that and bought a Weinsberg Cara Compact with a claimed 820 kg load.. we don’t get close to the 3500 limit with all our junk in the massive garage

Pros - much cheaper in diesel, much nicer to drive, co-pilot happy to drive it, easier to park, no climbing into the drop down bunk or worse climbing out in the middle of the night.

Cons- cramped toilet/shower, less feeling of space which we are pretty much over now.

 

[The Wino]

That’s what we did..but we bought a big old Hymer which was great to live in but not so much fun to drive so we recently sold that and bought a Weinsberg Cara Compact with a claimed 820 kg load.. we don’t get close to the 3500 limit with all our junk in the massive garage

Pros - much cheaper in diesel, much nicer to drive, co-pilot happy to drive it, easier to park, no climbing into the drop down bunk or worse climbing out in the middle of the night.

Cons- cramped toilet/shower, less feeling of space which we are pretty much over now.

Over the years I've seen several people downsize then go back up and vice versa! I think it's often a case of the other mans grass being greener for some but they're all a compromise!

 

[Wully]

Over the years I've seen several people downsize then go back up and vice versa! I think it's often a case of the other mans grass being greener for some but they're all a compromise!

We loved a lot about the Hymer but they are all a compromise.

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