Overweight: Payload issues with my Burstner Ixeo Motorhome

[Chrissy Thimbals]

First motorhome and actually feel really upset after going to weighbridge. Had loaded basics but did not weigh with me or 3 dogs and weight is already 3480kg. If you add me and dogs that another 120kg and still need to add clothes and some basics. We off loaded table, dog pen and 2 chairs when we got back but that only was 28kg. Just don't know what to do.

 

[Brains]

Have just taken out table and thinking of removing spare wheel. We also have tow bar and cycle rack which is adding to weight. May take off tow bar or possibly buy a trailer. Our dream is actually turning into a nightmare.

Do you have C1 licences ?
(Or did you get your UK driving licence before 1997, which means you have a C1 licence)
If so getting it up-plated by a couple of hundred kilos will be the easiest/cheapest solution

Removal of the cycle rack
A cycle rack is not going to make much difference.
The best ones are mounted on the tow ball in any case.

Removing the tow bar.
Personally I'd think seriously before you do that.
As the weight increase is liable to be minimal and the you potentially devalue the van.
It would cost money to remove it and a lot more money to put it back.

Towing a box trailer.
Many do this, and you can get a lot in a box trailer, so this may resolve all your problems.
If you get a double wheel box trailer then they can be fairly easy to learn to reverse with, especially of you have cameras.
It then means you really can take the kitchen sink with you on trips, plus the bikes, boats, and other toys.

Water on board
Water weighs 1kg per litre. I very rarely travel with a full tank
20 liters is enough for a day or two, and unless you are seriously off grid you can find places to fill up at your destination (every petrol station, camp site, cemetery, has a tap.)

 

[poppycamper]

Do you have C1 licences ?
(Or did you get your UK driving licence before 1997, which means you have a C1 licence)
If so getting it up-plated by a couple of hundred kilos will be the easiest/cheapest solution

Removal of the cycle rack
A cycle rack is not going to make much difference.
The best ones are mounted on the tow ball in any case.

Removing the tow bar.
Personally I'd think seriously before you do that.
As the weight increase is liable to be minimal and the you potentially devalue the van.
It would cost money to remove it and a lot more money to put it back.

Towing a box trailer.
Many do this, and you can get a lot in a box trailer, so this may resolve all your problems.
If you get a double wheel box trailer then they can be fairly easy to learn to reverse with, especially of you have cameras.
It then means you really can take the kitchen sink with you on trips, plus the bikes, boats, and other toys.

Water on board
Water weighs 1kg per litre. I very rarely travel with a full tank
20 liters is enough for a day or two, and unless you are seriously off grid you can find places to fill up at your destination (every petrol station, camp site, cemetery, has a tap.)

I have heard many times a cemetery is a good place to get water... but seriously guys come on..
We have a bad enough reputation as it is but how would you like to visit your dearly departed luv ones and have to queue up to refresh their urn before replacing flowers behind motorhome who are waiting to fill their tanks...
You are obviously not, I hope, going to overnight in cemetery carpark so will be going back on the road with full tank and therefore overweight and illegal....
So what have you achieved??? Apart from upsetting local mourners....

 

[Brains]

I have heard many times a cemetery is a good place to get water... but seriously guys come on..
We have a bad enough reputation as it is but how would you like to visit your dearly departed luv ones and have to queue up to refresh their urn before replacing flowers behind motorhome who are waiting to fill their tanks...
You are obviously not, I hope, going to overnight in cemetery carpark so will be going back on the road with full tank and therefore overweight and illegal....
So what have you achieved??? Apart from upsetting local mourners....

It all depends on the location and situation.

In Denmark, the cemeteries all have taps in the same location, placed there so they are easy to find, they are the reserve water supply for the village. Every Danish cyclist and camper knows this.

In the UK it's not so organised, and I'd not recommend trying to park up mid funeral, but you might trade a cup of tea with the grave diggers beforehand for access to the tap.

 

[Lenny HB]

It all depends on the location and situation.

In Denmark, the cemeteries all have taps in the same location, placed there so they are easy to find, they are the reserve water supply for the village. Every Danish cyclist and camper knows this.

In the UK it's not so organised, and I'd not recommend trying to park up mid funeral, but you might trade a cup of tea with the grave diggers beforehand for access to the tap.

We have filled up at a cemetery in Greece, you do it decretly not with a hose use a bucket/container/watering can.

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[poppycamper]

It all depends on the location and situation.

In Denmark, the cemeteries all have taps in the same location, placed there so they are easy to find, they are the reserve water supply for the village. Every Danish cyclist and camper knows this.

In the UK it's not so organised, and I'd not recommend trying to park up mid funeral, but you might trade a cup of tea with the grave diggers beforehand for access to the tap.

Ah yes Denmark..... no mention of that in your #31

 

[andyelbac]

My Euro 6 MoHo is 3.9t.
I live inside the the ULEZ zone
I do not pay a fee as the van is compliant.

The easiest way to find out what you have to pay to drive in London is simply put your numberplate in here and see what the result is!
Simple!

and the point here is to ensure you use the TfL website as Brains has linked. Initially I made the mistake of using the first website that came up on a Google search for checking your vehicle is ULEZ compliant and I almost had a heart attack when it said it wasn't! (it was purchased new in '22). I recovered quickly after checking the official TfL website.

 

[rb62]

I have heard many times a cemetery is a good place to get water... but seriously guys come on..
We have a bad enough reputation as it is but how would you like to visit your dearly departed luv ones and have to queue up to refresh their urn before replacing flowers behind motorhome who are waiting to fill their tanks...
You are obviously not, I hope, going to overnight in cemetery carpark so will be going back on the road with full tank and therefore overweight and illegal....
So what have you achieved??? Apart from upsetting local mourners....

Why not,the one at Cavignac is approved

 

[DerryW]

Wondering if I should take out spare wheel and remove towbar ?. I'd like to keep cycle rack so we can take one bike

Spare wheel weighs c32kgs. Providing you have C1 on your driving licence, I believe it’s a fairly simple job to uprate to to 3700kgs without the need for any mods to your MH.

 

[Threeracers]

It all depends on the location and situation.

In Denmark, the cemeteries all have taps in the same location, placed there so they are easy to find, they are the reserve water supply for the village. Every Danish cyclist and camper knows this.

In the UK it's not so organised, and I'd not recommend trying to park up mid funeral, but you might trade a cup of tea with the grave diggers beforehand for access to the tap.

I agree on location and situation, I was reminded by a local parish councillor of the location of the tap in our local cemetery and invited to use it when they learnt I was full time in the truck.

Nobody has ever expressed anything negative and I fill there about once a week.

Mark

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[DerryW]

Have just taken out table and thinking of removing spare wheel. We also have tow bar and cycle rack which is adding to weight. May take off tow bar or possibly buy a trailer. Our dream is actually turning into a nightmare.

I genuinely feel for you, alright for people to say there’s a ton of material on the very subject of MH weights and particularly payload, which is fine if you’re an avid reader of MH FUN.
Providing you have C1 on your licence as I mentioned earlier, its a relatively easy painless and inexpensive process to upgrade the GVW by a few kgs.

Try to look for the positives and don’t forget there’s a wealth of experience at your fingertips once logged into MH FUN.

Don’t be embarrassed to ask, you ain’t the first to make this error and certainly won’t be the last.
Good Luck. Derry

 

[bobnick]

I know we could never know but i wonder how many people are driving MHs over 3.5 without a C1. Innocently not knowing.
They don't ask at insurance if you have a C1, what other checks are there to advise the innocent, they don't all read MHF.

 

[poppycamper]

I know we could never know but i wonder how many people are driving MHs over 3.5 without a C1. Innocently not knowing.
They don't ask at insurance if you have a C1, what other checks are there to advise the innocent, they don't all read MHF.

Yes indeed and how many without a C1 are Knowenly driving over weight??

 

[WESTY66]

I know we could never know but i wonder how many people are driving MHs over 3.5 without a C1. Innocently not knowing.
They don't ask at insurance if you have a C1, what other checks are there to advise the innocent, they don't all read MHF.

You would be surprised at what info the insurers have at their fingertips, I was renewing my car insurance last month and do it at 4K mls per annum (I go to work on scooter in summer months) they said do you still want to keep it at 4K per annum because you did 4872mls last year?
I said I’d better up it to 5k then

 

[poppycamper]

You would be surprised at what info the insurers have at their fingertips, I was renewing my car insurance last month and do it at 4K mls per annum (I go to work on scooter in summer months) they said do you still want to keep it at 4K per annum because you did 4872mls last year?
I said I’d better up it to 5k then

All readily available with MOT search

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[bobnick]

C1.?
Point being an innocent person goes to buy a MH. It's 3.850 for eg. Does/would the salesman (if he knows about the C1) tell the potential customer and risk losing a sale? I wonder.

 

[Chrissy Thimbals]

Do you have C1 licences ?
(Or did you get your UK driving licence before 1997, which means you have a C1 licence)
If so getting it up-plated by a couple of hundred kilos will be the easiest/cheapest solution

Removal of the cycle rack
A cycle rack is not going to make much difference.
The best ones are mounted on the tow ball in any case.

Removing the tow bar.
Personally I'd think seriously before you do that.
As the weight increase is liable to be minimal and the you potentially devalue the van.
It would cost money to remove it and a lot more money to put it back.

Towing a box trailer.
Many do this, and you can get a lot in a box trailer, so this may resolve all your problems.
If you get a double wheel box trailer then they can be fairly easy to learn to reverse with, especially of you have cameras.
It then means you really can take the kitchen sink with you on trips, plus the bikes, boats, and other toys.

Water on board
Water weighs 1kg per litre. I very rarely travel with a full tank
20 liters is enough for a day or two, and unless you are seriously off grid you can find places to fill up at your destination (every petrol station, camp site, cemetery, has a tap.)

We both have licences before 1997 so that's OK. I think we will go down the option of a trailer or replated. It all depends on cost. Thank you for your suggestions

 

[rb62]

There are two firms that most people use,I think Vanweight are cheaper,if your lucky it may be just a paper excersise

Van Weight Engineering

Need to change the weight of your vehicle? You're in the right place.

www.vanweightengineering.com

https://www.svtech.co.uk/

 

[Googlebot]

There are two firms that most people use,I think Vanweight are cheaper,if your lucky it may be just a paper excersise

Van Weight Engineering

Need to change the weight of your vehicle? You're in the right place.

www.vanweightengineering.com

https://www.svtech.co.uk/

I can personally recommend Van Weight Engineering.

Dee offers the advice and options for free, he is very helpful.

 

[mitzimad]

cant fault van weight engineering's service and half the price of svtech

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[Googlebot]

Here is the thread about uprating mine.

Finally gave in and have uprated the Motorhome

When we got the Motorhome, first thing I did was weigh it. It’s a Hymer Exsis I 678 and had a huge payload relatively. When we got it 4 years ago, the kids were small and we used campsites as we had moved from caravanning. Fast forward a few years to now. We know we like moving around and...

www.motorhomefun.co.uk

 

[WESTY66]

Another one here for Van Weight Engineering, uprated to 5 tons, no problems Not that I’m saying yours will go up to 5 tons

 

[Brains]

We both have licences before 1997 so that's OK. I think we will go down the option of a trailer or replated. It all depends on cost. Thank you for your suggestions

Re-Plated will be the cheapest/easiest option

When you come to sell it means the next owner has the option of the new high weight or as a 3500kg

 

[PP Bear]

Ditch the twin tub washing machine.

Good job you said twin tub, cos I thought it unfair if you said leave the wife behind.

That way it saves the weight of the dishwasher too

 

[Brains]

Good job you said twin tub, cos I thought it unfair if you said leave the wife behind.

That way it saves the weight of the dishwasher too

PP Bear would like to announce he has moved into the dog kennel for the foreseeable future .....

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[Teedubyaa]

Don’t forget with up-plating over 3,500kgs you might have additional costs for ferries and tolls - and remember to tell the insurance company.

 

[Brains]

Don’t forget with up-plating over 3,500kgs you might have additional costs for ferries and tolls - and remember to tell the insurance company.

But you get cheaper vehicle tax.
Swings and roundabouts ......

 

[CAB96]

DON'T PAY FOR THE UPLATING.

Make the dealer pay for it.

Either that or reject it and demand your money back, it is not fit for purpose.

 

[poppycamper]

DON'T PAY FOR THE UPLATING.

Make the dealer pay for it.

Either that or reject it and demand your money back, it is not fit for purpose.

Don't think OP has stated if new van or second hand!
If new then absolutely agree with you..
However if second hand could dealer not argue that last owner had no issues with weight!!
Just a thought.

 

[Brains]

OK I've just invented a new motorhome bit of jargon
'Pounds for Pounds'
or
'No Pounds (Lb's) = No pounds (£)'
Give me the pounds (weight) and I'll give you the the pounds (sterling)

"Mr Dealer; No £Pounds will be paid until I see the Pounds Lb's certificate for this vehicle"
("Kilo's 4 €uros" is an acceptable translation)

For those under 40, the TLA will be "Lb4£"
and for the cockneys it will be "Whats the fourquid mate ?"
And for the computer programmers: [<Lb=<£]

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[poppycamper]

OK I've just invented a new motorhome bit of jargon
'Pounds for Pounds'
or
'No Pounds (Lb's) = No pounds (£)'
Give me the pounds (weight) and I'll give you the the pounds (sterling)

"Mr Dealer; No £Pounds will be paid until I see the Pounds Lb's certificate for this vehicle"
("Kilo's 4 €uros" is an acceptable translation)

For those under 40, the TLA will be "Lb4£"
and for the cockneys it will be "Whats the fourquid mate ?"
And for the computer programmers: [<Lb=<£]

I will have a pint of what you on