Payload - Important or Not, do we need a law to ensure all vans sold MUST be weighed at time of sale?

[pandas]

Have you seen some cars on the road loaded up and 4 bikes hanging on the back. It’s not just motorhomes. Did the dealer weigh the car and explain what they could put in their car , I doubt it.

No but it doesn’t make it right either. I suspect there is more scope to overload a 3.5 ton vehicle

 

[Ivory55]

You have never been overtaken by the family going on holiday or the mum and dad taking kids to university with everything but the kitchen sink . Where do drive ?

 

[busby]

Without going too deep into my grey matter (bit thin anyway), how about a consumer law that states, (or words similar to; )
Any motor caravan or caravan sold by a VAT Registered seller has to be sold with a Weight Certificate issued within?????hrs, days etc. showing the unladen weight of Axle 1 Axle 2 and whole vehicle. No driver, passenger, no nothing. Just the van.

They (the dealer) could make it lighter by removing say a gas bottle but one could assume no nothing and go from there.

Don't shoot the messenger, As said, this post was compiled without really finessing it. I'm sure it could be improved.

That is all it needs.Hauliers know the ULW of a new truck or trailer before they purchase them..It's not rocket science.BUSBY.

 

[busby]

Just compared mine to the nearest Swift and price for price they are exactly the same with the same features and accessories, except mine has none of the faults you've listed, and a more powerful engine. Personally after too many rubbish British Caravans I'd never touch a British motorhome.

Think I would rather have a second hand quality van than an entry level new one.BUSBY.

 

[thebriars]

Think I would rather have a second hand quality van than an entry level new one.BUSBY.

Mine's far from an entry level van!

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[Rosemary1]

With our 2nd van (yes you live and learn) we asked for a weightbridge receip before we paid up. Would like to see each vehicle being sold with a weightbridge certificate as a matter of course. Realise the dealer could remove a bottle et

 

[596]

Its all about affordability and personal choice, I saw some awful brand new ones in the lower range and they were not that cheap, I have had to go up quite a lot to get the Bessacarr to get something passable, but then the German vans make them look old fashioned and like an MFI showroom, but some people like MFI and as I only sleep in mine as I am out all day I don't need to look at the interior If I could have found an older van with rear lounge and 1,000kg plus payload I would have had it, you try searching for one, NOT ONE WEBSITE lets you select payload as a searchable option, the nearest you get is selecting a C1 licence on some sites

By the time you click and go in and out of naff pictures only to find a huge bed at the back it drives you mad, you see your life ticking away, if only Amazon sold motorhomes it would make the world a much better place

 

[ambulancekidd]

Weight at the point of sale would be a massive step forward.
I suspect that the manufacturers would try to block it on the grounds that some motorhomes are next to worthless, with miniscule payloads.

 

[Ivory55]

If it’s giving you this much stress I would go for package holidays. Haha

 

[596]

If it’s giving you this much stress I would go for package holidays. Haha

If it wasn't for the grandkids wanting to come in the van then I would, imagine how many holidays you can have for £70k, I would be dead by the time I had done that amount, either through all inclusive drink or age

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[Ivory55]

They can soon be brought, just give them a few quid and they will soon shut up and off you go.

 

[busby]

Mine's far from an entry level van!

Never said it was?BUSBY.

 

[Camping Gaza]

well I just had my MOT today (passed) and it said on the brake test report the weight of my van was...

Drum roll please,

2560KG.

So they must have weighed it, I am guessing! So that means I can get almost 1000KG in it still. (that's nearly a ton!) I am having trouble believing it though, but hey they must be right, its on the report.

(must be that helium I filled my tyres with)

 

[Sucoz]

If it wasn't for this forum I would never have given a thought to payload--had never heard of it, but since we were going to live in it and for us it was an awful lot of money I did a lot of research. But for some people it's a holiday van that they are spending spare cash on and buy it without so much thought. (and expect the dealers to educate them haha! )
Not sure what the answer is, but I'm glad I found motorhome fun ?

 

[PeteH]

As a generality we need less laws, not more.
We don't need more bureaucratic interference - giving authorities an excuse to add more costs, charges & fees.
The motorhome market is too small to be a priority with lawmakers.
Who would enforce?
I'd prefer more education & taking personal responsibility.

MORE Eurocracy is the last thing we all need

well I just had my MOT today (passed) and it said on the brake test report the weight of my van was...

Drum roll please,

2560KG.

So they must have weighed it, I am guessing! So that means I can get almost 1000KG in it still. (that's nearly a ton!) I am having trouble believing it though, but hey they must be right, its on the report.

(must be that helium I filled my tyres with)

I was puzzled by that when I first saw it. I think what you have is the Total breaking effort? In Kg.? Others have reported unrealistic Weights on brake test certificates too. 2460/4 would average 640Kg per corner?

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[Ivory55]

It must be hard for someone to understand what difference it makes being over weight. When if you have a van at 3500kg then you contact svtec and for an agreed sum send you a bit of paper saying your van is now 3850kg, having done nothing what so ever to the actual van. Am not condoning overload but just saying how it might look.

 

[gus-lopez]

Looking at my post earlier of fines

fines for up to a fairpercentage are negligible.don't even really apply to non commercial.

am having trouble believing it though, but hey they must be right, its on the report.

Don't believe it.even if it Is the weight they aren't tested so can't be relied upon legally.

 

[Crazylegs]

As is usual the op has found the probable fines for overloaded commercial vans and trucks, fortunately these don’t usually apply to private vehicles.

 

[pandas]

As is usual the op has found the probable fines for overloaded commercial vans and trucks, fortunately these don’t usually apply to private vehicles.

I disagree about your comment ‘fortunately it only applies to Commercial’ I strongly believe there should be fines applied to private vehicles if they are above the permitted weight.

 

[Kingham]

.........I wonder how many forum members know their vans EXACT weight right now?

I agree that there are many owners out there who are happy to run overweight, or are ignorant to the fact that they are overweight, but certainly not the majority.

At the risk of sounding flippant, many of us do take payload seriously but are fortunate enough not to need to know the exact weight of our vans right now.

I know what mine was when I weighed it in full holiday mode, at its heaviest, earlier in the summer, with fresh water, diesel and lpg tanks full, two of us and a full compliment of sea kayaks, stand up paddle boards and paddle kit, on top of clothing, food & drink etc.

At that time I still had 800kg overall before I reached my max gross weight. Front axle was still 300kg away from its max and the rear 700kg.

At all other times the van is lighter than that, so I never need worry about being illegal.

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[Ivory55]

Being overweight can be done easily. I bet that there is not one hgv driver that has not been overweight at some time. I admit I have been overweight and I never noticed any difference in the handling or acceleration that would give an indication of being overweight. I don’t think personally are flippant it’s just easily done.

 

[Larrynwin]

In the grand scheme of motoring laws and disobedience of , I wonder how many people are killed or injured as a result of an overweight motorhome , in comparison perhaps to speeding which many on here probably are guilty of from time to time but dread the thought of being a few kgs overweight.

 

[596]

For me it was pure ignorance on my part, my van has 2 plates one says 3,850kg and one says 3,500kg, I never saw these until I contacted SvTech about upgrading to 4,000kg to take the grandkids and was told where to find them and take pictures, no mention was made of 3,500kg just that I could upgrade to 4,000kg as a paper exercise, as in the manual I always thought we had 407kg payload and have never gone over that, the extra 250kg would accommodate the kids and their stuff.

This led me on a search for a new motorhome as we decided that if we were upgrading we would like to take dive gear with us as well instead of renting, this would mean we needed even more, while searching over the past couple of weeks we have come to understand more how all these weights work, as I said we only use it once a year to go to the South of France, I guess if you were a 'real motorhomer' you would know more, but there is absolutely no excuse I have been plain ignorant of the weight issue until now and perhaps not the only one, according to the lower plate I expect I have been overweight but NOT for the vans spec, all a very strange scenario in fact I wonder why my van was down plated but having seen that it would let a younger person with no C1 licence drive (which I have) and people over 70 maybe that was the case, but legally they could not carry much stuff around with them though the van would take it.

I am off to church at 11am to put things right, I have paid the price of a new motorhome with a super payload for our needs so I hope that goes some way to my forgiveness

 

[scally]

Buy a MoHo, get a weight ticket or get it weighed. You know the star point then. As said earlier not rocket science

 

[596]

Not many people know about weighbridges and how easy they are to use, I didn’t! For manual workers who know about these things it’s a walk in the park for those that never get out of an office it could be an alien thing

But having found a weighbridge on google and used it for £10 I can assure people it’s dead easy and worthwhile, the one I went to was a bit like a toll, you queue up, drive up a ramp, pay the person who is at the window and get a ticket, try it sometime ? ( I don’t suggest getting out at these places as it can be dirty and muddy and ruin your shoes, full of truckers and manual workers, stay in the air con in the cab and just open the window quickly to pay and grab your ticket ?. If you are a manual worker then fill your boots)

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[Cheshirecat57]

I think the original point of the post is that this should be the job of the seller BEFORE you part with your £000,s of pounds

 

[Crazylegs]

pandas You are completely miss understanding the difference between commercial and private vehicles. The fines are there to discourage unscrupulous traders from overloading their vans and trucks for commercial gain over responsible businesses that operate with the law.

 

[596]

pandas Your completely miss understanding the difference between commercial and private vehicles. The fines are there to discourage unscrupulous traders from overloading their vans and trucks for commercial gain over responsible businesses that operate with the law.

A bit like someone who doesn't want to spend the money to buy a van that is safe and will carry what they want within the vans capabilities, I don't see any difference between an overloaded motorhome with camping gear in and a commercial van with rubble in, if what you have aboard is over the manufacturers stated weight and that of the axles then you are a risk to other road users, what is there not to understand about that? I don't think your brakes can differentiate between commercial and non commercial load, or your suspension collapses, if they fail they fail, I would think commercial would be less of a fine as its just you and rubble and whatever you hit, with a motorhome you could kill all 4 or 6 occupants AND whatever you hit, what is more important life or money?

Before any smart people have a go at me I have never exceeded my vans manufacturers weight limit, and now I want to carry more weight I am paying out for a van that is capable of what I need, maybe I should save £70k and just pile everything and the grandkids in mine and go over the manufacturers weight limit because they are not commercial, is that what you are saying?

 

[busby]

It must be hard for someone to understand what difference it makes being over weight. When if you have a van at 3500kg then you contact svtec and for an agreed sum send you a bit of paper saying your van is now 3850kg, having done nothing what so ever to the actual van. Am not condoning overload but just saying how it might look.

Its just law.Back in the 90s we ran foreign trucks which were plated at 44 tonnes but could only run at 38 tonne gross in the uk because that was the law,,BUSBY.

 

[Ivory55]

Its just law.Back in the 90s we ran foreign trucks which were plated at 44 tonnes but could only run at 38 tonne gross in the uk because that was the law,,BUSBY.

I know it’s the law, just someone who has no idea would probably find it hard to understand.

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