Payload ??

[Gixer]

What do people think is a reasonable payload, I have seen many many different opinions, some mentions 500 + kgs as a minimum, but Jim's guide talks about 125 kgs per person, any help ??
My van has been weighed before I get it - at 3140 kgs, so leaving 360 kgs for the 2 of us - is this enough ?

 

[Minxy]

Always this old chestnut. I'm amazed so many people need to carry so much gear. Obviously you need to take into account the weight of the occupants and fuel. But do you need 140 kg water for a cup of tea enroute. Clothes for every occasion with a change twice a day for your entire holiday, massive gas bbqs, 2 x 13kg gas bottles , bottled water, tinned food, more than a bottle of wine or couple of cans of beer. There are shops on the continent as well as in Britain and a refillable gas bottle saves money as well as weight. If you're really pushed don't take the kids or dogs

If you use site and want to get water on arrival then you can travel without a tank full, but we don't as we 'wild camp' or used MH parking areas (aires, sostas etc); we take what we want for our holiday (our clothes don't get changed every day except the 'usual'), but as we go for up to 3 months we need sufficient to cover different weather conditions, same with footwear, as we like out of the way places we take plenty of food too so we don't have to move just for that although of course if we can buy locally/fresh we usually do ... can't keep hubby out of supermarkets ... he loves snuffling around for bargains in them! We also have refillable gas bottles too along with 3 dogs and all their stuff. We don't take more than we want for the sake of it, but there is stuff we may not use on every trip but who knows ... sitting by a lovely lake wishing you could have a paddle but can't because you decided to leave your inflatable kayak at home would be most annoying!

Now if it came to a choice between not taking the dogs of hubby .... hummmmmmmmmm ....

 

[Lenny HB]

Always this old chestnut. I'm amazed so many people need to carry so much gear. Obviously you need to take into account the weight of the occupants and fuel. But do you need 140 kg water for a cup of tea enroute. Clothes for every occasion with a change twice a day for your entire holiday, massive gas bbqs, 2 x 13kg gas bottles , bottled water, tinned food, more than a bottle of wine or couple of cans of beer. There are shops on the continent as well as in Britain and a refillable gas bottle saves money as well as weight. If you're really pushed don't take the kids or dogs

What on earth do you do when you can't get water?
I wouldn't dream of leaving home without a full 160 Lt tank as you never know when you will be able to fill up. One trip last year in Feb/March only 2 of the 9 Aires we stopped on had the water turned on.
As for clothes we don't take that many as we carry a washing machine. But we still need both summer & winter clothes as it's 25 deg in Spain and northern France can be below zero at the same time of year.
As for Gas 2 x 14 kg refillable.

 

[Larrynwin]

What on earth do you do when you can't get water?
I wouldn't dream of leaving home without a full 160 Lt tank as you never know when you will be able to fill up. One trip last year in Feb/March only 2 of the 9 Aires we stopped on had the water turned on.
As for clothes we don't take that many as we carry a washing machine. But we still need both summer & winter clothes as it's 25 deg in Spain and northern France can be below zero at the same time of year.
As for Gas 2 x 14 kg refillable.

That was how we travelled with our RVs with stacks of payload , but when the day comes with an unforeseen problem that removes the C1+E stacks of payload is no longer possible as happened to me.
3500kgs could well become increasingly the norm with the test pass limitation and many may not want to test for C1 also as time goes on more will lose grandfathers rights for different reasons.
We don’t wild camp and use CLs and sites in U.K. so minimal water is adequate.
Not taken the Hymer across the water yet but with RVs never had a problem getting water on aires and with sites frequently adjacent to aires always a backup.

 

[Lenny HB]

Not taken the Hymer across the water yet but with RVs never had a problem getting water on aires and with sites frequently adjacent to aires always a backup.

Not so easy in the winter, sites closed, we don't use them anyway. Most Aires have the water turned off.

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[Larrynwin]

Not so easy in the winter, sites closed, we don't use them anyway. Most Aires have the water turned off.

Yes , twice while staying at Aranjuez the water pipes were frozen but they did thaw them out temporarily.
Unfortunately when it’s 3500kgs or nothing we takes our choice and manage within the limits.

 

[peterc10]

What on earth do you do when you can't get water?
I wouldn't dream of leaving home without a full 160 Lt tank as you never know when you will be able to fill up. One trip last year in Feb/March only 2 of the 9 Aires we stopped on had the water turned on.
As for clothes we don't take that many as we carry a washing machine. But we still need both summer & winter clothes as it's 25 deg in Spain and northern France can be below zero at the same time of year.
As for Gas 2 x 14 kg refillable.

Agree about cloths for all weathers. Travelling down through France to Spain in spring a couple of years ago and we had snow on the A75 through the Massif Central. Got through it but when we did stop for the evening we were glad of our winter coats when we walked into the little town we were staying at.

And even when you get to Spain, it is a large country and you can experience very different weather on the same day. On the same trip we were experiencing lovely warm sunbathing weather down on the coast of the Cabo de Gata. Drove 100 miles or so into the Sierra Nevada on our way to Granada and the snow ploughs were out. People forget just how cold the high plains and mountains in Spain can get in the spring and autumn.

We too travel with a full tank of water because, when we set off in the morning, we rarely know where we will be stopping that afternoon, let alone whether there will be any water there.

 

[TR5]

Sorry if I’ve missed this but my V5 says ”mass in service” weight of 3018 is this unladen weight? I’ve an upgraded gross weight of 3800

thanks all

Mass In Service and Mass In Running Order (MIS and MIRO) are both the same thing - different terminology used by different manufacturers.

 

[peterc10]

Mass In Service and Mass In Running Order (MIS and MIRO) are both the same thing - different terminology used by different manufacturers.

There is no such entry for MIRO on the V5C. And the entry for Mass in Service in my V5C is not the same as my MIRO. Instead my V5C shows the Mass in service as the same as the entries for Maximum permissible mass, and Revenue weight. They are all listed as 4500kg.

 

[TR5]

MAM and GVW are the same thing. It depends on the manufacturer, as to what they call it. Mass In Service I have seen quoted as the MIRO (more popular term), for what manufacturers quote for Driver, some fuel, water etc., but the amounts vary even from one model to another, by the same manufacturer. Any purchaser needs to look carefully at what is quoted, and what is (or isn't) included. It's certainly very confusing for first timers, and even for some longer term practised motorhomers. There needs to be proper definitions laid down for all weights quoted, showing how they are determined, or confusion will prevail (like now).

I never suggested MIS or MIRO were listed on the V5c.
The V5c uses the term 'Revenue Weight' for the GVW, and also quotes it as Maximum Permissable Mass.
which is also 4500KG.
Mine also quotes Mass In Service as 3645kg which IS the delivered weight, including any extra's added at factory level, like additional battery, etc. As I said, except the GVW which is fixed by the VIN plated weights, there are discrepancies throughout the motorhome industry as to all other quoted weights, and what is or isn't included, some using MIS as the MIRO, others defining it differently. If in doubt, always refer to the manufacturer, or your manual.

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[peterc10]

MAM and GVW are the same thing. It depends on the manufacturer, as to what they call it. Mass In Service I have seen quoted as the MIRO (more popular term), for what manufacturers quote for Driver, some fuel, water etc., but the amounts vary even from one model to another, by the same manufacturer. Any purchaser needs to look carefully at what is quoted, and what is (or isn't) included. It's certainly very confusing for first timers, and even for some longer term practised motorhomers. There needs to be proper definitions laid down for all weights quoted, showing how they are determined, or confusion will prevail (like now).

The problem is that there is no standard definition of MIRO, every manufacture gives it a different meaning. That is why it is not on the V5C. The dealer who I bought my new Hymer from clearly thought that the Mass in Service was the equivalent to the MAM.