Sub 3500 kg vans

[deleted79651]

Whatever recommendations for greater payload with heavier vans , to many 3500kg is the limit and has to be worked within and at times there seems to be an absolute fear and dread of being almost on the limit when provided you stay within your gvw no harm is done but I wonder if we all feel the same about 30+ mph in a 30 mph zone, I bet most on here break that law frequently and never think about it and yet that misdemeanour could seriously injure or kill a pedestrian.
At 70 I lost my C1 and after owning 3 RVs thought the end of the world was nigh but no, 3500kgs is just great and love every minute behind the wheel and chilling.

Nope. 30mph limit is there for a reason, and exceeding that limit almost guarantees that a collision will kill a pedestrian. No excuse for exceeding the speed or weight limits. 'Well, officer, my brakes had failed, so I was speeding to get home before I hit someone and killed them ...'

Steve

 

[SpeedyDux]

We have 3500kg max and (on paper) 705kg payload before options that bring it down a little bit. Plenty for two trim adults and a slightly overweight budgie. Normally run with 50 litres fresh water and about 70 litres diesel on board. Never been to a weighbridge because the nearest Council one has a rule that you must wear PPE including steel toecap shoes/boots that I don't own.

 

[deleted79651]

We have 3500kg max and (on paper) 705kg payload before options that bring it down a little bit. Plenty for two trim adults and a slightly overweight budgie. Normally run with 50 litres fresh water and about 70 litres diesel on board. Never been to a weighbridge because the nearest Council one has a rule that you must wear PPE including steel toecap shoes/boots that I don't own.

The weight of the steel toecap boots would reduce your payload. Need to jump on the bathroom scales before donning the boots to get an accurate reading ...

Steve

 

[poppycamper]

Well looking at my family history there are several families with 12 (and more) kids ,,,,, the biggest so far is 18 kids with 38 grandkids, grea-gandchildren and counting after 50 years of marriage. No tv or internet then of course!

Puddleduck agree totally.. we also got big family's however the point I was trying to make was parents must have been very quick to have 4 children and the eldest is still not a teenager!!!!

 

[Guigsy]

Puddleduck agree totally.. we also got big family's however the point I was trying to make was parents must have been very quick to have 4 children and the eldest is still not a teenager!!!!

I'm the oldest of four with an average difference of just over 3 years between each of us. So I'm a bit under 10 years older than my youngest sibling. My parents had a large family, but they weren't exactly bunny rabbits.

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[Tigger-Tim]

I see lots of posts on facebook, where someone is buying a PVC, and asking about 'essential' extras.

They're often recommended to have a solar panel or two, an extra leisure battery, a roll out awning, a towbar for a bike rack...

 

[Guigsy]

I see lots of posts on facebook, where someone is buying a PVC, and asking about 'essential' extras.

They're often recommended to have a solar panel or two, an extra leisure battery, a roll out awning, a towbar for a bike rack...

To be fair, a PVC is less likely to have sleeping for 6.

 

[deleted79651]

I'm the oldest of four with an average difference of just over 3 years between each of us. So I'm a bit under 10 years older than my youngest sibling. My parents had a large family, but they weren't exactly bunny rabbits.

I couldn't work out why so many of my family were born around late September/early October until my elder son was born the day after my birthday... Cheap Xmas presents when times was 'ard, I suppose. Or should that be ardour?

Steve

 

[gus-lopez]

Assume driver already included but what will 5 extra bodies weight.????

it would be assumed to be 5x75kgs= 375kgs.

 

[Littlewheels]

The idiots are the manufacturers who produce 3500kg vans with payloads so small they are unable to be used legally. A lot of people buy vans without knowing anything about payloads, same with cars how many check the payload when they buy a car.

You have just hit the nail on the head and l fully agree with you,so many people buy first and research afterwards, at this point they discover Payload issues and Licence requirements it very obvious by the posts and question raised constantly on this forum.

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[cmcardle75]

Whatever recommendations for greater payload with heavier vans , to many 3500kg is the limit and has to be worked within and at times there seems to be an absolute fear and dread of being almost on the limit when provided you stay within your gvw no harm is done but I wonder if we all feel the same about 30+ mph in a 30 mph zone, I bet most on here break that law frequently and never think about it and yet that misdemeanour could seriously injure or kill a pedestrian.
At 70 I lost my C1 and after owning 3 RVs thought the end of the world was nigh but no, 3500kgs is just great and love every minute behind the wheel and chilling.

Things have changed. Most people now try to stay under 30mph. When I passed my test back in the early 1990s, the police would pull you over for driving that slow in a fast car. They thought it was suspicious.

 

[HKF]

Apologies I should not make assumptions but very difficult with lots of avatars names

Of course, and my response was very tongue-in-cheek. No apology needed

 

[Bessy765]

Having been stopped and weighed (under phew!!) just outside Limoges got chatting to one of the traffic officials not a policeman he just. Checked the weights. He reckoned over the last few weeks percentage wise more French vans were overloaded compared to other countries as many vans are sold as below 3500 kg but if they get dirty they will be over weight.

 

[Tigger-Tim]

I'd love to see a dealer prosecuted under the the CPRs (The Consumer Protection from Unfair Trading Regulations 2008).

Misleading omissions​

Regulation 6 prohibits giving insufficient information about a product. It is a breach of the CPRs to fail to give consumers the information they need to make an informed choice in relation to a product if this would cause, or be likely to cause, the average consumer to take a different transactional decision - for example, in order to make an informed decision about whether to buy or how much to pay, the average consumer buying a car needs to know whether the car has previously been an insurance write-off; the trader therefore has to disclose this information, whether or not the consumer asks for it.

Traders must give information to consumers in a timely manner. It should be provided to assist the consumer in making an informed choice. Supplying information too late could constitute an omission.

It is a breach of the CPRs to:

• omit material information
• hide material information
• provide material information in a manner that is unclear, unintelligible, ambiguous or untimely
• fail to identify the commercial intent (unless this is apparent from the context)

'Material information' means information that the consumer needs to make an informed transactional decision and generally any information required to be given by law.

From: https://www.businesscompanion.info/...ctice/consumer-protection-from-unfair-trading

I would say that it is a breach if a customer buys a motorhome which can only reasonably be used in an overweight state. Or where they can only pack the very lightest child and leave the others at home

I found dealers to very cagey when asked about weights

 

[sciac2001]

Is there a contingent on here that really believes people with 3500kg vans are idiots ? I have a C1 licence but chose such a van.

There seems to be a 'mine has more payload and is bigger and better than yours' group on here and I don't think it's healthy for a forum.

I have a 3500 kgs pvc and I am an idiot, although for many reasons which have absolutely nothing to do with motorhoming.

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[pagey]

Mum 60kg
Kid 1 50kg
Kid 2 40 kg
Kid 3 30kg
Kid 4 20kg

5x 10kg bags

10kg food

Duvets etc 50kg

Water +gas etc 50kg.

Just possible....

Cheers James

Ps where do I find a 60kg wife!!!

Thailand

 

[pagey]

Mum 60kg
Kid 1 50kg
Kid 2 40 kg
Kid 3 30kg
Kid 4 20kg

5x 10kg bags

10kg food

Duvets etc 50kg

Water +gas etc 50kg.

Just possible....

Cheers James

Ps where do I find a 60kg wife!!!

Thailand

 

[Larrynwin]

Nope. 30mph limit is there for a reason, and exceeding that limit almost guarantees that a collision will kill a pedestrian. No excuse for exceeding the speed or weight limits. 'Well, officer, my brakes had failed, so I was speeding to get home before I hit someone and killed them ...'

Steve

Exactly, just the same as a gvw limit on the vehicle a driver is licensed for is there for a reason . My point was that some will on a daily basis exceed speed limits with never a thread on here and yet to reach the limit of a gvw is taboo.

 

[Skez]

There is no reason why a 3500kg van should have no water to flush the loo, I always carry adequate water for that purpose and other needs plus sufficient fuel , clothes food etc and stay within 3500kgs and I for one am certainly aware of “potential limitations “.

I agree. I was just responding to the post that quoted from a manufacturers manual indicating that the van would have to run 'dry' to stay under the limit. That's just crazy and irresponsible of the manufacturer to produce such a vehicle - in my opinion of course!!

 

[EuroTrotters]

Is there a contingent on here that really believes people with 3500kg vans are idiots ? I have a C1 licence but chose such a van.

There seems to be a 'mine has more payload and is bigger and better than yours' group on here and I don't think it's healthy for a forum.

Really ?.

I have never, ever noticed that.

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[cyberyacht]

I weigh my Carthago Compactline ( marketed as "super lightweight") on a worse case scenario. Full water & fuel. It was bang on 3500. When I bought it I weighed it empty bar about 20L of fuel and water plus the two of us. It came to 2940 IIRC. 560KG to play with - no problems I thought. Surprising how the "essentials" add up. 3500Kg does enable you to avoid traffic restrictions in many places, particularly France.

 

[carolyn]

We have a 6.4 metre PVC and I haven’t noticed anyone looking down their noses at us and we’re under 3500kg. We both have C1 licenses so could go bigger and heavier should we wish. We did weigh the previous van which was identical other than being manual and this was fully loaded and I mean really fully loaded. We were off to Spain for 2 months so electric bikes on towbar mounted bike rack. Full fuel , water and LPG. Full fridge and quite a bit of cider to get Nick aclimatized! We had solar and an awning plus a Quest, winter and summer clothes. The van weighed 3520. We felt quite reassured so emptied some of the water before we travelled in that van.

In our new Comformatic it was weighed before handover, it has the same add ons. Mind you we’ve both lost quite a bit of weight which we decided balanced the Comformatic engine! Normally we don’t pack it as full anymore and we’ve only had one trip to Spain anyway due to Covid. PVCs are surprisingly heavy so I think these 4 berth ones fully loaded with bikes etc must be well over, we both weigh under 70kg.

I became confused and bewildered by what the “built in” allowances were. I wanted the actual weight of the van with the add ons, not theoretical ones as they seemed to vary from make to make and time of day and which salesman you asked. Fortunately we ended up buying virtually the same van again so that helped.

I must admit I know quite a bit about motorhoming now, learning all the time, however in some ways I’m really glad we found MHF after we bought our first motorhome, an old Autosleeper Symbol ES otherwise I think we’d still be looking, researching and worrying 11 years later! Instead we had a sod it moment after a friend died of ovarian cancer in her early 50s and just upped and bought it with our small budget. We only bought a PVC because the bed was bigger than the beds in the small cheap coachbuilts we could afford, our only criteria as I snore! Just as well as our drive is really narrow as it turns out. We were in the South of France 3 weeks later, how stupid were we, we knew nothing, no research at all, no regrets though.

If people look down on us then let them, far more important things to worry about!

 

[chaser]

Puddleduck agree totally.. we also got big family's however the point I was trying to make was parents must have been very quick to have 4 children and the eldest is still not a teenager!!!!

A lad next door had four kids under school age, all singles, although they all go now.
And he's a worker, him and his wife both have jobs.

 

[Puddleduck]

Puddleduck agree totally.. we also got big family's however the point I was trying to make was parents must have been very quick to have 4 children and the eldest is still not a teenager!!!!

I had three under fives (all singletons as we lost one of the twins) and then when they were teens we adopted another teen ...... so at one point we had 4 children all with birth years within 6 years.

 

[deleted79651]

I had three under fives (all singletons as we lost one of the twins) and then when they were teens we adopted another teen ...... so at one point we had 4 children all with birth years within 6 years.

I found out what caused children, so gave it up rather quickly ... But, when the risk period was past, and I was freeto resume, I found that it had given me up ... Worse still, the tablets WEREN'T causing it ...

Steve

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[62272]

Hi Graham of Madrid, I have a 4.25 k kg MOHO and I speak for myself, and am unanimous in this (to quote Mrs Slocome on ’are you being served’), I do not think that those with = or < 3.5 k kg MOHOs are idiots.

There are lots of very sensible reasons to choose to have a 3.5 t or less MOHO, payload is the main factor for me because we take so much, but for so many other reasons I would prefer a 3.5 t.

 

[Ian Bosman]

I too have a C1, but am running a 3500Kg van. It's 6.4m long.

My only concern is that the empty van weights about 3120Kg (incl driver), and making sure that I stay within the limits. I think it totally wrong and immoral that dealers sell vans and motorhomes with inadequate payloads. I believe every new van should have it's payload on a sticker on the side.

I may upgrade the weight at some point (can go to 3900Kg without modification according to SvTech) if I need to.

The most extreme I've seen was an AT Apache in my dealer's showroom with a 190Kg payload!!!

Ensure you only travel, in your case, with the water tank as low as you can manage for the journey (that really applies to all), empty the waste tank. load up with your kit and then take it to the nearest convenient weigh bridge. Most will oblige with a weight without a certificate which costs more, not a lot. You may have to be very selective about what you carry, bikes for instance can eat into the payload as can chairs for lounging.

 

[Larrynwin]

I agree. I was just responding to the post that quoted from a manufacturers manual indicating that the van would have to run 'dry' to stay under the limit. That's just crazy and irresponsible of the manufacturer to produce such a vehicle - in my opinion of course!!

Agree, absolutely useless plated at that weight.

 

[Tigger-Tim]

>> I wonder if we all feel the same about 30+ mph in a 30 mph zone, I bet most on here break that law frequently and never think about it and yet that misdemeanour could seriously injure or kill a pedestrian.

The new Speed Limiter Rule that comes into effect in May 2022 for new cars will prompt a lot more compliance. It'll take a while to filter through - cars which already have type approval have until 2024 to comply.

 

[Ivory55]

When we have looked it’s only vans like the elldis 155 6 metres van that seems to give a decent pay load so electric bikes etc can hang on the back, but the compromise is space inside

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