Tips on saving weight to gain usable payload.

[the1andonly]

Pussycat
Buy some sandels instead. They're lightweight.

 

[WildBunch]

My Hymer did not come with a spare wheel or tyre. But it did come with a special 12 v pump which can blow up the tyre to the correct pressure & also add a sealing rubber foam to seal the puncture. The spare wheel option weight is 25 kg. cost £320.

 

[Jonno1103]

A question here which might be daft or obvious, but does the driver and passenger count as part of the payload?

Driver weight of 75kg is part of the base vehicle weight as is 90% of fuel. Biggest problem is that mainland European motorhomes don't get a legal mass in service, just a very grey MIRO.

Tombola says
yes...and a little too much in my case

Ah, well that's changed my calculations quite bit. I hadn't thought of that until this thread. Doh.

You could spoil my calculations even further by confirming that fuel is also involved in payload (surely not)??

The new van we are getting in december has payload of 550 so that,s 370 with the 2 pax counted in. (maybe 380 by december if I get some blubber shifted.)
With water, gas, and bits I havent even thought of yet, it looks like my draws in the wardrobe will have a pair of flip flops and a pair of speedo budgie smugglers.

(90% of fuel & 75kg for the driver are included, some include gas, some don't. Ideally you read the small print before signing the order form.

 

[P Bentley]

(90% of fuel & 75kg for the driver are included, some include gas, some don't.

Cheers for that,
The blurb states that I wil have pay load of 550 kilos,
When calculating after reading this thread I took it to mean everything (apart from 90% fuel) when I started to tot up with full water and gas with MrsB and me at full weight, I still had well over 200 kilos for clothes, food, kitchen equipment and campy bits, which on first calcs (after a reading a couple of other threads about "what not to take and what is essential etc) and I managed with about 40 kilos to spare but now I have another 75kg (driver) available I should be well in.
When I get of the ship and back home to France in late March I am popping up to see the dealer for a few more tech specific questions so I can double check the payload and what it entails (small print and all) then.

 

[drpeej]

I dont have a weight issue as just uprated and it was 19 days return from DVLA (for updated info)

Lucky you!

I have just sent all my paperwork off to DVLA for the second time since they lost my V5C and the uprating paperwork when I sent it in December

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[Lenny HB]

When I get of the ship and back home to France in late March I am popping up to see the dealer for a few more tech specific questions so I can double check the payload and what it entails (small print and all) then.

Don't forget they have a 5% tolerance on weight and most manufacturers make use of it. So your 550kg may only be 403kg.

 

[WildBunch]

The only real test is to find a weight bridge & see the actual weight when fully loaded. Perhaps you can google your nearest gravel pit to see if they will check your weight.

 

[P Bentley]

a 5% tolerance on weight and most manufacturers make use of it. So your 550kg may only be 403kg.

Thanks for the info but the maths doesn't look right, 5% of 550 is not 147 kilos. That's over 25% difference/loss in my payload?

 

[Minxy]

Thanks for the info but the maths doesn't look right, 5% of 550 is not 147 kilos. That's over 25% difference/loss in my payload?

It's 5% of the whole vehicle MIRO, not just the payload.

 

[gus-lopez]

It's French.
I knew that payload weight had to be considered, but (like many others before me no doubt) I never really considered it, until I started to add up the equipment and utilities that one would carry,

at 3500kgs many are over

My Hymer did not come with a spare wheel or tyre. But it did come with a special 12 v pump which can blow up the tyre to the correct pressure & also add a sealing rubber foam to seal the puncture. The spare wheel option weight is 25 kg. cost £320.

You can't inflate a shredded tyre no matter what they say.

Thanks for the info but the maths doesn't look right, 5% of 550 is not 147 kilos. That's over 25% difference/loss in my payload?

It is 5% of the total vehicle weight so at 3500kgs they can have another 175kgs out of your "payload"

**& this is why most French vans you see are towing trailers**

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[Speve]

My Hymer did not come with a spare wheel or tyre. But it did come with a special 12 v pump which can blow up the tyre to the correct pressure & also add a sealing rubber foam to seal the puncture. The spare wheel option weight is 25 kg. cost £320.

You won’t have a lot of joy pumping gunge into a blown tyre the seal will do the job for a nail or flint but a gash in the sidewall will completely bugger it

 

[P Bentley]

he only real test is to find a weight bridge & see the actual weight when fully loaded. Perhaps you can google your nearest gravel pit to see if they will check your weight.

There is a community one run where I live in France run by local farmers that they use during harvest, but I have noticed it is on most of the time.
If not I have a chap I know who works at the quarry and drinks in the village bar, so I will buy him a beer or three when the time comes to get an accurate reading. Once we pick it up in December / Jan I will fill it with fuel then weigh in before anything else is in it.

I will also be weighing all I load in so should have an accurate idea by the time we set off.

 

[SpeedyDux]

Better to have a spare wheel and 30 litres less water on board. My fresh tank is 100 litres and I travel with it half full anyway.

Top tip: ditch that travel iron.

 

[rb62]

Cheers for that,
The blurb states that I wil have pay load of 550 kilos,
When calculating after reading this thread I took it to mean everything (apart from 90% fuel) when I started to tot up with full water and gas with MrsB and me at full weight, I still had well over 200 kilos for clothes, food, kitchen equipment and campy bits, which on first calcs (after a reading a couple of other threads about "what not to take and what is essential etc) and I managed with about 40 kilos to spare but now I have another 75kg (driver) available I should be well in.
When I get of the ship and back home to France in late March I am popping up to see the dealer for a few more tech specific questions so I can double check the payload and what it entails (small print and all) then.

The only way to get the exact payload of a van is to get the dealer or take it yourself to a weighbridge,the payload quoted in the broachers is seldom accurate and there have been vans produced that you cannot actually drive!

 

[Lenny HB]

Thanks for the info but the maths doesn't look right, 5% of 550 is not 147 kilos. That's over 25% difference/loss in my payload?

3500 - 550 = 2950, MAM les Payload = MIRO
2950 + 5% = 3097.5 MIRO + 5% tolerance
3500 - 3097.5 = 402.5 MAM less increaced MIRO = payload.

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[P Bentley]

3500 - 550 = 2950, MAM les Payload = MIRO
2950 + 5% = 3097.5 MIRO + 5% tolerance
3500 - 3097.5 = 402.5 MAM less increaced MIRO = payload.

Ah ha, as I suspected your maths was perfect and it was my ignorance of the various specifics of van weights etc that was off

Thanks to other posters as well for the explanation (and horror stories).

I will be making sure when I am home that all is well in the land of payloads.

Out of interest has anyone actually been enforced on the issue ? (ie stopped and weighed and told to dumps stuff)

 

[Lenny HB]

Out of interest has anyone actually been enforced on the issue ? (ie stopped and weighed and told to dumps stuff)

Not first hand but a member of the Hymer club was weighed at check at Nottingham services on the M1 a few years ago. He was over on both axles & MAM, he got 3 x £60 fines and a ticket that allowed him to proceed to his destination but no further until he addressed the overloading..

 

[Jonno1103]

Cheers for that,
The blurb states that I wil have pay load of 550 kilos,
When calculating after reading this thread I took it to mean everything (apart from 90% fuel) when I started to tot up with full water and gas with MrsB and me at full weight, I still had well over 200 kilos for clothes, food, kitchen equipment and campy bits, which on first calcs (after a reading a couple of other threads about "what not to take and what is essential etc) and I managed with about 40 kilos to spare but now I have another 75kg (driver) available I should be well in.
When I get of the ship and back home to France in late March I am popping up to see the dealer for a few more tech specific questions so I can double check the payload and what it entails (small print and all) then.

Challenger/Chausson are usually very descriptive in terms of payload. They don't give a base 'Start' weight and leave it up to you to add the options, the weight increases as you go through the various trim levels. The Challenger is an excellent van, I wish they sold them in the U.K.

Challenger MIRO includes 75kg for the driver, 20L water, 90% fuel & 100% gas. Bear in mind that yuor blown air heater runs from the diesel tank so there's also the option to lower how much gas you take. A full 6kg gas bottle weighs 14kg as an example.

 

[Derek’soldvan]

I had an underslung spare wheel, took it off & internal locker’d it, that saved me approx 15kg for the steel frame

 

[WildBunch]

Not first hand but a member of the Hymer club was weighed at check at Nottingham services on the M1 a few years ago. He was over on both axles & MAM, he got 3 x £60 fines and a ticket that allowed him to proceed to his destination but no further until he addressed the overloading..

Do we know how much over weight he/she was. Do you think plod has a margin that they may allow before issuing fines.
But the issue will be if you have a accident & are over wt, you may not be insured.

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[Lenny HB]

Do we know how much over weight he/she was. Do you think plod has a margin that they may allow before issuing fines.
But the issue will be if you have a accident & are over wt, you may not be insured.

It was a few years ago I can't remember but I think it was quite a bit, normally takes a lot to be over on the front axle.

 

[Otter Spotter]

I think I'm overweight I could do with loosing 3 to 4kg.

Do you need an enema ?

 

[Spriddler]

But the issue will be if you have a accident & are over wt, you may not be insured.

As I understand it that would only be the case if being overweight was a contributory factor.

 

[WildBunch]

Hi
In order to save a little weight I have just purchased some plastic bottles from "The Plastic Bottle Co. "
I bought 4 X 750ml & 4 X 1000ml plastic bottles. I intend to use them to decant wine & spirits from glass bottles. The plastic bottles weigh almost nothing compared to glass. Also they don't rattle.
I asked The Plastic Bottle Co to recommend which bottles to use for this purpose. They advised as below:-
"I have provided a link below to our range of 750ml – 1000ml PET Clear bottles, if you scroll down on the product listing of each bottle you will see the ‘Related Products’ section where this will show the compatible closures for each bottle.
https://www.theplasticbottlescompany.com/shop.c/?capacity=750ml,1000ml&plastic=pet"

The bottles are not expensive, but the post is somewhat high.
I know it won't save much weight but as Tesco say "every little helps"

 

[Badknee]

I think I'm overweight I could do with loosing 3 to 4kg.

My doctor told me I’m not overweight, result thinks I
Then he went on to say that I’m just two foot short for my weight.

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[Badknee]

Do you need an enema ?

Are you suggesting he’s full of sh1t?

 

[Reallyretired]

Many ideas about doing away with the spare wheel, jack etc.
We have twice had punctures in France. In both cases the bloke who was called out by our breakdown people RAC had no jack. One took us to a tyre fitter place with a slow leak, and they didnt have a jack either, and we were too big for their lift.
I would never travel without a jack, and preferably not without a spare wheel either.
A spanish breakdown we called when we got a wheel stuck in a septic tank had no jack, or any other tools either.

They seem to be just geared up for recovery only.

Our best reduction lately has been reducing crockery, we were carrying six of everything just for the two of us. Now reduced to three as SWMBO would be mortified if we broke something and had non matching plates

 

[599]

another payload thread

how many bags of sand can you get in kia picanto one member on here asked me

just make sure you have room for these.

 

[two]

Hi
In order to save a little weight I have just purchased some plastic bottles from "The Plastic Bottle Co. "
I bought 4 X 750ml & 4 X 1000ml plastic bottles. I intend to use them to decant wine & spirits from glass bottles. The plastic bottles weigh almost nothing compared to glass. Also they don't rattle.
I asked The Plastic Bottle Co to recommend which bottles to use for this purpose. They advised as below:-
"I have provided a link below to our range of 750ml – 1000ml PET Clear bottles, if you scroll down on the product listing of each bottle you will see the ‘Related Products’ section where this will show the compatible closures for each bottle.
https://www.theplasticbottlescompany.com/shop.c/?capacity=750ml,1000ml&plastic=pet"

The bottles are not expensive, but the post is somewhat high.
I know it won't save much weight but as Tesco say "every little helps"

Better still, and more compact, buy wine in a (bag in a) box. It stays fresh for longer, too.

 

[The Wino]

Better still, and more compact, buy wine in a (bag in a) box. It stays fresh for longer, too.

Not strictly true it stays fresher for longer after starting a box than a bottle but unopened in a bottle lasts a lot longer still. I also doubt the claims on how long it stays fresh after opening as I've never had a wine box last long enough to find out!!!

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