Uprating (up-plating?) - paper exercise: am I missing something?

[Tiger Bear]

I have started the process of increasing the GVW of our recent purchase from 3500kg to 3650kg. Yes, I am aware that we will no longer benefit from the reduced road tax, but that doesn't really matter; anyway, depending on our usage, we may change it to disabled class.

My understanding was that it was a simple paper exercise, and Auto-Trail sent me the following documents...

A certificate of conformity...

that now shows the permissible GVW as 3650kg...

a covering letter...

a new weight label...

It was my understanding that the certificate of conformity and the covering letter would be sufficient proof when making the application. However, when I spoke with a call taker at the DVLA yesterday, and confirmed what documents I had, he said I would need the go to a DVSA weighbridge and get a print out.

Now I am confused!

Bear in mind that the call taker at DVLA was the only person I spoke with (I couldn't get through to the DVSA), and he also spoke about a possible reduction in VED, which is, as I understand it, no longer possible. Thus, I thought perhaps he was mistaken.

Can anyone offer accurate information?
Thanks in advance

 

[BouncyBoatFolk]

i will be sending off the enquiry form to SV Tech asap !!!

at some stage i will be upgrading the suspension to rear air, but i am hoping i dont actually need to do that for the 3850 upgrade ... although the sensible thing to do will be to get to a weighbridge just to check i dont need more than 3850 ..

Whether or not you need the rear air for a 3850kg upgrade is a good starting point,however,fitting it does make for a more sure footed and pleasant ride.With it fitted you could probably push the upgrade beyond 3850kg, if needed, and is probably worth an ask as having to much payload is a complaint I've yet to see. Without any changes you might be restricted to 3750kg.
Mike.

 

[suavecarve]

i will be sending off the enquiry form to SV Tech asap !!!

at some stage i will be upgrading the suspension to rear air, but i am hoping i dont actually need to do that for the 3850 upgrade ... although the sensible thing to do will be to get to a weighbridge just to check i dont need more than 3850 ..

Even if the 165 quid option isnt available after April (which is debateable from what i read) why not get the rear air then get SV tech to do the honours once instead of twice ?
Plenty time to achieve this before April

 

[MisterB]

Even if the 165 quid option isnt available after April (which is debateable from what i read) why not get the rear air then get SV tech to do the honours once instead of twice ?
Plenty time to achieve this before April

thanks, i am waiting for the 5000kg airbags to come into stock ... been waiting around four or five weeks now, hopefully they will be in soon ..... if not then i need to get my arse in gear !!!!

 

[1967bowesj]

thanks, i am waiting for the 5000kg airbags to come into stock ... been waiting around four or five weeks now, hopefully they will be in soon ..... if not then i need to get my arse in gear !!!!

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Or this

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Martech have been used by a lot of people on here.

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[Lenny HB]

Quick Lenny HB hurry up and get your toy Carthago uprated

Going in for rear air & Jack's next week.

 

[1967bowesj]

Going in for rear air & Jack's next week.

Which jacks Lenny HB

They the second best thing on ours after the rear semi air on the alko, even improved the ride on that axle, fronts already got upgraded springs to2100kg!!

 

[Lenny HB]

Which jacks Lenny HB

They the second best thing on ours after the rear semi air on the alko, even improved the ride on that axle, fronts already got upgraded springs to2100kg!!

I was going to get full air as we had it on the last van but this one has VB front struts and handles just as well as the last van with full air. Rock solid going past arctics at 70 no movement at all and most of the crashing comes from the back.

So decided on semi air on rear as got to get the rear axle uprated, so will get Jack's for leveling, will miss the van rocking in the wind always sleep better.

Having E&P Jack's only other ones I looked seriously at was HPC but had no confidence in the local installer.
Having it done by Rosmia the oldist VB & E&P installer in the country and only 20 miles from us.

 

[1967bowesj]

I was going to get full air as we had it on the last van but this one has VB front struts and handles just as well as the last van with full air. Rock solid going past arctics at 70 no movement at all and most of the crashing comes from the back.

So decided on semi air on rear as got to get the rear axle uprated, so will get Jack's for leveling, will miss the van rocking in the wind always sleep better.

Having E&P Jack's only other ones I looked seriously at was HPC but had no confidence in the local installer.
Having it done by Rosmia the oldist VB & E&P in the country and only 20 miles from us.

Similar reasons to us for the rear upgrade even though ours is 13 years old lol.
Does smooth out the uk crap roads, be carpet smooth over the water.

 

[dunnah01]

As I wrote in my original post, the decreased VED doesn't really matter; it was more so to increase the payload by a wee bit for peace of mind ....and to be able to truthfully say "no, you're not legal to drive", when the kids start asking. The paperwork is done and wasn't a bother at all.
Now that the VED rules haven't yet come into force, the refund will be welcome.

I went to a weighbridge yesterday with just me in it, and half a tank of diesel; that showed a payload potential of 310kg.

Did you get the axle weights off the weighbridge. Without these any payload potential is meaningless

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[MisterB]

Air Suspension KIT with DUAL manometer for Fiat Ducato 1994 - 2024 - 5 TON | eBay

Air Suspension Kit with Compressor for Fiat Ducato 1994-Present | High-Quality Dual Pneumatic System. Air Suspension Kit for Fiat Ducato 1994-Present. It improves balance, enabling smoother rides and better handling of heavy loads.

www.ebay.co.uk

Or this

Air Suspension Kit For Fiat Ducato (Independent Inflation) 1994-2024 - 5000 KG | eBay

Fiat Ducato Citroen Relay Peugeot Boxer. Make/ModelFiat Ducato / Peugeot Boxer / Citroen Relay. Semi Air Suspension Kit Designed For The Kit Includes 2 x T joint. Rear Wheel LayoutSingle Rear Wheel.

www.ebay.co.uk

Martech have been used by a lot of people on here.

Thanks, it's MarTech I'm waiting for to come back to me. I want the dash mounted controller. I've went them another email, perhaps they might see it Mon/Tues or after their Christmas break ..

 

[1967bowesj]

Thanks, it's MarTech I'm waiting for to come back to me. I want the dash mounted controller. I've went them another email, perhaps they might see it Mon/Tues or after their Christmas break ..

They usually good at replying.

Just checked my emails as I thought the person I communicated with had an individual email but sadly just a group one.

 

[MisterB]

They usually good at replying.

Just checked my emails as I thought the person I communicated with had an individual email but sadly just a group one.

I've been waiting since early November for them to get the 5000kg bags in....

 

[Tiger Bear]

Did you get the axle weights off the weighbridge. Without these any payload potential is meaningless

Yes, I did

 

[Howard B]

Reading this thread I may look at uprating. I thought the window for the reduced VED had passed.

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[TrudeandDall]

Reading this thread I may look at uprating. I thought the window for the reduced VED had passed.

Me too. Especially as mine is M1 and the plate tells me that I could get 3960......

 

[dunnah01]

Yes, I did

What's the current spare axle loads from the 310kg available? Can you even do a ninja loading to keep both below their max to use the extra 150kg

 

[Tiger Bear]

What's the current spare axle loads from the 310kg available? Can you even do a ninja loading to keep both below their max to use the extra 150kg

The readings from the weighbridge were 1610kg for the front and 1580kg for the rear.
The plate shows the maximum to be 1850kg for the front and 2000kg for the rear.

 

[Landy Andy]

Would up plating have any effect on the original ULW of the vehicle? Didn’t alter the manufacturer’s CoC for mine when going to 4250kg, so the higher national speed limits still apply.

Aren’t the rules in other countries based on the weight you are, not the ULW, and that is where I do the majority of my miles. Also your tolls increase, sometimes dramatically over 3.5t

 

[Orion]

Aren’t the rules in other countries based on the weight you are, not the ULW, and that is where I do the majority of my miles. Also your tolls increase, sometimes dramatically over 3.5t

You’re correct about how GVW may apply elsewhere but you mentioned road tax along with speed limits, so for the U.K. it’s ULW that’s the deciding factor (if it can be found!).

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[Landy Andy]

You’re correct about how GVW may apply elsewhere but you mentioned road tax along with speed limits, so for the U.K. it’s ULW that’s the deciding factor (if it can be found!).

But I assume that one would only upplate to carry the extra weight, at which point being above 3.5t the higher tolls, road restrictions, and lower speed limits apply.

 

[poppycamper]

But I assume that one would only upplate to carry the extra weight, at which point being above 3.5t the higher tolls, road restrictions, and lower speed limits apply.

Tolls and restrictions, possibly, but not speed limits... increasing GVW does not increase ULW so as long as 050kg speed linlmits not affected.

 

[Landy Andy]

Tolls and restrictions, possibly, but not speed limits... increasing GVW does not increase ULW so as long as 050kg speed linlmits not affected.

So when you travel through, for instance France, and it says +3.5t 90kmph, you don’t need to comply to this as a upplated to 4.5t motorhome, which is weighing, say 3.9t, you can carry on at car speeds???

 

[poppycamper]

So when you travel through, for instance France, and it says +3.5t 90kmph, you don’t need to comply to this as a upplated to 4.5t motorhome, which is weighing, say 3.9t, you can carry on at car speeds???

I was replying to your reply to Orion #49 who spefically mentioned UK

 

[Landy Andy]

I was replying to your reply to Orion #49 who spefically mentioned UK

Ok. I understand in UK it’s an odd system, but for me and many of us, the biggest miles we do are abroad (luckily), so upplating comes with lower speeds, and other limitations.

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[Andysprinter]

We’ve been trying to up plate our Sprinter since June. It took the DVSA 3 months to tell us that VWE were no longer accredited. Resubmitted using S V Tech to 4050kg and after 2 months the V5 has come back showing 4250kg!! My local MP , John Whitby , is looking into it. Also having been in touch with S V Tech just before Christmas it now appears we will have our taxation class reduced.

 

[Lenny HB]

Also having been in touch with S V Tech just before Christmas it now appears we will have our taxation class reduced.

Should be OK if you are M1, if N1 a 50/50 chance.
A friend got his new V5 a couple of weeks ago, they had changed the Revenue weight and got the VED refund cheque a few days later.

 

[Whippet93]

I didn't realise we had until April either ...

In my case I have two different tags in my engine bay, one showing 3500kg, the other showing 3850kg. Is that usual?
The V5 shows as 3500kg ... any advice as to how to quickly get it up plated please?

I now have three tags, the original from Fiat, one from Pilote for the conversion and a new one when I up rated last month. You need to leave any existing tags when you up rate.

 

[BILL 875]

Aren’t the rules in other countries based on the weight you are, not the ULW, and that is where I do the majority of my miles. Also your tolls increase, sometimes dramatically over 3.5t

Only if you tell them otherwise class 2 in france

 

[TonyEmm]

I have started the process of increasing the GVW of our recent purchase from 3500kg to 3650kg. Yes, I am aware that we will no longer benefit from the reduced road tax, but that doesn't really matter; anyway, depending on our usage, we may change it to disabled class.

My understanding was that it was a simple paper exercise, and Auto-Trail sent me the following documents...

A certificate of conformity...
View attachment 994181
that now shows the permissible GVW as 3650kg...
View attachment 994178

a covering letter...
View attachment 994180

a new weight label...
View attachment 994179

It was my understanding that the certificate of conformity and the covering letter would be sufficient proof when making the application. However, when I spoke with a call taker at the DVLA yesterday, and confirmed what documents I had, he said I would need the go to a DVSA weighbridge and get a print out.

Now I am confused!

Bear in mind that the call taker at DVLA was the only person I spoke with (I couldn't get through to the DVSA), and he also spoke about a possible reduction in VED, which is, as I understand it, no longer possible. Thus, I thought perhaps he was mistaken.

Can anyone offer accurate information?
Thanks in advance

My Rapido has a stage 2plate (Alko) stating 3,700kgs GVW.

I wrote to DVLA including a photo of the Alko plate and they amended their records, updating from 3,500 to 3,700kg. No 3rd party necessary !

They also refunded the excess VED I’d paid, without even asking for it.

Of course, a C1 licence is required but I have no issue on that score, having renewed it 3 times since passing 70.

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[Saucer]

Reading this thread is a bit frustrating insofar as we have asked the rapido we are hoping to be delivered in April (new) to be uprated to 3,650 at the factory. If I understand what is being said here that means that there will be no ved benefit and we will have to drive slower in France. Is that right?