Lossiemouth East Beach incident

[Fisherman]

So they wanted £2.300 to fit a battery, at least dick turpin had the decency to wear a mask.View attachment 144643

Two lithiums Trev, but then they would save on the two lead batteries so it’s actualy peanuts. Hence why I bought my own lithiums and dropped them in (well David did).
Manufacturers are currently ripping of their customers for lithium. But eventually one will break ranks and the floodgates will open. Why are vans still being supplied with old lead batteries, when you think about it from a technical pov it makes no sense.

 

[Robmac]

They have removed that clause.

Have they Trev?

Or is that just in NI?

 

[Geek]

Our water and space heating is a diesel heater. What alternatives are there to gas for cooking? We have a Spinflow spirit stove on our boat. While it is nice not to have gas on the boat (even more issues than in a mh) the spirit stove is slower at cooking and less controlable and boy does it smell. You really can't cook without the hatch open.

You can buy diesel hobs. Never used one myself. I'm fine with lpg. Cheap, easy, clean and safe unless you are a DIY bodger.

 

[Geek]

So a T5 for instance with an elevating roof is NOT considered as a "motor caravan" by the DVLA then?

The 'body type' is what the vehicle looks like, not what it is used for.

If your camper looks like a van with windows DVLA won't record it as looking like a motor caravan, because it doesn't.

Mine is an A Class, so it is firmly in the 'motor caravan' category, but I'd prefer it to be 'van with windows' because some car parks ban motor caravans.

The MOT test, insurance, road tax and speed limits depend on what it is used for, not on the DVLA body type designation.

 

[ProDave]

The 'body type' is what the vehicle looks like, not what it is used for.

Mine changes between summer and winter.

 

[Thistle]

The 'body type' is what the vehicle looks like, not what it is used for.

If your camper looks like a van with windows DVLA won't record it as looking like a motor caravan, because it doesn't.

Mine is an A Class, so it is firmly in the 'motor caravan' category, but I'd prefer it to be 'van with windows' because some car parks ban motor caravans.

The MOT test, insurance, road tax and speed limits depend on what it is used for, not on the DVLA body type designation.

Anpr has zero access to DVLA categories of Body Type or Taxation class so in a car park you would only receive a PCN because of its external appearance so if you can camouflage your A class to look like a Minibus or Road Sweeper or anything that is allowed to park you will be ok!

A while ago I contacted the DVLA Ved evasion team trying to establish why its impossible to obtain this info in relation to abuse of zero ved rated vehicles, it’s not even available via a paid for hpi check and it turns out this info is covered by GDPR regulations which seems utterly bizarre when you consider what else is readily available online.

 

[Thistle]

The MOT history of that van suggests it’s a right shed!
I bet the gas installation was equally shoddy, probably lots of rubber hose and jubilee clips etc!

Ironically a few hours after I first saw that van getting plastered across Facebook and multiple forums, a member of a Facebook group I admin posted a similar but less spectacular event his was completely self inflicted the rubber hose to his portable hob had worked loose and finally fallen off.

Hence hob failed to light after many attempts a fair amount of gas had built up and on his last attempt boom!
The damage was not as spectacular though as doing an impression of the Italian Job!

 

[Geek]

Anpr has zero access to DVLA categories of Body Type or Taxation class so in a car park you would only receive a PCN because of its external appearance so if you can camouflage your A class to look like a Minibus or Road Sweeper or anything that is allowed to park you will be ok!

A while ago I contacted the DVLA Ved evasion team trying to establish why its impossible to obtain this info in relation to abuse of zero ved rated vehicles, it’s not even available via a paid for hpi check and it turns out this info is covered by GDPR regulations which seems utterly bizarre when you consider what else is readily available online.

If I had a van with windows ans gor a penalty charge for parking a motorcaravan, I'd dispute the charge, using the vehicle type as evidence.

 

[Pudsey Bear]

Because the speed limit applied to a motorhome, not registered as a motorhome is the same as a motorhome registered as a motorhome.

With a motorhome not registered as a motorhome, you may find yourself having to appeal a speeding ticket though.

Assuming an unladen weight of not more than 3.05 tonnes of course.

This unladen weight thing, an MT PVC will of course be under that, but what about a coach built, which is usually a chassis cowl, do they consider the unladen to be that or when once built.

 

[mark61]

This unladen weight thing, an MT PVC will of course be under that, but what about a coach built, which is usually a chassis cowl, do they consider the unladen to be that or when once built.

Think this has been discussed a few time, but I'm in the camp that thinks the unladen weight of a MH, is exactly that. The unladen weight of a MH, not the unladen weight of a panel van or a chassis cowl. So the unladen weight includes everything that entitles that vehicle to be a MH.

Plus, I don't think you can assume anything re panel vans either, there are 3.5 tonne vans that are pushing 2.5 tonnes unladen, some over 2.7 (ish) tonnes in an L4 configuration. It's not hard to imagine some conversions on these are over 3.05 tonnes.

 

[Pudsey Bear]

The unladen weight of a Fiat Ducato L4H2 van in the UK typically falls between 2,000kg and 2,265kg. The "L4H2" designation refers to its long wheelbase and high roof, which affects its overall weight. The gross vehicle weight (GVW) for all Fiat Ducato versions, including the L4H2, is typically 3,500kg. This means the maximum payload capacity for this van is the difference between the GVW and the unladen weight.

 

[mark61]

The unladen weight of a Fiat Ducato L4H2 van in the UK typically falls between 2,000kg and 2,265kg. The "L4H2" designation refers to its long wheelbase and high roof, which affects its overall weight. The gross vehicle weight (GVW) for all Fiat Ducato versions, including the L4H2, is typically 3,500kg. This means the maximum payload capacity for this van is the difference between the GVW and the unladen weight.

ChatGPT?

 

[Pudsey Bear]

Google

 

[Thistle]

The unladen weight is what any completed but empty vehicle being identified as a motor caravan weighs at the kerbside minus removable items e.g, luggage, gas bottles leisure batteries, mattresses spare wheels tools, and fluids etc

It’s not a fictitious figure derived from manufacturers data it has to be measurable.

To defend a speeding ticket a driver is perfectly entitled to present supporting evidence if required of the unladen weight from a weigh bridge.

It would be a foolish mistake to assume any van plated at 3500kg or under has an max unladen weight of 3050kg without weighing it.

My completed PVC Crafter was well over 3050kg

 

[trevskoda]

@trevskoda Do you have a source for this ?

DVLA site as at 12:30 17/7/25

Converting a vehicle into a motor caravan (motor home)

www.gov.uk

"motor caravan-style graphics on both sides of the vehicle"

Read it on the net one evening, said some things were being sofened down, decals was mentioned.
But i still see it on the dvla page, anyway these days just photoshop van and post pics in, how would thay know.

 

[Thistle]

The stickers have always been the most contentious part of the exercise as the stupid bureaucrats don’t provide any definition of what’s acceptable, people therefore waste money some multiple times during repeat applications

In reality I doubt it’s the stickers the vans are rejected for, more like it’s the use of bonded windows they do a better job than pretty much anything else of really making any van look exactly like a van with windows or minibus

 

[Pudsey Bear]

Make stickers that look like windows, LPG locker, Cassette door etc along with decals.

 

[Robmac]

Make stickers that look like windows, LPG locker, Cassette door etc along with decals.

I've known boats with decals that look like windows before Kev.

I think that you have a great idea there though re lockers, cassette doors, windows etc. a sort of 'beat the DVLA' kit. Brilliant!

 

[Robmac]

The stickers have always been the most contentious part of the exercise as the stupid bureaucrats don’t provide any definition of what’s acceptable, people therefore waste money some multiple times during repeat applications

They also need to be consistent. My van passed re-registration with 2 simple grey stripes added.

 

[Pudsey Bear]

I took pictures of mine for the app, the table, which we didn't want was just a pile of boxes with a cloth over it, I may have took some pics of another van in a dealers too, but most of it was kosher, I just wanted the V5 sorted.

Did someone say that if you used deacla to get the V5 and then took them off you would get the van changed back again, I can't ever see that happening, standard stripey ones I mean not phoney ones as above.