Mot

[Telstar]

Just had my van in for its first test. Turned up they questioned if it was overweight and then if it would fit in there garage. Mine is a low profile and I've seen high top/overcab beds tested there. As for weight, well below the 3.5t max.

He got in it to drive over the inspection pit and said that a brake is severely seized, which surprised me as it was flying on the motorway 5 days ealier!!!!! I was dreading the sound of him reving the engine to the limiter when I don't rev it like that. He only barely rev'd it to what sounded like 1500 revs. Next thing is I hear some printing, he reverses the van out, takes it for a test drive to test the brakes!!!!! returns and give me the pass cert. From this it is obvious that he passed the van without testing the brakes, he also just wanted a ride in my van. He also failed to test the emmissions correctly and as for the seized brakes, he'd failed to take the handbrake off fully....... I asked him about a brake test on the rolling road and his reply was that for motorhomes you don't have to do that! You can have a motorhome tested anywhere....

If I could recommend this guy I would, but I don't think that I could rely on him to do anything correctly. I might be wrong, but why would you not test the brakes on the rolling road just like they do with cars? Luckily my van is just 3 years old and shouldn't have anything wrong because I have it serviced/maintained but what if you don't!!! Some people rely on the MOT test and only maintain vehicles to pass this test.

Do motorhomes have a different test?

cheers

Jon

 

[Deleted member 775]

sound like a good place to take your van to as long as you know it is up to scratch and serviced fully there are too many mot stations that want to fail a vehicle for silly little things nowadays

 

[Deleted member 207]

I watched my campervan get an MOT last year, and it got the rolling road treatment, snout on the exhaust pipe, plus a pinch bar on the spring shackles, plus plus plus.....I got a read out of brake performance and gas emmssions.

So unless the test has been changed I'd suspect a dodgy tester, which sort of defeats the point of doing the test.

Not that I'm a fan of annual roadworthy testing - two Australian states only have "roadworthies" when a vehicle is sold, and they both have lower accident rates involving mechanical failures than the states with annual tests. There is a fairly strong on road inspection programme, which aims to check about 60% of vehicles every two years, so there is an incentive to keep your vehicle in good nick all the time, rather than for the day of a test.

 

[Deleted member 775]

when my van was tested he failed ns trackrod end so insted of just fitting that one i fitted both at the sametime just because the o/s one was ok that day dident mean it will be in a couple of months time i think its best to check every thing regulary

 

[jimmnlizz]

Very commendable, mandrake, after all they fitted both of them at the same time, so they've worn at the same rate! JIM.

 

[t&s]

i can understa your concern about the way mot stations rev the guts out of our cherished motors i never exceed 25 on the rev counter with any motor
they take it to the limit with no come back.
i was thinking of fitting a throttle stop on the cable next to the pump so they cant rev more than i do ,
a simmilar thing happened recently i took my motorhome to a main dealer to have a new heater fitted i mentioned that it did not get very warm bearing in mind it was a new motor with only7500 miles on the clock
the guy in the workshop started my van and put his foot flat out for at least 6 minits to warm it up i was shouting at him to stop but he could not hear me cos the engine was reving so loud when i finaly got him to stop he said it wont harm it as it is new and if it dose go bang it ia under the warrentee
i nearly hit him and i wont be using them again OLDS of dorchester

 

[Wilbury]

Very commendable, mandrake, after all they fitted both of them at the same time, so they've worn at the same rate! JIM.

Hi jimmnliz,
It is very common for near side components to wear quicker, I think due to often running on a rougher and or wetter road surface edge.
Wilbury

 

[janeandbob]

Hi we had the rev treatment years ago on an old Land rover 90 and they blew the head gasket, I had it repaired but I had to sell it because it was never the same again, I think if you put a bolt under the pedal it would say they would fail it. Maybe Keith ( sprokit ) he a tester for Vosa could put us right on the Laws and right way to do things. If your van is under 3.5 ton you can have it tested at any Garage if they have a something to lift it, my local garage does mine they have a big lifting ramp. When I had my Lorry I had to take it to the test station and you just drive over the pit and they jack it up but I have not had anything pass not going on the rolling Road sound a bit dodgy to me. Bob.

 

[Belgian]

Hi jimmnliz,
It is very common for near side components to wear quicker, I think due to often running on a rougher and or wetter road surface edge.
Wilbury

That's right: we right-drivers overhere wear quicker on the right side. Only one solution: drive half a year on the continent and the rest in the UK

 

[lenny]

I dont trust the garages,full stop, my Talbot express failed on various things,one being steering rack worn(free play). I rectified all the faults minus the steering rack (as I could'nt find any fault with it),put it back in for retest and it passed.
Do they invent defects in order to get the job of fixing them?

 

[lenny]

I used to use a certain garage for my MOTs a few years ago, this one had just been extended to accomodate a silencer exhaust sales room.

Guess what my van failed on

 

[Deleted member 775]

I dont trust the garages,full stop, my Talbot express failed on various things,one being steering rack worn(free play). I rectified all the faults minus the steering rack (as I could'nt find any fault with it),put it back in for retest and it passed.
Do they invent defects in order to get the job of fixing them?

some garages do invent things i agree with you there ( i was in the motor trade)i all ways make a point of spending a bit of time cleaning up brake pipes a nice bit of grease on them . as my beddy has grease nipples fitted to the ball joints a squirt or two from the gun if they think you keep up to it they are less reluctant to fail you but then again a little bit of maintainence during the year can save a big fat bill on mot day and a lot of disappointment

 

[Deleted member 775]

i can understa your concern about the way mot stations rev the guts out of our cherished motors i never exceed 25 on the rev counter with any motor
they take it to the limit with no come back.
i was thinking of fitting a throttle stop on the cable next to the pump so they cant rev more than i do ,
a simmilar thing happened recently i took my motorhome to a main dealer to have a new heater fitted i mentioned that it did not get very warm bearing in mind it was a new motor with only7500 miles on the clock
the guy in the workshop started my van and put his foot flat out for at least 6 minits to warm it up i was shouting at him to stop but he could not hear me cos the engine was reving so loud when i finaly got him to stop he said it wont harm it as it is new and if it dose go bang it ia under the warrentee
i nearly hit him and i wont be using them again OLDS of dorchester

with not using the engine fully to its limits at times can be detrimental to its longevity. modern engines are meant to be stressed so they thrive on a certain amount of hard work, the best idea is to give an engine a good work out get it nice and hot just before your mot, that will clean out any unwanted deposits that have built up over the year off driving steady as they may contribute to a emissions fail . after all all motor homes are built round a commercial vehicle that is designed for a hard life, it is a common mistake to believe a low mileage unstressed engine will be better than a high mileage well serviced one. i would rather buy a high mileage motor well serviced than a low one that has not, after all 140k a year with 3 services or 50k with one i know which is the best !!!!!

 

[autosleeper]

I am sorry Jon that you had a bad experience with the MOT Test. Our Garage has been testing since the scheme first began, & we stick strictly to the rules laid down for the test procedure. With up to date equipment, it is not necessary to over rev. the engine of diesel engines & only needs gentle reving just one time. I would suggest that all of you find a reliable, genuine family run business, who is very busy & does not need to fail cars to find business. By the way, the new rule of 4 - 2 - 2 is coming out soon.
i.e. First test at 4 years old & every two years after that. A lot of bogus testers should then be weeded out, as they will not make enough money to survive.
Hope this helps.

 

[Deleted member 775]

I am sorry Jon that you had a bad experience with the MOT Test. Our Garage has been testing since the scheme first began, & we stick strictly to the rules laid down for the test procedure. With up to date equipment, it is not necessary to over rev. the engine of diesel engines & only needs gentle reving just one time. I would suggest that all of you find a reliable, genuine family run business, who is very busy & does not need to fail cars to find business. By the way, the new rule of 4 - 2 - 2 is coming out soon.
i.e. First test at 4 years old & every two years after that. A lot of bogus testers should then be weeded out, as they will not make enough money to survive.
Hope this helps.

havent heared about this 4-2-2 one any more info ??????

 

[t&s]

as churchill would say OH YES
you cant trust one you dont know personaly
regards the reving in the mot test may be NOSHA who i believe is also a vosa man can give us some guidance on lowering the amount of revs we are allowed for the test ?

 

[t&s]

with not using the engine fully to its limits at times can be detrimental to its longevity. modern engines are meant to be stressed so they thrive on a certain amount of hard work, the best idea is to give an engine a good work out get it nice and hot just before your mot, that will clean out any unwanted deposits that have built up over the year off driving steady as they may contribute to a emissions fail . after all all motor homes are built round a commercial vehicle that is designed for a hard life, it is a common mistake to believe a low mileage unstressed engine will be better than a high mileage well serviced one. i would rather buy a high mileage motor well serviced than a low one that has not, after all 140k a year with 3 services or 50k with one i know which is the best !!!!!

i partly agree with your comment about giving it a good warm up and blowing out the cobwebs prior to the mot
but i prefer to drive econimicaly not exceeding around 25 on the rev counter
i know this gives me the best mpg
regular oil changes i think also help this new idea of 20000 miles before changing the oil seems a little to long so i usualy change the oil in all my motors at around 15000 miles
also an average of 200,000 miles per vehicle