payload

[Deleted member 967]

Example, Our Hymer 660 is 3 tonne tare, [actually 2.9 tonne without me in it] Our gross weight [GVW] is 4.6 tonne.
That gives us a 1.6 tonne payload, which is fantastic

I have just had my Hymer S700 (1992) weighed this morming unladen

We have added an 85cm Oyster Satelite Dish, 85 litre LPG gas tank. Gasparini Self Energy EG20 LPG generator, 2 x 110 Ah leisure batteries, and a 1600w inverter, Rear view camera and monitor, CB radio, Sat Nav and have replaced the awning from an Omnistor 5000 to an 8000 which is slightly wider.

This has added 200kg to the original ULW of the vehicle.

I was pleasantly suprised to find that the plated ULW was 3600 kg yet the vehicle now still only weighs in at 3380kg. Front Axel 1280 kg. Rear Axel 2080 kg.

I have looked at the plate under the bonnet and it does not have entries for Font and Rear axel Just ULW 3600kg and MGW 4600kg on it.

Does anyone have the correct loaded axel weights for the Merceedes 410D (Transporter Chassis) 1992. I am sure I have seen them but cannot find out where it was.

 

[barryd]

Knowing what I know now about payload, when we buy our next van I am going to insist that before we agree to purchase it is driven to a weigh bridge and actually weighed with me in it. There have been some real horror stories about some vans claiming adequate payload only for the new owners to find they can’t put anything in it as its overweight very quickly. I reckon actually weighing it rather than just going by the plates or the seller’s knowledge is the only way to be certain. If they don’t agree, walk away.

 

[Kontiki]

If you look through the tech specs of any of the motorhomes they have the UL, MGW & payload listed. Usually somewhere they will have a note saying what the state of the van is for the UL weight such as how full the tanks are etc. (I think there is some european standard somewhere) what annoys me is they only list the driver at 70kg, I think that the allowance should be for the number of berths i.e. a 4 berth has to allow 4 x 70 kgs. I got really annoyed when we were looking at vans last year & talking to dealers about payload often they would give comments such as 'you've got loads' , '300 kgs is plenty' & dismissing my concerns.
If you are overloaded & have a serious accident your insurance might be invalidated for any claim you are making.
I have a theoretical payload of 865kgs, I keep meaning to get it weighed just to check. Importantly is the axle loading as you have to within the overall & the individual axle weight. One thing I'm certain of my next van will have to have a minimum of 1000 kgs before I will consider it.

 

[barryd]

If you look through the tech specs of any of the motorhomes they have the UL, MGW & payload listed. Usually somewhere they will have a note saying what the state of the van is for the UL weight such as how full the tanks are etc. (I think there is some european standard somewhere) what annoys me is they only list the driver at 70kg, I think that the allowance should be for the number of berths i.e. a 4 berth has to allow 4 x 70 kgs. I got really annoyed when we were looking at vans last year & talking to dealers about payload often they would give comments such as 'you've got loads' , '300 kgs is plenty' & dismissing my concerns.
If you are overloaded & have a serious accident your insurance might be invalidated for any claim you are making.
I have a theoretical payload of 865kgs, I keep meaning to get it weighed just to check. Importantly is the axle loading as you have to within the overall & the individual axle weight. One thing I'm certain of my next van will have to have a minimum of 1000 kgs before I will consider it.

I absoulutely agree. There were a couple of dealers selling £40K vans on Ebay and I quizzed them about the available payload, 2 said they didnt know and would come back to me. Never heard anything. We were lucky with our Kontiki 640. We wanted to fit a scooter on the back and I carefully did all the sums and with (I think around 700KG payload) we could just do it. When we were fully loaded for a 3 month tour we were 60KG under the max limit and right on the limit on the back axle. We were weighed at the swiss border in the summer as well and we were just under. Had we had another person on board or a full tank of water that may have tipped us over the limit. Like you said the next van we get will be in excess of 1000KG payload or Im not interested. To me its a very important consideration when buying your first van. You might find something lovely and shiny that fits the bill, hand over you life savings only to find out you have to leave the wife and her clothes at home (actually some people might not think thats a bad thing)

Cheers
Barry

 

[biggirafe]

We were weighed at the swiss border in the summer as well and we were just under. Had we had another person on board or a full tank of water that may have tipped us over the limit.

Cheers
Barry

Thats concerning Barry, we already have a Sat dish, Air con and top box fitted. I think I need to get myself weighed so that I have a clear idea of what I can get in for our trip. Your right we have about 700kg payload on the 640 but that can soon be taken up when you have a family

Does anyone know where you can get yourself weighed, for free of course

 

[vwalan]

try scrap yards,heavy haulage depots, quarries ,steelyards etc. the weight problem is a growing concern throughout europe, thats why many converters here and on the continent are offering 6.5 or 7.5 ton truck conversions. to give a good payload you need atleast a 5 ton van/truck to start with. thats why 508 mercs were so popular years ago. 3.5 ton is ok for weekends but any attempt at long terming they are not big enough wt. wise. i think the best today are iveco daily or go for mitsubishi canter or isuzu truck and box .you can have double cabs. australia does some real nice conversions on these, even 4x4 versions available. remember if you are caught overloaded you will be made to unload things before you are allowed to carry on your journey. cheers alan.

 

[barryd]

Thats concerning Barry, we already have a Sat dish, Air con and top box fitted. I think I need to get myself weighed so that I have a clear idea of what I can get in for our trip. Your right we have about 700kg payload on the 640 but that can soon be taken up when you have a family

Does anyone know where you can get yourself weighed, for free of course

I reckon the Aircon will be a killer. However dont forget we put a scooter and rack on which added 150KG so you will have that to play with. We use a local agricultural supplies company called Farmway. They weigh the whole van, the front axle and then the back axle. It costs a fiver and you get a print out showing all three weights. Its important to do it this way as you may be under but you may be over on one axle, I.e back or front heavy. If you go to Switzerland there is a good chance they will weigh you in a Kontiki as they dont believe its under 3500KG as its such a big van. They weigh you and give you a print out. Everytime we crossed the Swiss border we were pulled over and asked about our weight. Once we showed the the print out from our first visit they were happy. I also had 60 bottles of pils lager from Germany on board and intended to drink my way into Switzerland if we were slightly over!

Cheers
BArry

 

[Channa]

I am following this thread with interest.

I think the conclusion is quite a simple one.

Ignore salesmans claims,Manufacturers figures etc ...get the van weighed you then know what true tolerance you have got.

Be mindful some manufacturers in times gone by for plating reasons remove Spare wheel and Jack to ensure that their van is treated as an LGV.

Fiat Ducato LWB 1800 for those that were wondering.

Channa

 

[guerdeval]

My Hymer S820 is 5990kg gvw and 8990kg gtw giving me a tonne payload IN the van and still able to pull 2 tonne, this is on the biggest Sprinter chassis ,it still returns 20mpg towing a Ford Ka and everything but the kitchen sink in it including safari room,bbq and god knows what else she puts in those mysterious boxes that never get opened! NAH NAH NAH NAH NAH!

 

[biggirafe]

I reckon the Aircon will be a killer. However dont forget we put a scooter and rack on which added 150KG so you will have that to play with. We use a local agricultural supplies company called Farmway. They weigh the whole van, the front axle and then the back axle. It costs a fiver and you get a print out showing all three weights. Its important to do it this way as you may be under but you may be over on one axle, I.e back or front heavy. If you go to Switzerland there is a good chance they will weigh you in a Kontiki as they dont believe its under 3500KG as its such a big van. They weigh you and give you a print out. Everytime we crossed the Swiss border we were pulled over and asked about our weight. Once we showed the the print out from our first visit they were happy. I also had 60 bottles of pils lager from Germany on board and intended to drink my way into Switzerland if we were slightly over!

Cheers
BArry

Thanks, I'll have a look around the area to see who can weigh me. I believe 700kg or there abouts is enough payload for a family, Thats 1/2 a ton of clothes or beer or food. You don't need to drive around with a full tank of water. I have considered removing the air con. Its not something we use. I think I turned it on once in August. Trouble is I bet there is a bloody big hole in the roof where its been fitted

We have been camping for years and learn't a long time ago you only need 1 mug each 1 plate each etc etc. There is no point in taking anything 'just in case'. If its that important and you forgot it then you just have to buy it on route.

 

[Kontiki]

Don't forget that you & your families weight needs to be taken into account so you need all the people in the van when it's weighed. Also every bit of extra equipment reduces the available payload, its suprising how much stuff you carry & you can only appreciate it & the weight when you unload it all. I don't understand why anybody would want a van plated at 3500kg (unless its for medical or age restriction) many vans can have the weight uprated to 3850kg without any mods its just a paperwork exercise. The road tax is also cheaper . When I collected my van (Adria based on the Renault Master) the dealer had registered it 3500kg even though I said I wanted the 3850kg. As he didn't have the V5 he gave me the new weight plate from the manufacturer & said all I needed to do was to show it at the local DVLA & get it changed on the log book which is what I did & got a refund on the tax .

 

[barryd]

Don't forget that you & your families weight needs to be taken into account so you need all the people in the van when it's weighed. Also every bit of extra equipment reduces the available payload, its suprising how much stuff you carry & you can only appreciate it & the weight when you unload it all. I don't understand why anybody would want a van plated at 3500kg (unless its for medical or age restriction) many vans can have the weight uprated to 3850kg without any mods its just a paperwork exercise. The road tax is also cheaper . When I collected my van (Adria based on the Renault Master) the dealer had registered it 3500kg even though I said I wanted the 3850kg. As he didn't have the V5 he gave me the new weight plate from the manufacturer & said all I needed to do was to show it at the local DVLA & get it changed on the log book which is what I did & got a refund on the tax .

Hi. Can you elaberate on this? I think our Kontiki is rated at 3460 (or somewhere just under 3500KG. As I mentioned it already has a payload of around 700KG which is fine (just). Are you saying that just by carrying out a paper based exercise I can increase it to 3850kg? And that also we would pay less road tax? Interested to find out more.

Cheers
Barry

 

[Kontiki]

You need to check to see if your van can be uprated without any modifications, the Kon tiki is on the Alko chassis & if you contact Alko they can tell you what the max it can be changed to. Usually there is a number somewhere on the chassis saying which it is.
On my last van it was a Frankia A class on the 2.8 JTD Fiat with an Alko chassis. I was rated at 3850kg from the manufacturers. The max I could go to according to Alko was 4000 kgs but to do this I could either upgrade the from springs or the rear torsion bars (or even do both) but even if I increased the rear & the front I couldn't go beyond the 4000 kgs. As the van tended to be nose down & rolled on the corners I opted just to get the front done. This was done at a place on the Mosel for about 400 euros & they did all the paperwork for me.
The tax for a PHG (private heavy goods) is £165, don't know why but it is

 

[barryd]

Cheers for that, I will contact them. Strange how the tax is less though although not much less.

Regards
Barry

 

[vwalan]

hi barry . you could speek to gareth marsh at SV TEC google them they specialise in chassis uprating. the tax is different because private heavy goods is cheaper. never went up the same in a budget a few years ago. well worth doing if you can. sometimes it may be just adding air bags does enough. remember if you uprate the suspension and not the weight allowed you could decrease how much you have as payload. airbags n compressor reduce payload. cheers alan.

 

[barryd]

Cheers Alan but I was under the impression that it might be possible to increase the payload without actually doing anything to the van or have I missunderstood? I will contact them and see what they say

Barry

 

[vwalan]

hi barry ,it may be possible without modification. just another way of increasing the weight allowed.
its when i hear of folk fitting extra springs etc from a higher wt model but dont change the paperwork that suprises me . if you dont change the plated wt you infact lower the payload. in your case if you fitted airbags you would have 700kg minus the weight of the bags. if you didnt alter things.
try it and you never know you could be lucky. also vehicles over 3,500kg only need 1mm of tread on their tyres . can be handy if away for along time saves the expense when away.

 

[biggirafe]

Cheers Alan but I was under the impression that it might be possible to increase the payload without actually doing anything to the van or have I missunderstood? I will contact them and see what they say

Barry

Hi Barry
Can you let me know how you get on please?

 

[barryd]

Hi Barry
Can you let me know how you get on please?

Yep no problem

Barry

 

[barryd]

hi barry . you could speek to gareth marsh at SV TEC google them they specialise in chassis uprating. the tax is different because private heavy goods is cheaper. never went up the same in a budget a few years ago. well worth doing if you can. sometimes it may be just adding air bags does enough. remember if you uprate the suspension and not the weight allowed you could decrease how much you have as payload. airbags n compressor reduce payload. cheers alan.

Hi

I found their website and had a good rake around. I havent phoned them yet and I am not sure if I will. The website is very informative but it did raise a couple of questions. If I raise my payload over 3500KG then there are some concerns. My insurance may be effected, there are restrictions on recovery if you break down and are over 3500KG (this is a major concern) and it presumably bumps you up a class on toll roads. I did find a little software program to work out if you could fit a scooter and rack which was interesting. I did this manually when I got the van and it worked out correct to the KG! which was reasuring. Not sure if Im going to bother now as I dont think I need to. Also it may be to my advantage when selling the van if someone wants it who can only drive below 3500KG.

What does everyone think?