Weight checks
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jeffmossy
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A bit of info here
www.caravanguard.co.uk
Keeping your caravan and motorhome weight down
Keeping your loading light has lots of benefits for you and your caravan or motorhome. Here's some tips and gear to reduce your vehicle's weight.
www.caravanguard.co.uk
tidewatcher
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A trip to a weigh bridge is very good value for money. I took my 3500kg Ducato along with driver and passenger, full tank of fuel and three quarter tank of water plus two bikes on the rack and our usual "heading off" supplies and bits and pieces. Came in with enough to spare for a lot of wine on return. Peace of mind for £9.00.
davep10000
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You have a 330kg loading capacity (above kerb weight) on your Deli. hope that helps!
silverweed
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Don’t forget that if you’re stopped all you have to say is that you’re on your way to a weigh bridge. You just have to know where the weigh bridges are haha.
colinm
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Don't forget that in the unlikely event you are stopped and weighed you will not be allowed to leave overweight, dumping the water is one thing, but it sounds like you want to go over by much more than this, you might want to prelist 200+kg of gear you don't want.
Asterix
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I believe the fine is £1 per kilo overweight,they will make you lose the weight before allowing you to drive anywhere.
Tookey
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Thanks Dave,
kerb weight plus family plus 50L of water still leaves a 100kg odd for 'other' which should be fine
"sorry hitch hiker, got to stay legal!"
Tookey
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Hi Colin,Don't forget that in the unlikely event you are stopped and weighed you will not be allowed to leave overweight, dumping the water is one thing, but it sounds like you want to go over by much more than this, you might want to prelist 200+kg of gear you don't want.
Didn't mean to give the impression of wanting to go over GVW. What I was trying to ask to put it differently.....'my chassis is 22 yr old but as its a coach built can I still be confident to take it up to GVW?'
I don't want to go over for mpg, stress on brakes and transmission and cos its not legal
Snapster
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If the tyres, suspension, chassis and brakes are in good order, ( recent good mot pass?) then that shouldn’t be a problem.
mark61
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Being built on a cab and chassis version, it could be argued the chassis is actually stronger than the equivalent panel van. I wouldn't make that argument, but some might.
Don't forget axle weights too, it's not just GVW
davep10000
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The Deli is based on a very capable 4wd proper ladder frame chassis its very strong, and designed for off roading in its mpv form.
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Wooie1958
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It was a similar incident although i didn`t get fined that led me to uprate my GVW from 3,850kg to 4,100kg through SVTech many years back.
I popped into the free one just outside Stirling to check which i normally do if i`m passing, VOSA were in there doing stop checks.
One of their guys came over and asked if i was ok and i said i`d just popped into to do a quick free check but seeing as they were working i wouldn`t interfere.
He said no problem, they were having a break and did i need any help, i said i`d done it many times so he stepped back and let me get on with it.
Lined myself up, pressed the button, waited for the sequence to start then drove forwards slowly, the wife had pen and paper ready.
Front axle, rear axle then gross weights all came up, the wife had written them down so i pulled out of their way so i could look at the results.
The VOSA guy came over and clearly saw the frown on my face and asked what was wrong, i explained the GVW weight was fine but the rear was slightly over.
Turns out he was nearly a motorhomer himself and planning on buying one next year when he retires.
He asked where the water tank was situated and when i told him he said instantly drop the water and you`ll be fine which i did.
Due to mine being a low profile with rear garage it is physically impossible to get any of the weight further forward than it is now and the increase in GVW all went on the rear axle which is exactly where i needed it so it was money well spent and kept me legal.
I bumped into him several years later on Sango Sands campsite, he recognised me by sight and my registration number.
I explained what i`d done in upgrading the GVW and showed him the new VIN sticker to which he replied it`s a shame more don`t take the weight of the motorhomes more seriously and they just chuck stuff in regardless.
mfw
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I've run overweight for years only up to water tank weight though - but the vans were on 16in wheels and heavy duty suspension/chassis it would of been easy to uprate weight but then you limit who can drive it - and also the sale market - there is also a tolerance up to 5% i think - so dump water tank you should get within tolerance - personal choices really
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Where is that exactly? Anywhere near the Dobbies Garden Centre?
Winterskp
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We bought a used 2007 Hymer a-class on Merc 319 chassis, 3880 MIRO. After its first service I got it on a weighbridge empty, no overcab mattress or passenger, full diesel and Gas bottles, and the front axle was a few kg overweight! Fortunately I never got checked. It ran and handled beautifully.
Eric Eke
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British Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency (DVSA) has special WIM sensors and roadside cameras all over the country. It helps the agency fight the overloaded delivery trucks and lorries, which pose a threat to road users and damage road infrastructure.
At the beginning of this decade, the British automated the existing manual weight-control systems. The new solution is a combination of WiMS sensors (Weigh in Motion Sensors) and the ANPR (Automatic Number Plate Recognition) system.
Induction loops and special sensors have been placed in the road surface to determine the weight of the passing truck.
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+
In turn, the camera with the ANPR system records the vehicle’s registration numbers.
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+
System operation
The system not only recognizes the vehicle and measures its speed and weight, but also compares these parameters with the information contained in the DVSA database. If the truck is overloaded, the system sends an alarm to the officer supervising its work. This one informs the nearest police patrol about the suspected vehicle. The officers stop the indicated car and direct it to the nearest control point.
The scales mounted on British highways are so accurate that almost every WiMS alarm is confirmed by the stationary scales at the DVSA point. The Agency does not provide information on the location of weights. It is known, however, that they are located in the „strategic points of UK road infrastructure”.
Below is a screen view showing the operation of the system
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+
A green ellipse indicates WIMS weight reading.
The information contained in the database is marked with the yellow ellipse.
White shows how much the vehicle has been overloaded on individual axles and on the total weight (in percent).
In addition, the system informs you which axes are overloaded (red bars) and which ones are not (green bars). The OCRS (Operator Compliance Risk Score) is also displayed on the screen, providing information on possible previous infringements of the given carrier.
What is important for European carriers, the system also recognizes vehicles from abroad, whose data does not appear in the DVSA database.
At the beginning of this decade, the British automated the existing manual weight-control systems. The new solution is a combination of WiMS sensors (Weigh in Motion Sensors) and the ANPR (Automatic Number Plate Recognition) system.
Induction loops and special sensors have been placed in the road surface to determine the weight of the passing truck.
-
+
In turn, the camera with the ANPR system records the vehicle’s registration numbers.
-
+
System operation
The system not only recognizes the vehicle and measures its speed and weight, but also compares these parameters with the information contained in the DVSA database. If the truck is overloaded, the system sends an alarm to the officer supervising its work. This one informs the nearest police patrol about the suspected vehicle. The officers stop the indicated car and direct it to the nearest control point.
The scales mounted on British highways are so accurate that almost every WiMS alarm is confirmed by the stationary scales at the DVSA point. The Agency does not provide information on the location of weights. It is known, however, that they are located in the „strategic points of UK road infrastructure”.
Below is a screen view showing the operation of the system
-
+
A green ellipse indicates WIMS weight reading.
The information contained in the database is marked with the yellow ellipse.
White shows how much the vehicle has been overloaded on individual axles and on the total weight (in percent).
In addition, the system informs you which axes are overloaded (red bars) and which ones are not (green bars). The OCRS (Operator Compliance Risk Score) is also displayed on the screen, providing information on possible previous infringements of the given carrier.
What is important for European carriers, the system also recognizes vehicles from abroad, whose data does not appear in the DVSA database.