weight !!!!

[GWAYGWAY]

First action is to go to another CERTIFIED weighbridge and get it done again PROPERLY. Front axle Rear axle and a combined weight. then compare them adding the two axles together. there should be little difference.
When I got my new Hymer I went straight to the local weighbridge and he told me to just put the front on the bridge then drive over and have the rear done. THE TOTAL was 4200 kgs with sod all in it apart from a bit of fuel 20 litres of fuel and a bit of clothes and some food. I was nearly sick as I had just emptied my bank balance on a new 3500kg motorhome that weighed 4200kgs albeit it wqas plated at 3860 kilos. I took the Hymer price list which does give ALL the accessory weight on it and wrote it all out and it was nowhere near theat weight.
SO next went to another weigh bridge with a PROPER operator who knew what to do.. Front axle all the way on UNTIL the rear wheels were nearly on as well, Drive on to the MIDDLE of the bridge for total then off the far end until the front wheels were JUST OFF. Total of the the front and rear axles were 3510kilos and total weight was 3520kg.. nowhere near what the first bloke told me.. The bridge has load cells and they are NOT at the edges of the platform so I was outside of them and trying to lift the rest of the bridge like a seesaw same with the rear wheels and the total included a bit of the actual steel platform weight. The in service weight was JUST out side the limit of 3500 but near enough for a country job as it was a 3860 plate.. I did raise it to 4200kgs but might have to drop it back down on my birthday when it might need to be 3500 again. I had bought that van, to be able to drop the weight down should I not get a medical.
Another thing is that there might well be a bit of bias on the set up of the one you tried to frighten users into thinking they were well over and drop the load down a bit (FOR SAFETY) Proper weighbridges are for the accurate , within reason, weighing that might lead to a court case. Load cells used on the road side are taking the weights of the axles as they raise and pull away the the rising axle add to the one being weighed. Careful weighing is not in the VOSA handbook. They are looking for highest possible weights to nick the operator.
You might be surprised at the second weighing I certainly was relieved at mine. It was worth the tenner for the three seperate weighings.
If anybody is stopped do not forget to empty the grey water and maybe the fresh over the shoes of the person stopping you.

 

[Nabsim]

What about the cassette Gway?

 

[Byronic]

If anybody is stopped do not forget to empty the grey water and maybe the fresh over the shoes of the person stopping you.

Fresh first, then the grey and if I had a black waste
underbody tank a quick squirt of that as a topcoat!

 

[hextal]

But a lot of motorhomers hope for someone to come up with a well equipped 3.5t
spacious van with a 1tonne payload that's the challenge. A lot of advantages in being
<3.5t. You could say the motorhomers version of the search for the Holy Grail !

I got close. Converted my van, 2up with everything loaded and brimmed I've still got 700kg spare capacity.

But..... It's a MWB not a LWB or XLWB - so was pretty easy. Even has solid oak worktops

 

[Byronic]

I got close. Converted my van, 2up with everything loaded and brimmed I've still got 700kg spare capacity.

But..... It's a MWB not a LWB or XLWB - so was pretty easy. Even has solid oak worktops

Yes should be possible to get a decent payload on a 3.5t SWB chassis. Long termers usually
want more space which naturally means more body weight, furniture and fittings that 700kg
soon gets swallowed up and then they're surprised left with Rapido typical 200kg payload!

I've a plethora of cupboards in my present XLWB PVC layout (altered couple of time over the years) it
has 38 or 40 doors or hatches! all the usual motorhome gear, +m/bike rack I've managed
to keep the conversion weight to c. 900kg. utilising as many weight saving means as practically
applicable eg frame and panel furniture carcassing, double skin hollow doors, insulated floor
decked with 6mm ply on spaced battens. 3mm flexible insulation (easy to form to bodywork
contours) topped with 50mm cut to profile ligtweight rigid ex. polystyrene insul.

 

[GWAYGWAY]

What about the cassette Gway?

ThT is reserved to go over the sods head if he books you..

 

[Deleted member 75172]

Restriction at age 70?

Until you get to 70 and the medical kicks in! Worry time:idea-007:

I had not heard of this restriction before.
Although i have a while to go does anyone have more details or link to web site?
Thanks

 

[Channa]

I had not heard of this restriction before.
Although i have a while to go does anyone have more details or link to web site?
Thanks

This probably answers your questions

Renew your driving licence if you're 70 or over - GOV.UK

The important part unless you take the appropriate medical and tell them renewal for all intents is post 97 and licence restrictions that go with that up to 3500 kgs the grandfather rights on your current licence aren't renewed automatically

Have a read and one or two here have been through the process and can give advice
Channa

 

[wesaaron]

I recently found out about the poor payload on some motorhomes as we have just swapped from a caravan to motorhome, it was after we got it I realized that with a max gross weight of 3500kg we only had 230kg payload!

Did a bit of research and have got it uprated to 4000kg, (just waiting for DVLA to return new V5) not all that cheap to do but now we have peace of mind, no potential insurance problems and the vehicle is probably safer with suspension and tyres that have the correct weight rating, looking forward to our first outing in MH.

 

[LT Man]

I also had no payload at 3500kg
7m coach built van
Took everything out / off it and weighed it
I mean everything, took out jack and awning off side All cushions mattress etc No gas bottles .no water .no fuel as was running on fumes in other words if i turned it upside down and shook it nowt would move.
Weighted it with no occupants ......3000kg What chance did i have none by miles
Supposed to be 320kg payload Still struggle at 3850 It is crazy what they get away with when quoting figures

LT Man

 

[yorkslass]

I also had no payload at 3500kg
7m coach built van
Took everything out / off it and weighed it
I mean everything, took out jack and awning off side All cushions mattress etc No gas bottles .no water .no fuel as was running on fumes in other words if i turned it upside down and shook it nowt would move.
Weighted it with no occupants ......3000kg What chance did i have none by miles
Supposed to be 320kg payload Still struggle at 3850 It is crazy what they get away with when quoting figures

LT Man

As I see it, they get away with quoting misleading figures because they are never challenged.

If i bought from a dealer it would be returned as not fit for purpose.

Alternatively, there are plenty organisations/magazines who could hi light or even challenge the manufacturer's but they don't. Too much lost advertising revenue involved.

 

[bazzybabes]

My Hymer, B584 4000 kg, on a maxi chassis, was at the weighbridge in Rochdale yesterday, stripped of almost everything but with a full tank of fuel and a full refillable gas cylinder, 2 leisure batteries and 2 solar panels.

Nothing else. No water. Not even me. It weighed exactly 3000 kg.

The day before I rang SVTech who told me if I wanted to downplate to 3500, I would have to get below 3100 kg.

My C1/D1 expires in September and if DVLA won't re-issue it, downplating is probably my only option.

I am planning to overwinter in Iberia so downplating may be a necessity as maybe losing another couple of stones! :dance:

 

[delicagirl]

My Hymer, B584 4000 kg, on a maxi chassis, was at the weighbridge in Rochdale yesterday, stripped of almost everything but with a full tank of fuel and a full refillable gas cylinder, 2 leisure batteries and 2 solar panels.

Nothing else. No water. Not even me. It weighed exactly 3000 kg.

The day before I rang SVTech who told me if I wanted to downplate to 3500, I would have to get below 3100 kg.

My C1/D1 expires in September and if DVLA won't re-issue it, downplating is probably my only option.

I am planning to overwinter in Iberia so downplating may be a necessity as maybe losing another couple of stones! :dance:

its ridiculous how much stuff we have in vans that we dont need. the only way to be sure is to weigh everything you want to put in the van and put it into a spreadsheet... tedious but useful. you can then decide if ....x y and z really ARE necessary just in case......

 

[Channa]

!
I suggest serious research is required prior to buying and don't trust the salesmen to know proper weights!

I wouldn't disagree with that. The problem is the reference material for salespeople are manufacturers shiny brochures they have no more info than the customers.

Back in the day Fiat Ducato 1,8 lwb hr at the point of registration we deliberately weighed minus tool kit and spare wheel to generate a v5 (with weight ticket) so the vehicles were mot d at 3yrs (plated weight) and not annually avoiding operator licences in some cases.

I dare say it as all changed, in those days we dealt with LVLO before they got shut and went all PC based, It was a lot easier

Channa

 

[Channa]

I recon you are right that most just read from a brochure and don't ever use a van themselves, however I have been told by Travelworld that some of their sales persons have been to the German factory, so I would expect them to know more.
I have recently found Travelworld sale persons to be pretty clued up, including actual weights.
Quite refreshing!

The training from manufacturers is very hit and miss (cars) in my time the best by a country mile was Jaguar.

We had a theory called "green blood" when you visited the factory and they had finished with you if they cut you little" green leapers" would appear rather than blood.

They must have done something right to this day I still have a big soft spot for the "big cats" ..... Volvo trucks were quite good Seat meanwhile yup brochures!! lol

Channa

 

[Channa]

We have had a couple of small warranty issues and Travelworld have referred to Hymer for authorisation.
It was just parts, they were sensible and let me do the work myself. They even agreed to pay warranty in retrospect after I did a repair in Portugal
It seems that when they fit extras, they are fitted to Hymer spec, which is reassuring.
Mercury outboards used to give excellent training to mechanics and sales staff also went on mechanical service courses!

That sounds like good service !,,, manufacturers are very cautious letting dealers self authorise, TW wont be too upset you sorted it yourself as warranty rates are normally crap and it keeps everyone happy which is the objective

I have said before Hymer Group are following very much the Volkswagen group model which has put VAG at number 1 . I am optimistic the Motorhome industry is starting to clean its act up and we should see a more customer focussed industry. (or am I having a wishful thinking moment)

Back to weights and plating it can be extremely complicated and easy to get caught out which is where companies like SVtech are worth their weight in gold. If dealers can get it wrong what hope do customers have ?

Channa

 

[Byronic]

There used to be a major trader in Erith Kent, Bromley Motorcaravans. The bloke
that owned it flew around in a helicopter so that indicates how successful he
was. BMs sole raison d' etre was flogging new motorhomes, smart showroom
flowers and dinner set chinaware in all the displayed vans! But all the part exchanges were jammed
in round the back. Between them never more than 300mm and that's all four sides!
Barely any concession was made to flogging off the second hand stuff.
The 'real' money must have been made on the new sales.

I used to call in late at nights to buy an accessory or 2 before catching a ferry
and got to know the workshop manager left to run the place on his own.
He was the only employee that actually owned or ever owned a motorhome,
bar one, the owner, and even that was only back in the day? He started up the business
by building ex ambulance conversions based on his own personal van.
All the sales staff were clued up on sales talk of course, but according to the w/s
manager none really empathised with the m/h customer, and I gathered most could
fittingly have stood in for JC and crew on attitudes to motorhoming and motorhomers!

 

[jenks]

Just found this useful link: Consolidated code of practice: enforcement weighing of vehicles - GOV.UK

If they use a temp weigh station with portable weighing pads there is an axle tolerance of +/- 100kgs (section 3.5). I think most motor homers might get away with this, however from an insurance / license point of view still better safe than sorry?

 

[Channa]

We had an excellent relationship when we had a Mercury / Mercruiser dealership. We could authorise warranty and never had one case rejected, but we were a proper franchised dealership and carried in stock all of the recommended parts.
That is the trouble with M/H dealers, they are not proper franchises as car dealers used to be.
Used SV Tech and they are excellent!

That's partly what I mean by Hymer following the VAG template. They will start imposing dealer standards. Stock holding requirements , Part stocking and most importantly reducing front end dealer margins eg instead of 10 % up front paid 6 % up front and the other 4 % retained payable on customer satisfaction scores marketing spend advertising etc. the weighting in favour of customer satisfaction.

That is what all the car franchises are doing nowadays thus questionaiires every time you visit the money involved is staggering.

Those that don't want to play ball wont have a franchise !

A funny tale re how precise it gets we had Porsche in Leeds and were fined for a broken showroom tile a puddle on the forecourt, but the best bit we had sent a young receptionist round the corner to Makro to buy in refreshments for the customer waiting area. Using her nouse and a Yorkshire lass she made the mistake of buying "my mums orange juice" we got into trouble for that franchise standard stipulates two brands of orange juice must be offered and must be premium brands !

I am not pulling an April fool in August

PS I was allowed the occasional puddle I was in charge of Mazda lol
Channa

 

[Byronic]

Just found this useful link: Consolidated code of practice: enforcement weighing of vehicles - GOV.UK

If they use a temp weigh station with portable weighing pads there is an axle tolerance of +/- 100kgs (section 3.5). I think most motor homers might get away with this, however from an insurance / license point of view still better safe than sorry?

There's something 'not quite as it should be really, getting away with it" having to worry
about cribbing a bit of leeway here and there. Tyre manufacturers admitting to producing
special camping tyres because their regular commercial tyres aren't intended for constant
running at MAM and add to which the m/h owners self determined best guess margin on top of that.
Really the maximum weights should be set, and the owner/driver should aim to get
100kg "below" that set max. not above. If you can't make this grade then tough,
upgrade, or get a more suitable van that will give a decent margin.

I'm getting like CC.