Companies who uprate a motorhome

[Randonneur]

We have an Auto-Trail Tracker with a 3300kg MAM and would like to uprate to 3500kgs. Does anyone have a list of Companies that do this, we know about SV Tech, but know that there are others that do the same thing. Mel B has recently done theirs and have sent her a PM but they may be away at the moment.

[witzend]

I used SVTec who where good and no complaints since I was told of J R Consultancy in Bury St Edmunds 035950808

[Brian Kirby]

Randonneur - 2015-11-29 11:37 AM

 

We have an Auto-Trail Tracker with a 3300kg MAM and would like to uprate to 3500kgs. Does anyone have a list of Companies that do this, we know about SV Tech, but know that there are others that do the same thing. Mel B has recently done theirs and have sent her a PM but they may be away at the moment.

I assume you know that your van is compromised at 3,300kg because you have taken it to a weighbridge fully laden? From that visit do you know what were the actual loads on the axles, and how they compare to the axle load limits? I only ask because whereas it may be possible to uprate the MAM, if either axle (rear?) is close to (or over) its limit, the re-plating exercise will become a whole different ball game involving some form of suspension modification, and possibly replacement of tyres. Better to know if this is likely to be the case before you commence enquiries, as you may otherwise get misleading answers.

[Randonneur]

Brian Kirby - 2015-11-29 12:40 PM

 

Randonneur - 2015-11-29 11:37 AM

 

We have an Auto-Trail Tracker with a 3300kg MAM and would like to uprate to 3500kgs. Does anyone have a list of Companies that do this, we know about SV Tech, but know that there are others that do the same thing. Mel B has recently done theirs and have sent her a PM but they may be away at the moment.

I assume you know that your van is compromised at 3,300kg because you have taken it to a weighbridge fully laden? From that visit do you know what were the actual loads on the axles, and how they compare to the axle load limits? I only ask because whereas it may be possible to uprate the MAM, if either axle (rear?) is close to (or over) its limit, the re-plating exercise will become a whole different ball game involving some form of suspension modification, and possibly replacement of tyres. Better to know if this is likely to be the case before you commence enquiries, as you may otherwise get misleading answers.

 

Thanks for the reply Brian. No, we haven't taken it to a weighbridge yet as we have only just got it. The reason we are thinking of uprating is that although the V5 says 3300 kg on the Auto-Trail/NCC certificate it says 3500 kg so asked Auto-Trail and they said it would be ok but to contact SV Tech to take it further. Hence the questions regarding other Companies, we don't like monopolies. We have plenty of time as we won't be able to use the van fully for about 6 months, the winter trip to Portugal has had to be postponed.

[Robinhood]

...what does the VIN plate on the vehicle say? (remember, there may be an Auto-Trail plate as well as a Fiat one, and in this case, the "stage 2" Auto-Trail would take precedence).

 

If Auto-Trail have certified at 3500, and you have a certificate to prove it, logically, they should have plated at 3500.

 

If you can find a plate at 3500, and you have a certificate at the same, I don't believe you need anything else as evidence to get the V5C changed. Simply do it yourself via the DVLA.

 

If you can't find a plate at 3500, with the 3500 certificate you have I think you should pursue Auto-Trail for resolution. (I'm assuming a second-hand 'van, and there is no logic behind anyone downrating from 3500 to 330 in the interim, as it carries no advantage whatsoever).

 

 

[Randonneur]

Robinhood - 2015-11-29 2:34 PM

 

...what does the VIN plate on the vehicle say? (remember, there may be an Auto-Trail plate as well as a Fiat one, and in this case, the "stage 2" Auto-Trail would take precedence).

 

If Auto-Trail have certified at 3500, and you have a certificate to prove it, logically, they should have plated at 3500.

 

If you can find a plate at 3500, and you have a certificate at the same, I don't believe you need anything else as evidence to get the V5C changed. Simply do it yourself via the DVLA.

 

If you can't find a plate at 3500, with the 3500 certificate you have I think you should pursue Auto-Trail for resolution. (I'm assuming a second-hand 'van, and there is no logic behind anyone downrating from 3500 to 330 in the interim, as it carries no advantage whatsoever).

 

 

Only found he original vin plate at the moment ( too cold to go scrambling round the van). Spoke to the Wife of the previous and only owner, unfortunately her Husband is very ill, but she doesn't think that anything has been altered. The Auto-Trail/NCC certificate looks like its been altered as it is filled in manually in ink and where the weight is it has been changed from 3300 to 3500 which we thought was strange and that is why we started questioning it. Richard Baldwins, the Dealers, can't help either. They sold it new to the previous owner and then to us. When Martin is feeling up to it and we have a decent weather day then we shall investigate further.

 

Many thanks to all who posted.

[keninpalamos]

another case of a dealer has your money and doesn't want to know

[Randonneur]

keninpalamos - 2015-11-29 4:27 PM

 

another case of a dealer has your money and doesn't want to know

 

No, that isn't the case. There is no way the dealer would know why the certificate would have been altered after they sold the van originally. It has only 1 owner before us. I did telephone the dealer and they also advised that their could possibly be a 2nd plate that they weren't aware of. It only came to light when we were going through all the paperwork and booklets that came with the van.

 

Please don't tar all dealers with the same brush.

[webby1]

We uprated our van to 3800 but I was annoyed that everywhere from dealers to Forums even to DVLA pointed us to Svtech and I too do not like monopolies......................which is why they can charge almost £300 for a paper exercise.

 

There are posts from members who have found other/cheaper companies and I would be very interested in how you get on elsewhere.

[Rayjsj]

I agree Private Monopolies are even worse than public ones.

[Derek Uzzell]

In this July 2015 forum thread Melanie Bucknell (Mel B) mentions DIY-ing a motorhome weight uprating exercise.

 

http://forums.outandaboutlive.co.uk/forums/Motorhomes/Motorhome-Matters/Uprating-vehicle-weight-yourself/38746/

 

SVTech does not have a monopoly on motorhome weight uprating, but they do have a good reputation and the necessary expertise to ensure that the exercise goes smoothly.

 

Mel B said that she needed to put in a good deal of time and effort herself and, at the end of the day, she saved £236 compared with what SVTech would have charged. If personal time/effort is ignored and the motorcaravanner is confident of his/her own organisational ability, money may clearly be saved via a DIY approach, but I suspect that most people (even if they know the uprating will essentially be a £300 paper-exercise) will choose to delegate the task to SVTech.

 

Auto-Trail archives their brochures on their website, so it should be possible to establish whether Randonneur’s Tracker EKS SE was marketed only with a 3300kg chassis or whether there was a factory option of 3500kg.

 

Auto-Trail would sometimes use a stick-on label to indicate a change in the original chassis weight (see following link)

 

http://www.pistonheads.com/Gassing/topic.asp?h=0&t=1415354&mid=0&nmt=Towing+weight+for+this+autotrail+(Plate+picture)

 

but I’ve no idea if that’s relevant here.

 

Robinhood’s advice fully covers the situation.

[Brian Kirby]

Randonneur - 2015-11-29 1:01 PM............................Thanks for the reply Brian. No, we haven't taken it to a weighbridge yet as we have only just got it. The reason we are thinking of uprating is that although the V5 says 3300 kg on the Auto-Trail/NCC certificate it says 3500 kg so asked Auto-Trail and they said it would be ok but to contact SV Tech to take it further. Hence the questions regarding other Companies, we don't like monopolies. We have plenty of time as we won't be able to use the van fully for about 6 months, the winter trip to Portugal has had to be postponed.

Then, I would strongly suggest that you take the van to a weighbridge, fully laden, before you commence on uprating its MAM. You need to get the all up weight, plus the weight on the rear axle. Most weighbridge operators should understand what you want, but generally this involves first parking the van on the platform, and then driving forward just far enough to take the front wheels off the platform. So, you get A) the all up-weight first, B) the rear axle load second, and the machine should then do an A - B calculation to give you the front axle load.

 

The reason is simple. Most vans run out of rear axle load capacity before they run out of MAM. If the rear axle is close to maximum load when the van is loaded to 3,300kg, increasing the MAM will not help. Were you then to go ahead and uprate to 3,500 kg, the almost inevitable consequence would be that the rear axle would become overloaded. To be able to use the extra MAM you would need to upgrade the rear suspension to cope with the extra load and, depending on the exact specification of your Fiat bits, this can be quite expensive. You should be able to talk to SV Tech (or anyone else who is competent to carry out the uprating work), and ask them if the rear axle on your van could be uprated if necessary. They will need the VIN, but that should be sufficient for them to say.

 

I'm only stressing this because I seem to remember one contributor being told that his rear axle could not be uprated, but I'm afraid I can't remember what generation of van his was, nor why uprating wasn't possible, but I think his was a 3,300kg plated van. Hopefully, that will not prove to be so in your case.

[Keithl]

Hi Randonneur,

 

What year is your Tracker? It may help ascertain if you can uprate safely.

 

Keith.

[Randonneur]

Keithl - 2015-11-30 6:13 PM

 

Hi Randonneur,

 

What year is your Tracker? It may help ascertain if you can uprate safely.

 

Keith.

 

I have already sent off the requested documents to the respective people but thanks for posting.

[Derek Uzzell]

Brian Kirby - 2015-11-30 5:40 PM

 

I'm only stressing this because I seem to remember one contributor being told that his rear axle could not be uprated, but I'm afraid I can't remember what generation of van his was, nor why uprating wasn't possible, but I think his was a 3,300kg plated van. Hopefully, that will not prove to be so in your case.

 

You may be thinking of ‘Mickydripin’ (Mike) who, in 2008, bought a brand-new Ducato X250-based Sharky L2 motorhome plated at 3300kg and, on having the vehicle weighed, found that there was virtually no usable payload. The Sharky brochure indicated that the L2 model should have been built on a 3500kg chassis but Mike’s L2 had not been. The motorhome dealership suggested uprating the vehicle to 3500kg using an ’SVTech-type’ approach but Fiat refused to authorise this. The matter went to court and dragged on for a couple of years with the dealership eventually being compelled to provide Mike with a replacement (a Roller Team Carioca 694). I don’t think it was ever established whether there were major technical differences between the 3300kg and 3500kg chassis that prevented Fiat agreeing to Mike’s motorhome being ‘officially’ replated to 3500kg, or whether Fiat was just being uncooperative.

 

Auto-Trail has retained the “Tracker” model-name across major chassis changes and, as a consequence, Trackers have been marketed with various chassis weights. Randonnneur has not said when his Tracker was built, but the 3300kg MAM suggests that the motorhome is Ducato X250-based and pre-2008. (This supposition is based on Auto-Trail’s 2007 brochure indicating that all Trackers were then built as standard on a Fiat 33 Light 3300kg chassis, whereas the 2008 brochure shows standard Tracker EK models having a 33 Light chassis and Tracker EKS models having a 35 Light 3500kg chassis. The 2007 brochure also indicates that the 35 Light chassis was an extra cost option for Trackers.)

 

I’m wary of the accuracy of the Tracker-related weight data in Auto-Trail’s brochures (particularly the 2007 brochure), but it should be easy enough to cross-check the information in the brochures against the maxima shown on Randonneur’s Tracker’s VIN-plate.

 

 

[Brian Kirby]

Derek Uzzell - 2015-12-01 8:42 AM....................................

 

I’m wary of the accuracy of the Tracker-related weight data in Auto-Trail’s brochures (particularly the 2007 brochure), but it should be easy enough to cross-check the information in the brochures against the maxima shown on Randonneur’s Tracker’s VIN-plate.

I think you're probably right about Mickeydripin, Derek. It was only the recollection of the problem uprating the 3,300 kg chassis stayed with me!

 

Regarding AT's 2007 brochure weights; a) this seems to be the only year where the Tracker was on a 3,300kg MAM chassis as standard, with the 3,500kg being available as a "cost option". So, the V5C could just be due to the dealer not checking what was actually being registered, and assuming it would be the standard variant. That may also explain the manuscript alteration to the AT NCC Certificate, as they would presumably have been printed as standard, but possibly altered for those who ordered the heavier chassis. Conjecture, of course.

 

The 2008 and later Trackers seem to have been on the 3,500kg chassis as standard, earlier years were on the X240 with 3,400kg MAM, so it seems Randonneur's (surely a Rapido owner? :-)) should be a 2007 year model.

 

The Fiat Ducato X250 Owner's Handbook, edition 1, dated 2006, gives the 3,300kg chassis variants as having 1,750kg front axle and 1,900kg rear. AT, on the other hand, say 1750kg front and 2,000kg rear, with only the front axle load getting uprated to 1,850kg for the 3,500kg chassis. AT may have got Fiat to do them a "special" with enhanced rear axle load, but it would be well worth Randonneur checking the Fiat VIN plate (which will show the axle load limits), because I somehow doubt that AT would have uprated the rear axle by 100kg themselves.

 

On balance, I'm more inclined to think that the 2,000kg limit for the rear axle in AT's brochure is a misprint (AKA cock-up, which may explain their adopting the 3,500kg MAM chassis as standard thereafter). It therefore seems to me possible that Randonneur's van is already on the 3,500kg chassis, and that the V5C is just dealer error.

[PeteH]

 

Hi.

 

Try this link:- and scroll to Page 12.

 

 

http://www.al-ko.co.uk/edit/files/downloads/al-ko-amc-commercial-brochure-2010.pdf

 

Pete

[witzend]

witzend - 2015-11-29 12:11 PM

 

I used SVTec who where good and no complaints since I was told of J R Consultancy in Bury St Edmunds 035950808

 

Any one tried these People

[witzend]

witzend - 2015-11-29 12:11 PM

 

I used SVTec who where good and no complaints since I was told of J R Consultancy in Bury St Edmunds 035950808

 

Any one tried these People

[Derek Uzzell]

J R Consultancy was mentioned by ‘Lee Fryer’ in this August 2015 MHFun forum discussion

 

http://www.motorhomefun.co.uk/forum/threads/consequence-for-overweight.113249/page-2

 

(It would have been helpful to know what the J R Consultancy charges were and for a follow-up to have been provided to confirm that the DVLA had been happy with the documentation Lee sent them.)

[Randonneur]

Derek Uzzell - 2015-12-07 9:57 AM

 

J R Consultancy was mentioned by ‘Lee Fryer’ in this August 2015 MHFun forum discussion

 

http://www.motorhomefun.co.uk/forum/threads/consequence-for-overweight.113249/page-2

 

(It would have been helpful to know what the J R Consultancy charges were and for a follow-up to have been provided to confirm that the DVLA had been happy with the documentation Lee sent them.)

 

Mr Ruffles at J R has quoted us £142 for our Tracker, I suppose it depends on the make of van.

[EJB]

For info:-

My 2002 Tracker (3300Kg) runs with the maximum axle load at the rear and very light at the front.

Always meant to have the overall and rear axle uprated but after 8 years have never got round to it.

PS. Fully laden it's never been overweight....but fairly close!

[Derek Uzzell]

Randonneur - 2015-12-07 12:04 PM

 

Derek Uzzell - 2015-12-07 9:57 AM

 

J R Consultancy was mentioned by ‘Lee Fryer’ in this August 2015 MHFun forum discussion

 

http://www.motorhomefun.co.uk/forum/threads/consequence-for-overweight.113249/page-2

 

(It would have been helpful to know what the J R Consultancy charges were and for a follow-up to have been provided to confirm that the DVLA had been happy with the documentation Lee sent them.)

 

Mr Ruffles at J R has quoted us £142 for our Tracker, I suppose it depends on the make of van.

 

I see that there’s another much longer thread about weight uprating on the MHFun forum

 

http://www.motorhomefun.co.uk/forum/threads/uprating-vehicle-has-anyone-done-it-themselves-not-via-svtech.108656/

 

The main player was “MinxyGirl” (this forum’s “Mel B”) and - although she seemed reluctant to say this (perhaps MHFun forbids anything that might be construed as ‘free advertising’?) - I’m guessing that she used J R Consultancy.

[wints]

Yes..the Spice girl aka Mel B told me about JR Consultancy. Got our Hobby 725 uprated to 5 tonne.

It cost £142.

 

The guy at JR took about 3 weeks, I rang him after 2 weeks to check on progress, I think he'd forgotten..but was quick after the reminder.

All my paperwork (all copies except the amended section of the V5) has been with DVLA for 3 weeks.

 

Hope that helps.

 

regards

 

Allen

[Mel B]

Hi guys ... did someone mention me???? :-D

 

Just dipping into the forum - it runs really slow for me so I don't visit that often now ... I assume it's the forum software as I don't have this problem on any others.

 

I did indeed use John at JR Consultancy for my uprate, which cost a heck of a lot less than SVTech. The reason I had to put in a lot of 'time' initially wasn't for the actual uprate per se but was in trying to find out WHO I could use instead of SVTech!

 

Once I had John's contact details all we did was ring and check he could do it, then send him an email attaching scanned copies of our van's documentation along with some photos to show we physically had the vehicle showing the registration number, base vehicle decals and the existing weight plate ... and that was it (it could all have been done by post if scanning/emailing wasn't an option). It was then a case of waiting for him to come back to me to let me know he'd done it and asking for payment, we sent a cheque off to him and as soon as he received it he sent me the uprated docs, he didn't even wait for the cheque to clear.

 

The cost depends on what vehicle you have and how much work he has to do to check the details - if like us it was a simply paper exercise as we already had a vehicle capable of being uprated without any modifications it would be cheaper, but if he had to contact the manufacturers and/or other companies to get full details, which I suspect is the case with Sylvia's Tracker (Randonneur), the obviously there will be more cost for his time etc.