taxation class

[fedex]

I own a 2006 fiat ducato LWB 2.8 jtd, it was converted by i.h. motorhomes. I've looked at the V5 and it says it's a light commercial vehicle. Is it worth my while contacting the DVLA and getting it registered as a motorhome or is my road tax based on the engine emissions only, thanks for any advice.

[Derek Uzzell]

Obviously your IH-converted vehicle IS a motor caravan, so (assuming it’s maximum overall weight is no greater than 3500kg) it ought to have been registered post-conversion in Tax Class 11 Private or light goods (P/LG).

 

The current 12-month P/LG tax rate would be £245

 

https://www.gov.uk/vehicle-tax-rate-tables/rates-for-cars-and-light-goods-vehicles-registered-before-1-march-2001

 

Engine emissions will not be relevant in your case.

 

(What tax rate are you paying at the moment?)

 

 

[colin]

There may not be any tax consequences, but if the ULW is below 3050kg there are speed limit issues.

[Keithl]

colin - 2017-07-17 2:33 PM

 

There may not be any tax consequences, but if the ULW is below 3050kg there are speed limit issues.

 

Colin,

 

Below or ABOVE (?)

 

https://www.gov.uk/speed-limits

 

And also if you are not correctly registered as a 'Motor Caravan' then you will be subject to restricted speed limits as you will be a 'Van' and NOT a car!

 

Keith.

[colin]

Keithl - 2017-07-17 2:54 PM

 

colin - 2017-07-17 2:33 PM

 

There may not be any tax consequences, but if the ULW is below 3050kg there are speed limit issues.

 

Colin,

 

Below or ABOVE (?)

 

https://www.gov.uk/speed-limits

 

And also if you are not correctly registered as a 'Motor Caravan' then you will be subject to restricted speed limits as you will be a 'Van' and NOT a car!

 

Keith.

 

Well the issue is you,can, do 70. B-)

[fedex]

Thanks for your replies. currently tax is £240 per year. My v5 says its a light goods vehicle and uses heavy oil. Just been on the dvla site that says its a private light goods vehicle using diesel. Just wish they would use one description. it is under 3050 so no problems with speed anyway. no point in re registering it. Cheers all

[fedex]

sorry, meant to read my v5 says its a light commercial vehicle.

[Keithl]

fedex - 2017-07-17 6:07 PM

 

sorry, meant to read my v5 says its a light commercial vehicle.

 

Fedex,

 

Does your V5 show 'Motor Caravan' for body type?

 

If not then you are a commercial vehicle and are restricted to lower speed limits than if you where a Motor Caravan, even with an ULW less than 3,050 kg.

 

The speed limits applicable to a commercial are those shown in the seventh row of the Gov.uk website I linked to above as opposed to the third row for M/C's.

 

https://www.gov.uk/speed-limits

 

Keith.

[Alanb]

Interesting, my PVC is also an IH converted 2006, 2.8JTD (TIO R). It was originally registered as an LCV by the importer, (not IH).

 

As has been said before, a motorhome can only be correctly registered as a PLG or PHG Motor Caravan.

 

I had quite a tussle with the DVLA, nearly ten years ago, to get the registration altered. I had to provide photographs, and only succeeded when I quoted their own publications to them. The correct tax disc eventually arrived by post without any final comment.

 

It would appear that at that time IH were not reregistering the vehicles after conversion. I have long suspected that there are probably a number of IH conversions still incorrectly registered.

[crocs]

Keithl - 2017-07-17 2:54 PM

 

colin - 2017-07-17 2:33 PM

 

There may not be any tax consequences, but if the ULW is below 3050kg there are speed limit issues.

 

Colin,

 

Below or ABOVE (?)

 

https://www.gov.uk/speed-limits

 

And also if you are not correctly registered as a 'Motor Caravan' then you will be subject to restricted speed limits as you will be a 'Van' and NOT a car!

 

Keith.

 

Just as well I clicked the link. I'd always thought the lower limits came in at 3.5 tons, not 3.05. And there doesn't seem to be a reduced limit for motorhomes towing a trailer etc (?).

[Keithl]

crocs - 2017-07-17 7:36 PM

 

Just as well I clicked the link. I'd always thought the lower limits came in at 3.5 tons, not 3.05. And there doesn't seem to be a reduced limit for motorhomes towing a trailer etc (?).

 

Robert,

 

Just to confirm that the 3.050 Tonnes figure is UNLADEN Weight and not Gross Vehicle Weight.

 

On mainland Europe the usual change point is 3.500 Tonnes GVW but in this case the UK has maintained an old English limit. (For info 3.050 Metric Tonnes is actually 3.0 Imperial Tons).

 

And if you are towing a trailer with any MH then the trailer speed limit still applies irrespective of Unladen weight or GVW.

 

Keith.

[Derek Uzzell]

fedex - 2017-07-17 4:46 PM

 

Thanks for your replies. currently tax is £240 per year. My v5 says its a light goods vehicle and uses heavy oil. Just been on the dvla site that says its a private light goods vehicle using diesel. Just wish they would use one description. it is under 3050 so no problems with speed anyway. no point in re registering it. Cheers all

 

I’ve resurrected this thread having come across an MMM article (November 2016 issue, Page 203) headed “Does a van conversion have to be legally registered as a motorhome?”

 

A couple of comments in the article may be of interest:

 

1: The DVLA demands that, if a van has been converted into a motor caravan, the vehicle must be registered as such, and this should be reflected on the vehicle’s V5C document.

 

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/registering-a-diy-caravan/converting-a-vehicle-into-a-motorhome

 

The normal expectation would be for a professional motohome converter (eg. IH Motorhomes) to notify the DVLA post-conversion and ensure that the converted van is correctly registered. Regarding retrospective applications, the MMM article advises that the vehicle’s keeper needs to inform the DVLA of changes to a vehicle (eg. that a ‘goods’ vehicle has become a ‘motor caravan’), though the keeper is not held responsible for any previous keeper’s failure to notify the DVLA of changes.

 

2: A vehicle registered as a “Motor Caravan” qualifies for a Class 4 MOT test irrespective of its Gross Vehicle Weight (GVW), whereas a goods vehicle with a GVW over 3000kg and up to 3500kg requires a Class 7 MOT test. The maximum fee for a Class 4 test is currently £54.85, and for a Class 7 test £58.60.

 

Technical differences between a Class 4 and a Class 7 MOT test just seem to involve additional checks being made to tyres and road wheels.

[Robinhood]

It has always been my understanding (possibly wrong) that though it is possible to get a vehicle reclassified with a body type of "Motorcaravan" (subject to it meeting the requirements for the same), it is not possible to get the taxation class changed once it has been registered*.

 

Hence, anyone self-converting a panel van to a "Motorcaravan" could end up with the appropriate body type to gain the (MOT, speed limit, etc.) advantages already outlined, but the taxation class would remain that in which it was originally registered (i.e. it may not become PLG or PHG).

 

*I understand that exceptions have been made where the original registration was in error, and the vehicle had in effect never been used as anything but a motorcaravan.

 

(I'm not sure whether, back in 2006, IH were in the practice of providing new conversions on used or pre-registered vans, but that might explain some of the situation).

[Derek Uzzell]

A vehicle's VED class can be changed in certain circumstances. Most common for motorhomes will be when the vehicle's GVW is uprated over 3500kg or downrated to 3500kg or below, but an engine-size change or a change of fuel could also result in a vehicle's tax-class needing alteration.

[Alanb]

Robinhood - 2017-07-22 11:13 AM

 

It has always been my understanding (possibly wrong) that though it is possible to get a vehicle reclassified with a body type of "Motorcaravan" (subject to it meeting the requirements for the same), it is not possible to get the taxation class changed once it has been registered*.

 

Hence, anyone self-converting a panel van to a "Motorcaravan" could end up with the appropriate body type to gain the (MOT, speed limit, etc.) advantages already outlined, but the taxation class would remain that in which it was originally registered (i.e. it may not become PLG or PHG).

 

*I understand that exceptions have been made where the original registration was in error, and the vehicle had in effect never been used as anything but a motorcaravan.

 

(I'm not sure whether, back in 2006, IH were in the practice of providing new conversions on used or pre-registered vans, but that might explain some of the situation).

 

 

As I stated in my previous post on this thread, my IH conversion was re-registered at my instigation, soon after I received the vehicle, in September 2006.

 

As far as I know IH were not converting used vehicles in 2006, none were seen or offered during several visits to Ferrybridge in 2006, even though for reasons linked to layout we were keen to secure a vehicle based on the X244 Ducato.

 

Alan

[Derek Uzzell]

These 2008 forum discussions relate to IH Motorhomes conversions registered in the “Light Goods” taxation class:

 

http://forums.motorhomefacts.com/20-motorhome-chitchat/31916-motor-caravan-taxation-class.html

 

http://forums.outandaboutlive.co.uk/forums/Motorhomes/Motorhome-Matters/DVLA-Classification-Motor-Caravan-or-Panel-Van-/12699/

 

This type of error will usually be the fault of whoever filled in the appropriate V55 form that is required to be completed when a vehicle is first-registered in the UK. If the information entered on the V55 form is incorrect, the chances are high that the DVLA will fail to recognise the error(s).

 

Before self-importing a new bought-in-Germany Hobby motorhome in 2005, I had been advised by a UK motorhome-dealer acquaintance to enter on the V55/4 form the appropriate Taxation Class (Private/Light Goods Vehicle in the Hobby’s case) and indicate that the Type of Body/Vehicle was “MOTOR CARAVAN”. Although the DVLA’s guidance on completing form V55/4 was that the Taxation Class shoud be left blank and “...the DVLA Local Office will complete”, the dealer said that entering the correct Taxation Class on the form minimised the chances of the DVLA choosing the wrong one.

 

In those days DVLA Local Offices existed and, if a vehicle were wrongly registered, visting the Local Office that had been involved in the registration process could often permit the problem to be sorted out quickly and simply. If registration-related errors are not noticed immediately after registration, retrospective correction can prove tricky.

[Alanb]

I do not know what current their current practice is, but in 2006 IH purchased their base vehicles via an importer on the south coast, who I believe preregistered? the vehicles. At this stage the vehicles were still panel vans. Formal registration was made to match the vehicle handover date, but the vehicle type was not corrected.

 

I collected my vehicle from Ferrybridge on 08/09/06, and that is the date of first registration, however the registration number reads GU xx xxx. The letters GU relate to Maidstone / Brighton area.

 

Regarding visiting the local office, that involved over an hours queue, and while being accepted locally, my application to correct the registration was not upheld by Swansea, until I quoted their own publications to them!