Upgrade Burstner T680

[ts3man]

I have a Burstner T680, on a Mercedes 316 chassis, which is plated 3.5 tons. I am thinking of upgrading it , to enable me to carry a motor scooter. Has anyone had experience of upgrading this, or a similar model? And if so, are there any problems that you have found? I would appreciate any comments on this subject. The manufacturer's axle weights are (1) 1750 kg, (2) 2240 kg (?)

[Brian Kirby]

With combined axle limits of 3,990Kg it seems possible that your van has already been down-plated to 3.5 tonnes.  Mercedes should be able to tell you this from the VIN and chassis type.

To test whether it can carry the scooter + rack, one first needs to know three things.

One, the present fully laden rear axle load.

Two, the weight of the proposed scooter plus the rack.

Three, what will be the distance from the centre of gravity of the scooter, when sitting on the rack (when fitted), to the centre of the rear axle.  This is the lever arm.

If you then calculate the additional overall load (i.e. scooter + rack), plus the additional imposed load on the rear axle (scooter + rack x lever arm), it will tell if you need to re-plate.

If the van would then exceed 3.5 tonnes, but the rear axle would remain within its limits, re-plating should be possible.

If the rear axle cannot take the additional imposed load from the scooter, as the manufacturer's axle load is sacrosanct, your only option would appear to be to upgrade the rear axle itself.  Whether the chassis has the residual strength to cope with an upgraded axle, only Mercedes can say.  If this is possible, they should also be able to advise what would need to be changed.  It might be just the tyres or the springs, but more probably springs + dampers + axle + brakes + wheels + tyres.  If the latter, with labour included, a change of van would probably be cheaper and simpler.

[Derek Uzzell]

You haven't given the year that your Burstner was built, but I believe the T-Star 680 was a just-under-7m-long low-profile design on a 4.03m wheel-base chassis. I believe the Mercedes 316 version had a 2.7litre 5-cylinder diesel.

 

Although it tended to be the norm on the Continent for motorhomes to be 'plated' to 3500kg (primarily for driving-licence reasons), it was commonplace for Mercedes-based motorhomes to be 'up-plated' from 3500kg to 3800kg when destined for the UK marketplace.

 

I wouldn't have thought there will be any real technical difficulties increasing your Burstner's MAM to a minimum of 3800kg (which should be enough to deal with the extra weight of a scooter + carrier) and, given the vehicle's long wheel-base and relatively short length, staying within the 2240kg rear-axle limit should be perfectly possible. Engine-power should not be an issue. Might be worth adding air-assistance to the rear suspension, but probably not essential.

 

Suggest you seek expert advice from SV Tech. See

 

http://www.svtech.co.uk/

[Mel B]

Funnily enough, I've just been looking into this as we're considering uprading our 'van to be able to take more kit away with us. These are just some of the things that I've found out about and need to be thought about when uprating a vehicle:

 

MOT

Motor homes are generally covered as a class 4 MOT regardless of weight

 

Driving Licence

Under driving licence requirements for vehicles between 3500kg - 7500kg, you must either have passed your test prior to 1997 and hold a C1 category or if after 1997 have taken your C1 test separately.

 

Breakdown cover

Should you have roadside recovery, you may find going above 3500kg will increase your premium. This is due to the maximum towing limitation of over-run braked vehicles being 3500kg.

 

Speed limits - UK

This is based on the unladen weight which may includes items that are ‘fixed’ but not those that can be removed, it does not include fuel etc so weigh it on an empty tank. The UW must be below 3050kg to qualify for the higher speed limits in the UK.

 

Provided the motor homes are "motor caravans" and the unladen weight is not over 3050 kg then they are subject to passenger vehicle speed limits, which are:

 

70 mph on a motorway

70 mph on a dual carriageway

60mph on other roads unless a lower speed limit applies

 

If the UW is over 3050 kg then the speed limits are:

 

70 mph on a motorway

60 mph dual carriageway

50 mph on other roads unless a lower speed limit applies

 

Tax

Uprating above 3500kg changes taxation class from PLG to PHGV

 

3500kg = £185 3850kg = £165

 

Modifications

You may need to have air-ride suspension installed to be able to manage the extra weight on the rear axle (we've already got it so that's one 'tick' for us).

 

You will still have to remain within your maximum axle weights though, these can't generally be uprated unless your vehicle has the option of replacing them to 'beef' them up and any other bits up (brakes etc) - plus you've got a lot of dosh too!

 

In addition

When driving abroad, you need to bear in mind that generally lower speed limits are enforced for vehicles over 3500kg, it varies from country to country. You may also have to display speed limit stickers on your vehicle. Then there's the 'Go Box' in Austria and other things to consider ... I'm still compiling the list!

 

[Keithl]

Hi John,

 

Our AT is on the 313 MWB chassis and is plated at 3800kg. This has been done by MB when new by a correctly stamped VIN plate and also a sticker underbonnet saying the chassis has a 'Camping car conversion' fitted and now has a GVW of 3800kg.

One way I do know to check if the chassis has the camping car conversion is that it will have spacer blocks of approx 25mm thickness between the rear axle tube and springs. I found this by a Google search but can't remember where. I did check our MH after reading this and yes we do have the spacers fitted.

If you ask at a MB dealer they should be able to put your VIN into their computer and tell you the exact spec yours was built to. I have the printout for ours in case I ever need any info from it.

As mentioned previously it may well have been downplated by a previous owner, is it worth contacting them to ask as you can get their details from DVLA?

 

Keith.

[Mel B]

I emailed SV tech and they replied quite quickly and sent me a form which I filled out and faxed back to them yesterday. I've just had a call today to say that we can be uprated from 3500 to 3950kg! 8-) I didn't realise we could go that high! :$

 

It will cost us £200+VAT and for that we'll get a nice new plate to stick on our van and a certificate to send off to the DVLA to get it reclassified as a PHGV and get a part refund on our road tax. It will therefore give us an extra 450kg of payload .... obviously we still need to be within the existing axle limits to keep 'legal' but that means we could carry a heck of a lot more if we wanted to, not that we're wanting to go that mad but buying wine won't be as restricted (and my hubby can't complain about my wanting to bring home the large containers of de-ionised water either which are about 25% of the cost of here!). :D

 

Can anyone think of a good reason NOT to do it? I think I've just about covered all the differences in my earlier post but just want to check if I've missed something before I do it. :-D

[Guest JudgeMental]

Is the capacity of your rear axle enough to carry the extra weight you envisage? as this does not change so unless currently well under capacity when loaded a pointless excercise.

 

more expense: tolls/vignettes and other restrictions apply throughout Europe for vans over 3500kg.

 

resale: younger people may well only be able to drive a 3500kg van

 

do you really need to do this

[Mel B]

Hi Eddie

 

As we have a twin rear wheel drive Transit chassis the benefit is that the max axle weight for the front is 1600kg, the rear 2600kg. The front is currently at 1350kg and the rear at 2140kg, a total of 3490kg so we've only got 10kg to spare which is little bit too close for comfort! By uprating, it means that we could add up to 460kg on the rear axle ... not that we want to go that mad of course! 8-)

 

I've just rung the insurers (Safeguard) to double check the situation with them, the insurance wouldn't be affected but the breakdown cover, which is part of the package (provided by the AA) would be. We would still be covered for everthing we currently are such as assistance, recovery, repatriation etc, but we wouldn't be able to have cover for overnight accommodation or a replacement vehicle if we needed it as the policy would be classed as 'commercial' and this isn't included in that type of policy. The AA would still assist us in locating accommodation and a vehicle but we'd have to foot the bill.

 

I had thought about the limitations of potential buyers but if needs be it could always be downplated by a 'restricted' buyer. At the end of the day, we need it to do what we want for how we intend to use it ... still mulling it over though .... *-)

[Brian Kirby]

Have you tried a Ford commercial dealer, Mel, or even Ford's technical dept (you'll have to write)?  From your VIN, either should be able to identify what the chassis is actually rated at.  It sounds as though your van was downplated by Rimor to 3,500Kg, purely for driving license reasons, in which case it may be easier to reinstate back to the original MAM via Ford.  Of course, it may be that SV Tech are cheaper, but I'd guess you'd get an authentic replacement Ford VIN plate from Ford, which might remove any lingering doubts if you come to sell.