SwiftyV63 Posted March 16, 2010 Share Posted March 16, 2010 Hi - Another newbie signing in! My wife and i purchased a Swift V63 Gazelle late last year, running on a VW LT35 TDI chassis. A couple of matters have arisen that I hope someone out there can advise about, thanks! First thing is this matter of vehicle weight. According to the Caravan Club, you can drive a motor home up to 7.5 Tonnes on an ordinary license. However we have seen somewhere that the limit is 3.5 tonnes. Also, our motorhome has been fitted with Drinkwater air suspension to the rear axle and some paperwork we have now gives the maximum weight capability as 3850 KG. The Swift original books say we have some 500KG 'spare' capacity, yet the air suspension addition seems to jack this up some 300 Kg. So - is a special licence needed? And what real effect is there in the air suspension - besides a comfier ride? Secondly, we have thought of fitting a rack to the back to carry a small scooter or motorbike as parking this thing is not the easiest thing to do! Does anyone know if this has been done or is 'do-able'? Again we have read conflicting reports. Any advice would be most welcome! :-D Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
flicka Posted March 16, 2010 Share Posted March 16, 2010 Hi Steve Welcome to the forum Total weight of Motorhome you are eligable to drive depends on when you passed your test. People taking the Driving test before 1997 have upto 7.5 tonne entitlement on their Car licence. Those from 1997 onward are restricted to 3.5 tonne, unless they have passed test for additional categories. See Caravan Club 2009/2010 handbook page 620 "Driving Licence The Swift handbook payload (500kg) will be applicable before the addition of any assessories, Bike Rack, Tow Bar, Awning, etc.. If the Gazelle has been uprated there should be a plate fixed to the Motorhome. It is possible the air suspension was fitted , but weight not uprated. Putting a Scooter on the back will require either a Rack or Tow Bar so their weight needs to be taken into account & also the actual weight on the rear axle will be greater than the combined weight of the Rack/Tow Bar & Scooter. (Cantilever effect) The weight should also be on the VE5 registration document Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SwiftyV63 Posted March 16, 2010 Author Share Posted March 16, 2010 Thanks Flicka! Well at least the licence is OK, passed my test back in '74! We do have paperwork from Drinkwaters discussing the uprating of the vehicle from 3.5 to 3.8 tonnes. I can't think of any other reason than an upgrade as to why anyone would spend the thick end of £3K on the air suspension otherwise! I'll have a good peruse on the CC site re the scooter but this thing has quite a big overhang at the back anyway and i have a feeling the distance twixt rear axle and scooter may be just too great. Thanks anyway! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brian Kirby Posted March 17, 2010 Share Posted March 17, 2010 SteveIf the vehicle has been uprated, the original VIN plate will have been cancelled in some way, usually by riveting a new one over it, stating the new MAM, and the V5C "logbook" will also give the revised weight. If the VIN plate and the V5C both say 3,500Kg, that is what is legal, irrespective of whatever Drinkwater's paperwork may say. (If they disagree, summat's up!!)That is to say, if you load the vehicle beyond 3,500Kg and it is checked at a VOSA roadside check, it will be classified as overloaded. You need to clarify what is on that plate especially if you plan going abroad, because in most of Europe lower speed limits apply to vehicles over 3,500Kg MAM. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Clive Posted March 17, 2010 Share Posted March 17, 2010 Having just done this with SVTech I can offer a slight correction. The New plate supplied by SVTech is instructed to be fitted adjacent to the original VIN plate so as not to obscure it. The important bit is sending the paperwork together with your log book (old description) to DVLA so that the revised REVENUE WEIGHT is recorded on the computer system. Then when any policeman in Europe does a check it comes back with the correct figures. We went from 5990 to 6400 Kg purely as a paper excercise. C. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Basil Posted March 18, 2010 Share Posted March 18, 2010 Interesting comment Clive. What happens if your V5c has no revenue weight on it and the DVLA tell you they don't need it or record it because you have a motor Caravan and it does not need its weight recorded? Bas Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SwiftyV63 Posted March 18, 2010 Author Share Posted March 18, 2010 Clive - 2010-03-17 9:32 PM Having just done this with SVTech I can offer a slight correction. The New plate supplied by SVTech is instructed to be fitted adjacent to the original VIN plate so as not to obscure it. The important bit is sending the paperwork together with your log book (old description) to DVLA so that the revised REVENUE WEIGHT is recorded on the computer system. Then when any policeman in Europe does a check it comes back with the correct figures. We went from 5990 to 6400 Kg purely as a paper excercise. C. Interesting! I returned from a short break today and decided to put Swifty on a public weigh bridge that's not far from us. We had maybe 1/2 tank diesel and 1/2 tank fresh water, empty waste tank and Thetford. I was a bit upset when the result came back - 3540 KG, so 40 Kg overweight and believe me we do travel quite light! Anyway I rang the previous owner and he has the new VIN plate (issued by SVTech, who I believe had in the past some tie-up with drinkwater's though not sure) at his home and is sending it to me. The question for me now is where do I go from here? The vehicle has two plates (one insside the driver's door, the other under the bonnet at the front that say 3500KG on them and the tax is definitely PLG. I asked th previous owner why (after spending nearly £3k) he hadn't had it done - the answer were some fairly crucial health matters that i won't recount. Anyway! if anyone can suggest who to contact next I would be most pleased! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mel B Posted March 18, 2010 Share Posted March 18, 2010 Hi Swifty The most obvious answer would be to contact SVTech in the first instace -as they have issued a plate which will no doubt say it has been uprated to the higher weight, it would just appear that the previous owner hasn't bothered to register the change with the DVLA because of his health circumstances which have probably precluded him going above the 3500kg weight. As the air suspension system has been installed and a plate produced I would think it is therefore just a matter of asking SVTech if you can have another lot of the relevant paperwork (you may have to pay a fee for this) and then sending it with the log book to the DVLA (as Clive as suggested) to get it changed to the higher weight and have the new plate attached to the vehicle. On our current vehicle, we enquired about having it uprated from 3500kg to 3950kg with SVTech and was told it was just a paper exercise in our case which meant they would supply the plate and the documentation to go to the DVLA - easy peasy. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SwiftyV63 Posted March 18, 2010 Author Share Posted March 18, 2010 Thanks to Mel B for that - I will contact SVTEch as soon as the plate arrives - no doubt they have a record of it somewhere! I will let all know how it pans out. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
flicka Posted March 18, 2010 Share Posted March 18, 2010 SwiftyV63 - 2010-03-18 6:29 PM Thanks to Mel B for that - I will contact SVTEch as soon as the plate arrives - no doubt they have a record of it somewhere! I will let all know how it pans out. When informing DVLA, don't forget to inform your Insurance Company also. It may or may not incur an additional premium (for a modified vehicle), but better that than finding out your insurance is invalid if the worst happens. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SwiftyV63 Posted March 18, 2010 Author Share Posted March 18, 2010 Oh, yes - I have direct experience of insurance companies weaseling their way out of things! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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