Pete-B Posted May 10, 2013 Share Posted May 10, 2013 I appreciate this is a pretty broad question, much like the proverbial piece of string but here goes. The Duchess and I are well into retirement and have recently entered the world of Motorhomes, we've got a Bessacarr E460 which I'm told has a 500kg payload. Short of finding a local weighbridge and also being able to get there I've been a bit worried as to how much weight I'm actually carrying around and what the chances are of being stopped by the DVLA and checked? I guess SWMBO weighs about 60kg and I weigh 10kg less than the allowance given for the driver. If we go away for say 1 week in this country and take with us the average clothes, food, drinking water, pots and pans and usual everyday things including laptop etc. On top of that two bikes on the fitted carrier, there is also a 100watt solar panel on the roof, fitted tele, 2 sleeping bags and pillows, cables and a few tools, two sun chairs, 1 extra 90amp leisure battery and probably one or two things which I've forgotten would the experienced among you think I was within or over the limits? As I say I realise this is a game of guesstimation but I'm sure some of you guys who've been motorhoming since time began would know by second nature when a van is overloaded. I would appreciate any remarks and thanks. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest JudgeMental Posted May 10, 2013 Share Posted May 10, 2013 Lordy...you need to go to a weigh bridge...all all else is guess work?*-) If your van rated at 3500 kg I doubt it will have half 500 kg Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
derek pringle Posted May 10, 2013 Share Posted May 10, 2013 Hi Pete, As the Judge indicates it is good practice to go to a wieghbridge as it takes any guesswork out of the equation. However, providing the 500kg figure comes from the manufacturers and not some guy down the pub, then I personally would not be too worried by what you are carrying. good luck derek Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lennyhb Posted May 10, 2013 Share Posted May 10, 2013 Worth doing a search on the forum payload has been discussed many times. If it's not easy to get to a weighbridge first thing you need to do is find out the ex works unladen weight of your van this can vary by +/- 5%. you also need to be aware of how it has been calculated, how much water, & gas allowance etc. Then you need to add on any extras fitted that is anything that is not included in the most basic version of you van, e.g. captains seats, cab window blinds, has a bigger fridge been fitted, any extras on the engine, e.g. aircon, cruise etc. An awning dependant on size can be 30 -50kg, on the other hand alloy wheels will save about 10 kg. You should then be able to weigh everything you put in the van an get an idea of the all up weight but what you won't know is the axle loading really need to get to a weighbridge and check this. Once armed with all the info you can then decide if you can travel with a full tank of water & diesel or need to leave the wife at home. :D Google "Public Weighbridges" should be able to find something in your area. Council refuse tips & transfer stations usually have one, VOSA ones at the side of main roads are useful, free and you can use them 24 hr. Edit: If you are an ex tugger you are probably carrying far too much stuff you don't need, when we changed couldn't believe how much junk I took out of the caravan. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pepe63xnotuse Posted May 10, 2013 Share Posted May 10, 2013 Just get it weighed. Your post gives the impression that you are envisaging the locating and accessing of a weighbridge is going to be a problem?..and I'm not sure why you would think that'd be the case..? Not long after we bought ours,I fully loaded it and took it to our council run weighbridge. I think it was less than a tenner for a ticket showing both axle loadings and the all-up weight.... As for that 500kg figure...even if it did come from the manufactures blurb,I'd still want to check it myself. (sorry Lenny,I crossed your post). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
snowie Posted May 10, 2013 Share Posted May 10, 2013 No real shortcuts Peter, find a weighbridge, take out anything not actually fitted, weigh everything before you load up, and you'll be able to stay legal. It's a bit of a clat, but worth it regards alan b Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
colin Posted May 10, 2013 Share Posted May 10, 2013 No big deal finding a weighbridge http://chrishodgetrucks.co.uk/useful-info/weighbridges.htm Load as much as you practically can, that you take on holiday, fill the fuel tank and if you usualy do fill the water tank. If you leave anything out such as food or clothing don't underestimate how much this adds, just think how heavy a couple of bags of food are! Get both axles and overall weight as it's not unknown *-) for an axle to be overloaded. you will probably find a difference between adding the two axles figures to the overall, as long as this is a few kg it's normal due to equipment accuracy. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pete-B Posted May 10, 2013 Author Share Posted May 10, 2013 Thanks for the replies, I have now found where there is a weighbridge so will make an effort to get there. As in my original posting I just wondered how many people have been stopped by DVLA. Prior to my retiring I spent 10 years exhibiting at large shows throughout the UK, Agricultural shows, motor shows, horse shows etc etc. I would average 30 shows a year so I spent my life driving round the country with a loaded Trannie van and in all that time I never got stopped once. I appreciate that it doesn't mean I wont get pulled the very next time I venture out but just out of pure interest I wonder how many M/homers have? PS The 500kg payload is Swifts figure. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest JudgeMental Posted May 10, 2013 Share Posted May 10, 2013 It's VOSA not DVLA you want to worry about.....and yes people get stopped. And your own and others safety should be your main concern, plus your insurance would probably be void if involved in a serious incident. Pretty stupid and irresponsible to be honest *-) If unfortunate enough to appear before moi ( french for me dontcha know) I would have your liver out and eat it for breakfast (with a decent claret!) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dave225 Posted May 10, 2013 Share Posted May 10, 2013 Your 500kg payload seems to be right according to the few I have looked at on the Web. However it does appear they were supplied with a choice of 100bhp or 130 bhp engines and you may wish to check which you have. I suspect the smaller one will struggle a bit fully laden. Your motorhome should also have a weight plate on it showing axle weights and max weight, which should be 3500 kg. I suspect that looking at the size of the van you are very unlikely to put 500 kg of stuff in it unless you are filling the floor with cases of wine etc, or concrete blocks. The available space is going to limit what you can carry anyway. What I suggest is pack all you plan to take and then get it weighed as it is the maximum weight that is the issue, unless you wish to sit with scales and weigh every tin of beans. If your maximum weight is over the max load, then remove some things. However, never load to the maximum as you always buy stuff along the way, and add, we all do. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
snowie Posted May 10, 2013 Share Posted May 10, 2013 Dave225 - 2013-05-10 4:06 PM What I suggest is pack all you plan to take and then get it weighed as it is the maximum weight that is the issue, unless you wish to sit with scales and weigh every tin of beans. If your maximum weight is over the max load, then remove some things. However, never load to the maximum as you always buy stuff along the way, and add, we all do. Most tins of beans have the weight on them anyway! But an easier way is to weigh in batches. I use Ikea plastic boxes of various sizes, hang an IKEA blue shopping bag from a digital scale, and add it up. Dead easy alan b Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pete-B Posted May 10, 2013 Author Share Posted May 10, 2013 Thanks again for all your help and replies but why O why do some people have to read into things that aren't there. Judge, where in my postings have I said that I have travelled or intend to whilst overloaded. I consider that I'm a responsible driver, that was the reason for my original posting and on the two short trips that we have done I made sure that we were definitely under weight. We're new to our present area so as yet I haven't found where any weighbridges are, but I will ! my question was really about how other people with motorhomes judge their weight. I guess most people travel well under to be on the safe side much like I did on our first two short trips When we lived down south and running the business I knew I was always within my weight because there was a public weighbridge virtually on my doorstep and I carried much the same load on every trip I'm well into my seventies now and have been driving for well over fifty years and for over thirty of those I held a class one HGV and for ten had a very fast Caterham so I was able to satisfy my craving for speed and thrills on track. Whilst I can't say I've never broken a motoring law (who can say they haven't, inadvertently). what I can say, in all those years I've never had a single ticket so I certainly don't need lectures on how to behave on the road. The reason for asking my question about the likelihood of being stopped anyhow was, during the ten years of running my business as an exhibiter I got to know hundreds of other exhibiters but I never met anyone who was actually stopped. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest 1footinthegrave Posted May 10, 2013 Share Posted May 10, 2013 I can only issue a cautionary tale, a friend of ours hired a luton type van to do a small house removal, now I can only guess at the reason why, but they were pulled up but they were on the M6 near Walsall in the midlands and then escorted to a weighbridge, for the resulting overload they were fined £1000 I kid you not, and stopped from taking the vehicle any further, the resulting inconvenience and cost at around 10 pm at night found them having to get a taxi to find a B&B, then the next day hiring another van to tranship some of the load. :-( The irony of it was they were doing it themselves to save some cash. I like you I suspect have been driving for more years than I care to remember, and when driving HGVs only ever pulled over for a tank dip,never a weight check, but never say never, I can only concur with other posters, get it to a weighbridge, though I do concede probably many do not bother.................until........................ (!) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rupert123 Posted May 10, 2013 Share Posted May 10, 2013 500kg, loads of payload for stuff you have listed. Chances of being stopped pretty much zero. I have never personally meet anyone who has been stopped or worries about it. Before anyone starts i am not saying do not weigh, I have carried a scooter for years with a payload like yours and never overloaded yet, goodness knows what some carry around. Recent Swift vans payload figures given are pretty good as they include weight of driver and 90% of all fluids, just driving with water tank empty will give you nearly another 100kg if you need it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brian Kirby Posted May 10, 2013 Share Posted May 10, 2013 Pete-B - 2013-05-10 5:23 PM Thanks again for all your help and replies but why O why do some people have to read into things that aren't there. Judge, where in my postings have I said that I have travelled or intend to whilst overloaded................. But, you did post a vague question in which you admitted that you'd been driving the van without checking its weight. Folk can, perhaps, be forgiven for drawing their own conclusions. My immediate reaction was similar to the Judges. There are weighbridges all over the place, so your reasoning as to why you hadn't checked didn't exactly convince. Sorry! :-) Just weigh the van, and get both axle loads checked at the same time. Most vans are relatively heavy, and most run near their MAM. Legality apart, tyres, brakes, and suspension are also working near to, or at, their design limits, so basic safety is a genuine concern if overloaded. Besides which, were you to be involved in an accident (and which of us knows we won't, ever?) it would be likely the van weight would be checked and, if overloaded, may result in some of the blame being attributed to that fact. Once revealed, your insurance would be liable to be voided beyond meeting third party risks. Circumstance, and the law, do not respect age or experience, only events in the here and now! Weighbridge! Chop, chop! :-D Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pete-B Posted May 10, 2013 Author Share Posted May 10, 2013 Re the tale of the Luton van being stopped, my son, who now drives heavy goods tells me if you really want to get pulled by VOSA drive a Luton. Because of the extra volume capacity in the back people tend to load them to the gunnels. Very often these are hired vans and folk are innocently ignorant of the laws regarding weight restrictions and very often aren't instructed by the hire firm, it's no excuse to break the rules but it's a fact. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
flicka Posted May 10, 2013 Share Posted May 10, 2013 Hi Pete Whilst weighing everything you put in the Van will help you keep within the MAM (Maximum Allowable Mass) or in old money Gross Vehicle Weight, it will not identify the load distribution. Check your weight on a weighbridge will enable you to identify that you are within the limits of EACH Axle. Generally Motorhome are front end heavy, but the front axle has less capacity than the rear. So even if within the MAM, you could still be running overloading the front axle. (this is more of a risk when more than 2 people or fresh water tank upfront ) If close to the front axle capacity, you can redistribute some of the weight rearward. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
derek pringle Posted May 11, 2013 Share Posted May 11, 2013 Hi, The poster lists what we all probably take away and there are a lot of vans with a LOT less payload than 500kg. Certainly he can go through the weighbridge exercise but I would seriously doubt any overall overloading would come from it except maybe the distribution of what is being carried. cheers derek Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brian Kirby Posted May 11, 2013 Share Posted May 11, 2013 derek pringle - 2013-05-11 8:40 AM Hi, The poster lists what we all probably take away and there are a lot of vans with a LOT less payload than 500kg. Certainly he can go through the weighbridge exercise but I would seriously doubt any overall overloading would come from it except maybe the distribution of what is being carried. cheers derek I agree, providing we know exactly what is included in, and more importantly omitted from, that advertised 500kg payload. But do we? But this is all in the realm of hopes and beliefs, which are no substitute for proof, and proof will only come from a weighbridge. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest JudgeMental Posted May 11, 2013 Share Posted May 11, 2013 So is this MIRO + the 500Kg:D The "500" a figure of someones imagination...... *-) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dave225 Posted May 11, 2013 Share Posted May 11, 2013 JudgeMental - 2013-05-11 3:28 PM So is this MIRO + the 500Kg:D The "500" a figure of someones imagination...... *-) This just 1 advert I saw showing a payload of 500kg http://www.motorhomesforsale.co.uk/motorhomes/bessacarr/bessacarr-e460-reg-no-11-cs586253.aspx Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pepe63xnotuse Posted May 11, 2013 Share Posted May 11, 2013 That's okay then....Pete just needs to print out a few of these "adverts" and just keep them at hand,so he can wave 'em at the Vosa chappie if he gets pulled... (lol) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest JudgeMental Posted May 11, 2013 Share Posted May 11, 2013 pepe63 - 2013-05-11 5:31 PM That's okay then....Pete just needs to print out a few of these "adverts" and just keep them at hand,so he can wave 'em at the Vosa chappie if he gets pulled... (lol) One born every minute...and why Swift still in business I guess! :D Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mel B Posted May 11, 2013 Share Posted May 11, 2013 JudgeMental - 2013-05-11 5:59 PM pepe63 - 2013-05-11 5:31 PM That's okay then....Pete just needs to print out a few of these "adverts" and just keep them at hand,so he can wave 'em at the Vosa chappie if he gets pulled... (lol) One born every minute...and why Swift still in business I guess! :D Not sure what you mean by your comment there Eddie ... 500kg is NOT a bad payload at all for a coachbuilt of that length! As for the legitimacy of the 500kg payload, this advert from Highbridge (who are very well respected) not only has it given in kg but also in CWT so it would appear to be genuine. http://www.highbridgecaravans.co.uk/newmotorhomedetails.php?ID=668 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rupert123 Posted May 12, 2013 Share Posted May 12, 2013 Mel B - 2013-05-11 10:03 PM JudgeMental - 2013-05-11 5:59 PM pepe63 - 2013-05-11 5:31 PM That's okay then....Pete just needs to print out a few of these "adverts" and just keep them at hand,so he can wave 'em at the Vosa chappie if he gets pulled... (lol) One born every minute...and why Swift still in business I guess! :D Not sure what you mean by your comment there Eddie ... 500kg is NOT a bad payload at all for a coachbuilt of that length! As for the legitimacy of the 500kg payload, this advert from Highbridge (who are very well respected) not only has it given in kg but also in CWT so it would appear to be genuine. http://www.highbridgecaravans.co.uk/newmotorhomedetails.php?ID=668 Eddies blind spot, he thinks UK built vans are no good, to be any good it needs to be german and leak like a sieve. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Archived
This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.