Guest JudgeMental Posted April 12, 2014 Share Posted April 12, 2014 Dont talk to me like that you ungrateful plank..... Where is the nastiness, its simply exasperation with your total lack of understanding and inability to take all the good advice on this thread on board! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brian Kirby Posted April 14, 2014 Share Posted April 14, 2014 mentaliss - 2014-04-08 7:04 PM Derek Uzzell - 2014-03-24 3:46 PM Welcome to the Out&AboutLive forums. Although it's possible to DIY the uprating process (and that would be the cheapest method) the usual procedure has involved a company called SVTech http://www.svtech.co.uk/ This link http://tinyurl.com/nw6z2vc lists previous forum threads that refer to "SVTech" and should be informative. The simplest/cheapest approach would be to reduce your motorhome's weight to keep it within the 3500kg maximum (eg. by travelling with fresh-water anfd waste-water tanks near empty, using light-weight gas-bottles etc.) If that's not practicable (and it may well not be as some Dethleffs Advantage 3500kg models have very limited user-payload to begin with), you may be OK uprating the maximum overall weight by a smallish amount (say from 3500kg to 3650kg) without any ''technical' changes needing to be made. However, if the present 100kg overweight-ness has pushed your motorhome's rear-axle loading beyond the 2060kg that your tyres' 109 Load Index indicates, you'd need to uprate the rear tyres to cope (and perhaps also add 'air-assistance' to the rear springs). I believe there's no suitable 215/70 R15C tyre with a Load Index higher than 109, so the logical alternative would be 225/70 R15C tyres with a 112 Load Index (2240kg axle loading). thanks for your input, we weighed our Dethleffs ADVANTAGE T6571 the morning we set off to Spain half a tank of fuel, 15 ltrs of fresh water and to our horror the rear axle weight was 2210, 210 over weight,! according to the Manufactures tech' details max payload weight is 350...the worst in the Advantage class!! I believe this overweight issue has come about due to several things the first having a Fiamma 4.0 mtr Awning fitted plus me fitting an under body fit spare wheel, plus an Fiamma Bike rack and two bikes...none of these are fitted from the factory so I intend to move the spare wheel as far forward as possible that will help but it will not resolve the total weight issue, I will fit my Dunlop rear spring assistors which I kept from my previous Rapido do you know if 16" wheels shod with 225/70/16 would help what about reworking the rear springs with a additional helper leaf......I suppose I will not be able to resolve this issue without spending lots of money :$ Larry The lion's share of the answer to your query is in Derek's post above. You have a van with a fairly minimal payload some of which, at a guess 100kg, has been taken by the awning, spare wheel, bike rack and bikes. I have to say you were ill served by the dealer who sold it to you because in adding those accessories he should have cautioned you as to the effect that would have on payload. The further problem is that the van is a "garage" type layout with relatively long rear overhang that results in much of the load being added behind the rear axle. This means that each kg of load you add in this position reduces the load on the front axle, while adding more that one kg to the load on the rear axle. It is this, more than the actual load you have added, that is your primary problem. As I see things you have three possible solutions. Try to get the dealer to accept that he failed to advise you accordingly when buying, with a view to getting him to give you a very generous trade-in allowance against a van that is more suitable to how you wish to use it. I very much doubt he will play ball, and I am equally doubtful that any legal action could be taken against him. The van has a payload and, if loaded lightly, appears to be workable, but not for you (or me). So I don't think it could be claimed unfit for purpose - unless you told the dealer exactly what you intended putting into it, and where, and can prove that. On that basis, the suggestion Derek made of reducing the load is the cheapest avenue to follow. If that is not acceptable/practical, then the only avenue is to get the rear axle load limit increased. SV Tech have already been suggested above, and this will be the best starting point to see what can be achieved. Whether the result can be considered cheap, will depend on your definition of cheap! But, to accommodate the rear axle overload you will need tyres with a higher load carrying that your present tyres which themselves are presently 150kg over their design limit. This is potentially dangerous as well as illegal, and means that you must adhere to a rear pressure of 5.5 bar (the maximum for which the tyre is designed), and maintain that pressure carefully. As you know the axle is 210kg over its design limit which is over-stressing at least the springs, so also carries safety risks as well as being illegal. Beyond that, as the van was weighed before you left it is overall overloaded so is in itself illegal for read use in any country. As things stand, if you are stopped and weighed you risk being made to unload the van until legal, fined, and will be unlikely to be given any assistance with transportation of what you have to remove. In some cases people have been obliged to abandon the overweight cargo at the roadside. This is not something you can afford to put off. How far the rear axle load can be increased by adding supplementary springing I do not know but, if it can be taken to 2210 I doubt this is entirely practical in view of the small amount of water you were carrying, and the practical difficulty you face in trying to be precise over how much water you are carrying, particularly when you top up an unknown amount en-route. This you need to know as a starting point, together with the weight of the van, as suggested above, when empty of everything except full fuel tank, yourselves, full gas cylinder and full water tank. You will then know what the van weighs in its at minimum, and what is the maximum legal weight to which it, and its rear axle, can be raised. The difference between the two figures is, in effect, your working payload, and only you can decide of that is adequate for your needs. If it is not, you will have some uncomfortably hard thinking to do about what you do next. Please let us know how you get on and what you decide. 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Archiesgrandad Posted April 14, 2014 Share Posted April 14, 2014 If you have the necessary licence you should contact SVTech and find out if you can plate it up, and how much. Nobody on this forum can actually help you achieve what you want, and no matter how much you present your case, and no matter how much info our friends on this forum offer, you now know that you have to seek professional help, you cannot just bolt a few bits on and do it yourself. Air suspension will not change your plated weight, at around 60 kilos it merely uses up even more o f your payload. AGD Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Barney123 Posted April 14, 2014 Share Posted April 14, 2014 Can I put my penny’s worth in on this subject? Back in 1998/99 when I think VOSA started clamping down on weighs etc, I along with quite a few other motorhomers was pulled in on the way to Shepton Mallet show. My van was what I would have called was empty (we only had basic clothes etc for the weekend) a full tank of fuel, and 100 litres of fresh water. I was shocked to find my van was 437kgs overweight. We were lucky and only got a stern talking to and a letter from the chief constable advising us to get it sorted and if it happened again, we were in for it. During that weekend at Shepton, the word was out about a few of us being pulled in for being overweight and the dealers we trying to play it down by saying “Don’t worry etc” because people were asking them what the payloads were on various vehicles and they could not give an honest answer. Shortly after that incident a friend of our was purchasing a new motorhome and he wanted a rack on the back to take his mobility scooter, the dealer said he would sell him the van but if he wanted a rack fitted he would have to take it himself to another dealer to have it fitted. Reason being, if he fitted the rack he would then have been selling a motorhome which would be overweight. So the onus was the on the buyer for being overweight and not the dealer. By the way, I soon got shot of my motorhome for one with a good payload. So the moral is, ask the dealer what the payload is with all the required extras on it are before you decide to purchase. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mentaliss Posted April 15, 2014 Author Share Posted April 15, 2014 thanks Brian Kirby for your thoughts which is exactly now where I am...I do now think the dealer had a responsibility to use as to inform us of the poor payload of this van, they also supplied and fitted the bike rack and awning with no mention at any time about the payload issue and there is another problem added to this that that the tyres are the original ( confirmed by previous owner)...over seven years old! I am well aware that age of tyres (as yet) are not part of the MOT procedure however the tyre manufacture's (on the phone)!!! do say tyres should be changed once they reach five years old :-( :-( Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
goldi Posted April 16, 2014 Share Posted April 16, 2014 Morning folks, It sounds to me that you at least need to change to oversize tyres on the back. You can then flog the old tyres . It is unlikely that you will be prosecuted for an overload under 5%, just get the big finger wagged at you. I have no idea what that foreighn cops do, whether they have zero tollerance or not. We all should endevour to abide by the rules though. I heard a tale the other week that the dutch goverment are charging a wealth tax on motorhomes over 3.5 tonnes and this can be 80 euros a month, therefore the dutch are more likley to run overweight and so the spannish cops are pulling more in and also acconts for the rise in trailers. I wonder if anyone else has heard of this ?. norm Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Derek Uzzell Posted April 16, 2014 Share Posted April 16, 2014 mentaliss - 2014-04-15 4:44 PM thanks Brian Kirby for your thoughts which is exactly now where I am...I do now think the dealer had a responsibility to use as to inform us of the poor payload of this van, they also supplied and fitted the bike rack and awning with no mention at any time about the payload issue and there is another problem added to this that that the tyres are the original ( confirmed by previous owner)...over seven years old! I am well aware that age of tyres (as yet) are not part of the MOT procedure however the tyre manufacture's (on the phone)!!! do say tyres should be changed once they reach five years old :-( :-( I believe you'd be wasting your time trying to pursue the vendor of your motorhome over this. You can also forget the idea of fitting larger diameter wheels - it's not practicable unless you swapped the hubs too. What you should do is follow AGD's advice and consult SVTech about how much it's possible to uprate your motorhome's rear axle's carrying capacity so that the vehicle can be operated legally in its present state of load. Moving from 2000kg to 2210kg would mean that 225/70 R15C tyres with a Load Index of 112 (2240kg) would still be close to their design maximum and I don't think 15"-diameter motorhome-suitable tyres are available with an above-112 Load Index. It's likely that moving to, say, a 2240kg rear-axle limit would also involve adding air-assistance and, as AGD points out, this would place extra weight on the rear axle. Obviously, upping the rear-axle's limit substantially would also push the motorhome beyond the 3500kg Private/Light Goods 'road tax' threshold. You may find that SVTech's advice will reveal that it would not be realistic to expect to operate your motorhome legally as you'd like to even if it were uprated. But you won't know this until you ask SVTech what can be done. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mentaliss Posted April 23, 2014 Author Share Posted April 23, 2014 extract from my enquiries from svTec: "The initial uprate to 3850kg would again leave the axle weights unchanged, however you could, with a tyre change increase the rear axle to 2240kg. Your current tyre size being a 215/75R15 would need changing to a 225/75R15. This can be achieved on the existing rim size" Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lennyhb Posted April 23, 2014 Share Posted April 23, 2014 2240 is only 30kg above your actual load, really you should be looking at a safety margin of 10%. As said earlier you need to shift some of the load forward. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mentaliss Posted April 23, 2014 Author Share Posted April 23, 2014 thanks, we have that in hand... my point from the SVTECH quote is about the tyre size ..as far as im aware no such tyre yet exists on a 15" wheel?? found these cheaper than Mich' Technical specification Product Group Summer Tyres Brand Vredestein Model name Comtrac Size 225/70R15 Speed index R Load index 112 Additional information C Tyre Category Premium Item code 52241 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lennyhb Posted April 23, 2014 Share Posted April 23, 2014 Both Michelin & Conti do camping tyres in that size and if you are running at the limit they would be a better bet. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bolero boy Posted April 23, 2014 Share Posted April 23, 2014 Just to add to your problem.....once you have wprked out what the capacity of your garage will be (after going through the weighing process empty as suggested) every kilo you add to the garage will add significantly more than a kilo to the rear axle.....the exact variation will depend on how long the overhang is. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
goldi Posted April 23, 2014 Share Posted April 23, 2014 Afternoon folks, So the to answer the original question . two tyres for back axle and sv tech paperwork £550. job done. norm Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mentaliss Posted April 23, 2014 Author Share Posted April 23, 2014 And to add to my misery's, the list: Travelling up through Portugal was cold and stormy Got 'fined' at the toll booth because somewhere on the motorway we went through a card system by mistake ...... 71.00 euro's!!!..credit card wasn't recognised so they took our phone number!! Poor roads throughout Portugal (in our opinion) means you end up on their 'rip off' motorways. Following a truck 50mph the truck lets loose a canon shell , now we have a cracked windscreen!! Waste water tap extension rod attached to the tank falls off....turns out the retaining screws dont retain the rod as the screw holes are too big due to the screws becoming loose many times.....Dealer and Mot station should have picked this up as this could have been a potential accident incident ( first time we travelled with this van since purchase from this dealer...YES the one who didn't tell us about the pay load issue!!! Since my original post I have looked into the medical issues of driving a 3850 kg van once over Seventy years of age and there it is.....I might not be able to drive said vehicle as I have a defibrillator fitted in my bionic chest..CAN IT GET ANY WORSE? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mentaliss Posted April 23, 2014 Author Share Posted April 23, 2014 lennyhb - 2014-04-23 5:18 PM Both Michelin & Conti do camping tyres in that size and if you are running at the limit they would be a better bet. Agree, Michelin do the 225/70/15 112 Camping tyre, however cannot find any equivalent Conti tyre, their Vanco Camper 215/70/15 highest rate is 109 as fitted to mine. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pepe63xnotuse Posted April 23, 2014 Share Posted April 23, 2014 Well, although I think you said that you bought the van in Dec..but all things considered, once home, I'd weigh it (with an EMPTY garage)and then I'd be going and.. *cough*..."have a word" with that bl**dy dealer of yours..>:-( Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lennyhb Posted April 23, 2014 Share Posted April 23, 2014 Some people have all the good luck! obviously not you. Really sorry to hear all your bad news not the best start to a Motorhome adventure. I think you need to send the boys round to sort out the dealer. (lol) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Billggski Posted April 23, 2014 Share Posted April 23, 2014 Keep going, it's bound to get better. I had the same problem with the waste water rod, it screws into a wooden floor so it can work loose. I've decided to take the towbar off as it is over engineered for two bikes. It is like two girders underneath, should help with my rear payload. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brian Kirby Posted April 23, 2014 Share Posted April 23, 2014 mentaliss - 2014-04-23 5:30 PM lennyhb - 2014-04-23 5:18 PM Both Michelin & Conti do camping tyres in that size and if you are running at the limit they would be a better bet. Agree, Michelin do the 225/70/15 112 Camping tyre, however cannot find any equivalent Conti tyre, their Vanco Camper 215/70/15 highest rate is 109 as fitted to mine. Continental do a 225/70 R 15 C tyre rated 112 (2,240kg axle load), but not, as you say, a camping specific tyre. I tend to agree with Lenny that as you will be flirting with the upper margin for this tyre the added "overload" capacity of the camping tyre would seem desirable. However, in view of your comments re defibrillator, it seems there is little point you investigating further until you are safely home. Then find out what the situation re driving over 3.5 tonne really is and, if it is as you suspect, you will have to get the van weighed in the condition described in previous posts to see what your working payload really is. If it is as bad as you suspect you will need to get in touch with the dealer who sold you the van as quickly as possible. It is important that you do not delay with this, as the longer it takes you to do so the more difficult it will become to extract any kind of remedy from the dealer. Once you have all the facts, I would also suggest you talk to Trading Standards or Citizen's Advice to get some idea of what your legal position may be. I believe CA have a duty solicitor in a number of their branches who can give general advice, TS do not, AFAIK, have recourse to solicitors. Failing the above (or as well as if you choose) look at your various home and vehicle insurances to see if a legal advisory service is included. I'm not advocating you should pursue the legal route, it is long, can be costly, and the outcomes are not certain. However, I am suggesting you take what advice you can get so that you know, as fully as possible, where you stand before talking to the dealer. Not to make threats, just for your own comfort (I hope!). You'll need to get to the top of the management chain rather than the sales person who you dealt with, and lay it all out in front of him/her. Then ask them what they will do to remedy the position they have put you into. You may have to lay it on a bit thick. Try to reduce them to tears of remorse rather than anger and see where you get! Either they will see their error and seek to make amends - which I think means doing you a very favourable deal on a replacement van that will work for you - or they will say, in terms, "tough luck". If the former, you should be OK, if the latter you will have a fight on your hands, or will simply have to try to trade the van elsewhere for one that will work. It will cost you, but the excuse that having used it you realise it isn't really what you need will be familiar enough. Many get a first van wrong and change soon after buying. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest JudgeMental Posted April 24, 2014 Share Posted April 24, 2014 That route has already been suggested by me and moi just ended up getting abuse for my efforts. He could not accept a common sense approach regards weighing etc........Now the medical info has been revealed he would be better of getting a more practical van by putting pressure on dealer via trading standards. He simply bought an unsuitable van....get over it, many make mistakes, and dealers depend on it! feeling sorry for yourself a nonsense.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lennyhb Posted April 24, 2014 Share Posted April 24, 2014 Having just read through this thread again I think you need to go back to basics as in theory for 2 people 350kg payload is workable. My reason for stating this that our last van had a payload of 350kg but it was a very hi spec special edition that meant it lost 100kg to the standard version. We added awning, bike rack 2nd battery etc, which reduced the payload to 270kg. With 100% gas 75% fuel & 80% water and enough gear on board including 2 bikes for 3 weeks away we weighted in around 10-20kg over the 3.5t, but well below the axle limits. Some facts: Payload for Hymer Group vans is normally given with the van in basic form with 100% fuel, 20Lt water 1x 11kg Aluminium gas bottle and driver at 75kg. Also the tolerance on the van weight is =/- 5% if the van was on top tolerance that could reduce the payload to 193kg, this is possible but unlikely German vans usually come in under weight. As you have brought an official British Import it will probably had added to the basic spec a couple of the option packs which include electric mirrors, cruise control, air con, remis blinds, large fridge freezer, oven etc., these could have reduced the payload by 75 - 100 kg add on the extras you have fitted your payload may only be 150 - 200kg. Now what concerns me is your axle weights and from the figurers you have far too much weight behind the rear axle. We have two possibilities if you have a payload with all the extras of over 250kg if should just be workable, is it just a case being a newbe you have thrown everything in you thought you needed for the trip and are carrying load of stuff you don't really need. The other possibility is that it does only have a 100kg payload which would be totally unacceptable but that still does not explain the axle weights. I don't think there is anything you can do until you can completely unload the van and weigh it empty with just the driver and go from there. Edit: If you do get pulled each axle and total weight are separate offences, a guy in the Hymer Club got pulled on the M1 a couple of years ago he was 180kg over, 60kg on each axle he got three £60 fines and a notice to say he could continue to his destination but after that was prohibited from driving the vehicle on the road until the weight was legal. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pepe63xnotuse Posted April 24, 2014 Share Posted April 24, 2014 ...I'm just waiting for mentaliss to let slip that he's a travelling anvil salesman!.... (lol) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Billggski Posted April 24, 2014 Share Posted April 24, 2014 This thread raises an important point about large garages, it is so tempting, especially for us newbies, to bung in equipment "just in case" because the space is there. But it's all behind the rear axle. It's made me re-evaluate the load distribution and what I really need. I have a huge tow bar, probably for towing a car, which is unnecessary so that's coming off. I have a roof rack so a roofbox can take bits I only need in emergencies, and the spare wheel can go underneath now I've picked up a carrier for it. I bought privately so I can't blame the salesteam, but a dealer really ought to point these things out, looking at mentalliss's Advantage, that is a huge overhang and a vast space. Perhaps a helium balloon is the best answer? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest JudgeMental Posted April 24, 2014 Share Posted April 24, 2014 Simply going round in circles boys! :-D anyone who sees the large garage and "thinks" (hardly thinking is it!) that they can put all they desire in without weighing the van, or been given assurances of payload pretty thick to be honest! :-S Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brian Kirby Posted April 24, 2014 Share Posted April 24, 2014 mentaliss - 2014-04-15 4:44 PM thanks Brian Kirby for your thoughts which is exactly now where I am...I do now think the dealer had a responsibility to use as to inform us of the poor payload of this van, they also supplied and fitted the bike rack and awning with no mention at any time about the payload issue and there is another problem added to this that that the tyres are the original ( confirmed by previous owner)...over seven years old! I am well aware that age of tyres (as yet) are not part of the MOT procedure however the tyre manufacture's (on the phone)!!! do say tyres should be changed once they reach five years old :-( :-( Been mulling this over a bit more. :-) First a couple of basics because, if you'll forgive me, you seem to have been using two terms in ways that suggest you may not fully understand their technical significance. First, payload. This is the difference between what the vehicle weighs empty (i.e. unladen) and the maximum weight at which it can legally be used on the road. The catch is that whereas the VIN plate tells you the maxima (both for each axle and for the whole vehicle), nothing other that a weighbridge can tell you the unladen weight. The most useful working version of the unladen weight (which is not the same as the legal definition) is to weigh the van with a full tank of fuel, a full tank of water, and both passengers on board. You need the overall weight, plus the weight on each axle. If possible, also include either a full gas cylinder (or two if the gas locker will take two). However, for this to be useful you do need to have full (meaning brimmed) tanks and full (unused) gas cylinders. There is no point to the exercise if any are partially full, as the payload calculation will then be wrong. Second point is overhang. This is the amount by which the vehicle length exceeds the distance between its axles. For motorhomes, you can forget the front axle and overhang, and concentrate only on the rear. Several people have commented that your van has a long rear overhang, meaning that there is a lot of the van bodywork behind the rear axle. A motorhome behaves like a see-saw as you load it. The balance point is the rear axle. What you load directly above the rear axle transfers its weight straight to the axle. 1kg added here adds exactly 1kg to the axle load. But, if you load that 1kg in a position between the axles, some of the weight will fall on the rear axle, and some on the front. The ratio is proportional to the distance ahead of the rear axle that the load is added. So, if our 1kg weight is added 3/4 of the way to the front axle, 750 grams will go on the front axle, and 250 grams to the rear. 750 + 250 = 1,000; or our 1kg. However, if you place that I kg of load behind the rear axle it causes the van to pivot over the rear axle, so that some weight is removed from the front axle. But, as all you have added is 1kg, the balance has to transfer to the rear axle. Let us say our 1kg is far enough behind the rear axle as to remove 250 grams from the front axle load. It follows that, because it is only 1kg that was added, the rear axle load must increase to 1,250 grams. -250 + 1,250 = 1,000, or our original 1kg. This is what is at the root of the problem with your van. Its layout dictates that virtually all of your added load transfers, by one of the means set out above, to the rear axle alone, leaving the load on the front axle virtually unchanged between the unladen, and fully laden, states. The actual overall overload (100kg) is not, in itself, too severe. However, before trying to tackle that you do need first to get those unladen (as defined above) axle loads, plus the overall weight, to see the true scale of the problem. Since the main problem is at the rear, and since you have already said the tyres are past their sell by date and need replacing, it should be relatively straightforward to get the rear axle itself uprated to 2,210kg by changing the tyres to 225 in lieu of 215, as in earlier posts. There is no need to uprate the MAM of the van in doing this, so you would not need a licence for over 3.5 tonnes. Just leave the MAM at 3,500kg and get the rear alone uprated to eliminate the overload there. That would leave you with a vehicle you are licenced to drive legally, but one that is presently a bit more than 100kg overloaded. So, next up is that 100kg overload. You will need either to reduce what you carry, or to tow a baggage trailer for the excess. You may be able to achieve quite a lot by substituting lighter weight versions of the things you presently carry. For example, by substituting aluminium framed items for anything with a steel frame. Leave behind anything you find you have not used, or use little. Look for items that are dual use, so the total number of items you are carrying is reduced. If necessary, consider travelling with no water on board - though this half defeats the purpose of a motorhome and leaves you having to take on and dump water every time you stop. Also make sure you empty the waste water, and the toiled cassette, every time before you travel. However, this may not remove the whole of the overload, or may leave you dissatisfied with what you can then take, or the inconvenience of all the filling and emptying. So, I'm thinking that the baggage trailer may offer you the best outcome, albeit it carries the disadvantages that the necessary towbar will itself be relatively heavy - and will be behind the rear axle - and that some of the actual weight of the trailer (usually recommended to be 7% - any less risks the trailer becoming unstable), should bear down on the hitch. So, to get things into a legal state by reducing the weight of the van to within its legal maximum - while keeping the rear axle within its legal maximum - you'll need to shift (and this is a pure guess) about 250kg of your load to the trailer. I'd suggest a simple unbraked, 750 kg MAM baggage trailer because I believe (without checking!), that pretty well anyone can tow a 750kg unbraked trailer on any licence that is valid to 3.5 tonnes. It is not an ideal solution because long rear overhangs with short trailers are not a good combination, and it will be a total pig to reverse, but it seems to offer a workable way out. You cannot DIY any of the loading changes. If you just fit the new, larger, tyres you will not increase the legal limit on the rear axle. This can only be done by getting the official plate changed by an authorised auto engineer - which is where SV Tech come in. I think transferring the air ride units you already have would be worthwhile, if practical, even though they will tend to add a bit more weight, because they will taughten up the rear ride, to the advantage of both driving stability and that little trailer - which will have a better time if the rear of the van is swaying around less. Any good? :-) I think this must be somewhere near the cheapest work around, but I also think it is very much a "least worst" solution that leaves you with a heavily compromised van. Whether you can live with that, only you can decide. Clearly the best solution remains to change the van for something that would work for you within a 3,500kg MAM. I have understood Pullingers to have a reasonable reputation as a dealer, so I would still be inclined to do as suggested in the previous posts, and do all the weighing, get the legal advice, and then go and have a good long hard talk to their MD before pursuing any of the new tyres, uprated axle, towbar and baggage trailer options I have suggested - except perhaps to get a clear idea of the costs in each case. It just may be that you can persuade them to get you out of the poo they (IMO) have dropped you into, at a lower cost, and get you into a properly workable van while doing so. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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