Qvar Posted May 20, 2015 Share Posted May 20, 2015 Being over 70 and lost my LGV I am down to 3500 max, I have just seen a motorhome which states the MTPLM is 3850. with an estimated pay load of 1020kgs. If i take off 350kgs to ensure the weight does not exceed 3500 ( I would still have 670 kgs of pay load) does this mean that I can drive it on my licence so long as the whole does not exceed 3500 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sophie2 Posted May 20, 2015 Share Posted May 20, 2015 What do you mean by "take off"- do you mean have the vehicle re-plated downwards? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Billggski Posted May 20, 2015 Share Posted May 20, 2015 The re-plating should be a paper exercise, amend your V5 to 3500K, send it to the DVLA who should then charge you the extra for a lighter motorhome(!). Then buy a blank plate for about £15 from a VIN plate company and either get it printed or stamp it yourself with the new weight limits. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brian Kirby Posted May 21, 2015 Share Posted May 21, 2015 Qvar - 2015-05-20 6:04 PM Being over 70 and lost my LGV I am down to 3500 max, I have just seen a motorhome which states the MTPLM is 3850. with an estimated pay load of 1020kgs. If i take off 350kgs to ensure the weight does not exceed 3500 ( I would still have 670 kgs of pay load) does this mean that I can drive it on my licence so long as the whole does not exceed 3500 As I understand your question, the simple answer is no. You must have the van properly down-plated to 3,500kg, and you can then drive it on a car licence. Contact SV Tech for advice on the down-plating, and I suggest you ask them to supply the replacement plate as well. With your present licence you cannot legally drive a vehicle plated at 3,850kg even if its actual weight is 3,500kg (or less). It is the plated weight that counts, not the actual laden weight. Were you to do this, not only would you be liable to prosecution, you would potentially have insurance trouble should you need to claim. Make absolutely sure you understand how that payload figure is being calculated. There is no need for anyone to estimate a payload, all that is needed is a trip to a weighbridge with known contents (make sure it has full fuel) in the van, and deduct the resulting weight from 3,500. That will be your payload if down-plated to 3,500kg. (If full fuel is impractical, calculate the weight of a full tank of fuel at 0.85kg per litre, and deduct that from the weighbridge payload calculation before deducting anything else. You'll get a bit of overkill, but IMO better that than an overstated payload.) Then, deduct the weight of a full tank of water at 1kg per litre, your own weight and the weight of anyone who will travel with you, and gas. Full 13kg gas cylinders weigh about 28kg (the cylinder weighs about 25kg with 13 kg gas), 6 kg cylinders about half that. What is then left is for your food, drinks, clothing, camping clutter, toys, pets etc. etc. If it helps, for us, that totals just under 300kg. Remember the van will also have individual axle load limits as well as its MAM. These will be stated on the VIN plate, and you would be wise to get the actual axle loadings at the same time as checking its (more or less) unladen weight. You will then know how much load you can add at each axle. You should be OK, but if a previous owner has already had the van plated up to 3,850kg from 3,500kg (possible), you may find one axle, probably the rear, runs into overload before the van reaches its MAM. Just look for any signs of additional plates having been riveted under the bonnet, usually on the cross rail just above the rad. I'd also suggest you check the VIN and the MAM on the plate against the V5C log book entries, to make sure they all tally. Mistakes are not unknown! It would be relatively unusual for a van plated at 3,850kg to have an adequate payload when down-plated to 3,500kg. The reason most were originally plated at 3,850 is because they would be liable to be unsatisfactory at 3,500kg MAM. The market for 3,500kg vans is much greater than for 3,850kg vans, so the maker (assuming the plates are original) had restricted his potential market by plating the van above 3,500kg. There will be a reason for that - which is why I'm urging caution. But, if all is OK, your 670kg should just be workable, albeit you will be running close to your legal limit. Good luck. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Billggski Posted May 22, 2015 Share Posted May 22, 2015 A very thorough and detailed analysis of the situation My experience was rather simpler, I found a discrepancy between my V5 and VIN plate so contacted Svtech for advice, they very kindly, told me either to buy a blank VIN plate and amend the details to match the V5, or send my V5 to Swansea with the details to match on the plate. Which would have meant paying extra for the new classification. As I have taken my medical for C1+E (£56 and twenty minutes of my time) I just bought a plate and changed the total weight, leaving the axle loads the same as they comfortably allowed for the new (old) weight. Many MH's can be 3850K or 3500K depending on the owner's requirements. When I changed the engine on my Land Rover from 2.25 NA to a 2.5 turbo diesel I had the V5 back by return of post. The insurance company weren't bothered and my premium stayed the same £99 and zero excise duty. Your problem is that you can't do this before you buy it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
StuartO Posted May 22, 2015 Share Posted May 22, 2015 If you had a "C+E" or a "C1+E" category and it lapsed, as I understand it you can ask for it to be restored after having the necessary medical and submitting the form D4 to DVLA with your request. This will only cost the price of the medical (and maybe an admin fee from DVLA) which lasts for 3 years) compared to an extra £100 per year or so for the steeper road tax. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rayjsj Posted May 22, 2015 Share Posted May 22, 2015 IMO 3500 kg is a very low figure for a Coachbuilt motorhome, especially a family one, which may have upto 6 Berths, 6 people and all their Kit, Almost impossible I would have thought ? I need 4250kg and there is only 2 of us, plus 2x35kg Dogs and their kit. How do others manage ? or do many just travel overloaded ? Interested to hear how it's done ? I will definately try to keep my C1+E. Ray Most Autotrails are Over 3500 kg and always have been, and they seem to sell very well. (ones downplated to 3500kg have very limited load margins). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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