slimsurf Posted March 15, 2016 Share Posted March 15, 2016 Hi I know (now) having done a lot of reading about payload etc that downrating has its issues however we live in London and from the TFL website if our motor caravan is less than 3.5 T and post 2002 it will be exempt on the basis of being euro 3 compliant. I have been to see a rapido 963f which is for sale within our price range and I gather these have a weight out of the manufacturers gates as somewhere around 3.14 T My question is has anyone done this for their motorhome for this purpose (I know it would limit our payload but at £100 a day we are prepared to pack light). Other solutions are - buy a more expensive van - buy this van and add a particulate filter (approx 2k from what I can research on the internet). - Store the van outside of london and pick it up to go touring seems a hassle and potentially expensive and a cumbersome solution with possible insurance implications. - leave London ? give up on the dream of an A class any advice about any of the above delightfully accepted it is all making wife very upset as we thought we had settled on a van etc and then i realised the weight for the year of manufacturer would scupper us Thank you Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Keithl Posted March 15, 2016 Share Posted March 15, 2016 slimsurf - 2016-03-15 8:24 PM ... but at £100 a day ... Hi Slimsurf, Unfortunately it's actually worse than you thought! If your MH weighs over 3,500 kg AND was registered before 1st October 2006 then the DAILY charge is no less than £200!!! YES £200. Now you know why we don't venture any where near London. A payload of circa 350 kg will be VERY tight for a couple to travel and I would say impossible if you have any more family who want to travel with you. the only way to know for certain would be to take it to a weighbridge in a known loaded condition and find out for real. I feel you need to look for a lighter MH with a plated weight of 3,500 kg and a much more usable payload. Keith. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brian Kirby Posted March 15, 2016 Share Posted March 15, 2016 slimsurf - 2016-03-15 8:24 PM Hi I know (now) having done a lot of reading about payload etc that downrating has its issues however we live in London and from the TFL website if our motor caravan is less than 3.5 T and post 2002 it will be exempt on the basis of being euro 3 compliant. I have been to see a rapido 963f which is for sale within our price range and I gather these have a weight out of the manufacturers gates as somewhere around 3.14 T ............................. Keith beat me to it! But, I'll re-state his point. You are working off a factory gate figure, which was itself subject to fluctuation, and is also likely to have been augmented by options/additions made when ordering the van originally, and since. The first thing to do, before committing to anything, would be to take it to a weighbridge and get it weighed, making sure you know exactly what state of load it is in, including the amount fuel in the tank (brimmed is safest for this exercise). Then, you will know how much you actually have to play with. This is important since, as Keith says, the payload will be very tight in practical terms. Personally, I think, so tight as to be unworkable if you really want to use the van for much more than weekends. So, if it were me, I wouldn't bother further and would re-think. An option that you don't seem to have considered is to buy a smaller, lighter, van. The Rapidos you have looked at are large vans, being aimed at family use. If there are just two of you, you should be able to travel and live comfortably with a vehicle in the region of 6.0 metres long with an MAM of 3.5 tonnes. You should then find you have a usable payload in the region of 700kg. Smaller vans generally cost less, so finding one that is LEZ compliant within your budget should then also be easier. All your options are viable, but all have disadvantages that only you can weigh-up. Spending more could get you a new enough vehicle to be compliant. I assume that was your intention. If you can talk the present owner down in price, adding a filter would give you the van you want at probably lower cost than buying one that is already compliant. But, you'd need to be very confident of being able to get a filter that would, actually, achieve compliance before shelling out for the van plus the filter. Storage would, as you say, carry a continuing cost, and would also mean fairly regular visits to drive the van for a few hours to keep both batteries topped up and in good condition. Insurance should not be a problem as long as the storage facility met the CASSOA Gold standard. Move. Well, the difference in house prices inside and outside the M25 might well pay for a shiny new van, despite the cost of moving! But, where one lives is a highly personal decision. :-D Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest pelmetman Posted March 15, 2016 Share Posted March 15, 2016 How long will euro 3 remain compliant in London? :-| ........ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Muswell Posted March 16, 2016 Share Posted March 16, 2016 I went through the same thought process and ended up with a compliant van, but did quite a lot of investigation of the storage option and as long as you can find a convenient site I would go for that. Unless you have good storage at home the storage site is probably safer anyway. We had our van stolen and the replacement now lives in the country and only goes back to London occasionally. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RogerThat Posted March 16, 2016 Share Posted March 16, 2016 pelmetman - 2016-03-15 9:35 PM How long will euro 3 remain compliant in London? :-| ........ Did I read 2020 somewhere? Don't quote me on that though! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Billggski Posted March 16, 2016 Share Posted March 16, 2016 Or you could get it downplated to 3500K and then run it at whatever weight is comfortable. You run the risk of being stopped and weighed, but...... Do you know of anyone who has ever been stopped? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Archiesgrandad Posted March 16, 2016 Share Posted March 16, 2016 Do be mindful that the LEZ covers almost every road within the M25, and if you go post the sign, turn around straight away and drive back out, you will still get the letter. But only the first time. After that it will be the penalty. AGD Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
slimsurf Posted March 16, 2016 Author Share Posted March 16, 2016 I had not realised it was £200 a day ... I looked at a burster that is 5k more and compliant but it has not been 'loved' in the same way -- that is the impression you get from it as things that have broken have been repaired poorly it's a minefield any suggestions for CASSOA storage near south London and any idea how much ? we would only want a week or two. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Keithl Posted March 17, 2016 Share Posted March 17, 2016 slimsurf - 2016-03-16 11:24 PM I had not realised it was £200 a day ... It looks like it's just gone up :-( It is now £250 per day for under 3.5 tonnes and a whopping £500 per day for over 3.5 tonnes!!!!!!!!!! And that's if you pay in 14 days, if you don't it's double! https://tfl.gov.uk/modes/driving/low-emission-zone/penalty-charges There is no way you will catch me anywhere near London at those penalty charges. Keith. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tony Jones Posted March 17, 2016 Share Posted March 17, 2016 My van is Euro4, but I don't drive any vehicle into London unless it's unavoidable. There are lots of stations on the outskirts where you can park. Not cheap, but stil... It's those like the OP I feel for, who live there. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bulletguy Posted March 17, 2016 Share Posted March 17, 2016 Archiesgrandad - 2016-03-16 8:56 PM Do be mindful that the LEZ covers almost every road within the M25, and if you go post the sign, turn around straight away and drive back out, you will still get the letter. But only the first time. After that it will be the penalty. AGD Yes i got one a few years ago. My son lives near Richmond and i used to stop over on my way down to Dover to see my grandchildren, then on returning back to UK i'd do the same. Helped break the journey as i'm almost 300 miles from Dover port. Even my son and his wife didn't know LEZ had been extended out there (it had been done during the time i was away), but first TfL told him i shouldn't have got a letter as my van was ok. So i phoned them to double check as on their website it says it isn't. When i gave TfL my registration they said "yes thats ok" so i asked what model Transit they were recording it as...."a 2.2TDi" came the reply. Well it's not, it's a 2.5TDi. In the end they quashed the fine due to to the cock up they'd made! However if i lived there i'd move out. During the day 747's are flying in to Heathrow at the rate of one every sixty seconds belching out aviation fuel fumes. When the wind is blowing in the wrong direction you can even smell the damn stuff. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
slimsurf Posted March 18, 2016 Author Share Posted March 18, 2016 In many ways we have found the perfect van ... we can afford it - but its not LEZ compliant svTech will downrate it but that then would leave me with 300kg payload or I can store outside of london ?parked at a friends ?? (would it be insured and drive the stuff to the van to load up to leave.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Muswell Posted March 18, 2016 Share Posted March 18, 2016 I think you need to be cautious about the insurance aspect of leaving it at a friend's. Although my new compliant van was parked overnight on the hardstanding in front of the house I declared it is as parked on the street for the insurers, just in case. We were selling the house so I parked the van 50m away, and sure enough it was stolen. If the van were stolen parked full time at a different address I'm not sure where that would leave you because I think it has to be kept at the address of the keeper unless declared otherwise. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Robbo Posted March 18, 2016 Share Posted March 18, 2016 If you opted for a secure storage site you could just drive your car there and leave it in the same space as occupied by the van. I've used the Gatwick CC site - it's about £600 per year. You can use it for shorter periods but you need to pay the yearly fee upfront and reclaim the difference afterwards less an administrative charge. For security purposes you just register both your MH and car. You would of course need to advise your car insurer of the temporary parking arrangement. PS. The Gatwick site is very popular - hardly any spare spaces when I used it, so best to check first. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
slimsurf Posted March 18, 2016 Author Share Posted March 18, 2016 I'm beginning to think I can't afford this --- any idea of insurers that might be ok parking it on a friends drive Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Archived
This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.