plop Posted May 18, 2020 Share Posted May 18, 2020 Fantastic! Got the Chausson 650 on Thursday and now that sailing has opened up as an allowed sport we used it to go to the sailing club in Lymington. We're getting it kitted out working out things we still need to buy, install etc but the main thing was that as the club is still closed for the for-seeable future so we basically took our own changing rooms! We've loaded up tons of sporting and dining kit and still got loads of space left for any awning or other stuff. Once we've got closer to the final checklist we'll go and get it weighed make sure we are well under the payload limits which I am sure we will be. Anyway, we had an hour thrashing the catamaran on the water with almost no-one around then got back, had a fantastic hot shower and celebrated with some fresh coffee and home made banana cake. You might gather we're quite excited - hopefully there will be some guidance shortly enabling the opening up of camp sites etc as we can see this is going to be just brilliant for us. Thanks everyone for replying to my various posts recently, security gear is on it's way and we are 100% happy we got the perfect MH for us! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Will86 Posted May 18, 2020 Share Posted May 18, 2020 Always look on the bright side, life is for living whatever your interest, sounds good. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
weldted Posted May 18, 2020 Share Posted May 18, 2020 I trust you will have many happy outings in your van, just a word of caution, just because you have loads of space left does not always mean you can load up with lots more stuff. When you collected your van what is the estimated payload? Remember many manufacturers quote a payload that in real terms is hard to achieve. Any one or anything you put in the van after yourself and your app 75kg personal allowance counts. We bought an Elddis 255 in 2012 they gave a free paperwork upgrade to 3700 which should of given us 430 kg payload. We weighed it before we put anything in it other than myself and my wife this left us with 310 kg and my wife is petite. Just wishing to point out caution is advised. Suggest you may want to check how your payload is described, some include a certain amount of water/fuel some with one gas bottle. Our new Burstner gives 700 kg but only with 20 litres of water in a 125 litre tank. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
plop Posted May 18, 2020 Author Share Posted May 18, 2020 Hence getting down the weighbridge as soon as possible! The indicated payload is 615kg which will be rubbish clearly, but we have weighed out everything including us and the water / gas and we have plenty to spare. Once I've finished testing and building my new small trimaran project (will be probably 2 yrs unfortunately as have no time with work) we will upgrade the rear suspension so we can safely tow that and all of the gear that goes with it so we can head off and take that with us. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
silverback Posted May 18, 2020 Share Posted May 18, 2020 have great adventures in your new Mo Ho I just love the enthusiasm!!! where ours is no more than a drive way ornament at the moment! :D :'( but when we get close to being let out i'm sure we will just be like you :D Jonathan Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
weldted Posted May 18, 2020 Share Posted May 18, 2020 Re up rating the payload, i used Sv Tec I bought the semi air kit from them fitted it myself in around three hours, had to upgrade the tyres from 215/70/r15 to 225/70/r15. This gave me a 3850 kg rating they did the paperwork. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John52 Posted May 18, 2020 Share Posted May 18, 2020 plop - 2020-05-18 10:47 AM Hence getting down the weighbridge as soon as possible! The indicated payload is 615kg which will be rubbish clearly, but we have weighed out everything including us and the water / gas and we have plenty to spare. Once I've finished testing and building my new small trimaran project (will be probably 2 yrs unfortunately as have no time with work) we will upgrade the rear suspension so we can safely tow that and all of the gear that goes with it so we can head off and take that with us. I wouldn't worry about weight - within reason of course. My van looks like an ordinary van from the outside. I got pulled in by the police into a roadside weighbridge with the lorries. Soon as I opened the side door the guy said - Oh its a motorhome - we don't weigh those, you can go. So, on I went, without being weighed. I have never heard a first hand account of anyone getting weighed in a motorhome. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Derek Uzzell Posted May 18, 2020 Share Posted May 18, 2020 I refer you to the posting (by the late-Allan Evans) of 6 April 2017 9:44 PM on this 2017 forum discussion https://forums.outandaboutlive.co.uk/forums/Motorhomes/Motorhome-Matters/Motorhome-weights-VOSA-Technical-Officer-s-view/46706/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Conrad Posted May 18, 2020 Share Posted May 18, 2020 Great, you're having fun already, shows how useful a van is even for day trips! We used to stay overnight in our van at our local boat club when we were members - are they as relaxed in Lymington? Aside from the weight issue already commented on, be wary of cluttering it up with "stuff." One of best bits of advice I read was to have an end of season turf out of anything not used. Think of seeing the wood for the trees, or man sheds - so full of things that may come in useful one day, you can hardly get in to do anything! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Derek Uzzell Posted May 19, 2020 Share Posted May 19, 2020 weldted - 2020-05-18 5:32 PM Re up rating the payload, i used Sv Tec I bought the semi air kit from them fitted it myself in around three hours, had to upgrade the tyres from 215/70/r15 to 225/70/r15. This gave me a 3850 kg rating they did the paperwork. Weight-related matters and ‘uprating’ the original weight maxima of plop’s Chausson motorhome were discussed at length in this earlier forum thread https://forums.outandaboutlive.co.uk/forums/Motorhomes/Motorhome-Matters/6-5m-newbie-motorhome-choice/54384/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
weldted Posted May 19, 2020 Share Posted May 19, 2020 If increasing payload for Motorhomes over 3500kgs check you licence covers it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Deneb Posted May 19, 2020 Share Posted May 19, 2020 John52 - 2020-05-18 5:46 PM I wouldn't worry about weight - within reason of course. My van looks like an ordinary van from the outside. I got pulled in by the police into a roadside weighbridge with the lorries. Soon as I opened the side door the guy said - Oh its a motorhome - we don't weigh those, you can go. So, on I went, without being weighed. I have never heard a first hand account of anyone getting weighed in a motorhome. We used to weigh motorhomes and caravans regularly, particularly in summer season leisure vehicle checks where we would escort vehicles to checkpoints for full document and safety checks, together with VOSA (now DVSA) examiners and representatives of the caravan clubs and other organisations on hand. As far as I'm aware, these checks still happen. It may be that you were stopped for a speculative check and the officer had no concerns about your weight judging from the appearance of your vehicle. Had your suspension been obviously compressed and tyres bulging unduly he or she might well have taken a different approach. Drivers of motorhomes cannot be issued fixed penalty notices (or prosecuted) for specific weight offences under Construction and Use regulations, as they apply only to goods and dual purpose vehicles. Instead, as with overloaded passenger cars, we would deal with them as offences of using a vehicle in a dangerous condition because the legal design weights had been exceeded by specific margins, and we could if necessary also prohibit them from being driven any further for the same reason. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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