meet lily and hel on correct weight needed (1 Viewer)

[eleanor rigby]

Hi

Really excited, picked up new to us van last night.

She is a Hymer b674, was imported from Germany a few months back. Seems really nice.

Got all the manuals but as most are in German I think I am going to have lots of questions.

Went online and taxed her, she was on sorn, plg as per my portion of the registration docs.

However the plate on the side says 3900kg, and official looking stamped German documents say 3900kg also.

So any advice please, we intend to tour for a year or 2 so probably could do with extra capacity. My licence covers me to drive up to 7500kg.

Really don't want to be breaking any rules.

Andrew

 

[StitchesnFluff]

Max 3850

 

[JeanLuc]

You are correct about the weight. The plated GVW is 3,900 kg and therefore it should be registered and taxed as a Private Heavy Goods (PHGV) costing £165 p.a. This assumes that someone has not down-plated it to 3,500 kg and failed to put a new plate over the Hymer one fitted at the factory. Have you checked under the bonnet for a new plate? There may be a Fiat plate there also, but this should relate to the base vehicle before Hymer converted it. Look for any other plates that might have been fitted. Once you are certain that there is no sign of down-plating, I think a conversation with DVLA is required but have no experience of that - several other Funsters have been through the hoop though.

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[jonandshell]

Max 3850

Sorry, but how did you deduce that?
The MAM is clearly 3900kg, 1800 on the front, 2200 rear, max train weight 5500kg.

Private HGV VED. Class C1 license required.

 

[irnbru]

Remember single carriageway speed will be 50 and not 60.

 

[eleanor rigby]

Thanks so far. Got the c1 licence. Can't see any plates in engine bay showing 3500kg. The last official looking German document DEKRA was issued July 2015 and says 3900kg.I have taxed it as plg so that I can use the van. The registration docs have been sent to dvla so I suppose it would be best to call them on Monday unless someone can advise further

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[jonandshell]

View attachment 101543 Remember single carriageway speed will be 50 and not 60.

Only if over 3050kg UNLADEN, which it probably is!
And also 60 mph on dual carriageways if that is the case,

 

[JeanLuc]

I would not be concerned about lower speed limits - maximum payload is far more important. In practice, it is almost impossible to find out the unladen weight and the UK motor caravan regulation concerning ULW of 3,050 kg is ludicrous anyway. The UK should adopt the same system as the rest of Europe and specify limits according to MAM/GVW since that is the condition in which a motorhome is most likely to be driven. I pointed this out to the DfT in response to a consultation some years ago. Their response was that I made a good point and they would look into it - they're still looking!

Rant over and back to the plot - I would chase DVLA quickly and try to ensure they do not have your new Hymer listed as PLG.

 

[scotjimland]

Also have a Hymer .. B644 2001 model.. also imported second hand from Germany

it's 4,000kg MAM.. these are the plates to look for and what you should have in the registration paper

as you can see all are 4,000 kg MAM

Log book

Under the bonnet Chassis plate

Fiat plate

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[Lenny HB]

From your plate it looks like you could re-plate to 4050kg but you will probably be limited by rear axle loading which is where you will need the increase. Depending on the chassis to increase rear axle loading you may just need to fit wider higher load rated tyres or may need air suspension as well.
No point in increasing the gross weight if your only gain on capacity is at the front end

 

[eleanor rigby]

Well it's taken some time but after sending copies of the German test certificates, photos of the hymer plate and the fiat engine plate. Today I received a registration certificate showing a revenue weight of 3900kg and a class of private hgv. Dvla raised no queries with me or the guy that imported it but it still took 2 months to issue.

I paid the road tax based on plg and presume will get a refund of the difference between the two classes.

Relieved as hate dealing with beaurocracy

 

[pappajohn]

You'll be pleased you had it updated back to 3900kg.
As it had been downgraded to just 3500kg you had 'lost' 400 kg of payload and would most likely be overweight with a passenger, fuel and some water on board.

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