overweight fines (1 Viewer)

pappajohn

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Aug 26, 2007
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reading this months MMM and came across this......


an overloaded vehicle can be fined as follows.....

up to 10% overweight = £60

10% up to, but not including 15% =£120

15% and over = £200

over 30% = court summons.....courts can impose a fine of up to £5000 PER AXLE. Tag axles beware !

no mention of penalty points but its not the end of the world if your just a bit over.
invalid insurance should be more of a concern
 

lebesset

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May 31, 2009
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similar idea in france , but there the roof starts to fall in at 5% over

and , according to french websites , the gendarmerie have been instructed to tighten up on this .....almost no-one has a licence to drive a more than 3.5 tonne vehicle , and the number of overweight vehicles has become a scandal [ and in uk from what I hear ]

in order to help , the government has re-introduced grandfather rights for over 3.5 tonnes ...FOR MOTORHOMES ONLY ...but this means people who held a licence before 1975 when driving licences were changed to 3.5 tonnes, so the number of people with this is getting smaller all the time

however , even with this concession there is a big problem ; although many motorhomes can be easily upgraded to 3.85 or similar , it costs a small fortune to do so ....insurance zooms , motorway tolls also ; speed limits drop to the same as trucks , stickers all over the back [ for foreign vehicles as well apparently ]

if you are travelling through france , be warned , it's becoming flavour of the month ; don't forget the gendarmerie are not only ALLOWED to make random checks , they are INSTRUCTED to do so

so the majority of people seem to be taking the decision to overload , but only up to 5% ; to simplify , in french law this is a minor offence , on the spot fine ; more than that and the wheels of the law start to grind exceeding small !
 

dazzer

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Jul 30, 2007
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Guess plod will be very keen on this type of thing, zero effort on their behalf, huge contributions to the treasury and with 80% of motorhomes being overloading in 1 way or another its just a real easy way of boosting the "crimes detected" figures.

All you Eurovan owner be careful.:cry::Angry:

RV owners.....just carry on, youve got another 1/2 ton of spare capacity even with the 2 scooters in the garage, enough food to feed an army and enough water in the tanks to fill an Olympic swimming pool :thumb::winky:

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scotjimland

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Jul 25, 2007
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Mmmm!!!! no listed price = bloody expensive. :Angry:

Most probably John, but there is a big potential market .. and I bet plenty would be interested if it were at a reasonable cost ..

now there's an idea to take to the Dragons :thumb:

perhaps one day it will be an option on a new MH.

or even made mandatory ..


jim
 
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vwalan

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Sep 23, 2008
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the down side is after you have fitted them and got them working .weigh the camper and find out you may have lost 5-10 kg of payload due to the weight of them .oh i forgot the payload is the same because they took 5kg of cash off you ,ha ha

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scotjimland

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Jul 25, 2007
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the down side is after you have fitted them and got them working .weigh the camper and find out you may have lost 5-10 kg of payload due to the weight of them .oh i forgot the payload is the same because they took 5kg of cash off you ,ha ha

no need to weigh 5 - 10kg.. Alan, modern load cells are very compact and could be integrated into the CAN bus system .. further reducing costs ..

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jim
 
Dec 29, 2007
293
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Looks good, I would be very interested if it was reasonably priced.

Looks like I had better go to the weighbridge before next trip abroad.
 

barryd

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Feb 10, 2009
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Dont worry about driving overweight in France. Its easy, just drive between 2pm and 5pm because as everyone knows for some reason everyone in France seems to mysteriously disappear around these times. In three months in and out of France this summer we saw two road side checks. One by a lake in Burgandy where they were breath testing the odd motorist in the mid afternoon and one in Finistaire where they stopped us on the bike and for once we had the upper hand with the French not being able to speak English. I could have handed him my P45 and he wouldnt have known what it was! Apart from that never seen a Gendarme anywhere.

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vwalan

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Sep 23, 2008
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if most of you called into a weigh bridge when you see one i think you could be suprised how much your vehicle weighs .there are hundreds of them throughout the country . do it .it may cost about 3 quid sometimes just a can of beer if you dont want a ticket. its not to frighten you but to make you aware of how easy it is to overload. dont forget to add the weight of passengers if not on board.
think what else you normally take with you try and guess the weight then load it and do it again . its quite interesting how far you will be out.
 

barryd

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Feb 10, 2009
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Or you could just drive over the swiss border and get weighed for free. Its great cos they give you a print out, look disgruntled as they cant beleive your under 3500KG in a 7.5 metre van with a motorbike on the back. Everytime we crossed over we got pulled.

We got weighed with everything in before our trip and we were about 90kg under but 20KG over on the back axle. Easy to shift stuff around but the back axle is always going to be around the limit.
 

patr

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Jul 1, 2008
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Dave Newell has an axle weighing scale on his website

Dave Newell - Motorhome, Habitation, Servicing, Cruise Control, Camos Domes, Satelite Tv, Reversing Cameras

click on 'mail order' and scroll down the page to the picture of a digital scale that you drive on.


"Avoid getting caught overloaded with this very reasonably priced device, it can weigh upto 1000kg per wheel. Very simple to us device just weigh each wheel individually and this device can give you your total weight.

£127.50 inc VAT plus P&P"

Absolutely no idea of accuracy but it seems a clever idea and is probably a lot cheaper than the built in sensor type.

Has any one got this device, and if so, how do you find it?

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OP
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pappajohn

pappajohn

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Is yours a super duper Kontiki axle Pusser as Im sure mines only 1750KG and I think its the same van. I Could be wrong of course, it has been known.

BD

no...i'm wrong.

3850kg gross

1850kg front

2120kg rear

5500kg train

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barryd

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Feb 10, 2009
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3850kg gross

Ah so you have had it replated. I thought about that but as its on the limit and we are not quite over I didnt bother. Did you upgrade the van or just do the paperwork? Just out of interest.

BD

Just realised I called you Pusser! Oh dear, sorry, another forum, another life!
 
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pappajohn

pappajohn

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Ah so you have had it replated. I thought about that but as its on the limit and we are not quite over I didnt bother. Did you upgrade the van or just do the paperwork? Just out of interest.

BD

its built on an Alko 3850kg chassis so been that weight since converted.


was confused over the 'pusser' bit...thought for a minute swift had produced a 'pusher' model:ROFLMAO:
 
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bobandjanie

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Apr 28, 2008
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Hi, when you weigh your vans, make sure you do the axles, they are hot on that.:Doh: When I had the Lorry I had a few fines for weight, and one of them I was only 42t,:cry: 2t under the gross but over on one axle, and if they stop you over weight, you cant go anywhere till it's put right.:cry: Bob.

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Oct 14, 2007
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Hi, when you weigh your vans, make sure you do the axles, they are hot on that.:Doh: When I had the Lorry I had a few fines for weight, and one of them I was only 42t,:cry: 2t under the gross but over on one axle, and if they stop you over weight, you cant go anywhere till it's put right.:cry: Bob.

Bloody el Bob 42T, now I understand why Janes has got you on sausages and salad :ROFLMAO:
 

lebesset

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May 31, 2009
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well , having been in france since the 80's I can assure you that the gendarmes like to go out and stop a few vehicles just after the traditional french lunch break of 12 -2

so if you like being breathylised , 2-3 pm is an excellent time to be on the road

on the other hand the spanish lunch time of 2 pm works extremely well , 2 hours of light traffic before lunch suits me just fine
 

vwalan

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Sep 23, 2008
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my pethate is overloading . i have become really obsessed with it. i was an innocent driver involved in a fatal accident .i was helicopter lifted away .the road was blocked for 11hours . vehicles recovered and put in a special yard .nothing could be removed or anyone get to the vehicles for almost aweek. i was ok just dislocated shoulder .
vosa went through all the cars and the truck i was driving like a dose of salts. i saw the reports it was a real eye opener. i was empty at the time . in a tanker.i,m glad i wasnt over loaded. the inspection done on all of the vehicles made me sure that if you drive overloaded and anything happens . you are in trouble deep trouble .
as a regular visitor to vosa stations and chatting to the examiners i can only say dont overload. they know campers run to a fine line and go out to see who can get the most.
i know i go on but hopefully its to save your licence and purse. cheers alan.

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sersol

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Oct 18, 2007
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Guess plod will be very keen on this type of thing, zero effort on their behalf, huge contributions to the treasury and with 80% of motorhomes being overloading in 1 way or another its just a real easy way of boosting the "crimes detected" figures.

All you Eurovan owner be careful.:cry::Angry:

RV owners.....just carry on, youve got another 1/2 ton of spare capacity even with the 2 scooters in the garage, enough food to feed an army and enough water in the tanks to fill an Olympic swimming pool :thumb::winky:

Change the record Dazzer, at least some people still have thier vans and are using them :winky:
 

derekfaeberwick

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Change the record Dazzer, at least some people still have thier vans and are using them :winky:

:ROFLMAO::ROFLMAO:
IMG_1195-1-1.jpg
:ROFLMAO::ROFLMAO:

My baby.:ROFLMAO::ROFLMAO:
 

lebesset

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May 31, 2009
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been trying to work out what a pethate is , alan

finally the penny dropped :Sad:

been talking about HC gasses too much lately is my excuse ...well , it does rather sound like one , does it not?

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lebesset

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May 31, 2009
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don't quite understand the comment about half a ton in an RV

having lived in the usa for a bit I know that a RV is either
an A class motorhome
a B class motorhome
a C class motorhome
a caravan
or a toyhauler

well , we all have one of these ..actually I have had each of them except a toyhauler ...and the carrying capacities varied dramatically

am I missing something here ?
 

vwalan

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Sep 23, 2008
8,835
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i think you are reading my mistake .i missed the last zeros off in my calculations and made a bad mistake, i still think you need atleast half a ton for each passenger . i include pots pans you name it you need it.i need lots of spare wt i pickup allsorts on my travels m,bikes engines etc.
i,m wrong again i ,m thinking of a dfferent forum .i must wake up.
 
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JockandRita

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i think you are reading my mistake .i missed the last zeros off in my calculations and made a bad mistake, i still think you need atleast half a ton for each passenger . i include pots pans you name it you need it.i need lots of spare wt i pickup allsorts on my travels m,bikes engines etc.
i,m wrong again i ,m thinking of a dfferent forum .i must wake up.
No disrespect Alan, but compared to your post at 21.53 yesterday, I think that you are on something that we'd all like to have a try at. :roflmto:

And for Dazzer, here's "our baby"!
It's used all year round, and suitably insulated for UK, European, and Baltic weathers, ie, not built as a "summer house". :thumb::thumb::thumb:

Regards,

Jock

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