Up grading the chassis weight on a Rapido help please (1 Viewer)

[Lanerboy]

Hi All

I have done a search but cant really find the answers to my question so thought I would ask again(sorry I know it will have been done to death on here before)

I have just weighed my Rapido 7065ff with not a lot of stuff inside and it was 3620kg and my max is 3700kg so I dont have much spare left

Can anyone tell me how I increase the max gross weight for the chassis

Does anyone know what the max gross weight would be I can go to on my vehicle or who can tell me

Also what is a rough cost to up rate it

Many Thanks

LB

 

[icantremember]

We had our moho uprated by John Ruffles at ....
J.R Consultancy

• Tel: 01359 250808

Laurel House, Bardwell, Bury St. Edmunds, Suffolk, IP31 1AA

Give him a call, he is very helpful, fast and reasonable.

 

[suavecarve]

Currently going through the above doing the same with my rollerteam 690.

He needs a copy of (photo will do i think) of your vin plate and page 2 of your V5.

I have added up the potential of my vin which gives my 2 axles as together as 4,100 kgs. I think this means i can upload to 3,950 but am waiting for confirmation and cost.

His email is the rather uninspiring truckcon@outlook.com !

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[Bill_OR]

I used SVTech - if you complete their online enquiry form with all the technical details required then they will email you back with your options at no charge.
See http://www.svtech.co.uk/
I used them when I uprated my A-T Apache 634 from 3650 to 3850 by adding air suspension and higher load rated tyres.

 

[Minxy]

Currently going through the above doing the same with my rollerteam 690.

....

John's email is the rather uninspiring truckcon@outlook.com !

I think that's because his original email got hacked and he had to use one he already had which relates to his other work.

He's about £142, less than half the cost of SVTech.

 

[Lorryman100]

If money is no object and you want it done next day, go through svtech, very painless when we upped our Rapido. They suggested air assist suspension and higher load tyres if I wanted to uprate the rear axle to 2240kgs at a later date, which I did and they supplied the new plate and paperwork free of charge.

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[Lorryman100]

Also you will need to find out what chassis you have, alko or base vehicle manufactured light or heavy chassis. Our Rapido is a A class on a Fiat light chassis meaning maximum weight is 3850kgs

 

[Minxy]

Also you will need to find out what chassis you have, alko or base vehicle manufactured light or heavy chassis. Our Rapido is a A class on a Fiat light chassis meaning maximum weight is 3850kgs

I suspect the OPs is on the 3850kg light alko chassis so probably can't go above that.

 

[Lanerboy]

yes I think your right its the light chassis so what would I need to do just to gain 150kg is it just paperwork or some modifications, I have already fitted larger 16 wheels and tyres so would anything else need doing ???

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[Bill_OR]

I suspect that it's the load rating of the tyres that is relevant. To get from 3650 to 3850 on my A-T (which has the Fiat light chassis) I had to add air suspension and higher load rating tyres. As I said earlier, just complete SVTech's form and they will tell you your options for free!

 

[Zigisla]

I tried to find out which chassis I had so thought Fiat would be the best option. How wrong could I have been. They can tell me my engine and that I have a long chassis but not if it is light / heavy / maxi. After all they only supplied it The manual only states Chassis is of a ladder type. Again not that helpful to me. Is there a way of a quick check?

 

[martin2603]

Look underneath, Alko is as the term suggests galvanised and silver, standard ladder chassis is probably box section steel white in colour.
If it has a Alko chassis it should state this on the Plate under the bonnet, with the axle weights. and possible max axle weights.

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[Lorryman100]

The Rapido and Fiat plate under the bonnet will give you the maximum chassis weight, add weights 1 & 2 together. On ours that gives a maximum plated weight of 3850Kgs. I further up plated the rear axle to 2240kgs by having air assist fitted and higher load rated tyres though the maximum weight still remains at 3850 Kgs.

 

[Minxy]

yes I think your right its the light chassis so what would I need to do just to gain 150kg is it just paperwork or some modifications, I have already fitted larger 16 wheels and tyres so would anything else need doing ???

Contact details are on the below thread post #14 along with links to other posts about uprating:

http://www.motorhomefun.co.uk/forum...ating-our-rapido-a-class.130317/#post-1855686

 

[PeteH]

Have a Look at:-

http://www.al-ko.co.uk/edit/files/downloads/al-ko-amc-commercial-brochure-2010.pdf

Page 12 is what you want. The significant factor is the L (Light) or H (Heavy) suffix;

If like most (inc Mine) it is L then the maximum is 3850kg

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[Lanerboy]

Yes have been given those details by Bill above but thank you, I have emailed John with pics of my chassis plate so will wait for his reply and see what he says.

Just out of interest how long does the whole process take

Cheers

LB

 

[Lanerboy]

Have a Look at:-

http://www.al-ko.co.uk/edit/files/downloads/al-ko-amc-commercial-brochure-2010.pdf

Page 12 is what you want. The significant factor is the L (Light) or H (Heavy) suffix;

If like most (inc Mine) it is L then the maximum is 3850kg

Thats great just looked and my chassis is a AMC37L so its the light chassis as I thought so 3850kg is my limit

Seems a lot of agro and expense for 150k but I have no choice as I am so close with nothing even in there hardly

 

[138go]

yes I think your right its the light chassis so what would I need to do just to gain 150kg is it just paperwork or some modifications, I have already fitted larger 16 wheels and tyres so would anything else need doing ???

Fitting larger wheels makes the speedo wrong. The circumference of the wheel is bigger so speedo will show under. It will also alter the gearing as the final drive for 16" wheels is different to 15" wheels. Changing the wheels does not really help. Changing the tyres does. You also have to remember you are restricted to 2000kg axle load.

Spec says it is 3220kg so you have about 400kg to play with which is not a lot. It weighs same as our Liaka 712 and thats plated at 4250kg

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[Wagoneer]

Hi All

I have just weighed my Rapido 7065ff with not a lot of stuff inside and it was 3620kg and my max is 3700kg so I dont have much spare left

LB

Have you weighed both axles? You might find you are already overweight on the rear axle.

 

[Minxy]

Depending on how busy John is it can take up to 2 weeks for him to get it sorted at his end, although I believe he's quicker now that when he first started doing it, its the DVLA that can be the pain in the bum ... some people get it back quickly, for others it can take ages!

 

[Minxy]

Have you weighed both axles? You might find you are already overweight on the rear axle.

Good point, I naturally assume the OP had the individual axle weights to check if there was sufficient capacity on the rear ... @Lanerboy ... what were your individual axle weights when you had it weighed?

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[Lanerboy]

I have not weighed the axles separately I just have the gross weight, not sure where I can get the axles weighed individually I will have to look into it.

 

[Lanerboy]

Fitting larger wheels makes the speedo wrong. The circumference of the wheel is bigger so speedo will show under. It will also alter the gearing as the final drive for 16" wheels is different to 15" wheels. Changing the wheels does not really help. Changing the tyres does.

I am not so sure as when I had 15 inch wheels on my speedo was reading 60mph but I was really struggling to pass hgv vehicle that were doing 56mph

I have checked my speed now with the 16 inch wheels against a gps and at 65mph there is 1mph difference and it drives much better with 16 inch wheels the difference is very noticeable, mine is the auto gearbox and everything seems fine so i'm not worried about this at all

I'm not saying your wrong I just think its better with the 16 inch wheels without a doubt

 

[Minxy]

I have not weighed the axles separately I just have the gross weight, not sure where I can get the axles weighed individually I will have to look into it.

Ah, in that case don't do anything about uprating until you know the weights of each axle ... google for 'public weigh bridges' in your area, some you can use for free (eg at our local docks we are allowed to use theirs) and some you may have to pay a small amount to do so, but it is imperative that you have these weights to see if uprating will allow you to have the extra payload where you want it.

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[Lanerboy]

Spec says it is 3220kg so you have about 400kg to play with which is not a lot. It weighs same as our Liaka 712 and thats plated at 4250kg

Yes your possibly right I am not sure but me and the wife weigh 160kg so that leaves us 240kg then the spare wheel is about 40kg and the self levelling suspension is kit is 55kg so that leaves me 145kg which is really poor

 

[PeteH]

Which was the thought I had when I posted this:-

http://www.motorhomefun.co.uk/forum...its-what-is-your-opinion.148724/#post-2257627

 

[Minxy]

Yes your possibly right I am not sure but me and the wife weigh 160kg so that leaves us 240kg then the spare wheel is about 40kg and the self levelling suspension is kit is 55kg so that leaves me 145kg which is really poor

Just to mention that the suspension kit isn't 'self-levelling' as in press a button and it does it itself, you still have to set the level yourself. You could of course ditch the spare wheel and use 'gunk' instead, or do what some others do and just take a tyre rather than the whole wheel but it's not ideal.

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[Wagoneer]

The OP has obviously been to a weighbridge before to obtain the gross weight, presumably?

When the OP returns to the weighbridge just run the front axle on and get that weighed. Drive across the weighbridge and with the front axle off the weighbridge get the rear axle weighed. Preferably take the passenger with you and a full tank of fresh water and full fuel tank. At least that should give you a good benchmark for considering upgrade options.

 

[Lanerboy]

Just to mention that the suspension kit isn't 'self-levelling' as in press a button and it does it itself, you still have to set the level yourself. You could

Just to mention that the suspension kit isn't 'self-levelling' as in press a button and it does it itself, you still have to set the level yourself. You could of course ditch the spare wheel and use 'gunk' instead, or do what some others do and just take a tyre rather than the whole wheel but it's not ideal.

Sorry what I mean regards the self levelling kit is the full kit with 4 hydraulic rams I am having fitted next week at Conrad Anderson in Birmingham

I might ditch the spare wheel though and just blag it I have pump and gunk

Also just realised when I was weighed on Sat I had 1/4 tank of fuel and no water food etc on board I did have the wife though so she may have to go LOL

 

[Wagoneer]

The self leveling kit will reduce your available payload - do you really need it?

Self leveling kit is good for those with plenty of payload and money to burn. Just saying !!!

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