3.5 Tonne ....

[Alicia]

We are looking at buying an Auto Trail Imala. Its MAM is 3.5 tonne. I don't have a C1 on my driving licence. Does that mean I can only drive up to 3.499 tonne or can I drive with that extra 1kg without a C1? All help appreciated as this is a dealbreaker for us :-(

 

[Eggs]

We are looking at buying an Auto Trail Imala. Its MAM is 3.5 tonne. I don't have a C1 on my driving licence. Does that mean I can only drive up to 3.499 tonne or can I drive with that extra 1kg without a C1? All help appreciated as this is a dealbreaker for us :-(

You can drive it on your license.

 

[tonka]

You can drive up and including 3500kg so yes your allowed.

 

[houdini]

Just wanted to say there aren’t many places where you could get an answer that fast!
Well done MotorhomeFun!

 

[David and Sally]

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[Alicia]

You are all awesome!! You'll be seeing a lot more of me as I venture into this new world. Have a great Sunday - I'm off to buy a motorhome!!

 

[peterc10]

Just one important question. What is the payload? That is the difference between the 3500kg and the weight it is empty. You will need at least 450kg for two of you, and more if you have more than 2 people in it. So get the dealer to weigh it on a weighbridge before parting with any money.

 

[cyberyacht]

You may struggle a bit with an Imala at 3.5T. Not a massive amount of payload IIRC

 

[nicholsong]

Just one important question. What is the payload? That is the difference between the 3500kg and the weight it is empty. You will need at least 450kg for two of you, and more if you have more than 2 people in it. So get the dealer to weigh it on a weighbridge before parting with any money.

And be there when it is weighed to see how much water, fuel and people are inside or you could get a false impression.

Geoff

 

[James-Alex]

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[two]

Try not to leat your heart rule your mind.
It's good to be aware of vehicle weight, but payload is the most important factor with a vehicle coming in at 3.5t.
Whilst your licence may allow you to drive it (empty) you may become overloaded before you set out.
You won't be alone, however. Many travel around ignorant of their actual payload or without fear of being found out.

 

[gus-lopez]

 

[namwaldog]

We visited a dealership a couple of years ago where they had a "New" registered PVC for sale.

The salesmen told us that a couple had ordered the van new, along with several factory fitted extras and one of the questions that had arisen was weight. They decided that they would stay under 3.5t because of their licences.

New van eventually arrived at dealership, handover went smoothly but the lady was obviously still a little nervous about her licence to drive such a "big" vehicle.

Salesman offered to show her on the licence that she was OK so both his and her licence were produced for inspection.

Salesman looked at them both, swallowed hard and pointed out that they were both licenced for automatics only and they had ordered a manual gearbox MH.

 

[davidbaldam]

Hi and welcome to FUN.

 

[Bessy765]

Water weighs around 1 kg a litre, (80kg) diesel around 0.83 average Fiat van holds around 90 litres diesel (75kg) plus the toilet tank.
Get the dealer to weigh it whilst you are there make sure you can carry what you need. If not new any extras the previous owner may have added will affect you payload. Check when being weighed if it has gas bottles on board and wether they are full. It all counts. We bought a new Elddis Aspire 255 in 2012 it only had 270 kg payload.

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[Eggs]

We visited a dealership a couple of years ago where they had a "New" registered PVC for sale.

The salesmen told us that a couple had ordered the van new, along with several factory fitted extras and one of the questions that had arisen was weight. They decided that they would stay under 3.5t because of their licences.

New van eventually arrived at dealership, handover went smoothly but the lady was obviously still a little nervous about her licence to drive such a "big" vehicle.

Salesman offered to show her on the licence that she was OK so both his and her licence were produced for inspection.

Salesman looked at them both, swallowed hard and pointed out that they were both licenced for automatics only and they had ordered a manual gearbox MH.

No use knocking if no one is home, as me old man used to say.

 

[Rosemary1]

Just one important question. What is the payload? That is the difference between the 3500kg and the weight it is empty. You will need at least 450kg for two of you, and more if you have more than 2 people in it. So get the dealer to weigh it on a weighbridge before parting with any money.

So so important the payload. We knew nothing about it with our first motorhome and probably spent a couple of years driving round overweight! It amazes me how little that the motorhome dealers/manufacturers mention this!