DVSA targeting campers this weekend,

People think motorhomes payload are terrible.

My last caravan I uprated by 50kg and it still only had 210KG.

The second battery had to be removable and come in the car.
 
I think it’s about time that some interest was taken in seeing exactly how good or bad things are as there are already clearly too many vehicles that are not maintained to a minimal standard.
Its very common to see cars with lights out and quite a few that smoke like a chimney as the MOT appears for some to be the only time anything gets put right.
To hitch up something that hasn’t been on the road for a year without knowing it’s fit for purpose is putting everyone else in harms way.
Also looking at the discussions regarding licensing there is now a lot of searching for a combination under 3500kg that can result in the caravan being heavier than the car or the other camp that don’t understand the rules so are towing without a licence.
Its all a minefield that needs some clarity to align the rules with safety as the current system is too complicated and creates potentially unsafe outfits on the road.
 
You can bet your life that they will be stopping motorcaravans as well
 
Please remember that you are obliged to stop or follow as directed a DVSA vehicle, they will most probably direct you to an official inspection site and weigh bridge.
Although little known is the existence of under surface axle weighing coils. These at present are not used to enforce, however they trigger the attention of the stopping vehicle.
A few categories of vehicles are prime targets for axle over loads, Motorhomes are but one class.
The stopping officers are authorised by Chief constable s and carry a warrant.
Life has changed in the enforcement world, mostly intelligence led, the weigh coils are but one tool!

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We were stopped, and checked, a few years ago on the A38.

The staff were friendly and courteous and we were underweight in a three month old motorhome so all was OK.

It was only that evening when, on going for a walk and setting the alarm, all he’ll broke loose. Investigation showed that when they had closed the bonnet they had broken the alarm microswitch. Any time the alarm was engaged it would activate the siren.

Being booked on the ferry from Plymouth the next day it was a frantic scramble to find and fit a replacement, in a town we didn’t know.
 
From that Mail link:

"Volkswagen Financial Services say Volkswagen California finance agreements have increased by 621% in the first quarter of 2021 compared to the same period in 2020 as demand for campers booms in Britain"

Blimey. That's a lot of very, very, long and very expensive finance deals. Even 10 years, some of them. Madness.

Anyway, I'm staying put over the bank holiday. No desire whatsoever to sit in a traffic jam. Let the DVSA go after the 17% of unsafe caravans.
 
SpeedyDux said:
Blimey. That's a lot of very, very, long and very expensive finance deals. Even 10 years, some of them. Madness.
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Probably be a lot of cheap repros up for sale in a couple of years.
Call us old fashion, we save up until we can afford something. Our daughter needs a bigger car now she has two little ones, no way will she borrow money for it.
 
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When I was doing breakdown work we used to dread Easter weekend when the caravans and trailers were dragged out for the first time after being stood over winter.
Amongst some horrors I saw was a trailer tent with shredded tyres. One puncture was understandable so further checks were needed. The owner had put a huge battery in it. Along with the rest of the camping gear the suspension had collapsed causing the tyres to rub on the body.
A caravan with the chassis snapped at the front causing it to become detached from the car.
Separate registration, testing and insurance are a long way off but it would make it safer for the us all on the road.

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Lenny HB said:
Probably be a lot of cheap repros up for sale in a couple of years.
Call us old fashion, we save up until we can afford something. Our daughter needs a bigger car now she has two little one, no way will she borrow money for it.
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I am amazed at people bragging how much PPI they have had refunded. We've had some strange looks when we said £1.74, not sure how that came about as we only had the Debenhams card for the discount, cleared balance the first month and never used it again
 
It’s an annual check.....done it for a number of years. Individual police forces usually do it as well as part of a coordinated/joint approach. Mainly aimed at caravans but with the increase in volume for trailers/motorhomes, I would imagine all will be fair game!
 
jongood said:
Ive never understood why caravans and car trailers arent required to have an MOT, even if it just said the tyres are not rotten and the lights actually work.
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It may be because, unlike some countries, caravans do not have their own registration, so there is no computer record to which to atttach an MOT record, so could only be policed by stopping them for a paper MOT check, and they could not be checked if parked on the road with no tow vehicle and driver.

Geoff

P.S. Do 5th-wheelers have MOT?
 
Unfortunately there are a lot of people that only tow their caravan for a few weeks a year and then leave them untouched till the next year. Few if any checks are done and then they wonder why one of the wheels fall of whilst towing it (happened to a friend of mine after he took his caravan away for a weekend last year for the first time since not using it). Luckily no one was hurt but i am sure that was more luck than anything else. How many times have you seen a car towing a caravan in lane 3 of the motorway? then when they do pull into the middle lane its a really young driver who i am pretty sure does not even know they are doing wrong (hopefully they will check for this as well). I am all for the checks and i think they should be all year round not just in the summer. It would be a safer place if they could check all year long.
 
On Tuesday while on the A329M we saw a caravan which had lost a wheel and was on the hard shoulder, there was a clear white drag line where they'd dragged along the carriageway and across the on slip road to get the hard shoulder just where it opens up (no hard shoulder before the on slip).

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I am a bit confused.
What is a Campervan?
What is a Motorcaravan?
What is a Motorhome?

My v5 states I have a Motorcaravan but I have always called it a motorhome.
Is it just a set of generalised terms?
 
jongood said:
Ive never understood why caravans and car trailers arent required to have an MOT, even if it just said the tyres are not rotten and the lights actually work.
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Heavy recovery trucks are also except from mot and they could be pulling 44 tonnes along
 
Articulated trailers in the UK are tested and a copy of their certificate is attached to its chassis. Each trailer has a unique serial number and, if stopped, the serial number is checked against the certificate. So no reason why other trailers (including caravans) can't go through a similar regime, as they also have some form of unique serial number. Okay, the feds won't know if the trailer (caravan) has been tested or not unless they pull it over, but then there will always be a risk of that happening and the driver getting a hefty fine.

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I have seen some truly disgraceful recovery trucks still on the road. Like the coblers wife, the vehicles owned or leased by recovery firms are often less well maintained than the vehicles they are sent out to fix or recover.

Saw one with the suspension so knackered that it dragged the end of the bed on the road with a car loaded. And the driver was trying to hitch a caravan behind too. Second recovery called was a small van, barely able to tow anything. But they got away with it and straight on to the next job
 
No reason not to test caravans and have a security sticker to show when last tested. Different colour each year like the old tax discs. But the sticker designed to fall apart if you try to remove it. Then cant be stolen and used on another untested trailer
 
jongood said:
Ive never understood why caravans and car trailers arent required to have an MOT, even if it just said the tyres are not rotten and the lights actually work.
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It’s good practice to have your trailer checked annually.
 
Recovery trucks and many other vehicles that were exempt from testing are no longer exempt, since 2018.
Google will find the relevent info, can' t copy the link
 

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