Motorhome to carry motorcycls and heavier junk etc (1 Viewer)

[Hawcara]

We are now looking for our first motorhome, intend to purchase next year.
However, we want to carry a small motorcycle and have gained a great deal from this site so far.
I do find it very surprising that manufacturers are not considering this segment of the market, that is those people who want to carry more stuff and are concerned about weight restrictions. Tag axles can pose problems for storage and can be rather large.
Why is it that manufacturers do not offer twin wheel combinations on the rear axle?
The only one is Rollerteam, unless others have suggestions.

 

[gazz]

in europe there are big restrictions when you go over 3.5 tons, same over here but not as bad, lower speed limits, restrictions of some roads you can go down, and the biggest one, the need to take another driving test if you passed your car test after the time (mid 90's i believe) they removed the automatic 7.5 ton catagory when you turned 18.

at 3.5 tons you can get away with single rear wheels,

i have a self build iveco turbodaily coachbuilt, i spent ages looking for a single rear wheeler, as i didnt want the larger intrusion into the living area the twin rear wheelers wheel arches have, also didnt want to have to buy 7 tyres every 6 or 7 years, 5 was gonna cost me enough.

so i found my single rear wheel iveco after months of searching, got the body built, added the interior, then added the luxuary items,
when i had a scooter on a rack on the back, i was at 3.45 tons ready to roll (thats with full water and fuel tanks, clothes, food, me, my GF, the dog and the rats in the van, if i picked up a fat hitchiker i'd be overloaded

then i wanted to add things like a washing machine, wet central heating running off an eberspacher with it's own 50 litre tank so i could run it on red diesel, 6 batteries that weigh over 30 kilos each and so on, and i had to increase the chassis weight.

the good news for me was i'd chose the right van, as iveco use the same chassis from the little 2.8 tonner to the 6 tonner versions, just suspension changes, i.e. larger torsion bars in the front and heavier springs at the rear,

the bad news was 3.5 tons was the max for single rear wheels on this chassis, next step up is 4 tons, and that had to be twin rear wheels,
so i went for a 1 ton increase, and changed the back axle for a twin rear wheeler,

thing is i've added so much cra... erm, luxuaries, that im at about 4.3 tons now, but i've decided to stop adding such heavy items, can't go through the hassle of uprating it again.

anyhoo, basicaly the makers want to sell to the greatest market, which will be more and more people with a 3.5 ton licence,

if you have your 7.5 ton licence, then there are a few european motorhomes based on truck chassis, but bear in mind some campsites may get rsy when you turn up with a longer and wider than 'the norm' vehicle.

 

[Pat4Neil]

The iveco Chassis is agood choice.

It was used on several motorhomes.

I have a laika built on an iveco twin wheel chassis. It is plated to 4200 kg but enquiries have revealed that the cahsis was originally intended for a 7.5 t iveco tipper truck, so i could in theory have it uprated..

We carry a 300cc Honda scooter on the back with no problems.

The suspension has 6 leaf springs on each side and when i load the scooter the rear of the vehicle drops by only about 5mm.

good luck

Neil

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[JeanLuc]

If you want to buy a new van, I agree that there seems to be limited choice. So many are made on Fiat Ducato chassis - presumably because they are relatively cheaper?
Previously, there was a much wider choice. Some vans built on Ford, Mercedes, or Iveco chassis were available with twin rear wheel options. Why not look for one of those; a good quality second-hand van represents better value for money than a 'so-so' new one in my view.
The predilection for 3.5 tonne vans on the continent (and increasingly in the UK) has already been explained, but if you choose one with the right chassis it can always be re-plated.
In the case of earlier Mercedes bases, anything on a 413/416 Sprinter chassis will be capable of a Max Authorised Mass of 4.6 tonnes.

One other point to watch out for; despite the carrying capacity of the chassis, there is usually a limit on the weight that can be carried by any rear chassis extensions that support the back of the bodywork. Since most vans seem to use chassis extensions, this often sets the limit on what the garage, or an external rack, can carry.

Philip

 

[Hawcara]

Thank you all for your help.
I will keep the grey cell ticking over.
Might look at Eze tow if all else fails. The 300cc scooter on Iveco sounds good though.
Happy Easter