New van weight upgrade (1 Viewer)

[Jamwitt]

Hi got a new benimar on order and it's 3500kg and at no extra cost can up graded to 3650kg ,so what are the pros and cons,I no road tax is cheaper and extra payload so am I missing something else ?

 

[Puddleduck]

Do you have a licence to drive it (Grandfather's rights), C1? You will lose the automatic right to retain the C1 when you get to 70 but can have a medical so you can keep it.

Depending on when you passed your test you may have to pass another - and it may be more difficult to sell when the time comes as C1 licences become less common.

 

[Sundowners]

- and it may be more difficult to sell when the time comes as C1 licences become less common.

And it may be MUCH more difficult to sell as more and more motorhomes get weighed by VOSA on the road and are found to be over weight due to too little pay-load

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[DP+JAY]

Depending on when you passed your test you may have to pass another - and it may be more difficult to sell when the time comes as C1 licences become less common.

Y0u can easily downplate it again to 35ookg. to sell if needed.

 

[DBK]

MHs over 3.5t are subjected to lower speed limits in some countries. But if your vehicle looks like a 3.5 tonner I doubt you will be stopped. http://www.caravanclub.co.uk/overse...ents/speed-limits/speed-limits-for-motorhomes

 

[jonandshell]

MHs over 3.5t are subjected to lower speed limits in some countries. But if your vehicle looks like a 3.5 tonner I doubt you will be stopped. http://www.caravanclub.co.uk/overse...ents/speed-limits/speed-limits-for-motorhomes

The same applies to tolls. If you are savvy you can get a heavier van through as sub 3500kg!

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[Box Boy]

My Fiat Ducato base was 3250 kg but was upgraded by Adria to 3500 kg. How, if any, was the suspension changed?

 

[DBK]

My Fiat Ducato base was 3250 kg but was upgraded by Adria to 3500 kg. How, if any, was the suspension changed?

It's often just a paper exercise. No spanners are harmed in the process. But in your case I guess the suspension was upgraded, perhaps an extra leaf added to the rear suspension.

 

[Jamwitt]

No problem driving passed test 35 yrs ago , I don't think it cost a lot to downplate and could get that back with road tax saved?

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[Phill D]

My Fiat Ducato base was 3250 kg but was upgraded by Adria to 3500 kg. How, if any, was the suspension changed?

that depends on what basic FIAT / Alko chassis you have. the majority of FIAT camper chassis are 3650 and get down graded by converter to 3500, as was my Adria.

 

[Puddleduck]

My personal preference would be to up plate - better payload will mean more flexibility. But you did ask for the downside.......

 

[jonandshell]

Our Transit was built with heavy duty rear suspension but deliberately downplated by Ford to 3500kg.
This allows Chausson to sell it at 3500kg or in our case, at its real capacity of 3850kg.
An exchange of paperwork with DVLA and removal of the Chausson plate will revert the MH back to 3500kg.

Mind you, being 44, I doubt we will still own it when I hit 70!

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[treetops1]

It costs nothing to uprate your van and nothing to down load and your insurance stays the same as its just a paper exercise.,no mods /lol

 

[Box Boy]

It's often just a paper exercise. No spanners are harmed in the process. But in your case I guess the suspension was upgraded, perhaps an extra leaf added to the rear suspension.

My Adria is a 2011 Sport at 6.46 long with only single leaf springs. Its not an Alko chassis, but an extension built on the chassis from the original. The whole van has a nose down profile!

 

[Phill D]

My Adria is a 2011 Sport at 6.46 long with only single leaf springs. Its not an Alko chassis, but an extension built on the chassis from the original. The whole van has a nose down profile!

our Adria as do most motorhomes have a nose down attitude, also we have the added Adria chassis extension onto the standard FIAT Camper chassis. there are strict technical rules to apply a given max weight and your chassis must comply with those requirements or a certificate of conformity would not have been issued.

i would bet that the original chassis was already capable and it was just a paper exercise. As was the case to upgrade mine from Adria's 3500 to 3650

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[DP+JAY]

Our Adria (on a Fiat chassis, NOT Alko) was plated at 3500kg when we bought it but had a payload of 300kg( & we took up nearly 200 of that), now upplated to 4500kg.

 

[jemhorn]

The only other thing to bear in mind is that within Europe many towns have a 3.500T limit. We're going to Austria this autumn and will have to use a GoBox to travel on motorways and some major roads. Not a problem but it's an extra job to sort. I had a 3.5T van a few years back and fully loaded, bikes, water, fuel etc was over 3.5t. Far better to have have more capacity and be legal 'cause if you're overweight it's dangerous and very expensive if you're pulled in. Get as much additional plated weight as you can.

 

[Hughman]

I've just uprated our Possl (a Ducato Multijet 150 long wheelbase) from 3500 to 4250 kg without having to do anything to it at all.It has 17" wheels as standard which will have helped. I reckoned the downside of possible higher tolls and lower speed limits (depending on how law-abiding you are) is outweighed by the removal of risk of being weighed and found to be overweight, as penalties for that can be much worse.

Not a problem as long as you have the right licence, and can always downgrade again if need be.

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[jockaneezer]

So if you're running a heavier van, how come the road tax is cheaper ?

 

[errpaul]

So if you're running a heavier van, how come the road tax is cheaper ?

Becomes a totally different classification and is taxed as private heavy goods vehicle. Not quite sure on the logic of that though!

 

[errpaul]

Our last van was 3500 with an option to be 3850. The previous owner up plated to 3950 and for licence reasons we down plated to 3500. All just a paperwork exercise, although we did have to provide a weighbridge ticket before down plating.

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[errpaul]

Another thing to consider is going above 3500 is breakdown cover. This can be far more expensive or there may be certain restrictions on cover provided, especially in europe

 

[Puddleduck]

So if you're running a heavier van, how come the road tax is cheaper ?

Who said it had to be logical?

 

[adrkjr]

Hope you don't mind me asking a question. How simple a paper exercise is it to up plate the van? We have a Fiat plated at 3650Kg but plated at 3500Kg by Chausson. Weight is creeping up with bike rack, awning and all the other things I carry but probably don't need too.

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[treetops1]

Hi ,It is easy but if you want it done for you- SvTech ltd +44(0) 1772 621800 will do it ,as its just a paper exercise.

 

[adrkjr]

Happy to do it myself. Can you offer any guidance?

 

[Jamwitt]

Thanks for all your replies I feel happy now to up plate the van so we have that extra carrying compacity .the vans only 6mtr s and it don't look like a heavy van so when on toll roads may get away with class 2

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[Fragle]

Hi all. Reading this thread I'm just wondering how much people carry in their motorhome that you need to upgrade.
Only because last weekend. Being new to the motorhome I took our Adria coral to the local weigh bridge. All but fully loaded 3 bikes 2 people full fuel and 50% water and came in at 3.325t. This still leaves 175kg spare.
Maybe getting checked first might save all the paperwork. Worth a thought.

 

[Puddleduck]

Hi all. Reading this thread I'm just wondering how much people carry in their motorhome that you need to upgrade.
Only because last weekend. Being new to the motorhome I took our Adria coral to the local weigh bridge. All but fully loaded 3 bikes 2 people full fuel and 50% water and came in at 3.325t. This still leaves 175kg spare.
Maybe getting checked first might save all the paperwork. Worth a thought.

Ours is similar but if you have three or even four adults you would be just on the limit or even over-weight.

 

[westy77]

Hi all. Reading this thread I'm just wondering how much people carry in their motorhome that you need to upgrade.
Only because last weekend. Being new to the motorhome I took our Adria coral to the local weigh bridge. All but fully loaded 3 bikes 2 people full fuel and 50% water and came in at 3.325t. This still leaves 175kg spare.
Maybe getting checked first might save all the paperwork. Worth a thought.

Hi, what model and age Coral do you have? Ours is plated at 3500, but I'm not sure what the van weighs empty (or just driver and fuel/water), when I googled I found an article saying it is 3150, but not sure how reliable that is. Ours is a 2005 Coral 670SK

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