Plating help

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Gazuk

Joined
Nov 6, 2021
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Location
Horsham, UK
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85,311
MH
Carthago C-Tourer
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This question refers to a picture I'll put in the next post (its on my phone).

The picture is of a plate on a motorhome we're going to buy from a dealer. It was advertised as being plated to 4250kg. I saw this plate in the footwell on the pasenger side and assumed it meant, it has a maximum gross weight of 4500kg, total weight including towing 6000kg, maximum weight front axel 2100kg and maximum weight rear axel 2500kg.

Now I'm beginning to question my assumption as it was advertised at 4250kg. There is another metal plate next to it but i've only got half of it in the picture. My main concern is the rear axel weight as I want to put a scooter/motorbike in the garage so I did want the 2500kg rear axle.

They had another motorhome which was advertised at 3500kg, but the same looking plate in that passenger footwell said 3850kg, which if that is the MGW is a big mistake in their advertising as it means a C1 license is required. Which is why I'm now questioning my assumption.

Now lets see if I can get the photo attached.
 
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IMG-20211122-WA0005.jpg
 
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There will be two plates. The original base vehicle one The converters one. The second is your plate you need to use.
Who is the converter and what model? What does that left hand plate say?
 
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Wow, that was quick thanks.

So in your opinion , is the plate on the right the Converters one and the hidden left plate the original base vehicle?

If so my assumtions were correct then and the dealer adverised it (and the other one) incorrectly
 
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No. I think the left one is the converters. It is screwed on rather than stuck. I don’t know if that matters.
Do you recall what it said?

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Our van had 3 plates. Fiat, Alko and then Hymer.
The hymer plated superceeded the previous plates and was the definitive plate. Make sure the v5 has same weight as the plate.

Edit, the stufe 2 on the Alko plate indicates it as the second plate . After the base vehicle plate.
 
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Thanks, that means there might be a third plate then for the converter which was Cathago.

Think I need to call the dealer. The model is a 2018 Cathago C-Tourer I 150QB
 
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If I saw those plates i would assume that the the van's gross weight was 4500kgs, having been up plated when the cab was attached to the ALKO chassis.
 
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Ask, (demand) that the dealer shows you the V5C pertaining to that vehicle. That will confirm what the DVLA records as the MGW of the vehicle.

When we bought our present motorhome, it was 'sporting' a Plate that gave it's MGW of 3500kgs but it was obviously a case of it having been downplated to allow the previous owners to get to their favourite Nudist Campsite. (as a 7.59m A Class, a bag of feathers on board would have taken it over the 3.5t)
Changing the MGW to a more reasonable 4.25t was easy by using the services of Company knowledgeable in such matters ie SV Tech.
In our case, the 'Plate' was obvious, stuck as it was on the offside of the van under the O/S drivers window.

However, our previous vehicle was sold on to the 'New' owner who was told that the van was 3500kgs. It wasn't. I had 'up plated' it to 3700kgs As he didn't have C1 on his licence, he went back to the dealer for the dealer to pay for the van to be downplated. He could of course, have rejected the van as the dealer had advertised the van as 3500kgs when in fact DVLA had it at 3700kgs.

So, Buyer beware. Get a look at that V5C
 
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Our Carthago one was just a self adhesive one and could be anywhere,ours was still in the glove box,six year old van! chaser couldn't find his but when he phoned up the dealer it magically appeared 🙂

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David and Sally said:
No. I think the left one is the converters. It is screwed on rather than stuck. I don’t know if that matters.
Do you recall what it said?
Click to expand...
Sorry to disagree, but I think the reverse is the case, but a full photo will be more helpful and explicative.
Mike.
 
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I have a Carthago and the official plated weight is 250kg less than the Alko plate at 4500kg. You could uprate to 4500kg fairly easily.
 
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That would make sense as it was advertised as 4250kg, and the Alco plate says 4500.

What does that mean about the Axel weights thuough? Are the ones on the Alco plate the ones to go with or will there be lower ones on the Cathago plate (whereever that is).
 
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Gazuk said:
This question refers to a picture I'll put in the next post (its on my phone).

The picture is of a plate on a motorhome we're going to buy from a dealer. It was advertised as being plated to 4250kg. I saw this plate in the footwell on the pasenger side and assumed it meant, it has a maximum gross weight of 4500kg, total weight including towing 6000kg, maximum weight front axel 2100kg and maximum weight rear axel 2500kg.

Now I'm beginning to question my assumption as it was advertised at 4250kg. There is another metal plate next to it but i've only got half of it in the picture. My main concern is the rear axel weight as I want to put a scooter/motorbike in the garage so I did want the 2500kg rear axle.

They had another motorhome which was advertised at 3500kg, but the same looking plate in that passenger footwell said 3850kg, which if that is the MGW is a big mistake in their advertising as it means a C1 license is required. Which is why I'm now questioning my assumption.

Now lets see if I can get the photo attached.
Click to expand...
Have you measured the garage door? A quick glimpse at it and to me it looked a bit tight?
You need about 110cm height for most scooters/motorbikes.
Mike.

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Garage door is 112cm high. Gives me a few options. My first choice was KTM Duke 390. THat has a height (without mirrors) of 112cm, so it would be tight but thought I could comperss the forks a little or even deflate the front type. Failing that a a scooter, a pcx 125 sould it ok and possibly a honda sh300. And bizzarely, a Honda Hornet 600 might fit as well, but that will require me knowing what weights I can play with.

I'm sort of ok with motorbikes, but know bugger all about Motorhomes.
 
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Gazuk said:
Garage door is 112cm high. Gives me a few options. My first choice was KTM Duke 390. THat has a height (without mirrors) of 112cm, so it would be tight but thought I could comperss the forks a little or even deflate the front type. Failing that a a scooter, a pcx 125 sould it ok and possibly a honda sh300. And bizzarely, a Honda Hornet 600 might fit as well, but that will require me knowing what weights I can play with.

I'm sort of ok with motorbikes, but know bugger all about Motorhomes.
Click to expand...
Check the weight you can carry in the garage area, we had to have additional metal work added to the struts that support the garage struts so as to carry our Honda110i wave, and she ain't heavy, [ and no she's not my sister, lol]. It's when you start adding all the other must have essentials!!
By way information, we started at 3500kg, quickly went to 3700kg, and now are at 4090kg!!

Mike.
 
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The maximum weight will be the weight on the V5 which should agree with the Carthago plate.The weight on the Al-ko plate are the maximum for each axle but you can't go over the maximum weight of the van. There are companies who can advise you on the possibilities of increasing your maximum weight,possibly just a paper exercise by adding the axle weights together.

www.vanweightengineering.com

Van Weight Engineering

Need to change the weight of your vehicle? You're in the right place.
www.vanweightengineering.com www.vanweightengineering.com

www.svtech.co.uk

Welcome

We are the UK’s leading vehicle re-rating specialist and experts in all matters relating to Vehicle Type Approval, particularly braking systems. We Support a Range of Vehicles We Provide an Accurate, Quality Service
www.svtech.co.uk
 
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If you know the registration check here to see what it's registered at DVLA.

www.gov.uk

Get vehicle information from DVLA

Check a vehicle's details, tax and SORN status and expiry dates on the Driver Vehicle and Licensing Agency (DVLA) database - online and telephone enquiries
www.gov.uk www.gov.uk

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Gazuk said:
This question refers to a picture I'll put in the next post (its on my phone).

The picture is of a plate on a motorhome we're going to buy from a dealer. It was advertised as being plated to 4250kg. I saw this plate in the footwell on the pasenger side and assumed it meant, it has a maximum gross weight of 4500kg, total weight including towing 6000kg, maximum weight front axel 2100kg and maximum weight rear axel 2500kg.

Now I'm beginning to question my assumption as it was advertised at 4250kg. There is another metal plate next to it but i've only got half of it in the picture. My main concern is the rear axel weight as I want to put a scooter/motorbike in the garage so I did want the 2500kg rear axle.

They had another motorhome which was advertised at 3500kg, but the same looking plate in that passenger footwell said 3850kg, which if that is the MGW is a big mistake in their advertising as it means a C1 license is required. Which is why I'm now questioning my assumption.

Now lets see if I can get the photo attached.
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Emmit is correct IMO.
 
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As you’ve already been told, plate on the left is Fiats and the one on the right is Al-KO’s.
We have a Carthago and can’t find their sticker/plate anywhere .
The easiest way is to have a look at the V5. At least that will tell you what it is currently plated at.
 
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mitzimad said:
i dont think the axle weights change even if the gross has been downplated
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Mine was the same 4.1t downplated to 3500kg.
Rear axle stayed at 2500kg so need 116 tyres.

Cheers James
 
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Thank you for that link Ditcha, the dvla says it's plated to 4250kg.

So, how so i find out the axel weights? Do i have to try and find the Carthagi plate or will it be the same as whats on the Alco plate? Are they on the v5?

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The Fiat plate comes first, the the Alko plate, and finally the Carthago one which trumps all the others.

Even though it shows 4500kg MAM and the axle weights add up to 4600kg it doesn't mean you can use the extra 100kg and it's not unusual for MHs to have a MAM which is lower than the sum of the 2 axles either, nor for the subsequent registered weight (ie 4250kg) to be less - this is to give some safety margin when you're loading it up as it's nigh on impossible to get each axle exactly as it's limit although it could be because Carthago downrated it from 4500kg to 4250kg due to modifications they made after the Alko bit was done.

It appears you have 2100 front and 2500kg rear however the ONLY way to be sure if these individual axle limits are applicable is to either find the Carthago plate on the MH or look at the COC for it which the Dealer should have as it's fairly new, failing that they'll need to contact Carthago and confirm with them what the plated weights were when it left the factory.
 
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Gazuk said:
Thank you for that link Ditcha, the dvla says it's plated to 4250kg.

So, how so i find out the axel weights? Do i have to try and find the Carthagi plate or will it be the same as whats on the Alco plate? Are they on the v5?
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The axle weights are normally correct on the Al-Ko plate the only variation maybe if uprated front springs have been fitted taking the front up to 2300kg.
For the rear axle to go above 2500 it would have have rear air assist suspenion uprated tyres & uprated wheels if they are alloy.
 
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The wheels are 16 inch but are not alloys which did surprise me as most other cartago's at the dealers had alloys.
 
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Gazuk said:
The wheels are 16 inch but are not alloys which did surprise me as most other cartago's at the dealers had alloys.
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We have alloys as it was a dealer spec'd up MH but personally I prefer steel with trims as you can easily replace a trim if needed rather than have to have an alloy repaired ... and no before you ask I ain't swapping as hubby loves them! :giggle:
 
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Gazuk said:
The wheels are 16 inch but are not alloys which did surprise me as most other cartago's at the dealers had alloys.
Click to expand...
Better IMO and they have a higher load rating. Had alloys on our first van, had steels on the last two.
 
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