Restricted licence & A-Class? (4 Viewers)

[Nirvanauk]

Never had it on weighbridge, but maxgross is 3500kg and according to the specs, has a payload of 650kg

I was told mine had a payload of 500 kg. Took it to a weighbridge with me and the missus., full of fuel but no water, dog, bike or food and it came out at 3.4t. Scared or what.

 

[Lenny HB]

I was told mine had a payload of 500 kg. Took it to a weighbridge with me and the missus., full of fuel but no water, dog, bike or food and it came out at 3.4t. Scared or what.

Did yoiu uprate?

 

[Lenny HB]

Doh!

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[Nirvanauk]

Did yoiu uprate?

Not yet, as not sure how to do it.

 

[Pausim]

I was told mine had a payload of 500 kg. Took it to a weighbridge with me and the missus., full of fuel but no water, dog, bike or food and it came out at 3.4t. Scared or what.

On my Hymer the brochure quotes a MIRO of 3050kg and a payload of 450 at 3500kg MGW/GVW. However, this does not take into account the weight of the numerous fitted extras which significantly increases the certificated MIRO to 3281kg, reducing the user payload to only 219kg at 3500kg MGW. Fortunately the vehicle is registered at 4200kg MGW so I do have a useable payload but this raises the issue of driving licenses, as raised by Attila the Hen.

I suspect many sales persons quote only the brochure payload, which takes no account of fitted extras. The Certificate of Conformity issued with the vehicle should have the actual MIRO (in my case 3281 not 3050). The actual payload available is the difference between the MGW and the MIRO shown on the CoC, not the one given in the brochure.

 

[Lenny HB]

The Certificate of Conformity issued with the vehicle should have the actual MIRO (in my case 3281 not 3050). The actual payload available is the difference between the MGW and the MIRO shown on the CoC, not the one given in the brochure.

Hymer C of C have two figures on them I don't know if all manufacturers do. There is a MIRO which is the brochure/design weight and a Technical MIRO which is the actual weight it left the factory with factory fitted extras. Well it's not actual weight as MIRO include the allowances.

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[Lenny HB]

Not yet, as not sure how to do it.

Very easy you need an engineers report and a new plate. SV Tech will do the report, you fill in a form pay them £312 and a couple of days later they send you the report with the info on what to do. Send form & report off to DVLA 3 to 4 weeks later you get a new V5 back which of course is wrong they have changed the revenue weight but not the pemissable mass! 4 months later after numous phone calls they get it right.

There is another company that do the report for about ½ the price if you search the forums you should find the info.

 

[SandJ]

I suspect many sales persons quote only the brochure payload, which takes no account of fitted extras. The Certificate of Conformity issued with the vehicle should have the actual MIRO (in my case 3281 not 3050). The actual payload available is the difference between the MGW and the MIRO shown on the CoC, not the one given in the brochure.

We where in the bfools reception area and a guy said he was just about to do the deal on a 6 person Swift Motorhom. I said to him have you checked the payload, yes plenty he said. I advised him to check with all six and with water, fuel etc. I also advised it would never be within the 3500 gvw and also pointed out about adding sat dish solar etc. I said ask the salesman when he comes back and get him to show you all the weights so he could see.
The salesman came back and the buyer asked him..... what a load of crap came out oh his mouth, including there must be a lot of motorhomes driving around overweight and they seem fine. I thought surely after giving advise he would not go ahead with the deal . Well I was wrong He went ahead and bought it
Some people just amaze me

 

[golly]

I was told mine had a payload of 500 kg. Took it to a weighbridge with me and the missus., full of fuel but no water, dog, bike or food and it came out at 3.4t. Scared or what.

Interesting, must find a weighbridge.

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[Blue Knight]

Interesting, must find a weighbridge.

Golly,

We use the Council Weighbridge in Consett. It costs 20 quid and you're straight in and out. They'll do both of your axles too.

I think someone has given you duff info regarding your 650kg payload though.

A G600L in sensation spec is 590kg but be aware that Pilote do not count the driver in the MIRO so that will have to come off too.

I've done some very detailed checks on my van and my conclusion is that Pilote build their vans approx 100kg over the published MIRO figures.

If you have a TV, aerial, awning and extra cushions for the third bed then that is a further 55kg off your payload.

Therefore; with two people @ 75kg each, no water, no supplies, no added upgrades, no bikes etc, but with a TV and awning then I reckon your available payload is 285kg.

All the best,

Andrew

 

[soreeyes]

What can be misleading is the EU manufactured motorhomes quote payloads but not on the UK market models that come with ovens and grills and larger fridges and air bags and cruise as standard for the UK .

You really have to check and do your homework on quoted payloads when deciding on a 3500 kg motorhome .

As said you have the option of fitting a tow bar and towing a small box trailer to carry excess loads .

 

[Blue Knight]

What can be misleading is the EU manufactured motorhomes quote payloads but not on the UK market models that come with ovens and grills and larger fridges and air bags and cruise as standard for the UK .

That's a very good point you make.

The technical info in this whole thread has been solely based on published manufactures weights but from my experience they are a load of twaddle and highly inaccurate in some cases.

I'm a sceptical swine but I honestly think that some MoHo brands weigh their vans and then knock a few kg off the total; the EU rules allow them to fudge it out a bit.

Cheers,

Andrew

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[Attila the Hen]

Aargh again! It's all getting a bit complicated. Looks like it may be best to set the ball rolling to get the license restriction lifted after all. Meanwhile, Celia looks very happy with 'Hettie' and her tent doesn't she?............

 

[soreeyes]

I found when ordering my motorhome that dealers automatically order a motorhome with items that will help sell it off their forecourt . My dealer ordered motorhomes with optional drop down lounge bed so it was a four berth but could not understand why I only wanted a 2 berth for the 2 of us and a drop down bed costs 120 kg off the quoted payload which was a large chunk of the payload allowance .

 

[Blue Knight]

View attachment 189304 Aargh again! It's all getting a bit complicated. Looks like it may be best to set the ball rolling to get the license restriction lifted after all. Meanwhile, Celia looks very happy with 'Hettie' and her tent doesn't she?............

Yes, I think you do right by revisiting the whole license-thing. You can but try and if you succeed them you'll be onto a winner.

An alternative would be to put a small trailer on the back of your van for all of the weighty crap. Just a thought

All the best,

Andrew

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[soreeyes]

On a B licence you can drive upto 3500 kg and tow upto 750 kg trailer

 

[Steve N Tracy]

We have a 2017 Dethleff Globus I 1 with a transverse double at the rear, drop down double at the front large fridge and a large garage, fully loaded with full water and fuel, 2 electric bikes in the garage fridge full and everything we could think of to take on holiday loaded, with us both on board we weighed in at 3342 Kg's 1582 kg's front axle and 1760 kg's rear axle, the build is similar to the new Exisis 504 but comes in at only 5.99 m long

 

[Nirvanauk]

Golly,

We use the Council Weighbridge in Consett. It costs 20 quid and you're straight in and out. They'll do both of your axles too.

I think someone has given you duff info regarding your 650kg payload though.

A G600L in sensation spec is 590kg but be aware that Pilote do not count the driver in the MIRO so that will have to come off too.

I've done some very detailed checks on my van and my conclusion is that Pilote build their vans approx 100kg over the published MIRO figures.

If you have a TV, aerial, awning and extra cushions for the third bed then that is a further 55kg off your payload.

Therefore; with two people @ 75kg each, no water, no supplies, no added upgrades, no bikes etc, but with a TV and awning then I reckon your available payload is 285kg.

All the best,

Andrew

So, let's add a tank of water and fuel, a solar panel, two bikes, a dog, tow bar, some supplies and it would be close to being over.
Interestingly talking to a guy last week that has just had his van down plated to 3.5t because he has a dicky ticker and he knows he is now overweight. Hmmm....

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[Barclaybasher]

I recently spoke to a pal about his MH saying I couldn't drive it as I had no C1 licence (yet) - his was over 3500kg

He thought it was under - until he checked the log book

I did wonder if he had a C1 licence or if there are many drivers out there unaware of their vans real weight, and driving "not in accordance with their licence"........and therefore no insurance............????

 

[Lenny HB]

Crazy why manufacturers sell some vans at 3500kg, athough Hymer generally pretty good, you could order my van at 3500kg our running weight is just over 3900kg, not a problem as our MAM is 4500kg.

 

[Emmit]

On a B licence you can drive upto 3500 kg and tow upto 750 kg trailer

We've got to the bottom of Page 3 and thanks to @soreeyes we now have a viable alternative.

The OP, @Attilla the hen can tow a small unbraked trailer of 750kgs (That's 3/4 ton in old money and at least 550kgs of that is available load) at the back of a sub 3500kgs van so that, if he is restricted to 3500kgs in the 'van, at least he can have a 'van of his choosing within the 3500kgs limit and still be legal.
Once the OP has had his bare knuckle fight with the knuckle draggers of Swansea, he can choose which way he wants to go.

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[Puddleduck]

are many drivers out there unaware of their vans real weight, and driving "not in accordance with their licence"........and therefore no insurance............????

Probably more than we suspect - and as people with "age rights" stop driving it will probably get worse.

 

[Emmit]

Probably more than we suspect - and as people with "age rights" stop driving it will probably get worse.

To put the above comment into perspective.
A person who drives a van that has a plate on it that says 3501kgs or more with a licence that authorises them to drive a vehicle of 3500kgs or less would commit the offence of Driving a motor vehicle "Otherwise than in accordance with the licence" This would be so regardless of the weight of the vehicle at the time of the commission of the offence. I will not say that the driver would not have Insurance. However, should an incident occur and a claim is made, there is every likelihood that the Insurance Co. would not pay for the damage to the drivers vehicle.

However, the same person driving a sub 3501kgs van with a weight of more than 3500kgs would commit the offence of driving an overladen vehicle. The Insurance Co. would view an incident with the same viewpoint as above. However, you would have to be overladen by about 175kg before the Authorities started to growl (Technical Term)

 

[Pausim]

On a B licence you can drive upto 3500 kg and tow upto 750 kg trailer

If you have BE on your license before reaching 70 I think you get to keep it without making a special application with medical report. BE allows you to drive up to 3500kg with a trailer much bigger than 750kg. I guess this is what the tuggers rely on when they reach 70. If I am right then perhaps the motorhome manufacturers should be designing 3500kg units with auxillary trailers containing all the heavy stuff such as batteries, gas bottles and water tanks.

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[joka250]

If you have BE on your license before reaching 70 I think you get to keep it without making a special application with medical report. BE allows you to drive up to 3500kg with a trailer much bigger than 750kg. I guess this is what the tuggers rely on when they reach 70. If I am right then perhaps the motorhome manufacturers should be designing 3500kg units with auxillary trailers containing all the heavy stuff such as batteries, gas bottles and water tanks.

I have BE classification but will lose it as I reach seventy. This I believe is the case for all at 70. As a cardiac patient with an ICD implanted I must pass medical tests that include the 1st 3 levels of the Bruce treadmill protocol test. I am not going into details of that as I believe the majority of 70 plus cardiac Patients would fail level 3 or expire trying. Worth noting the licence I will keep will still allow to drive a 300 bhp Porsche.

 

[sedge]

Worth noting the licence I will keep will still allow to drive a 300 bhp Porsche.

You automatically lost your C1 entitlement a few years ago, if you used insulin - so every single Type 1 diabetic including me lost theirs and all Type 2s who take insulin, the same.

The 'issue' with us is having a hypo at the wheel so in any case we have to re-apply for our licence every 3 years and give details of 'serious' hypos that have happened during the last 12 months.

I could also quite legally drive the Porsche (though I might not choose to LOL) and eg mow down a bus queue, a couple of dozen toddlers etc - exactly the same as I could in my old C4, our Moho, our Antara, or our daughter's Jeep or son in law's van.

It's pretty arbitrary, isn't it ?

 

[motorhomer]

This thread started with a Rapido Aclass. We used to have a Rapido that we bought new. It came with an option to rate it at 3500 or 3700. We chose 3500 because we thought here was lots of payload from the stated unladen weight. How wrong we were! In our case it was actually almost 3500 with very little load so in fact we had virtually no payload at all! We have owned 2 French built motorhomes and both were much heavier than we expected from the published figures. My guess is, as someone else said, the figures are french spec not UK spec. Also Manufacturers are allowed a 5% allowance which is 150kg for 3 tons. I guess you can be pretty sure they will use it! so the payload could well be 150kg less than you think for this reason as well. So I would advise caution and also having the van weighed on delivery. We downsized to a van conversion partly for weight reasons - having reached the magic age with the odd health issue I accepted that I could not keep my C1 licence.

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