Should we worry about the 3500kg

[Justhadtodoit]

Familiar story i guess so forgive me.. having both recently taken early retirement we have been searching the local dealers and all the usual for sale places and the vehicle that really ticks most of our boxes is approx 4300kg and 7.5mtrs long which isn't a problem... being new to Motorhome ownership and already been told off for calling them Campervans..is the exceeding of 3500kg really anything to worry about... we are fully aware of the Licence requirements and how that affects us once we reach 70... but my question is mainly with regards ownership and touring and restrictions etc being over 3500kg we are looking to tour mainly in Europe and Scandinavian areas and of course speed limits are different for larger vehicles it was more of a question of general ownership..Thanks in advance.

 

[David and Sally]

Probably only toll charges and maybe weight restrictions in town centres.

Speed limits as you say.

 

[138go]

Not much in it really but being caught overloaded with a 3500kg MH could be a real problem apart from the fact your insurance will be invalid. Ok you cannot go as fast but the diesel goes further. Start running at 70 - 80mph and you will be getting down to 20mpg. Ours is 4250Kg and we wander round at 55mph on dual carriageways and 50mph on the smaller roads. After all you are retired so whats the rush. Certainly for longer trips you need the payload. Would not want to try and cram everything into a 3500kg.

They do stop and check MH and Trucks. We were on the N10 last year and pulled in for a break and they had a mobile weigh bridge set up.

 

[bigtwin]

It’s only a problem if you make it one.
Over/Under 3500Kg just gives you different benefits and drawbacks.

There is no reason to be afraid of over 3500Kg and it, generally, gives you more flexibility wrt to what/how much stuff you can carry.

Ian

 

[bigtwin]

Not much in it really but being caught overloaded with a 3500kg MH could be a real problem apart from the fact your insurance will be invalid.

Wasn’t this shown to be not the case in a recent thread. After all, if you break the law by speeding your insurance isn’t suddenly invalid!

Ian

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[GMLS]

Always had vehicles over 3500kg as the last thing I want to worry about is payload (3 heavy mountain bikes for starters). Never had any issues of any description including access aires etc. Last vehicle was 8.5m long and this one 7.5m

 

[nicholsong]

Justhadtodoit

As has been said there are some roads with weight restrictions at 3.5t but they are intended to deter 7.5t trucks.

Most MHs up to 4500kg are built with the same van bodies as under 3500kg, but with different chassis, suspension and tyres. I think these do not attract any attention as they could be 3500kg, except possibly tag axle. Even then I doubt whether police would set up portable weighing machines in town centres.

Any MH based on a truck chassis will be noticeable for having a wider wheelbase, so might attract attention.

We have what was originally a 3500kg vehicle now MPW of 3850kg and have never been stopped or even afraid of going down a 3.5t restriction.

Of course there are countries where you have to pay more tolls over 3500kg. and Austria and Switzerland are known to check the weights, either on paper (V5C) or weighing the MH, so do not risk scamming there.

Geoff

 

[Justhadtodoit]

Not much in it really but being caught overloaded with a 3500kg MH could be a real problem apart from the fact your insurance will be invalid. Ok you cannot go as fast but the diesel goes further. Start running at 70 - 80mph and you will be getting down to 20mpg. Ours is 4250Kg and we wander round at 55mph on dual carriageways and 50mph on the smaller roads. After all you are retired so whats the rush. Certainly for longer trips you need the payload. Would not want to try and cram everything into a 3500kg.

They do stop and check MH and Trucks. We were on the N10 last year and pulled in for a break and they had a mobile weigh bridge set up.

Many thanks for the advice and already learning so much from this newly found forum..I have just been reading your comments on the Swift Bolero MH and makes that makes for intresting reading we have a budget of around £40K and found what we thought a nice low mileage well looked after vehicle offering just about everything we require being the 722FB...the search continues...

 

[Clarky]

Go for it!
We are 4500kg and it’s always good to have the flexibility of being able to load those ‘just in case’ bits of kit.
Speed limits are a little more restrictive, there are very occasionally weight limits, although they are usually for trucks not moho’s (thinking mainly of France here) and if using toll roads the costs may be higher (we have never been charged a higher rate..........yet).
Road tax is lower to compensate for some of the minor inconveniences.
As others have said, trying to keep below 3500kg if, like us, you want to take longer trips will be a pain.
Best of luck with you retirement, have Fun.

Richard

 

[peterc10]

Had our 4.5t, 7.5m long, Hymer for almost 4 years and not found any real drawbacks anywhere we have taken it, including Italy, France, Spain, Portugal and Germany. This is our "keeper" van so we have no real thoughts on changing it, despite me always looking at every dealer we visit.

Speed limits are no real problem. Just go with the flow. And we have never found a toll booth anywhere that weighed the vehicles. In that respect they usually just automatically measure the height to decide what class you are, so best to keep it below 3m.

In France most weight limits we see only apply to trucks. Easy to differentiate. If their is a truck outline on the sign it is only for them. If it just shows the 3.5t it is for all vehicles.

I am lucky in that I am still in good health, so retaining my C1 at 70 last year was no problem. I know I will need to go through that every 3 years, but when I eventually can't get through that will be the time to take stock.

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[Lenny HB]

Pros outweigh the cons, we are 4500kg with 135Okg payload.

 

[peterc10]

Many thanks for the advice and already learning so much from this newly found forum..I have just been reading your comments on the Swift Bolero MH and makes that makes for intresting reading we have a budget of around £40K and found what we thought a nice low mileage well looked after vehicle offering just about everything we require being the 722FB...the search continues...

My personal opinion is that, with that budget, you will be better buying an older European built A class than a newer British built van. You will not get as much bling or the latest "features" but the build quality will be better and it is likely to last longer. Remember mileage is normally not the problem, all vans are built on commercial bodies that are used to clocking up high mileages. The problem comes when it starts leaking badly or the chassis rusting, the latter being less likely with the galvanised Alko chassis. That is when the repairs become uneconomical.

 

[138go]

Many thanks for the advice and already learning so much from this newly found forum..I have just been reading your comments on the Swift Bolero MH and makes that makes for intresting reading we have a budget of around £40K and found what we thought a nice low mileage well looked after vehicle offering just about everything we require being the 722FB...the search continues...

Hmmm .. Was the review that bad .. Try looking for something with the habitation door on the wrong side If you are thinking of heading off towards the Northern Lights then an A Class will certainly be warmer. The Standard FIAT Cab does not have any insulation in it as there is knowhere to put it.

 

[Southdowners]

We're in Norway at the moment and were here for four months last year. Our vehicle is 7.5 tonne. We've never had any issues.

If you're thinking of travelling in Scandinavia I think you'd be better buying a fully insulated vehicle, not a British one.

 

[Wagoneer]

Suggest you future proof your investment by purchasing a van with 16" tyres (not 15") - this helps with uprating the load capacity, should you need to in the future.

Ideally, buy a van with a minimum permissible rear axle load of 2400kg (refer converters VIN plate item 2). Most vans on the lighter chassis have a permissible rear axle load of 2000kg.

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[nicholsong]

My personal opinion is that, with that budget, you will be better buying an older European built A class than a newer British built van. You will not get as much bling or the latest "features" but the build quality will be better and it is likely to last longer. Remember mileage is normally not the problem, all vans are built on commercial bodies that are used to clocking up high mileages. The problem comes when it starts leaking badly or the chassis rusting, the latter being less likely with the galvanised Alko chassis. That is when the repairs become uneconomical.

Totally agree

We bought a N&B Arto 69GL 6 years old 10 years ago at 16.000miles for £27.5K

Never looked back.

 

[TerryL]

Wasn’t this shown to be not the case in a recent thread. After all, if you break the law by speeding your insurance isn’t suddenly invalid!

Ian

Your insurance says you must keep the vehicle in a roadworthy condition. Being overweight would make it unroadworthy don't you think?

 

[bigtwin]

Your insurance says you must keep the vehicle in a roadworthy condition. Being overweight would make it unroadworthy don't you think?

No.

 

[Langtoftlad]

Your insurance says you must keep the vehicle in a roadworthy condition. Being overweight would make it unroadworthy don't you think?

Bureaucratically yes, technically & mechanically probably not... depending on the degree of overloading.

 

[peterc10]

Your insurance says you must keep the vehicle in a roadworthy condition. Being overweight would make it unroadworthy don't you think?

I think the law is that they cannot withdraw 3rd part cover for this reason, so it will still be legal. But they can withdraw the fully comp cover, so you have to pay for your own damage.

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[Grianan]

No brainier if you need it for payload. We did.
Practical implications found so far
- lower speed limits in Europe (not U.K., for us)
- a few roads in German towns did not allow vehicles over 3500kg

 

[tonyidle]

Rear light fails en route. You have an accident unrelated to the failed rear light. I suspect you're still covered fully comp. Over-loading would have to be part of the reason for an accident or would have to exacerbate the outcome before an insurance company would take an interest. All IMO of course. And assuming we're not talking of a van sagging in the middle due to excessive weight.

 

[Jonno1103]

Your insurance says you must keep the vehicle in a roadworthy condition. Being overweight would make it unroadworthy don't you think?

How can it be classed as unroadworthy when the next owner can easily have it up plated with no vehicle modifications?

 

[Crazylegs]

We noticed a few motorhomes amongst the standing hgv’s in Germany recently. There is a huge amount of freight moving between the east and the west and obviously vice versa. In roadworks and some other sections of duel carriageways vehicles over 3.5 T are restricted to lane one where I kid you not standing trucks are queuing for miles and miles. We are plated at 3.5 T so we were able to keep moving but I did feel for the moho’s that had to sit with the trucks.

 

[nicholsong]

We noticed a few motorhomes amongst the standing hgv’s in Germany recently. There is a huge amount of freight moving between the east and the west and obviously vice versa. In roadworks and some other sections of duel carriageways vehicles over 3.5 T are restricted to lane one where I kid you not standing trucks are queuing for miles and miles. We are plated at 3.5 T so we were able to keep moving but I did feel for the moho’s that had to sit with the trucks.

We run on MPW of 3850kg and unless the outer lane is restricted to 2m width we ignore the 3.5t - naughty boy that I am.

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[teknik155]

When going to several of the vignette countries we were asked to provide V5 so they could check we were under the 3500kg limit

 

[Southdowners]

We noticed a few motorhomes amongst the standing hgv’s in Germany recently. There is a huge amount of freight moving between the east and the west and obviously vice versa. In roadworks and some other sections of duel carriageways vehicles over 3.5 T are restricted to lane one where I kid you not standing trucks are queuing for miles and miles. We are plated at 3.5 T so we were able to keep moving but I did feel for the moho’s that had to sit with the trucks.

We went through extensive roadworks in Hamburg a few weeks ago we're 7.5 tonne, We went through with the regular traffic - we did the same last year. I expect the motorhomes you mentioned which were caught in the queue were in the wrong lane either by mistake or design. There is a definite distinction between HGV goods lorries and 7.5 tonne motorhomes. We've never had issues.

 

[Crazylegs]

There was definitely 3.5 t restrictions on the Berlin route to Poland. I have never seen so many trucks before. I did wonder if this is the reason you see so many Polish registered Transit style 3.5 t box vans flying past all the standing hgv’s.

 

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[nicholsong]

They did not define what 'weight restriction' they were referring to, which could be 'empty weight', kerb weight' etc.so they could be open to a legal challenge.

A principle of insurance law is that to invoke an exclusion the insurers have the burden of proof that it applies. I have won more than one case on this point, but many people do ot know that legal principle.

Geoff