Weighed our Globecar ... it's heavy man! (1 Viewer)

[Minxy]

Just over a week ago we decided to have a night away locally to do a last trip and make sure everything was working okay in the camper before our long holiday in just over a week's time, so we loaded the camper up almost in full holiday trim (but with only quarter of a tank of fuel and 50% water) and on our way to Withernsea popped to the local (free) weighbridge at King George Dock, Hull, to see how much it weighed, this was mainly so we could determine what pressure to set the tyres at but also to see how well balance the weight was in the camper.

The front axle was at 1740 kg and the rear at 1950 kg so a total of 3690 kg which was a little bit more than expected although I knew it would be over 3500 kg since we fitted a 4m awning, twin Gaslow, solar panels etc, plus of course my 'fettling' stuff. Its not a problem as our camper is rated at 4250 kg anyway but of course this wasn't the 'full' holiday trim weight so to allow for the 'missing' stuff I've added to these figures as follows - probably allowed more than needed to better safe than sorry:

Front: 1740 kg + 100kg = 1840 kg

75 kg = 75% fuel (90 litres) as our tank is a long range one and takes 120 litres)
10 kg = maps, other bits of kit (electronics etc)
15 kg = food/drinks etc in forward cupboards and shoes which we'd forgotten to put in!​

Rear: 1950 kg + 80 kg = 2030 kg

50 kg = 50 litres of water (100 litre capacity)
30 kg = extra kit/food/drink in rear (dog food, biscuits etc plus some 'human' food stuff for us)​

Total weight

3690 kg + 180 kg = 3870 kg
​

It may seem a lot for a PVC but as its built on the extra long Maxi Heavy chassis with the 150 bhp engine, heavier suspension, uprated brakes etc, so it already starts off heavier than a lot of other PVCs anyway, then of course we take an inflatable kayak & bits to go with it, bikes (the bike locks alone are flipping heavy!), snorkelling gear and all sorts of other bits and bobs (which actually DO get used ), not forgetting that we have 3 dogs so need their food, toys, beds, toys, blankets ... and yet more toys. All of this adds to the weight especially the dogs who together weigh about 40 kg and their stuff/food probably adds another 20 kg so at least 60 kg in total just for them.

What surprised me though is that even deducting the weight of the extra bits we take that others probably won't IMV it would be a bit difficult to keep the PVC below 3500 kg unless very lightly loaded so it makes me wonder what weight other Globecars built on the extra long Maxi Heavy chassis are running at 'in reality'. Anyone else weighed theirs in full 'holiday trim'?

 

[pandas]

we have found we need 750 kg on top of the vehicle with all the vehicle 'fixed' stuff included (tow bar, aircon, sat dish etc). Plus the vehicle includes 20 ltrs water 90% fuel, driver. Ours is plated to 4250 which works just fine however aware of the individual axel weights - which is also fine.

 

[Chockswahay]

Jeepers Minxy! Our Globescout weighed in at less than 3300 fully loaded! You need to lose some baggage

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[normanandsue]

Jeepers Minxy! Our Globescout weighed in at less than 3300 fully loaded! You need to lose some baggage

So did mine.

 

[chaser]

i know its not the same motor but our renault converted ambulance only weighs 2945 full up what makes all that difference?

 

[Flatlander]

@Minxy Girl did you add the weight of your good selves and animals when travelling onto that? Especially as regards front axle load?

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[Manxcat]

We weighed our campscout about 2 weeks ago and were gobsmacked at the 3,666 weight!

After a big clear out and removing the awning we now weigh almost exactly 3,500. I am now getting it uprated to 3,700 so that we can put some stuff in it and bring some wine back from France.

 

[Mikeco]

Weighed my conversion 4 years ago and was very close to 3500kg which is its plated weight, just wondering if vans are the same as people and get heavier as they get older.

 

[Minxy]

Jeepers Minxy! Our Globescout weighed in at less than 3300 fully loaded! You need to lose some baggage

Don't forget that the Globescout is 5.99m, ours is 6.36m so quite a bit extra body plus of course the extra internal furniture etc, all of which add weight - according to the blurb the Campscout is 145kg heavier than the Globescout to start with, so if you had had a Campscout you'd be nearer 3445kg for a comparison plus the extra weight of 60kg of dogs and their stuff too so that would have taken you to around 3505kg.

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[Minxy]

@Minxy Girl did you add the weight of your good selves and animals when travelling onto that? Especially as regards front axle load?

Yup, we were all in it at the time so it was just the other bits of kit/food etc that was missing.

 

[Minxy]

We weighed our campscout about 2 weeks ago and were gobsmacked at the 3,666 weight!

After a big clear out and removing the awning we now weigh almost exactly 3,500. I am now getting it uprated to 3,700 so that we can put some stuff in it and bring some wine back from France.

Why only 3700kg?

 

[Manxcat]

3700 can be done by paper only, to get to 3850 I would need to spend about £300 on the suspension apparently. As we go to France in only a few weeks we are going for the easiest option. Will probably go a bit further in a few months

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[Minxy]

3700 can be done by paper only, to get to 3850 I would need to spend about £300 on the suspension apparently. As we go to France in only a few weeks we are going for the easiest option. Will probably go a bit further in a few months

What chassis are you on?

Are you using SVTech or John Ruffles?

 

[Puddleduck]

Just goes to show that it is ALWAYS worth going for a weight check at least once a year.

If you are overweight you can do something about it before it's too late, if you are okay it gives peace of mind.

 

[Manxcat]

What chassis are you on?

Are you using SVTech or John Ruffles?

We have the Fiat maxi van 6.36m. SVTech is working on the paperwork for us.

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[Flatlander]

...Its not a problem as our camper is rated at 4250 kg anyway...

Total weight

3690 kg + 180 kg = 3870 kg​

​

Yup, we were all in it at the time so it was just the other bits of kit/food etc that was missing.

In that case I reckon its a lightweight! 4250kg - 3870kg = 380kg remaining. I've seen a couple of vehicles lately that dont have much more than that when empty, and yours was more or less ready to go.

Signed, Positive Thinker, Motorhomeland.

 

[jezport]

You need to get rid of the crap rear cart springs and have a proper air spring system fitted. Ours weighed less than yours and I could see the rear springs were almost at their limit. It handles so much better.
I do have a bigger fridge than you though

 

[Neckender]

When we went to Benidorm last year our Campscout fully loaded weighed in at 3700 kg, so we had it uprated to 4100 by John Ruffles, I also had the EP levellers fitted and I fitted semi air suspension.
I think that this as put an extra 100 kg approx so I will still have 300 kg left for wine when we leave in 6 weeks for Benidorm.

John.

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[Manxcat]

On the basis that a bottle of wine weighs 1kg that's 300 bottles!

 

[Minxy]

You need to get rid of the crap rear cart springs and have a proper air spring system fitted. Ours weighed less than yours and I could see the rear springs were almost at their limit. It handles so much better.

We've had semi-air on the rear of coachbuilt MHs and know it can make quite a difference to the ride and handling but never felt the need on a PVC ... if needs be we'll fit semi-air to the rear but if it performs as well as the Familyscout did, even after 3 years and just shy of 30,000 miles, we'll be happy with the existing suspension.

I do have a bigger fridge than you though

... but you haven't got a laundry shoot!

 

[Minxy]

We have the Fiat maxi van 6.36m. SVTech is working on the paperwork for us.

So why are you only going up to 3700 kg? If it's on the Fiat maxi heavy it can go up a lot more than that and I thought that even the light version can go up to 3850kg without modification.

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[Minxy]

In that case I reckon its a lightweight! 4250kg - 3870kg = 380kg remaining. I've seen a couple of vehicles lately that dont have much more than that when empty, and yours was more or less ready to go.

... at least hubby will still be able to bring back some wine and beer and of course whilst away ours and the dogs' food will be eaten freeing up more available payload ... so long as I don't spot stuff at the foreign 'car boot' sales etc to bring home ... or hit some of the cheap Chinese type supermarkets and buy all those 'essentials' or supermarkets that are having a sale and buy half a dozen pairs of shoes (between us that is!).

 

[Revolvor]

........ allow for the 'missing' stuff I've added to these figures as follows - probably allowed more than needed to better safe than sorry:

@Minxy Girl
Have you downloaded the Motorhome Weight Calculator from Resources?
This will allow you to add/remove items after you have weighed the van, and see the effect that it will have on actual axle weights.

 

[Minxy]

@Minxy Girl
Have you downloaded the Motorhome Weight Calculator from Resources?
This will allow you to add/remove items after you have weighed the van, and see the effect that it will have on actual axle weights.

No I haven't as I don't think there's a need as the camper was nearly in full holiday trim at the time we weighed it and knowing what the approximate additional weights are I can add it up myself, if I was looking to jettison some stuff to get it down to a lower plated weight I can see that it would be very useful though, fortunately I don't need to worry about that, but thanks for suggesting it.

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[Nasher]

Minxy Girl,

Does this now make you a

G O F A W A

Globecar Owner, Fettler And Weight Adder!!!

 

[Langtoftlad]

Numpty question - is there any reason 2017/18 Euro 6 vans should be heavier than earlier models? I'd have anticipated lighter given a smaller engine etc... however, my Wildax in full trip trim was just below maximum plated weight... when at Chester I was parked near another Wildy a few years older and he had a couple hundred kgs spare.

Not an issue, as have updated, but just was surprised, and now Mel's Globecar is heavier than she expected.

 

[Minxy]

Funnily enough that thought occurred to me too @Langtoftlad - I know that the payload of a 2012 Campscout was stated as 505kg with the 2.3 130bhp engine, but from what I can find for later 'face lifted' models it's actually increased to 555kg! ... BUT that depends on what was included in the unladen weight back in 2012 and what's included now of course. The main difference is that the fridge has been changed from a 3-way to electric only, I can't see why this would make any real difference though.

Trying to find out the 'true' weight of a Campscout, both then and now, isn't easy as some websites don't state it at all and others have different figures.

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[pappajohn]

10kg for maps.

The ten commandments didn't weigh that much and they were written on stone tablets.

 

[Minxy]

10kg for maps.

The ten commandments didn't weigh that much and they were written on stone tablets.

... I said maps and other bits of kit, ie as laptop, dongles etc ... although the French map weights over a kilo on it's own!

 

[pandas]

We have been quite surprised at on our travels how apathetic some have been about their vehicle weight when travelling. It is a very significant point; outside of the point that it is not safe to travel with a vehicle over it's platted weight your insurance would most likely be invalidated were you to be involved in an accident, your fault of not. I would not want to take that risk. Get it checked, leave yourself plenty of allowance - a 350 kg payload would not work for me.

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