Weight vs speed in uk

Joined
Dec 31, 2020
Posts
54
Likes collected
51
Location
Peterborough, UK
Funster No
78,650
MH
Burstner ixeo ti 680
Exp
2018
Hi all after 4 years of motorhoming in a 3500mh I have in my ignorance realised that I have been breaking the law by driving at 60mph on a single track road where as any my over 3050 is limited to 50
As a van driver I was very surprised that my is different to vans
 
Hi all after 4 years of motorhoming in a 3500mh I have in my ignorance realised that I have been breaking the law by driving at 60mph on a single track road where as any my over 3050 is limited to 50
As a van driver I was very surprised that my is different to vans
3050 is unladen weight. 3500 is maximum laden weight.
 
I'm fairly certain that my 3.5T MH is under 3050kg unladen: I CERTAINLY don't worry about it and drive to the same rules as my car.

In what respects are the rules applying to your van different?

Gordon
 
I think you have to check your V5C to find your unladen weight. My Mass In Service is only 2775kg. Even though it's a 3650kg rated van (that's been downplated to 3500).

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3050 is unladen weight. 3500 is maximum laden weight.
I think he knows that but maybe didn't fully write it out. But yes if under 3050 kg unladen car limits apply. It would make a lot more sense to make it under 3500 max laden like in Europe as the vehicle class then clearly indicates the speed limits but when did the law ever have to make sense!
 
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I think he knows that but maybe didn't fully write it out. But yes if under 3050 kg unladen car limits apply. It would make a lot more sense to make it under 3500 max laden like in Europe as the vehicle class then clearly indicates the speed limits but when did the law ever have to make sense!
Completely agree
 
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The 3050kg 3 Ton (imperial) limit came first then 3.5tonne regulations to comply with Eu. eg the 3500kg licence limit or C1 7500kg pre EU consolidation (other words may be inserted eg capitulation)
 
TBH as far as I'm concerned it's irrelevant. ULW is so ill-defined that to the best of my knowledge no law enforcement agency has ever worried about it in relation to leisure vehicles.
 
I'm fairly certain that my 3.5T MH is under 3050kg unladen: I CERTAINLY don't worry about it and drive to the same rules as my car.

In what respects are the rules applying to your van different?

Gordon
The 3050 refers to passenger carrying vehicles (such as motorhomes)
Vans ie vehicles built for the carriage of goods have a different formula. They use gross vehicle weight.
Vans as small as a Peugeot Partner have a gvw of over 2tonnes and as a consequence are limited to 50mph on single and 60mph on dual carriageways

I apologise if if I've got the exact details wrong. It was a long time ago I needed to know.

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Highway Code Rule 124

You MUST NOT exceed the maximum speed limits for the road and for your vehicle (see the speed limits table). A speed limit of 30mph (48km/h) generally applies to all roads with street lights (excluding motorways) unless signs show otherwise.

See below
 

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The 3050kg 3 Ton (imperial) limit came first then 3.5tonne regulations to comply with Eu. eg the 3500kg licence limit or C1 7500kg pre EU consolidation (other words may be inserted eg capitulation)
Or common sense! There again I think we should have swapped to driving on the right side of the road in the 1970,s
 
Or common sense! There again I think we should have swapped to driving on the right side of the road in the 1970,s
Yes. I remember Sweden changing over the course of a weekend. I think it was covered on Tomorrow’s World. Perhaps the UK motor industry would have fared better if all they had to make was LHD vehicles?

Gordon
 
Yes. I remember Sweden changing over the course of a weekend. I think it was covered on Tomorrow’s World. Perhaps the UK motor industry would have fared better if all they had to make was LHD vehicles?

Gordon
Too speedy for us. Perhaps phase it in over year in alphabetical order. :LOL:
 
Vans as small as a Peugeot Partner have a gvw of over 2tonnes and as a consequence are limited to 50mph on single and 60mph on dual carriageways

It’s not just weight.

If the van isn’t car derived it doesn’t come under the car rules.
 
It’s not just weight.

If the van isn’t car derived it doesn’t come under the car rules.
Sorry, do not understand what you mean. Are any modern motorhomes car derived? Most are van derived. DVLA very clear about what a motorhome is and the relevant speed limits.
 
Does my ed in all this weights, terms, blah blah. Why can;t it be simple.
 
The 3050 refers to passenger carrying vehicles (such as motorhomes)
Vans ie vehicles built for the carriage of goods have a different formula. They use gross vehicle weight.
Vans as small as a Peugeot Partner have a gvw of over 2tonnes and as a consequence are limited to 50mph on single and 60mph on dual carriageways

I apologise if if I've got the exact details wrong. It was a long time ago I needed to know.

It’s not just weight.

If the van isn’t car derived it doesn’t come under the car rules.

Sorry, do not understand what you mean. Are any modern motorhomes car derived? Most are van derived. DVLA very clear about what a motorhome is and the relevant speed limits.

Silver-Fox was referring to the Car Derived Vans anomalies and not to Motorhomes. The earliest Citroen Berlingo/Peugeot Partner vans were classified as CDVs and subject to the car speed limits. The later ones were not - which caught at least one of our lads out.

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Sorry, do not understand what you mean. Are any modern motorhomes car derived? Most are van derived. DVLA very clear about what a motorhome is and the relevant speed limits.

AS Silver-Fox has pointed out a van can be "Car derived"

That means that it is fitted as it would be if it was an estate car, ie a second set of seats etc. It may also be fitted out with a means of cooking, sleeping etc, as you may find with a VW Transporter.
In those circumstances, the"Van" becomes, on application, a `Car derived van' and is allowed the higher speed limits.
 
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We do have some strange rules in this Country regarding driving and vehicle classifications 🙄

There is actually a list of “car derived vans” on the DVLA web site.
 
Sorry, do not understand what you mean. Are any modern motorhomes car derived? Most are van derived. DVLA very clear about what a motorhome is and the relevant speed limits.

Silver-Fox was replying to @Emmit’s comment regarding van speed limits and has nothing to do with MHs.

@Silver-Fox was referring to the Car Derived Vans anomalies and not to Motorhomes.

Indeed and in response to @Emmit’s comment re the same.

Ian
 
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Sorry if I wasn’t clear in my original post 😊

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AS Silver-Fox has pointed out a van can be "Car derived"

That means that it is fitted as it would be if it was an estate car, ie a second set of seats etc. It may also be fitted out with a means of cooking, sleeping etc, as you may find with a VW Transporter.
In those circumstances, the"Van" becomes, on application, a `Car derived van' and is allowed the higher speed limits.

I think you are confusing ‘Dual Purpose Vehicles’ with the very specific CDV definition. Have a look at the DfT LINK I posted above.
 
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It’s a bit frustrating, I have no way of knowing what my “registered“ unladen weight is, there is no record of it on the v5, only mentions Revenue Weight, nothing on any plates on the vehicle or as far I can find in of the motorhome info supplied with the vehicle.

One would assume that if a driver is to adhere to the legal speed limits this would a mandatory requirement on the vehicle VIN plate and V5
 
Hi all after 4 years of motorhoming in a 3500mh I have in my ignorance realised that I have been breaking the law by driving at 60mph on a single track road where as any my over 3050 is limited to 50
As a van driver I was very surprised that my is different to vans
I was in contact with both DVLA and DVSA on this very subject last week! My MGW is 3700kg but I don’t know my unladen weight.

i asked DVLA who said they don’t have a database but it ‘might’ be on the V5C. It isn’t.

They referred me to DVSA as the enforcement agency. It transpires they only have a database for HGV’S which they said ‘excludes motorhomes and Campervans’.

The result is, even if you should be limited to 50mph (60mph on a dual carriageway) then it’s unenforceable!
 
I guess if you were being prosecuted for doing 60 rather than 50 you could go and have your van weighed and show it is under 3050 when you have your day there, but that's a lot of risk and faffage. I'm in similar situation - 3300 gross weight on a PVC (built as a camper from new by Trigano, not a small converter), so pretty sure I'l be under 3050 unladen. but it isn't written down anywhere that I can see.

I tend to assume it's on the under 3050 limits.

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