Weight

[Westbarn1]

Excuse me, this is my first motorhome, I'm in a bit of a quandary regarding my 2018 Hymer 520S vehicle weights. Just got the V5 back, from buying it (via Motorhome.com) and on the V5 the Revenue weight is listed at 3500KG gross (PLG).

Now on the MB vin plate, attached to the side of the drivers seat, it shows a plated weight of 3880Kg, front axle 1860 Kg rear 2430Kg total weight 5880 Kg which is total weight, including load and any trailer.

I also did a VIN check on on Last VIN.com which came up with the options, which included A50 Front axle with increased carrying load,C33 Rear spring harder, C43 rear axle stabiliser reinforced lower frame, C45 HD front axle stabiliser, and CF6 front spring and damper reinforced, of course these may well be standard on any chassis cab vehicle when it leaves the factory, I don't know.

There is no Hymer plate that I can find.

So my thought process is, has the weight already been upgraded, but the vehicle left at 3500Kg to suit the first owner due to driving licence restrictions,
in which case shall I leave it as such for other reasons, such as restrictions on driving in some towns or maybe cheaper travel on the toll roads.

Or how easy is it to get the weight limit upgraded and what is the process, as I'd like to carry a motorcycle in the garage and would prefer not to tow it, besides which there is no tow bar fitted. John.

 

[Norman Jones]

There should be a sticker by your habitation doorstep on the sill. If not look at your registration docs.

 

[Phill D]

hi, it would say it most likely that either

1. DVLA got wrong
2. previous owner down plated and did not put a revised plate on the vehicle

 

[Norman Jones]

Get on to the dealer, there are several at 3.5 tons on:

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[pappajohn]

hi, it would say it most likely that either

1. DVLA got wrong
2. previous owner down plated and did not put a revised plate on the vehicle

3. Registering dealer got it wrong.

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[Speve]

Our 2018 Hymer plate is onto side just in front of garage door on the skirt

 

[pappajohn]

Westbarn1 first job, go find a weighbridge.
Load up ready to camp and get weighed.
If the V5 states 3500kg and the VIN states 3880 there's a good chance you're overweight.

 

[Westbarn1]

There should be a sticker by your habitation doorstep on the sill. If not look at your registration docs.

No sticker by the door, just checked to be sure, got a whole folder full of documentation, including some sort of Hymer build certification (I dont read German), which says, via google translate ' technically approved total mass in loaded condition 3500Kg' which sort of answers one of my questions, except it also shows front axle weight of 1860 Kg, rear 2430 Kg, which by my maths adds up to 4290 Kg

 

[Westbarn1]

Our 2018 Hymer plate is onto side just in front of garage door on the skirt

Looked in the garage too

 

[Speve]

front axle weight of 1860 Kg, rear 2430 Kg, which by my maths adds up to 4290 Kg

Those weights are max on individual axle and never add up to your mgvw it’s to allow some flexibility when loading ?

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[pappajohn]

except it also shows front axle weight of 1860 Kg, rear 2430 Kg, which by my maths adds up to 4290 Kg

That is to allow uneven loading.
You could load the rear to 2430kg but the front could only be 1070kg.
2430 + 1070 = 3500kg

 

[Westbarn1]

That is to allow uneven loading.
You could load the rear to 2430kg but the front could only be 1070kg.
2430 + 1070 = 3500kg

Okay got that now, so, as a matter of interest, what is the best way to go about upgrading the weight limit?

 

[Speve]

Okay got that now, so, as a matter of interest, what is the best way to go about upgrading the weight limit?

Contact SV Tech they are very good?

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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

 

[Phill D]

If the MB plate states max as 3880 good chance you can upgrade to 3880 without any physical modifications..
i did mine myself a few years ago from 3500 to 3650 because my Fiat plate allowed that but it was a long drawn exercise with DVLA.

better to use an engineering company that DVLA listen to regularly like SVTech

 

[peterc10]

The important question is do you have a licence that includes a C1 entitlement. If not you cannot drive anything with a MGW over 3500kg.

The next thing to do is to get it on a weighbridge to see what its actual weight is unloaded. The difference between that and the MGW will determine the maximum weight you can put in it, i.e. the payload.

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[Westbarn1]

Yes appreciate info re SVtech, looks like there is another guy too John Raffles, at Bury St Edmonds.

Yes have the C1 and 63, so a few years left yet!

Will do the weigh bridge bit!

Its a minefield, no wonder its easy to get it wrong!

 

[peterc10]

Yes appreciate info re SVtech, looks like there is another guy too John Raffles, at Bury St Edmonds.

Yes have the C1 and 63, so a few years left yet!

Will do the weigh bridge bit!

Its a minefield, no wonder its easy to get it wrong!

OK. It looks like somebody has deliberately down graded it to 3500kg so that it will appeal to more buyers. The Hymer plate is silver with black letters and always on the off side skirt somewhere near the rear, so it looks like that has been removed.

It would be best in that case to upgrade the V5 to 3880, or more if SVTech suggest it is OK. The more payload the better, but as a minimum for use with 2 people going away for long trips it should be 400 - 600kg, depending upon your lifestyle.

 

[pappajohn]

And as a bonus to uprating, your road tax will drop to £165pa

 

[Westbarn1]

OK. It looks like somebody has deliberately down graded it to 3500kg so that it will appeal to more buyers. The Hymer plate is silver with black letters and always on the off side skirt somewhere near the rear, so it looks like that has been removed.

It would be best in that case to upgrade the V5 to 3880, or more if SVTech suggest it is OK. The more payload the better, but as a minimum for use with 2 people going away for long trips it should be 400 - 600kg, depending upon your lifestyle.

Definitely no plate, options in the Hymer brochure are 3500/3880/4200Kg, will start with the weigh bridge and consult with Svtech, maybe fit assisted air bags on the rear first, I really would like to carry a m/c in the garage, there is a sticker inside giving a weight limit of 350Kg, so should be okay.

 

[Lenny HB]

Our 2018 Hymer plate is onto side just in front of garage door on the skirt

Only place I've ever seen them on Hymer's.

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[peterc10]

Definitely no plate, options in the Hymer brochure are 3500/3880/4200Kg, will start with the weigh bridge and consult with Svtech, maybe fit assisted air bags on the rear first, I really would like to carry a m/c in the garage, there is a sticker inside giving a weight limit of 350Kg, so should be okay.

Your problem may be the weight on the rear axle as well as the overall weight. A motor cycle behind the rear axle will add more than its weight to the rear axle load because of the cantilever effect. We have a 2015 Hymer B678 on the Alko Maxi chassis rated at 4500kg and a rear axle limit of 2500kg. We have a Suzuki Address scooter (100kg) in the garage and when we are fully loaded ready for 6 weeks away our rear axle is close to its limit, although we have about 150kg to spare on the overall weight.

I would suggest that you try to upgrade to 4200kg if you can.

 

[Westbarn1]

Thanks I’ll do that, the bike is a bit heavier than your Suzuki, it’s a BMW G310R, it fits and I have already used the Hymer to collect it from Manchester and didn’t notice it was on board, but of course want to be safe as well as legal.

 

[peterc10]

Thanks I’ll do that, the bike is a bit heavier than your Suzuki, it’s a BMW G310R, it fits and I have already used the Hymer to collect it from Manchester and didn’t notice it was on board, but of course want to be safe as well as legal.

That is 60kg more than mine. I think you will have difficulty being able to carry that legally, unless you do not put anything else in the garage! Especially when so much of your internal storage is in the back, as with mine.

 

[Westbarn1]

I will see how it goes, if it doesn’t work out, I can always down size the bike, or tow.

 

[Norman Jones]

I would definitely first ask the outfit that sold it to you why the sticker has been removed.
Secondly, if the police stop you they will go by anything that's written on the V5.

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