What is this payload thing?

[70321]

and why is it so important? (I told you it should be my husband asking these questions!) So a 3500kg van and then I keep hearing about payload. What do we have to be careful about? Thanks

 

[David and Sally]

Payload is the difference between the unladen weight of your van and the maximum weight it can be.

So, if your van is 3500kg max weight and 3200kg unladen weight then you have 300kg of payload.

There are many threads on here about what is included in your unladen weight and what is not. The importance is that you don't drive an overloaded van.

 

[Rosemary1]

We knew nothing about the payload on our first motorhome and the salesman definitely didn’t mention it. I wince now looking back how we used to pack it full with everything but the kitchen sink.

We lived and learned, 2nd motorhome salesman had to drive it round to a weightbridge and produce the paperwork before we came to a deal then

 

[70321]

So how do you know how much payload you are allowed?

 

[David and Sally]

Your V5

It should show

Max permissible mass and Mass in service.

Payload is the difference.

You will also have a plate in your engine compartment or door opening from the converter detailng these and the max axle weights per axle.

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[63720]

Put Payload in to the search box and tick titles, lots to read.

 

[Phill D]

So how do you know how much payload you are allowed?

as said above it is the difference between the 3500kgs and your motorhome unladen weight. i.E.
there is a mass of data on how tyo get these figures in various threads you need to search for payload...

 

[Reallyretired]

Any information from the manufacturer should be filed in the fiction section. The only way to know is load it as if you're going away and take it to a weighbridge, some charge and some don't.
If any people or things are missing you can just add their weight afterwards.

Most motorhomes with an MGW of 3500kg are probably overloaded.

 

[macker1]

Another thing people forget is individual axle weights it is also an offence to overload an vehicle axle in this country.

 

[suavecarve]

So how do you know how much payload you are allowed?

I note you havent got a van yet

Which ones are you looking at ? You could google them and find the payload they are quoting. What you then need to consider is more or less everything on top of that such as awning solar panel water passengers clothing cutlery tv pushbikes etc which eat into your payload.
There is a guide on here somewhere as to roughly how much you need and what things weigh that jim created.
I dont know where it is as i have loads of payload and a set of weighing scales

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[bigtwin]

And dont forget that the driver and passengers form part of the payload too.

Ian

 

[Pausim]

Get the dealer to weigh the motorhome before you buy. Best not rely on quoted payload, they are often wrong and any factory, dealer and previous owner fitted extras will need to be deducted from it. If buying new the unladen weight can 5% out (this is allowed) so a 3,000kg starting weight could easily be 3,150. That is 150kg off the payload. Then it is most likely that there will be unavoidable factory fitted extras that can easily eat up another 100/200kg.

 

[Minxy]

and why is it so important? (I told you it should be my husband asking these questions!) So a 3500kg van and then I keep hearing about payload. What do we have to be careful about? Thanks

Have you read Jim's Buyer's Guide? If not do so as it's free to subscribers and will definitely give you a lot of info which you can then regale your hubby with!

 

[pappajohn]

So how do you know how much payload you are allowed?

Take your van to a public weighbridge and ask for a readout slip to include both axle weights and total weight. .
If your van has a max weight of 3500kg it's the difference between 3500kg and the weight on the readout slip.
When loading, the axle weights for both front and rear axles combined cannot exceed the vans maximum weight and neither axle can weigh more than the max stated on the VIN plate
Example....
Weight at weighbridge = 2900kg
Max vehicle weight (from VIN plate) = 3500kg
3500kg - 2900kg = 600kg payload.
The payload includes you, passengers, towbar, awning, solar panels, extra battery, food, clothes etc

 

[RandallC]

OK, not going to name the dealer as still trying to recover our deposit. NO Don't ask.

Tech spec says MAM = 3500, MIRO quoted at 3125. But we want an awning, aircon (for the dog when in hot climes while we do non dog friendly things) Gaslow, solar panel.

To cut a very long story short was planning to pick this up early Feb/March. However had a cycling accident and couldn't drive/ do much, so with nothing better to do, thought I'd read up on the tech manuals etc. So when we get the van I'm up to speed with the new kit. Suddenly realised that the 3125kg MIRO we'd seen in the brochure is WITHOUT any dealer factory fitted items or Buyer specified dealer fitted accessories.

We thought the extras we wanted fitted to the van by the dealer would add say 100kg so looking at the 3500-(3125 +100) = 275kg payload. Nowhere near enough. Dealer said we can re-plate the van to 3850kg.
OK we said that leaves us circa 625Kg of payload, explained we have ebikes and previously used to having a tandem axle van that largely didn't care what you put in it, more than generous payload.

So with all this time my hands did the tech manual thing of adding up all the payload hits from, engine upgrade, auto box, mattress topper, Aldi heating, carpets etc, you get the picture.

So the total raised a few concerns and with this in mind asked the dealer to weighbridge the van.

At plated MAM it was 50 kg under. At re-plated weight there would be 400kg of payload. BUT 1/2 tank fuel, NO water, No Bedding No Passengers, No food, No anything.

To make matters worse the front axle only had 120kg of payload left, when you fill the fuel tank and the adblue, invite the better half and her handbag & of course the dog to accompany you, there is no payload left for anything else.

Rejected it as unfit for purpose.

Now think a very good idea to get a weighbridge ticket before parting with any cash

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[70321]

Take your van to a public weighbridge and ask for a readout slip to include both axle weights and total weight. .
If your van has a max weight of 3500kg it's the difference between 3500kg and the weight on the readout slip.
When loading, the axle weights for both front and rear axles combined cannot exceed the vans maximum weight and neither axle can weigh more than the max stated on the VIN plate
Example....
Weight at weighbridge = 2900kg
Max vehicle weight (from VIN plate) = 3500kg
3500kg - 2900kg = 600kg payload.
The payload includes you, passengers, towbar, awning, solar panels, extra battery, food, clothes etc

Still confused...is the 2900kg an empty base van weight?

 

[Phill D]

Still confused...is the 2900kg an empty base van weight?

you will continue to be confused until you spend some time reading Jim write up on payloads and that will explain all you need to understand. it is not a subject you will get your head around from random answers however accurate they are.
please , please, search for the articles on payload and read them it is easier than trying to establish what is need too know and what is nice to know.

 

[lorger]

Still confused...is the 2900kg an empty base van weight?

Yes in this example the empty van is 2900kg so give you 600kg of payload which should include all passengers and anything else you take.

 

[lorger]

Post what van you’re interested in and we may be able to help.

 

[pappajohn]

Still confused...is the 2900kg an empty base van weight?

Yes, but the quoted figure was just an example.
The ONLY real world way to find the unladen weight is to go to the weighbridge with NOTHING onboard except yourself and anything physically fastened to the van....towbar, solar panel etc. .
Whatever that figure is, for our purposes, is your Unladen weight.
BUT.... knowing the unladen weight is pointless unless you physically weigh everything you load onboard and total it up.

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[Laughing Gravy]

So to throw into the mix...

By upgrading from 3500 to 3850 by re-plating, does that mean the front and rear axle loads increase accordingly ?

Can’t see anything on this. Even the SV Tech website isn’t clear

 

[pappajohn]

So to throw into the mix...

By upgrading from 3500 to 3850 by re-plating, does that mean the front and rear axle loads increase accordingly ?

Can’t see anything on this. Even the SV Tech website isn’t clear

No, unless uprated springs and tyres are fitted the axle limits remain as they were.
You can only uprate to the axle max without modification.

 

[Laughing Gravy]

Thank you

 

[Stealaway]

Drive it the local weighbridge - they will often do it for free. Then check your V5 and see what that particular vehicles maximum weight is. The difference between the two figures will be your payload or how much you can carry - including passengers and pets - and the kitchen sink.
It's very often 3500 Kg maximum

 

[Laughing Gravy]

Tbh just had a nice surprise in that a bloke on here with exactly the same van spec kindly weighed his van and let me know the figures which showed overall weight at 2960kg with rear axle at 1220kg and front axle at 1680kg

ok, the remaining payload of 540kg isn’t amazing (against 3500 max) but what great is that the rear axle weight remaining leaves me with 780kg to play with (max being 2000kg) as long as I replate to 3850kg

enough for a substantial scooter on the back methinks

I think !

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[pappajohn]

You will need to add both axle max weights on the VIN plate under the bonnet. (they will total more than the current gross weight)
The total will be the max uprate weight but will leave no leeway for uneven loading.

 

[Laughing Gravy]

Hmm, uneven loading

I haven’t reached that chapter yet ! ?

 

[RandallC]

Tbh just had a nice surprise in that a bloke on here with exactly the same van spec kindly weighed his van and let me know the figures which showed overall weight at 2960kg with rear axle at 1220kg and front axle at 1680kg

ok, the remaining payload of 540kg isn’t amazing (against 3500 max) but what great is that the rear axle weight remaining leaves me with 780kg to play with (max being 2000kg) as long as I replate to 3850kg

enough for a substantial scooter on the back methinks

I think !

Depends you have to do the calcs to determine what the additional load at a distance from the rear axle adds to it and what it takes from the front.

Think this may have been covered before but not sure when, certainly if you google it you'll find online calculators.

Think of the levers involved, anything rear of the back axle adds more weight than the actual article and because that's a lever effect on the whole van takes weight off the front axle.

So considering extremes you can overload the back axle and cause wheel slip on the front because theres no weight to hold it down.

Your comment about re-plating to 3850 would suggest your currently 3500 with a rear axle at 2000 and a front at 1850. SVTech may up-plate to 3850 BUT that is your MAM and you still have axle max loads as 2000 & 1850. OR whatever it says on your rating plate.

As @Papajohn said the only sure way is to weigh it, Jim guide to what's required for most folks is a GUIDE.

Sorry to sound a bit off, not trying to be negative just reinforcing what others have said, it's a subject that catches a lot of folks out and dealers are, shall we say, slow to advise folks on this subject.

 

[Phill D]

Hmm, uneven loading

I haven’t reached that chapter yet ! ?

you lost 60kgs somewhere, front and rear weights add to 2900kgs total weight was 2960kgs. also i know the van is a pvc but the rear axle seems light at 1220kgs,

is it a 3.lt automatic as the front end seems a bit heavy,

 

[bigtwin]

So to throw into the mix...

By upgrading from 3500 to 3850 by re-plating, does that mean the front and rear axle loads increase accordingly ?

Can’t see anything on this. Even the SV Tech website isn’t clear

Depends what they are currently.

No, unless uprated springs and tyres are fitted the axle limits remain as they were.
You can only uprate to the axle max without modification.

Not necessarily; we uprated from 5,000, 2,000, 3,000 to 5,300, 2,000, 3,300 without any modifications.

Ian