# Hymer B644 weights.



## davesport (Nov 12, 2006)

Note to mods. Unsure if this should be in Chitchat or Tech.

OK the story begins when I first bought our van. I wanted something with a highish payload because we carry lots of stuff, mainly sports equipment. The B644 comes into this country rated at MAM 3900Kg. From memory the sales bumph stated the unladen weight as 3100KG. Thats plenty I foolishly thought.

So the last time we went away I thought I roll across the weighbridge to see how much spare capacity I had left. Well the answer was NONE. I was 180 Kg's overweight. 

My original maximums should'nt exceed
1850 Kg on the front axle
2200 Kg on the rear axle
3900 Kg Total.

With full water, diesel, 4 pax, 3 bicycles, two kayaks & gear my weights were
Front axle 1880 Kg
Rear axle 2180 Kg
Total 4080 Kg.

I ditched the most of the water & some gear to bring me back down to my maximum plated weight of 3.9 Te.

I've now had the vehicle replated up to 4000 Kg by SVTech. So I trotted of to the weighbridge again, van basically empty. A camping table , some chairs & a few tools & water hoses etc, but no water, the fuel light's on so probably only 10 litres of fuel & me at 90 Kg's  in the drivers seat + 2 11Kg gas bottles which are full.

Front Axle 1740 Kg
Rear Axle 1740 Kg
Total 3480 Kg

It was a bit of a puzzle why I'm 380 Kg's over the stated 3100 Kg that I thought was the empty weight............until you look in the handbook & take stock of all the the parts that Hymer don't include.
Insulated waste tank 14Kg
Oven 10Kg
Floor carpet 8Kg
Pull down bed 66Kg
Roof rails + ladder 17Kg
Electric step 18Kg
Passenger door 24Kg
Cycle rack 11Kg
Fire extinguisher 3Kg
Garage 50Kg
Cab A/C 15Kg
Fridge 13Kg
Awning 40Kg
Oyster sat system 25Kg
Solar installation 15Kg
Total 329Kgs

This goes a long way to explaining where all the extra weight comes from :twisted: & not Mrs Davesport as I originally thought :lol: 

The moral of the story is look carefully at the figures before parting with your dosh. I asked & was told that the unladen weight was 3100 Kg & this lined up with what the brochure said. 800 Kg's payload is plenty I thought, but it's not 800 it's closer to 400 Kg  now up-plated to 500 Kg.

Add people, gear, fuel & water & you're verging on illegal.

Dave.


----------



## vicdicdoc (May 14, 2005)

Yep - welcome to the club - I'm quite near the limit too


----------



## javea (Jun 8, 2007)

Another one here with a 2007 B544SL which I recently took to the weightbridge. With wife on board, 75% fuel, no water just under the 3500kg limit. Also had mine uprated by SVTech to 3850 which gives me a bit more payload but certainly not excessive.

Think Hymer should be clearer about the unladen weight by including the standard features such as drop down bed, fridge, carpet et al.

There must be a lot of people out there innocently driving around in an overloaded state.


----------



## peejay (May 10, 2005)

Good post Dave;

I don't have a payload problem with my little B504 (3900 maxi chassis) as it has exactly the same axle weights as yours even though its a little diddy 5.9 mtr model but your post shows how important a visit to the weighbridge is.

I'm recently new to B class Hymers and on ours there is a lever in the underfloor area which operates a vent so you can't fill the tank more than 75% full which might help the payload a little bit if anyone has the 3500 chassis or regularly runs close to their max weight.
I can't find any reference to it in the manual, but someone said this is fitted to all double floor models. 

I assume everyone knows about this lever?

pete


----------



## ardgour (Mar 22, 2008)

yikes! thanks for letting us know - we have been meaning to take 'big bertha' to the weighbridge but haven't got round to it because our nearest one was demolished to make way for a new road so it is a bit of a trek to find another. We have the same van with the 3900kg plate and have been merrily throwing stuff in thinking we had lots of spare capacity. Surely the Hymer dealers should be pointing this out - I wonder how many others are wandering around overloaded.
Chris


----------



## Nauplia (Sep 30, 2007)

*WEIGHT*

Mike and others

We are all caught in the middle of a downward spiral here. We all want more on our vans - better insulation, better heating, better interiors, more powerful engines, air conditioning etc etc. The problem is that they all add extra weight to a base vehicle. I read in the Caravan Club handbook - must have been really bored - that 'motor homes are frequently overloaded'. No wonder tyre manufacturers are reluctant to specify pressures without actual axle weights. The solution lies firmly in the care of manufacturers. They have a legal obligation to manufacture something fit for purpose. It would be nice for this forum and the major clubs to start to put some pressure on them.

Anyway enough of the philosophising.

To find my axle weights I e-mailed VOSA (address on their website)and asked if they could help me stay legal. They were very helpful and the end result is that I was weighed by them at one of their weighbridge sites. I made sure I was full of fuel and water but not much else. This gave me a base line and I loaded up from there. I even went back in full 'holiday' mode and found I was just under the axle limits.

Whilst all this was being done, their manager at the site told me that they were planning some motorhome checks this summer. They would look for overloading, roadworthiness and were also interested in cars being towed on A Frames. Not surprising really and probably about time.


----------

