# Just got back from the weighbridge...



## Snunkie (Mar 21, 2011)

4960 with 25% fuel and 25% water

Will keep the ticket with us when travelling but will it be of any use if we get pulled or do they take you to a weighbridge anyway? I do it more for peace of mind but just wondered if it holds any weight (lol) if you get pulled. Obviously we'll have a full tank of fuel at some points which could push us just over. Is there any leeway?


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## andrewball1000 (Oct 16, 2009)

How much wine will you be adding?


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## EJB (Aug 25, 2007)

If you are overweight when travelling and get stopped a piece of paper won't help.
I would be looking at solving the problem to start with!?
Anyway, it's incredibly rare to be stopped and weighed :wink:


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## Snunkie (Mar 21, 2011)

andrewball1000 said:


> How much wine will you be adding?


Oh no! I forgot we haven't added the wine yet :roll:


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## ob1 (Sep 25, 2007)

Assuming your max loading is 5000kg? Personally It would drive me mad having to drive round forever having to worry about being overweight and filling up and down with water. 

Don't think a weight ticket will be any good as that only indicates what your weight was at that time - when you could have been stripped down bare. Over here just keep away from handy weighbridges where they may have a blitz on. Abroad they now carry mobile weighing units I'm told in which case they will almost certainly weigh you if suspect. It's a chance you take I suppose.


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## flyinghigh (Dec 10, 2012)

+5% before getting a fine if it's a jobs worth, and as VOSA are now self funding their isn't much chance of avoiding a fine


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## Snunkie (Mar 21, 2011)

EJB said:


> If you are overweight when travelling and get stopped a piece of paper won't help.
> I would be looking at solving the problem to start with!?
> Anyway, it's incredibly rare to be stopped and weighed :wink:


If only it were that simple. We have an argos Burstner 747 58 plate and there are 6 of us. I've only packed 5 days worth of clothes each for 3 weeks but we have a portable washing machine.

There were loads of extras fitted when we bought it such as 4 bike rack, dometic Aircon, 3 extra water tanks (which we removed) Camos dome, gaslow 2 x large bottles, which has eaten into a lot of the 725kgs payload. On top of that there are 2 adults, 4 children, all of average weight, 3 days food, toolbox, chairs, table, plates, cutlery etc. we won't take things like the waste water carrier as won't be staying in one place for very long but we do take a generator which weighs 22kgs as we don't tend to use hookup. We do have tennis rackets, badminton, footballs etc but I don't want to leave those behind as playing together as a family is a big part of our holiday.

We took the cadac out even because that's heavy and we're just taking a gas stove with griddle for outside cooking which has saved more weight.

I just don't think they're designed to take 6 people within the payload, even though it is a 6 seatbelt/7 berth MH and it's only going to get worse as the children grow

:twisted: :evil:


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## EJB (Aug 25, 2007)

My son has a very similar problem with a 3500Kg van....but there are only 5 of them :roll:


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## 91502 (May 1, 2005)

In the UK you will get 5% before a fine with the police but I don't think visa have any leeway but either way you will have to lose the extra weight before you are allowed to drive off. Over the channel I doubt there is any leeway as they have none with speeding.
Does your weight include all your passengers?
I would be running empty of water if I were you as filling with fuel will put you over and I doubt you intent to keep the tank at 25% and fill every hour or so.
Do you really need a generator with the extra solar?
As you say your vehicle was never designed to carry 6 people and all their stuff.


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## dalspa (Jul 1, 2008)

You could leave one of the (large) gaslow bottles at home - two full ones for a summer break is a lot of gas, and weight. With one bottle on board you could top it up after a few days and this will give you an idea as to your useage (if you don't already know) so that you never run out. I just have a single (large) Gaslow and a French Le Cube when in France - the Le Cube being our "reserve" and for the bbq. Never run out yet.

With 6 people on board, 25% water is not going to last long. Similarly with 25% fuel. You need to shed a bit more weight. Do you have removable carpets? Every little bit helps.

DavidL


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## peribro (Sep 6, 2009)

As has been mentioned before, the easiest way to get peace of mind is to uprate the weight. I think SVTech can increase your weight to 5,200kgs. However you need to watch your individual axle weights carefully - particularly the rear ones.


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## 91502 (May 1, 2005)

dalspa said:


> You could leave one of the (large) gaslow bottles at home -


Or one of the children? 
By next year they will have all grown a few KG so you will have no option.
Sell a child or the motorhome?


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## dalspa (Jul 1, 2008)

I think Lucy is preparing for the "off" this weekend, so SVtech isn't an option at the moment.

DavidL


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## bigcol (Jan 22, 2010)

As has been posted above,the ticket is merely what you weighed on the day.Have seen lorries/motorhomes/caravans beings weighed in lay byes,service stations,testing stations etc.But ,you have be unlucky to be stopped.I have only been pulled twice (in a lorry both times),that was when i was driving full time.Have you given any thought to seeing if the van can be up-rated? Had ours done without having any modifications done,so was just a paper exercise,but ,now don't have to worry about being overweight.Colin


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## ob1 (Sep 25, 2007)

Snunkie said:


> EJB said:
> 
> 
> > If you are overweight when travelling and get stopped a piece of paper won't help.
> ...


......................

Snunkie - Have you weighed your front end? Unusual I know but this is where the trouble is with that model. Ours was near the limit on the front end and we were only two up!


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## Mrplodd (Mar 4, 2008)

If you are ever stopped for a weight check there are only two figures the Rozzer/VOSA awill be interested in.

1. The numbers on your vehicle plate
2. The numbers shown on the weighbridge 

If the numbers at 2 are lower than the numbers at 1 you dont have a problem.

If the numbers (any nof them) at 2 are HIGHER than at 1 then you DO have a problem.

Any earlier weight tickets are just bits of paper, they prove what your MH weighed when the ticket was produced. Since then you could have added anything you fancied couldnt you???

Its is VERY rare (but not unknown) for MH's to be pulled for a weight check. The authorities are FAR more interested in overloaded trucks because its them that knacker roads, not piddly little motohomes !!

An HGV thats 10% overweight is carrying over 4 TONNES extra weight, Thats the weight of my motorhome when its fully laden !!!

10% over on my MH is 400Kg thats the thick end of half a tonne!!

The thing I always used to look for on MH's was the rear tyres/axle. Did the vehicle look to be dragging its ar** along the road?? If it did then there would be a reason :wink: , usually too much weight (as in a BMW 850 motorcycle on a rack at the back of a Talbot 3500Kg vehicle  , yep seen it more than once, collosal rear axle overload). 

That of course can be disguised by fitting Air-ride suspension, so I would then look at the tyres to see if they were bulging. That of course can also be disguised to a certain extent by over inflating the tyres!! Sometimes it was just a gut feeling. 

If you think you might be overweight you probably are, especially if you have a 6 or 7 berth MH. 

I asked the question at the NEC show a year or 2 ago and was told, by a makers rep with a straight face, that although the MH had 6 berths you were expected (by the manufacturers!!) to have the majority of those planning on sleeping in your multi thousand pound motorhome travel in a different vehicle until you all met up on site WTF????    

A really useful rule of thumb is to look under the back and see if the axle is resting on the bump stops !!! Yes I am/was aware some were "spring assister" If there is daylight between them your can be fairly certain you are not over weight.


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## bigtree (Feb 3, 2007)

As has been said,ditch one of the gas bottles you don't need it as there are plenty of places to get gas in France.Why the genny when you have all that solar? I will take the Dometic aircon off your hands. :wink:


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## 91502 (May 1, 2005)

Ive just been speaking with an ex colleague and I asked him what the targets were at the moment. 
He said that on their last national check they were 
Foreign registered lorries for tachographs offences and non payment of the new road tax.
Local bulk loaders and skip lorries for weight.
Caravans and motorhomes (Main holiday routes) for defects and weight offences.

He said they stopped dozens of caravan and about 75% had defects, (mainly tyres and brakes) and about 30 motorhomes of which over half were overweight and roughly 25% had defects.

What was also interesting is they were recording the number of A frames on the road in preparation for the new regulations as they are expecting them to be banned.


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## Snunkie (Mar 21, 2011)

I have all the forms fm svtech, just haven't done it yet because we were deciding whether to put air suspension on or not :roll:


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## Priston (Jul 3, 2012)

There are a number of weigh points built into the road system within the UK, I think at least 8. They take axle weights and via photo recon of number plates can check your max weight via DVLA in real time. There is at least one on the M50. The authorities have effused information as where the sites are located, following a recent request via freedom of information


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## 91502 (May 1, 2005)

Snunkie said:


> I have all the forms fm svtech, just haven't done it yet because we were deciding whether to put air suspension on or not :roll:


You will always be right up on the limit even with the maximum increase as your family are growing all the time so will quickly eat into it, wouldn't you be better saving the and putting it towards changing your vehicle for one with a realistic payload.


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## Jeannette (Aug 7, 2012)

The French are red hot on it at the moment. When I went to Normandy for the D Day celebrations they were weighing motorhomes all over the place and fining for a variety of offences including being overweight. I talked to a couple in the lay by just past the peage where they were being held and they were draining water and waste out of the tanks in an attempt to get under weight in order to be allowed to go.

Our last van we uprated via SV Tech to get it legal as before we stepped on board it weighed in at 3420kg and the back axle was over weight due to the previous owner fitted an A Section tow bar bumper thing, winch and air con to name but a few of the offending items.

This time around with a new Bessacar we have been very careful on what we added and now have a spare 180kg when full of fuel, full of water and all our stuff for a 2 week trip. We did not bother with air con this time as we never used it, I fitted Alugas bottles which saved 12kg which offset the extra weight of the type approved removable tow bar. We swapped out all the plates and cups etc for some unbreakable ultra lightweight stuff that still feels like proper plates. Dumped all the junk from the garage and fitted an external BBQ point to run the Cadac from the refillable gas rather than humping an extra cylinder.

We still have the same functionality we had before but its all better managed now.

The saving in weight has proven worthwhile in the improvement in MPG, up from 23mpg to 32mpg compared to the old van.

Its possible to travel legally but you have to pack right and not pack rat....


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## bigtree (Feb 3, 2007)

There was VB Air suspension fitted to Orville when we bought him but the paperwork states fitting it does not increase the payload,in saying that my V5 does state 5.3t.


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## Carl_n_Flo (May 10, 2005)

bigtree said:


> There was VB Air suspension fitted to Orville when we bought him but the paperwork states fitting it does not increase the payload,in saying that my V5 does state 5.3t.


Agreed - my paperwork for the Airide suspension specifically states that it does NOT increase the payload....only the comfort.


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## Snunkie (Mar 21, 2011)

Well I've spent the afternoon taking stuff out of the motorhome that I think we can do without and have managed to free up 70.7kgs

That means that we currently have a free payload of 110.7kgs

We cannot afford to change our MH and having spent years looking at them this one had the biggest payload of any that were suitable for a family of 6 with 6 essential seat belts so we will not be changing it any time soon. We had a 3.5 before and had to change because we were overweight.

I wish I'd done the SV Tech exercise but just never got around to it. However they have told me that it's possible we could get up to 5400kgs with air suspension. I know that air suspension won't increase the payload per say, but SV Tech tell me that it may be that the MH is capable of a higher payload than it is rated at and they have said we can go to 5200kgs just as a paper exercise and possibly 5400 with the addition of air suspension. The trouble is, we don't have a spare £6k to pay out for it so that's not on the cards at the moment.

We don't have a problem with the front axle weight being over. If anything ours seems to be back axle heavy but at the moment the axles are both under the maximum. 

However, we have yet to fill up with fuel so that is going to use most of the spare payload up and I won't be happy if we get stopped and we have to bleed diesel to free up some weight! Would rather dump whichever of the children is behaving the worst
:lol: 

Yes I know that sounds terrible but if you'd had to spend the past 3 weeks with them like I have and had the day I've had with them you'd totally agree with me :twisted:


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## Snunkie (Mar 21, 2011)

I wouldn't mind but I haven't got anything electric on board other than the portable washing machine, no kettle, no toaster, no microwave, etc. I've only got one saucepan, 1 frying pan, 2 baking trays. We have one fold up lightweight chair each, one table to eat from, one to cook on but they are both lightweight tables. The table in our motorhome is not suitable for use outside but the kids use it going along for colouring/drawing/loom bands etc (I bet you've never heard of loom bands!)

We need bedding, clothes, crockery and cutlery for 6 of us. Buckets and Spades are essential as the kids spend hours on the beach playing. I don't know of any MH that would be able to cater sufficiently for us and believe me I have spent hours, days, weeks, months, years looking at them. 

We take tennis rackets and snorkels and masks because that is all part of the type of holiday that we do together

The dog only weighs 4.1kgs :lol: 

It's just so frustrating. They are just not built for families to travel in!


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## Snunkie (Mar 21, 2011)

I have left the Fresh water hog on board but that's because we struggled last year sometimes getting water because a lot of the taps at aires were the push ones that we couldn't connect a hose too. I know a lot of you are going to tell me to use a watering can but it just won't work with 6 of us all having a shower every day. It would take us forever to fill up and as I'm usually cooking or washing or cleaning whilst Rich is watching the kids so it's not easy to do 6 or so trips with a watering can when we could do one with the water hog. The water hog and new expandable hoses still weigh less than the 50m hose and reel we were carrying last year


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## mistycat (Jan 28, 2014)

i remember looking at a MH which was 4 berth,
without clothes, and toiletries,
2 berth with them,
its criminal the weights on some of these MH's before you load them,
so you do have to do your home work,
we had ours uprated an extra 200 kgs dosn't sound much till you get on the weigh bridge
was the kids in when you weighed it off,
just asking,
hope all goes well otherwise its going to spoil yor away
Misty


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## mistycat (Jan 28, 2014)

New game for the kids,
fill the watercan and put it in the motorhome,
shower every day??
wow you must be a clean lot, kids are suppose to be mucky 
Misty


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## Snunkie (Mar 21, 2011)

JP said:


> Snunkie said:
> 
> 
> > I have all the forms fm svtech, just haven't done it yet because we were deciding whether to put air suspension on or not :roll:
> ...


It has a 725kgs payload though. I've not seen many with that or more payload that are suitable for 6 to travel in and we went for the best one we could afford


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## Snunkie (Mar 21, 2011)

mistycat said:


> i remember looking at a MH which was 4 berth,
> without clothes, and toiletries,
> 2 berth with them,
> its criminal the weights on some of these MH's before you load them,
> ...


I know, how are they allowed to get away with that? I've heard some are overloaded when they come out of the factory!

Yes, all the kids were on board when we went to the weigh bridge, with all our food, clothes etc

We carry 2 electric cables, 1 x 10m and 1 x 25m so I've removed the 25m as use the 10m for the inverter to the washing machine and the generator and don't plan on being on hookup unless desperate

Have counted out the tent pegs for awning and sunshades and put 4 spare in. One mallet instead of 2. Changed over freestanding washing line for window hanging airers.

Everything just adds up. 2 Towels each but they are really thin beach towels.

The most essential requirement is at least 2 bottles of red wine for me and Mr Snunkie because with 4 children we need it!!


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## Snunkie (Mar 21, 2011)

I really think Motorhoming was just invented for retired couples with maybe a dog or 2 and never intended for families. But we love the lifestyle and wouldn't change it. It suits us. 

If we were to book a hotel, family rooms usually cater for a max of 5 and that's usually with 1 cot. Being a family of 6 with children aged 13 down to 6 we would need 2 rooms, which means we'd each have to sleep in a room with 3 of the children, never mind doubling the cost because of having to have 2 rooms. We hate being restricted to checkout times, flight times, hotel rules blah blah. We have so much freedom with our motorhome. I just wish the manufacturers would realise that there are some younger families out there who are lucky enough to have been able to afford a motorhome and love the lifestyle and that they need to take that into consideration when building the higher berth models.


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## Carl_n_Flo (May 10, 2005)

Why do you say that you will only use hookup if you are desperate?

Surely, being over-weight IS desperate? Leave the genny at home and take a hookup cable....much lighter.

And less annoying to other campers nearby...........


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## gaspode (May 9, 2005)

Leave the gennie at home, if you have a solar panel you won't need it.
You don't need to shower every day, use a sponge to do all over and call in a municipal site every few days for a soak. That means you can leave water/waste carriers/hoses behind.


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## dalspa (Jul 1, 2008)

Lucy,
With your 110kg free payload you can now fill the diesel tank up and add a little more water for when you are doing the main part of your travels. When you get near to your chosen destination, you won't need to have so much fuel on board so you can have more water. I know it's a bit of juggling, but it can be done. Hardest balancing part is the journey home when you can't have any water or diesel or gas, but loads of wine (boxes)  

Have you thought of using a Hozelock portable shower (stand inside shower tray) instead of the on board shower head. We have used one for years if we are wanting to conserve water - both of us can gat an adequate shower out of one 5ltr fill (just takes a couple of kettle fills of hot water into the cold in the portable shower). You would probably do all the kids with just over a 5ltr fill up. We actually used our on board hot water boiler at the weekend for the first time in over a year - just to see it was all working.

DavidL

Ps. Tried the water gauge for the first time at the weekend (only had the van 4 years) and it appeared to be fairly accurate! Won't need to peer into the top of the tank from now on 

Pps. When you get back, it would be worthwhile getting the extra 200kg onto your payload using the paper excercise method with SVTech. This would give you a bit of a cushion to play with.


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## 91502 (May 1, 2005)

The reason why they don't build a 6 berth motorhome that will actually carry 6 people and all their equipment is no one would buy them.

First of all they would be well over 3500kg and therefore unable to be down plated to allow restricted licence holder to drive them. A lot of larger MH's are actually down plated and used only by retired couples who like the extra space. 

Secondly they would have to be built on larger base vehicles which would make them extremely expensive and way beyond most peoples budgets.

Thirdly the people who would actually have the money to buy and need one would make the market so small it would not be worth the money required to design test and build them.


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## Brian-the-Snail (Dec 1, 2011)

As Carl-n-Flo and Gaspode have already said ditch the Genny, if you only have the washing machine for electric and assuming it runs off the inverter and plenty of Solar available why carry it this would also make the hook up cable unnecessary. Buy 4 x 5litre bottles of water and use the bottles for water transport and you could also ditch the water hog, the children would probably love the adventure of getting water with them, well the 1st time at least.


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## pippin (Nov 15, 2007)

Washing machine on board? 

You will be wanting a tumble-drier next!

For heaven's sakes - you are on holiday!

Who needs clean clothes all the time?

You are obviously not old enough to remember the days before washing machines.

The â™€ of the species had this mantra "must wash me 'smalls'".

The modern variant is to have a pair of knickers for every day of the holiday - even for all of you that would be nowhere near as heavy as a washing machine.

As for bras - be brave, nobody will recognise you.

It might surprise you to learn that most €uropean countries have lots of towns and villages with washeterias. And, yes, I AM being patronising:lol: :lol:


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## hogan (Oct 31, 2006)

Are you going to be parked up for a week or more without hook up. If you are driving every few day then ditch the genny. 

Are you using the washing machine every day or once a week. If every day take more clothes and ditch the genny. 

Are you going north(take genny)
Are you going south ( ditch genny)

I think you may get my gist
DITCH THE GENNY


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## mistycat (Jan 28, 2014)

Is Genny one of her kids? :lol: :lol: 
it must be us taffy's, wash every day!! clean knickers every day!!
all you need is a toothbrush,
man your on holiday, washing clothes, thats what they invented shorts for, they last days, take up no room,
and as long as you dont post family photo's nobody knows you or gives a damm what you look like,
get yourself a 40lt dry bag put a bit of water, soap mixture and dirty shorts scunch it around a bit (another good game for the kids) rinse and dry hey you done the washing,
those kids need to loose the electronic stuff and start playing with the water can and stuff, camping is fun, even in a motorhome,
Misty


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## Jeannette (Aug 7, 2012)

I judge the quality of my holiday by how ripe my washing is when I get home...... :lol:


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## Snunkie (Mar 21, 2011)

You lot make me laugh :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol:


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## Snunkie (Mar 21, 2011)

Yeah yeah ditch the genny. I hear you :roll:


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## peribro (Sep 6, 2009)

Lucy, the odds of getting stopped are pretty slim and from the sound of it you've sorted it out for this trip. However I wouldn't spend £6k on air suspension for an extra 200kg but I would certainly spend the £350 or so that SVTech charges to go from 5,000kg to 5,200kg - indeed, I have done exactly that. From what you have said, the extra 200kg will enable you to have a full tank of fuel and still have 150kg or so left over. 

If you are still struggling, another option to consider is a small trailer. The cost of that and a towbar (if you haven't got one already) will be much less than the £6k for air suspension and give you much greater free payload - I imagine that the train weight of your van is 6,000kg so you would have ample additional payload after knocking off the weight of the towbar and trailer.


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## Snunkie (Mar 21, 2011)

Don't want to leave one of the gaslow bottles behind. We're self catering for 6 for 3 weeks and last time we tried to fill up with lpg at a French garage someone came running over to us shouting god knows what. I'm assuming it was because we have to open our gas locker door to fill and I believe in some places you must be able to fill from outside without opening a door?

Is it legal for the kids to go in the trailer then :lol: :wink:
No seriously, would not want to be towing a trailer around. We get into some right awkward places and it's hard enough getting the motorhome out let alone with a trailer on it. 

We have a motorhome with a huge amount if storage, most of which is now empty to free up payload. What a waste :roll:


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## hogan (Oct 31, 2006)

8 years in France usually in the winter and we have only been refused gas top up once. We also have to open our gas locker door. I think you were just unlucky.


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## Jeannette (Aug 7, 2012)

Snunkie said:


> Don't want to leave one of the gaslow bottles behind. We're self catering
> 
> We have a motorhome with a huge amount if storage, most of which is now empty to free up payload. What a waste :roll:


That's the curse of the motorhome, especially a large one. We gave more limited storage in the new one than our old Starblazer so have become way smarter at packing. I take very little in the way of clothes on holiday but still manage to bring unworn stuff back!

I leave the packing to Jeannette!

Cheers
Steve


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## oldun (Nov 10, 2005)

JP said:


> In the UK you will get 5% before a fine with the police but I don't think visa have any leeway but either way you will have to lose the extra weight before you are allowed to drive off. Over the channel I doubt there is any leeway as they have none with speeding.
> Does your weight include all your passengers?
> I would be running empty of water if I were you as filling with fuel will put you over and I doubt you intent to keep the tank at 25% and fill every hour or so.
> Do you really need a generator with the extra solar?
> As you say your vehicle was never designed to carry 6 people and all their stuff.


You get an extra 5% to allow for the fact that the weighbridge may be recording values higher than the real weight so you may not be getting much extras.

I have no idea of the accuracy of commercial weigh bridges but they are designed to weigh up to 30 tonnes or more so the error at 3 tonnes could be significant.


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## Snunkie (Mar 21, 2011)

Well we'll be all sorted in my couple of weeks. We're booked in with AS air suspension for air assist on the rear tag axles and svtech are up rating us to 5500kgs. We can carry up to 1800kgs on each rear axle and up to 2100kgs so long as we don't exceed 5500kgs in total, but that will give us a massive extra 500kgs payload so we don't need to worry any more about being illegal if we go over the 5000kgs but we should also be able to carry the scooter on the back as the air assist will lift the back up a bit too.

Most importantly we can bring plenty of wine home :lol:


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## Carl_n_Flo (May 10, 2005)

Snunkie - be VERY careful about carrying a scooter on the back of your 747 - do the calcs for % overhang to wheelbase ratio.

It isnt always what your payload is or what your rear axles can carry, but sometimes your actual bodywork might not be able to take the strain.

Please do check these things out.....the 747 has an enormous overhang, and I am sure I remembered reading a post on here some time ago about the rear of a 747 being damaged but I cannot remember by what.


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## Snunkie (Mar 21, 2011)

Carl_n_Flo said:


> Snunkie - be VERY careful about carrying a scooter on the back of your 747 - do the calcs for % overhang to wheelbase ratio.
> 
> It isnt always what your payload is or what your rear axles can carry, but sometimes your actual bodywork might not be able to take the strain.
> 
> Please do check these things out.....the 747 has an enormous overhang, and I am sure I remembered reading a post on here some time ago about the rear of a 747 being damaged but I cannot remember by what.


Yes I'm aware of that, I used the svtech online calculator. There is a hefty tow bar frame fitted by pws and I spoke to them about carrying a scooter on the back with the pws scooter carrier and they said absolutely no problem on that model but I was still a bit concerned. However, it's all fitted to the chassis so can't see how it would affect the actual bodywork in any way? And with the air assist it shouldn't ground like it does sometimes when going up a steep hill from a flat area as we should be able to raise it just enough?


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## Snunkie (Mar 21, 2011)

Oh, by the way, I left the genny at home as advised, didn't miss it at all :roll:


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## deefordog (Dec 31, 2013)

Soon there'll be no dodging Vosa http://www.transportsfriend.org/enforcement/wims.html

Looks like these WIMS systems are already here in some places and how do we know we've not been over one as their locations are obviously very secret?


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## nicholsong (May 26, 2009)

deefordog said:


> Soon there'll be no dodging Vosa http://www.transportsfriend.org/enforcement/wims.html
> 
> Looks like these WIMS systems are already here in some places and how do we know we've not been over one as their locations are obviously very secret?


Does anyone know the tolerances of the WIMS system

If it can weigh a 40t HGV it would have to have an accuracy of 0.5% to catch a MH overweight by 200kg.

How do VOSA know the MPLM of foreigh vehicles?

Geoff


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## Snunkie (Mar 21, 2011)

peribro said:


> Lucy, the odds of getting stopped are pretty slim and from the sound of it you've sorted it out for this trip. However I wouldn't spend £6k on air suspension for an extra 200kg but I would certainly spend the £350 or so that SVTech charges to go from 5,000kg to 5,200kg - indeed, I have done exactly that. From what you have said, the extra 200kg will enable you to have a full tank of fuel and still have 150kg or so left over.
> 
> If you are still struggling, another option to consider is a small trailer. The cost of that and a towbar (if you haven't got one already) will be much less than the £6k for air suspension and give you much greater free payload - I imagine that the train weight of your van is 6,000kg so you would have ample additional payload after knocking off the weight of the towbar and trailer.


Svtech £260 plus Vat to go up by 200kgs as a paper exercise but we're getting air assist in a couple weeks to go up by 500kgs so we can carry the scooter and that is £3031 for a tag axle


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## peribro (Sep 6, 2009)

> *Snunkie *Svtech £260 plus Vat to go up by 200kgs as a paper exercise but we're getting air assist in a couple weeks to go up by 500kgs so we can carry the scooter and that is £3031 for a tag axle


That's good - half the price you originally thought.


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