# New Checks for Overloaded Vehicles



## baldlygo (Sep 19, 2006)

Not sure if this will be of interest to UK motorhomers but might be worth bearing in mind - or not as the case might be :!:
http://www.frenchvie.com/limousin/viewtopic.php?t=7613

Paul


----------



## blackbirdbiker (Mar 12, 2007)

Thanks Paul, having weighed my van fully loaded with only the scooter rack on I found that I only had a few more kgs left. with the scooter on I would be very near or over the limit.
So it's push bikes only for this trip.

Keith


----------



## Nauplia (Sep 30, 2007)

This might be a new system for the French but it's old hat here in the UK. VOSA has a national network of Weigh in Motion sensors (WIMs) linked to ANPR cameras.

Also, the French use the word 'impound' but this translates, in a practical sense, into 'prohibit' in English. Again, VOSA and the Police have this power in the UK.

If you want to know what the fine might be, should you be both overloaded and caught then its a sliding scale. If you google 'VOSA enforcement sanctions policy' you can see the detail.

Best bet is not to be overloaded (or caught).

An interesting game to play to pass the time on UK motorways is to spot the VOSA site. It will have cameras above all 3 lanes plus a collection of 'control boxes' just off the hard shoulder. I think they work through wires set into the road surface so look for the loops let into the 
tarmac, just like at traffic lights. I think we have spotted one on the M6 north of Brum.


----------



## tramp (May 25, 2005)

dont mention those APNR camrea things :twisted: :twisted: , cost me 3 points in my hgv for going at 50mph on the A303, just keeping the traffic flowing officer


----------



## MyGalSal (Dec 8, 2008)

Good link Paul and worth noting. We were pulled over on A63 at Biarritz last Dec, weighed and fined €90 for being 250kg over. We were lucky and did not have to ditch excess. 
We were surprised at being so overweight as we had been told that our payload was 700kg (also stated in handbook) so when we got home we stripped the van and took it to the weighbridge to find that our payload is only 530kg. The difference being the grey area between so called standard spec and what the manufacturers add on before we even drive it out of the showroom. We ourselves have added 100kg with roll out awning etc so it doesn't leave much for all your bits for a long trip, especially if you want to carry passengers. 
In fact I feel a crusade coming on.... whilst at Peterborough show we went searching for a van with a big payload and it is alarming what some dealers will try to tell you. In some cases I am sure it is ignorance , i.e. insufficient knowledge of their product and in others well.... some have a rather cavalier attitude so I leave that to people's imagination. 
We looked at a Rapido in Brownhills, Newark and were told by a senior member of staff that it was 5 tons. We were passed over to a salesman who also assured us it was a 5 ton vehicle 'with a huge payload of 800kg'. My husband asked to check the vin plate which was tucked away under the bonnet and lo and behold it was only 4250 - much to the astonishment of the salesman who obviously had been misinformed. We then had a long discussion with him re payload. He was adamant that the payload was as stated and I think he truly believed that the payload was the stated 800kg. We finally concluded however, with the aid of the brochure, that there were deductions to be made from the stated payload such as 50kg for the optional 3L engine it was fitted with, 17kg for the comfortmatic etc etc. Eventually we reckoned that the stated 800kg payload was actually only 680kg. One has to really dig deep and cover all bases to ensure that the van is fit for one's purpose - and sometimes we only learn by painful experience.
It is my opinion, and only my opinion, that info given re the payload of a vehicle is not always sufficient or accurate. I know that there are many optional fittings which makes it difficult to publish a generic catch-all brochure but I believe we should be advised what the actual payload is on any van in the showroom.
I apologise if I have hijacked this thread with my rant - or perhaps the start of my crusade for true payloads?
Sal


----------



## rayc (Jun 3, 2008)

Like Sal I checked a few weights at Peterborough. I was surprised at what was on offer with a 3.5t MGW. There were for example A class MH's with very large garages. it appears to me that it would be impossible tokeep within the MGW especially when the weight of passengers is taken into account.


----------



## bozzer (Jul 22, 2009)

Quite agree with Sal

Wouldn't it be a good idea if each Motorhome had to be weighed and a vehicle weight, when leaving factory, added to vin plate. Then we could work out with additions etc what payload was left.


----------



## sweetie (Nov 28, 2005)

Thanks to Sal as we where travelling the same way we weighed our van before leaving for spain earlier this year, with everything loaded and 1/2 tank of diesel came in 40kg under weight.

Steve


----------



## Blizzard (Sep 21, 2009)

Paul,

Good link  and it has served to remind me to visit a local (ish)certified weighbridge before my French hols.

I've got the opportunity to get certified weigh tickets for _empty_ and _full holiday mode_

Tramp,

Sounds like you tripped a speed camera rather than an ANPR camera


----------

