Driving overweight van
Discussion
Fast Bug said:
bigothunter said:
The simple 1978 Transit Mk2 LWB had a 190 variant. That meant 1900kg payload in a 3500kg GVM. Modern vans have lost their way 
Modern vans have a heck of a lot more safety items than a 1978 Transit. They also have to comply with emissions regulations that mean more and more complex components. All of which add weight. I'd much rather crash in a new Transit than a 1978 Transit that's for sure...bigothunter said:
Fast Bug said:
bigothunter said:
The simple 1978 Transit Mk2 LWB had a 190 variant. That meant 1900kg payload in a 3500kg GVM. Modern vans have lost their way
Modern vans have a heck of a lot more safety items than a 1978 Transit. They also have to comply with emissions regulations that mean more and more complex components. All of which add weight. I'd much rather crash in a new Transit than a 1978 Transit that's for sure...Fast Bug said:
Good job I'm not complaining about it. It's down to operators to make sure they're not running overweight. I've lost count of the number of times I've been asked if uorated rear springs are available as the operators don't want a van to look overloaded
Airbags and an onboard compressor 
It is surprising how weight adds up. Really lwb and xlwb 3500kg sprinters aren't really fit for purpose, in the way they can loaded up but you could find yourself massively overweight.
I have a self built small camper/day van. 3200kg lwb high top transit custom. These aren't particularly big, I was pretty weight conscious for the build. Dry weight, (without the water tanks full and gas on board) it weighs in at just under 2700kg. Fully loaded with 2 passengers it just over 3000kg.
Most large vans (when plated to 3500kg) conversions and horse boxes will be overweight when loaded.
I have a self built small camper/day van. 3200kg lwb high top transit custom. These aren't particularly big, I was pretty weight conscious for the build. Dry weight, (without the water tanks full and gas on board) it weighs in at just under 2700kg. Fully loaded with 2 passengers it just over 3000kg.
Most large vans (when plated to 3500kg) conversions and horse boxes will be overweight when loaded.
Reminded me of a spot last week. A Romanian plated VW Tow Rag passed me on my MTB with a wide trailer in tow. 4 hours later I saw the same outfit, on the same road, but now going in the opposite direction. This time with a Romanian plated Merc Sprinter on the trailer.
I thought at the time that must be well overweight !
I thought at the time that must be well overweight !
KTMsm said:
Fast Bug said:
Good job I'm not complaining about it. It's down to operators to make sure they're not running overweight. I've lost count of the number of times I've been asked if uorated rear springs are available as the operators don't want a van to look overloaded
Airbags and an onboard compressor RSpiston said:
Reminded me of a spot last week. A Romanian plated VW Tow Rag passed me on my MTB with a wide trailer in tow. 4 hours later I saw the same outfit, on the same road, but now going in the opposite direction. This time with a Romanian plated Merc Sprinter on the trailer.
I thought at the time that must be well overweight !
VW Touareg will tow 3500kg so as long as the Sprinter was empty it would be legal I thought at the time that must be well overweight !
I used to do a lot of RTV/CCVT off-roading. One guy had a 100" 'Defender' fully kitted up with heavy duty offroad protection, external rollcage 3 winches etc etc. He was towing it with a FWD transit and was pulled coming over the Tay Bridge in Dundee, he was something like 2T over the towing capacity of the van he was driving.
Expecting a big fine, instead he was fined £50 and just had to get someone else from the club to come grab the trailer.
Expecting a big fine, instead he was fined £50 and just had to get someone else from the club to come grab the trailer.
KTMsm said:
RSpiston said:
Reminded me of a spot last week. A Romanian plated VW Tow Rag passed me on my MTB with a wide trailer in tow. 4 hours later I saw the same outfit, on the same road, but now going in the opposite direction. This time with a Romanian plated Merc Sprinter on the trailer.
I thought at the time that must be well overweight !
VW Touareg will tow 3500kg so as long as the Sprinter was empty it would be legal I thought at the time that must be well overweight !
We have a lot of collection firms running Touaregs now. Good tow vehicle.
MDMA . said:
A good twin axle trailer able to carry a Sprinter will be about 950kg. Empty L2 Sprinter is about 2200kg, so well within the limit.
We have a lot of collection firms running Touaregs now. Good tow vehicle.
OK, fairly sure it was a 3 axle trailer from memory. Interesting about the towing capacity of the Touaregs.We have a lot of collection firms running Touaregs now. Good tow vehicle.
RSpiston said:
OK, fairly sure it was a 3 axle trailer from memory. Interesting about the towing capacity of the Touaregs.
See also Jeep Grand Cherokee, most Range Rovers and the Touareg sister vehicles (Q7, Cayenne).They work well as tow vehicles as they're not goods vehicles so you can avoid tachos, operators licences etc. When you hook a trailer up to a goods vehicle and end up over 3.5t train weight all these things come in to play and it gets very complicated with rules about what you can tow and how far.
Modern dual cab pickups are often too heavy to class as "dual purpose" so fall into this as well.
Another rule rarely enforced and broken all the time I guess!
oceanview said:
At work ,our new transit tippers weigh 2800 with just a few tools in the back and a light passenger.
That means we can only legally carry 700kg in the back before we hit the 3500kg limit.
The trouble is, the modern vans are much heavier than from say 20-30 years ago but, the 3500kg limit has stayed the same.
Yeah It’s mad. The drive train on a modern van bares no relation to what was used when the weight categories were introduced.That means we can only legally carry 700kg in the back before we hit the 3500kg limit.
The trouble is, the modern vans are much heavier than from say 20-30 years ago but, the 3500kg limit has stayed the same.
The days of an LDV Convoy with an engine that could barely pull the skin of custard and brakes that barely function even unloaded are thankfully a thing of the past. Even cheap Fiat vans are brilliant in comparison.
Personally I think the rules are madness's, I suppose its a but like braking distances, everything is out of date but the rules are there, if you get caught you took the risk, if you didn't you are lucky, sold my van now so will not drive overweight, I made a stupid mistake being overweight, won't do it again.
A1 today heading north near Retford. 70 plate Luton type van with 2 Asian guys in.
80 mph in the outside lane. Rear near side wheel/tyre looked well over loaded. Tyre deformed and right up into the wheel arch. They were barely in control. TBH I did contemplate calling the Police it was so bad. They travelled for some miles at this speed,
80 mph in the outside lane. Rear near side wheel/tyre looked well over loaded. Tyre deformed and right up into the wheel arch. They were barely in control. TBH I did contemplate calling the Police it was so bad. They travelled for some miles at this speed,
blank said:
See also Jeep Grand Cherokee, most Range Rovers and the Touareg sister vehicles (Q7, Cayenne).
They work well as tow vehicles as they're not goods vehicles so you can avoid tachos, operators licences etc. When you hook a trailer up to a goods vehicle and end up over 3.5t train weight all these things come in to play and it gets very complicated with rules about what you can tow and how far.
This is not right. Whether a tacho is needed is dependent on the use of the vehicle/combination and it's weight. It is nothing to do with whether or not the vehicle is a "goods vehicle". They work well as tow vehicles as they're not goods vehicles so you can avoid tachos, operators licences etc. When you hook a trailer up to a goods vehicle and end up over 3.5t train weight all these things come in to play and it gets very complicated with rules about what you can tow and how far.
If the GVW or GTW exceeds 3500kg and it used for commercial purposes then it requires a tacho (unless one of the exemptions or derogations apply). This applies even if the tow vehicle is not a "goods vehicle".
Cat
Cat said:
blank said:
See also Jeep Grand Cherokee, most Range Rovers and the Touareg sister vehicles (Q7, Cayenne).
They work well as tow vehicles as they're not goods vehicles so you can avoid tachos, operators licences etc. When you hook a trailer up to a goods vehicle and end up over 3.5t train weight all these things come in to play and it gets very complicated with rules about what you can tow and how far.
This is not right. Whether a tacho is needed is dependent on the use of the vehicle/combination and it's weight. It is nothing to do with whether or not the vehicle is a "goods vehicle". They work well as tow vehicles as they're not goods vehicles so you can avoid tachos, operators licences etc. When you hook a trailer up to a goods vehicle and end up over 3.5t train weight all these things come in to play and it gets very complicated with rules about what you can tow and how far.
If the GVW or GTW exceeds 3500kg and it used for commercial purposes then it requires a tacho (unless one of the exemptions or derogations apply). This applies even if the tow vehicle is not a "goods vehicle".
Cat
blank said:
I'm sure you're right, but can you point me to the legislation on that because that's not the conclusion our transport manager came to?
Your TM has come to the wrong conclusion...Transport Act 1968 and Regulation (EC) No 561/2006 of the European Parliament and of the Council.
Cat
Cat said:
blank said:
I'm sure you're right, but can you point me to the legislation on that because that's not the conclusion our transport manager came to?
Your TM has come to the wrong conclusion...Transport Act 1968 and Regulation (EC) No 561/2006 of the European Parliament and of the Council.
Cat
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