Maximum legal speed in a van

[V8RX7]

blank said:

Coin Slot. said:

So I have a VW T32 LWB Kombi, rear seats, rear windows, glass tailgate, 2300kg unladen.

Commercial or passenger carrying limits?

2,300kg unladen seems high?

It does, my LWB Vito weighs approx 1850kg

[anonymous-user]

blank said:

2,300kg unladen seems high?

I Googled it, probably wrong.

Fully loaded I believe it’s 855kg per front corner and 860kg per rear corner.

855x2 = 1710kg and 860x2 = 1720kg 1710+1720 = 3430kg max weight

Either way it’s bloody confusing for your typical white van man.

[anonymous-user]

V8RX7 said:

It does, my LWB Vito weighs approx 1850kg

It’s a 4-Motion too with rear seats etc.

[lost in espace]

My T5 Shuttle has the higher limits?

[V8RX7]

Coin Slot. said:

V8RX7 said:

It does, my LWB Vito weighs approx 1850kg

It’s a 4-Motion too with rear seats etc.

This site looks fairly comprehensive - look like you're right - most are 1950 ish but the 4wd adds a LOT of weight

http://www.vanleasingmadesimple.com/data/volkswage...

[scorcher]

Coin Slot. said:

blank said:

2,300kg unladen seems high?

I Googled it, probably wrong.

Fully loaded I believe it’s 855kg per front corner and 860kg per rear corner.

855x2 = 1710kg and 860x2 = 1720kg 1710+1720 = 3430kg max weight

Either way it’s bloody confusing for your typical white van man.

Max gross weight is 3200 kgs. It’s either 1710 max weight on the front axle or 1720 kgs on the rear but not both together . If you have 1720 kgs on the rear axle then max permissible on the front is 1480 kgs etc etc

[anonymous-user]

scorcher said:

Max gross weight is 3200 kgs. It’s either 1710 max weight on the front axle or 1720 kgs on the rear but not both together . If you have 1720 kgs on the rear axle then max permissible on the front is 1480 kgs etc etc

Ahh I see, that would make sense, thanks for the explanation.

[FiF]

scorcher said:

SS2. said:

scorcher said:

It's a dual purpose vehicle and it weighs more than 2040kgs unladen..

If it weighs in at more than 2040kg unladen, it can't be a dual-purpose vehicle.

.#pedantry matters..

Only in the eye of the law !

But the point is that if someone gets pinged, the camera unit or back office will rely on the actual vehicle data to check if lower limits apply.

It's also very possible, way from, for example the rear windows or not issue, that manufacturer optional extras specified on a vehicle can push it into the lower speed limit category compared to a standard spec vehicle.

Quite normal for various spec vehicles within a model range to have different limits. Yes it is a dog's breakfast. One could argue that in the case of a regular owner/driver it's not too much for them to find out and check the details, but as we can see on this tgread not completely straightforward, yet in the case of someone flung the keys by a fleet manager or hire firm on short notice could be a minefield.

[bigdog3]

FiF said:

Quite normal for various spec vehicles within a model range to have different limits. Yes it is a dog's breakfast. One could argue that in the case of a regular owner/driver it's not too much for them to find out and check the details, but as we can see on this tgread not completely straightforward, yet in the case of someone flung the keys by a fleet manager or hire firm on short notice could be a minefield.

Cynical maybe but I suspect the authorities are very happy with all this confusion. Plenty of scope to fine motorists for no good reason

[scorcher]

Don’t be silly. It’s all in the name safety. If it saves just one life it will all be worth it

[bigdog3]

scorcher said:

Don’t be silly. It’s all in the name safety. If it saves just one life it will all be worth it

Sorry I was forgetting the creed

[TwistingMyMelon]

I've got a ford connect Tourneo
7 seats, based on van , sold as car/van
Glass windows all round , inc back
1750 unladen kerb weight
2300kg plated on door
V5 did list it as an estate at dealers , but that changed when I bought it and they issued a new one . Can't remember what it is now
Insurance treat it as a car , so much cheaper insurance than a van , or other 7 seaters

Still not 100% sure of limit tbh

[SS2.]

TwistingMyMelon said:

I've got a ford connect Tourneo
7 seats, based on van , sold as car/van
Glass windows all round , inc back
1750 unladen kerb weight
2300kg plated on door
V5 did list it as an estate at dealers , but that changed when I bought it and they issued a new one . Can't remember what it is now
Insurance treat it as a car , so much cheaper insurance than a van , or other 7 seaters

Still not 100% sure of limit tbh

Car limits - it matters not what the V5 says.

[blank]

TwistingMyMelon said:

I've got a ford connect Tourneo
7 seats, based on van , sold as car/van
Glass windows all round , inc back
1750 unladen kerb weight
2300kg plated on door
V5 did list it as an estate at dealers , but that changed when I bought it and they issued a new one . Can't remember what it is now
Insurance treat it as a car , so much cheaper insurance than a van , or other 7 seaters

Still not 100% sure of limit tbh

Sounds like a car.

Check here - https://vehicleenquiry.service.gov.uk/

If it says Type Approval M1 then it's a car and there like questioning if a standard Corsa has different speed limits.

If it says Type Approval N1 then you need to look here http://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/1986/1078/regul... and see if it meets the requirements for a Dual Purpose Vehicle.

[TwistingMyMelon]

Cheers all , says M1

[Coire]

To muddy the water even more, if you fit at least one side window, install gas and build a living space inside a van, ie: reclassify it as 'motor caravan', you can then drive it at the higher speed limits.

The lower speed limits for vans under 3.5T is absolute madness in my view.

[SS2.]

Coire said:

To muddy the water even more, if you fit at least one side window, install gas and build a living space inside a van, ie: reclassify it as 'motor caravan', you can then drive it at the higher speed limits.

To muddy the muddy waters even further, I'm not of the opinion a recent motor caravan conversion needs to be reclassified before the higher speed limits would apply.

[ where 'motor caravan' is a vehicle constructed or adapted for the carriage of passengers and their effects and which contains, as permanently installed equipment, the facilities which are reasonably necessary for enabling the provision of mobile living accommodation for its users. ]

Guidance on what facilities the DfT considers 'reasonably necessary' can be found here.

[speedking31]

But if the SCPs and Police are referring to a database to decide whether to issue a NIP (which they must be), then why not give the public access to that database so you can look up your own vehicle's details and know that you are complying with the law? Then at least everyone is singing from the same hymn sheet.

Or do the SCPs make it up as they go along?

[cptsideways]

SS2. said:

Coire said:

To muddy the water even more, if you fit at least one side window, install gas and build a living space inside a van, ie: reclassify it as 'motor caravan', you can then drive it at the higher speed limits.

To muddy the muddy waters even further, I'm not of the opinion a recent motor caravan conversion needs to be reclassified before the higher speed limits would apply.

[ where 'motor caravan' is a vehicle constructed or adapted for the carriage of passengers and their effects and which contains, as permanently installed equipment, the facilities which are reasonably necessary for enabling the provision of mobile living accommodation for its users. ]

Guidance on what facilities the DfT considers 'reasonably necessary' can be found here.

I'm just about to send off the paperwork to get mine, re registered. Bonkers really as its now over 3tons all up.

[Gareth79]

I don't think this gov.uk guide has been posted in this thread yet:

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/car-der...

Although I think this is incorrect, from a strict legal perspective:

"If your van is a CDV, it will be recorded as such under ‘body type’ on the vehicle’s registration document (V5C). If there is any other entry under ‘body type’ the vehicle is not registered as a car derived van and will be subject to speeds lower than the national limits."

AFAIK the speed limits are based on whether a vehicle meets certain requirements in law, not what it is registered as? Obviously the speed camera guys will use the registration details to determine a limit, but that could be challenged.