Motorhome weights
Discussion
Motorhome weights have been discussed on here a few time recently - but does anyone actually check their motorhome?
Having used ours at the weekend I decided to get it weighed today to see roughly how much spare weight we have. Motorhome is 2017 Pilote Galaxy G740GJ and when we purchased it last December we had the choice to register it as the standard 3500kg, or register it at 3650kg, as I have the license to drive over 3500kg we chose to go for the 3650kg option to give us additional payload.
According to the manufacturer specification when registered at 3500kg our motorhome should have a payload of 425kg, so with our 3650kg registration we should have 575kg of payload.
So I had it weighed today - configuration over and above standard was.....
- The motorhome and all permanent fitted bits (above base motorhome) 4.5m wind out awning / Solar Panel / 2nd Leisure battery / TV etc etc
- All 4 of our bikes in the garage (not heavy bikes either, kids are islabikes, mine is a carbon MTB, GFs is a light hardtail MTB)
- All essential stuff in garage (water hoses / electric cable / ramps / drive away awning / tables / chairs / bike padlocks / rucksacks etc)
- Approx 70l fuel (just over 3/4 tank)
- 2 x refillable 13kg gas bottles, approx 90% full
- All bedding
- No fresh water (fully drained)
- No waste water (fully drained)
- No clothing
- No food
The motorhome was weighed without me in the drivers seat, so imagine my surprise when the weight came out as 3520kg - basically without driver / passengers / food / clothing / water we are already over the maximum 3500kg of the standard motorhome.
At a rough estimate the stuff we have over a standard van when weighed today adds up to around 240-250kg, however this should still leave us with with around 330kg ish of payload, however the reality is that we only have 130kg - this probably means that the standard van (at 3500kg) never had 425kg of payload, but really only had had around 225kg and we started with around 375kg - by the time the 2nd gas bottle / awning / 2nd battery etc are added we are already running very low on payload!
Having used ours at the weekend I decided to get it weighed today to see roughly how much spare weight we have. Motorhome is 2017 Pilote Galaxy G740GJ and when we purchased it last December we had the choice to register it as the standard 3500kg, or register it at 3650kg, as I have the license to drive over 3500kg we chose to go for the 3650kg option to give us additional payload.
According to the manufacturer specification when registered at 3500kg our motorhome should have a payload of 425kg, so with our 3650kg registration we should have 575kg of payload.
So I had it weighed today - configuration over and above standard was.....
- The motorhome and all permanent fitted bits (above base motorhome) 4.5m wind out awning / Solar Panel / 2nd Leisure battery / TV etc etc
- All 4 of our bikes in the garage (not heavy bikes either, kids are islabikes, mine is a carbon MTB, GFs is a light hardtail MTB)
- All essential stuff in garage (water hoses / electric cable / ramps / drive away awning / tables / chairs / bike padlocks / rucksacks etc)
- Approx 70l fuel (just over 3/4 tank)
- 2 x refillable 13kg gas bottles, approx 90% full
- All bedding
- No fresh water (fully drained)
- No waste water (fully drained)
- No clothing
- No food
The motorhome was weighed without me in the drivers seat, so imagine my surprise when the weight came out as 3520kg - basically without driver / passengers / food / clothing / water we are already over the maximum 3500kg of the standard motorhome.
At a rough estimate the stuff we have over a standard van when weighed today adds up to around 240-250kg, however this should still leave us with with around 330kg ish of payload, however the reality is that we only have 130kg - this probably means that the standard van (at 3500kg) never had 425kg of payload, but really only had had around 225kg and we started with around 375kg - by the time the 2nd gas bottle / awning / 2nd battery etc are added we are already running very low on payload!
Your experience doesn't surprise me at all. It seems that manufacturers are making motorhomes rated at 3500kg so they can sell them to anyone. Dealers conveniently don't raise the potential problem with purchasers. The actual weight is often in excess of the quoted weight, meaning the already meagre payload is even smaller.
We are lucky as we have about 900kg of payload available, so don't have to worry too much.
We are lucky as we have about 900kg of payload available, so don't have to worry too much.
Adding a trailer means adding a towbar, which in turn means more weight over the back axle. I didn't mention it previously but back axle was within limit at 1900kg (Max 2000kg) and as bikes etc were in the garage I don;t see this becoming overloaded unless we have lots of fresh water onboard. All additional travelling weight sits in front of back axle minimising the overall effect on the back axle.
As for what we will do next time we go away - we'll likely do as we have done for the past few years in our old and new motorhomes - which is fill up with what we need and go! I may investigate uprating to 3850kg though.
In regard to being stopped, Personally I don't know anyone who has ever been stopped in a MHome, however a mate is a HGV driver and he got pulled last year. He said that when he was stopped a MHome had been pulled and when the MHome was weighed they got all of the passengers and driver out of the van first and then weighed it, the same also went for his truck and they weighed it without him. I am not sure if they then consider driver / passenger in teh calcs but he seemed to think not.
As for what we will do next time we go away - we'll likely do as we have done for the past few years in our old and new motorhomes - which is fill up with what we need and go! I may investigate uprating to 3850kg though.
In regard to being stopped, Personally I don't know anyone who has ever been stopped in a MHome, however a mate is a HGV driver and he got pulled last year. He said that when he was stopped a MHome had been pulled and when the MHome was weighed they got all of the passengers and driver out of the van first and then weighed it, the same also went for his truck and they weighed it without him. I am not sure if they then consider driver / passenger in teh calcs but he seemed to think not.
This is a topic I knew only too well with my original Rimor Superbrig. It too was plated at 3.5t and I was assured by the previous owner that it had "plenty of payload" and being naiive first-time buyer, I believed him. He told me he had his wife plus four kids in there, plus all their holiday stuff.
This vehicle was weighed quite by chance at the MOT before I sold it (only had it four months) and it was shockingly coming in at 3.6t with just a driver on board and no water and only basic motorhoming kit (hose, cable, chocks/ramps etc). I was selling it anyway but couldn’t get rid of it quick enough after that. God only knows how much overweight it was with the previous owner or the chap who bought it off me and loaded it to the gills with his whole life to fulltime in it!
That’s why when I bought my Hymer 640S I was over the moon when I found it was on the 4.6t chassis. In reality, there was more payload available on that van than there was storage, but it did enable me to load whatever I wanted on it and always have water on board whilst travelling etc and I never had to give payload a second thought. I did get it weighed though and that confirmed that even pretty well loaded I had 1t of payload spare.
The Concorde is a different matter. It’s plated at 5,990kg and although that might at first sight seem quite a generous max, the chassis itself is heavy and then adding on very solidly built cabinetry and fittings, there’s not as much payload as one might think. The first thing I did was get it weighed and luckily I have around 500kg to play with even with full tank of fresh water (250litres of the stuff), full fuel tank (120litres), full LPG (100litres) and a couple of passengers (myself @ 80kg and 2 x 60kg). So I’m all good, but I can see why some uprate the chassis to 6,490kg to give themselves a tad more headroom if they’re carrying motorbike etc. Even though I have a large rear overhang by virtue of the garage, the axle loading is ok at the rear – I’ve got much more to play with there than I have at the front, which is literally down to the last 100kg so I have to be careful with what I load in the forward ski locker under the living room.
But in answer to the question, yes I do very much keep an eye on weights. Once bitten, twice shy. I have also been pulled over by VOSA (thank god in the Hymer) during one of their campaigns – there were plenty of motorhomes having to be emptied and people having to call taxis etc. as they were overloaded and not allowed to continue their journey. I think a lot of motorhomers think it’ll never happen to them and overload themselves knowingly (or stick their head in the sand) and think they'll either never be pulled over, or have to brake hard to avoid an accident. The problem is, it only needs to happen once and in respect of the latter issue, it may very well be the last time you do anything – or if it’s not you who’s killed, it’s some other poor person. I’m sure every chassis has a certain bit of tolerance built in, but there’s a reason for max weights to be heeded. I always now carry a weighbridge certificate with detail scribbled on the back of what was on board the vehicle when it was weighed so that it can be produced if ever requested or queried.
All that said, I think it’s outrageous at how motorhome producers are partly complicit in the whole issue of facilitating people overloading their vehicles. Although I know that some make a point of what additional options do to erode payload, but I think so much focus is given to keeping people from needing C1 that the matter of “useful” payload is glossed over. At the end of the day, the driver of a vehicle is responsible for whether it’s within its permitted parameters, but it’s a shame they’re put in a difficult position to start with by the manufacturers of the vehicle.
This vehicle was weighed quite by chance at the MOT before I sold it (only had it four months) and it was shockingly coming in at 3.6t with just a driver on board and no water and only basic motorhoming kit (hose, cable, chocks/ramps etc). I was selling it anyway but couldn’t get rid of it quick enough after that. God only knows how much overweight it was with the previous owner or the chap who bought it off me and loaded it to the gills with his whole life to fulltime in it!
That’s why when I bought my Hymer 640S I was over the moon when I found it was on the 4.6t chassis. In reality, there was more payload available on that van than there was storage, but it did enable me to load whatever I wanted on it and always have water on board whilst travelling etc and I never had to give payload a second thought. I did get it weighed though and that confirmed that even pretty well loaded I had 1t of payload spare.
The Concorde is a different matter. It’s plated at 5,990kg and although that might at first sight seem quite a generous max, the chassis itself is heavy and then adding on very solidly built cabinetry and fittings, there’s not as much payload as one might think. The first thing I did was get it weighed and luckily I have around 500kg to play with even with full tank of fresh water (250litres of the stuff), full fuel tank (120litres), full LPG (100litres) and a couple of passengers (myself @ 80kg and 2 x 60kg). So I’m all good, but I can see why some uprate the chassis to 6,490kg to give themselves a tad more headroom if they’re carrying motorbike etc. Even though I have a large rear overhang by virtue of the garage, the axle loading is ok at the rear – I’ve got much more to play with there than I have at the front, which is literally down to the last 100kg so I have to be careful with what I load in the forward ski locker under the living room.
But in answer to the question, yes I do very much keep an eye on weights. Once bitten, twice shy. I have also been pulled over by VOSA (thank god in the Hymer) during one of their campaigns – there were plenty of motorhomes having to be emptied and people having to call taxis etc. as they were overloaded and not allowed to continue their journey. I think a lot of motorhomers think it’ll never happen to them and overload themselves knowingly (or stick their head in the sand) and think they'll either never be pulled over, or have to brake hard to avoid an accident. The problem is, it only needs to happen once and in respect of the latter issue, it may very well be the last time you do anything – or if it’s not you who’s killed, it’s some other poor person. I’m sure every chassis has a certain bit of tolerance built in, but there’s a reason for max weights to be heeded. I always now carry a weighbridge certificate with detail scribbled on the back of what was on board the vehicle when it was weighed so that it can be produced if ever requested or queried.
All that said, I think it’s outrageous at how motorhome producers are partly complicit in the whole issue of facilitating people overloading their vehicles. Although I know that some make a point of what additional options do to erode payload, but I think so much focus is given to keeping people from needing C1 that the matter of “useful” payload is glossed over. At the end of the day, the driver of a vehicle is responsible for whether it’s within its permitted parameters, but it’s a shame they’re put in a difficult position to start with by the manufacturers of the vehicle.
I am currently investigating options to upgrade the weight on ours, I've spoken to SVTech and they have provisionally specified......
To take to 3850kg max weight, but keeping rear axle at 2000kg
- Air Assist for rear suspension (£360+VAT)
- Paperwork (£260+VAT)
To take van to 3850kg max weight, but increase rear axle to 2240kg
- As above
- New rear tyres with 112 load rating (Have to go from 215/70-15 to 225/70-15) - Approx £200
I think the best option may be to go for the 3850kg and 2240kg back axle, but I'll do a bit more research first as it may even be possible to upgrade to 4000kg
To take to 3850kg max weight, but keeping rear axle at 2000kg
- Air Assist for rear suspension (£360+VAT)
- Paperwork (£260+VAT)
To take van to 3850kg max weight, but increase rear axle to 2240kg
- As above
- New rear tyres with 112 load rating (Have to go from 215/70-15 to 225/70-15) - Approx £200
I think the best option may be to go for the 3850kg and 2240kg back axle, but I'll do a bit more research first as it may even be possible to upgrade to 4000kg
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