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Up-plating
a motorhome
“It was
adding the bike rack wot dun us in guvnor!!”
We have
learned a bitter lesson. Bike racks, heavy E bikes and tow bars are a
no-no on a motorhome which has a perilously low payload rating.
We stuck
Bryony on the weigh station again with everything we took to Cornwall We were
‘inside the limit’ for the overall GVW (just) but the back axle was overloaded
by a few kilograms and was therefore illegal. (We had just filled up fully with
fuel whereas when we travelled around Cornwall, it was with a three-quarters
full fuel tank and no water onboard). We didn’t exceed the combined tyre load
rating but that isn’t the point.
So now the
conversation about up-plating is a reality. If I add in my new telescope when
it finally arrives, and then a full fuel tank and a three-quarters tank full of
freshwater for example, we will definitely be over the GVW of 3500 kg by around
120 – 140kgs. Excess weight had already
been trimmed out. The 50kg for the tow bar, the 45kg of electric bikes and the
18kg Thule bike rack chewed a whopping 113kg from our 469kg payload straight
away.
So, here are
some tips if you are thinking of fitting a tow bar and/or up-plating your
motorhome.
1. Before you fit a tow bar, especially
if you are getting a Broadway, check out the implications for your
individual axle weights and Gross Vehicle Weight. We walked into this trap
with naivety. Our dealership conveniently omitted to point out the potential
pitfalls associated with our thinking when we were discussing the fitting of a
tow bar with them! This post shares those pitfalls along with tips to avoid some
of them.
2. If you are new to motorhomes, you
must, must, must take any motorhome you are thinking of buying on a
test drive and during that test drive, try to get it on a weigh station. Emptied,
you can get three measurements – front and rear axle weights and overall
weight. You then know what the weight of your potential motorhome is
running empty of possessions. Remember also to factor in how much fuel and AdBlue
is onboard when you weigh it. Then you can do some sums regarding weights of
possessions, additional equipment, full water tank etc. By the way, weigh it
with you both in it and not just the driver!
3. Don’t trust what the brochure or
dealer tells you about the various vehicle weights! Our 469kg payload was severely dented
by that 51.6kg tow bar addition although in fairness, the corner steadies were
removed to fit it so we saved around 10kgs there. Remember there is physics involved
as well because any load that extends out the back, off the chassis, is in
reality heavier than it actually might physically weigh. It will act like a
see-saw and so make any load reading on the front axle slightly lighter. This
becomes a critical point during up-plating as you will see later.
4. Remember, those optional extra packs? We
remain convinced that those ate into the 469 kg payload by some margin as well,
although by how much is very difficult to work out. So, make sure you clarify with your dealer
exactly what has been added and whether that has been correctly included in any
weight calculations or not.
5. Consult some professionals if you are
new to motorhoming and are thinking of up-plating. Two we’ve talked to, and recommended
by the DVLA and DVSA, are SVTech and www.vanweightengineering.com . Our Broadway has 15” wheels and
leaf spring suspension. The tyres are Continental VancoCamper 215/70/r15 CP’s
with 109r load rating. You really need to know what all your various motorhome
weights are. Look for the weight plates on the door pillar and inside the
engine bay. You also need to understand what the tyre codes mean on your tyres
and be very, very clear what the maximum weight limits are on your front and
rear axles. We found helpful websites about the various motorhome load meanings
at
https://thegapdecaders.com/motorhome-weights-guide/
and
https://www.hortoncommon.co.uk/motorhome-weight-plates-explained/
A
great website for checking this yourself is called www.WillTheyFit.com
Here is what ours looks like when we enter the data sets on both tyres:
Another
website is
https://tiresize.com/comparison/
Remember
that altering the tyres may well affect your speedometer readings and you need
to check the implications of this out carefully with whoever you choose to do
the up-plating process with.
6. Before you start the up-plating
process you must check the warranty conditions of your base chassis model,
especially if it may involve changing the rear tyres to a different size. You
don’t want to discover you have invalidated it in any way due to the
modifications. At the same time talk with your insurance company as well
and see if they are happy with the proposed changes. Ours was quite clear. As
far as they were concerned if the DVLA issued a new V5 after up-plating, then
we were road legal and all the insurance company wanted to know was what
changes had been made. Sometimes you
have sufficient maximum weight limits on your axles to be able to up-plate
without any vehicle modifications – lucky you! Then there will be some of you
who will need to upgrade your suspension, either increasing the leaf springs
and/or adding air suspension. There should be no problem adding semi-air
suspension to your rear axles. There are huge advantages to doing so and your
motorhome dealer may well be able to do it at one of their service centres. I
have briefly highlighted some of the advantages at the end of this post. Both
SVTech and Van weight engineering in our initial contact with them, looked at
our weigh bridge results and motorhome dimensions and suggested fitting semi
air suspension on the rear axle and upgrading the tyres to 225/70/r15’s. Neither
company mention anything about load ratings on the tyres though. We had to work
out that for ourselves by soliciting opinions of experienced motorhome owners
on various forums and then checking that information with the companies. Two points here – the load rating is
critical on the tyres. It determines what your new total axle weight limits
can be after up-plating. Secondly, make sure any tyres are CP i.e.,
designed for motorhomes. Do not get fooled that commercial van tyres will do.
From an insurance and warranty viewpoint they are more likely not to. CP tyres
are specifically designed to have thicker tyre walls and withstand far higher
loads for far longer periods.
7. Often manufacturers design
vans/motorhomes in such a way that they can be sold in many different world
markets and in lots of different weight capacities. So, our Peugeot Boxer was
designed to safely carry a combined vehicle construction and subsequent payload
of 3850 kg (the combined weight limit of the two axles with our original tyres
on). It was then ‘detuned’ to 3500kg when Autosleepers took the chassis and did
the coach-build so that potential UK purchasers wouldn’t need a C1
classification on their driving licence in order to own this motorhome,
apparently! The point is if you are up-plating make sure you have a C1 rating
on your driving licence or enquire about how you get it if you haven’t got
‘grandfather rights’.
8. If the company you work with suggests
uprating your tyres on the rear axle, before you go ahead with any work, make
sure you can source the tyres they recommend. Our company wanted us to go with
118 rated tyres which would have given us a substantial payload increase
overall and much better weight limit maximum on the rear axle. Finding a R15
motorhome tyre with a CP and 118 rating proved impossible. So, we had to go
with 112Q’s instead and a lower up-plating payload gain. The two graphics below
give ‘illustration’ figures. The first was our current set up; the second, if
we went for a 118 rated rear tyre set.
Copyright:
www.vanweightengineering.com
We went with
112q tyres on all four wheels in the end. If we do the maths on this scenario
using the framework above then our front tyre limits are now 2240 although our
axle front weight limit remains 1850 kg. On the rear, it is also 2240kg on the
tyres and that will be the final new axle weight maximum after up-plating.
9. If you change the tyres, then you need
to investigate other considerations. Ask the company doing your up-plating
paperwork to do it for you. For example, changing the tyres may change the fuel
economy – can they work out by how much? Changed tyres may also alter emissions
and these are recorded on the V5 document and also during an MOT – so are there
implications here? Tyre pressures is a critical issue because they will change.
If your motorhome has a tyre pressure monitoring system, what are the
implications for that? The last thing you want is to lower the tyre pressures
to discover it triggers the pressure warning systems constantly. Will fitting
new tyres also cause warranty problems on the base model?
10. I am reliably informed that the
up-plating paperwork for the DVLA can be done yourself. However, if there are
calculations to be done along with vehicle modifications, then it’s worth
getting one of the five DVLA companies to do it for you. We have sent off
photographs of wheels, brake systems, axle suspension units, tow bar fixings
and the sticker and plate information in the engine bay and on the door pillar.
We sent weighbridge print-outs along with measurements of wheel bases, wheel
overhangs (front and rear), wheel track measurements and the general dimensions
of the motorhome. We have asked so many questions and sought advice so many
times. The fee paid to the company was worth just this alone. For example, we
have asked if the new V5c document we get back will have reflected the changed
overall weight of the motorhome to take into account the addition of the air
suspension and the new tyres. Will it record the possible changes to emissions
or not? (Our team at van weight engineering have been extraordinarily patient
to say the least).
11.So, what do we get for our money if we
decide to proceed with up-plating? For a
fee, which seems to vary enormously between different companies, we get varying
levels of support, but generally:
·
An
evidential engineer’s report – an engineering judgement and justification for
approving each element of the change in weight and the issuing of a VTG6R
·
The
VTG6R Design Weight Certificate (this is what says what weight our vehicle can
carry)
·
Guidance
notes (on how to complete our V5c)
·
Replacement
metal chassis plate (designed with a self-adhesive backing so there is no need
to drill any holes in our vehicle)
·
And,
because we are going above 3,500kg, the tricky bits of bureaucracy regarding the
road tax (which will drop to £165 per year) also gets done for us, including the
tachograph exemption form and the V70/V85 tax form (depending on where we are
in the tax cycle)
·
We
will have to send all this off to the DVLA along with our V5 log book, I think.
12.During discussions there did emerge a
difference of opinion between the various companies we were consulting about
when we would be road legal with the new suspension. One argued that once we
had our plates from them, we were road legal even if the return paperwork
hadn’t yet come back from the DVLA. Another argued we were only road legal when
the DVLA had ratified everything and updated their system and we would know
this by checking the DVLA database each morning (at the link below). As soon as
our motorhome weight details changed, then we were legal, even if the
replacement logbook hadn’t yet arrived in the post https://www.gov.uk/get-vehicle-information-from-dvla . If the weight has changed, then we
can stick on our new plates and drive legally because any Police, ANPR or
vehicle authority checking our vehicle from then on will be using the DVLA
database and will see the updated weight change.
13.Finally, are there any other implications
of up-plating, aside of the cost and points mentioned above. Well yes, because
there is ironically a possible reduction in annual road tax, rapidly-offset by
a potential higher banding for some toll roads and tunnels on the continent. Your
new axle rating may exceed that on some bridges on smaller roads across Europe,
especially in the Netherlands. I am still researching this aspect because I
don’t think I have fully got all the implications in front of me. I suspect
there are, for example, issues to do with slightly lower mileage per gallon
rates we will obtain. I will add a PS to the end of this post as I learn more.
We hope that
this has helped you if you are considering up-plating. The process sounds
complicated but it hasn’t been really. Our chosen company have done the
paperwork and the engineering recommendation reports. We had to source the
tyres, the suspension kit and do the photos and measurements and get Bryony
booked in for all the work. We had to check warranties as well with our local
base chassis dealer (we are still awaiting the outcome of that, although most
involved seem to think there won’t be a problem. I wish I had their
confidence!).
Take care out
there
Steve and
Maggie
PS: So
why air suspension?
·
it
is great for carrying heavy weights smoothly, the ride is better
·
you
can pump them up to increase your ground clearance for boarding ferries, or
levelling out on cambered camp sites
·
they
assist the current suspension, reducing wear and tear on it (both companies
seem to think we can gain some marginal increases on overall payload and
loading on the rear axle).
·
Aphiam,
Glide-rite, VB air, Dunlop, GoldSchmitt, Linnepe and Al-Ko all seem popular
choices with good reviews across various motorhome forums. Trying to find the
tech specs for the different systems can prove frustrating and time consuming
though. We scoured the various forums for advice and tips about what people had
done regarding up-plating, what their views were on the process, the various
companies doing it and its worthwhileness.
·
I
researched semi air suspension as well. A useful starting website was
Pretty early on three systems emerged from all the reading
with good ratings, Drive-rite, VB-Air and Dunlop. (Dunlop systems come with a
whopping five-year warranty but are correspondingly more expensive).
https://www.motorhomeworkshop.co.uk/product/vb-semi-air-suspension-spring-assistance-basic-kit/
https://www.marcleleisure.co.uk/dunlop-air-suspension-kit-x250-chassis-2006-onward.html
In
consultation with various people and our local garage mechanic (who as luck
would have it used to work full time on motorhome servicing, upgrades and
maintenance for a local dealership), we opted for the Dunlop system and its whopping
five-year warranty. Yes, it is more expensive than other systems but the
warranty surpasses anything else out there and the bellows will give +520kg extra
lift at 4bar pressure on the rear axles.
Update 1:
So, Bryony
is provisionally booked in for this work. We ordered the suspension system and
the new tyres, all coming from Europe. Our consultant has already started
writing the engineering report explaining his assessment and justification that
the vehicle is not only safe to be on the roads at the new weight, but also
that it continues to comply with all legislation that it did beforehand, both
in the UK and abroad. After we send him photographs and the paper work proving
the system and tyres have been correctly fitted, along with the new brake test
paperwork, he can then issue a new VTG6R certificate (stating that it's all ok)
and this essentially surpasses the weight/suspension section of the original
conformance certificate our vehicle was built under. Once the DVLA applies
those changes to our logbook then we are fully safe and legal at our new
weight.
We will let
you know how it goes and whether it has been worth it in another post later
this year after a road trip away somewhere.
In the
meantime, if you are out and about, remember to have fun, stay safe and ‘take
care out there’.
Steve and
Maggie
PS Update
2
It took four
weeks for the DVLA to update details and we have now stuck on the new weight
plate on the door frame.
Driving with
semi air suspension has been a complete revelation. Rattles and bumps have been
vastly reduced. There is no corner roll. We glide over bumps, potholes and
sleeping policemen speed bumps.
We have now
gained an extra 250 kg on the rear axle but overall an extended payload up from
519 kg to around 750 kg, so yes, the telescope has accompanied us on our
Norfolk tour!
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Hi, we always look forward to hearing your comments, tips and thoughts. Drop us a line or two below. Take care now. Steve and Maggie