Plated weight

HI Folks

Just seen an article on another MH website, see below:-

If you have the licence (C1) it's better at 3650kg.
Better payload, though 90kg isn't much, and save a few quid on road tax.....£165 p.a.


So, it would seem that if my Duo was replated to 3650 I'd save quite a lot.
I have a C1 licence and won't be 70 until 2021


Any advice appreciated, and, also does anyone know how to go about replating?


Many Thanks
Ian

Hi
  I do not know if it is something that you can do yourself,most people go through a company call SV Tech because if you increase the payload you have to be sure all components of your MH can take the extra weight,I do agree that to pay someone for a paperwork exercise goes against my principles
regards
Alan

But, if you travel abroad you'll be excluded from many town and village centres and often restricted to 50kph and banned from overtaking on busy roads.  My van comes in 2 weights - 3.5 and 3.8t, ours is the former and because of the above I have no intention of up plating the weight. 
Rich..

And MUCH higher motorway tolls particularly in Austria and several others.

Your van is not a goods vehicle, so the 3500kg restrictions to many French villages does not apply to you as they clearly depict a goods vehicle.

The only weight restrictions which would apply are few and far between and they are the weight limit signs without a goods vehicle and which apply to all motor vehicles.

The same applies to the 'no overtaking' signs.

the main issue with 'increasing' your payload, is that you dont increase the allowances on either of the two axles...
before you do anything, weigh your van in full touring trim, fuel, water, passengers, clothes, bedding, bikes, tables, chairs, bbq etc, etc and not the axle weights, especially the rear one.
if (say) you have 100kg spare in that axle, and 100kg spare payload, adding 350kg of 'extra payload' (so, seemingly 450kg extra) wont help at all as the axle will max out after adding just 100kg and ypu will have up-plated (with all its restrictions) for nothing....well about £300...

bolero boy wrote:the main issue with 'increasing' your payload, is that you dont increase the allowances on either of the two axles...
before you do anything, weigh your van in full touring trim, fuel, water, passengers, clothes, bedding, bikes, tables, chairs, bbq etc, etc and not the axle weights, especially the rear one.
if (say) you have 100kg spare in that axle, and 100kg spare payload, adding 350kg of 'extra payload' (so, seemingly 450kg extra) wont help at all as the axle will max out after adding just 100kg and ypu will have up-plated (with all its restrictions) for nothing....well about £300...

I agree with the above, however; ....it appears that there is some confusion about the subject, I’m sure there have been many threads about the said axle weights after up plating, as far as I’m aware...axle allowance can be changed but you have to understand the process fully...

Ray

Maybe I have caused some confusion!
My only reason to, perhaps, uprate the weight is to reduce the road tax. I have no need, or desire, to increase or use the resultant payload. We have weighed it several times and are always well within the current payload

Thanks to all

Wargenwolf wrote:Your van is not a goods vehicle, so the 3500kg restrictions to many French villages does not apply to you as they clearly depict a goods vehicle.

The only weight restrictions which would apply are few and far between and they are the weight limit signs without a goods vehicle and which apply to all motor vehicles.

The same applies to the 'no overtaking' signs.

Forgive me for disagreeing with you. I'm currently touring France now and I'm surprised at the rising number of towns and villages applying this limit in total weight not just to trucks. Also there is often a speed differential for vehicles over 3.5t in many suburban areas and sometimes enforced by cameras. 
I stand by my comment. 
Rich..

Libraryman2 wrote:

 . . . as far as I’m aware...axle allowance can be changed but you have to understand the process fully...

You are quite correct Ray, on both counts.

We had the previous van uprated by SVTech from 3,300kg to 3,500kg.

At the time I was thinking of carrying a little 125cc Honda motorbike on a rear carrier. Messrs SVTech said they could up rate the rear axle by 100kg (which would have been just about enough) but only if I fitted Air Rides and higher rated rear tyres.

In the event we decided it was more sensible for what we wanted to have a toad, so didn't pursue it. There was no extra cost to SVTech b.t.w.

Libraryman2 wrote:

bolero boy wrote:the main issue with 'increasing' your payload, is that you dont increase the allowances on either of the two axles...
before you do anything, weigh your van in full touring trim, fuel, water, passengers, clothes, bedding, bikes, tables, chairs, bbq etc, etc and not the axle weights, especially the rear one.
if (say) you have 100kg spare in that axle, and 100kg spare payload, adding 350kg of 'extra payload' (so, seemingly 450kg extra) wont help at all as the axle will max out after adding just 100kg and ypu will have up-plated (with all its restrictions) for nothing....well about £300...

I agree with the above, however; ....it appears that there is some confusion about the subject, I’m sure there have been many threads about the said axle weights after up plating, as far as I’m aware...axle allowance can be changed but you have to understand the process fully...

Ray

I agree Ray, I gained 200kg allowance on my rear axle when I uprated last year.

IanH wrote:Maybe I have caused some confusion!
My only reason to, perhaps, uprate the weight is to reduce the road tax. I have no need, or desire, to increase or use the resultant payload. We have weighed it  several times and are always well within the current payload

Thanks to all

A cost of £300 is quoted above for the uprating. How many years to recoop that outlay? Are you intending to retain your C1 at age 70? If not you'll need to sell or downplate.

RML wrote:

Wargenwolf wrote:Your van is not a goods vehicle, so the 3500kg restrictions to many French villages does not apply to you as they clearly depict a goods vehicle.

The only weight restrictions which would apply are few and far between and they are the weight limit signs without a goods vehicle and which apply to all motor vehicles.

The same applies to the 'no overtaking' signs.

Forgive me for disagreeing with you. I'm currently touring France now and I'm surprised at the rising number of towns and villages applying this limit in total weight not just to trucks. Also there is often a speed differential for vehicles over 3.5t in many suburban areas and sometimes enforced by cameras. 
I stand by my comment. 
Rich..

No problems Rich, 

If you're seeing an increase in the 'all vehicle' weight restrictions, I'm not going to argue as you're 100% correct that they apply to motorhomes over 3500kg. 

I have never seen an 'all vehicle' weight restriction preventing overtaking out on the highways, they always applied to goods vehicles, but I haven't covered every inch of France and they may also be on the increase.

I've not been back to France since summer 2015 and the vast majority of the restrictions around the villages where I was touring had pictures of goods vehicles, which don't apply to motorhomes over 3500kg.

Ken.

I'm in my 10th year of driving vans over 3500 in Europe. It is not so free and easy as it was, I have been fined for not complying with the law and the next van will be 3500 irrespective of our ages.  If stay in UK not such a problem.

OK ALL

Thanks for all inputs. I'll put this daft idea to bed now!
However, if you don't ask, you don't get!

Bw
Ian