MOT pass

First MOT for me with this van. Had it serviced by my usual mechanic yesterday and went straight to my usual MOT station that I've used for 18 years for my taxis and 10 years for motorhome but they couldn't do it as it's too long for their ramp. So had to find a different testing station. But all good. So if you have a regular testing station make sure they can deal with extra length if you change to a LWB van.

Judging by the look of the van I had tea with you in ,it should pass tests for years to come.
Boaby

Height is also another issue for some garages. Even if they can get them on the lift they can't always get them up high enough. The garage i use for MOT has facilities for large LGV's with ample room above, even with the lift full up. Just be glad you aren't running an RV Paul otherwise you'd be looking for an HGV station! 

It wasn't the actual length of the ramp/lift that was the problem, it was the sliding jack they use to lift the axles, it wouldn't go back far enough to lift the rear axle.

Paulmold wrote:It wasn't the actual length of the ramp/lift that was the problem, it was the sliding jack they use to lift the axles, it wouldn't go back far enough to lift the rear axle.

Ah right...yes a garage i went to with my van had a similar problem. Not here in UK but Romania a few months ago after the van had had a hammering on 'roads' in Bulgaria and Moldova. One front wheel bearing was going but i had both done. Worked out pretty well as the garage owner had a huge amount of land at the rear which he'd turned into campsite. ACSI listed and one i'd definitely recommend.
Free beers and schnapps every evening so i stayed there a few days! 

Weight is also a factor most car mot only take 3.5 ton.

When we decided on the Sussex , we were close to deciding on a Warwick XL. That would never have fitted on a standard MOT lift , never mind the slide jack being the problem. So anyone with an XLWB , such as a Fairford or a Kingham will need to find an MOT station with a long enough lift. Luckily the one I had to use had put a longer lift in because they had a lot of Sprinter LWB customers.

mine is due  next week, watch this space!!

Any class 5 MOT station should be able to do a Boxer XLWB van. My Sprinter is 300mm longer wheel base and I have no trouble finding a suitable MOT station.

Our Rienza is too long for the ramps at the garage that service our cars and the Rienza. They take it to another garage that is a van centre for the test at no extra charge. The amount of time I have used this garage they have always been very helpful. My wife and daughter need there cars for work and they have always managed to keep them mobile, sometimes at very short notice. 
From my days of testing a lot of motorhome owners forget the mechanical side of there vehicles. I have seen vans with every gadget you could imagine fitted but mechanical side was not fit to be on the road. The best we found was a seized hand brake, the owner said we dont use it because it stops the drivers seat from swivelling . 
It seems to be getting harder to crawl under the motorhome before its test so I always allow for the worst and not plan any trips around test and service time.

vwt4 wrote:mine is due  next week, watch this space!!

Van passed m.o.t. this morning 3 years without a fail so far

vwt4 wrote:

vwt4 wrote:mine is due  next week, watch this space!!

Van passed m.o.t. this morning 3 years without a fail so far

Nice feeling isn't it?

yes it is Paul, one less thing to worry about, next up is road tax!!

vwt4 wrote:yes it is Paul, one less thing to worry about, next up is road tax!!

Same here, tax Dec 1st, insurance Jan.

We have an airbag warning light and have had great difficulty locating a garage that is a Peugeot agent that can take the work.  The nearest to Oxford seems to be Aldershot!
I have established that it is the ECU and not the wiring.  There are Ford and Fiat garages not too far away but Peugeot with big enough lifts seem few on the ground.
I have now found a garage that think that they can sort it without a lift. The reason that I want  a Peugeot agent specifically is quite complex and partly due to the fact that if the Fiat garage do the job the parts are not sale or return.

vwt4 wrote:yes it is Paul, one less thing to worry about, next up is road tax!!

just done road tax for 12 months, £255 did not know it had gone up !!
mike
vwt4

safariboy wrote:We have an airbag warning light and have had great difficulty locating a garage that is a Peugeot agent that can take the work.  The nearest to Oxford seems to be Aldershot!
I have established that it is the ECU and not the wiring.  There are Ford and Fiat garages not too far away but Peugeot with big enough lifts seem few on the ground.
I have now found a garage that think that they can sort it without a lift. The reason that I want  a Peugeot agent specifically is quite complex and partly due to the fact that if the Fiat garage do the job the parts are not sale or return.

Ditto, was using Dunstable no longer Peugeot dealer so also having to go to Aldershot, not sure whether they will fix it mind but we will see.

Mine is in peaugeot reading who cannot lift the van but expect to be able to sort it
Safariboy