Weighing your motor home

Interested to see how many people head off to the weigh bridge to weigh their Motor home or camper

Start of 3 week long trip, everything full, both axles and total.
I KNOW the exact weight of mine, most guess (wrongly!)
I also do it whenever I change to a different MH as its then a complete unknown.
Especially for those marginal on either rear axle weight or just lacking payload I'd say this is essential, zero cost, very little effort and accurate weights from a calibrated weighbridge. I simply cannot find any reason not to.
I should add that's several different MH's!

I weighed mine a few times in the first two years of purchase and still do it if the opportunity presents.
Weighing in the second year of use of the current van lead to me up plating from 3500 kg to 3850. Fortunately it was a paper exercise and the cost is balanced out by cheaper VED.

Davy

With a new van I'll take it to a weighbridge once, just to know where I stand - because it's impossible to know what the individual axle weights are by guessing!

Once I know the starting point, it's fairly easy to estimate how much more I'm carrying than a "typical" trip, and whether I'm likely to be getting near the rear axle limit.

Unfortunately the availability of easily portable weighing equipment now means that getting stopped and checked by DVSA is not as unlikely as it used to be...

~On the same subject (well almost)  how many of you have ever been "pulled" for a weight check ??

Never, however, I am more interested in not overloading, or damaging my rear axle or worse. There is also the occasionally mentioned but rarely proven potential for your insurance to be compromised.
My strategy if stopped and overweight is to put my wife on one of the e bikes with a rucksack (heavily laden) on her back and the tool kit strapped to the rear carrier. Then drain the tanks (potential for 140 kg in the fresh).     That should solve any issue!

We in N. Ireland are fortunate to have free access to self service government weigh bridges, on the main arterial routes, so checking is very easy.

Davy

BobK wrote:On the same subject (well almost)  how many of you have ever been "pulled" for a weight check ??

Never. But I know it happens coz I've seen it on the telly!

The current generation of "weighbridges" are so compact - literally just 4 small pads that you drive onto, plus a clever control box - that they can be set up almost anywhere.

But... I suspect that the DVSA are not staffed to do anything other than a tiny number of "stop checks" at any one time - so your chances of getting caught are probably minimal.

Then again, as Davy says, the result if you were involved in a serious accident could be expensive, because you can be certain that your insurance company would void your insurance if the post-accident investigation showed that you were overweight at the time of the accident...

TeamRienza wrote:I weighed mine a few times in the first two years of purchase and still do it if the opportunity presents.
Weighing in the second year of use of the current van lead to me up plating from 3500 kg to 3850. Fortunately it was a paper exercise and the cost is balanced out by cheaper VED.

Davy

Does that mean you will need to have medicals to renew your licence when you turn 70?

Heard about one guy, pulled over for a weight check, they found his motorhome was 45Kg overweight.
Asked him, what you gonna do?
Don't know he said, water tanks are empty as is bog, so that only leaves the wife or the the dog......




And I like the dog!!!!

IanH wrote:Start of 3 week long trip, everything full, both axles and total.
I KNOW the exact weight of mine, most guess (wrongly!)
I also do it whenever I change to a different MH as its then a complete unknown.
Especially for those marginal on either rear axle weight or just lacking payload I'd say this is essential, zero cost, very little effort and accurate weights from a calibrated weighbridge. I simply cannot find any reason not to.
I should add that's several different MH's!

I always reweigh mine after Christmas
-----------
Richard

Always on a replacement 'van in order to optimise the comfort/handling of the current tyre set, pressurewise!!
frederic

I have only thought of going to a weigh bridge to confirm my tyre pressures. After running at 50/60 it seems about right so havnt bothered getting it weighed. 
 As far as I can tell we don’t seem to carry as much as some people and the Rienza dosnt seem to handle any different fully loaded for along trip away. It may helped by it being rear wheel drive and having leaf springs at the back.

Always weigh a new van with everything full and ready for a trip but not again.

Very interesting results the Poll is at the moment at about 50% weigh and 50 % don't.

No public weighbridge in my area.  A lot of private ones say they are too busy. I finally got mine weighed through a friend of a friend. If you can't readily access a weighbridge could you appeal certain charges for overloading. Different if the van is sitting right down on the suspension or the front end is pointing skyward.
I also use one of those axle scales where you have to run each wheel over the scale to get the axle load. I was a bit sceptical about this but it actually produced as near the same result as the weighbridge.

IanH wrote:Start of 3 week long trip, everything full, both axles and total.
I KNOW the exact weight of mine, most guess (wrongly!)
I also do it whenever I change to a different MH as its then a complete unknown.
Especially for those marginal on either rear axle weight or just lacking payload I'd say this is essential, zero cost, very little effort and accurate weights from a calibrated weighbridge. I simply cannot find any reason not to.
I should add that's several different MH's!

Well here are some reasons why people perhaps don't weigh:

1) Where I live it costs money
2) The Weigh Bridge is quite a way to travel
3) It takes time and some people are busy
4) It might be considered a little OTT or indeed OCD.

I am sure many like to weigh so they know and I suspect some people even enter it on a spreadsheet 

It is good that people are all different don't you think

Flyingv58 wrote:No public weighbridge in my area.  A lot of private ones say they are too busy. I finally got mine weighed through a friend of a friend. If you can't readily access a weighbridge could you appeal certain charges for overloading. Different if the van is sitting right down on the suspension or the front end is pointing skyward.
I also use one of those axle scales where you have to run each wheel over the scale to get the axle load. I was a bit sceptical about this but it actually produced as near the same result as the weighbridge.

 Now that is interesting I never knew such a do it at home device existed

Bigplumbs wrote:

IanH wrote:Start of 3 week long trip, everything full, both axles and total.
I KNOW the exact weight of mine, most guess (wrongly!)
I also do it whenever I change to a different MH as its then a complete unknown.
Especially for those marginal on either rear axle weight or just lacking payload I'd say this is essential, zero cost, very little effort and accurate weights from a calibrated weighbridge. I simply cannot find any reason not to.
I should add that's several different MH's!

Well here are some reasons why people perhaps don't weigh:

1) Where I live it costs money
2) The Weigh Bridge is quite a way to travel
3) It takes time and some people are busy
4) It might be considered a little OTT or indeed OCD.

I am sure many like to weigh so they know and I suspect some people even enter it on a spreadsheet 

It is good that people are all different don't you think

1) It does most places if you want a certificate but only a few quid.
2) Most council areas have a weighbridge facility. Can it not be fitted in en route?
3) The actual weighing process is very quick. Everyone has calls on their time.
4) It is a very common practice amongst caravanners and motorhomers so there must be a lot of OTT/OCD folk about.

Difference makes the world go around.

When I caravanned I never visited a weigh bridge but I was careful what I loaded and where I put it and therefore was confident I was always well within the van's limits.  When I bought the motorhome I wasn't expecting to have to take it to a weigh bridge because I was also confident I was well within its MTPLMs.  It was the tyre pressure issue that made me go in the end.

The first weigh bridge I used was free at a quarry en-route to a site.  With a total mass of 3200 kg, I was shocked to discover that only 1260 kg was on the front axle with a scarily large 1940 kg on the rear axle (only 60 kg short of of its MTPLM).  This was with only two light bikes on the back (no tow bar) and empty external water tanks and an empty loo which is the way we always travel.  I realised later that the axle readings were affected by ramps leading up to and off the weigh bridge.  

I then discovered that a building merchant around the corner from where I live had a weigh bridge without ramps and only charged £7.20.  With an increased overall mass of 3240 kg, 1390 kg was on the front and 1850 kg on the back which was much better and what I expected.  But this was only achieved by moving the leisure battery as far forward as it would go and storing small but heavy items under and behind the cab seats, in the door pockets and with the EHU cassette under my wife's feet on the cab floor.  The rear upper kitchen lockers are only used for light food items when travelling.  

I don't expect to weigh the van again unless I make a major alteration to it.

Bigplumbs wrote:

Flyingv58 wrote:No public weighbridge in my area.  A lot of private ones say they are too busy. I finally got mine weighed through a friend of a friend. If you can't readily access a weighbridge could you appeal certain charges for overloading. Different if the van is sitting right down on the suspension or the front end is pointing skyward.
I also use one of those axle scales where you have to run each wheel over the scale to get the axle load. I was a bit sceptical about this but it actually produced as near the same result as the weighbridge.

 Now that is interesting I never knew such a do it at home device existed

Search for Reich cwc caravan weight control. Costs around £160 now. Was £114 when I bought mine.

Roger Black wrote:

Does that mean you will need to have medicals to renew your licence when you turn 70?

Yes, but I shall cross that bridge in due course. I am not aware at this point (fingers crossed) of anything that will cause an issue. I do have plans for the future but on a sliding time scale.

1. I may down plate and cut back on what we carry.
2. We believe that at some point we will downsize to a panel van, who knows, perhaps back to an Autosleeper. This will allow us continue to have a van for holidays and as a day van. Probably using sites more as our current van is a 7 mt A class. I also have a notion of using a panel van in conjunction with overnight stops at travel lodge or similar for showers etc.
3. It is possible I will down plate the current van to reach a wider market when the time to change occurs.

Davy

Flyingv58 wrote:

Bigplumbs wrote:

Flyingv58 wrote:No public weighbridge in my area.  A lot of private ones say they are too busy. I finally got mine weighed through a friend of a friend. If you can't readily access a weighbridge could you appeal certain charges for overloading. Different if the van is sitting right down on the suspension or the front end is pointing skyward.
I also use one of those axle scales where you have to run each wheel over the scale to get the axle load. I was a bit sceptical about this but it actually produced as near the same result as the weighbridge.

 Now that is interesting I never knew such a do it at home device existed

Search for Reich cwc caravan weight control. Costs around £160 now. Was £114 when I bought mine.

When I looked into automatic levelling jacks (which is a lot cheaper than buying them!) I discovered that Al-Ko produce one that also measures the axle masses.

And also add to the vehicle mass!
Adamant on this, weighing is the ONLY ACCURATE way to know your total weight and each axle weight, as Caraman found.
Anything else is pure unscientific guesswork
End of rant!!

I honestly think that there is a massive amount of overthinking and way over the top weighing and calculating going on with many of you. Do you not think you are rather obsessed with this. How many commercial van drivers out there weigh their vans !!!!!

I am going to be one of the 39%.

Is this post just a wind up?