weighbridge and how ?

[Paul_5099000]

Ok so here goes....im going to put my van on a weighbridge so i know how much it weighs when ready for a trip...(theres one down my road so seams easier than emptying van and weighing everything in turn...

My point..what do u do about your payload ? for example...if i were to equip the van as for a weekend away complete with food and clothing...then this will change each trip ?

do i just weigh with the "equipment" ie tv,aqua roll awning etc etc that stay in the vcan all the time..and then weigh my clothes and food each trip ?

Next i want to make sure my train weight is correct..so i assume i just hitch up and drive on the bridge....BUT then do i get out ? do i have a full tank ? do i fill with wife and son and dog ??? i need help or therapy

anyone else been through this ?

cheers

 

[Lutz]

Let's start with the caravan first. If you measure its weight with just the basic essentials that always remain in the caravan, it'll give you an indication what payload you have available for all the other stuff but most importantly, you must make sure that you don't exceed its MTPLM when it's fully laden.

Basically, the same goes for the car. If you want to know the gross train weight, EVERYTHING has to be on board, you, the wife, son, dog, Uncle Tom Cobbley and all, a full tank, all the luggage, bikes (if you are taking them), etc., etc.

 

[Steve L]

I've been through this myself, and Lutz is quite right.

What I did was to weigh the van with all the standard gear (awning, mats, tv, pot and pans, aqua rolls, waste master etc). Then I had the amount available to me for clothes and food.

Then after loading up for the average holiday, we trundled off to the weigh bridge and weighed the whole outfit complete with dogs all passengers and me the driver in the car which had a full tank of fuel. This then gave us the max gross train weight. Then I uncoupled the caravan and weighed that, which gave the check on the van for max permisable weight.

Having all that info at hand can be useful as although the ticket is no legal guarantee of the weight compliance of your outfit as it only relates to the specific time and date weighed, it does go some way to demonstrating to pC plod that you have tought about weights and measures, and have tried to load accordingly.

Steve L.

 

[Val & Frank]

Public weighbridge here is run by a private company

 

[Paul_5099000]

Public weighbridge here is run by a private company

 

[Paul_5099000]

thanks for the info..just to clear up another point..i have a 4x4 with a bike carrier that clips over the rear door mounted spare wheel.

If i add the bike,.,how does this affect the weights ? ie how does nose weight alter i mean do i have to alter the measurement of van or car nose weight...and does the bikes weight need to be figured into the payload of van etc ?

regards

 

[Lutz]

So long as the bikes are not in any way attached to the towbar, they have no affect on the noseweight (unless you are already close to the GVW limit) and they have no affect on the payload of the caravan. Don't forget, however, that the noseweight is treated as part of the payload of the car and is therefore included in its GVW, too.

 

[Steve L]

The weigh bridge fees sound good to me, we had to pay

 

[Paul_5099000]

thanks for all this good advise..but it seams the more i delve the more i get confused..there seams to be more 3 letter acrynims (sp) gross vehicle this..max weight that sigh.....

now i need to know the max train weight for my rig...all the manual says is that its over 3500 Kgs and a techo may be needed on some weights !!..how do you find this ? im driving a toyota colorado 3L TD GX.

bursts into tears..it was never this complicated with me tent !!

 

[Lutz]

The maximum Gross Train Weight is usually the sum of the max. Gross Vehicle Weight (GVW) and the max. permissible towload. Sometimes, notably with Renaults, this is not the case but somewhat less than the sum. To my knowledge, however, Toyotas don't have such a restriction.

My data tells me that the GVW of the Colorado is 2600kg for the 3 door and 2850kg for the 5-door. The max. towload is 2800kg. Therefore, the max. Gross Train Weight would be 5400kg and 5650kg, respectively. I don't know where you got the 3500kg figure from (all I know is that the max. towload of the Amazon is 3500kg), so it would be necessary to check my data. Maybe Toyota were referring to commercial rather than private use of the Colorado, in which case you may need a tachograph.

 

[gavin_5121842]

Paul, i totally agree with you about all the jargon. All i did was to pack the van with everything i was likley to take for a fortnights trip. The odd extra couple of jumpers or pack of bacon is hardly going to make that much difference. The car was also "packed" with kids dog etc... Drive the complete outfit onto the weighbridge,note the weight. Then un-hook and weigh the van only,note the weight. Subtract the weight of van from the overall weight and you have the weight of your car.Simple. I see your driving a Colorado TD, I shouldn't think you'll have anything to worry about unless your towing a static caravan! Good luck, P.S, I weighed mine at the Gov testing station,free of charge after asking politley at reception.

 

[Lutz]

Gavin, if you measured like that (first the entire outfit, then the caravan - presumably unhitched but including the load on the jockey wheel) then you will not strictly have the total weight of the car. The weight of the car includes the noseweight and that would not have been taken into account if you unhitch the caravan.

The correct method would be to weigh the whole outfit first, then reverse far enough so that the caravan is no longer on the weighbridge. The resultant reading will give you the true total weight of the car.

 

[gavin_5121842]

Gavin, if you measured like that (first the entire outfit, then the caravan - presumably unhitched but including the load on the jockey wheel) then you will not strictly have the total weight of the car. The weight of the car includes the noseweight and that would not have been taken into account if you unhitch the caravan.

The correct method would be to weigh the whole outfit first, then reverse far enough so that the caravan is no longer on the weighbridge. The resultant reading will give you the true total weight of the car.

Hi lutz, i can understand what you are saying but do you not take the weight of the car on its own to work out whether youv'e got a 80/85 per cent match against the van?

regards, Gavin.

 

[Lutz]

Gavin, if you measured like that (first the entire outfit, then the caravan - presumably unhitched but including the load on the jockey wheel) then you will not strictly have the total weight of the car. The weight of the car includes the noseweight and that would not have been taken into account if you unhitch the caravan.

The correct method would be to weigh the whole outfit first, then reverse far enough so that the caravan is no longer on the weighbridge. The resultant reading will give you the true total weight of the car.

In order to work out the weight ratio you do not need the caravan. You only need to determine the actual kerbweight of the car, and that means in its unladen condition except for a 90% full tank and 75kg to allow for the weight of the driver and miscellaneous items. For the max. laden weight of the caravan, you can use the published MTPLM because that is an absolute figure, regardless of what any weighbridge may determine.

 

[Paul_5099000]

hi all again

another point....my van handbook states a max noseweight of 100Kg for my compass rallye 640.

But at 1900 max load for the van , the 7% noseweight rule comes in at 133kg.

So which to use ?

regards

 

[Lutz]

Always use the lower of the two figures specified for car and caravan. As you have a 4x4, I presume that its noseweight limit is at least as high as that of the caravan, so 100kg is your limit. Forget the 7% formula. It doesn't make sense under today's conditions where manufacturers specify maximum limits and, in your case, it is even downright misleading.

 

[Paul_5099000]

Always use the lower of the two figures specified for car and caravan. As you have a 4x4, I presume that its noseweight limit is at least as high as that of the caravan, so 100kg is your limit. Forget the 7% formula. It doesn't make sense under today's conditions where manufacturers specify maximum limits and, in your case, it is even downright misleading.

thanks Lutz

i might even be getting my head around all this now

the van max load is 1900 and i was suprised that the weighbridge read 1800 with no food and no clothes in the van...just the small awning, crockery, fold away chairs, sleeping bags etc....all mounts up....

we finish up towing at approx 1500 least we are legal and now we know

 

[Stephen_5122599]

Hi Paul,

You mentioned tachographs in your posting, don't worry if you are towing your caravan or trailer for personal use.

Tachographs are a legal requirement for vehicles over 3.5 tonnes maximum authorised mass(which is the train weight when towing) used for the carriage of goods in connection with a trade or business. This law is equally applicable to 4x4's vans or estate cars used under those circumstances. There are also exemptions which may be applicable in certain circumstances even if you appear to be in that category. If you have any concerns check out the VOSA website.

regards

Steve

 

[Guest]

No mention has been made of what the actual figures obtained were. Did the outfit meet the load requirements? Just curious, as I suspect that like many of us, the contributor may be rather disappointed in what he/she is told regarding their outfit weight.

Some vans are sold nowadays with a payload of less than 200 kg and this is supposed to meet the requirements of 4 people. This is virtually impossible to achieve. There is also a general feeling amongst caravanners, and I am just as guilty at times, that if there is a locker with space in it, then it should be filled. Even filling the fridge can add over 10 kg of weight, and I couldn't begin to count the number of people I met in France who had just added?? a few cases of wine to take home on top of everything else. You could often hear the creaking from the suspension.

I would really like to see some manufacturers being sued for selling vans that are basically 'not fit for purpose' in that they cannot fulfill the desired expectations. But they wash their hands of the matter by stating that the weights are clearly shown, and it is therefore the customer's problem. If magazine testers had a standard weight loading that they used, for example 30 kg per person for clothes, 50 kg for food, 20 kg for utensils, 30 kg for optional extras, etc, then the true capacity of the van under test could be shown.

 

[STEVE_5041381]

Having read all the above how many of us have actually been stopped by the police and had to have our outfits weighted ?

 

[sparkes]

not me, but I did see the police selecting car/caravans for this on the M5 earlier this year. It did appear that they ignored the obvious matches like big 4x4's but instead selected large vans on family saloon cars such as the vectra.

Steve

 

[Lutz]

Several years ago, I was pulled in by the police at a motorway service area while towing a 1300kg caravan with a Vectra. They measured 1430kg. After shuffling things about a bit (putting a few heavy items in the car and draining the water tank) they let me go again.

 

[tj_4]

I got pulled and weighed at jct 27 on the M5.

Caravan weighed in at 1540kgs, plated weight 1300kgs. Police looked in the van, as there was nothing in the centre isle they couldn't understand why I was so heavy. As I was towing with a V6 Galaxy 1910kgs the let me go suggesting I should get it checked.

On returning home I emptied the van and got it weighed, 1050kgs, just what the plate said. It was just all the stuff we carried.

Steve

 

[gavin_5121842]

I got pulled and weighed at jct 27 on the M5.

Caravan weighed in at 1540kgs, plated weight 1300kgs. Police looked in the van, as there was nothing in the centre isle they couldn't understand why I was so heavy. As I was towing with a V6 Galaxy 1910kgs the let me go suggesting I should get it checked.

On returning home I emptied the van and got it weighed, 1050kgs, just what the plate said. It was just all the stuff we carried.

Steve

Flippen eck!, and i thought my wife was bad for over packing. Did you take the kitchen sink too??