Weight Plate Upgrade plate sent from Swift?

[Saxo Appeal]

Ok long story short.

We asked for our Caravan to have the weight upgraded, and it;'s been at the dealership a couple times

They said it was going to get done about half dozen times, and they have still not swapped the plate over.

Has anyone been in touch with Swift, and can they send one out as paer their records?

fed up asking the dealership.

 

[GaryB]

Both times I had my plate sent to the dealer and they forwarded it to me to fit. The email address for Swift customer care that I have used during warranty work is: repair@swiftleisure.co.uk so try dropping them a mail with your caravan VIN number and see if they can help.

 

[otherclive]

When I had my Swift upgraded in 2017 it all went through the dealership but when they received the new door label and paperwork confirming the upgrade the dealership posted it to me. I didn’t stick the label on the caravan as they seemed to fade quickly. But I retained it in the paperwork and stuck it on when sold tge caravan.

 

[Raywood]

Not sure hat would work if stopped. Probably the best bet is to copy the new plate and laminate it so you have that on the caravan and the real ne there just in case.

 

[otherclive]

Not sure hat would work if stopped. Probably the best bet is to copy the new plate and laminate it so you have that on the caravan and the real ne there just in case.

I said that I retained "it in the paperwork", so it was available to inspect if stopped. But there was also the formal plate in the locker too.

 

[GaryB]

I said that I retained "it in the paperwork", so it was available to inspect if stopped. But there was also the formal plate in the locker too.

That's the thing that's always bugged me (and a good many others), thanks to the explanations by Lutz a lot of folks now understand that the plate in the locker is the official approval plate and takes precedence over the one by the door, BUT how would you fare in a roadside check? Mr Plod asked Bailey a year or so ago and got some very woolly/smoke and mirrors answers BUT (from memory) the conclusion was that the one by the door is the one likely to be assessed when stopped.

I KNOW this isn't right and is the reason I (reluctantly!!!) pay for a weight upgrade plate (as I don't fancy arguing it with any enforcement officers if stopped and weighed) but it continues to provide confusion for British caravan owners.

 

[ProfJohnL]

Weight infringements are not usually undertaken or processed by ordinary police officers, becasue of its specialised nature, they will use specially trained officers and normally will defer to VOSA who carry out the inspections. They would not be fooled by the unofficial body sticker.

If for any reason you are stopped and the officer (Police or Vosa) don't use the official data plate, just make sure the fact is noted in the reports, then take to them cleaners in the courts.

 

[Buckman]

It is unlikely that you would be prosecuted regarding the weight plate on the body of the caravan and many do not comply to mandatory and statutory requirements as per the Roads and Construction legislation.

However if the caravan exceeded the load rating on the tyres, you will be well and truly done and there is no argument.

Our 2018 which has been upgraded to a higher MTPLM does not have a sticker in the front locker. Not sure about other brands.

 

[RogerL]

It is unlikely that you would be prosecuted regarding the weight plate on the body of the caravan and many do not comply to mandatory and statutory requirements as per the Roads and Construction legislation.

However if the caravan exceeded the load rating on the tyres, you will be well and truly done and there is no argument.

Our 2018 which has been upgraded to a higher MTPLM does not have a sticker in the front locker. Not sure about other brands.

Our 2013 Lunar doesn't have a sticker in the front locker, just the plate on the side by the door.

 

[Buckman]

Our 2013 Lunar doesn't have a sticker in the front locker, just the plate on the side by the door.

Is it a plate or a sticker? On our lunar it was a sticker that could easily be removed.

 

[RogerL]

Is it a plate or a sticker? On our lunar it was a sticker that could easily be removed.

It's stuck on - so I guess could be removed.

 

[otherclive]

Is it a plate or a sticker? On our lunar it was a sticker that could easily be removed.

My upgrades were always sticky labels or thin metal labels to stick on near the door where the OEM label is affixed.

 

[Saxo Appeal]

Swift state that they only send the plate to the dealership, so had to contact them again

They will check the warehouse, and send it to us recorded delivery. .

This was after nuymerous times to have it placed on, and nothing

 

[Mr Plodd]

It is unlikely that you would be prosecuted regarding the weight plate on the body of the caravan and many do not comply to mandatory and statutory requirements as per the Roads and Construction legislation.

However if the caravan exceeded the load rating on the tyres, you will be well and truly done and there is no argument.

Our 2018 which has been upgraded to a higher MTPLM does not have a sticker in the front locker. Not sure about other brands.

Sorry, but you are far MORE likely to be prosecuted for a weight infringement than for a tyre load rating. Weight is an absolute slam dunk offence, tgats why statutory weight plates are fitted. For on Incorrect tyres offence it would be necessary to prove the vehicle was being used in a dangerous manner, far more difficult to prove than a weight offence
I am VERY surprised that a 2018 caravan doesn't have a statutory plate. It's possible that it's somewhere else other than in the gas locker UNLESS the single (upgrade) "plate" is indeed the statutory one, in which case any attempt to remove it will result in its destruction (a bit like some supermarket price labels, they come apart if you try and take them off, same principle) .

Many weight checks are carried out by the Police without the involvement of VOSA (or whatever they are called this week) ANY vehicle can be required to go to a weighbridge to be weighed. If over a certain distance (I can't recall what that is now) costs incurred can be claimed back IF no offence is disclosed.

 

[Saxo Appeal]

In our case, I suppose if we did get pulled and weighed, Swift do have the upgrade request

And to be fair, it's not exactly anything mechanical completed on the Caravan, it's only paperwork

 

[otherclive]

It is unlikely that you would be prosecuted regarding the weight plate on the body of the caravan and many do not comply to mandatory and statutory requirements as per the Roads and Construction legislation.

However if the caravan exceeded the load rating on the tyres, you will be well and truly done and there is no argument.

Our 2018 which has been upgraded to a higher MTPLM does not have a sticker in the front locker. Not sure about other brands.

My upgraded Bailey was raised to 1400kg which aligned with its locker plate and axle max load. But since the load rating of the tyres was only 1420 kg I fitted higher rated tyres to 10 percent above the new MTPLM. So tyre max load would not be a criterion. DVSA would take into account in my case as to exceed the tyres max rating would well exceed even the maximum axle load.

 

[RogerL]

My upgraded Bailey was raised to 1400kg which aligned with its locker plate and axle max load. But since the load rating of the tyres was only 1420 kg I fitted higher rated tyres to 10 percent above the new MTPLM. So tyre max load would not be a criterion. DVSA would take into account in my case as to exceed the tyres max rating would well exceed even the maximum axle load.

You were right to fit higher rated tyres but remiss of Bailey to authorise the upgrade without that - as I understand it the +10% tyre load is an NCC requirement for their members.

 

[Buckman]

Sorry, but you are far MORE likely to be prosecuted for a weight infringement than for a tyre load rating. Weight is an absolute slam dunk offence, tgats why statutory weight plates are fitted. For on Incorrect tyres offence it would be necessary to prove the vehicle was being used in a dangerous manner, far more difficult to prove than a weight offence
I am VERY surprised that a 2018 caravan doesn't have a statutory plate. It's possible that it's somewhere else other than in the gas locker UNLESS the single (upgrade) "plate" is indeed the statutory one, in which case any attempt to remove it will result in its destruction (a bit like some supermarket price labels, they come apart if you try and take them off, same principle) .

Many weight checks are carried out by the Police without the involvement of VOSA (or whatever they are called this week) ANY vehicle can be required to go to a weighbridge to be weighed. If over a certain distance (I can't recall what that is now) costs incurred can be claimed back IF no offence is disclosed.

I don't understand? If the trailer has a sticker on the side of it that is not a statutory sticker, but has the guideline MTPLM figure on it i.e. is 1600kg, and this exceeds the car's train weight how can they prosecute on the figures?

Surely it will be laughed out of court as the trailer may be empty and being empty it is well under the car's train weight. This could happen with a car or horse trailer that when loaded needs to be towed by a 4x4, but empty it could be towed by a smaller vehicle.. Surely they would need to weight the trailer and the vehicle to determine the train weight for the prosecution to be successful?

This is not an argument and I am not advocating taking a chance and hoping you will get away with it however it is of interest to know how a prosecution could take place so thanks for any input. I assume that if the train weight is exceeded the person will not be allowed to proceed?