Have you weighed your caravan recently?
 

So, I have a caravan with MTPLM of 1487Kgs.
I had the opportunity this week to take it to a weighbridge. It isn't fully laden, bedding etc is all in there, but other items we would carry with us are not. I took the main awning canvas out as that usually travels in the car.
I was amazed at the weight!
1480Kgs!!!!!
We must have been overloaded last year, without realising.

I now need to look carefully at what we carry in the van. I usually leave the porch awning in there, so that will come out when we know we won't use it (15Kgs). The fold up chairs will have to travel in the car (about 3Kgs each).
I'm going back tomorrow with a set of bathroom scales to weigh as much as I can.

I wonder how many other caravanners are accidentally overloaded? (I don't me the ones who put everything they can in, but those who think they are being careful and get it wrong).

Never weighed my van full but I have had the weight plate upgraded from 1631kg to 1700kg to give me some margin. £50 from Swift. Even at that it is still a 86% match to my XC60.

SWMBO keeps buying stuff and putting it in the van, better to be safe than sorry.

Yeah. I'm considering ask Bailey if they can uprate mine....for the same reason.
Started weighing things tonight. Reckon, with careful loading, I can shift 37Kgs into the car which should just about give us what we need in the van.

A few years ago when we had the Lunar Clubman I decided ( after using it frequently ) to take it to the weighbridge after seeing the penalties for overweight.

I was gobsmacked - we were way over with the caravan.

So much so that I'd be embarrassed to say - 'go on' - OK then, 200KG + in a 1,100 KG MTPLM caravan.

I usually checked the nose weight before each tow but didn't think we carried that much.

This was just a few days before a long trip to Cornwall so it was panic stations.

We completely emptied the caravan and went through the contents with a fine toothed comb.

Redistributed some weight to the car etc.

I bought a CWC and now, in the Charisma, load it in the same way each time we go away having got the loading between car and caravan and nose weight right.

I still do a 3 axle weight check with the CWC on occasions though - usually before a long trip.

It is amazing how much we used to carry at one time, years ago - much of it just in case.

I often see posts elsewhere from people who never check - the 'I can lift the tow hitch so it's OK ' brigade and been doing it for years, 'never had any problems'.

Probably never had a roadside check either and had to ditch content or paid an overweight fine ( or worse ).

Ignorance, to them, is bliss.

Colin

Great advice, will check mine on a weighbridge during the next few weeks.
Thank you - Paul

Just on this point - I've not heard of DVSA doing nose weight checks before, they generally carry axle scales now but not sure how they would measure nose weight? Has anyone any experience of doing this?

FYI the Mk1 XC90 has a maximum nose weight of 90Kg in the UK, in Australia the structurally identical car is rated 180 Kg and I think this is more to do with the legislation in some states of AU stipulating that the nose weight must be a minimum of 7% of the trailer weight.

I personally like to tow with a good nose weight and I think this aids stability - especially on Nivomat equipped cars. I'm sure I've gone over 90kg's on more than 10 occasions.

The penalties for overweight vehicles and trailers aren't actually that harsh, they are:

0.01 - 9.99% - £100
10%-14.99% - £200
15%-29.99% - £300
30% > - court summons & prohibition order

There is a 5% advised discretion but it is just that (i.e. overloads of up to 5% can be overlooked). They are non-endorsable penalties - i.e. no points on license.

FYI a Land Rover Discovery has a maximum nose weight of 250Kg.

I've heard (on a caravan forum) of noseweight being checked.
I presume it is a calibrated scale. I use bathroom scales to check mine.

I like to have a slightly heavy noseweight at about 90Kgs, so it's good to know that the XC is rated at that. I ran the V70 at 85Kgs, although that was rated for just 70.

You say no points , Well sort of You can still get points for operating a vehicle dangerous condition namely overloaded. A chap I know did .

If the DVSA carry scales all they need is a short pice of wood to put vertically on the scales and supporting the towing hitch just as we could do with bathroom scales.

Any overweight situation isn't just a matter of penalties though.

If the excess can't be re-distributed within the car's limits then excess weight may have to be ditched before a prohibition notice is removed.

If the excess is high, do you really want to have to ditch the awning in a skip at the testing station?

Colin