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Old Apr 9th, 2018, 16:06   #13
37 RUBY
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Last Online: Yesterday 15:28
Join Date: Jun 2017
Location: Chesterfield
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In answer to the original question "Have you weighed your caravan?...you really should as the caravan manufacturers MIRO will likely be different from that as stated on the VIN plate and is quite often heavier. (There is no governance on this and the figure should be taken as a rough guide only) So even if an owner makes their calculations based on MIRO and MTPLM for the van then diligently weighs everything they put inside with bathroom scales, they will likely still be over weight if going to the max of the available payload.

With regards weighbridges and having worked on one for several years Ern is on the money. The discrepancies that can be found on a commercial weighbridges between calibration checks can vary somewhat and it should be borne in mind that weighbridges can often have a minimum load at circa 500kg and will be probably be less accurate at the comparatively low weight of a caravan, considering a commercial bridge can be rated to measure a max weight of 60,000kg.

I too have a Reich CWC which has proven invaluable in keeping us safe and legal. If you use one of these make sure the surface the gauge and wheel is on is smooth and even to ensure consistent results. You can also use it to weigh your tow car using the Motorhome setting as it is no good throwing everything into the car to make the caravan legal but then making the tow car overweight or overloading the axles. I've seen so many people towing with set-ups that are clearly unsafe with headlights in the air and tow bars almost scraping the floor.... I suppose the steering will be nice and light though.
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