Uprating the "Weight Plate"
Hi All,
I have ordered my new reg Bailey MH to be delivered March 1st.
I have got why I consider to be a good deal, by the end of our negotiations the dealer and I were haggling over how much fuel would be in the Van, so in my past experience thats when the deal is close to the bone for the sales person.
I recently contacted the dealer to ask to have the weight plate uprated to over 3500kg because this would save me £70 per year in RFL. The dealer said there would be a charge for this of £400. I've done some research and some manufactures offer the "plate" at no cost. Whats your experiences? I am thinking that the sales person is just trying to claw back some of the deal that we've struck by saying theres a £400 charge. I've emailed Bailey Customer Service but had no response.
Thanks
Comments
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Ours was uprated FOC, in fact it was an option given to me at purchase with no cost involved. The only draw back is speed limits and lane restrictions on certain roads and to be honest, neither are a problem to me! Just relax and enjoy the 'journey', afterall, that's what I bought it for!
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You can't upgrade the weights on motorhomes willy nilly. Sometimes a modest weight increase to say 3650kg [as in my case] is possible with just a sticker change and that should be less than £300 and often free.
The higher up the plating range you go, the more you need to change on the van.
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Baileys have Alko super low rear chassis, so dont use standard Fiat chassis. Fitting rear air suspension aids would allow the weight to be uprated considerably but would cost about 400 pounds, so perhaps this was what the salesman meant ? (being tactful here).
Anything over 3500kg puts it in to PHGV catagory which is 165 pounds a year tax.
Like BB i think the 3500kg limit for coachbuilt motorhomes is totally unrealistic, and inviting lawbreaking either on purpose or more likely accidently .
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On our van there are 3 weight plates, the standard fiat 3500, then a Fiat 3650 one and the knaus 3850 which was a cost option. I think the 3650 one is free but to get the 3850 it has suspension changes on the rear to have leaf springs fitted though I may be wrong but when I recently looked into adding air bags to the rear to lift the rear axle capacity one of the criterion was having these springs first. And of course as this was on our order it probably came from the Fiat factory already fitted so was cheaper than retrofitting it.
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Hi FB,
I've ordered a new Bailey 75-4 and the dealer is updating to 3850kg for free. I have seen dealers advertise this service for £140. My dealer agreed to do this as part of the deal.
I agree with the earlier post that 3500 does not provide enough payload on the larger Bailey's.
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I know first hand of the rear axle issue. My 3500kg Bolero can be uprated to 3700kg (stage 2 Al-Ko vin plate), but with 2 bikes on the back and a full tank of water (100kg) I am over weight on my rear axle. Up rating to 3700kg will make no difference so in my case there is little to be gained. When I travel with bikes I just carry about 20ltrs of water.
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