Help from any experienced motorhomes please
Hi all,
My wife and I are new to motorhoming and need a bit of help please.
We are looking for an additional freezer for the garage on our Chausson 788, we have a dog and make and freeze his food and are about to set off on our first big trip to do the NC500 over 14 nights.
Anyone have any recommendation please?
Thanks in advance,
Neil
Answers
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GGosh, Welcome.
My first reaction is weight. Next is power.
Do you have the payload? Have you weighed yourselves fully laden in travelling mode at the weighbridge? I suggest tgat as 1st point of call, modern motorhomes have loads of storage and tiny payloads. That would include bikes if you take them and all passengers, some fresh water, again a full fresh tank will be heavy.
HHow Will you power it?
I think you'll get lots of help but basic information will be needed before we can safely suggest.
Happy motorhoming.
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as above, what weight is your van badged for? Eg 3500kg. going above the badged weight could cause insurance issues in the event of an accident. In some cases you can have a van uprated in weight eg to 4250kg but you would of course need a C1 license for that. You need the weight of your van then add to that anything you put in after weighing. Eg extra fuel, extra water, people not present at weighing, any food, clothes, absolutely everything. It will only cost about £10 or £15 at a weigh bridge. Useful to get separate axel weights as well. Your local county or borough council will have a list of public weighbridges bridges on their web sites.
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If you want freezer capacity for frozen dogfood for a fortnight then something like this one holding 34litres rather than a portable fridge feezer with limited freezer space.
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It's not just total payload but the weight on the rear axle you need to consider. Your weight plate will tell you the max load per axle and you will need to visit a weighbridge to establish how close you are to the max weight. Don’t forget to include the weight of everything else in the garage and the food you intend to put in the freezer.
Powering the freezer while travelling might well prove difficult and you also need to provide ventilation to prevent overheating.
Is there a particular reason you need to feed your dog in this manner? Could it not live off proprietary brands for a few weeks?
PS. The NC500 deserves more than 14 nights. You will spend an awful lot of time driving and miss some glorious sights.
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Inaccurate can mean either although I don’t share this experience.
Best to check it yourself in the handbook, as opposed to brochure. Unfortunately, the after conversion weight plate fitted by Chausson will only give fully laden weight, gross train weight, and max axle weights so I don’t think you have any alternative but to believe the payload figure (or unladen weight figure) written in your handbook. Load up your van in touring mode and visit a weighbridge to check overall and axle weights. It’s the only way to be sure you stay at or below the 3500 max.
You might find this guide useful -
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SaSadly it's usually less than advertised. I don't think they even allow for a full tank of fuel or 2 passengers.
PPots, Crockery, cutlery, bedding, clothing, towels, toiletries, EHU cable, ramps for levelling, food, outdoor chairs etc etc really do add. You'll be very surprised.
SSadly They're generally not designed by end users 🤐.
PPolice Are getting very hot on weights and if you're over you have to unload your stuff as a minimum. Insurance companies won't like it either.
Sorry it all.sounds so negative, we had an older model, decent payload and never had an issue. It applies equally to caravans. Once you've got it sussed weight wise then you decide.
I also agree, 14 days isn't enough for the NC. LLet alone to and from as well we did it years ago, wasn't the NC 500 then! As part of a 10 week tour of Scotland, again not long enough...... You'll enjoy it even if you have to have a couple of goes at it.
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I agree with all of the above; unfortunately 333kg isn't a big payload. From our past experience dealers are very economical with the truth where payloads are concerned. I believe only the driver is included in the weight of the MH, any additional passengers are part of the payload, so even a slim passenger will take the payload well below 300kg. It's important to use a weighbridge; we have, and we were within our payload, but with not a lot to spare. It surprised us how much everything we had in the MH added up to.
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What ingredients are you making your dog food from? Could most of it be bought while you are away, and made up in small batches? , could you order it online and dispatched to one of your chosen sites enroute? (I am guessing possibly raw meat might be more difficult though).
You are trying to combine a tight weight allowance and increased power consumption with a tour around an area somewhat scarce in terms of shopping options, and a strict feeding regime for dog, which isn’t going to be an easy compromise to be honest.
Could you not look at dried raw food, getting your dog used to it before you go away, which might mean less weight to carry, as it won’t include the freezer?
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