Premium Pack
After much deliberation have purchased a new Bailey Pursuit 430-4 with the Premium Pack and sunroof.
So others are aware these two extras abount to 52kg. Add a mover and the battery and the total is a large chunk out of the 192kg total payload.
I am going to order the maximum upgrade plate to give me some more leeway.
Comments
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Yes very much aware, see my recent post on Caravan Talk
http://www.caravantalk.co.uk/community/topic/112434-mtplm-miro-and-payload-yes-yes-i-know/
All the manufacturers are guilty of it on their supposed lightweight ranges. The reality is pairing down hobs, ovens and lighting, just dosn't deliver enough weight saving for marketing purposes.
They know exactly what they are doing.
They save the weight from the marketing driven, artificially low MIRO and MTPLM by homologating them without kit you might consider as essential, like stabiliser and spare wheel. So these weights fall into "Option Packs" which are not really optional at all.So their marketing problem, becomes our payload problem.
Rather neat, don't you think?If your licence and tow car allows, a weight plate upgrade is the solution. Bailey charge an additional £60.
WIN WIN for Bailey.
At least Bailey are transparent on the website.
The others are less so.0 -
I've just bought a pursuit and I'm ordering the weight plate upgrade nearly £18000 new with extras and mover and £60 for plate. Not bad me thinks and at least you can do it on line through Bailey other manufacturers aren't that good
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I've just bought a pursuit and I'm ordering the weight plate upgrade nearly £18000 new with extras and mover and £60 for plate. Not bad me thinks and at least you can do it on line through Bailey other manufacturers aren't that good
Write your comments here...Same price as Swift, but should you need to pay £60 to have your van rated to the correct max weight.
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I bought a German Eriba and they asked me whether I wanted 180 kg payload or the upgrade to 380 kg. The upgrade wasn't just £60 for a different plate, but an uprated axle and bigger tyres take the new loading.
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I've just bought a pursuit and I'm ordering the weight plate upgrade nearly £18000 new with extras and mover and £60 for plate. Not bad me thinks and at least you can do it on line through Bailey other manufacturers aren't that good
Write your comments here...Same price as Swift, but should you need to pay £60 to have your van rated to the correct max weight.
The whole point is that it gives manufacturers the opportunity of seling to people whose car would not otherwise manage and they can also make a bit more from those who have a bigger car. Having said that not all caravans can be upgraded, I know because
I asked when buying ours and was told no.0 -
I've just bought a pursuit and I'm ordering the weight plate upgrade nearly £18000 new with extras and mover and £60 for plate. Not bad me thinks and at least you can do it on line through Bailey other manufacturers aren't that good
Write your comments here...Same price as Swift, but should you need to pay £60 to have your van rated to the correct max weight.
The whole point is that it gives manufacturers the opportunity of seling to people whose car would not otherwise manage and they can also make a bit more from those who have a bigger car. Having said that not all caravans can be upgraded, I know because
I asked when buying ours and was told no.Write your comments here...Surely the max weight is for what load you can place in the van, not the car you use to tow it. Swift provided a plate to replace the original giving an extra 60 kg which I suggest they should have provided as standard, as that
was the true max weight.0 -
..... Swift provided a plate to replace the original giving an extra 60 kg which I suggest they should have provided as standard, as that was the true max weight.
But as Wildwood said, if they intentionally downgrade a caravan, it allows more younger drivers/licence holders to tow it.
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..... Swift provided a plate to replace the original giving an extra 60 kg which I suggest they should have provided as standard, as that was the true max weight.
But as Wildwood said, if they intentionally downgrade a caravan, it allows more younger drivers/licence holders to tow it.
Write your comments here...I must admit that I did not know the regulations that are being stated here.
The following is the regulations from GOV.uk.
From 19 January 2013, drivers passing a category B (car and small vehicle) test can tow:
- small trailers weighing no more than 750kg
- a trailer over 750kg as long as the combined weight of the trailer and towing vehicle is no more than 3,500kg (3.5 tonnes
As my point centres around an extra 60kg or so, it is unlikely to prevent drivers of smaller cars towing light weight vans.
But it would allow all of us to maximise our payload.
Please advise if I am not understanding this correctly.
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I have only been caravanning for five years.
I am a bit pedantic on detail (okay anal), and have a keen interest in marketing. So when looking for a new caravan became very aware of this conundrum.
For what it's worth, this is my take on it. Feel free to pull it to bits...
The regulations for the catagory B licensing has to be written in an easily enforcable, unambiguous way. So it is simply based on the sum of the published gross tow vehicle weight and plated MTPLM of the caravan or trailer.
The manufacturers understabably want to ensure their products are legally viable for as large a market share as possible, which has to include Cat B licence holders, those with ever lighter tow cars and those paranoid or confused about 85% ratio's.
Because Cat B regs are based on simplistic GVW of the tow car, the manufacturer knows a customer, limited by his low plated MTPLM, can transfer remaining load to the car providing they don't exceed the GVW of the car. Most won't exceed, but it becomes the customers problem.
As a consequence, most of the UK manufacturers appear to homologate their entry level vans with a bare minimum MIRO by rendering essential equipment and usually standard kit, as non-optional "option packs". Then they add the industry guideline payloads for the number of births, to generate an NCC compliant caravan, which as a result has an artificially low MTPLM. It complies by deeming that option pack as an "option", so effectively compromising your true payload.
So their marketing and NCC compliance problem, becomes the users payload problem instead. Understandable, but all rather convenient, don't you think.
You can also see this manifesting itself further up ranges, in the omission of ATC and shock absorbers from the standard kit list of some mid range caravans (eg 2016 Pegasus). Ooh, it must save at least 8kg, but every little helps in the marketing stakes.
It's not a conspiracy theory or anything, just diligent business
If you are enlightened, have the right licence, and have the right caravan, you get a plate upgrade. And you pay another £60 for the privilege . Once again all rather neat.
If not, you risk exceeding your plated MTPLM, transfer the load to your car. Or merely continue in ignorant bliss and enjoy caravanning, which is how it should be.
At least Bailey appear transparent. Bailey, Coachman and Swift also appear to generally select a common heavier chassis than the plated MTPLM, therefore having upgradability. My Pursuit has been upgraded by a whopping 126kg because it rides on a 1500kg rated chassis.
Buy an Xplore 586 on the other hand, and it appears the chassis is paired down to exactly the compromised MTPLM of 1350kg, so no tolerance to upgrade. I wonder if that contributes to one of their other little problems.
Fascinating business, this caravan industry we support.
Sorry to ramble, but there's bu%ger all on TV
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