What's in it?
Hi,
New to caravaning and my partner is worried about the MTPLM. Everytime I go to put something in the van he says, 'No! That's too heavy!' We are loading it up for the first time. We will go to a weighbridge, but can you tell me roughly what you can put
in?
Ta,
Miss Anon!
Comments
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Hi,
New to caravaning and my partner is worried about the MTPLM. Everytime I go to put something in the van he says, 'No! That's too heavy!' We are loading it up for the first time. We will go to a weighbridge, but can you tell me roughly what you can put in?
Ta,
Miss Anon!
This is always a worry for me too. To be honest, it's not really that realistic to provide a list - it depends on how much spare weight you have in the van anyway. The one bit of advice I can offer is that, you may not know this, but it may be possible to get the MTPLM of your caravan upgraded. This is just a paper exercise and involves no structural alterations.
Many caravan manufacturers will put a lower MTPLM on the caravan to make it more attractive to buy. Personally, I've never found this particularly helpful. We have a new van on order at the moment and the first thing I have done is to order an upgraded MTPLM.
The downside is that it could very well cost in the region of £60-70 for the upgraded paperwork! You would need to contact your dealer to get this done.
David
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The difference between the Mass in Running Order (MIRO) and MTPLM of your caravan is known as its User Payload, this varies quite a lot between caravans and mine is 195kg for instance. Like David says, get it uprated for more payload, although its only a paper exercise for legality. If you don't uprate and go over slightly, nothings going to break but be careful where you put it. You should have a plate somewhere near the door on the van telling you of your user payload. Put what you can in the car, but don't overload that either.
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Hey GG, It depends on type of tug and van, if you carry dogs etc. We put our Aqua and wastemaster in the bathroom. We put the awning over the wheels. Clothes, bedding etc are in the lockers. Gas bottles, electric cable in the fron locker etc. Watch
the nose weight, don't go above the weight stipulated for your tow car. As there is only 2 of us and no pets we can also load some stuff in the car, i.e. beer and wine
You will soon get use to it and get out and about enjoying your new holiday home0 -
First on the list will be your wife then but then again you don't always need her
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Well G if you watched the BBC fiasco the other night you will know that its essential that you roll your knickers up and pack them in propper order, where as in the real world of leisure batteries, movers,gasbottles, awnings, I'd be surprised if you can
squeese a pair of flip flops and be legal....just joking.0 -
You need to take the items that you need it's that simple. If you don't need it and won't use it
then don't take it.Would you be so kind as to tell this to my wife. I have tried, every time we load the van, but she sems to go deaf. 80% of my clothes (which she insists on packing), come back unused.
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You need to take the items that you need it's that simple. If you don't need it and won't use it
then don't take it.Would you be so kind as to tell this to my wife. I have tried, every time we load the van, but she sems to go deaf. 80% of my clothes (which she insists on packing), come back unused.
Oh dear Ros, you should listen to your husband he speaks wise words just think is you cut down on his clothes by 80% you could take more luny juice instead
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I have another wife that needs the talking to. On one trip of three nights she brought four unworn outfits back. There are outfits for cold weather, hot weather and rain and a few more just in case they fit the occassion better. Underwear though is never
colour co ordinated as it is all the same colour, not sure how the judges would view that.0 -
Start with the bare minimum you think you can get away with. Subtract/ add items as you work out what you need after a few trips. as to where to put things, experience will help you learn what both 'feels' right, and works for you.
For example:- In our last van barrels travelled at the back, in this van they travel at the front as that's what worked for hitch balance. We have flat zip bags, usually used to keep things tidy in a suitcase, to transport smaller
items of clothing, which stack neatly in lockers. Bottles of wine/water travel tucked in the rear footwell0 -
Getting the weight right is real trial and error.
When the kids were younger clothing was kept to a minimum and we bought and took the lightest bedding we could find. My wife would always insist on taking more footwear than Imelda Marcos!!
it took us a good few number of outings until we got it right, but once sorted everything had its place.
The kids are all grown up and we caravan on our own. We have bought a smaller caravan and are still experimenting with loading the van even though we take a lot less equipment. We always buy lightweight items.
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Hi,
New to caravaning and my partner is worried about the MTPLM. Everytime I go to put something in the van he says, 'No! That's too heavy!' We are loading it up for the first time. We will go to a weighbridge, but can you tell me roughly what you can put
in?Ta,
Miss Anon!
any extras on the van (new or used van) will have eaten into that precious (often small) payload.
things like a mover, solar panel, even aerials (terrestrial or satellite) if they arent part of the original spec will cost you kilos..
im always surprised at how much clothes weigh....add in shoes, trainers, walking boots, rucksacks, waterproof jackets etc.....
then there are maps, books (cc/ccc/acsi/aires etc) electronic kit like satnavs, ipods, ipads, chargers etc....
any tv (plus recorders) will grab a bit more...
cutlery, crockery, pans etc....
bathroom toiletries, gels, towels etc....
bikes, batteries, chargers, panniers, pumps, repair kit, tools, etc
safety kit, warning triangles, vests etc
outdoor chairs, footrests, tables, bbqs, washing line etc
windbreak, hoses, ehu cables, assorted fittings and adaptors..
a weighbridge visit is always a sobering time.....but should be done, to be safe with weights...
good luck...
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Oh thank you for all the advice! I'm not quite Imelda Marcos, since my shoes cost next to nothing. This is all very sobering, so I will have to have a glass of wine before arranging either a hissy fit or a nervous breakdown!!
Michelle or Miss Anon
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Sorry but as most of us ladies know, if you are caravanning in this country then you do need to take clothes for all seasons! Just look at the weather at the moment. If there are too many moans about too many clothes then I just put some of them in the car.
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We are pondering a change to a MH and that is one of the downsides as we use the car as a wardrobe.
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I could send you our list but if you printed it out and carried it with you then you would definitely exceed the MTPLM.
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We are pondering a change to a MH and that is one of the downsides as we use the car as a wardrobe.
We used to do pretty well on our 3500kg Bolero. had a good wardrobe and decent bedroom lockers for underwear t-shirts etc.
low(ish) beds for easy access dont have (comparitively) as much space under as higher beds.
our lengthways (high) twin singles have a garage and two wardrobes underneath, deep enough for hanging coats/jackets/shirts.
OH has exclusive use of one side plus the other (third) full length (read ball gown....) wardrobe....
i get the remaining one....
on 4250kg chassis payload isnt an issue but CY are you wanting to keep to 3500kg?
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Sorry but as most of us ladies know, if you are caravanning in this country then you do need to take clothes for all seasons! Just look at the weather at the moment. If there are too many moans about too many clothes then I just put some of them in the car.
just packed for Scotland, not knowing weather have loaded everything from sun hats and shorts to hats, gloves and a thermal vest! ( as well as all the usual stuff in between)
mrs Steve
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We are pondering a change to a MH and that is one of the downsides as we use the car as a wardrobe.
Oh no!!
Not you too, CY!0 -
Stupid Question....What do you do when you go to a Weighbridge? We have one not too far from us but I have never been.
Tracy, for us in a MH we just drive on to the 'plate' and we get a weight for the whole vehicle (eg 3450kg).
we then drive the front wheels off the plate and, with the rear wheels still on there, weigh again (eg 1850kg)
you can now work out the three important weights...
actual weight 3450.....to be checked against the MTPLM
rear axle weight 1850......to be checked against max rear weight
front axle weight 3450-1850 = 1600...to be checked against max front weight
now, for a caravan, i would imagine it needs to be towed onto the plate (fully loaded) and then the car un hitched (or moved there with a mover?) and then weighed.
this will give the actual weight of the van to be checked against the MTPLM.
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Definitely take it to the weighbridge, I'd also do the same for the car as well (we did that last Friday). I also would suggest you buy a good quality noseweight guage. We go the shock of our lives when we first hooked up the new van. Pleased to say that
when we collected it from the dealer on Friday and tried the guage again, we were down from 95 to 75 kgs, so we can and will be putting a very small amount of weight back in as the car can handle 80 kgs.0 -
i went to Weybridge once
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If we make the change, and it is still "if" so don't panic yet NTH, we will stick to 3500Kg as I have let my C1 expire as I couldn't be bothered with the hassle of a medical every three years.
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Cyberyacht, having spent the best part of a month equipping our motorhome and trying unsuccessfully to accommodate our caravan stuff I can unequivocally state - it won't fit! Nearly everything is now new - Duvalays, table and chairs, smaller BBQ, reduced
toolbox etc. Plus half the cups, glasses, cutlery, plates disposed of. Of course, we didn't really need everything we had accumulated but even so ..... Oh, then you have to stop it rattling!Anyway, it's been fun and if it worries you get a Hymer with a "garage". You'll be able to take everything; just don't bang your head getting up in the morning.
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as Hitch says, of youre trying to get the contents of a caravan and a towcar into a MH then, unless you have a garage that can mirror the boot of a large car, you will be struggling.
however, even PVCs at 6 m (those with rear fixed beds) can accommodate a huge amount of kit, whereas large lounge styles (where the stuff has to be crammed under benches) will be more of a struggle.
its now possible to get smaller garage models on 3.5t (hymer, carthago, adria, pilote etc....(note lack of uk vans with this format) that give plenty of storage, especially with double floors, again a design thats eschewed by the home boys...
however, a periodic good cleansing of the soul is great for the payload....if you dont use it, dont carry it.
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