MRO - weighbridge vs plated weights
The MRO for my caravan is shown on the plate as being 1156kg but the weight from the local public weighbridge is only 1109kg, a difference of 47kg. Is this possible? I would have thought that whilst a weighbridge may be a few kilos out, I can't believe it would be anywhere near 47kg adrift.
I know, legally, it is the plated weight that anyone in authority would use but if the weighbridge is correct then this would give me a greater possible payload even if not the legally accepted weight.
Unfortunately I seem to have mislaid the printout from the weighbridge although this wouldn't have shown the identification of the caravan but I did enter the weight in my caravan log book as soon as it was weighed.
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Unfortunately, I can well believe that it would be 47kg out. That is under 5%, and the weighbridge will be primarily intended for much higher weights than a caravan.
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Reich make a portable weight control scale - they cost £180 to buy, but your local friendly Caravan dealer probably has one and will perhaps weigh your caravan for you.
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Work to the plated weight, John. A weighbridge will only come into play if the authorities weigh your rig and find it overweight in which case your own weighbridge docket is likely to count for nothing.
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Could the 47kg difference be the allowance that the manufacturer gives for gas bottles etc ?
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Lunar specify exactly what is included in the MRO figure which is, from memory, 5kg for EHU cable, 10kg for gas and 10kg for water in the heating and toilet systems. These do seem rather bizarre items to include especially as many people don't have water in the systems when they are travelling and the EHU cable is frequently carried in the tow vehicle. The inclusion of a battery, even if it was a nominal weight of, say, 20kg would be more applicable as this is always in the caravan.
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If it's a wet heating system you're always likely to have water in it surely? Can't believe folk drain their heating system down to travel
Draining from water heater yes
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What matters is the MTPLM, or whatever they call it these days.
Your plated MRO includes the 5% tolerance the manufacturers are allowed, so your van may well weigh less than that, but you cannot assume the weighbridge is 100% correct.
Once loaded up in "holiday mode", go and wegh it again as that is the only weight that matters if you are checked.
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The reason why I was questioning the actual MRO is that, (and I know some will think I'm sad), I know the weight of just about everything that I have in the caravan. Over the years I have weighed, marked and recorded all the contents and added them to a self totalling xl spreadsheet. The only things that tend to vary are clothes and foodstuffs depending on when, where and duration of the trip. Even with these variables, I have a good idea of what the weight will be basing it on previous trips. If I take something out of the caravan for a particular trip such as the spare wheel which will be going in the car, I take 19kg off the spreadsheet but an extra gas bottle will add 15kg to it.
For a forthcoming trip to France I know from the spreadsheet that I'm starting to get a bit close to the MTPLM (about 22kg off) but if I went by the actual MRO I would have about 69kg to spare.
As I originally stated, I realise that authorities will only go by the plate but in my own mind I know that even if 'fully' loaded the 'van will be 47kg less than the legal maximum.
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I really do not understand why you are so worried!
Fair enough to use the plated MRO as guidance to how much payload you have left from your calculations, but the only weight that matters is the weight when loaded up and on the road.
How accurate are the scales you used to weigh things? Many small errors can soon add up. Many weighbridges have at least a +\- 20kg tolerance, so you need to factor that in. Do not assume you have a lot of weight to play with. Maybe take it to a different site and weigh it again.
If you remove certain items that are allowed for in the MRO then you can add "other stuff", we do that when we can, e.g. when only the two of us we leave the big table behind.
The only way you can be certain to be legal is to weigh the van when fully loaded. I would surmise that many vans are overloaded, so to be well under the max can only be good!
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Don't worry just put as much wine in as you feel comfortable with, your nose weight is deducted from the total weight on your caravan axle or axle's anyway, this is measured as rear axle weight on your towcar.
BRING BACK THE WINE ;-)
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kjell has got to the nubof this....
MRO and spread sheets are only a guide to what the van might weigh with your ' noted' load on board....
at the end of the day, to be totally sure of your position, you need to know the actual weight of the van with all this stuff on board...
irrespective of what the spreadsheet says, if its over the MTPLM you need to ditch stuff, if its under, youre OK.
i used a spread sheet to see if my van would operate successfully at its MTPLM of 3.5t....in order to do this, i ignored the manufaturers estimate of the MRO and got the dealer to weigh the actual van in a known state.
then it was pretty accurate to add in weighed items.....
in fact, once i had weighed the van fully loaded, it turned out to be very accurate indeed.....
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These do seem rather bizarre items to include especially as many people don't have water in the systems when they are travelling and the EHU cable is frequently carried in the tow vehicle.
When we always had the EHU cable in the van, why would you want to take it out? Also travelling site to site or during summer we never emptied the water heater and the toilet flush tank always had water in except in winter when it was drained.
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There is a big difference between a caravan and a motorhome. Noseweight doesn't have to be checked with a MH and 10kg of water at the front end of the 'van can make a big difference especially for those with a tow vehicle with a lower permissible towball loading.
But the point I was making is that a removable EHU cable is included in the MRO but a battery is not which, to all intents and purposes, is a 'fixed' item in the caravan but is not included in the MRO. And why bother at all to include a figure for water or even gas? Surely what we want to know is what the empty 'van actually weighs. From that point we can add up the weight of items that we put in. Some people, though, probably haven't got a clue as to the weight of added items.
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i guess the reason is that MRO means 'mass in running order'....running being the operative word.
things usually included ar those which help the van 'run' and dont usually get taken out of the van
water, gas, hook up cable etc.....perhaps a battery should be included, it is on most MH MRO figures.
perhaps what should be available is the unladen weight.
the tech manual for my van gives an unladen weight figure....no fluids, no people etc.
however, for me, the MIRO is more useful, especially when i know exactly whats included.....driver (75kg), 90% fuel, 20l water, one battery.
easy then to adjust driver weight to my own, add OH, add 10% fuel and another 100ltr of water, then all the extras packs and other ancilliary equipment, clothes, food, electrical kit, bikes, chargers etc, etc, etc...
however, all this 'exact knowledge' isnt a bit of good if the manufacturers weight wasnt what the manual said
so, i weighed the van, fully loaded...
as Ellen Ripley might have said....'only way to be sure'
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