MRO over weight compares to the plated MRO
Comments
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What a sad and worrying state of affairs when we cannot believe the product is what it says on the tin.
The labelling on vans is in effect not fit for purpose, it's a work of fiction when you need to refer to a technical document to interpret what it means.
What would it take for each van to put on a weighbridge prior to leaving the factory and have the actual weight appearing on the plate.How much would it cost, £10/20, which is nothing when you are being asked to part with £20/30K for a new van.
The industry really does need to get it's act together.
Colin
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Hi flatcoat. Haha, I like the use of ambitious. I am unfortunately constrained by having 2 little ones to account for too. My car is more than adequate to pull anything I want so I have no issues there. I was already considering putting the awning in the car prior to this debacle but this was the nail in the coffin.
I know I would've been close to the 1800kg with awning, mover, table etc plus my other essentials, but the plan was then to use the car for clothing and food, perhaps even a roof box to help out. My issue now is that I feel lied to by the salesman and conned out of nearly £2000 for an AWD mover which I cannot have on the van due to the MRO being 1600kg. At this weight, mover of 74kg, awning 35kg, essentials 96kg, I'm already over the 1800kg. If the van weighed what the sticker says 1541kg there wouldn't be an issue.
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Your suggestion does not take into account equipment that the dealer fits to the caravan prior to handing the caravan over to the owner, and in some cases that can be quite substantial. For that reason I think it would be more appropriate for the dealer to weigh each caravan prior to a sale and provide these details to his customers on a voluntary basis, but there's nothing to stop anyone for asking for such information already.
I fear that legislators will not show much enthusiasm for changing type approval requirements to include actual weights on the statutory plate because for them there is little to be gained by such a move. In fact, judging by the current state of affairs, it may even result in less sales when people realise that they can expect a lower payload margin than what they hoped for.
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I do not think it unreasonable to have an exact ex-factory weight on a van that arrives at a dealership.
You can then asses what the final weight would be based upon your choice of dealer fit extras that they should be legally obliged to inform you of.
I do not believe this would result in a loss of sales, but it would result in a change of the van sold.
Colin
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The actual ex-works weight is nowadays already documented as item 13.2 in the type approval Certificate of Conformity that is issued with every vehicle subject to type approval. All you need to do is to ask to receive or view a copy of that certificate.
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I suppose at the end of the day the problem evolves around my unreasonable ignorance in expecting a label on the side that tells me exactly what I have bought.
This could be read by me or that nice French PC plod who has just pulled me over at the side of the road without me needing to supply documentary evidence. He has me on a weighbridge and I'm not going to argue.
This ideal world does not exist and something does need to change, it is probably me or it could be an industry. I don't usually buy something without knowing what I'm going to get and I doubt many of us do.
If the MIRO plate system worked and was understood this thread would not have been started.
Colin
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The French plod is never going to ask you for a MRO. It's totally irrelevant to him. He may ask where the statutory plate is that quotes the MTPLM because he's only going to be interested in whether the actual weight of the caravan exceeds the MTPLM or not.
As I've said before, one needs to know what MRO is and not simply assume that it's the actual unladen weight.
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I have to ask........why would you carry the clothes and food in the car, yet put the awning, outdoor furniture, Aquaroll etc etc in the van?
That means a lot more work on arrival and departure, moving things out and in the van!
I can see that you will have less free space in the car than we do, having 2 little ones, so a roof box could well be worth considering.
You could also think of reviewing what you consider "essential", and ensure your crockery etc is of a lightweight type and that you are not carrying more than you really need.
Mover is a problem, would they maybe let you swap to a 2 wheel one under the circumstances? Unless you have to do some very difficult parking, or tricky manoeuvres, a 2 wheel one will work. Just ensure it is designed to be used on a twin axle.
We need the mover to place the van hitch first on our driveway, which has a 10% upward slope, and is only 5cm longer than the van. It is however 10m wide and there is a 2m wide space beside the house where part of the drawbar can go to allow a bit of flexibility. The van needs to make a 90degree turn off the road and onto the drive. With usually 3 backwards/forwards "shuffles" this is easily achieved.
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