Never been near a weighbridge

Pudsey Bear said:
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You are assuming it is overweight due to the materials used in the build, I guess?
I didn't use any lightweight wood in my last conversion - combination of pine wood, solid standard plywood and IKEA cabinets plus a solid wood kitchen worktop.
Came in at 2,800Kg on a 4600Kg chassis.

Not sure what the " Weighbridge CertViewings by appointment only" comment is meant to mean? Maybe it was weighed and is close to a limit? I doubt Motorhome Depot would list an overweight van if they actually knew it was overweight?
 
wildebus said:
You are assuming it is overweight due to the materials used in the build, I guess?
I didn't use any lightweight wood in my last conversion - combination of pine wood, solid standard plywood and IKEA cabinets plus a solid wood kitchen worktop.
Came in at 2,800Kg on a 4600Kg chassis.

Not sure what the " Weighbridge CertViewings by appointment only" comment is meant to mean? Maybe it was weighed and is close to a limit? I doubt Motorhome Depot would list an overweight van if they actually knew it was overweight?
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I would THINK that it is a typo and a dash is missing, the "viewings by..." comment is usually at the end of a description as it is in this case. It would be interesting to know what weight the van is registered at and what was being carried at the time so a payload could be calculated.

it is certainly a stunning van, I love it!
 
Robmac said:
I would THINK that it is a typo and a dash is missing, the "viewings by..." comment is usually at the end of a description as it is in this case. It would be interesting to know what weight the van is registered at and what was being carried at the time so a payload could be calculated.

it is certainly a stunning van, I love it!
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That makes sense ref the weigthbridge cert and veiwings comment (y)
Looks a nice van. Don't know what current prices are, but seems ballpark for age and mileage?
 
They’ve mentioned twice in the advert it has a weigh bridge certificate but not stated the weight, thats an immediate red flag imho, if it’s only plated at 3500kg I bet it’s fairly close to that unladen so perhaps they need a gullible buyer who thinks or can be misled that payload doesn’t count, plenty of them out there already knowingly and unknowingly driving massively overweight vans!
 
CriftinsCampers said:
They’ve mentioned twice in the advert it has a weigh bridge certificate but not stated the weight, thats an immediate red flag imho, if it’s only plated at 3500kg I bet it’s fairly close to that unladen so perhaps they need a gullible buyer who thinks or can be misled that payload doesn’t count, plenty of them out there already knowingly and unknowingly driving massively overweight vans!
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Sorry, but I don't get that?

If they were trying to deceive in any way surely they wouldn't mention the weight at all. It could well be rated at 3500kg and still nowhere near that but any potential buyer would realise that if it only had a tiny payload then to either buy it and re-plate it or steer clear. Then again it could have been up-rated already and have loads of payload.

To be honest, I would rather be shown a weighbridge certificate than not for any vehicle I looked at.
 
@Robmac
Yes an you are right an up to date genuine weighbridge certificate is certainly better than nothing (hoping any buyer is intelligent enough to be able to interpret it) but if not done on each axle could easily disguise the fact the van may be under its over all plated weight but dangerously close to an axle weight.

Although this outfit aren't traders in the true sense I have become naturally suspicious of traders, I have learnt from experience from vans brought to me soon after purchase than many buyers are totally naive when it comes to weights and simply don't find out until too late.

I work a lot on ex Ambulances and it's really amazing how many I come across that have continuously been used in service whilst over weight, or have been plated incorrectly, they are then often sold by dishonest traders to gullible buyers. I've even seen examples of what I believe are fake SVtech stickers being used as well to deceive buyers and even service drivers. my own Crafter was one example where the operator DHL had stuck SVtech weight stickers on the van without informing the DVLA and hence leaving the drivers liable if caught. It may have been a simple admin error but it certainly happens!

The van in the advert looks very nice, possibly a very recent or new conversion, it could have unfortunately been a rejected customer build because it was over the payload stipulated in the contract (that is something else I always advise people to do when engaging a converter for a build)

On the Facebook groups I admin I have this stickied as a reminder as I really do try to help people avoid getting it wrong.

"
A common sense suggestion BEFORE you buy, I repeat BEFORE you buy! Many people buy self built vans, what the sellers rarely state is what it truly weighs!

Before buying or even paying a deposit, I strongly recommend you weigh any prospective purchase to ensure it has sufficient payload for you, your passengers, pets, toys, food water luggage etc.

If you plan to tow, allow sufficient payload for the towbar plus trailer nose weight which could easily be another 150 kg.

If poss take the van to a weighbridge during your test drive. Any honest seller should not object, if he/she does be very suspicious!
Ideally use a weighbridge than can weigh each axle independently.

Pay attention to the vans weight plate for each axle, it is quite common for motor caravans to be just under the vehicles plated weight e.g 3500kg but be over the axle weight especially the rear axle weight.

In the UK you can be fined and potentially prosecuted if the entire vehicle or either axle is overweight.
Caveat emptor and all that!"
 
Many years ago, I replaced the chassis/cab of my motorhome.
The old chassis/cab gained the back panel from the replacement, and was sold on.
Before that, we took it to the weighbridge to get a weight certificate. This was evidence of the Unladen Weight.
As it happened, I saw it on the road about a year later: it was being used to transport oil drums, so very little had been added to the chassis. But it might have gained a box van or camper van body.
That weight certificate would have been useful if you knew what it referred to, but misleading if you didn't.
If I was going to convert a van to a camper, I'd weigh it after the stripout, before the fitout. To inform, not to mislead.
 
Has anyone ever been asked for it, though? It used to be on older vans etc, possibly law then on commercial vehicles, not sure if it could applied now at all in reality.
 
It is the only way to know the UW, which defines the applicable speed limit for a motorhome.
There is no requirement to have this, but knowledge is power.
 
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