Weighbridge adventures

[Wrighpm]

Hi decided to take our new (to us) motorhome to a weighbridge.
So with full tank of water, half tank of fuel, two full gas bottles and 2 passengers I weighed in at 3560Kg. I.e. a bit over.
It managed to de-clutter and dropped 46Kg but still over by 14Kg.
Noting that there we no clothes in the van, the fridge was empty and two e-bikes were still to be loaded. Dropping 80 litres of water and travelling with 30 litres almost achieves 3500Kg and allows us to dress and take food.
However I decided to visit a different weighbridge.
This time it clocked 3380 with same loading as 1st weighbridge!
This only gives me 120Kg to cover food, clothes, e-bikes etc..... but a lot more do-able than I was first thinking.
VOSA fine is £100 for 5% over. 5% is 175Kg.
So if 2nd weighbridge is more accurate I have ample capacity.
I post this to share my weighbridge experience and welcome comments.

 

[YorkieF]

I thought all weighbridges had to be accurate within a certain percentage and tested regularly. I think that I'll stick with the one that I know and keep the certificates for proof.
I up-plated my 3500kg to 3850kg and weighed it before setting off on our long weekend and it weighed 3460kg. Mind you, there was only me and my missus.

 

[Okta]

I use a weigh bridge at a modern agricultural business. It is clean tidy and very well organised. I trust their readings more than the one I was given by a messy scrap dealer who forgot to zero the scales and then gave me what looked like a rounded figure ending in 00.

 

[nabsim]

Keeping certificates for reference is ok but they won't do any good if you got pulled and were over. Its what you weigh at the time they go off.

I say this as it is what I know of HGV's being pulled and fined. I have never been pulled in a motorhome

 

[SimonM]

Modern 3500kg motorhomes struggle to achieve that weight when loaded with a sensible amount of bits and pieces. I had a massive, but ultimately very successful, legal battle against one unscrupulous motorhome dealer who sold me something that was unable to achieve 3500 even when almost empty. When loaded with what I felt was necessary to carry it weighed in at over 3850kg - ridiculous. I discovered it had been downplated from its original 3650kg weight, that it wouldn’t be able to achieve either.

When I later decided to go for something heavier it was based on what was proven to be capable of taking, it was weighed empty and then I could extrapolate its travel weight. At 4500kg it was ample and when I coincidentally parked near a free, open, public weighbridge in Sweden, it showed we were at 4260kg. Sorted.

 

[SimonM]

Just checked online and it is still unsold and untaxed 18 months later as it is now advertised with ‘almost’ its correct payload of 150kg. It’s showing as 200kg no way will it achieve that. It’s drastically needs to be put back to 3650kg it came from the factory with - C1 licence needed - or better still to 3850kg but it then needs uprated wheels and suspension, I’d looked at it previously.

 

[SimonM]

In a layby next to a lake was the weighbridge, so convenient and easy to use, drive on, wait, take photo, drive off again