Weights and payloads

Agreed current payloads of most caravans are insufficient for more than a few days away, combined with the paltry MRO allowance one has to ask if they are fit for purpose. I carry most load in the car.

My first van had around 25% of MTPLM available for loading. My latest 10%, Cheap axle and flimsy chassis!

Does insurance void if axle limit is exceeded? Some may need to watch out!

I doubt whether insurances will get involved with maximum permissible axle loads of a caravan because the MTPLM will always be less than or equal to the axle load limit. Therefore, if the axle load limit is exceeded, then the MTPLM will be exceeded, too, and that would have possible consequences regarding insurance coverage.

With many single axle UK vans MTPLM being at or within  approximately 50kg of the axle rating it is very easy to unwittingly exceed. Best keep an eye on weight regards insurance. It could be investigated if involved in an RTA..

Thanks to AD and Lutz, it seems movers are just as prevalent away from UK.

For the caravan owner, it's still the MTPLM which has possible insurance implications, though, not the axle load rating.

It would appear that the '85% rule' is even being 'taught' to 16 year olds

Found this question in a standard's review for HM (she like to delegate these things) from the Welsh exam board. It's the second time that a caravan towing question has appeared so it would appear that the person writing these questions appears to be caravanner? 

Good exam question I thought - mathematically speaking.

Great stuff. Might we see caravan/MH weights and towing law on the curriculum in future?🚐😄

Can we issue a 100 lines penalty, ‘85% is NOT a rule!!’ Repeat until understood.  

Yes, accepting these irresponsibly low payload allowances is in many ways our fault, but perhaps the two main clubs should start looking after their member's interest by insisting on more realistic payloads.

IMO they should also be campaigning against the arbitrary, illogical and generally unsafe 3,500kg B Licence limit.  All this does is encourage these misleadingly low payloads, fragile construction and the use of the lightest possible towing vehicles.   Has anyone actually seen a safety argument, or any safety-related evidence that this limit serves a useful purpose?

I did an exercise for our 2 berth Swift Elegance 480 looking at the options list:

MRO: 1341kg, MAM:1467, payload:126kg

Essential extras on board van:  Battery: 20.6kg,  2nd Gas bottle: 13kg

Swift Options: Bike carrier: 9.5kg, 2 bikes 26.2kg, ACU: 35kg

Other Popular Option: Motor Mover: 35kg  TOTAL: 139.3kg !!!!!

Upgrade the MAM plate to the maximum allowable of 1500kg (which Swift charge you for) and the payload increases to 159kg, so that's <20kg for everything else!

That's about the weight of our small kitchen items such as crockery, glasses and cutlery, the stack and steady pads, a fire blanket and a fire extinguisher.  Nothing in the fridge and everything else must go in the car and be transferred in and out for every move.

Alternatively add a roll-out awning and you are still overloaded.

OK, this full options list is a bit extreme, but in fact it is a struggle to keep below the uprated 1500kg MAM without any of the manufacturer's options (a 124kg payload if I put the Alko jack and mains lead in the car), let alone the bike rack (+2 bikes) and the motor mover we would like.