Motor homes and payloads

We had a Bailey 625se MH, never had a problem with the payload, we weighed everything the first time out, took it to weighbridge and still had plenty left. We had a full water tank but we never travelled with it full more like 40 ltrs. However some of the bigger vans of that make struggle to stay within the allowance.

 It is not only payload but Axle weights you need to watch.  On our previous van we were within the payload when we had it weighed however we were very near to the 2000kg rear axle limit.  If we went up to the full 3850kg it may have tipped the rear axle over the limit and that was without bikes.  Not had the new van weighed yet as we have not been past the weighbridge which is 30 miles away but hoping to soon to get an idea of where we are but as we are now plated at 4500kg hoping we have plenty to spare even with 2 bikes in the garage now....

as Michael says, most wont have a problem on the 'heavy' 4250kg chassis, but licence restrictions may apply.

the 3650/3850 upgrades are used by salesman to allay any customer 'payload fears' yet do nothing to alleviate the usual rear axle issues found as vans move to 7m or so....and beyond.

Swift have a 8m+ van in their range running at 3500 with about 250kg payload and a rear axle thats close to the limit the moment the water tank is filled and the passenger steps aboard.

Thanks everyone. Plenty to think about. Currently have a 6 berth twin axle caravan for the 2 of us and am starting to think I might just upgrade that. Will continue a search for a suitable motor home for the time being but not easy when most dealer sites don't even give an indication of pay load. There must be lots of people that get caught out with this.

So your payload   (as ours with your estate car)is above what  a lot of motor caravans can carry ,so how do you "understand"pooŕ payloads with as us all the payload of your car

JVB, the point is that UK caravan payloads are notoriously low these days, and sometimes upgrades are not available or are only small.  

By the time you have added the battery etc and a Mover, the amount left for clothes, bedding, food and other essentials is totally inadequate, just ask TammyGirl!

Not everyone wants to have to fill their car with so much stuff, especially when touring with maybe only 4 or 5 nights at each place.

The fact that you don’t understand the problem doesn’t mean that it does not exist, JV.

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I did not say it does not exist, but I would think that most who buy caravans, will look at what can be carried?and they as others have mentioned can carry a quite large payload in the tow vehicle,some caravans have quite large payloads but then they are already heavy, which in the uk market is not compatible with most owners tow vehicles

I think, with both caravans and MHs, that purchasers may not realise just how low the payloads often are, and dealers are not rushing to bring that fact to the attention of potential customers.

A heavy caravan is not a problem for the correct tow vehicle, but if you have not researched your various weights properly before making a purchase, you can make a very expensive mistake!