being a novice to caravanning and having looked through other members photos on another thread, I have a question regarding payloads.
We carry just under the payload allowance on our caravan (only 2 of us +pets) and have umpteen empty cupboards left over, yet when I look at others photos, the cupboards are full, the kids have every gadget/toy, theres bikes, boats, BBQ's, tables, chairs, awning flooring, satallite dishes, solar panel kits etc etc etc (enough stuff for weeks at a time!
I suspect that a lot of folks are running illegally by being overloaded judging by some of the stuff you see coming out of there vans .
Its very easy to miscalculate how heavy your holiday gear weighs and unfortunately there are some vanners who just don't care .
Hi clf86ha, No there is no light bulb enlightening explanation, as far as all the stuff that some caravaners pack into a caravan, I am afraid the light bulb, in those cases are extremely Dim, if even lit at all. No thought to the vans stability, handling, weight on van tyres, danger to themselves and others on the road if the tail starts wagging the dog. I would say the lights are definitely out.
------------- If everything runs smoothly then I must have done something wrong
If in Doubt Check it Out.
& I got told off the other week for saying I carried my gas bottles (safely strapped in) in the car!!!
I like to use the bigger bottles, I carry a 13kg & a 6kg. The 13 is way too heavy & too big to fit the locker, the 6 I wouldn't trust on the locker floor (it's just a GRP floor, & it's over 20yrs old), so I strap the 6 into the back seat & the 13 goes in the passenger footwell.
The only really heavy thing I carry in the 'van is the awning. I would like to know what my payload is though. It's all listed in CWT, so I would need to convert it into KGs for me to get a better understanding. I bet I would be surprised though.
Just out of interest, what is the average payload? Are we talking 200kg(ish)???
I always carry some fresh water with me as well, in case I stop on the way, but even that I carry in the car (strapped into the other back seat). My car's an old 5 series BMW, it has quite soft springs on the back & has a lot of overhang, so I try & keep as much weight forward of the rear axle as I can whilst towing. But, like I said, I don't carry much. I'm a solo camper/caravanner.
I would agree, totally amazing what comes out of some vans.
Most interesting was a van we saw arrive on a site in Sweden, a large Hobby with 2 bikes on a rack at the back. Only 2 people, but they unloaded a big table, 6 chairs, huge umbrella, BBQ, and a full size wooden rabbit hutch!
Rabbits were then brought from the car in their travel basket and installed in their home, so they were fine. I was a bit worried they had been travelling in the van.
Payloads vary enourmously from van to van. I am often amazed at how stingy some payloads seem to be!
I would suspect that many caravanners are over their payloads either through ignorance (not realising just how much their gear weighs) or because they just don't care and will continue to pack whatever they think they need regardless of the legalities.
It is quite surprising how quickly your payload can get used up. I recently weighted everything I put in my van to check I was within my payload allowance. I assumed that I loaded about 50kg of gear and was quite shocked to find it came in at 76kg!! Still well within my limit but it just proved how easy it is to misjudge weights.
(Payloads vary enourmously from van to van. I am often amazed at how stingy some payloads seem to be!
I would suspect that many caravanners are over their payloads either through ignorance (not realising just how much their gear weighs) or because they just don't care and will continue to pack whatever they think they need regardless of the legalities.
It is quite surprising how quickly your payload can get used up. I recently weighted everything I put in my van to check I was within my payload allowance. I assumed that I loaded about 50kg of gear and was quite shocked to find it came in at 76kg!! Still well within my limit but it just proved how easy it is to misjudge weights.)
Hi HEJC72, I am in full agreement there, I have a Max load of 900kg, and with mover fitted, my pay load is reduced further, and it is a case of weighing all caravan accessories, I weighted my van, and any van spares and equipment go into a wheeled storage box in the car, I have (the same as others) made a spreadsheet list of all the caravan accessories, the formula adds/subtracts items that I can carry in van, that way I am always within my Max limit, no need to physically re-weight the items for each trip. EG:---
------------- If everything runs smoothly then I must have done something wrong
If in Doubt Check it Out.
we've just done the same with a spreadsheet, and although under our payload limit (and as said previously, with LOADS of empty storage space), we still are quite high on the adding up (I agree, it easily tots up!).
It was this weighing session and its results that led me to the question of how do others manage to carry so much stuff !
Quote: Originally posted by clf86ha on 28/1/2012
we've just done the same with a spreadsheet, and although under our payload limit (and as said previously, with LOADS of empty storage space), we still are quite high on the adding up (I agree, it easily tots up!).
It was this weighing session and its results that led me to the question of how do others manage to carry so much stuff !
Hi, I have seen people buy a caravan, not knowing the first thing about it, can they tow that weight for their car, speeds, max loading, and the worst thing, they do not attempt to find out anything regarding it. “ How difficult can it be? Buy the van, hook it up, load it to the gunnels and off they go, and have done so for years”, tow at speeds well in access of the 60max limit.(Doesn’t apply to me attitude). There are still a lot of caravaners out there that still do so, most have never heard of this forum, what is even worse, are the caravaners that know all the rules and regulations for towing and totally ignore them, they have no regard for any one but themselves, they are a danger to themselves all other motorists on the road, it is these kind of caravaners that give caravaners a bad press in most peoples eyes.
Others carry so much stuff by disregarding all the rules, sad but true.
------------- If everything runs smoothly then I must have done something wrong
If in Doubt Check it Out.
I've seen the police doing their spot checks with the chaps from VOSA, (there's a weighbridge on the a27 near Worthing).
They have purges on certain things, one day it'll be vans, another it'll be lorries. Some days it's all trailers/caravans. They will pull you over & check everything, including licensing & weather or not you are entitled to tow the outfit. They will check lights, brakes, weights, everything. They also pull EVERY trailer/caravan which passes.
& if they find anything amiss, they will not let you proceed with your journey.
This is what almost prompted me to take the trailer test, as I passed my test after the new licensing in 1997. But I have since found out my big old car & little old caravan are well within the limits for a class B outfit, although a driving instructor told me to carry the print-out from the website where I got my information from, as he wasn't aware I could tow ANYTHING over 750kg (I guess his boss doesn't want people to know they might not have to spend hundreds of pounds on trailer towing lessons & test, they just tell all their customers you can only legally tow under 750kg if you passed after 07/97).
Hi Matt, hope they do more checks on vans, and stop all the overloaded ones, I would be tempted to pull over and ask which campsite were you going too( might be one of my favourite sites that I could not get into) phone the site and say I will be arriving in so and so’s place.).
------------- If everything runs smoothly then I must have done something wrong
If in Doubt Check it Out.
I think they will probably be having a few purges on caravans, down that way, as the season gets going.
It sounds like it's quite easily done, to go a bit over. There's not much in mine, but that's mainly because I'm solo & I don't need much.
Going a bit over is understandable, but these people who cram everything in need to be made aware. You get the kids & parent's mountain bikes, a huge great Cadac with all the attachments & a Camping Gaz 907 cylinder to go with it, then there's the sun loungers, parasol, table(s) & chairs, not to mention a fortnights worth of food & drink; cupboards full of cans, tins & bottles, perhaps an extra camping fridge to put out in the awning. 2 hook-up leads, in case the bollard's far away, maybe a fire-pit or barbecue. Swingball set, skittles & bowling balls for the kids, all those nintendo thingys & their separate chargers.......The list goes on & on.
To say "I'll put it in the car" isn't necessarily going to work either, as with all the adults, kids & dogs in the car, plus pick-nick, luggage, water bottles, clothes etc etc, the poor old car's going to be getting a bit on the heavy side as well. & modern cars are very heavy these days to start with (funny that, you'd think modern cars would be lighter, but they're not. My old early 80s Beemer 5 series is about as heavy as a modern top of the range Astra of Focus).
So yep, I agree too. It's an issue which needs thinking about & making a bit more known. I'm not all for the nanny-state & over legislation of health & safety, but I am "all for" people not causing a danger to others, be it through their own ignorance or sheer arrogance.
That's a very good summary. People seem to think the car is an infinite resource. It's meant to carry people and a moderate amount of luggage.
Some drivers then hang a caravan on the back, fill every nook and cranny and still expect to carry a few bikes on the roof or the back. Got to be overloaded.
...you need to remember the top ten tips for loading your van......
1. The weight of two gas cylinders; battery and motor mover are included in the MIRO;
2. Fire extinguisher weight is ignored in the personal allowance as that is an essential which may assist others rather than me personally.
3. The noseweight does not affect the weight on the car's rear axel so we can pile another 75Kg in. eg. Bikes on the rear carrier
4. The big box on the top of the car is weighed on its own as that does not affect the car
5. The kids must have a bike each when they go away, or in the case of a couple at the Knaresborough CC site, two bikes and a pedal racing car. The 2 kids are only light so it's only really like three extra adults in the car with no bikes
6. We understand that MTPLM of a van is an aspiration.
7. Overloading is why we have Green Flag
8. Road Traffic Laws only apply to other people
9. We need the gas barbecue, stand and parasol for when it stops snowing
10. We can't possibly enjoy ourselves without ALL of the comforts of home
Phil
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Topic: payloads???
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