VAn Convertion and Weight

Sol_MB

Hi.

I read through all the posts on this subject that I could find.

Am I right in thinking?

I buy a van to convert into a camper, It has a Gross weight of 4.5T and a unladen weight of 2.2T.

Providing that I keep the van under 3.5 tonne When I register it I can legally drive it on my Car license?

If the van is under 3T when it is registered you must pay VRT?

So say I fitted the van out to weight 3T and then at a later date decided to make some modifications to the van, consequently that brought the weight down and allowed me to legally carry more weight.... I would of course go back to the VRT people and declare that I owe them money?

Thanks ever so much for taking the time to read my questions

peasant

Sol_MB wrote: »

Hi.

I read through all the posts on this subject that I could find.

Am I right in thinking?

I buy a van to convert into a camper, It has a Gross weight of 4.5T and a unladen weight of 2.2T.

Providing that I keep the van under 3.5 tonne When I register it I can legally drive it on my Car license?

nope, wrong.
It doesn't matter how much or little the van actually weighs. As soon as its registered GVW (gross vehicle weight) is over 3.5 tons, you need a C1 licence minimum to drive it

Sol_MB wrote: »

If the van is under 3T when it is registered you must pay VRT?

So say I fitted the van out to weight 3T and then at a later date decided to make some modifications to the van, consequently that brought the weight down and allowed me to legally carry more weight.... I would of course go back to the VRT people and declare that I owe them money?

Thanks ever so much for taking the time to read my questions

You pay VRT no matter how much the van weighs ...it just so happens that the VRT is 13.5% of OMSP (open market selling price) when under 3 tons unladen and a fixed 50 Euro when over.

As to how to handle your last question of the disappearing weight ...that would be up to your conscience really

Sol_MB

Hi,
　
Thanks for clearing that up for me.
　
I was wondering is the weight things a new law. It's just a friend of mine had a Mercedes 609, which she converted into a camper. She failed her C1 license, but was convinced that she could legally drive once she had it stamped as a camper, because it weighted less than 3.5T (Providing she didn't put stuff in it.)
　
I presume she convinced herself that it was okay, so she could still use the van.
　
　
If you get the chance I have another couple of Questions.
　
I am now trying to buy a big VW LT40 (Old Shape, very big in size very small in weight).
　
It has a gross weight of 3.5T.
　
Uladen weight, 2.8T.
　
Now obviously this van can take a lot more than 700KGs, but for whatever reason it was registered as a 3.5T van.
　
When it is a camper, it may at times weigh more than 3.5T (I have a C1 License).
　
Any Advice on how I might get on in Ireland and Europe?
　
Once again Thanks for your help, It is very much appreciated, I have been trying to get these questions answered for some time.

bijapos

I presume this has already an Irish reg.

If the GVW is 3.5t and the unladen weight is 2.8t then you have 700kg leeway. Have converted a few vans before and I would find it hard to put 700kg of equipment into it, I think 300-450 is more normal depending how much you put in. Leaves you about 250-400 for yourself, water, waste etc. A bit tight but how often are you going to be checked?

The van will be weighed as is for the engineers report so just make sure the fuel tank is fairly empty, water tanks are empty etc when you have it done.

Btw are you sure the unladen weight is 2.8t, I could be wrong but I thought it was nearer 2.3t or so. Ifso you should have no problems.

Sol_MB

The people I am buying her off say she is 2.8 unladen.

It's a VW LT40, With a 17F long, 7F Wide Luton Box on the back. I think the only thing you could legally fill it with would be Polastirean. lol.

I think I can convert it for about 200Kgs (Only need a basic set up). So that's fine most of the time, However when I go to Europe next summer I will be taking along 3 passages (To spit the cost of the trip 4 ways) plus some sound equipment. I will be closer to 4T then.

I'm hoping if I get pulled they will look at my license and the size of the van and assume it is a 5 Tonner.

The van can safely take 4.5 Tonnes. So I don't think I will be a danger to anyone else on the road. At 4 tonnes the back springs are only just starting to work properly. It certainly wouldn’t look overloaded.

Thanks for the advice.
I'm trying to convince my self here

Sol_MB

Actully she is English Reg, I will be importing it.

Could that be a problem, I would like the GVW to stay at 3.5 so my wife can drive.

peasant

Every van comes with a manufacturers plaque somewhere that states the VIN, the max gross vehicle weight, the max axle weights and the max weight of the vehicle when towing a trailer. What's on there is what counts in the eyes of the law.

Paperwork is a different story. Some vans are registered at a lower GVW (for licence reasons) some vans get uprated springs and a registered with a higher GWV ...but some official or another is supposed to change the plaque for you in either case but that doesn't always happen.

Presumably your LT 40 left the factory with a stated GVW of 3.8 - 4.2 tons and had the paperwork changed at a later date. You really need to look at the plaque and see what that says.
I don't know what the exact procedures are here in Ireland to get the registered weight changed, you'd have to inquire yourself, if that's what you want to do.

Theoretically your LT 40 could have a GVW on paper of 3.5 tons but the plaque still says 4 ...try to explain that to some Spanish guardia civil at the side of the road, if you only have a B licence

As you have a C1 licence, you're safe either way and you can't get done for driving without the appropriate licence ...which could have nasty consequences, if that were the case (especially in some foreign countries)

Driving with a van significantly heavier than the stated 3.5 tons also could get you into trouble, again especially in foreign countries. Theres is anecdotal evidence of mobile weighing stations and people having to pay hefty fines and having to send half their family home by plane.

Legally you'd be on the safer side to get your van re-registered at its original GVW, especially as you have the licence.

However, the extra weight also carries extra costs. On most tolled roads on the continent a vehicle over 3.5 tons is significantly more expensive than one under. In Austria for example, under 3.5 tons you buy a relatively cheap once off sticker to drive on the motorway whenever you like, over 3.5 tons you have to buy an electronic tag and get charged by the mile. There also are speed restirictions in most countries for heavier vehicles.

Sol_MB

Thanks for the good addvice.

Sol_MB

New question.

If any one knows the answer to this, I would greatly appricate it.

When I take the van to be documented as a camper, If the Plauqe has not been changed from it's factory 4T will they look at that and mark the van down as a 4tonner? or will they take the values from the English log book?

Laducar

in my experiance they take the details from the plaque

Sol_MB

That's what I thought.

So I guess I better find out what it says.

It will be very dissapionting if something goes wrong now, I was hoping to buy it tomorrow.

But at least I can find out befor I part with my cash.

Big Thanks for all your help.