any body ever increased gvw on from 2800kgs to 3500kgs?

the rambler

any body increased gross vehicle weight from 2800kgs to say 3500kgs?
i bought a ducato two years ago and got an engineers report done with no bother at all,
this year i decided to get it mot'd as its going to need in may or june anyway but i was told the gvw is plated at 2800kgs and mh was 2950kgs getting tested with full tank of diesel and half tank of water, and no kit for touring,

does any body have any experience of this kind of operation?
any suggestions would be appreciated.

paddyp

Is it a conversion or something like a hymer? If its a conversion that sounds very heavy! If its something like a hymer they are often replated there will be a second plate such as an al-ko plate with a higher rating.

the rambler

hi paddy,
its a burstner coach built, was talking to a few testing centres today and theyre basically saying no way it can be up'd,
when i asked for any suggestion as to what i should do, 2 went silent and one said "buy a different one"
its getting fustrating as no body seems to have an answer,

defike

You can put airbags under the rear to increase load.Google air suspension.

Aidan_M_M

it must be a small chassis'd one , with a small engine?

peasant

I'd suggest going directly to the horses mouth
http://www.buerstner.com/uk/contact/ask_a_question.html

You can enter your chassis number there, so they should be able to answer your question

paddyp

I spoke to keanes vw in roscommon before about uprating a lt28 to 3500kg they said that theoretically it was possible but they weren't sure whether the weight would be accepted by the vro they also advised me to sell the van.

niloc1951

Talk to THESE guys, they are the experts.
Before you call them make sure you have your full model details.
Their re-certification to higher weights (if it can be done on your model) is acceptable to the RSA when it comes to roadworthiness testing.

the rambler

thanks for the replys lads,

defike, i have airbags fitted but theyre not certified, have emailed driverite awating reply,

Aidan_M_M, its 2.5 non turbo, have you come across this kind of thing before in your line of work?

peasant, i just emailed burstner via your link, thanks for that as i didnt know such a facility was available,

paddyp, do ya wanna but a lovely burstner! ha ha

niloc1951, thanks for that link also, ill try and get it sorted this side of the pond first as i hadnt planned on goin to the uk this year but its good to have the info and if needs must i will,

Aidan_M_M

is it on 15 or 14in wheels? It's not a Maxi chassis anyways.

the rambler

14" wheels, im doubting its the maxi chassis, is theyre anything obvious id see when having a look under?

Aidan_M_M

if it's not on 16s , it's not a Maxi , cos they don't interchange . Without fitment of things like ABS , air bags etc , I don't see any easy way of upping it.

the rambler

thanks for that aidan, im beginning to loose hope here so i might give sv tech a shout and see if they can do anything for me,

niloc1951

the rambler wrote: »

niloc1951, thanks for that link also, ill try and get it sorted this side of the pond first as i hadnt planned on goin to the uk this year but its good to have the info and if needs must i will,

If it's a paper exercise you needn't take the van to them, they will send the revised certification and weight plate in the post, for a fee.

the rambler

thanks for that as i was thinking id have to go to them,
that will make the job a whole lot easier, ill give them a shout,
thanks again,

Antiquo

the rambler wrote: »

any body increased gross vehicle weight from 2800kgs to say 3500kgs?
i bought a ducato two years ago and got an engineers report done with no bother at all,
this year i decided to get it mot'd as its going to need in may or june anyway but i was told the gvw is plated at 2800kgs and mh was 2950kgs getting tested with full tank of diesel and half tank of water, and no kit for touring,

does any body have any experience of this kind of operation?
any suggestions would be appreciated.

Been there done that but its a right pain. If the chassis can be up weighted??

• You will need to get a new VIM plate issued by the manufacturer through a dealer.
• Get the vehicle weighed (remove anything not needed to drive to weighbridge) (why do you mention getting tested "with full tank of diesel and half tank of water, and no kit for touring,")
• Give weight docket to dealer get him to fit new vim plate.
• Complete form111 and get dealer to stamp and complete section 5. Yes I know it says engine replacement but that's the issue. Our ever so efficient motor tax section does not have a form or protocol to up weigh vehicles.
• Fill in re-weighed and certified from xxxxkg to xxxxxkg in the "other" box in section 4

Bring in weight docket, form111, vehicle reg cert to motor tax office. When you get to the counter tell the person what you are doing.
Explain (because I guarantee they won't know what to do) that you have been informed by the Dept of Transport that because there is no form or identified procedure for doing this that this is the way you have been informed to proceed.
They need to send the form off to shannon so that a new reg cert can be issued with upped GVW.

Then you go for your DOT when you get it back.

If the person at the desk says you are wrong keep calm re-state the situation and if no joy is forthcoming ask for and don't leave the counter until a supervisor gets involved and sorts it out.

I nearly dragged the one of them through the glass after being up there a few times for different vehicles each and every time I was told "Wah! Ah sure who told you that? Ah no you can't do that!" :mad:

Persevere but like I said depends if your chassis can be upgraded to higher weight limit.

the rambler

hi Antiquo,
thanks a mil for all that info,
ive just got a reply from burstner with letter (in german) issued by fiat in 1987 something about 2800kgs auf 3100kgs
then 195/75 R 16 so im getting a friend of a friend to translate it for me and see whats the craic there,

from the bit i could spell to him over the phone fiat have no problem with it being up'd to 3100kgs but it has to have 195/75R16 tyres on it,
so that might be a happy medium:rolleyes:
then its trying to get a cert for the airbags, (emailed driverite and got a reply saying they'd look into it for me),

thanks for all that info as i get a bit :mad: when they act thick behind the glass aswell,

niloc1951

the rambler wrote: »

any body increased gross vehicle weight from 2800kgs to say 3500kgs?
i bought a ducato two years ago and got an engineers report done with no bother at all,
this year i decided to get it mot'd as its going to need in may or june anyway but i was told the gvw is plated at 2800kgs and mh was 2950kgs getting tested with full tank of diesel and half tank of water, and no kit for touring,

does any body have any experience of this kind of operation?
any suggestions would be appreciated.

Hi Rambler, I just read your OP again. Do you know you were illegal when going to the VTN center and that they should have turned you away. Your vehicle was 'overloaded' by 150kg.
If you are stopped by Gardaí or Police doing vehicle weight checks you will be is trouble and end up in court, sorry to be frightening you.
It could also have implications for the validity of your insurance.

Upward plating of weights, where technically permissible, is accepted by the RSA when verified by the manufacturer or a qualified automotive engineer, SVTech being one example of the latter and they will issue a revised weight plate to replace the existing one.

I know nothing of the procedure to get the GVW changed on your RF101, but I got the Mass in Service (Unladen Weight) noted on my RF101 added by just sending an official weight docket into Shannon.

Best of luck with your project.

the rambler

i didnt know going to vtn centre that i was over the limit, but i knew leaving and it did fail the test,
thats why im trying to get the gvw brought up to 3500kgs to have piece of mind, and not trying to account for every kg,
and to pass the retest when its brought back,