Know your payload
So, you’ve splashed out on a new or secondhand motorhome and you want a few of life’s luxuries while on the move. And why not? Well, the answer, as I found out recently, is combining life’s luxuries and motorhomes are not that easy, as sometimes the law and safety limits come between you and your desires.
We never worry about payloads when buying a car because everything is relatively simple – it’s designed primarily for transporting a driver and a maximum of four passengers. There’s limited scope for much loading beyond the passengers and their luggage and the full design load is nearly always within the car driving licence limit of 3,500kg.
A motorhome is much larger and, even before owners start to load up, the built-in kitchen appliances, washroom and habitation equipment cause the vehicle to be well on the way towards its maximum weight. And, when it comes to loading it, well, our motorhome is our temporary home and we want to kit it out as at home. Too often we find it hard to keep the total loaded weight below 3,500kg, which is the most common maximum allowable weight of motorhomes.
DRIVING LICENCES
Since January 1997, on passing a car driving test, only a Category B licence is issued, which entitles holders to drive vehicles with a maximum plated weight of up to 3,500kg.
Drivers who took their test before 1997 were also given a C1 licence, entitling them to drive vehicles up to 7.500kg, but many older drivers like myself give up their “grandfather rights” and revert to a Category B licence to avoid the hassle of regular renewal and submitting to a medical.
It’s an offence to drive a vehicle plated heavier than 3,500kg if you do not have the appropriate licence. To gain a licence to drive heavier vehicles requires another driving test, although it is possible to claim back grandfather rights, subject to
