…has been at the helm of MMM for over 12 years
Before you can calculate a motorhome's payload, you must know its current unladen weight and its maximum weight. So, first check your motorhome's weight plate, which is normally found just inside the driver's door or under the bonnet.
There will often be two, three or even four weight plates on a motorhome. These are known as stage plates and are added at each stage of the motorhome's construction, with each company involved adding a stage weight plate.
• Stage 1 is the base vehicle manufacturer's plate and will have familiar names like Fiat, Citroen, Ford, etc. You can ignore this weight plate.
• Following the base vehicle manufacturer's weight plate, you may find a chassis weight plate, such as from AI-Ko. This is the Stage 2 plate and, again, can be ignored.
• The final stage in the process, prior to registration, will be the motorhome manufacturer's weight plate. This overrules the previous stage plates and it is the figures on this plate that are the important ones. These plates will have the name of the motorhome manufacturer on them, such as Swift, Bailey, Elddis or, in the case of the image here, Rapido.
This weight plate will list the maximum permitted weight of the motorhome (often referred to as MTPLM, MAM,
