Think on mine the IBW chassis/Axle is rated to 1700 but the van is mptlm of 1545
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If its under warranty it may have to be done by dealer to prevent voiding warranty but if 'van is out of warranty then you can get a plate & stamps & diy. As long as you do not exceed design weight you are not breaking C&U law but obviously your driving licence must cover you for driving outfit of the new combined MAM if replating it causes it to become over 3.5tonnes.
I asked about this when l bought our Avante, and was informed by the dealer that it was something that had to be ordered as an upgrade from Elddis before the caravan leaves their factory, and as ours was bought from dealers yard stock, the upgrade was unavailable.
I read somewhere that its just a simple change of details on the plates and registration documents, and that no physical changes to the caravan are necesary, anyone know which is true please, was my Dealer fobbing me off or not?
Julia
------------- Just love to be out amoungst Nature and Wildlife
Celebrating 37 years of Caravanning in 2019, Recently Considered Retiring, but Totally Addicted for Life!
Theres is no legally required registration of caravans & trailers in UK. So you can change the plate yourself quite legally. You can uplate to the maximum weight allowed by maker & you can also downplate to keep combined MAM of vehicle/trailer under the 3.5tonne licence restriction although little point in downplating caravan as you will leave not much payload allowance.
There are no mechanical adjustments to trailer/caravan required. All one needs to do is to ensure they comply both with C&U regs & driving licence law.
Just been on to Elddis this afternoon regarding this and they told me to contact a retailer.
Called Catterick Caravans, will cost £60 and they need the vin number.
Probably go there at the weekend and get it sorted.
they under plate them in the first place because people like a less heavy caravan.. it is just a change of plate..
the plate is there to help the plod as regards nicking you if you exceed the plated weight..
my max plated weight is the same as my max axle weight.. i think under plating is a more recent practise.. my van is quite old..
the builder or maker is really supposed to do it.. but billy is probably right.. its not an offence to do it yourself.. i rebuilt a boat trailer a few years back i plated it to what i saw fit.. but in that case i was the builder..
Hi,
We have an 18month old Lunar 546. We had a motor mover fitted when purchased but only just thought about upping the weight plate.
Contacted Lunar 2 weeks ago, they gave me the number of my local dealer, I contacted them and gave them vin number and paid £60. New plate arrived today raising it from 1423 to 1495.
Well worth it.
a very similar thread came up a couple of months back.. it went into even more detail than this one.. he he
in theory to make sense the plate weight should be solely based on mechanical limitations.. in the past it used to be.. now it just seems to be a way to sell more caravans..
under plating a van will sell more vans.. it does make a mockery of the plating system.. least i think it does.. :)
How does it make a mockery of the plating system? Downplating used all the time in the transport industry. If a company requires a maximum sized truck to carry lightweight high cube loads like empty plastic bottles for example then the truck is downplated for lower roadtax. Builders will downplate their trailers to allow employees to tow them on B licences.
& so it is with a caravan. Plenty passed their driving test after '97 so have only a B licence. Gear usually carried in a caravan should be within 150-200kg which is payload most current caravans allow & it may allow a B licence holder to tow that caravan but a B+E holder will have option of up plating to max design weight if they wish.
No legal requirement for registration of trailers in this country so all that is required is understanding of both construction&use law & driving licence law.
Quote: Originally posted by Billy x on 12/3/2015
How does it make a mockery of the plating system? Downplating used all the time in the transport industry. If a company requires a maximum sized truck to carry lightweight high cube loads like empty plastic bottles for example then the truck is downplated for lower roadtax. Builders will downplate their trailers to allow employees to tow them on B licences.
& so it is with a caravan. Plenty passed their driving test after '97 so have only a B licence. Gear usually carried in a caravan should be within 150-200kg which is payload most current caravans allow & it may allow a B licence holder to tow that caravan but a B+E holder will have option of up plating to max design weight if they wish.
No legal requirement for registration of trailers in this country so all that is required is understanding of both construction&use law & driving licence law.
The MTPLM is only a guideline and you cannot be prosecuted in a court of law with the offence based on the MTPM plate as it is not a mandatory plate. VOSA or DVSA will confirm this.
However if you exceed the axle weight of the trailer, the load rating on the tyres, maximum gross train weight of combination etc you probably will be prosecuted.
Either way it is safer to stay within the recommended guidelines on the MTPLM plate if you do not know the axle or tyre ratings.
Yes, because going back to there being no DVLA registration of caravans so therefore no official documentation such as V5 doc, under C&U law you can only be nicked if you exceed design weights of vehicle/caravan combination in any way.
However, you can put any Mtplm you like on vin plate provided that weight is not actually exceeded if caravan is put on a weighbridge in order to comply with the driving licence law.
If you want to tow a caravan with on road weight considerably below your towcar maximum then really you don't need to know all this stuff but the nearer you get to the max allowance of everything the more familiar you need to be with every aspect of law & regulation in order to ensure outfit is legal on the road.