Can I downrate my Motorhome?
The importance of any downrating process is to ensure that, after downrating, you still have a sufficient payload allowance remaining.
The start of the downrating process requires you obtain a weight ticket for your vehicle. This can be in any loaded/unloaded condition, but you should record what loaded state the vehicle was in at time of weighing. i.e. unladen – no driver, full fuel, no water, no personal belongings; part laden – driver of 75kg, ½ tank water, ½ tank of fuel, some pots/pans/food etc., or fully laden – all people on-board and full fuel, full water, all personal items.
There is no right or wrong way to have the vehicle loaded at time of weighing, as you are only looking to obtain a guide weight to know how much payload allowance you will have remaining.
The likelihood is that as a new purchase from a dealer’s forecourt, the vehicle will be in the unladen condition.
We recommend that you do not work to the brochure figures to obtain your unladen weight/payload allowance, as the brochure may not include all of the optional extras added and can have a declared weight tolerance of ±5% of the figure stated.
Although the best condition for weighing off is the fully laden condition, unless you’re set up ready for a holiday break, the full laden condition means having to fill the vehicle to then have it sit on the driveway until your next trip.
The part laden condition is the more likely setup to weigh-off in, and consideration needs to be given to any additional items you may wish to carry. If you’re unsure of the weight of these extra items, put them in and get them weighed. Small bikes, chairs and other light items can probably be checked using your bathroom scales. Heavier items such as electric bikes, may be better being weighed within the motorhome.
As the owner/operator of the vehicle is the only person to know what else will be carried, it is down to you to check this weight, not the dealer!
Other documents can be downloaded from the Download section or click here http://www.svtech.co.uk/downloads/