Weight on Rear Axle

Amongst other things, travelling with limited water in tanks will help considerably. Might pay to assess what really needs to be taken on tours, pack this as wished and then take to weighbridge for reassurance. With due diligence and possibly some adjustment, all will be well. 

The layouts are similar to my Majestic 125, although the rear axle overhang looks slightly longer than my Boxer chassis. I have a fairly generous margin on the rear axle load, so unless the Ducato chassis is significantly different, it would appear reasonable. The only real way to know is to shove it on a weigh bridge.

I think even putting it on a weigh bridge to check the MIRO should reveal how much payload there actually is on the rear axle. I had a Mohican on a Mercedes chassis, it was supposed to have a 700Kgm payload but I could never legally achieve it. The back axle was overloaded long before the 700Kgm figure was reached. It may have been different on a Alko or Fiat chassis where the water tank was central rather than towards the rear.

peedee

Not heard of the kgm unit, is this a specific thing related to MIRO? Must admit the whole issue is fraught with confusion for many of us!

If you have a look at the plate usually in the engine bay, it will give you a better idea of the max loading loadings.

My Rapido is 3.5 ton.  Max front axle is 1800 kg, max rear axle is 2000 kg. Train weight 5.5 ton which allows me to tow a 2 ton trailer.

It is likely the Adria follows similar figures, but check.

rgds

That should be the tonne I guess, metric tonne and imperial ton are different, it is all a mystery for many of us!

the base Ducato 'light' chassis has a front axle max of 1850kg and a rear allowance of 2000kg.....hence fully upplated versions can 'acheive' a MTPLM of 3850kg....

but as Peedee says, it's very likely the rear axle max weight will be blown a long time before this...

some small vans, like my own, @6.4m, a similar length to the Adria, are particularly well balanced....

absolutely loaded to the gunwales for a long Continental tour (including 'generous' wine allowance) we are  -

3420 kg Total,

front 1600 (max 1850), so spare capacity 250kg

rear 1820 (max 2000), so spare capacity 180kg

im fairly sure this is due to it being an AClass and there is a little more weight over the cab area and front axle, also decent storage between the axles to supplement the rear garage.

so, if I chose, my van could make good use of any MTPLM upplating as there is spare capacity on both axles.

some longer vans (there are a few being produced at 8m on a 3.5t chassis) that are probably virtually illegal when they leave the showroom with Mr and Mrs Unsuspecting Customer on board.

only by weighing a van like the Adria will the available rear axle capacity  be known...

what a great idea it would be if the manufacturer gave us axle weights as well as the MIRO. it would give buyers some idea as to the spare capacity.

my own view is that the customer should either get the dealer to weigh the van (both axles) in the case of a 'stock' purchase (I did this with my own van) or to write a 'weight' clause into the sale in the case of an ordered van.

im convinced there are many longer vans out there being driven well over the rear axle weight....

Ive seen mid sized 3.5t vans with the most hefty rear rack supporting a scooter AND electric bikes......imguess the front wheels were virtually in mid air.

Just to add to the loading rear axle conundrum, 

Any weight placed behind the rear axle, dependent on how far away. Ie bicycles, scooters etc, anything ! Increases the load on the axle more than the items weight.

in effect, the front wheels are lifted, and this " lose" of weight is transferred to the rear axle.

Eg scooter weighing 100kg will cause rear axle to be loaded by 110kg on a long overhang with the front axle loading reducing by 10kg

rgds. 

TonneyIshUk.   ;-)

Thanks for all the comments. Clearly, the rear axle loading is an issue and it seems likely to me that if you put maximum load in the garage and carried a lot of water you would exceed the rear axle maximum before reaching the payload maximum. In fact, I recall that on the Adria as well as limiting the garage load to 150kg there was a notice somewhere about not exceeding axle weight. Says it all really.

there is (might) be a way to get over this popular issue...

if it's possible (and not too pricy) order the van on the heavy (4.25t) chassis and then downplate to 3.5t, if desired for license reasons etc.

this will give much increased axle weights with a rear limit of 2400kg, so unlikely to breach.