Posted on 02/01/2017 15:11
Today I have just returned from a nice new year break.
On our journey home I only saw 3 caravans being towed........ they pasted me doing at least 70 MPH !
I was plodding along at 60 MPH , agreed the conditions were good however I wish fellow tuggers would slow down .
Posted on 19/11/2017 12:00 by young thomasit just shows how 'unstandard' the manufacturer data is...
unladen weight, mass in running order, mass in service (essentially the same so why not use the same nomenclature?) etc are all used across the market place...
even the MIRO (which Lutz states, must be provided) varies by brand.
a few years ago, i thought i knew exactly what the MIRO included, it was something like....
driver (nominal 75kg), 90% fuel, 90% fresh water, one full gas cylinder, EHU lead and a few other bits and bobs...
one really 'naughty' practice these days is to not include any fresh water, thus (apparently) increasing the payload by 100kg or so...this is sometimes 25% of the payload on a typical 3.5t MH....
still, the manufacturers 'get away' with this by printing a tiny disclaimer at the bottom of page 98 of their brochure....
i cant believe that, even for NCC member manufacturers, we cant get a standard on something as important (well, i thought it was important) as this.....
no wonder buyers are having problems....some, very expensive
, but totally avoidable.
Posted on 19/11/2017 12:22
The brochures aren't documents so any information contained therein is only for rough reference. For legal purposes only what is shown on the Certificate of Conformiy is definitive. I know that even V5c's aren't always issued with the correct information.
The definitions are actually quite clear. It just appears that not all manufacurers stick to them. Maybe those that publish brochures etc. for them don't appreciate the differences and use terms that are common, such as kerbweight, rather than the correct ones.
Posted on 19/11/2017 12:54
Except for weight limits, such as GVW and gross train weight, all weight data is specific to each and every vehicle. Therefore, a brochure can never be any more than a rough guideline. Kerbweights can vary up to 150kg between two vehicles of the same type and model depending on how they are loaded with factory fitted options or not.
Posted on 19/11/2017 11:05 by CornersteadySo (as BB said) its going to be difficult for PC plod to know if a MH travelling at 70 on a motorway is doing it legally or not. And, I suppose, speed cameras won't either.
just thought, what about number plate recognition the police have, will this have the unladen/MIRO/kerbweights stuff on it and automattically flag this up ? (like no tax)
Also another question, a caravan on a 60mph single carriageway road, and travels naughtily at 58mph, will a speed camera pick up the fact that it's towing and take a pic?
Posted on 19/11/2017 16:05 by lornalou1no but a mobile camera would as controlled by an operator.
Posted on 19/11/2017 18:45
Having said that.I am not sure.Whilst towing on a 60mph (solo) speed limited road in the south west of Scotland (I think it was the Dumfries to Stranrar) one of the warning signs told me that my outfit was speeding at 56 mph!I assumed that it had "recognised" that I was either an HGV or towing !!!
wye
Motorhomer from Essex