Current weights

Our camper truck Cuthbert has proven to be very capable, with lots of power.  It also has plenty of storage space and is capable of carrying a lot of water and fuel.  For our European tester-trip it was quite easy to stay below the GVM of 5500 kg. However, with a full fresh water tank of 230 litres of water (230 kg); a full fuel load of 240 litres (192 kg); and the extra recovery equipment and spares required for the more remote areas of Africa, it is easy to exceed the 5500 kg limit. We needed to investigate replating a vehicle.

Cuthbert has a front axle limit of 2450 kg and a rear axle limit of 3700 kg, which together give a theoretical maximum GVM of 6125 kg. However, the manufacturer’s GVM is 5500 kg.  We calculated that we would like to increase the GVM from 5500 kg to 5900 kg, which would allow us to load all the equipment we would like to carry in Africa (with some spare capacity) whilst not exceeding either of the standard axle limits.

The replating

We approached SvTech (see:- http://www.svtech.co.uk/ ) about replating a vehicle. They carried out an assessment of the vehicle to see if this increase could be achieved.  SvTech did some calculations and were able to use the trailer allowance (750 kg for an un-braked trailer) to increase the GVM.  In effect, we lose the trailer capability (which, given the motorhome conversion, we were never going to use anyway) and use it to gain the higher GVM.

For a reasonable fee, SvTech provided us with a new data plate for the vehicle reflecting the increased GVM, together with a letter for DVLA to update the vehicle registration document (V5).

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