Vignette for campervan

kat2171

Hi all,
I'm travelling through Switzerland in July as we go between Germany and France. Our campervan is officially below 3.5T but we feel that when it is fully laden with children and stuff, it could be above the 3.5T weight. I was enquiring about the Vignette in Switzerland and see that you can buy it in advance for 33 euro. But it is for vehicles of 3.5T or less. Is there any chance that they could weigh us at any stage? If not, I'll go ahead and buy the vignette, otherwise I won't?
Opinions please!

T650

kat2171 wrote: »

Hi all,
I'm travelling through Switzerland in July as we go between Germany and France. Our campervan is officially below 3.5T but we feel that when it is fully laden with children and stuff, it could be above the 3.5T weight. I was enquiring about the Vignette in Switzerland and see that you can buy it in advance for 33 euro. But it is for vehicles of 3.5T or less. Is there any chance that they could weigh us at any stage? If not, I'll go ahead and buy the vignette, otherwise I won't?
Opinions please!

Won't you be over the legal weight in your vehicle if you are overladen ? Insurance would be an issue if you had an accident.

kat2171

I don't think there would be an insurance issue with the weight. We do have a licence for driving vehicles above 3.5T. I'm sure other camper owners have had the same problems .....

moodrater

Make it your business to ensure you're under the rated weight.

Do I also have to buy a motorway tax sticker for a mobile home?
Yes, motorhomes with a total weight of up to 3.5 tonnes also require the motorway tax sticker. If the overall weight exceeds 3.5 tonnes, only the heavy vehicle charge applies. This charge amounts to CHF 3.25 per day (minimum charge CHF 25) and has to be paid for the use of the whole public road network for the entire duration of the stay.

http://www.ezv.admin.ch/zollinfo_privat/informationen/00421/01659/01671/index.html?lang=en

http://swift-kontiki.co.uk/switzerland/swiss-motorway-tolls/

kat2171

Not being smart but the weight of our camper is 3.2T ( its a Rimor Europea 7 berth ), with no luggage and just us and and 3 small kids, we wont be far off 3.5T. Does anyone else have this issue?

Buford T Justice

kat2171 wrote: »

I don't think there would be an insurance issue with the weight. We do have a licence for driving vehicles above 3.5T. I'm sure other camper owners have had the same problems .....

Licence or not, if you exceed the plated GVW of the vehicle then you will be overweight and you're insurance would become an issue. Not to mention the hassle it causes if you get stopped and weighed.

kat2171

Can we reclassify the campervan as a heavier weight?

moodrater

kat2171 wrote: »

Can we reclassify the campervan as a heavier weight?

Theres another thread on here about replating is yours on 16 inch wheels? Totally dumb putting something that size on 3200kg chassis are you sure theres not a second plate on it already?

kat2171

Yeh, the hubby has that. How long would it take to change it and how?

niloc1951

If travelling in Germany and Switzerland, or anywhere outside of 'the ould sod', it is advisable to be fully legal in all respects.

There are three weights which you should not exceed.

GVW that is the maximum weight that your vehicle can legally be, being over it can land you in trouble particularly in Europe where police are more active on the issue than out own Gardaí.
It is also the weight which determines such thing as toll charges and the engine emission requirements to access roads within Low Emission Zones.

The other two weight not to be exceeded are axle weights, these are marked as axle 1 (front) and 2(rear) and possibly 3 if you have a tandem axle set-up at the rear. These are the maximum weights which can legally be carried by an axle. Being over can also lead to difficulties with law enforcement.

If you are overweight on the rear axle and there is some spare of the same amount or more on the front moving stuff forward can help.
If your GVW is over, leaving some stuff at home is the only option, or you could be requested to leave it at the side of the road if stopped by police.

Be legal, there is nothing better at turning a good holiday bad than ending up on the loosing side of an argument with the police.

hollyann

I have just returned from the Italian lakes We bought our vignette at the border of Switzerland. No problem. They just asked what the maximum weight of the van is. They take your word for it. It cost €40 but you get 6 swizz francs back. Hope this is of help

kat2171

Hi all,
I'm very confused ... and slightly annoyed....

We had our DOE done a month ago and the camper weighed in at 3.2T.

There are 4 weight on our plate :

3500kg
5750kg
1600kg
2600kg

What are each of these? I believe that the first one is the GVW, and the third and fourth ones are the axel weights.
What is the 5750?

If our GVW is 3500kg and our empty 7 berth camper is weighing in at 3.2T, then how are we supposed to go on holidays with 2 adults, 3 children, several bikes etc etc. At this rate, not only will we not be bringing clothes, bikes etc, but the children will have to draw straws to see who is staying at home with granny.....
Am I missing something here, should our RIMOR have a bigger GVW? Was it reclassed at some stage to ' fit' a category B drivers licence?
Basically, how can a 7 berth camper leave you with 300kg spare to play around with before you're driving illegally.....

moodrater

hollyann wrote: »

I have just returned from the Italian lakes We bought our vignette at the border of Switzerland. No problem. They just asked what the maximum weight of the van is. They take your word for it. It cost €40 but you get 6 swizz francs back. Hope this is of help

I bet yours wasn't a 7 berth with a garage though. People over on the motorhome facts forum with large campers have reported getting pulled every single time. If you have an enormous yoke with a garage or a motorbike hanging of the back expect to get weighed or produce a recent weight cert.

moodrater

kat2171 wrote: »

Hi all,
I'm very confused ... and slightly annoyed....

We had our DOE done a month ago and the camper weighed in at 3.2T.

There are 4 weight on our plate :

3500kg
5750kg
1600kg
2600kg

What are each of these? I believe that the first one is the GVW, and the third and fourth ones are the axel weights.
What is the 5750?

If our GVW is 3500kg and our empty 7 berth camper is weighing in at 3.2T, then how are we supposed to go on holidays with 2 adults, 3 children, several bikes etc etc. At this rate, not only will we not be bringing clothes, bikes etc, but the children will have to draw straws to see who is staying at home with granny.....
Am I missing something here, should our RIMOR have a bigger GVW? Was it reclassed at some stage to ' fit' a category B drivers licence?
Basically, how can a 7 berth camper leave you with 300kg spare to play around with before you're driving illegally.....

5750 is the total train weight if your towing a trailer.

The vast majority of people hold a B licence so it was weight rated accordingly. That also means that if you uprate it your pool of buyers if you come to sell would be a lot smaller.

If its on the standard ducato 3500kg chassis then 3850kg should be possible with no modification. There are lots of chassis variations so just call the rimor dealer and find out what they say it can be uprated to or if its on an al-ko chassis call al-ko with the chassis number.

kat2171

Its on a Ford Transit chassis. We don't have a big garage ( we have bunks with a small garage below the bottom bunk) and will have a couple of bikes on the back. We bought it last year and travelled around Ireland last summer. It a 05 model. One extra that was on it which could be heavy is a satellite dome. Otherwise there isn't anything major in it.

If we want to increase the GVW, who do I contact?

niloc1951

kat2171 wrote: »

...................
There are 4 weight on our plate :

3500kg
5750kg
1600kg
2600kg

................
If our GVW is 3500kg and our empty 7 berth camper is weighing in at 3.2T, then how are we supposed to go on holidays with 2 adults, 3 children, several bikes etc etc. At this rate, not only will we not be bringing clothes, bikes etc, but the children will have to draw straws to see who is staying at home with granny.....
............... Was it reclassed at some stage to ' fit' a category B drivers licence?............................................
Basically, how can a 7 berth camper leave you with 300kg spare to play around with before you're driving illegally.....

3,500 = the Gross Vehicle Weight (see other post for explanation)
5,750 = the Gross Train Weight, this is the maximum combined weight including a trailer, so subject to having the appropriate licence a trailer with a Gross Weight of 2,200kg can be towed. If the Design Gross Weight of the trailer is less than 750kg a Trailer Licence (Category +E) is not required. This option, which is often used by people with only a B licence and who are short on payload, could solve your problem
1,600 is the maximum weight which axle 1 (the front axle) can legally carry
2,600 is the maximum weight which axle 2 (the rear axle) can legally carry.

I know the sum of the axle weights is 4,200kg but the GVW is only 3,500 !!. This derives from two requirements, first to keep the GVW within a B (car) licence for marketing reasons and secondly to allow the major part of the 3,500kg to be taken by the rear axle (think pick-up truck)

A company like SV Tech should be able to issue a VIN plate with a GVW of 4,200kg but it is then important to keep the extra 700kg properly balanced between the two axles and not end up overloading the rear axle and still exposing yourself to the ire of a cranky policeman.