Keith Gooden
In today’s episode of the Motorhome Matt podcast…
Matt Sims
We’re diving into the world of upplating and downplating with SvTech.
Keith Gooden
In the news, a coroner is asking the government to reexamine seatbelt laws after the death of a mum and her children.
Matt Sims
We have a new campsite at the month feature with Alan Rogers.
Keith Gooden
And we answer your questions on reverse polarity and portable satnavs.
Keith Gooden
Welcome to the Motorhome Matt podcast. I’m Keith Gooden.
Matt Sims
And I’m Motorhome Matt.
Keith Gooden
Industry insights and expert advice for the world of motorhomes, caravans and campervans. And it’s brought to you by www.thatleisureshop.com.
Matt Sims
Now we always say it every week, but please do remember to follow on your favourite podcast app. And will you help us by subscribing on YouTube? It’s is brought to you by www.arobasecreative.co.uk.
In the news: A UK seatbelt law appeal
Keith Gooden
We start off the news this week with some very tragic news. A coroner is asking the government to reexamine seatbelt laws after a mother and two children died when the motorhome they were travelling in hit an HGV on the A64. So what’s the detail on this, Matt?
Matt Sims
Well, unfortunately a tyre blew out on the vehicle, and it was a defect that would never have been detected. And it just randomly blew out due to a hole in its sidewall, I think it was, and caused the vehicle to to career. The steering locked and it skidded into an HGV, killing the occupants. Terrible, terrible story.
Keith Gooden
It is. And the coroner has asked the government to reexamine those seatbelt laws. So what are they then, Matt? What have they got to reexamine?
Matt Sims
Well, I think the issue here is that the mum and the children were in the back of the motorhome. It had been self converted, so originally it was registered as a commercial van. It had been converted to a campervan and it had travelling seats in the back that were actually dedicated as travelling seats with seat belts in them.
Our understanding though is that there were no seat belts in the back of this vehicle for the seats that were dedicated to be travelled in, and this is the point. Which seat can you sit in in the back of a motorhome? It is a conversation I’ve had… goodness me, I’ve lost count. So many times.
Particularly a question of older motorhomes with a big rear lounge is, “Can I travel in the back of it?” No, you can’t. It’s really important that you acknowledged and understand which seats in the back of your motorhome are dedicated travelling seats.
And in the derogation of the vehicle, the certificate of conformity, those seats are dedicated to be a travelling seat. And if there’s a picture of a person sitting in a seat with a red line through it, it means it is not to be travelled in. It’s not safe to be travelled in.
One of the things I’ve seen as well is people fitting their own seat belts, which you can do. But the rules are really clear and they’re made grey, sadly, by our own industry. Salespeople will say, and I’ve heard it said, “Yeah, you’re fine. You can travel in that sideways seat. It’s fine.” That’s really, really unsafe to do. Our spines don’t bend sideways.
A travelling seat must be forward or rearward facing and should be dedicated as a travelling seat, so ideally crash tested and it should be on the V5 that the vehicle is able to carry the number of people that you’re saying can travel in the vehicle. Rear facing seats must have a lap belt. Forward facing seats now on new vehicles must have a three point belt, so the seatbelt like you have in the front for the driver and the passenger.
Really quickly – you can Google this and you can get the facts for yourself – but before the first of October 1988, so going back in time, only the driver and passenger in the front of a vehicle had to have a seat belt, a three point belt.
And then after the first of October 1988, the law was changed that the driver and front passenger must have a three point belt and forward facing passengers must have a two or three point belt. Now, a two point belt is a lap belt.
Now, that would mean if you were restrained by a two point belt facing forward you could, in a head on collision, double over and snap your neck or your spine. So they really weren’t safe. A three point belt holds your torso back again.
Keith Gooden
So it goes across your chest…
Matt Sims
Goes across your chest, yes.
Keith Gooden
And clicks in like in a car, and then you’ve got the waist belt going across. So one, two, three points.
Matt Sims
And in September 2006, this was the big change that really started to affect motorhomes because it became much more prolific that all dedicated travel seats, so seats that are fixed to the chassis and dedicated to be a travelling seat, must have a two or three point belt which is also fixed to the chassis of the vehicle.
And that’s the important bit, that the seatbelt frame has to be welded to the chassis of the vehicle. I remember having a six berth motorhome, six travelling potential seats in it. It came to us in the factory with a mistake. It didn’t have the rear facing seat belts fitted. So we had them added, and they could be lap belts because they were rear facing seats. They had to have headrests as well.
And the framework had to go through the floor through the sidewall into the gas cupboard in order to be welded to the chassis of the motorhome. It was all sealed up and done professionally, and lap belts were added to those rear facing seats. We had enough payload to do this in the vehicle.
And then we had to tell the DVLA that we’d added two more seats to the vehicle, so it became a six passenger motorhome on the V5. And all this stuff is really important. So there are lots of people out there that will help you with this, professionals who would do this, but also in that 2006 law, it was acknowledged that side facing seats are not recommended and actually can be dangerous.
And the other rule that was introduced is that children must be in a child seat if they’re under 135 centimetres tall or 12 years old. Now, as always, there are some exceptions to this on the grounds of health. A child, for example, can travel in the back of a taxi without a seatbelt if there’s no child restraint available.
But the rules for a motorhome are really, really simple. They are black and white, they’re not grey. It’s not okay to travel in the back of a motorhome sideways if there’s no seatbelt. It is the law. Most police officers will probably turn a blind eye to it.
But actually, this is about your safety. And if you get it wrong, it can result in death. It was a van converted to a campervan, and whoever converted it added these rear seats, which is where I think the mum and the children were sitting.
Keith Gooden
Of course, the regulations say that they actually weren’t under any obligation to add the seatbelts because it was a commercial vehicle. But surely if you’re converting it, you’re going to want to put professionally fitted seat belts in.
Matt Sims
Of course. So this is about taking responsibility as a converter, whether it’s you and your own van or you’re paying a converter to do it, to consider the safety of everyone travelling in it. So the guidelines are that from September 2006, every dedicated travelling seat must have a seat belt. If it’s rear facing, a lap belt is fine.
If it’s forward facing, a three point belt is required. But you’re under no obligation to do it. This is the irony here. So you can convert a van and add seats to the back, and you can travel in it without any seat belts. But it’s not safe to do so, as this terrible story confirms.
Keith Gooden
And the coroner is asking the government to reexamine those regulations and laws. And we have to remember when we’re driving, it’s all about momentum, isn’t it? When you’re accelerating to speed, even at fairly low speeds, like 30 or 40 miles an hour, you’re building energy into everything in the vehicle, aren’t you?
And if you stop suddenly, the energy doesn’t disappear. It goes somewhere. So either you keep travelling forward or sideways, or things within the vehicle keep travelling. Or what happens in a lot of fatalities is that your internal organs keep travelling in the direction…
Matt Sims
It’s called inertia.
Keith Gooden
Yes, and you tear your blood vessels, don’t you?
Matt Sims
Yes, you do internal damage, which is where the argument came that a three point belt was actually dangerous because it holds you in the seat. There’s a case for and against it. But I guess the logic is seatbelts are safe.
The only exceptions are on buses and in taxis when there’s not a seatbelt available. Those are the exceptions, or that you don’t have to wear them for medical reasons. And you can get a certificate of exemption. The understanding is seatbelts are safe. And they increase our safety and there’s a much higher chance of surviving a crash if you’re wearing a seatbelt.
Keith Gooden
If you’re facing forwards or backwards and they’ve been professionally installed. And I presume as well… is there certification or not?
Matt Sims
That’s a very good question, actually. The of approval for the seat belt and for the seat belt frame… we didn’t get any certification from the company that installed those rear belts I talked about.
Keith Gooden
That’s certification for the installation. The components?
Matt Sims
Oh, the components were certified. But I think for me, it was about trusting the installer who did advertise they knew what they were doing. And I guess you could be called for an inspection by VOSA if they wanted to. And they could weigh the vehicle to check you’ve got the payload to carry that number of passengers.
Because remember, if you fit rear facing seat belts or lap belts, they could be for 120 kilo adults. You know, that’s 240 kilos of extra weight. So you’ve got to have the payload in order to do that. And VOSA could call it in for inspection, I suppose. So it’s making sure you’re not overweight as well by adding those belts.
Alan Rogers Campsite of the Month
Matt Sims
Welcome to our now regular monthly feature, Alan Rogers’ Campsite of the Month. Alan, welcome back to the studio.
Rob Fearn
Hi, Matt.
Matt Sims
So Alan, this month we’ve got the most accessible award winner at the Alan Rogers Caravan and Motorhome Club European Campsite of the Year Awards. Punchy.
Rob Fearn
Absolutely!
Matt Sims
So tell us, what’s it called?
Rob Fearn
This campsite is called La Garangeoire. And it’s in the Vendée region. Do you know where that is?
Matt Sims
It’s inland from La Rochelle. Is that right?
Rob Fearn
Sort of. Between Nantes and La Rochelle.
Matt Sims
10, 15 miles inland?
Rob Fearn
Something like that.
Matt Sims
A lovely part of the world, I have to say. So tell us why did it win?
Rob Fearn
So this campsite really focuses on accessibility. They have several accessibility features. They’ve got a hearing loop in reception for hearing impaired people. They also have a chairlift system in the pool, so the pool’s fully accessible.
Matt Sims
Brilliant. Everyone’s welcome at this campsite, aren’t they? This is not just for those of limited mobility, despite winning the most accessible award. What else is at the campsite? Why would we go there?
Rob Fearn
The grounds are absolutely stunning. It’s on a 200-acre park. There’s an old manor house, a real traditional building, and there’s actually a Gallo-Roman temple. There’s a lot of history in that region. The campsite’s been owned by the same family for three generations. Anne and Eric, the owners, make sure you get a really good warm welcome.
Matt Sims
There you are, Anne and Eric. Go and say hi if you go there. Lovely couple. Third generation, aren’t they?
Rob Fearn
Yeah, they absolutely are, yeah.
Matt Sims
Amazing.
Rob Fearn
It’s perfect if you like horse riding. So obviously, you know, as with all French campsites, there’s an amazing pool and there are all the usual attractions, mini golf, etc. But the thing that stands out is their riding centre. So you can either take your own horse and they’ve got stables, or you can rent one outside.
Matt Sims
Take my own horse?! How am I going to get that in the motorhome?
Rob Fearn
Oh, yeah, I’m sure you’ll squeeze it in.
Matt Sims
Really?! So you can hire a horse while you’re there, presumably.
Rob Fearn
You can, indeed.
Matt Sims
Some people, they would love to do that. And why not?
Rob Fearn
Absolutely. And if you’ve had enough time on the campsite and you’re looking for something else to do in the region… have you heard of Puy du Fou?
Matt Sims
Where?
Rob Fearn
Puy du Fou.
Matt Sims
Sounds lovely.
Rob Fearn
It’s a sort of mediaeval theme park. So they’ve got rides, attractions, and then live action shows with horse nights, all that sort of stuff going on.
Matt Sims
It sounds cool. Where is it again?
Rob Fearn
That’s about an hour away from the campsite, which is in the Vendée region of France.
Matt Sims
Brilliant. And when is this site open?
Rob Fearn
They’re open from early May to the middle of September.
Matt Sims
And the big question, cost. Where are we for the cost per night?
Rob Fearn
Towards the lower end, really, of our scale. If you’re going in the low season, you can get it from £25 per night. And then obviously, that goes up as you get into the highest season.
Matt Sims
Sounds brilliant. And just tell us the name of the campsite again.
Rob Fearn
La Garangeoire.
Matt Sims
Thanks, Alan. So there we are – the Adam Rogers campsite of the month. Brilliant to have Alan with us, as always, and if you want to find out more about all of the Alan Rogers campsites across Europe, you can do so at www.mhmp.info/alanrogers.
Keith Gooden
That’s our Alan Rogers campsite of the month with somebody who isn’t Alan Rogers.
Matt Sims
It’s Rob! Well, I’ve always called him Alan. I think everybody calls him Alan. It’s now a standing joke which I find funny. Probably nobody else does.
How to upplate your motorhome or campervan
Keith Gooden
It’s the Motorhome Matt podcast with me, Keith Gooden.
Matt Sims
And with me, Motorhome Matt.
Keith Gooden
It’s brought to you with www.thatleisureshop.com. Now, we cover this topic a lot. There’s a lot of confusion around it as well – how to upplate your motorhome. So what do people need to know?
Matt Sims
Yes, it’s a confusing topic and one where there’s lots of debate on social media and conversation everywhere about upplating and downplating, payload, what you can and can’t do. As I’ve already alluded to, even adding two seatbelts to a motorhome can impact your payload. So it’s understanding what your payload is. I thought I would invite SvTech onto the podcast to discuss this.
So SvTech have been around since 1933. They are experts in upplating and downplating and changing payloads of vehicles and going through the whole legal process of doing this. And I got Richard to join me at the NEC show. It’s been a long time coming, this interview, because trying to tie us together has been difficult.
Matt Sims
Richard, it’s great to have you with us here on the podcast. Now, we’re going to deep dive into that big hot topic of payload and upplating. You are the expert in this field. How long have you been doing this?
Richard Drinkwater
As a company, we’ve been doing it about 33 years. But we were doing it before then in one of our previous iterations. We’ve been in trucks since 1933 as a family, and we opened this business in about 1993 or ’92. We are up there at the forefront for upplating in this country. So we’ve been doing quite a long time.
Matt Sims
You certainly are the name we all go to when we’re talking about upplating. Now, just explain for our listeners what upplating means.
Richard Drinkwater
Upplating essentially means taking your gross vehicle weight from one level to another. So for example, from 3,500 kilos to either 3,700 or 3,850 or 4,000. It all depends upon your chassis cap.
Matt Sims
Now, just explain why there are three numbers above 3,500 that are important here. Why can’t I take one vehicle to four tonnes but I can take another one?
Richard Drinkwater
All right. Well, a lot of that depends upon the original chassis cap. So a lot of the three and a half tonners, for example on Fiat, are built on the 35 light chassis. And more recently, we’ve seen a number coming in on the 35 heavy chassis, they can go to a greater level – much, much higher than the 35 light. The 35 light is limited to about four tonnes. The 35 heavy can go up to 4,700, dependent upon what alterations you make to the vehicle to take it up to that level.
Matt Sims
Got it. Okay, so I’m thinking about upplating my vehicle because we want to increase our payload. We understand what payload is, how much we can carry. What things do I need to tell you so you can establish what weight my vehicle can go to?
Richard Drinkwater
Well, in the first instance, I would like you to get it weighed. As with all of these vehicles, we ask everybody to weigh their vehicle so we know where our starting point is. Because very often, somebody might be within the gross vehicle weight, but they’ve overloaded the back axle. And without putting it on a weigh bridge, you don’t know that.
But in the first instance, other than the weight, we would need somebody to fill in one of our inquiry forms. I need to see photos of the VIN plates. I need to know what the tyre sizes are, I would need to know what the braking setup is. I can do all of that work once I’ve got the VIN plate details, and then I can search that vehicle and then uprate it accordingly.
Matt Sims
But it’s true, though, isn’t it? Fiat aren’t very helpful with their VIN number. It doesn’t tell you exactly what you need to know about that chassis. Renault, on the other hand, is far more helpful. There’s clues in the VIN, but there’s stuff you need to know like wheel size, tyre size, brake disc sizes.
Richard Drinkwater
No, not necessarily. Every vehicle that we uprate has to be covered by a brake report. You can’t operate a vehicle without having a brake report behind it. We’ve spent the last 30 years brake testing vehicles. We take the base chassis unit, we put a lot of weight on the chassis, we run it around a test track and we stomp on the brakes and we see what happens.
We can uprate beyond manufacturer’s brake reports because we’ve done brake testing to a higher level. If I approve a vehicle at 45, I’ve probably break tested it to 47 to be on the safe side. But I will only approve it to 45 because I don’t want that tolerance being lost. And a lot of times, people are uprating vehicles to 3,850 without an air kit on the back. And that is literally beyond the tolerance of that rear axle. But people are doing it because they think they can.
Matt Sims
So when you say air kit, you mean airbags on the rear axle.
Richard Drinkwater
Yes, airbags on the back. Obviously, airbags on on a steel chassis are a lot less expensive than on an Alko system because the torsion bar system’s a lot more expensive. So we do find people who are coming to us on Alko who have got vehicles of, let’s say, 3,650. And they want to go up as high as they can, but we can only get them to 3,850 because of their torsion bar on the back axle.
We can take that back axle up to 2,240 If there’s an accurate on it, but if it doesn’t have an accurate on it, it’s got to stay at the original 2,000 which makes it quite complicated. So anybody who’s looking at their VIN plate will not know this until they actually look under the bonnet, see the Fiat VIN plate, the Alko VIN plate and the motorhome manufacturer’s VIN plate. There have to be three plates on the vehicle. And you’ve got to follow that legal process.
Matt Sims
This is complicated. And that’s why you exist. You should make sure that if you’re listening to this that you go to a recognised company that will do this work for you. That’s really important, isn’t it? A paper exercise. That’s a phrase that gets bandied around. “Oh, yeah, I can update my vehicle. It’s a paper exercise.” That suggests that I could do it myself. It’s not always the case.
Richard Drinkwater
It’s not the case at all. Uprating can only be carried out by an approved converter with the DVSA or VOSA. So you have to be on the list at Swansea as an approved converter. We’re one of I think four converters on the list that can do uprates. I believe there’s only one other person that actually does them other than ourselves.
But I would reiterate that you have to make sure that whoever’s converting it carries out a brake test. If they don’t do a brake test for an uprate, it’s not legal. And you could find yourself in a lot of deep doo doo if you are running around the road with a vehicle that is has been uprated illegally and beyond the capacity of those axles and there’s no brake report to cover it. That’s really dangerous.
Matt Sims
And how do people find out which company has been doing a brake report?
Richard Drinkwater
You’ve got to ask them. You’ve got to get copies. You need to go to them to say, “Right have you done your brake testing?” “Yes, we’ve done our brake testing.” “Can I see a copy of the report?” “If need be.” We don’t often give out copies of reports because we ask them to go to Swansea to obviously ratify what we do.
All of our brake reports are held at Swansea. We’ve sent them off there where they’re all held. Any vehicle that comes along of that type that matches that report, we can uprate against that report. It’s like a model report. And then everybody’s vehicle who comes along will be .1, .2, .3 against that report. If you don’t have those brake reports, you shouldn’t be uprating at all.
Matt Sims
Okay, you heard it first here. So downplating. My vehicle is 3,650. I can’t drive it because I haven’t got a C1. I want it to be 3,500. Is that a paper exercise? Just fill out the V5, change it to 3,500 and put it in my name?
Richard Drinkwater
Not anymore, unfortunately. You need to be able to prove to the ministry what payload you’ve got available at three and a half tonnes and that that’s suitable for your needs. You have to sign a declaration form to say to them, “Having weighed the vehicle – this is how I’ve weighed it – it weighs 3,200 kilos empty with the driver in.
At 3,500, that leaves me 300 kilos and that’s suitable for my needs. This is the condition I weighed in with a satellite TV, air conditioning, bike rack,” whatever it might be, “50% water and I’ve still got that payload available.”
The ministry takes a very dim view of people downrating vehicles to three and a half tonnes and then immediately overloading them, because that’s like a joyriding offence because there’s no licence. You’re overloaded, and there’s no licence.
Matt Sims
And uninsured, presumably.
Richard Drinkwater
And uninsured. I mean, any time that you’re running overweight, you’re running the risk of being uninsured. And in the event of an accident, if you’re overweight, you are not covered by insurance.
You know, we’ve seen cases over the last 10 or 15 years of people being in accidents and having their vehicle impounded and everything weighed and then having the book chucked at them, and you don’t want to go down that route. I mean, you really don’t want to go down that route.
Matt Sims
I’m sure you’ve got some horror stories around that, Richard. So we’re here at the NEC show. We’re surrounded by I’m told 700 new vehicles, many of which are motorhomes. There are loads of people here for the first time looking at these motorhomes a bit like a rabbit in the headlights, because there’s so much choice.
What should they consider? So I always preach to people, if you’re adding extras like an awning or a solar panel, you mentioned a satellite dish, these other extras, a bike rack and air conditioning, they all carry weight. And that’s going to have an impact on your payload. But what should they consider when they’re looking at these vehicles in terms of gross weight, payload, and so on?
Richard Drinkwater
Well, obviously, the more payload you can get, the better. And one of the things that we see a lot of people don’t do is they don’t buy the right motorhome for their needs. They go to the motorhome show or to a dealer, the dealer convinces them to buy this very nice little three berth vehicle.
And actually, six months down the line, they’ve got five people that want to be in it – the family dog, you know – they’re absolutely loaded up to the hilt and in reality, they’ve not bought the right motorhome. So the first thing is you’ve got to really bottom out what it is you’re going to be using it for.
And then in the second instance, don’t believe the kerb weight in the brochure, because they are based upon a 3% and a 5% margin of error. And that means if you have a motorhome that says it weighs 3,000 kilos empty, it could possibly weigh,at a 5% margin of error, 3,150. Well, that’s two people. And that makes a massive difference.
And if you suddenly have bought this vehicle for £80,000 thinking you’ve got 500 kilos of payload and you get in it and you’re left with, you know, 350 to berth four people and the family dog and all your stuff and your water and your extras, it’s going to be a physical impossibility.
Matt Sims
When this kerb weight is worked out – so the empty weight, let’s call it that – we can calculate our payload. Is that standardised? I mean, I know it’s not, so I’m answering my own question here! What questions should we ask of manufacturers and of the dealer selling the vehicle in terms of what’s included in the kerb weight?
Richard Drinkwater
Well, exactly. The mass in running order figures have changed over the last few years. It used to have to include 90% water and a half a tank of diesel. It doesn’t include that anymore. They’ve got rid of that 90% water. If you’ve got a tank that carries 100 litres of water, that’s 90 kilos that you’re losing out of that mass in running order.
So it makes it look great for the manufacturers, because they’ve now got a vehicle that used to have a payload of 230 and it’s now sitting there with 320 kilos with a payload that looks far, far better for selling it. But when you come to then travel and you put your water in and you’ve got all your people in and then you put your extras in, I guarantee you’ll be overloaded.
So our advice is always been caveat emptor. Whatever you’re going to buy, new or secondhand, get a weight ticket for that specific vehicle as it sits there today before you drive it away from the dealer, because that’s the only way you’re going to be covered
Matt Sims
Caveat emptor means…
Richard Drinkwater
Buyer beware!
Matt Sims
So it’s making sure you’ve got the right vehicle, the right weight. I’m ordering a vehicle here at the show. I can’t drive it out and take it to a weigh bridge and check it. What do I do?
Richard Drinkwater
Well, ultimately, you’ve got to make an agreement with them that you’re not going to actually part with your deposit or your money until you’ve weighed it in the situation that you want it, because if you’re going to have five or six extras on there that aren’t standard on the vehicle, they’re all going to add weight.
And you need to have a look then – right, that weighs 36 kilos, that’s 60 kilos, that weighs 40 kilos… add those up, take them off your payload and I guarantee you’ll be in for a shock. And that’s why we come in, because all of a sudden, somebody spent £80,000 on a machine and it’s illegal as soon as they drive it out of the showroom. And we’ve seen that on numerous occasions.
Matt Sims
So it really is about doing your research to make sure you know what all the extras weigh and what payload you’re being given by the manufacturer. It’s worth noting as wellthat each vehicle the same model comes out the factory at a different weight because it actually depends how much sealant and how many screws are in it!
Richard Drinkwater
Hence why there’s this margin of error in all the brochures, because they can’t put an exact figure on it. That doesn’t leave the consumer in a very good position because all of a sudden it’s a guessing game. And you don’t want to be having a guessing game with £80,000 of hard earned cash.
I do think that the market needs to change a little bit. I do think there needs to be some change in the licensing laws as we talked about off screen in terms of taking the B licence up to 4,250. I think something like that might happen, but we’ve been talking about this for three years.
So I know it will be a great benefit to the motorhome market and to all those people who are running around with three and a half tonners on a B licence, because they won’t be illegal anymore.
Matt Sims
Well, that is an ongoing topic of discussion with the general election this year in 2024. Who knows what will happen after that? We’ll keep you posted for sure. Richard, just very quickly on costs, what am I looking at if I want to upplate? What am I going to be spending?
Richard Drinkwater
About £280 plus VAT. So it’s not a huge amount of money. And if you’re going to the private HGV category from a commercial vehicle, your tax goes down from £325 down to £165. So it pays for the uprate in itself in just a little over two years.
Matt Sims
So that’s our fee to you. But if I’ve got to fit airbags and reflectors, maybe, along the sides… I might have to change the tyres…
Richard Drinkwater
It depends. In a lot of cases, if you’re going to look at the back axle, we might need a tyre change, and that’s just going to be that if you’re on the 15 inch, you might need to go slightly wider to 225, or if you’re on 16s you should be fine.
A lot of the time with uprates on the rear axle, we need 116 load rating or above. If you’re in a bigger motorhome and you’re taking the back axle up to 27, for argument’s sake, then we’re going to need a 118 or a 121 load rating.
Matt Sims
And you help with all of this?
Richard Drinkwater
I can advise on all of that. I can source kits as well. We deal with all of the major air suspension manufacturers from the Glide-Rite to AirRide to VB. Obviously we couldn’t pin our mass to any single one of those people because it’s up to individuals to make their own choice as to what air kit that they want.
And there are pros and cons to all of them. Cost is obviously one of those. A fitted Alko air kit will set you back more than £2,000. An air kit for the rear axle on a steel chassis on the normal leaf spring can be fitted for about £700.
So there’s a really big difference if you’re going to have a tyre change and you’re gonna go to the wider 225s, then we would suggest people keeping those tyres that are taken off and utilising them on the front when it comes time to change the tyre.
Matt Sims
That’s a crafty tip.
Richard Drinkwater
Oh yeah, I mean, every little helps, doesn’t it?
Matt Sims
Fantastic. So where can people find out more about your company, SvTech?
Richard Drinkwater
Well, in the first instance, go to our website, www.svtech.co.uk. We have every conceivable form and piece of information that you could need on there. And you can put an inquiry on. You get a response from us within 24 hours.
Matt Sims
I’d also add that you can ring up. And Gareth has said to me back in the office that you’ll often have five or six conversations with a consumer before you do anything.
Richard Drinkwater
Oh, absolutely. At the end of the day, people have to feel comfortable doing this, and they’ve got to weigh the pros and the cons. The pro for me has always been the fact that you’re staying legal, you’re not uninsured. And obviously you’ve got greater capacity to carry more things in your van, especially if you’re going through the continent. That sort of thing is invaluable.
We would advise people if they can’t take it up to the weight that they want, to really remember that they can put some weight in a trailer or a car that they’re towing behind that vehicle. If they’ve got a tow bar and it’s obviously a suitable rated tow bar and they’re pulling let’s say a small trailer or something, then they can obviously put stuff into the train weight.
You can take it out of the the main motorhome and put it in that and obviously therefore stay legal and stay safe. We would advise everybody if they are running a trailer, weigh them all together so you get a combination weight for the whole lot so you know where your opportunities are for loading.
Matt Sims
It’s all about train weight in that scenario. Richard, thank you so much. It is such a complicated topic for us lowlifes to get our head around, and we need experts like you and your team to help us through it. I’ve always appreciated your help when we’re converting motorhomes and horseboxes. Honestly, pick up the phone. Talk to Richard and the team. Really helpful bunch. Thanks again.
Richard Drinkwater
Not a problem at all. Thanks very much for your time.
Keith Gooden
Richard Drinkwater there, the business development manager at SvTech making a lot of things clear then, Matt. Not just opinion but facts.
Matt Sims
They’re just a brilliant company. You know, I’ve actually worked with them for years getting horseboxes. That’s another big niche and big topic as well, because horses are heavy. It’s a constant discussion in that niche about payload, what can it carry, as it is in the world of motorhomes and campervans.
So I’ve worked with Richard and his team for… gosh, I don’t know how long. 20 odd years? And they’re really clever at understanding the VIN number and from that working out what the vehicle can and can’t carry, as well as what can and can’t be done to it to improve its payload. And they’re just experts in their field. So they’re a great business and one I’ve always gone to.
Keith Gooden
So what is the process for people looking to do this?
Matt Sims
The first thing I would say is thatthere are a number of people out there that will help you do it. But do your due diligence, as Richard suggests. Check what kind of registration they they have got. What experience have they got? What certification have they got? Are they happy to share that with you?
I can vouch for SvTech from first hand experience, and we’ve successfully upplated and downplated vehicles I don’t know how many times – lots of times with their help. And I know lots of people who’ve used them to help them do it. So I would recommend SvTech to you as the experts in this field, and there aren’t that many, to be honest. But certainly they are the boys who know what they’re doing. So I would certainly consider getting their help.
Keith Gooden
They’re not paying for this, so this is so this is an honest opinion of their business and the way they’re doing it! But we do have something which has been rather secret which is coming soon, don’t we, Matt?
Matt Sims
We do. So we’ve been asked a lot about who I use for insurance for trackers, for warranty, for cleaning products…
Keith Gooden
For upplating and downplating?
Matt Sims
That as well! And so in the background, and this is been a big secret, we have been building a Motorhome Matt approved directory. And these are brands, companies, products and services that I’ve used and have had firsthand experience of or I can recommend to you, our listener, and it’s coming very, very soon. It is called Motorhome Matt Approved. We should get SvTech on it, you know.
Keith Gooden
We should.
Matt Sims
They’d have to pay for that! But we need to make sure we can keep the podcast alive, because Keith’s bill is getting bigger and bigger and needs funding.
Keith Gooden
It’s ever since I started going out with Taylor Swift.
Matt Sims
Did you? Old Swifty? Oh no, that’s you.
Keith Gooden
Tay.
Matt Sims
Does she call you Kay?
Keith Gooden
I’d just like to say that that was a joke and Taylor Swift and I have no personal relationship whatsoever, nor a business one, just in case her lawyers are listening.
Matt Sims
Just in case. Yeah, I’m sure they are. But anyway, so the Motorhome Matt approved directory – let’s stick there, shall we? – is available for you to benefit from. It will launch any day soon, so keep an eye on that.
We’ll start talking about it on social media and it will feature in the podcast. And it’s all the brands I love and that I’ve used, some for many, many years, including who I have insured my own vehicle with, who I used to help me upplate and downplate, and a host of other products and services. So stay tuned for that.
Audience Q&A
Keith Gooden
It’s the Motorhome Matt podcast. I’m Keith Gooden.
Matt Sims
And I’m Motorhome Matt.
Keith Gooden
And it’s brought to you by www.thatleisureshop.com. It’s time now for our Q and A’s, and Peter in Coventry has been in touch. He says, “In a recent podcast episode, you went over reverse polarity,” that’s electrical reverse polarity, “And I wanted to point something out that I think was either an error, or if it is correct could be some cause for concern.
You mentioned that motorhomes are protected in the consumer unit with a single pole switch/breaker. This should not be the case. All caravans and motorhomes should be fitted with dual pole breakers. In fact, in the UK, there is a specific subsection of the electrical installation regulations, British Standard 7671, that provides details for caravans, motorhomes and other similar vehicles.” He says it’s Section 721 within BS 7671. Section 721. “It details the requirement is to have dual pole breakers.” So Matt, dual pole breakers.
Matt Sims
Very exciting, isn’t it?
Keith Gooden
“If you find your motorhome is fitted with a single pole,” RCD residual circuit, something, “MCB,” miniature circuit breaker, “Or similar device, you should consider getting it swapped out by a competent electrician, even in countries where this may not be a regulation.
But this makes complete sense for the reasons you already explained in your explanation around reverse polarity.” Well, Peter, thanks very much, but you haven’t made it absolutely clear. So was it an error, Matt? I mean, Peter is obviously right.
Matt Sims
Peter is right. Absolutely BS 7671 is a real thing. You’re quite right. The reality is that older motorhomes do have single pole breakers. That’s the point. The thing is to check, have you got a single or dual pole breaker?
And the only way to know is to get an electrician to look at it unless you know yourself or get it inspected by your habitation engineer when you have a hab check done. I actually went to our friends at Bristol Caravans, and my dear friend Oakleigh is a bit of a techy nerd when it comes to this stuff.
And I presented Peter’s point to him, and he said, “Regarding a question about RCDs fitted to caravans, motorhomes and campervans used for leisure, these vehicles if fitted with a 230 volt system should be protected by a two pole RCD.
During the EICR safety check recommended every three years by the NCC and the AWS workshop scheme, the RCD is checked and if found to be single pole, it is reported to the owner with a strong recommendation to upgrade to two pole. If the owner declines the upgrade, a warning notification is attached to the vehicle.”
Now, the point here is that is every three years and that’s the recommended timescale to get this EICR check done. There aren’t that many motorhome service engineers who know what the EICR check is, let alone doing it.
So my advice to you, if you’re listening to this and you’re concerned about this, is to go and get your circuit breaker checked. Peter is right. It should two pole. My experience is that many are not. Hence, we made the point.
And it’s a moot point that it should be. Lots of them aren’t. So getting it changed is actually really simple. And what it does is it trips out the live and the neutral in the event of an equipment failure causing a problem. And it keeps you safe. Get an electrician to go and have a look at your circuit breaker, and they’ll be able to confirm to you if it’s single or dual pole.
Keith Gooden
Hello, big boy. Come and look at my circuit breaker.
Matt Sims
All right!
Keith Gooden
Okay.
Matt Sims
Was that your chat up line to Taylor Swift?
Keith Gooden
The electrical standards book is updated every year and electricians have pointed at things with me and… yeah, I mean…
Matt Sims
One point I want to make it about the EICR check, right, it’s a really good safety check for…
Keith Gooden
What’s it stand for? Electrical installation…
Matt Sims
I can’t remember!
Keith Gooden
EICR!
Matt Sims
When you’re having your hab check done, ask them, “Do you do the EICR check? Do you offer is a bolt on service?” It is recommended by the National Caravan Council to have it done every three years. So ask them. If they’re AWS approved, they should know what it is. And they should have someone competent to carry it out. So definitely do your research into that.
Keith Gooden
And if you are advised by an electrician to upgrade it, it’s not going to cost a lot of money. Just do it.
Keith Gooden
It’s Harry Gate from Harrogate! No, it’s not really Harry Gate. It was anonymous from Harrogate. But I think I’m going to call him Harry Gate. “When travelling in Europe, would you recommend a portable Sat Nav or the one built into the dashboard?”
Matt Sims
That’s a great question. I was asked this in the presentation I gave on travelling to Europe. We use a portable sat nav. And you know the reason why? The great thing is we can move it from vehicle to vehicle.
Ours we can put our dimensions of the motorhome in, so we do drive different motorhomes. It’s called having access to a hire fleet and we can take a seventh berth or we can take a two berth! And when we’re in the seventh berth, we don’t want to end up down a country lane with grass up the middle. Nightmare.
So we put the size in to try and stop that happening. But the best reason for me having a portable sat nav is the ability to take it out of the van and sit down in the evening with a paper map and plan your route.
Sit there with a bottle of wine and look at where we are and where we want to end up and have a paper map of the area you’re in. And you’ll be able to plan the route on paper. You just cannot do that on a sat nav. And then plop that into the sat nav for when we head off in the morning. That is the reason we love having a portable Sat Nav so we can do that. You can’t easily do that when it’s in the dashboard.
Keith Gooden
I’d sit there at night with a glass of whiskey, some chicken legs and Gloria Estefan.
Matt Sims
Sounds like a perfect night in.
Keith Gooden
There you go. By the way, you’re not talking about the sat navs in people’s phones here, are you?
Matt Sims
You could use the sat nav in your phone. They’re portable, aren’t they? But they tend to absolutely drain the battery really fast. So we use Copilot. That’s a great little app. Waze is a brilliant app, but you can’t put dimensions in that. But I find they make the phone flat, so it’s got to be charging whilst you’re using it.
Keith Gooden
So there you go. Now, if you want to ask Matt a question, record a question, or just write one out for us, please say where you’re from. What should people do, Matt?
Matt Sims
Head to mhmp.info/askmatt.
Keith Gooden
mhmp.info/askmatt. You can also subscribe on YouTube.
Matt Sims
Please hit the subscribe and the little bell on YouTube. It’s brought to you by www.arobasecreative.co.uk!
Keith Gooden
And you can also share this episode. What’s the detail on that one that one, Matt?
Matt Sims
Dead easy. Just take a link from the YouTube or from an audio podcast and send it to a friend. If you think someone would benefit from the information in this podcast, please share it. It would be lovely to reach more people.
