Try finding anything to do with motorhomes in the Highway Code and you’ll be disappointed. But they are still road vehicles, so start by reading that Code again. You’ll find that some things have changed since you first took your test.
Responsible motorcaravanners will want to obey the law but it is sometimes hard to find out just what those laws are – and you may be surprised to learn that it can often be just as difficult for the enforcement authorities. Here, we will provide general guidance and our best interpretation of the law, it must be said that in any given case only a court can decide what the law actually means.
When is a van not a van?
Legally, motorhomes do not quite fit into the law on cars, nor those on heavier vehicles, but lie somewhere in between. So what is a ‘motorhome’? Or ‘motorcaravan’,
or ‘living van’, ‘leisure vehicle’, or ’campervan’ for that matter? There is not even one agreed description in English for it!
Legally, part of the problem is that there are slightly different definitions in various aspects of UK law
– not even taking into account the European picture. There is some pressure now to fix what we mean in law, via Euro-harmonisation – and not before time.
At present, about the most workable definition is a European one, now incorporated into a British Standard for ‘Leisure Accommodation Vehicles’. These are “self-propelled leisure accommodation vehicles that meet requirements for construction and use of road vehicles” and which contain “at least seats, table, sleeping accommodation which can be converted from the seats, cooking and storage facilities”.
It’s all a bit of a mouthful, but it means your Transit van with a camp bed in the back is not legally a motorcaravan. And why does this matter? Well, if you buy a van intending to convert it into a motorcaravan (i.e. a self-build) you need to ensure that it meets the above criteria if it is to be called a ‘motorcaravan’. It is not sufficient merely to put a bed in the back of a Transit because it’s not a motorhome – this, then, has legal consequences as it governs how fast you can travel because speed limits differ between commercial vehicles and motorhomes above a certain weight (but more about this, later). And if you’re buying a second-hand motorhome, especially if it’s a home-made conversion, you’ll need to be sure that it meets these criteria for insurance purposes.
Most motorcaravans are classified in UK law as a ‘motor car’, or ‘heavy motor car’ according to whether or not they exceed 3050kg unladen weight. This distinction is important and can affect how the vehicle is treated under the law. For example, speed limits alter over a certain weight, so a motorhome with an unladen weight of more than 3050kg is restricted to 50mph on single-carriageway roads (see Table 1). Most standard-sized motorhomes will fall within the definition of a ‘motor car’.
Owners of large motorhomes (over 3500kg) have to pay a small extra amount of UK road tax (currently £5). They are classified as ’private LGVs’ (Large Goods Vehicles) – a nonsense of a designation which the industry is trying hard to reverse, but with no success so far.
The base vehicle is classified as an N1 (commercial) vehicle, to which slightly different European rules apply when it collects the M1 (passenger vehicle) classification after conversion. The advent of Whole Vehicle Type Approval in
the future may help iron out some of these classification anomalies.
Mind what you drive
Driving licence categories
are based on maximum allowable weight. Drivers who passed a normal car test (category B) since
1 January 1997, are limited to driving vehicles with a maximum weight of 3500kg, or 4250kg with a trailer of 750kg. Before that date the limit
was 7500kg, or 8250kg if a trailer was towed. So, your 24-year-old son or daughter may not legally be able to take over the driving of your 3500kg+ motorhome if you are taken ill, say
(nor indeed anyone of any age who passed the B test after that date). And hooking up a large trailer – carrying,
say, a car – behind your 3500kg motorhome, would put you well over
the 4250kg limit. So, if you have a
larger-than-usual motorhome, or tow a heavy trailer, make sure that all the potential drivers have the correct licence.
Despite rumours in the press, there are no plans to apply this 3500/4250kg limit retrospectively to pre-1997 drivers – you will retain your existing entitlement until at least 70 years of age, when your current licence expires. At that point you will need to take a medical test to retain the 7500/8250kg licence, or revert to the 3500/4250kg limit.
Most British motorhomes have a maximum gross weight (MGW) of
less than 3500kg, but not all: some, for example the Ace Firenze, has an MGW of 3850kg, and the Bürstner Elegance I820 has a whopping 5000kg MGW. Also, most American RVs are very heavy, and many are over even the 7500kg threshold – for instance, the Winnebago Journey 32T, has an MGW of 12,660kg, and this is by no means the heaviest. If this problem affects you, it is possible for a vehicle of more than 3500kg to be down-plated, to come within this limit.
The way in which this can be done is that changes are made to suspension and tyres, and the base vehicle manufacturer or chassis converter (such as Al-Ko) can issue a new plate on which the new weights are recorded.
But remember, you may be sacrificing some payload this way.
There are changes afoot from the European Third Driving Licence Directive, but these are some years away, and in
any case will also not be retrospective. For example, all new licences are likely
to have only a ten-year duration,
with the possibility of eyesight
or other medical tests on renewal. There may also be a new Leisure Vehicle category defined for driving licence purposes, and this might just sort out some of the present anomalies.
All drivers must always be able to pass the standard eyesight test (the one you take during your driving test). It is really a very basic test, and no substitute for a regular eye test at the optician. Under the Road Traffic Act, police can, and do, carry out the basic check at the roadside during accident investigations, and if you cannot pass it they will require you to take a formal eyesight test, so be warned.
Remember that it is your duty to inform the DVLA (Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency) if any medical condition is likely to affect your driving. Your GP will have details. Although the DVLA can order medical and eyesight checks if a problem is suspected, a GP or optician cannot forbid you to drive. It is your personal responsibility to make this decision, based on their advice – and you would be most unwise to ignore it.
Recent research has showed that some ten percent of drivers would not pass
the standard roadside eyesight test – this equates to over three million drivers.
Do not be one of them!
All safe and secure
Your motorhome must be safe to use on the road, and not be a danger to anyone in (or on) the vehicle, or on the road. This catch-all phrase is all very well, but offers little in the way of specifics.
So what are the essentials?
Top of the list is vehicle condition. You must keep any vehicle in a roadworthy condition. This means that at a roadside check it would pass all the 150-odd points that are now included in an MoT test: this will include vehicle lighting and exhaust emissions, brakes, steering, tyre condition, seat belts, mirrors.
Your Vehicle Excise Duty (or road tax) disc will also be checked (nowadays, this can also be carried out automatically, via roadside cameras).
Remember that current DVLA rules mean a vehicle has to be continually taxed, so you cannot just let the tax lapse. If, say, you were to take the vehicle off the road for the winter you would need to send a Statutory Off Road Notification (SORN) to the DVLA. Your road tax renewal form shows how to do this.
Any vehicle which cannot pass an
MoT test item at the roadside can in
some (serious) cases be prevented from continuing its journey – leaving you stranded. More usual is a certificate requiring the fault to be fixed and
re-checked within a specified time. Practically, with minor offences such
a recently blown light bulb, police will issue a friendly warning. But beware
– if you’re driving a badly maintained ‘heap’ with many faults, the police will throw the book at you.
One item that often causes confusion
is the spare wheel. You are not, by law, required to carry a spare. Nor does it have to satisfy all the tyre condition rules if you do have one – but if it is used,
it must then pass all the laws relating to the other tyres such as tread depth (1.6mm), condition and use. This includes suitability of construction, load and speed ratings as well as pressures suitable for the total vehicle weight.
There are limits to the maximum dimensions of road vehicles. These rules are unlikely to affect domestic or European-built motorhomes but if, say, you are contemplating importing a giant RV from America you will need to check that it is no longer than 12m (39ft 4in)
and no wider than 2.55m (8ft 4in). There seems to be no general UK height limit, but any vehicle, including a motorcaravan, over 3m (9ft 10in) high must have a notice in its cab, displaying that height.
If you tow a trailer with your motorhome which has a maximum gross weight of under 3500kg, then the trailer must be no more than 7m (22ft 111/2in) long and 2.3m (7ft 61/2in) wide. To tow a trailer above those limits, the tow vehicle must weigh more than 3500kg (maximum gross weight).
Motorhomes are a specific MoT case. Under 3500kg maximum weight a motorhome is treated just like a car and first MoT tested three years from first registration, and every year thereafter. Vehicles over 3500kg normally come into a different category and have to be tested after one year from new, but motorhomes are specifically excluded from this requirement and are tested at the same point as a car – after three years. This has sometimes led to drivers being wrongly told that they will be prosecuted. It is helpful to remember that not all traffic policemen have total knowledge of the law, so if this happens, be polite and explain…
Some MoT stations also get confused and have suggested that a large motorhome is in a different MoT testing class. It is not, but sometimes the normal Class IV testing station may not be large enough inside to test the vehicle, so it may have to be done somewhere else. Even so, the fee should still be the same as that for a car.
Every vehicle on a road – and this includes any area to which the public
has access – must be covered by the minimum legal insurance level. Check with your insurer if you wish to tow a trailer – most will usually cover this within the main policy – but do remember that few ordinary vehicle policies will cover much in the way of the contents we normally have in our motorhomes. They usually require them to be in a locked boot! So, consider specialist policies instead.
Motorhomes are popular with specialist insurers because they know they are carefully used and that they cover relatively low annual mileages, so premiums are reasonable. Depending on the level of cover, your location and claims history, you would expect to pay around £300 for a normal sized motorhome. (See our classified section, starting p190, for contact details of firms which specialise in such policies.)
The limits of endurance
Speed limits for motorcaravans are often not well known, either to drivers or to the enforcement authorities. In one celebrated case recently a driver was convicted for being 1mph over a 50mph limit. Later it was discovered that a 60mph limit applied to that vehicle at the time, and the fine, and penalty points, had to be cancelled.
Table 1 (above) shows the speed restrictions that apply when there is no lower limit in force – such as urban 20 mph restrictions or other specifically signed speed limits.
There are differences, depending on
the unladen weight of your motorhome, but this figure may be difficult to establish. If it is not given in the motorhome’s handbook, you might have to contact the vehicle manufacturer.
You can, however, gain a decent indication if you weigh the motorhome yourself at a weighbridge, without the driver on board.
Officially, the unladen weight is defined as the weight of motorcaravan when
it is ready for use, but without fuel, water, driver or loose tools and equipment such
as a jack and a spare wheel.
As a rule of thumb, then, deduct around 80kg from the figure you obtain from the weighbridge and this will provide an indication of whether or not you are near the threshold.
Other general speed limits are sometimes hard to understand, but it is the driver’s responsibility to know when a speed limit is in operation. The 30mph limit applies whenever there is street lighting installed at a specified distance (185m in England and Wales, but 187m
in Scotland) unless a cancellation sign is displayed. Other limits are indicated with regular repeater signs, except where the national limits apply.
More code on the road
The rules for speed limit signs are complex and not always followed to
the letter by local authorities, so if you feel seriously misled by a speed limit
– rather than just caught out – it is always worth checking whether the positioning and type of signs satisfy the law. The Association of British Drivers website
has some excellent advice on the subject.
At present, motorhomes which tow a trailer do not have to have type-approved towbars, but you would be well advised to do so. If you are towing any size of trailer you are not allowed in the outside lane of a three-or-more-lane motorway. And remember that overloading the vehicle or any axle – all too easy with some motorhomes – is an offence and might well invalidate your insurance.
It is worth checking your weights at your local weighbridge before you set off.
Seat belts, if provided, must be worn by all passengers in forward-facing seats. You are strongly advised not to travel
in side-facing seats, and this is likely
to become a legal requirement on
new motorhomes before long. Indeed, this legislation is scheduled for 2006, assuming there are no delays – it’s not very far away.
You must not discharge waste products from your motorhome onto the highway. And in the UK you cannot normally sleep in a lay-by overnight – and in any case, this can be risky.
As most motorcaravanners will know, parking can be a problem. Height bars restrict many car parks, although a few tourist areas are now beginning to be more helpful, but nearly all of them ban overnight stays.
You might also need to know what some of the highway code signs for weight restrictions mean. The two below are quite different, but may be hard to distinguish when driving. The one shown, below left, refers to a goods vehicle, the other to all vehicles. Both mean maximum permitted, not actual weight, in tonnes. And do look out for ‘low bridge’ and other restricted height or width signs.
Make sure you know the dimensions
of the vehicle you are driving. If you were to bring the main railway line to a halt by hitting a hit a bridge, it is not much use saying “I didn’t know it was that high”.
Other motoring laws on the road are generally the same as for cars, and there are literally thousands of these that could apply. The best source of general advice is still the Highway Code book, so brush up on it and don’t get caught out. Finally, would you recognise the minimum speed limit sign (shown here) if you saw it? Ignorance of the law is still no excuse in court! l– |
