80% OF VANLIFERS ILLEGAL FOR BEING OVERWEIGHT! IS YOUR CAMPERVAN OR MOTORHOME TOO HEAVY?

Join us as we tackle two of the most important tasks any campervan or motorhome owner must perform to stay both safe and legal. So, what are they I hear you ask? In this blog we sanitise the fresh water tank and take Melvyn the Motorhome to a public Weighbridge. If I say “Things didn’t go well” I wouldn’t be exaggerating!
Firstly, sanitising the fresh water tank really should be done twice a year at a minimum to reduce the risks from harmful bacteria and viruses that can build up in this type of environment. Failure to keep this tank clear of these horrible bugs could easily see you in hospital and that’s no joke.
Our second task was to weigh Melvyn the Motorhome and establish if he is within the legal limits for the axles and gross vehicle weight. This is definitely something a lot of people put off and never get around to doing yet it is so very important and we explain why in the video.
This blog is going to make up the start of our series on getting ready for our first trip ever to France in a motorhome so you really don’t want to miss this!
If you want to get this Citric Acid via our Amazon affiliate link, please use this one:
amzn.to/3ThJ9JN
Talking of staying legal, we must state that if you purchase something using the above link we MIGHT get a small commission but it doesn’t cost you any extra to buy it.
Thanks for watching, if you have any thoughts, questions or suggestions, please leave them in the comments section as we love hearing from you.
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Cheers,
Malish, Zoe, Keeva the Pickle and of course, Melvyn the Motorhome!
Please note:
We did not receive any financial reward, discount on pitch fees, products or services or any other incentive in return for producing this video.

[@BonjourMotorhome]

Hi, and thanks for watching 👋🏻 ! So, what do you think? Have you taken your campervan or motorhome to a public weighbridge and checked just how much you weigh or are you going to leave it to chance and hope that you never get stopped? Just in case you’re wondering where the 80% figure came from, this is taken directly from the Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency (DVSA). Looking forward to hearing your thoughts and suggestions, It’s a serious matter, but we did have fun making this video as you can probably tell. All the best, Zoe 🦯🦮, Malish 👨🏻‍✈️, Keeva the Pickle 🐩 and Melvyn the Motorhome🚐 .

[@kingjim5]

I’m not 100% sure, but I think both of you should’ve been sat in the motorhome when weighing in

[@BonjourMotorhome]

@@kingjim5 hi and thanks for the comment. We initially thought the same, that perhaps we should be sat in the vehicle with the dog, but having investigated further, this is not the case. The authorities will always ask all occupants to vacate the vehicle if it is to be weighed at a roadside inspection and then, they add 75 kg per belted seat in the vehicle. Therefore, if you have four belted seats, they will add 300 kg onto your vehicles weight shown on the Weybridge! I have made a detailed explanation of the whole process on our website and you can view it using the following link: bonjourmotorhome.com/how-to-guides/weighing-your-campervan-or-motorhome Also, they will check on how much fuel is in the diesel tank and then add the necessary amount of weight on so that it is the equivalent of having a full tank at the time of being weighed. This is quite a complicated situation and it’s not surprising that so many people are caught out. Thanks for watching! All the best, Zoe.

[@davidmuckle599]

Ever thought of dissolving the crystals and then pouring it in or do they have to go in dry.

[@BonjourMotorhome]

Hi and thanks for watching! We said to ourselves afterwards that in future, we would dissolve the citric acid first in a drinks bottle and then pour that into the water tank. We’re total novices at this, can you tell 😀😃? It was great fun trying it though and better than using chemicals. Many thanks again, really appreciate your support, Zoe.

[@grahamtoyn2912]

Why on earth didn't you mix the citric acid in a watering can with clean water and then fill the tank with a hose pipe.

[@BonjourMotorhome]

Hello, Well, that would have involved forward planning! It was a bit of a rushed situation and although it didn't go quite according to the limited plan we had, at least we and our viewers now know what not to do! Thanks for watching and for the comment, we really appreciate it. All the best, Zoe.

[@NomaddUK]

A good point, well made😂. Tbh I didn't think of that either.

[@touringaroundwithrosie]

Just finished watching, have to say it was very funny and unfiltered watching you fill the granules. Glad to see you got it sorted. Also it was really interesting to see the weighbridge. We agree that its so important to know the weight of your fine, they're very particular about it when you visit the Republic of Ireland, the North is a little more lax but we always try to stick within the correct range. These videos are very informative especially for us as we plan to change to a van conversion down the line. 😀

[@BonjourMotorhome]

Oh, thanks very much! I hadn’t actually thought about the situation with regards to the Republic of Ireland and how strict they might be so, your input is greatly appreciated and definitely worth noting for anyone thinking of crossing the Irish Sea to go touring. Thanks for watching and looking forward to your next video too! All the best, Zoe.

[@Mike_5]

Very good advice but the biggest danger must be uneven loading of your Van / Home 😮

[@MikeM0XMX]

Milton tablets from the supermarket are useful. Also in my van (thinking your will be similar) in the top of the fresh water tank are two access hatches for this purpose rather than trying to pour it in through the filler.

[@BonjourMotorhome]

That's a great idea! Our water tanks can only be accessed from underneath when empty! Silly design I suppose. Cheers, Zoe

[@mikebro2557]

We are new to caravaning, we enjoy watching your videos, we have loaded up ready for a short stay away and hopefully not overloaded the caravan’s capacity, thanks to you both for your video- we will check individual item weights 👍

[@BonjourMotorhome]

Hello and thanks for watching! It’s so exciting getting ready to set off whether it be for the first time or your years into your touring adventures, so glad we could be of help. I’m sure there are things that you will experience that we don’t know about as well, it would be great to hear of how you find things. We have teamed up with Touring Around With Rosie, another KZbin channel, they have a caravan and have covered lots of northern Ireland and into the Republic of Ireland too. If you haven’t seen their channel, I would recommend you give it a try as they have also done videos on getting the best from a caravan. Part of this collaboration is listing the campsites they have visited on our website and you might find this useful too, here is a link to the campsite, pub stopovers and places to stay section: bonjourmotorhome.com/where-to-stay Hoping you have a successful and enjoyable trip away in your new caravan! Let us know how you get on please? All the best, Zoe, Malish and Keeva the Pickle.

[@mikebro2557]

@@BonjourMotorhomethanks for all the info, very much appreciated. We are hopefully going away in a few weeks in Shropshire to test it out, I will get back to you and let you know how we get on 😀

[@tobychristian4741]

Your water tank should have a giant screw top accessed under the seat. For cleaning. Thats where you put the granules in.

[@BonjourMotorhome]

Hello and thanks for watching! We thought that until we did some digging on the Internet and discovered that our particular motorhome has a very strange system with regards to the freshwater tank and the grey water tank. When I tell you, I bet you are totally shocked at just how crazy it is. This particular line of Auto-Trail has tanks that can only be accessed from underneath them! Therefore, each tank has to be drained and while underneath the van itself, a plate is removed this granting access to the tank for cleaning and maintenance. Bonkers! However, they still work and are very sturdy tanks and we have had no issues so far, touchwood. Thanks for the suggestion though. We really appreciate it and I’m sure other people with different models might find it useful what you have said. All the best and keep watching, Zoe, Malish and Keeva the Pickle.

[@anewlifeinthevan]

Fantastic video guys, very informative but hilarious as well. We are in awe of the camera work, we chuckled our way through! Although, we do think we may need to do the same soon, I wonder how much cost and effort it is to up-plate, be interesting to see that. Lots of love Julia and Gary♥

[@BonjourMotorhome]

Hello Julia and Gary! Thanks for watching and glad you found it helpful, we did have a really good time making this, but if only Malish would listen to me, then everything would work perfectly, wouldn’t it? Well, we have decided that uprating Melvyn the motorhome is the best way forward as there’s no way the bugger could lose enough weight to get underneath the limit. Therefore, we are doing a series of videos following the process of getting an engineers report, installing an air assist system and then getting the DVLA to change the V5 documentation. We will also have a full breakdown of costs and useful links on our website for anyone like yourselves who will have to go through the process too. Again, thanks for watching and looking forward to your next video All about your exploits in the wonderful world of France. Take care out there, Zoe, Malish and Keeva the Pickle

[@anewlifeinthevan]

Oh wow Zoe that will be fantastic, we will definitely be watching, we love watching you guys anyway, but there doesn't seem to be much out there on the topic X@@BonjourMotorhome

[@grahamjohnson4702]

What happens if you have a bike rack etc on the back of tour van?

[@BonjourMotorhome]

Hello, Stuff like that adds to the weight and pushes more onto the back axle too! I have covered this topic in more depth on our website here: bonjourmotorhome.com/how-to-guides/uprating-your-vehicle-s-maximum-authorised-mass Many thanks for your support and question, Zoe.

[@tntadventures6697]

Thank you for a very informative video, and we love your doggy Keeva 🐕 😊 T&T

[@BonjourMotorhome]

Hello and thanks for watching 👀 ! I have been nagging him for ages to put Melvin on a Weybridge and finally I got my wish, I’m so glad we did it and highly recommend everybody do the same. We are now in the planning process of uprating And will be keeping everybody up-to-date with future videos on how the process works and the best way to do it for the least amount of money. Also, we will be dissolving the citric acid first in a drinks bottle to then pour into the freshwater tank as this will hopefully alleviate The issue we had, even though it was great fun! Thanks for your support and looking forward to watching your next video when it comes out, really enjoy them. All the best, Zoe, XX.

[@NomaddUK]

Some great cloggy shuggelling action. That earned a sub. I still haven't worked out your names yet but the one with the hat sounds a bit like Joe Pesci. Nice video. Surprised you haven't got a lot more subscribers.

[@NomaddUK]

Aha... Zoe and Malish. It's at the end of the video. I got a bit worried when Zoe stated she was sight impaired as she was in the right hand seat. But you have a left hand drive van so that's not so worrying in the end. 😄

[@BonjourMotorhome]

Hi and thanks for subscribing to our channel. I’m Zoe (totally blind), Malish is my fab partner and perhaps one day husband and the dog is Keeva the Pickle! Take care out there, Z.

[@ArtJourneyUK]

is this sped up? Or something wrong with my PC? The voices sound off?

[@BonjourMotorhome]

Oh, interesting you say that. I was experimenting with recording the sound with multiple microphones and syncing them together, but not sure the recording devices were using the same sampling rate as there was a bit of phasing in the sound - that could be what you’re hearing 🤔 Hopefully it doesn’t spoil the video too much 😖

[@jaxbunn3818]

I used to use Milton sterilising tablets to sterilize the tank

[@BonjourMotorhome]

Hello and thanks for watching, That’s a great suggestion, something we had never thought of. Out of interest, how many tablets did you use? Having never used this product, I don’t know very much about it. All the best, Zoe and Malish.

[@mikespencer8879]

They should go on a diet then lol

[@BonjourMotorhome]

You’re right about that! 🤣

[@alexbezverhnij2312]

очень хотел такой кемпер но у нас в Украине война мечта похоронена Путиным.

[@BonjourMotorhome]

Hi Alex, thank you so much for your comment, we were incredibly moved by it. I’ve put a translation below, along with our reply translated into Ukrainian /Russian. -- From Alex: I really wanted a camper like this, but here in Ukraine, the war, the dream was buried by Putin -- Dear Alex, thank you so much for your comment, we send you our very best wishes and our solidarity. Putin will not last forever, we hope he will not last much longer and your beautiful country can be reclaimed. We would love to come and visit Ukraine when peace returns and it will return. -- -- Translation: Дорогой Алекс, большое спасибо за ваш комментарий, мы посылаем вам наши самые наилучшие пожелания и нашу солидарность. Путин не будет длиться вечно, мы надеемся, что он продержится недолго и вашу прекрасную страну можно будет вернуть. Мы хотели бы приехать и посетить Украину, когда мир вернется и он вернется.

[@alexbezverhnij2312]

@@BonjourMotorhome огромное спасибо. Низкий поклон. Здравия и мирного неба вам.