[Immo1282]

I could be wrong here - but I've never come across any law in the UK that prevents a private non-goods vehicle from being driven on the roads if it's over it's manufacturers specified fully-laden kerb-weight?

I've an old colleague who drives a retired ambulance around - modified by its conversion from van to ambulance with around 3 tonnes of extra auxiliary batteries, hydraulics, oxygen tanks and ballast weight. There's no law stopping him from driving that!

Only restrictions on weight I can imagine are driving an overweight vehicle on weak roads where specified - or where the vehicle's being used as a goods vehicle. If you're trying to convert an HGV or a van that will be used for commercial purposes, then you may have a point - but a private vehicle for personal use only isn't going to tick that box.

My understanding of the process of getting an EV conversion on the road in the UK is quite simple, declare the change of fuel type to the DVLA, get it to pass an MOT, tax and insure it like normal. (albeit you may need to go to a specialist insurer as mainstream ones might not accept an EV conversion).

What's the vehicle you want to convert? You might be surprised how little extra weight it might add if you are converting a small car where the engine to be removed takes up a larger proportion of the vehicles weight in the first place.

 

[Greenbeast]

I posted a week or so ago about doing a 4x4, which is a farm/work vehicle.
But I'm also toying with a small family car or maybe even a fun little two seater sporty thing. The latter two are obviously just personal vehicles. The former is technically a business vehicle and certainly would be used for towing, where I have to be mindful of gross train weight. So maybe I'll forget the 4x4 and steer towards a car then.

 

[Immo1282]

Might be worth giving the DVLA a ring to find out if there's any restrictions - The only downside with converting heavy 4x4s is low efficiency (read. poor range) - but if you're using it for towing stuff locally to/from a farm then range & top speed is less of an issue...

Good luck with it whatever you end up doing!

 

[Emyr]

I could be wrong here - but I've never come across any law in the UK that prevents a private non-goods vehicle from being driven on the roads if it's over it's manufacturers specified fully-laden kerb-weight?

I've an old colleague who drives a retired ambulance around - modified by its conversion from van to ambulance with around 3 tonnes of extra auxiliary batteries, hydraulics, oxygen tanks and ballast weight. There's no law stopping him from driving that!

You and your colleague are both wrong.

Whilst discussion of overloaded vehicles is easier to find in the context of goods vehicles, the law also applies to passenger vehicles.

The Road Vehicles (Construction and Use) Regulations 1986
http://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/1986/1078/regulation/100/made

Road Traffic Act 1988 Section 40A
http://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/1988/52/section/40A

These are both referenced in this DVSA enforcement document:
https://assets.publishing.service.g.../795005/dvsa-enforcement-sanctions-policy.pdf

Look for PLS codes 1-55 and 1-56.

 

[Greenbeast]

So how do people deal with it? I'm sure i've seen plenty of builds where the end result is hundreds of kilos over the original.
That said, either they may have been in other countries or the Max Gross Weight was sufficiently high to not worry....OR they didn't even consider it, it's not checked during an MOT and no-one has yet been pulled over and weighed.

 

[Duncan]

I think that you will find that this is now a non problem

Back in the lead age - it was a major issue

Today - not so much - as a general rule if you take out all of the dinosaur stuff and replace it with electric you lose a lot of weight
Adding batteries gets you to zero at about 60 miles range - and it's difficult to find the space for much more
Another 60 miles range is about the same weight as two passengers

 

[poprock]

In AU NSW state if over the gvm you will lose passenger allowance of 80kg per passenger . This is an older application and current revisions may be different.

 

[Greenbeast]

I think that you will find that this is now a non problem

Back in the lead age - it was a major issue

Today - not so much - as a general rule if you take out all of the dinosaur stuff and replace it with electric you lose a lot of weight
Adding batteries gets you to zero at about 60 miles range - and it's difficult to find the space for much more
Another 60 miles range is about the same weight as two passengers

Thanks for that, useful to know

 

[Immo1282]

Thanks Emyr - seems like those sections apply to passenger vehicles etc. but only if the weight causes a danger to other road users and pedestrians. As long as the brakes/suspension can handle extra weight - I can't really see those particular parts of the law being a problem for conversions.

Thanks anyway

 

[Greenbeast]

My big issue with the 4x4 conversion is further reducing my towing capacity, but after a brief thought I realise I could just take my 'towing' licence and get access to a higher towing capacity anyway. I rarely take any load inside the vehicle, so I can use most of max gross vehicle weight for conversion.

 

[Sparweb]

How about removing the rear seats?
Make it obvious (to whoever inspects the car) that you've eliminated the potential payload of 160kg of human cargo.

 

[Greenbeast]

How about removing the rear seats?
Make it obvious (to whoever inspects the car) that you've eliminated the potential payload of 160kg of human cargo.

Well yes, the 4x4 has those removed currently already. Any car that i converted would really want the seats though.
I've started up a spreadsheet to compare my growing list of possible donor cars and their curb and max gross weights