fifthwheel
Might help new starters.
Might help new starters.
LibertyHall
Forum Member
trevskoda
Forum Member
Thats it and for folk reading it,its a interpretation of law as it states at last page,so if you bed is not qt 6 feet it realy dont mater caus no one is going to come with a tape m,just make sure it looks right as in a proper job rather that a lash up that a schoolboy would do,and i have seen a few in my days.
voyager
Forum Member
I wouldn't risk building in a bed less than 6 foot and hoping you get away with it. If someone at the DVLA has a little knowledge of van dimensions then they will instinctively know if a bed is less then 6 ft from the internal photos you have to submit. Imagine the amount of rework that would need to be done if your van was turned down for this reason. It may mean a total rebuild of the interior. As a dedicated forum for self builds I would be advising members who are new to converting to stick to the rules.
Pudsey Bear
Forum Member
There are some shortcuts to get the V% change you can get away with, but the bed isn't one of them, such as nothing needs to actually work, as they do not test and cannot tell, obviously to use the van properly they will need finishing, but if it's a time thing where you're doing the work but need the cert done, before a planned trip, and waiting till you finish wiring etc would screw things up, I say get it changed.
voyager
Forum Member
I did read the document.
In order for a converted vehicle to qualify as a motor caravan it must have certain minimum features:
- a bed, which has a minimum length of 1800mm or 6 feet - this can be converted from seats used for other purposes during the day but must be permanently fixed within the body of the vehicle
trevskoda
Forum Member
I understand what you are saying,but here is the last page,i have seen many a few inches short of requirements.
voyager
Forum Member
Yes but the last page says ' ultimately the interpretation of the law is a matter for the courts based on individual facts' and as I mentioned I wouldn't want to go down the route of what would be an extremely expensive court case with no guarantee of winning.
I am only advising that sticking to the published minimum requirements will prevent a possible disastrous situation of having an
application turned down on something like bed size but if converters want to take the risk then it is up to them.
I am only advising that sticking to the published minimum requirements will prevent a possible disastrous situation of having an
application turned down on something like bed size but if converters want to take the risk then it is up to them.
Deleted member 4404
Be interesting to know if any have been turned down because of bed length?
voyager
Forum Member
Who knows but all it takes is for a jobsworth in the DVLA who has a bit of knowledge of vans to refuse application.
The point of my original comment was that it is a risk that would mean a lot of expensive rework and as a dedicated forum to helping with self conversions then we should be advising new forum members to stick to the published DVLA rules.
Deleted member 4404
Totally agree with you. Our transverse bed is under size, but I sent a photo showing the seating area made up into a second bed and it was accepted.
trevskoda
Forum Member
Never thought of that,well done you.
wildebus
Forum Member
When it comes to getting a conversion re-registered as a Motor Caravan, the UK is possibly one of the easiest and cheapest places to do this, so anyone who feels they have to somehow scam the system (a common thing to try to do on the VW Transporter Forum purely to get their van speed limit upped to 10MPH) and gets rejected - tough titties! Try going for example to France, or Italy, or Oz, or even the USA where in some States they still don't have MOT type inspections but an RV conversion ... tricky stuff.
The DVLA people who review the applications are actually people and will apply the guidelines as they should be. Is that being a Jobsworth, or actually is it simply someone doing their job?
There is some ambiguity with the conversion guidelines as there are multiple pages with varying levels of detail. Also and many people think they need to send engineers reports, reciepts, etc. etc. and it is not needed for a DIY conversion. Virtually NO proof that anything is done right is required in the UK for a Motor Caravan conversion! (the same is true of DIY work in the house in the UK as it happens. Need a Gassafe engineer to install your boiler? nope, nothing to prevent you legally installing it yourself if you decide you are competent, but that is a different subject)
Another thing which is a common belief is about the cooking facilities - and this is due to ambiguity on the DLVA website as well. When it comes to hob tops, it is NOT a requirement to have a minimum of two burners. I know this from experience - my VW T4 conversion I got re-registered as a Motor Caravan a few years ago and that had a single burner (in fact it was one of those portable gas cartridge stoves that I made a housing for in a klitchen pod); My current VW LT I got re-registered as a Motor Caravan 6 months ago and that also had a single burner - in this case an Electric Induction Hob.
The DVLA people who review the applications are actually people and will apply the guidelines as they should be. Is that being a Jobsworth, or actually is it simply someone doing their job?
There is some ambiguity with the conversion guidelines as there are multiple pages with varying levels of detail. Also and many people think they need to send engineers reports, reciepts, etc. etc. and it is not needed for a DIY conversion. Virtually NO proof that anything is done right is required in the UK for a Motor Caravan conversion! (the same is true of DIY work in the house in the UK as it happens. Need a Gassafe engineer to install your boiler? nope, nothing to prevent you legally installing it yourself if you decide you are competent, but that is a different subject)
Another thing which is a common belief is about the cooking facilities - and this is due to ambiguity on the DLVA website as well. When it comes to hob tops, it is NOT a requirement to have a minimum of two burners. I know this from experience - my VW T4 conversion I got re-registered as a Motor Caravan a few years ago and that had a single burner (in fact it was one of those portable gas cartridge stoves that I made a housing for in a klitchen pod); My current VW LT I got re-registered as a Motor Caravan 6 months ago and that also had a single burner - in this case an Electric Induction Hob.
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Deleted member 4404
The requirements are all listed on their website and are easy enough to follow and comply with.
I fitted a table to comply, but never used it and it now lives under our bed at home. The 'foot' is still attached to the floor of the bus, so any future owner has the option to use it if they wish to.
I fitted a table to comply, but never used it and it now lives under our bed at home. The 'foot' is still attached to the floor of the bus, so any future owner has the option to use it if they wish to.
Pudsey Bear
Forum Member
Darcar
Forum Member
In my experience if you’ve got the pictures showing most of the stuff they ask for that’s enough,
however your van MUST look like a motor caravan.
It’s no good sending pictures of your van if it looks like a bus or an ambulance or even a van with windows.
Unfortunately it’s all in the eye of the person who gets to see your application! Just pot luck really...
Darcar
however your van MUST look like a motor caravan.
It’s no good sending pictures of your van if it looks like a bus or an ambulance or even a van with windows.
Unfortunately it’s all in the eye of the person who gets to see your application! Just pot luck really...
Darcar
wildebus
Forum Member
When I got my LT it was a minibus - that kind of looks like a van with windows plus a few seats
. I applied to change it to a "Van/Windows, with 7 seats" and they asked for photographs showing the changes I had made. Told them I didn't really make any changes and not sure what I could photograph as that is what it really was! so took a photo of the inside with some seats taken out (which were designed to be removed anyway). That change took a couple of months to get through and various calls.Changing from a "Van/Windows" to a "Motor Caravan" with a vehicle that looks like a Safari Bus on the other hand took around 5 working days to get the changed V5C back