nissan cabstar camper dvla?

[hybridcovers]

Thought i would share a pic of my play room....i will be moving the camper pod indoors here while doing the fitting outView attachment 2923

 

[Millie Master]

That is one snazzy looking drawer unit but I bet it weighs a ton? But I wouldn't think that weight is of all that importance in your build?

Phil

 

[hybridcovers]

Hello....it weights in at around 100kg....after removing unwanted weight on back and bottom...not sure i would have saved much weight by building from wood? Can i ask Whats a ballpark figure on motor home /camper insurance? Im shopping around for insurance and seems quite high at £450 for the pickup alone?rob

 

[SquirrellCook]

Hello....it weights in at around 100kg....after removing unwanted weight on back and bottom...not sure i would have saved much weight by building from wood? Can i ask Whats a ballpark figure on motor home /camper insurance? Im shopping around for insurance and seems quite high at £450 for the pickup alone?rob

Maybe they have seen your pictures and think you can afford it

 

[hybridcovers]

!

 

[Brian c]

Give AIB a ring. They gave me a superb price including breakdown £380. You get a bit of discount being a member of these forums

 

[Millie Master]

I was utterly amazed how much my insurance premium dropped after it had been reclassified by the DVLA.

As there are so many zillions of pick up trucks on the roads of the UK these days I would have thought that there would be at least one specialist broker who offered preferable rates to people like you @hybridcovers, could it be that your looks more like a truck than a pick up?

I insure through Scenic who are part of the Swinton Group, it might be worth your while having a long chat with them as I found their staff to be very cooperative and actually interested in my build https://www.scenicinsurance.co.uk/contact-us/ , surely you can't be the only person in the UK in the process of a demountable conversion?
Furthermore, aren't there any forums for the Cabstar, I just had a quick look and came up with this http://www.ceforum.co.uk/showthread.php?t=8774 but it appears to be old however I feel sure there must be some others for owner drivers?

Phil

 

[hybridcovers]

hello...thanks for replies ... a thumbs up philscenic quoted £310 fully comp which i went with as a self build....they are aware its a pickup/campervan, i also took out their uk/european breakdown cover and legal expense cover and all included was still cheaper than adrian flux!!

 

[BigSkyBrad]

I too will be wanting to change from HGV to motor-caravan on my V5 when my build is finished, but the rules have changed alot since my previous build (van). There is now a finite list of body style you can change from and 'drop-side lorry' isn't one of them - the only ones listed are van derivatives.

Although it's not finished in this pic - clearly it is not a dropside, and once finished with windows, graphics etc, it will meet all the other criteria (and look every bit) of a camper. The tricky bit will be convincing the DVLA!

 

[SquirrellCook]

I too will be wanting to change from HGV to motor-caravan on my V5 when my build is finished, but the rules have changed alot since my previous build (van). There is now a finite list of body style you can change from and 'drop-side lorry' isn't one of them - the only ones listed are van derivatives.

Although it's not finished in this pic - clearly it is not a dropside, and once finished with windows, graphics etc, it will meet all the other criteria (and look every bit) of a camper. The tricky bit will be convincing the DVLA!
View attachment 3267

The down side is even if the body type is accepted as motor-caravan, the taxation class is still hgv. My argument would be that a passenger vehicle can't be hgv. I think it's the same with busses and coaches. If not used for paying passengers, it must be hgv! It's just a mess. What is needed is a motor-caravan taxation class like it used to be.

 

[BigSkyBrad]

I don't mind being taxed as an hgv, it's only £165 which is cheaper than a couple of my cars! But getting MOT'd as a motorcaravan, means side rails and rear under-run bar is not required. Side rails and an under-run bar on an offroad vehicle is problematic.

 

[trevskoda]

Thought i would share a pic of my play room....i will be moving the camper pod indoors here while doing the fitting outView attachment 2923

I have one of the jago jeeps.

 

[wildebus]

I don't mind being taxed as an hgv, it's only £165 which is cheaper than a couple of my cars! But getting MOT'd as a motorcaravan, means side rails and rear under-run bar is not required. Side rails and an under-run bar on an offroad vehicle is problematic.

How it is recorded on the V5C logbook is a different matter to how it is MOTed.
If it looks like an Motor Caravan when it goes for an MOT, it should be MOTed as a Class 4 Vehicle irrespective of if it is PLG or HGV taxation class.
My 4600Kg LT was incorrectly (I think) recorded as a PLG and a Minibus when I bought it, and had a mix of PSV and MOT tests in its lifetime
I changed it to an HGV Van with Windows. From that point, there was a potential issue as being an HGV it could not have an MOT, but as it did not have an HGV plate, it could not have a HGV test either.
When the MOT was due to expire, I hadn't quite finished the conversion, but did enough to allow me to take it to an MOT station where because it had a sink, taps, cupboards, and a bed, it was clearly PRESENTED (the key word) as a Motor Caravan and thus MOTed as such, even though V5C still said Van and HGV.
Month or so later, sent the V5C to DVLA to get it reclassified as an Motor Caravan which it duely now is.

But the key point on that waffle is - Present as a Motor Caravan and it gets tested as a Motor Caravan. If you get stopped and you are using as a Motor Caravan and you have a MOT Class 4, no problems even if the V5C says Van. But there is a general recommendation that even if you don't think you will succeed in reclassifying, YOU STILL TRY! The rejection letter usually says that it does not meet an appearance rule so cannot be changed - but you did your bit in meeting all the requirements. How it looks outside is another matter.

 

[SquirrellCook]

I don't mind being taxed as an hgv, it's only £165 which is cheaper than a couple of my cars! But getting MOT'd as a motorcaravan, means side rails and rear under-run bar is not required. Side rails and an under-run bar on an offroad vehicle is problematic.

This is the point I'm trying to make, as much as your interpreting what is and is not ok. Some official could argue the opposite. Please don't think I'm trying to pick a fight and I'm in this muddle too. I'm just keeping my head down and if I find myself in court I'll create merry hell there!

 

[Millie Master]

As David has so clearly shown, there are so many ways of skining a cat

 

[hybridcovers]

hello, hope everyone is keeping well and staying safe....been a while... had issues with my original truck and purchased an older model with less to go wrong!although registered as a pickup

...i am in the process of changing vehicle type with the dvla, they have requested photos before and after,

 

[hybridcovers]

the poptop with windows and removable sides

works very well

 

[hybridcovers]

it only takes half an hour to fully mount the pod to the truck

 

[Deleted member 4404]

Looking good and I wish you luck with DVLA as they can be a nightmare sometimes.

 

[Millie Master]

it only takes half an hour to fully mount the pod to the truck

Are those legs as rocky as they look, and or do you need to use some kind of heavy duty guy ropes to stop it swinging about in even a light breeze?

Great looking truck and fingers crossed with the DVLA.