Definition of the Payload of a Motorhome –

An optimistic figure the manufacturers hide away in the small print section of the Advertising literature and the figure quoted is usually somewhere between wishful thinking and a Hans Christian Anderson fantasy world.

The literature for the Reférénce gives a figure of 3075 kg for the un-laden weight and a Gross vehicle weight of 3500 kg - which in theory gives 425 kg of payload.

But what they don't calculate, and put in the 'blurb' that we rely on, is the Mass in Running Order (MRO) which includes the un-laden vehicle at 3075 kg plus 75kg to cover the weight of the driver, plus 90 per cent full water and fuel tanks and the engine coolants.

This now reduces the original figure of 425 kg payload dramatically. After having the MH weighed at two different weigh-bridges the payload quoted by Pilote and re-iterated by the Dealers of 425 kilos (66 stones) seems wildly optimistic.

With the regulation quota of water, fuel, gas bottles, solar panel, spare wheel, one driver and no other extras fitted there is only 160 kilos (25 stones) of payload remaining.

Add a my co-pilot/relief driver and our dog and that reduces to 70 kilos (11 stones) and is much less than the quoted figure in the Brochure which should, in theory, have left around 355 kilos – not the diminutive 'real' figure we actually have.

When we have put on board food, clothes, leisure table and chairs, TV and aerial, EHU cables, water hoses and other essential items there will be very little spare capacity before being overloaded.

As the vehicle has five seat belts for the driver and passengers it seems highly likely that the MH will be well over the 3500 kilos weight limit allowed when at full carrying capacity.

Three extra adults would add at least 210 kilos, children about half that, to the weight carried and would almost certainly be overweight.

I'm not too worried about the payload being so small on my Pilote but anyone else thinking of buying one of this model would be well advised to check what is, or isn't, the capacity before purchasing.

MMM magazine possibly sent all of the families out on the long term test in an over loaded, and therefore illegal, vehicle.

Any feed back about my interpretation of the Pilote payload calculations welcomed.