These motorhome guides answer the searches people actually type: how to weigh a van, what a leisure battery Ah means, and how tanks and cassette empties work. Read the words here; put your figures into the calculator. We cite the handbook, plate or maker — not a guessed typical van.
Payload
Weighbridge, axles, where you put kit, and MAM versus Mass in Service. Placement can overload the rear even when the total looks fine. Then the Payload calculator.
- How to weigh a motorhome UK weighbridge how-to: Empty vs Loaded, what to write down, and what “good” looks like.
- Motorhome axle weights explained Why the law cares about each axle, not only the total. VIN plate vs today’s ticket.
- It’s not just total weight — where you put it Rear axle overload: under MAM but over on one axle. Example loads and roadside-check risk.
- MAM, Mass in Service and payload Plated maximum vs paperwork empty-ish vs what you can add — plus the licence B catch.
Power
Daily loads, leisure battery size, and solar limits. Then the Power calculator.
- Daily power budget What drains the leisure battery. List your loads — we don’t invent watt-hours.
- Leisure battery size in plain English What Ah means, and why usable power is less than the label. Cite the handbook.
- Solar panel sizing Daily Wh, season and shade. Solar helps; it is not magic in a UK winter.
Water
Tanks, gas / LPG, and cassette empties. Then the Water calculator.
- Fresh and waste tanks Fill, carry weight, empty etiquette. Handbook litres — we don’t invent tank sizes.
- Gas / LPG bottles and safety Bottle types and a winter note in plain English. Not a certificate — we don’t invent burn times.
- When and where to empty a cassette toilet When it gets heavy, and only at a proper disposal point. No campsite directory.
Use a calculator
Guides explain the words. Payload, Power and Water use the numbers from your plate, handbook or label. They will not invent an axle split, a watt-hour or a tank litre.