Definitions

MRO, or kerbweight, includes the weight of the unladen motorhome with the standard specification including all engine fluids such as oil and coolant, plus a 90% full fuel tank, spare wheel if fitted and 75kg allowance for a driver. It’s also understood that Adblue is now included. Also included, but depending on individual manufacturers, is an allowance for gas and water in tanks provided. Under regulations originating from EU Masses and Dimensions Regulations 1230/2012, manufacturers are permitted to have a tolerance of +/-5% on the MRO figure so check with the manufacturer. The National Caravan Council requires its members to state an MRO for all approved motorhomes which cannot be exceeded, hence the user payload stated is what you get.

In previous years, you could expect an allowance within the MRO for a 90% full water tank, a similar allowance for gas or gas cylinder contents and something for the cassette toilet. Now you can normally expect just one full gas cylinder to be included, despite there being a locker for two cylinders (sometimes the allowance is for a Calor Lite cylinder, which is no longer available). The biggest loss from the MRO is the fresh water tank contents, which is now most often taken as being empty, hence giving an apparent boost to user payload. However, if the campervan includes a wet heating system like Alde, then the liquid in the system will be included in the MRO.

MTPLM is equivalent to gross vehicle weight (GVW) or maximum gross weight (MGW). This is the maximum weight a vehicle, when loaded, is permitted to weigh, there’s no equivocation about this figure, it’s what’s on the vehicle weight plate.