Book Online
07400454839
-
By: Ali Hindal
- 0 Comments
A motorhome takes a Class 4 MOT, whatever it weighs. Weight does not change the class, because a motor caravan is not a goods vehicle for MOT purposes, and the weight thresholds that sort vans into classes simply do not apply to it.
The only thing that moves a motorhome out of Class 4 is seating. A motor caravan with 13 or more passenger seats is Class 5, which is rare. Everything else, from a converted Transit to a seven tonne coachbuilt, is Class 4.
Motorhome MOT class, at a glance
- A motorhome takes a Class 4 MOT whatever it weighs.
- Class 5 applies only where the vehicle has 13 or more passenger seats.
- There is no Class 7 motorhome. Class 7 is defined as a goods vehicle over 3,000kg up to 3,500kg.
- A motorhome over 3,500kg still takes a Class 4 MOT. It does not move into heavy vehicle testing.
- This comes from section 2.3 of the DVSA MOT Testing Guide, which takes motor caravans out of the goods vehicle classes.
- What weight does decide is which bay can physically take the vehicle. Ours handles up to 3,500kg.
What class is a motorhome MOT?
Class 4, in almost every case. Class 5 applies only where the vehicle has 13 or more passenger seats.
This is set out in section 2.3 of the DVSA MOT Testing Guide, which states that motor caravans are not classed as goods vehicles for MOT test purposes and are therefore in class 4 or 5 depending on their seating capacity, regardless of their size or weight. The phrase to hold on to is the last one. Size and weight are not part of the test.
Why weight does not decide it
MOT classes are sorted by what a vehicle is, not by what it weighs, and weight only enters the picture once a vehicle has already been identified as a goods vehicle.
Class 7 exists for goods vehicles with a design gross weight over 3,000kg and up to 3,500kg. That is the whole definition. A van crosses from Class 4 into Class 7 at 3,000kg because it is a goods vehicle at both ends of that line. A motorhome never enters the comparison, because it was never a goods vehicle to begin with. It is built and registered to carry people and their living space, which is why the DVSA guidance names motor caravans specifically and takes them out of the goods vehicle classes altogether.
This is the single most common mistake made about motorhome MOTs, and garages make it as often as owners do. If you have been told your motorhome needs a Class 7 test, you have been told something that does not exist.
Where the 3,000kg and 3,500kg figures come from
Both figures are real, and both belong to goods vehicles rather than to motor caravans.
A goods vehicle up to 3,000kg design gross weight is tested as Class 4. Between 3,000kg and 3,500kg it is Class 7. Above 3,500kg a goods vehicle leaves the MOT system and goes into annual heavy vehicle testing. Those three steps are correct, they are just about vans and lorries. Reading them across to a motorhome is how the error starts.
Our guide to MOT costs in Cardiff sets out the class structure in full if you also run a van.
What if my motorhome is over 3,500kg?
It is still a Class 4 MOT. A six or seven tonne motorhome gets exactly the same test as a campervan, because weight does not move a motor caravan out of the MOT system.
What changes above 3,500kg is practical rather than legal. Fewer stations have a bay long enough, high enough and strong enough to take the vehicle, so the search gets harder. That is a question of equipment, not of classification, and the two get confused constantly. Ask a garage whether they can physically take your vehicle. Do not ask what class it is, because the answer to that is already known.
Send us the weight and the dimensions
The class is already settled: it is Class 4. The open question is whether our bay can take your vehicle, and the height and length answer that faster than anything else. Send them over and we will confirm before you travel.
What actually decides whether a garage can test your motorhome
Four physical limits decide it: length, height, width and axle weight. Any one of them can stop the test.
Height is the one that catches people out, because a motorhome that fits through the door may still be too tall for the ramp to lift it clear of the roof structure. Length matters where the bay has a roller brake tester set into the floor at a fixed distance. Width matters on older sites with narrow pits. Axle weight matters because the brake tester and the lift are both rated, and running a vehicle over the rating is not something any tester will do.
None of this appears on your V5C, which is why ringing ahead with the dimensions saves a wasted journey far more reliably than working out the class.
What we can take at Rumney
Our bay handles motorhomes up to 3,500kg. Above that we will tell you straight away rather than booking you in and finding out on the day.
If you are over our limit, you still need a Class 4 MOT, just at a station equipped for the weight. Send us the figures anyway and we will tell you what to ask for, because knowing that it is Class 4 and not some heavy vehicle test is usually the part that unsticks the search.
What a motorhome MOT costs
The Class 4 maximum fee set by the DVSA is £54.85, and that cap applies to a motorhome of any weight because the test is Class 4.
A garage may charge less than the cap but cannot charge more for the test itself. Anything quoted well above that figure is either not the MOT, or is the MOT bundled with other work. Our MOT and service prices page covers what we charge.
How to book
Send three things: the registration, the design gross weight from box F.2 on the V5C, and the overall height and length.
The registration gets the booking started. The weight and dimensions tell us whether our bay can take it. We would rather turn a booking down on the phone than waste your morning, and if we cannot take it we will say what to search for instead.
Motorhome MOT class questions
Is a 3,500kg motorhome Class 4 or Class 7?
Class 4. There is no Class 7 motorhome at any weight, because Class 7 is defined as a goods vehicle and a motor caravan is not a goods vehicle for MOT purposes.
Which figure on the V5C decides the MOT class?
None of them. Weight does not decide the class of a motor caravan. The only thing that can move it from Class 4 to Class 5 is having 13 or more passenger seats.
My garage says my motorhome needs a Class 7 test. Are they right?
No. It is a common mistake and an understandable one, because the weight thresholds do apply to vans. They do not apply to motor caravans. Section 2.3 of the DVSA MOT Testing Guide sets this out directly.
Does a motorhome need an MOT at three years old?
Yes, from the third anniversary of registration, and every year after that, exactly as a car does.
Does downplating change the MOT class?
No. Downplating changes the design gross weight, and the design gross weight does not affect the class of a motor caravan. Downplating can still be worth doing for other reasons, such as speed limits and some tolls. It just does nothing to your MOT class.
Is a self build or a converted van treated as a motorhome?
It depends on how DVLA has recorded the body type on the V5C. If it is recorded as a motor caravan, the motor caravan rules apply and it is Class 4 regardless of weight. If it is still recorded as a panel van, it is a goods vehicle, and then the 3,000kg and 3,500kg thresholds genuinely do apply.
Can you test my motorhome at Rumney?
Up to 3,500kg, yes. Send the design gross weight along with the overall height and length and we will confirm before you book. Above that we will tell you straight away and say what to look for instead.
Is the habitation check part of the MOT?
No. The MOT covers the vehicle: brakes, tyres, steering, suspension, lights, structure and visibility. The living area is not tested. A habitation service is a separate job and is not a legal requirement.
Book your motorhome in at Rumney
Class 4, whatever it weighs, up to the 3,500kg our bay can take. Send the registration, the design gross weight and the dimensions, and we will confirm the slot before you set off.
