Payload

[barlidge]

Does anyone know if the payload figure is inclusive of the rear seats?

I have a 531kg load to collect and my Sharan has a payload of 788kg which I assume will not include fuel so that leaves me 230kg to allow for myself and fuel, the car is empty other than that.  It should be within the limit but a little close hence the question, would be nice to know if I have a little the extra margin of the rear seats being removed.

Thanks

[SirDavidAlhambra]

Sounds risky to me, the payload figure might assume the load is spread evenly across all the seats and roof racks and so on.

That said, 7 fat people can easily weigh the best part of a ton and the seats arenââ,¬â,,¢t exactly light and 70L of fuel weighs another 70kg or so and then you have roof boxes and so on. Poor Alhamb, it gets worked like a mule

Unless the seats are an optional extra I would have thought they are part of the curb weight and not the payload although donââ,¬â,,¢t rely on that because Iââ,¬â,,¢m not completely sure

[brianh]

The payload figure should include a full tank of fuel and whatever was fitted to the car when it left the factory. So may depend on the exact spec. I'd think you probabbly have around 20kg a seat you could remove, At least when I've removed them, they feel like around that sort of weight. If you have the kiddie booster seat one as well, that is heavier still.

It wouldn't include any drivers or pasengers though.

[barlidge]

Thanks, its basically 18 steel plates and all the seats have been removed so they will be low and they can be spread around all over the rear area and possibly a couple in the passenger footwell which will equal my weight as the driver. If the seats are not included in the kerb weight that will give me and extra 100kg ish margin and I can keep the fuel level at the lower end of the scale perhaps giving an extra 40kg- every little helps!

I did manage to find this which seems to confirms the fuel aspect.

[brianh]

I wouldn't have thought you'd have had a problem there provided you can fit them in. You might want to strap them down would be the only possible concern, just in case anything happened where they might start sliding around or present a hazard. I've had the back end full of boxes of tills and found I ran out of space before it got too heavy there (I'd guess that was around 500kg worth in the worst case). I have seen one someone else I worked with that was definitely at the top end of what it could manage, and the back end was somewhat lower than it should have been in that state.

If you can keep it down low you should be fine though at any rate.

[barlidge]

I've got ratchet straps that hook nicely into the seat mounts in the floor.  Over the years I've moves so much big and bulky stuff in the old galaxy but never really knew the weight,

Thanks 

[SirDavidAlhambra]

Also watch out for speed bumps my friend!!! Donââ,¬â,,¢t want a cracked axle

[brianh]

I've got ratchet straps that hook nicely into the seat mounts in the floor.  Over the years I've moves so much big and bulky stuff in the old galaxy but never really knew the weight,

Thanks 

Good plan! I'd thought of using the silver hoops for the rearmost seats for that, but you have much more choice with the seat mounts as well.

[Tezerez]

Hate to admit that I used to deliver newspapers in my old Galaxy 130.  Used to carry between three quarters and seven eighths of a ton. Never struggled, never replaced rear springs or shocks in 10 years. Knew it was getting a bit overloaded when tops of tyres disappeared into arches, great workhorse, sadly missed.

[Mirez]

531kg is nothing, if you think of seven adults all belted in that weight will be over 531. To be 100% sure you'd need to examine the VIN plate which will tell you the train and gross weights for the specific car.

[SirDavidAlhambra]

Yes, 531Kg doesn't sound like much at all really. Indeed I alone would make up 25% of that load just sitting in the vehicle as a passenger or as a driver!

[TFG]

Not sure if this helps: In my second Alhambra. I had three Dyson Contrarotator washing machines and a steel display stand for them, and a few boxes of brochures on board without any troble at all - other than getting them to fit. Each washing machine weighed 103kg and I reckon the stand was about the same. The boxes of brochures were around 8kg each and there were 5 of them, I think. I also carried several loads of brick pavoirs a few times, covering the floor completely, three layers deep.

With the seats out, I'd have thought you'd have no problems at all as long as you can spread the load evenly. The seats are 22kg a piece I seem to remember. An average passenger is 75kg for design purposes, so that's five lots of 97kg before you've even thought about any luggage.

[barlidge]

Thanks everyone, it was good as gold even with the hunting issue still present, I'm sure I've loaded way more weight in the past but this time I knew the actual weight beforehand - they say a little knowledge can be a dangerous thing - not sure thats what they meant though 

I think its just going to take some time to rebuild some confidence in this car.

[SirDavidAlhambra]

It will get there eventually, it takes time to build trust