We regularly get questions about the speed limits for campervans and motorhomes at Parkers Vans and Pickups, especially campervan conversions. We’ve touched on it briefly in our main van and pickup speed limits article, but it’s one of the most confusing speeding issues on UK roads, so we want to go into a little more detail.
We’re here to answer one major question: is a camper or motorhome conversion allowed to travel at the same speeds as a car or, is it restricted to the lower speed limits of a regular van?
Brace yourself, though, as the end result is neither clear cut nor necessarily the good news you were hoping for.
What is a campervan conversion?
By campervan conversion we mean a motorhome that has been created from an ordinary van rather than one that was always intended to be one. This includes vehicles that are created and sold by big-name vehicle brands, vehicles that you modify in your garage at home and vehicles that leave the factory as a chassis cab or a van and are then converted by a separate company.
There are a small number of factory-built campervans, the best known being the highly regarded Volkswagen California – which now has competition from the Mercedes-Benz Marco Polo and the Ford Transit Custom Nugget.
These factory-built models face no such speed limit confusion as they were never registered as vans in the first place. Hence they are able to travel as fast as cars.
Home conversions are obviously a little different as they were originally classified as vans when they first left the factory.
What are the official speed limits for a campervan?
As far as speed limits are concerned, the official vehicle classification is not campervan but ‘motor caravan’ – and the speed limits for motor caravans are split into two categories:
- Motor caravans with an unladen weight below 3,050kg (3.05 tonnes) are allowed to drive as fast as an ordinary car
- Motor caravans with an unladen weight above 3,050kg (3.05 tonnes) are restricted to same speed limits as vans – which are officially classified as light goods vehicles under the same rules
This means that, although they can do 70mph on a motorway, they can only do 60mph on a dual carriageway and 50mph on national limit single carriageways (except where the speed limit is marked as less than that).
Why are campervan conversion speed limits so confusing?
Though nothing has changed in terms of the law, it does feel like the confusion has increased in recent times, as it would seem the DVLA (Driver and Vehicle Licencing Agency) has become more reluctant to change the body type classification of vans that have been turned into campervans on their official V5C registration documents. We’ve heard, anecdotally, of requests being rejected.
Any van that has been converted to a motorhome and that meets the DVLA’s requirements can be reclassified. It’s just that meeting those requirements – especially when it comes to making the outside of the vehicle look different to the van it’s based on – seems to be more difficult.
You might think that this is simple. If your reclassification request is rejected then the vehicle is still classed as a van and has to stick to the lower speed limits. However, it turns out there’s actually a rather large grey area here.
According to the DVLA and the Department for Transport (we’ve checked with both), regardless of what the vehicle is described as on the V5C, as long as the owner believes it meets the government’s definition of a motor caravan it can still be operated as one.
In fact, the DVLA’s own website says: ‘It is important to remember that even if the vehicle’s body type is not changed to ‘motor caravan’, the vehicle can still be used for this purpose as long as the keeper is satisfied the converted vehicle meets the required internal features for motor caravans.’
So, if you are satisfied you’ve met the government’s requirements for converting a van into a campervan and it still weighs less than 3.05 tonnes, you can theoretically drive it as quickly as a car – even if the DVLA has rejected your application to change the body type on the V5C.
This apparently makes a distinction between the exterior appearance (body type) and the interior equipment. While the V5C concentrates on what the vehicle looks like on the outside, the law suggests that as long as it meets the criteria for a motor caravan on the inside what it says on the V5C doesn’t matter.
Why is this a problem?
The problem is that if your converted camper doesn’t look like a campervan on the outside and isn’t classified as a motor caravan on its registration document, what happens if you get stopped by the police for speeding?
Neither the Department for Transport nor the DVLA has so far been prepared to commit to an answer to this.
Our fear is that if a conversion isn’t enough to meet the DVLA’s body type rules, then surely the police could argue it remains restricted to van speed limits. And since the UK police force is divided into separate regional constabularies, we further suspect the exact response will vary in different areas of the country. The DVLA’s own wording is open though.
Proceed with caution, then?
That would be our advice, yes. And if you do get caught and prosecuted for speeding and decide to challenge the conviction, do let us know what happens via feedback@parkers.co.uk.
