Club 80-90 Forums

Hi all , this may not concern many but it`s turned into an important topic over here in France . MOT`s called CTs are for two years because Campers I.E. T25s come under commercial , Fourgon it`s on my French log book , so we have to have emissions test every year , mine passed just the emissions CT test last Saturday but , sting in the tail , I was told by the inspector my next MOT the van has to be empty including gas and electric fittings , all furniture has to be removed to bring it back to the van it was originally before it was converted in 1981 , new regulations brought in last May for campers under 3.5t .
Obviously not looking forward to this at all . I know there maybe Brits here monitoring 80/90 and wonder what their thoughts are .
Can you imagine ripping everything out. Cheers Rob..

What if it can't be restored to its original VW condition?
Because that sounds implausible.
And what of VW campers like Westfalia.

Finaly why is this being done?
Because it will have zero impact on emissions

That`s exactly may concern , my van was professionally converted by Volkswagen France with the plaque inside , I`ve read because there have been converted vans that are dangerous , all ours started life as vans , the powers to be are trying to eliminate vans with dangerous gas or electrical installation faults so the MOT inspectors want them empty , does that mean every MOT ?..personally I think the vans will be subject to periodical Homoligation safety inspection in the future , I`ve still to find out more.Cheers..

Sorry to hear that Hunter.
I could understand if they required gas and electrical safety certificates to rule out dangerous installations, but ripping out an interior, especially a factory one, sounds like madness.
a factory one would be more likely to be safe than one that's been ripped out and re-installed by Joe Blogs.

that sounds bonkers, have you checked with other 'testers' that that is correct? it may be worth a second opinion, what about motorhomes that are just a chassis from the factory before they have bodies put onto them?

only in France
probably do u turn when they realise its unworkable.

No mention of it here https://www.service-public.fr/particuli ... its/F33354. Is it because your van is not registered as a motorhome? ( One would expect a goods van to be empty for an MoT )

Not heard this. My T23 is tested every two years. The van is classed as a 'COMBI/CARA' and does not have an annual emissions test. Perhaps your van has been incorrectly classed as a commercial vehicle.

If I got it right I believe that a friend if ours in France had to gradually a sell off his lifetime collection of cars and boats in order to pay an ownership tax of 10% annually for each one even though they were not in use . Forgetting all the other nonsense I didn't hear this one mentioned this in Brexup

Hello,

Let's put a stop to this nonsense right now please.....

https://www.capital.fr/economie-politiq ... ue-1283261" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

You just change your carte grise....

Stick to Brexit...

Oh and so sorry about the footy.......

Cordialement,

Hi all I think I can see what`s happened my log book says CTTE Fourgon ,van , not Caravanette , I`ve had the camper 12yrs bought in France never failed an MOT and never been an issue , there`s a plaque in the van with a Tranformation seriel number and date 1981 by Volkswagen France but now it`s a big issue .
The log book , a Carte Gris used to be obtained from a prefecture if you moved you reaplied for a new one like I did in 2009 , now it`s all computerised and gone belly up , so I have to now find a way to get my Camper re-cetagorised as a camper not a van or the whole interior has to be ripped out next MOT.. Thanks for all you reply`s..
Cheers Hunter70..

Hello,

CTTE means C amione TTE..

So 2 seats on the Carte grise, and a controle every year.. it is a light goods vehicle

A Camping car, (of T3 size) is categorised as an estate car or minibus, 4 to 9 seats, and a controle every 2 years

Caravanette is a made up word.....

If you cannot do the update of your Carte Grise on line, no computer, too old, etc

Then you go to the Prefecture, and ask one of the nice assistants to help you with your demand on line..

The Prefecture no longer ISSUES the Carte Grise, but will help you in your Démarche....

It's called Modernisation.......

Cordialement,

Yes A Devon conversion was called a caravanette.
It was very popular.
A bit like hoovering instead of vacuumng.

Thanks Sarran , a trip to the Prefecture Angouleme is on my todo list , I have also discovered trawling on the net my Camper is a Westfalia Bahamas I found plenty on the net I did know existed about this vehicle from 1981 , somewhere along the line it`s been wrongly classified as a van and not a caravanette which is what I have to address..Cheers ..

Its not a caravanette!
Thats a Devon conversion