Check a camper van layout with AI: payload, axle loads, clearances and what the design checks flag

October 20, 2026 · 7 min read · Updated October 20, 2026

Yes — VanPlot AI can check a camper van layout, and it doesn't guess. Ask "how much payload is left?" and it reads the planner's computed build report, so you get the number on the payload bar; ask "what's wrong with my layout?" and it lists the editor's own design checks, worst first, with the items involved. It is in beta and comes with the lifetime licence.

I started VanPlot with three questions about my own van — will it fit, will it tip, what will it cost. The planner answers them with numbers: a payload bar, an axle split, a cost total, a list of design checks. The assistant lets you ask for those numbers in plain words and get the items behind them.

Below: what it reads, eighteen questions with the source of each answer, the thresholds the checks use, and what no planner can check for you.

What it reads when you ask

The assistant has a few read tools. None of them change the van; each runs the same code the editor runs and answers in your units, metric or imperial.

Build report — build weight against the rated payload, what is left after the EN 1646-2 reserve for people, water and fuel, the front/rear split of the added load, centre of mass, cost, daily power draw against solar, battery autonomy, days of water for the berths, and open readiness items. The Build Sheet prints the same summary.
Design issues — the Fix my layout check: up to 16 lines ranked fix, warn or tip, each naming the items involved. Categories: weight (over payload, into the reserve, side-heavy), doors (something in the sliding-door or rear-door entry), aisle, standing room, systems (battery next to gas or a heater, fridge next to a heat source, heavy items high or behind the rear axle, a tall unit on a wheel arch), the editor's design checks, and missing safety kit.
Clearances — the narrowest point of the walkway, standing height, sit-up room over each bed, free floor inside the sliding and rear doors, and the gap between any two items. On request it draws the line as a dimension in the 3D view.
Savings — the eight heaviest or most expensive items, with up to two lighter or cheaper parts each that fit the same footprint, and what each swap saves.
Power plan — battery, solar, charge controller, DC-DC and shore charger sized from the items' daily draw.
Build steps — build order, cut list and shopping list.

So the answer to "how much payload is left?" matches the bar on screen because it is the bar on screen, read out. The model writes the sentence; the planner supplies the number.

Eighteen questions to ask, and what answers them

Short questions work best. Each group maps to a read tool, so you know where the answer comes from.

Weight (build report, design issues): "How much payload is left?" · "Am I into the reserve?" · "What does the rear axle carry from the build?" · "Is the van side-heavy, and why?"
Space (clearances): "How wide is the aisle at its narrowest?" · "Can I sit up in bed?" · "Is the sliding-door entry clear?" · "How far is the fridge from the kitchen?"
Systems (build report, power plan): "How long does the battery last without sun?" · "Does the solar cover my draw?" · "How many days of water for two?" · "What battery and solar for three days off-grid in a northern winter?"
Cost (build report, savings): "What does the build cost so far?" · "How do I get it under €3,000?" · "Find me 50 kg to save."
Build (design issues, build steps): "What do the design checks flag?" · "What should I fix first?" · "In what order do I build this?"

Fix my layout in the VanPlot AI panel goes one step further: it fixes the worst issues and tells you what is left, as one undo step. If you only want the list, say "just list them, don't change anything".

How to read the answers: the thresholds behind them

The checks use fixed rules. These are the numbers in the planner's code:

Payload reserve (EN 1646-2): 10 × L + 10 × N + 75 × (P − 1) kg — L the length in metres, N the berths, P the travel seats (the driver is already in the kerb weight). A 6 m van with two berths and two seats keeps 60 + 20 + 75 = 155 kg free.
Axle split: the split of the load the conversion adds, not the axle load against the plate — the planner has no data on how the maker spreads the van's own weight. Good for comparing layouts.
Side balance: flagged when the load centre sits more than 18 cm off the centre line.
Heavy and high: over 30 kg more than 90 cm up is a warning; the assistant also flags tanks, batteries and fridges of 15 kg or more above 60 cm or behind the rear axle.
Walkway: 50 cm is tight but walkable, 60 cm lets you cook past someone; 60 cm to stand in front of a cabinet, kitchen or fridge; 45 cm of clear floor inside the sliding door.
Bed: under 1.85 m is too short for most adults; under 55 cm above the mattress there is no sit-up room, under 80 cm it is tight.
Systems: a battery within 30 cm of gas or a heater is a fix, a fridge within 20 cm of a heat source a warning; over 50 kg on the roof gets a tip (most panel vans are rated for about 100–150 kg).
Water: 10 litres per person per day.

What it can't check

The assistant can only read the layout you built. Three limits:

Weights you never entered. Catalog parts carry typical weights; a custom part or a heavier fridge is right only if you set its weight. Your gear counts once you fill in the loadout — until then the payload figure is optimistic, and the readiness list says so. Garbage in, garbage out.
The real van. Every number is a catalog estimate. The readiness list keeps one item open on purpose: weigh the finished van. A weighbridge ticket is the only number that counts, total and per axle.
Regulations. The payload calculator shows how close you are to 3,500 kg, where licence class B ends; neither it nor the assistant can tell you whether the conversion passes registration in your country.

It can also misread a vague question. If an answer surprises you, ask which check it came from, or open the Build Sheet and look.

What a check costs, and the free alternative

VanPlot AI is a beta feature of the lifetime licence (€36 / $39 once), with 50 credits included; the trial has no AI. Questions are the cheap end — usually 1–3 credits; in a cost probe, "add a bed and a kitchen" took 2. More credits come in one-time packs from €9 that never expire: credits explained, pricing.

Without a licence the maths is free: the payload calculator, the power sizer and water autonomy. The design checks, Build Sheet and weighbridge report work without the assistant too.

Check your own layout

Build a layout on the free trial — a Fiat Ducato, a Mercedes Sprinter or any of the 29 vans — then, with the licence, ask VanPlot AI "what do the design checks flag?". The VanPlot AI guide lists every command; planning a layout with AI covers editing, AI tools for van builds compares alternatives, and the payload reserve and weight distribution go deeper on weight.

Questions

Can AI check if my camper van is overweight?

Against the plan, yes. VanPlot AI reads the build report — weight against rated payload and the EN 1646-2 reserve, heaviest items named. Whether the finished van is overweight, only a weighbridge can say.

How do I check my van layout's axle loads?

Ask the assistant "what does the rear axle carry?" or read the Build Sheet: both give the front/rear split of the added load and its centre of mass. For real axle loads, weigh each axle and compare with the plate.

Does the AI guess the numbers?

No. The model writes the reply; every figure comes from the planner's own calculations, the code behind the payload bar and the design checks. A wrong item weight gives a wrong answer the same way.

What does Fix my layout check?

Weight and reserve, side balance, door entries, walkway, standing room, systems placement, the editor's design checks and missing safety kit, ranked fix, warn, tip. Then it fixes the worst, as one undo step.