Check your campervan payload — reserve & licence calculator
Two numbers decide whether a finished build is legal to drive loaded: the plated gross mass, and how much payload you left free for people, water, food and gear. Self-builds fail on the second one.
Pick your van and the numbers below fill themselves from a database of 197 variants.
Everything you add: furniture, insulation, tanks, batteries, gear.
Minimum payload reserve
155 kg
Available after your build
800 kg
Margin
+645 kg
Licence needed
B
Category B — the standard car licence
Your build leaves enough payload free.
Axle limits bite before the gross limit on garage-heavy builds. The VanPlot editor tracks front and rear axle loads live as you place things.
Planning figures, not certification. Standards are summarised for builders; your inspector, your van's plate and your own measurements always win.
How this is calculated
- EN 1646-2 sets the minimum payload a converter should leave free: 10 kg per metre of length + 10 kg per berth + 75 kg per travel seat.
- Available payload = plated gross mass − kerb weight − conversion weight. The margin is what is left after the reserve.
- Licence class from the plated mass: category B ends at 3,500 kg; C1 covers 3,500–7,500 kg.
Sources
- EN 1646-2 — Motor caravans: user payload
- EU driving licence categories (Directive 2006/126/EC)
- Mercedes-Benz Body & Equipment Guidelines; Ford Body & Equipment Mounting Manual
Questions builders ask
How much payload must a camper conversion leave free?
EN 1646-2 sets the minimum: 10 kg per metre of vehicle length + 10 kg per berth + 75 kg per travel seat. For a 6 m van with 2 berths and 2 seats that is 60 + 20 + 150 = 230 kg that must still be free after the conversion is weighed.
How do I calculate the payload of a converted van?
Available payload = plated gross mass (the top figure on the VIN plate) − kerb weight as delivered − everything you added. A 3,500 kg van with a 2,095 kg kerb weight and a 600 kg build leaves 805 kg; subtract the EN 1646-2 reserve and the rest is your margin.
Can I drive a 3,500 kg camper on a normal car licence?
Yes: category B covers vehicles up to 3,500 kg plated gross mass. Above that you need C1 (3,500–7,500 kg), which most drivers licensed after 1997 do not hold. Uprating a 3.5 t van therefore also changes who may drive it.
Keep reading
Plan the whole van, not just this number
VanPlot is a 3D layout planner for camper conversions. Place real components in your real van and watch weight, axle loads, power and cost update live — this calculator is one panel of it.
Who makes this
I'm Vladimir. I'm planning my own conversion, and none of the tools I tried could tell me whether a layout would fit or what it would do to the rear axle, so I made this one. I work on it alone. If something's wrong or missing, write to me — the address goes to my inbox.
Vladimir Šterjoski