What’s the point of hubodometers?

Forums › Transport (cars, bikes and boats) › What’s the point of hubodometers?

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#3175934 28-Dec-2023 10:40

scuwp:

...intended for commercial transport operators, just simplified entry criteria to match the definition of a 'heavy vehicle' which captures motorhomes..

This ^^

There's a review underway whether 'medium' weight motorhomes like yours (above 3,500KG - below 6,000KG Gross Laden Weight) that can be driven on a Class 1 license should be moved into the light vehicle category for certification purposes.

This is particularly to address engineering requirements. At the moment any serious modifications (seats, seatbelt mounts, towbars, steering etc) require the work to be done by a Heavy Vehicle Specialist Certifier - an LT400 issued, and the mod added to the NZTA's Landata system.

Theoretically this meant Heavy Vehicles would be engineered to high standards.

Unfortunately some cowboy HVSC's did substandard work with consequent failures of brakes, steering and particularly towbars (ahem Peter Wastney Engineering) requiring thousands of Heavy vehicles to be taken off the road for re-certing and in some cases written off.

This sudden scrutiny of Heavy Vehicle mods put the Fear of God into CoF inspectors, who - in a knee jerk reaction - began to fail any Heavy Vehicle that appeared to be modified but didn't show in Landata (front seats replaced - fail, rust repair to cab - fail etc).

A big issue turned out to be cutaway cab motorhomes. If there wasn't an original manufacturer's plate attached, or LT400 in the system for the modifications, they were failed. This meant that many motorhomes (& horse carriers) built on Euro or Jap truck cabs in NZ - which had been passing CoF's for 20 years or more - failed, with no recourse (HVSC's are unlikely to certify someone else's work 20 years later..)

'Light" vehicles in NZ are certified by Low Volume Vehicle Certifiers, a group of engineers overseen by the Low Volume Vehicle Technical Association.
These guys are all around the country doing individual vehicle mods (like LH to RHD conversions, installing lift-kits, roof chops, anything that affects braking, frontal impact standards, door retention, body structure etc.)

The above review is likely to move motorhomes <6 tonne GLW from HVSC to LVV engineering standards, making re-certifying existing medium weight motorhomes, ongoing modifications and new builds much simpler. It's been held up for quite a while now due to reviews and consultations around RUC's and other rule changes - which appear to be heading towards a comprehensive and large combined suite of changes in the one legislative package.

TLDR: Your VW Crafter may be using its odometer for e-RUC's before too long..

tweake

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#3175947 28-Dec-2023 11:42

Sidestep:

There's a review underway whether 'medium' weight motorhomes like yours (above 3,500KG - below 6,000KG Gross Laden Weight) that can be driven on a Class 1 license should be moved into the light vehicle category for certification purposes.

'Light" vehicles in NZ are certified by Low Volume Vehicle Certifiers, a group of engineers overseen by the Low Volume Vehicle Technical Association.
These guys are all around the country doing individual vehicle mods (like LH to RHD conversions, installing lift-kits, roof chops, anything that affects braking, frontal impact standards, door retention, body structure etc.)

The above review is likely to move motorhomes <6 tonne GLW from HVSC to LVV engineering standards, making re-certifying existing medium weight motorhomes, ongoing modifications and new builds much simpler. It's been held up for quite a while now due to reviews and consultations around RUC's and other rule changes - which appear to be heading towards a comprehensive and large combined suite of changes in the one legislative package.

TLDR: Your VW Crafter may be using its odometer for e-RUC's before too long..

do you know why the cof was set at 3500kg originally?

it will make it interesting for the LVVT. remember they come from the hotrod background. the amount they deal with is rather small compared to the amount of medium weight vehicles.

but it would be good news for tradies etc who use small trucks if they go to WOF instead of COF.

halper86

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#3175987 28-Dec-2023 14:12

In short - Heavy vehicles pay RUC in classes by weight. The heavier the vehicle (including trailer, which is why they have their own hubos) the more they pay.

Trailer units pay their own RUC charges as they may not always be in tow.

-edit- for clarity, truck and trailer units are independent of each other for RUC.

BlakJak

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#3175988 28-Dec-2023 14:13

https://www.motorhomesforsale.co.nz/blog/guide-cof-and-wof-for-motorhomes

Heavy vehicle has more risk so more extensive checking requirements.

No signature to see here, move along...

Sidestep

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#3175999 28-Dec-2023 14:31

tweake:

do you know why the cof was set at 3500kg originally?

it will make it interesting for the LVVT. remember they come from the hotrod background. the amount they deal with is rather small compared to the amount of medium weight vehicles.

but it would be good news for tradies etc who use small trucks if they go to WOF instead of COF.

At the moment it's looking like just motorhomes and other 'special' transport vehicles rather than goods vehicles.

Tradies will still be doing CoF's on their trucks, light motorhomes maybe not.

I'm not sure of the history of the 3,500kg rating, but don't think it's a co-incidence that's also the cut off for the UK & much of Europe.
Looking back, NZ has followed UK's weight limits since back when trucks were measured in CWT (Hundredweight).

In North America particularly 'pickup trucks' have been getting progressively heavier since WW2.
I've previously imported what were rated at 3/4 ton (#2500) and 1 ton (#3500) Dodge and Ford pickup trucks to NZ.

They were all over the 3,500Kg cut off, so compulsary RHD coversions and CoF's, much more picky on any modifications.

They were, however, given Hubodometer exemptions.

The exemption's not given for cosmetic reasons, but it would have been difficult to mount the Hubodometers on the axles without removing the factory hubcaps - which the factory engineers helpfully called 'wheel protectors' fitted for preventing corrosion that might affect locating the hub-centric rims.

LVVT certifiers do far more than hotrods nowadays.

Shops doing disability conversions, suspension and drivetrain modifications, light passenger vehicle work and much more are working under LVV regs.
As vehicle engineering and safety standards have got progressively more complicated they've had to get more training and knowledge of modern systems, and the Government's introduced more restrictions on what unpermitted modifications are allowed.

The ones I've used have been pretty serious and knowlegable engineers.

tweake

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#3176010 28-Dec-2023 15:11

thanks for that.

i wonder how many motorhomes are built here at the mo. if thats going to increase lVVT workload a lot.

if the are doing a round of changes i hope they do some changes changes to light trailer regs and drag them into the modern age.

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#3176011 28-Dec-2023 15:24

One change I would like to see is that every trailer has rear mounted stop/tail/indicator lights on both sides.

Ge0rge

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#3176012 28-Dec-2023 15:24

tweake:
if the are doing a round of changes i hope they do some changes changes to light trailer regs and drag them into the modern age.

At risk of total thread derailment, what changes would you like to see and why?

tweake

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#3176032 28-Dec-2023 16:35

Ge0rge:

At risk of total thread derailment, what changes would you like to see and why?

tow vehicle abide by manufactures tow spec. ie if ute is 700kg max unbraked towing then any trailer with load above that requires brakes. it gets rid of the "stop in 7m at 30kmh" rule that is almost never enforced. especially as all manufactures publish tow data these days.

allow 3500kg light trailers inertia systems. its done now but only under exemption. (thats from UK regs which we seam to follow).

reduce the braking distance for trailers. trailer braking needs to match the vehicles ability. at the moment utes can stop quicker than the trailer can. the tech difference between them is massive.

braking on all axles for braked trailers. again its about difference in braking abilities.

abs and stability control for trailers. shock absorbers for trailers. bit of a wish list but many utes have trailer stability control but no trailer to use it. abs is available, again its about matching the tow vehicle. shocks are legal requirement in some euro countries.

i would like to some sort of wof testing for brake performance. very common to see brakes detuned to reduce braking to reduce wear and maintenance.

Geektastic

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#3176065 28-Dec-2023 19:06

Eitsop:
They should just replace with electronic/GPS unit could do multi functions

assist with driver logs, so they don't exceed hours etc

monitor speed, so they don't go over speed limit

logs for diesel

tolls

Then, when a policeman pulls truck over.. they could assess immediately, hours since last stop, speed etc

Actually , I see cars going that way as well.. especially for EVs

European truck drivers have had to use electronic tacographs (and before that units that recorded on paper discs) for many decades for exactly those reasons.

Geektastic

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#3176066 28-Dec-2023 19:11

Sidestep:
scuwp:

...intended for commercial transport operators, just simplified entry criteria to match the definition of a 'heavy vehicle' which captures motorhomes..

This ^^

There's a review underway whether 'medium' weight motorhomes like yours (above 3,500KG - below 6,000KG Gross Laden Weight) that can be driven on a Class 1 license should be moved into the light vehicle category for certification purposes.

This is particularly to address engineering requirements. At the moment any serious modifications (seats, seatbelt mounts, towbars, steering etc) require the work to be done by a Heavy Vehicle Specialist Certifier - an LT400 issued, and the mod added to the NZTA's Landata system.

Theoretically this meant Heavy Vehicles would be engineered to high standards.

Unfortunately some cowboy HVSC's did substandard work with consequent failures of brakes, steering and particularly towbars (ahem Peter Wastney Engineering) requiring thousands of Heavy vehicles to be taken off the road for re-certing and in some cases written off.

This sudden scrutiny of Heavy Vehicle mods put the Fear of God into CoF inspectors, who - in a knee jerk reaction - began to fail any Heavy Vehicle that appeared to be modified but didn't show in Landata (front seats replaced - fail, rust repair to cab - fail etc).

A big issue turned out to be cutaway cab motorhomes. If there wasn't an original manufacturer's plate attached, or LT400 in the system for the modifications, they were failed. This meant that many motorhomes (& horse carriers) built on Euro or Jap truck cabs in NZ - which had been passing CoF's for 20 years or more - failed, with no recourse (HVSC's are unlikely to certify someone else's work 20 years later..)

'Light" vehicles in NZ are certified by Low Volume Vehicle Certifiers, a group of engineers overseen by the Low Volume Vehicle Technical Association.
These guys are all around the country doing individual vehicle mods (like LH to RHD conversions, installing lift-kits, roof chops, anything that affects braking, frontal impact standards, door retention, body structure etc.)

The above review is likely to move motorhomes <6 tonne GLW from HVSC to LVV engineering standards, making re-certifying existing medium weight motorhomes, ongoing modifications and new builds much simpler. It's been held up for quite a while now due to reviews and consultations around RUC's and other rule changes - which appear to be heading towards a comprehensive and large combined suite of changes in the one legislative package.

TLDR: Your VW Crafter may be using its odometer for e-RUC's before too long..

Interesting. Thanks. It would certainly make sense to me to make such a change.

It would be good to see a lot of these things tied to number plates and thus to be able to do away with the pack of playing cards cluttering up the windscreen!

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Rust

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#3176072 28-Dec-2023 20:23

Off topic (I apologize in advance), but this may be relevant to the OP if your motorhome is from between 2007 - 2017.

The VW Crafter 50 model 2FL2 motorhomes from that year range have been experiencing a major issue with B-pillar cracks. If that's not you then awesome, otherwise read on.

COF inspectors have been instructed to specifically look for these cracks. They have the discretion to pass the vehicle one time if they deem the cracks to be minor, but they are required to note in Landata that cracks have been sighted.

An approved repair has just recently been made available on the RepairCertNZ website. Here is the link.

This is a faily invasive (and costly) repair and I certainly hope it does not affect you.

Geektastic

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#3176078 28-Dec-2023 21:44

Fortunately ours is 2020 so fingers crossed that we won’t be dealing with that!

Sounds nasty if you get it though.

Rust

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#3176118 29-Dec-2023 11:15

Happy for you that yours is outside the year range. Yes, it has been a rather unpleasant experience for those affected.

K8Toledo

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#3176289 30-Dec-2023 09:24

Geektastic: We just bought a Motorhome fitted with one.

I know it legally requires one but I’m struggling to work out why. The vehicle is based on a VW Crafter and it tracks its mileage perfectly accurately in the usual way, as does the servicing agent and the COF agent.

I cannot see the necessity for the hubodometer. Why is it required?

@Geektastic

Ex Truck Driver here. :)

-Truck Drivers record the truck/tractor unit hubometer, (not odometer) reading when filling in a Log Book.

Tare Weight is the unladen weight of the vehicle.

Gross Vehicle Weight is the maximum weight, including Tare Weight, the weight of passengers, fuel, and cargo a vehicle is designed for, as specified by the manufacturer.

Gross Laden Weight is the actual weight of the vehicle at any given time, as it would read on a set of scales.

Every vehicle over 3.5 tonnes needing a RUC licence, must be fitted with an approved hubodometer or an approved electronic distance recorder.

-From NZTA site.

What NZTA haven't made clear is that "3.5 tonnes" refers to the GVW (Gross Vehicle Weight), not the Tare Weight (Unladen Weight) of the vehicle.

Assuming your van weighs ~1,500kg, the gross weight would be around 4,000kg.

The VW Crafter is diesel (subject to RUC's) with a GVW (Gross Vehicle Weight) of at least 3.5T, and therefore requires a hubometer.

Vehicles with a GVW of at least 3.5T are classed as Heavy Vehicles, and years ago Heavy Vehicles required at least a Class 2 (HT) license to operate.

The law was amended to account (afaik) in part for the increasing number of motorhomes that were imported or built on chassis designed to carry well over 3.5T.

Currently, motorhomes with a GVW of 6T, but a GLW (actual weight) of 4.5T or less can be driven by someone holding a Class 1 car license.

Without the amendment many motorhome owners in NZ would need to obtain Class 2 or Class 3 combination vehicle license.

FWIW....most of the braking (say ~85%) on Truck and Trailer/Semi/B-Trains is done by the trailer(s).

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