Motor home tuning

Expand your dreams for your life

Conversions and attachments: The modern nomad's imagination knows no limits. Nonetheless, safety comes first. For you to go on holiday and come back without any trouble, TÜV NORD Mobilität answers all questions regarding enhancements of mobile homes in terms of comfort, luxury and recreation.

Handicrafts guide

Attach, convert and assemble:
Your dream mobile home

Cosy shell or mobile villa? Everyone has their own ideas about a perfect home on wheels. Accordingly popular are caravans with do-it-yourself features. These range from modular, compact kitchens through seating corners right up to matching designer beds. Manufacturers continually work on developing new accessories to offer mobile home enthusiasts an ever broader spectrum of items.

A major transformation: This is how a vehicle turns into a mobile home
Mobile homes are subject to separate tax rates, insurance premiums and provisions. But when is a mobile home a mobile home? In the 1970s, students drove around the world in run-down, converted mini-buses. The new mega campers have more to offer. But when is a mobile home a mobile home? The minimum requirements can be found in a VdTÜV specification:

• Seating area with table
  Even the smallest mobile home has a seating area. Also needed here is a table. This can be removed, or folded or turned away.
• Sweet dreams
  As you sleep, so shall you drive: Minimum sleeping comfort is afforded already by a foldable seat provided that it results in a sufficiently flat resting area at least 1.8 m x 0.7 m in size.
• Meals on wheels
  Important creature comforts: Sink unit, gas cooker, waste water drain. Of importance here is efficient handling and adequate space for kitchen utensils in confined spaces. If the cooker is not to be firmly installed, it should be located in the living area at a spot suitable in terms of safety and operation. The cooker must be approved for interiors.
• Out of sight, into the cabinet
  The usual car storage spaces, glove compartment, and boot are not enough. The cupboard or storage space must offer ample space for clothes and food.
• No insecure items during travel
  During sudden braking, loose items can turn into dangerous projectiles. Fittings, except for the table, must be firmly installed and designed so as to minimize hazards and consequential injury in the event of an accident.

The living area must have a homely atmosphere. For vehicles without adequate minimum facilities for campers or with removable residential facilities, nothing changes; they will continue to be classified as a car or lorry.

How to deal with the tax office
The motor vehicle tax for motor homes is calculated based on the pollutant output and the total weight of the vehicle. Your mobile home is taxed as a camper, if

• the floor area of the residential part takes up the vast majority of vehicle useable space,
• in the stove and sink area, the headroom is at least 170 cm,
• the stove is built-in.
  If a camper meets only the registration requirements for campers, it is considered a car and is taxed according to engine size and emissions.
  More information about the rates can be found on the homepage of the Federal Finance Ministry at http://www.bundesfinanzministerium.de/ or at the local tax office.

Keep an eye on stability
Is your mobile home robust enough? All vehicle manufacturers have specific guidelines governing the stability and mounting of a motor vehicle's fittings. If you remove or modify load-bearing body components, the vehicle manufacturer might have to review approval of the resultant changes.

Exterior fittings should comprise flame-resistant materials. Furthermore, these materials should be resistant to splintering. Evaluations here are performed on the basis of guidelines governing safety glass and similar standards.

Do you listen to your passengers?
Hear, hear! Make sure that you as the driver can converse unimpeded with passengers in the living area. Sign language or loud knocking will not suffice in hazardous situations.

Let me out
When the situation becomes dangerous, all passengers want to get out as quickly as possible. Passengers should have a choice of at least two different escape routes located on different sides of the vehicle. Escape routes can comprise doors, windows and hatches with an aperture of at least 0.65 m². The minimum width is 0.5 m, the minimum height 1 m.

Windows for passengers
Passengers in the living area should have a sufficiently good view: One window each should be present on at least two of the vehicle's sides and rear. At least one of these windows should be located in the living area. If the living area and driver's compartment are joined, one window at the rear or on the side suffices.
If partitioned from the driver's compartment, the living area should be furnished with at least one window on either side and at the rear.
Deviations from these guidelines are permissible if the living area is adequately illuminated.

Windows should provide a proper view
All windows require design approval and a certification symbol.

Ready access
All entrances must be safely usable; the bottom step of any entrance must not be higher than 500 mm. If you want a separate entrance door for the living area, it should be built in on the vehicle's right-hand side. In the case of double-doors, the forward door wing as viewed in the direction of travel must overlap the rear door wing.

Will there be no separate door for the driver? Then make sure that the driver's seat is quickly and easily accessible from the living area. Moreover, the living area's seats should be quickly and easily accessible from outside and the driver's compartment.

Ventilation during journeys
Ensure plenty of fresh air. The driver's compartment and living area should be adequately ventilated. On no account must the ventilation system be connected to the exhaust system, auxiliary heating or liquid-gas system.

Ensure comfortable and secure furnishings
What use is the nicest furnishing if everything is destroyed in an accident? So, think practically. In the event of an accident, the danger and extent of injury should be minimized. Lockable cabinets and drawers prevent crockery and other loose articles from flying around. All materials should be flame-resistant, and the floor panelling should be anti-skid.

Secure seating
The number of seats which may be occupied during travel depends on the

• +permissible payload
• permissible total weight
• mobile home's initial date of registration and
• each individual seat's safety features

For vehicles initially registered before 1992:
All seats need adequate retention features such as

• seat belts with certified designs and sufficiently strong belt anchorage points for seats not possessing any padded supports
• suitable supports on seats aligned transversely with respect to the direction of travel
• headrests on seats facing opposite to the direction of travel

Vehicles initially registered after January 1, 1992 require

• seat belts with certified designs and tested belt anchorage points for all seats facing the direction of travel; three-point belts for the outermost, front seats; long lap belts for the remaining seats
• All other seating configurations are governed by the aforementioned specifications. Seats which may not be used during travel must be appropriately marked.

In the case of mobile homes initially registered after 1st January 1992, all seats facing in the direction of travel require safety belts with a certified design and tested belt anchorage points, more specifically:

• three-point belts on the outer, front seats
• lap belts on the remaining seats

Since October 1, 1999, newly registered mobile homes have required:

• 3-point automatic belts on the outer, front seats facing in the direction of travel
• 3-point automatic belts on the outer, rear seats facing in the direction of travel, if the mobile home's total permissible weight does not exceed 2.5 t
• lap belts with a certified design and tested belt anchorage points for all other seats facing in or opposite to the direction of travel

Seats facing transversely with respect to the direction of travel should be dispensed with, as they are not safe enough.

Auxiliary heating
The auxiliary heater's design must be certified. Ensure that the heater is installed according to the relevant instructions. It is best to leave installation to an expert. The factory label and test symbol must remain clearly legible at all times, also following installation. Whether installation needs to be inspected for compliance with guidelines is specified in the design certificate.

Proper gas supply
All liquid-gas components and equipment – including heaters running on liquid gas – must comply with the requirements of DVGW worksheet G 607.
Experts at our TÜV-STATIONS will gladly check such equipment for compliance and correct installation. This kind of equipment needs to be inspected every two years.

Electrical equipment
Working on electrical equipment can be dangerous. The fire and explosion hazards posed by short-circuit and overload are often underestimated. Your electrical installations must comply with VDE guidelines; this applies especially to 230-V systems.

The important fifth wheel on the vehicle
Externally mounted spare wheels must be secured by two independent mechanisms. Important: Avoid injury by sharp edges.

Assured safety
Conversions to a vehicle result in a new type of vehicle and invalidate the original certification. Have your new home on wheels inspected and approved by an expert from TÜV NORD.