Illegal and Dangerous – the Overweight Splitter Van
The title says it all – you’ve done a quick budget, booked a splitter van, and your artist is ready to hit the road in one of these workhorses. The concert tour manager (CTM) then tells you the splitter van is going to be overweight – and the transport costs are going to increase.
The splitter van will be overweight.
Your artist is facing extra costs because the splitter will almost certainly be overweight. But why?
I have detailed the technical explanation below; the short version is an empty splitter van is not far off the Gross Vehicle Weight1 (GVW) permitted on the road. The musicians, crew, backline, and merch will almost certainly tip the total weight of the van over permitted levels.
As well as being illegal, the overweight splitter will:
- Cost more in diesel. The engine is using more fuel because it is working harder.
- Cost money in fines. Roadside fines for overweight splitter vans are common in Europe (I have been ‘pulled’ more than once over there) with fines of up to €1000 a time.
- Require a larger distance to brake safely. The vehicle’s safe operation is limited to a certain load, which is why weight limits exist. If a splitter van is overweight, the brakes are significantly less effective. An overloaded vehicle will be much slower to stop or slow down.
- Cause a lot more damage in an accident. If the vehicle hits something while carrying excess mass, it will inflict more damage on itself and anyone else involved.
- Be more likely to break down. Excess weight can contribute to mechanical issues, such as causing a rear wheel rim to crack.
- Be prevented from onward travel2 (in the UK). This is the main reason I’m posting this here. Your artist will miss the gig if this happens.
The splitter is overweight – what can I do?
Faced with an overweight van, your CTM is going to insist on solutions – most of which will cost money, some require planning, and all are inconvenient.
Solutions that cost money
The following solutions will cost money.
Rent a separate backline van.
A simple Transit-style van for the backline, luggage, and merch is the simplest, and most expensive, option for your overweight splitter. You will need to pay another driver, and double for diesel, parking, road tolls, etc.
Rent an older or smaller (medium wheelbase) splitter van.
Older splitters tend not to have the same level of luxury – super-comfy leather seats, wide-screen TV’s, massive A/V systems and so on, and so may be lighter when empty. Medium-wheelbase vans will also be lighter when empty.
However, older vans are usually not as fuel-efficient, so cost more in fuel, and will probably not have a ‘Euro 6’ – low emission zone (LEZ) compliant engine. The artist will therefore have to pay LEZ charges when visiting certain cities on the tour.
Drop-ship your merch to each venue.
Sending boxes of merch to each venue on the tour might be a solution if your artist sells a great deal of merch. I am sure that drop-shipping costs will wipe out their profits. Please let me know if you have experience with this.
Put money in the budget to pay fines.
Setting aside the safety aspect of being overweight, you/the tour manager should put money in the budget for fines to take care of the legal implications. Traffic police in Belgium, the Netherlands, and France, can easily spot a splitter with a UK registration and know it will probably be overweight.
Put money in the budget to get the backline weighed.
Somehow you must determine the weight of the backline. It may be less than you think; in which case, happy days. However, the combined weight of all the gear is probably a lot more than the permissible payload. And you can’t afford to take chances, so you need the accurate weight.
Music freight logistics companies such as Rock-It Cargo, EFM, and Freight Minds, will help find out the weight of the backline. They can weigh and measure the backline at the artists’ lockup or rehearsal studio. They will also register the equipment’s serial numbers.
This will be useful in creating a carnet if you don’t have one already.
Drive slowly and carefully.
Driving carefully may mitigate some of the safety implications of the over-laden vehicle, and may cause the artist to be late for load in, sound check, or even the gig itself. Which may cost money.
Solutions that don’t cost money.
The following might not cost much, if anything, to implement and are inconvenient.
Back up the tour manager.
The tour manager is going to have to insist that music artists and crew cannot bring too much luggage. They are also going to inventory the equipment (see below) to make suggestions about what can and cannot go in the van. This may cause resentment and disagreements; get behind the tour manager and back them up in enforcing any restrictions.
Leave equipment behind.
There has always been superfluous equipment on every tour I have ever done. I am not talking about spares in the event of breakdown and malfunction of music gear. I mean extras – stuff packed in the van, ‘just in case’. Music artists taking extra recording equipment for dressing room sessions, or all the stage fans, kettles, dressing room heaters that get lugged about (and never used), for instance.
The concert tour manager, backline techs, and musicians need to be ruthless in losing as much equipment as possible to reduce the payload.
Lose flight cases.
Empty flight cases are still heavy. So are empty Peli cases. Protecting the equipment is good, and you would be surprised at the number of half-empty Peli cases you find on the back of concert transportation. Again, get the backline techs to consolidate cases wherever possible. Seriously, every kilogram counts if trying to get the payload down.
Limit personal luggage.
I mentioned this above. Nine suitcases weighing 20kg each is nearly 200kg of your possible 700kg payload. The tour manager and you need to persuade everyone to bring fewer clothes.
Cut down on merch.
And that’s not really an option, is it? But can you eliminate some of the stock? Or big, heavy merch boards? It’s either this or finding the money for a trailer.
Conclusion
I’m sorry I’ve not offered a ‘silver bullet’ one-size-fits-all solution to the issue. It’s good to be aware though, and any concert tour manager with experience is going to bring this to your attention, anyway.
Basically, you must assume the splitter van is going to be overweight. You should then make sure that everyone in the touring party is aware of the situation before the tour starts, preferably while you are still completing the budget/list of predicted expenses (LPE).
It will also help to:
- Get all the gear weighed.
- Ask the van hire company for the difference between the vehicle’s empty weight (or mass in running order) and the GVW. You will then know how much weight you have to play with.
- Request the weights of any rental equipment from suppliers.
- Leave some “wiggle room” for unexpected additions, such as a case of beer.😉
You could also ask for the weights of the passengers, and that may go too far. The average weight of a UK adult is nearly 80Kg3 and I would use that for my calculations. Do make sure you and the CTM insist on everyone bringing as little luggage as possible.
Overweight transport for music – the technical details.
I case you need to tell someone, here are the reasons your splitter is probably overweight.
- Defined Limits and Calculation
Gross Vehicle Weight (GVW): Most splitter vans have a maximum GVW of 3.5 tonnes (3,500 kg), which is the maximum legal weight the entire vehicle—including all passengers and gear—can be on the road. This is the largest vehicle one can drive on a standard UK/EU license4.
Payload Limitation: The critical metric is the payload, which is the difference between the vehicle’s empty weight (or ‘mass in running order’) and the GVW. For example, a vehicle with a 3.5-ton GVW that weighs 2.8 tons empty has a payload of only 700 kilos for people and kit. The combined weight of nine people at an average of 70KG each is going to eat up that payload and leave no weight allowance for backline and merch.
- Consequences of Overloading
If police or a Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency (DVSA) officer stop a van at a weigh station and find it overweight, the tour plans are immediately affected.
Immediate immobilisation will probably stop the vehicle from being driven further until it meets legal weight restrictions.
The driver at the time also faces fines, potential points on their license, or, in extreme cases, charges of dangerous driving. In severe examples of being significantly overweight (e.g., 300% over the limit), drivers could risk having their license taken away.
- https://www.gov.uk/vehicle-weights-explained ↩︎
- https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/guide-to-graduated-fixed-penalties-financial-deposits/dvsa-roadside-checks-fines-and-financial-deposits ↩︎
- https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/obesity-profile-may-2025-update/obesity-profile-short-statistical-commentary-may-2025 ↩︎
- https://www.neonstreet.net/a-guide-to-touring-in-a-splitter-van/ ↩︎