Compliance Plates

Getting a compliance plate affixed to your new motorhome.

Firstly, you'll need to find an automotive engineer who is qualified to re-certify your bus. You can either browse the Yellow-pages, or even ring the transport department, and they will refer you on to a choice of inspectors.

The good news is, the inspector will come to you. We simply called an referred inspector and established an appointment with him, and he came out to where our bus was garaged, inspected the vehicle, and affixed the compliance plate and provided the certificate.

At the time, it cost us around $200 for the compliance inspection. This inspection is mostly about seatbelts, any re-engineering like raising the roof or other structural changes or modifications you have made.

If you are contemplating raising the roof line, then you must liase with an engineer who will oversee the construction process. They will need to visually inspect the structural changes before you begin rivetting the sheets on, so stay in touch with the engineer, or be prepared to start removing trim at inspetion time.

How frustrating would it be to arrange an inspection on your new DIY motorhome that you raised the roof 10 inches on, only to find that the engineer must sight the frame and welds etc before he will pass it. What a bummer removing cupboards and fixtures, not to mention the sheeting and windows just so he can see your bodgy welding attempts!

Basically, if there are to be structural changes other than adding cupboards, beds and fixtures, then contact a certified engineer first. They are very helpful, although terse and to the point.