Vehicle payload for camping: a worked example

By the Overlanding.info team · Updated 21 October 2026 · Sources checked 21 October 2026

The short answer

Your car has a maximum authorised mass: the most it may weigh on the road. Take away its mass in running order, the car ready to drive, and what's left is your payload. Passengers, luggage, water, camping kit and roof kit all use it up. The roof has its own limit, so check it separately. Use your own car's figures from its handbook or plate.

The weights you need

Maximum authorised mass (MAM) is, in GOV.UK's words, the weight of a vehicle "including the maximum load that can be carried safely" when it's used on the road. GOV.UK: vehicle weights explained also calls it gross vehicle weight.

Mass in running order is "the total weight of a vehicle when it's empty and ready to be used on the road". For cars, the same page says it includes the driver, the body and essential fluids "like oil and a full tank of fuel". That matters for the sums below: the driver is already counted in this figure.

Payload is not a number printed on the car. You work it out by taking the mass in running order away from the MAM. What's left is what you can add: passengers other than the driver, luggage, water, kit and anything on the roof. The gov.uk page doesn't give a payload figure, so this sum is your own.

Check the plate too. GOV.UK says a vehicle may be "down-plated", so that a lower weight is shown on its plate than the car could reach. Use the figure on the plate and in the handbook, not a higher one from a brochure.

Where to find each figure

• Maximum authorised mass: nidirect says it "will be listed in the owner's manual" and is normally shown on a plate or sticker fitted to the vehicle. nidirect: vehicle weights explained.
• Your registration certificate: nidirect says that on some vehicles the maximum weights are also listed on the registration certificate, the V5C(NI) in Northern Ireland. Check yours, but don't assume it has the figures. The gov.uk weights page doesn't mention the V5C at all.
• Mass in running order: start with the owner's manual. If the figure isn't there, ask the vehicle manufacturer rather than using a similar model's figure.
• Roof limit: the Thule guide says the maximum weight of a roof rack system "is determined by the vehicle itself", and to consult the vehicle manufacturer for the vehicle's maximum. Thule: what you can use your roof rack for. Escapade says the same: check the owner's manual or ask the manufacturer.

Why roof load is a separate check

Payload tells you what the car can carry in total. The roof has its own limit, and it's checked on its own. Escapade, a roof tent retailer, explains that the dynamic roof load is the weight the roof can carry while the car is moving, and that the static figure matters for a tent used while parked. It says the limit must cover the combined weight of the roof tent, any gear and any accessories. Escapade 4x4: understanding dynamic roof load limits.

So a load can pass the payload check and still fail on the roof. Don't work out a roof figure from your payload, or a static figure from a dynamic one. Use the figures your handbook and bar maker give for each. For the tent itself, see will a roof tent fit my car.

Worked example: a made-up car

Example car, not a real model: every figure below is made up to show the method. Your car's figures will be different, so use your own vehicle's figures from its handbook and plate.

Example car figures (made up):

Load to add (made up):

The total load of 280 kg is within the example's payload of 400 kg, with 120 kg to spare. The roof tent and bars count towards the payload because the car carries them.

The roof check is separate. The example's roof limit is also made up, at 75 kg. The 80 kg roof tent and bars are over it, so this example load passes the payload check and fails the roof check. Check the roof limit in the handbook and with the bar maker, then change the setup, for example by moving kit off the roof and into the car.

For your own car, work through the same steps:

1. Write down the MAM and mass in running order from your handbook or plate.
2. Subtract to get your payload.
3. List everything you'll carry, including passengers, luggage, water, kit and roof kit.
4. Compare the total with your payload.
5. Compare the roof kit on its own with your roof limit.

For the wider checks before a trip, see the overland vehicle prep checklist and choosing a car for roof tent camping. For packing the load itself, see packing your car for camping.

FAQs

Next: work out your roof figures

Once you have your handbook figures, check the weight of your roof kit with the roof load checker.

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