Telephone call to local MOT station yesterday.....
....'Hello. I"m just ringing to see if you're able to do an MOT test on a 24 foot motorhome.'
"Yes, we can do motorhomes. What is the weight?"
'Can't remember exactly off the top of my head but it's no more than 3 tons.'
"How big?"
'24' long and 10' high.'
"What make?"
'Autotrail.'
"I no know Autotrail....tell me weight."
'Ok, it's built on a Fiat Ducato chassis. Does that help describe it?'
"How long is........."
I hung up at that point.
2nd phone call to a different MOT station 7 miles away......
'Hello. Can you manage a test on a motorhome?'
"Yes, we do lots of them. How big is it?"
'24' long and 10' high.'
"Ok, that's fine. Just so long as it's not one of those giant American things. If you can be here in 45 minutes, I'll do it straight away."
'I'll be there. Thanks.'
30 minutes later......'Hello. I'm the guy who rang about the motorhome test.'
"Ok. Just find somewhere out there to park but you better stay with it as there's loads of trucks in and out of this area. I'll be with you in 5 minutes."
25 minutes later....."Right, just drive it to the roller door and we'll deal with it from there."
'OK.'
1 minute later......
"Can't do it mate; it's too big for our ramp!"
'You said on the phone you could do it?'
"Yeah but I didn't realise it was this big."
I had to bite my lip at that point but I think there may have been a suspicion of anger or frustration on my face or perhaps it was the rather intimidating size of my son next to me but he kindly offered to book it in at another place he knew could definitely accommodate my truck.
The "Oh, it's a definite mate...trust me, they can do it!" turned out to me a further 10 miles away in Slough!
To curtail this rambling anecdote, it took a further 2 hours from arrival at their reception to finally walking out with a certificate and a CC bill for £54. By the time I got back to my village, the Post Office had closed so I'm off now to purchase myself some road fund licence.
Reflecting on yesterday's events, it occurred to me that perhaps I should have described my vehicle dimensions in metric form as 24 feet may mean nothing to some cretin.....sorry, Croatian...with English as a second language.
So far, today has been a good day!
V Meldrew (aka Indalo)
....'Hello. I"m just ringing to see if you're able to do an MOT test on a 24 foot motorhome.'
"Yes, we can do motorhomes. What is the weight?"
'Can't remember exactly off the top of my head but it's no more than 3 tons.'
"How big?"
'24' long and 10' high.'
"What make?"
'Autotrail.'
"I no know Autotrail....tell me weight."
'Ok, it's built on a Fiat Ducato chassis. Does that help describe it?'
"How long is........."
I hung up at that point.
2nd phone call to a different MOT station 7 miles away......
'Hello. Can you manage a test on a motorhome?'
"Yes, we do lots of them. How big is it?"
'24' long and 10' high.'
"Ok, that's fine. Just so long as it's not one of those giant American things. If you can be here in 45 minutes, I'll do it straight away."
'I'll be there. Thanks.'
30 minutes later......'Hello. I'm the guy who rang about the motorhome test.'
"Ok. Just find somewhere out there to park but you better stay with it as there's loads of trucks in and out of this area. I'll be with you in 5 minutes."
25 minutes later....."Right, just drive it to the roller door and we'll deal with it from there."
'OK.'
1 minute later......
"Can't do it mate; it's too big for our ramp!"
'You said on the phone you could do it?'
"Yeah but I didn't realise it was this big."
I had to bite my lip at that point but I think there may have been a suspicion of anger or frustration on my face or perhaps it was the rather intimidating size of my son next to me but he kindly offered to book it in at another place he knew could definitely accommodate my truck.
The "Oh, it's a definite mate...trust me, they can do it!" turned out to me a further 10 miles away in Slough!
To curtail this rambling anecdote, it took a further 2 hours from arrival at their reception to finally walking out with a certificate and a CC bill for £54. By the time I got back to my village, the Post Office had closed so I'm off now to purchase myself some road fund licence.
Reflecting on yesterday's events, it occurred to me that perhaps I should have described my vehicle dimensions in metric form as 24 feet may mean nothing to some cretin.....sorry, Croatian...with English as a second language.
So far, today has been a good day!
V Meldrew (aka Indalo)
