Category B: motorhomes up to 4.25 tonnes · VanLife Weekly #38

A lot happened in the world of motorhomes last week: the EU approved a rule that will let holders of an ordinary category B licence drive a motorhome of up to 4.25 tonnes, police in one town on Ibiza issued 41 fines of 30,000 euros each for overnight stays in the fields, ten Chinese government bodies scrapped the mandatory service life for small motorhomes, and the richest man in the world said he had moved into a trailer next to his data centre.

Europe raises the category B ceiling from 3.5 to 4.25 tonnes

For years motorhome owners have been running into a single number — 3,500 kilograms. That is the upper limit for a category B driving licence, the one almost everyone has. A heavier vehicle requires category C1: separate training, a medical check and regular renewal, in many countries every five years once you are over 50. The new European driving licence directive (EU) 2025/2205 moves that line: last week Balkan and French outlets went through how the ceiling is being raised to 4,250 kilograms specifically for motorhomes, and with a trailer the combined weight may reach 5,000 kilograms.

It will not come for free. To earn the right to a heavier vehicle you will have to take extra training or pass a separate test — each country decides for itself what exactly to require, and in some cases it will be both. A service marking will appear on the licence — code 96.02. In France the camper owners' federation FFCC discussed the details with the road authorities on 9 September: the thinking there is seven hours of training with no new exam, and the directive has to be written into French law by November 2027. One simple but awkward question is still open: what to train on and who gets accredited, since driving schools currently have no training motorhomes.

It is not that people suddenly wanted bigger vehicles. Campers have grown heavier by themselves: traction batteries, a boiler, a full water tank, solar panels and a garage for two e-bikes easily eat up the whole gap between unladen weight and the permitted maximum. As a result, a family of four with full tanks often sets off already overloaded — and that means not only a fine at a roadside check, but also the risk that the insurer starts asking questions after an accident. The extra 750 kilograms close exactly that gap, and manufacturers will almost certainly start building versions designed for 4.25 tonnes from the outset.

In brief

• China, state support: ten government bodies led by the Ministry of Culture and Tourism scrapped the mandatory service life for small motorhomes in private use, raised it from 15 to 25 years for rental vehicles and from 15 to 20 years for caravans. They also promise to build parking areas and expand the network of driving test centres.
• China, market: sales of self-propelled motorhomes in the country passed 20,000 vehicles in a year for the first time, with compact campers for short trips up 85.6% and electric and hybrid models for long journeys up 229%.
• Australia, insolvency: off-road caravan maker Australian Off Road went into voluntary administration after 26 years — an outside administrator now runs the company and decides its fate — blaming cheap imports from China and competitors copying its models. The company has around 4,000 customers, and those who have paid deposits still do not know whether they will get their caravans or their money.
• Italy, money for pitches: tourism minister Gianmarco Mazzi said in Parma that the state has invested 32 million euros in 4,375 motorhome pitches — more than 150 projects in 169 municipalities, mostly in small towns away from the well-known coast.
• Portugal, new rules: law 66/2021 comes into force on 24 November. Outside protected areas you may sleep in a certified motorhome for no longer than 48 hours in one municipality, and in Natura 2000 zones and the coastal strip only at specially designated places.
• Poland, road tolls: on 21 September the 60 days since the law was published run out, and it exempts cars towing a caravan heavier than 3.5 tonnes from tolls on national roads — until now such a combination counted as a truck.
• Spain, Menorca: Ciutadella town hall introduced a charge of 4 euros per 100 litres of water at the service point in the industrial zone after discovering uncontrolled use of the town's tap.
• USA, new player: Forest River, one of the largest American manufacturers, is entering the compact camper van market with two ranges at once — Lucent on a Ford base and Sommar on a Ram base.
• Europe, ranking: the camping.info portal studied visitor behaviour on the pages of 23,000 campsites in 44 countries, and the most sought-after turned out to be Austria's Falkensteiner Camping Grubhof in St. Martin bei Lofer. The top ten holds five Austrian sites, three German and two Italian.
• Germany, new model: Hymerⓘ showed the Eriba Touring 530 Silver Edition caravan styled after the American "silver bullets": a pop-up roof, 5.99 metres long, a gross vehicle weight of only 1,300 kg and a price from 31,500 euros.
• USA, Wyoming: from October the WY22 SAFE PASS programme starts on Teton Pass — drivers of motorhomes and vehicles towing trailers heavier than 10,000 pounds (about 4.5 tonnes) will have to take an online mountain driving briefing covering brake failure and steep descents. The certificate is valid for a year; without it you will not be let onto the pass.
• Japan, show: the Yokohama Camping Car Show on 26–27 September will put a record 163 vehicles on display from 72 companies — a notable milestone for the Japanese market, where compactness matters most.

Where to go

Thuringia (Germany), October. Germany is usually thought of as an expensive country for camping, but out of season a night at a Thuringian campsite costs 32 euros on average — according to the PiNCAMP service, only Schleswig-Holstein is cheaper, while Brandenburg asks 41 euros for the same thing. October is the best time here: the beech woods of the Thuringian Forest turn russet and gold, and there are noticeably fewer visitors than in summer. The Rennsteig runs the length of the ridge — one of Europe's oldest hiking trails, around 170 kilometres long, and it is easy to walk in sections, driving between campsites. Within half an hour of each other you have Weimar with the houses of Goethe and Schiller, medieval Erfurt and Wartburg castle above Eisenach, where Luther translated the Bible, so a rainy day will not be wasted. If you have been putting Germany off because of the prices, Thuringia in October is the cheapest way to try it.

Heads up

• Spain, Ibiza, all season: police in Sant Antoni de Portmany issued 41 fines of 30,000 euros for summer overnight stays on farmland, and inspectors from the island council penalised another 17 crews in Santa Eulària in a single day. The reason for the severity is wildfires started by cooking and generators. On Ibiza, stay overnight only at official sites: a "quiet spot in a field" costs more here than the whole holiday.
• Italy, South Tyrol, now: the region is in its second wave of checks in a few weeks, and this time 15 violations were found against 21 at the end of July. The rule is simple: on public land you may sleep in a motorhome, caravan or tent only at officially equipped sites. If you are planning the Dolomite passes, arrange your overnight stops in advance — there are fewer free pitches in October than it seems.
• United Kingdom, Bangor (Gwynedd), the coming weeks: the Beach Road East car park is getting its height barrier back, the one removed during construction work, and cameras will be added. If you travel around North Wales, do not count on this car park and look at the town's Arosfan scheme — the council has set aside separate places for motorhomes to stay overnight.
• Germany, Berlin, now: at a company yard in the Marzahn district eight motorhomes burned down, and exploding gas cylinders made the firefighting harder. Nobody was hurt, but the heat damaged neighbouring vehicles. Before leaving your vehicle in storage, close the cylinder valve and take the cylinder out if you can — in a tightly packed row, fire spreads from one vehicle to the next within minutes.

Something good to finish

Two stories worth forwarding.

The richest man in the world sleeps in a trailer. Elon Musk said at the All-In summit that he is temporarily living in an Airstream in Memphis — next to the Colossus supercomputer cluster run by xAI, whose capacity was pushed to roughly a gigawatt by mid-year. The explanation is exactly the same as for anyone building their own house: it is closer to work. It is good to know that billions do not fundamentally change what living quarters are — you still end up with a bed, a table and a water tank.

From Cluj to Beijing by motorhome. The Romanian Hajós family drove all the way to Beijing in a motorhome with three children and a dog. The most unexpected obstacle turned out to be not the road across half of Eurasia but Chinese bureaucracy: a foreigner needs a five-day permit for the vehicle, which cannot be arranged online — only in person and only at certain police stations. By their account, the children coped with the road more easily than with the paperwork.

This week's questions

When will I be able to drive a motorhome heavier than 3.5 tonnes on a category B licence?

Not tomorrow. Directive (EU) 2025/2205 has been adopted at EU level, but it only starts working once each country writes it into its own legislation. In France the deadline is November 2027, and about seven hours of extra training without an exam is being discussed there. Conditions may differ elsewhere: some countries will require an exam, others both training and an exam. The new entitlement will be shown on the licence as code 96.02.

What gets you a 30,000-euro fine on Ibiza?

Parking and sleeping in a motorhome or caravan on farmland outside official sites. Police in Sant Antoni de Portmany issued 41 such fines over the summer, relying on municipal rules and the Balearic law on rural land. Formally it is protection against wildfires: cooking over an open flame and petrol generators in a dry pine forest really do start fires. The practical conclusion is simple: in the Balearics, stay overnight at equipped sites and do not set up anything that looks like a camp.

Where in Germany is a campsite cheapest in autumn?

According to PiNCAMP data for 2026, out of season the lowest prices are in Schleswig-Holstein — 31 euros a night on average, followed by Thuringia at 32 euros. The most expensive is Brandenburg at 41 euros. A difference of ten euros a night over a two-week trip adds up to about 140 euros, which is a full tank of diesel.

What changes in Portugal on 24 November?

Law 66/2021 on parking and overnight stays for motorhomes comes into force. Outside protected areas you may stay overnight, but no longer than 48 hours in a row in one municipality, and the vehicle must be certified by the Portuguese transport authority IMT. In Natura 2000 zones, protected natural areas and the coastal strip, overnight stays and parking are allowed only at specially designated places. Where a municipality has its own rules, those apply.

What should I do if the caravan maker I paid a deposit to has shut down?

The story of Australian Off Road is a reminder that a deposit paid to a manufacturer is not protected in any way: the company went into voluntary administration — an outside administrator now runs it — and around 4,000 of its customers are waiting for that administrator's decision, while he settles with the banks and the staff first. You can reduce the risk in advance: pay the deposit by card rather than bank transfer, keep it as small as possible, insist on deadlines in writing and follow industry news about your brand. If the manufacturer is already in administration, file your creditor's claim straight away instead of waiting for letters.

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