M1 certificate for inspection in France

[R J M]

I'm going through the painful and long-winded process of trying to register my T6 conversion as a campingcar in France. I need all sorts of certificates, most of which my transformer has been able to supply, but he doesn't have one for the rock'n'roll bed. It's a Caledonian Blade 2 which apparently is M1 tested by STATUS. Does anyone have a copy of this certificate of testing, please? I'd be very grateful as without this I won't be able to get through the inspection.
Thanks!

 

[R J M]

OK I've found the relevant M1 certificate - I actually had it already in my file but the inspector asked for it, and I panicked!
I would delete this thread if I could see how to.

 

[CAB]

Click the REPORT buton on your first post!

 

[JOG]

Glad you got it sorted out. As @CAB says, just click report on your original post and ask a moderator to delete the thread

 

[Ads_Essex]

As above @R J M you can always hit the Report button if you need a moderator’s attention.
But i think this thread serves purpose as anyone else wishing to relocate / register in France will benefit from knowing that they’ll need certification. If you get time to tell us more about the inspection process that would be great info to have.
Glad you got it sorted!

 

[R J M]

Next challenge in the immatriculation saga for my VW T6 campervan conversion in France. I had my inspection with DREAL, and they wanted me to add in interior rear-view mirror, OK, done that. Also to get fog light changed from R to L, hopefully VW garage can recode that for me next week with their 'valise'.

But they also want me to drive to Paris, a 6-hour drive, to have the angles of vision of my wing mirrors tested by UTAC (a British company doing rather well out of Brexit, it seems). This is so bizarre, as my partner managed to import a Dacia car with RHD set-up with no problem. But I've asked whether I could just change the mirrors rather than going through the rigmarole of driving up there (money), getting tested (more money), maybe being told to change the mirrors ...

So what would happen if I change RHD to LHD wing mirrors? Surely this wouldn't help much as I am sitting on the right, I still need the angles to work from there. I don't feel there is a problem, as I have adjusted the mirrors to be able to see fine. But the partial Certificate of Conformity from VW France mentioned retroviseurs, so something has to be done.

 

[WinFreak]

I don't really understand what they want you to do either, like you say you're not changing your seating position from right to left so fitting LHD mirrors might mean you can't get the adjustment you need to be able to see from the right seat.

I have imported a car from NL to the UK before and other than headlights, speedo and the fog/reverse light switchover I had nothing else to do.

 

[Ads_Essex]

So what would happen if I change RHD to LHD wing mirrors? Surely this wouldn't help much as I am sitting on the right, I still need the angles to work from there

I agree, that doesn’t make sense.
Perhaps adding some blind spot mirrors yes, but will they take this?

 

[snewl]

Hi all
We have just shipped our 2018 T6, Venture conversion to New Zealand (probbaly rather naievly considering all the hoops we have had to jump through). I thought we had the M1 certificate for the rocknroll bed, which is the Blade 2 mentioned in this post, but can't find it anywhere. Caledonian Conversions no longer exist, and Redline don't have a copy either.
Does anyone have a copy by any chance?
It would be greatly appreciated, as we may have to otherwsie pull the seat out to get the camper on the road and then it will only be registered with the front seatbelts...
I'm at [email protected].
Kind regards

 

[SJW]

I'm going through the painful and long-winded process of trying to register my T6 conversion as a campingcar in France. I need all sorts of certificates, most of which my transformer has been able to supply, but he doesn't have one for the rock'n'roll bed. It's a Caledonian Blade 2 which apparently is M1 tested by STATUS. Does anyone have a copy of this certificate of testing, please? I'd be very grateful as without this I won't be able to get through the inspection.
Thanks!

Hi RJM. This post is a golden nugget for me. Im going through the very same experience although im at the beginning of the process with my T6 Camper King conversion. Im in 2 minds whether to bother with the process or very reluctantly sell up which is the main advice im receiving. Would appreciate any advice & costings guide for your alterations & the cost of the carte grise. Thanks in advance SJW

 

[R J M]

Hi RJM. This post is a golden nugget for me. Im going through the very same experience although im at the beginning of the process with my T6 Camper King conversion. Im in 2 minds whether to bother with the process or very reluctantly sell up which is the main advice im receiving. Would appreciate any advice & costings guide for your alterations & the cost of the carte grise. Thanks in advance SJW

Hi
I did get it registered but due to some luck and sleight of hand - I had to get attestations sur l'honneur for several things from my converter, Cavalino Campers, who were very helpful but I had to keep going back for more! Plus I was in luck in that my van was registered as 4 seats in UK before Brexit, so they ended up accepting the 4 seats. There were significant costs, several thousand, for gas cupboard upgrades, lights, mirrors etc. But the emotional stress was the worst thing.

I would add my advice to the 'don't do it!' I've recently sold my van, which was still in great condition but, being RHD and French registered, took a hit and had to sell for a significant discount. I bought for £30,000 in 2020, sold for 27,000€ in 2026 with not much milage, as I found I didn't want to do long journeys after all! I'd have done better to sell it in the UK while I was there - once I'd exported I'd have had to pay 30% tax to re-import and sell.

I'm taking a van break but my next van will be electric - I'm very interested in the Kia PV5 which seems excellent value and has a V2L plug socket inside the van, so could easily be turned into a camper with a couple of mattresses, a kettle and a little fridge! But mostly I use a van for transporting wood, pulling a trailer of horse manure, things like that!

 

[SJW]

Hi
I did get it registered but due to some luck and sleight of hand - I had to get attestations sur l'honneur for several things from my converter, Cavalino Campers, who were very helpful but I had to keep going back for more! Plus I was in luck in that my van was registered as 4 seats in UK before Brexit, so they ended up accepting the 4 seats. There were significant costs, several thousand, for gas cupboard upgrades, lights, mirrors etc. But the emotional stress was the worst thing.

I would add my advice to the 'don't do it!' I've recently sold my van, which was still in great condition but, being RHD and French registered, took a hit and had to sell for a significant discount. I bought for £30,000 in 2020, sold for 27,000€ in 2026 with not much milage, as I found I didn't want to do long journeys after all! I'd have done better to sell it in the UK while I was there - once I'd exported I'd have had to pay 30% tax to re-import and sell.

I'm taking a van break but my next van will be electric - I'm very interested in the Kia PV5 which seems excellent value and has a V2L plug socket inside the van, so could easily be turned into a camper with a couple of mattresses, a kettle and a little fridge! But mostly I use a van for transporting wood, pulling a trailer of horse manure, things like that!

Evening, thank you so much for responding. Wish I had found your post before I left the UK. You have confirmed my worst fears . Think I had my head in the sand a bit thinking all would be good eventually. I’ve had the van from 4k miles and it only has 70,000 miles on her now so still a lot of life in her & I will miss her and the van life no end but sounds like an impossible task to register which to be fair is all the advice I’ve been receiving over here from French garages & authorities. Thank you once again. Great post for people in our positions.