SERVICES
Weigh your Caravan
Why Weigh Your Caravan?
Statistics from the RACQ, estimate up to 70% of caravans on Queensland roads are overweight and yours could be one of them.
If you are in any doubt, you should have your caravan weighed to make sure your rig is perfectly balanced and safe for you, your passengers and other road users. One of the leading causes of caravan related road accidents is due to overweight caravans, or caravans that have the wrong weight distribution and safety gear.
One other good reason to make sure your caravan is the right weight, is the cost to your hip pocket. Police can enforce hefty fines between $600 and $1,500, if you are caught with an overweight caravan at a mobile weigh station. That’s not all, in addition to the fine, you could lose up to 4 points off your driving licence.
How do you Weigh Your Caravan?
Getting your caravan weighed is actually only half the story. When it comes to towing a caravan, there is definitely more than meets the eye involved in the process, the seasoned caravanner knows that it can get very complicated.
At Weigh to Go, we take the hassle out of the getting your caravan weighed and tested so you can get on your way. Here are some of the ways we test and measure your caravan, to ensure it is road legal:
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- Tare mass: This is the mass of your caravan or vehicle with nothing in it. The correct weight for your caravan is determined by manufacturer’s specification. For your tow vehicle, the weight is also determined by the manufacturer’s specification and will include fuel and coolant. In both cases, we do not include any payload.
- ATM: is aggregate trailer mass. This measurement is calculated by adding the tare mass of your caravan to its maximum payload. This rating is set by the manufacturer and it is against the law to exceed it.
- GVM: is gross vehicle mass. This is the limit of weight that your car can support, including your car, your passengers, and your tow ball mass. Again, this is a rating set by the manufacturer that you cannot exceed by law.
- GTM: is gross trailer mass and is the same as above for your caravan. It does not include the portion of the weight which will be supported by the tow bar or the jockey wheel.
- Payload: is any mass which you add to your vehicle or caravan. This includes passengers, luggage, bull bars or other features put on as accessories or aftermarket additions and tow ball mass.
- Maximum payload: is the maximum weight that you can add into the vehicle or caravan on top of the tare mass. With your caravan, you don’t need to include passengers, it relates to what you have inside the caravan when you are on the road. It also includes water and gas and anything you have put into the caravan for transport.
- TBM: is tow ball mass which is exerted on the tow ball once your caravan is hitched to your vehicle. The TBM is included in your two vehicles’ payload.
- GCM: Is the combined maximum gross mass of your Caravan and your vehicle.
- TBD: Is tow bar download which represents the amount of pressure that the tow bar can handle. Usually, it should be between 10 to 15% of your GTM. Get this wrong and your caravan can become unstable and difficult to control especially in high wind.
Calculating the numbers correctly is essential because an overweight caravan or car could prove to be dangerous on the roads. You can’t simply go by your vehicle’s recommended legal towing capacity because when you increase your GVM, you will have less room in your GCM for the caravan.
Another thing to consider is that weight should be distributed as evenly as possible between the front and rear axles of your vehicle. This is to help distribute the pressure across the car, rather than putting it all down through one set of wheels. Having the incorrect weight distribution also means you could be causing undue stress on your towing vehicle and more wear and tear.
Peace of Mind
If you tow your caravan when it’s overweight you are playing Russian roulette on the highway.
You will be putting yourself, your passengers and other road users in danger. Even if you do not believe there is much of a risk, you should still be aware of the potential legal consequences.
In a worst-case scenario, you may end up crashing because of your overloaded caravan and tow vehicle. If you do, there is a good chance you will involve another vehicle in the accident, especially on busy roads. Should another person die as a result of the crash, you could be brought up on charges of dangerous driving occasioning death.
If you are caught during a random check or a non-fatal accident, there are still legal consequences to bear. You may be asked to pay a fine and you may also find that your insurance claim is refused. Further legal action could also result.
The capacity of your towing vehicle may take some work to figure out, but it could save your life or someone else’s if you make those checks.
At Weigh to Go our experienced team of technicians will weigh your caravan and vehicle and tell you if it’s legal and approved to drive. If there is a problem we will explain the issues and how to fix them. Being a RACQ Selected Repairer, our caravan repair and service team are fully qualified to carry out any modification or adjustment required. So you have a peace of mind that you are not breaking the law and that your caravan is set up safe to drive.
Tow Vehicle Set Up
Your tow vehicle set up is critical. All cars have a manufacturer’s recommended towing capacity, there are 3 measurements that will determine if the tow vehicle is designed to tow your caravan.
Maximum braked towing limit
All vehicle manufacturers dictate a maximum unbraked towing limit, that is the most a caravan or trailer can weigh without some form of braking system. The maximum braked towing capacity, is the most a vehicle can tow when the caravan or trailer is fitted with its own brakes. Vehicle manufacturers are free to determine these limits for their own cars, so weights can vary depending on the make or model, or even the engine and transmission combinations. Capacity can also vary according to how much weight you are carrying on board the vehicle.
For example a Toyota Land Cruiser Prado can tow a maximum of 2500kg, so any caravan that weighs more would not comply. Also maximum of 2500kg towing capacity for this type of vehicle,only applies if the caravan or trailer has its own brakes. If the caravan or trailer does not have its own brakes, the towing limit for the Prado is a maximum of only 750kg.
Maximum tow ball download
This is the weight a caravan’s tow hitch puts on the vehicle’s tow bar. This weight measurement is set by the vehicle manufacturer. Like the towing limit, this can vary between make and model, and engine and transmission combinations. More than anything else, the tow ball download weight can have very serious effects on your vehicle performance, and handling.
In Australia, most caravan manufacturers claim the tow ball download of a caravan should be around 10 per cent of its total weight. However, while many SUVs allow a tow ball download that’s 10 per cent of the vehicle’s maximum towing limit, not all do. One example is the Kia Sorento, which can tow a respectable 2500kg, but can only have 150kg of tow ball download.
Gross Combination Mass vs. Payload
The two limits above are relatively easy to work out. A little harder is the effective towing limit of your intended 4WD or SUV once it has the people, accessories and luggage you’ll load into it. All vehicles have a gross combination mass (GCM), which is the maximum it and any caravan or trailer can weigh in combination.
For example, a tow vehicle that has a gross combination mass of 5400kg. On its own, it weighs 2105kg and it can tow up to 3100kg with 300kg on the ball. But in doing so, the combined weight is now 2105kg plus 3100kg of caravan. That’s a total weight of 5205kg. However that’s before the weight of the driver, passengers, luggage, and accessories such as a bull bar.
At Weigh to Go, our technicians will explain the sometime complex calculations that are required to find out if your tow vehicle and caravan are safe and road legal.
What’s Road Legal?
You tow vehicle owner manual usually indicates the maximum weight it can tow and other trailer features that are appropriate for the vehicle. If you exceed these limits and tow your caravan or trailer you are breaking the law.
Apart from the legal implications and potential loss of insurance claims if you damage or crash, there are other issues.
Towing a caravan or trailer that is too heavy for the tow vehicle also effects the handling and performance of your two vehicles including:
- Decreased acceleration and braking performance
- reduced vehicle control and manoeuvrability
- Increased fuel consumption.
If the vehicle was manufactured before 1 January 1992 and the manufacturer hasn’t specified a maximum towing capacity, use these towing capacities as a guide:
- 1.5 times the unloaded mass of the vehicle – if the trailer is fitted with appropriate brakes
- A maximum of 750kg – if the trailer isn’t fitted with brakes.
If you’re unsure whether your tow vehicle and caravan set up are legal, we can weigh your tow vehicle and caravan and give you a full report which will tell you if your set up is legal and if it isn’t, we will explain what steps need to be taken to solve the problem.
If necessary, the manufacturer, the dealer or a specialist in towing equipment, may fit special suspension or transmission options, or load-distributing devices, to the tow vehicle.
Other Legal requirements
- The vehicle and trailer must be roadworthy and registered.
- The caravan must have a rear number plate
- Towbars and couplings must not cover the towing vehicle’s number plate or rear lights when the trailer is not connected.
- People must not ride in trailers/caravans.
Caravan Modifications
At Weigh to Go, we not only Weigh Caravans we can also make modifications and changes to the caravan, which may be required if your caravan and tow vehicle set up are not meeting the required manufacturers specifications.
In conjunction with Aussie Escape Caravans, we can upgrade or renovate your caravan and make modifications and updates to the accessories, and external and internal fittings and features including:
- Suspension updates including airbag suspension
- Tow Bars
- Weight Distribution Bars
- Rear Vision Cameras
- Electric Brake Controls
- Battery Isolators
- Electrical updates, new fittings and lights
- Solar Systems and Batteries
- Caravan Awnings
- Caravan Appliances such as fridges, cook tops, washing machines and dryers
- Caravan Bathrooms, Showers, Sinks and toilets
- TVs and Sound systems
- Wheels and Tyres
We only use quality parts and recommend products that will last and our experienced technicians will provide an obligation free quote for any work that is undertaken.
Aussie Escape Caravans is an RACQ approved repairer.
Tow Vehicle Modifications
Sometimes after you have weighed your tow vehicle and caravan, modifications and changes to the tow vehicle are required to ensure it is legal to drive on the road. These changes can be quite simple or sometimes more complex. At Weigh to Go we have workshops and trained caravan technicians, who can make modifications to your tow vehicle to ensure it is safe and legal when towing your caravan or trailer.
We also fit important safety and specialist tow vehicle accessories which include:
- Tow Vehicle Mirrors
- Tow Bars
- Weight Distribution Bars
- Rear Vision Cameras
- Electric Brake Controls
- Battery Isolators
We only use quality parts and recommend products that will last. Our experienced technicians will provide an obligation free quote for any work that is undertaken.
Aussie Escape Caravans is an RACQ approved repairer.