We got weighed - we were OVER
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 27 ก.ย. 2024
- G'day vanfam, in this video we share a big issue we have run into on the road. We had been driving around blissfully unaware that we were over weight.
We share the process of weighing correctly and our actual results to hopefully help people better understand caravan weights.
![SCARY NIGHT in the Most Remote Town in Australia! Remote Outback Caravanning in our Zone RV [EP60]](/img/n.gif)
As a NSW VSCCS certifier, my rule of thumb is that if a caravan has not been upgraded (either by the manufacturer because the owner knew to ask, or by being certified later), it will be over weight. With some van manufacturers, you can ask for higher ratings on a van that is already registered but reasonably new and they will supply a replacement plate with higher GTM and ATM. In NSW, you then get an AUVIS change of records inspection to put the increased ratings on the registration.
I'm also seeing other brand GVM upgrades being replaced with Lovells because Lovells have done the SAE J2807 testing (there are youtube videos about SAE J2807) required to be able to increase the GCM for many models of vehicle. For example, a BT-50 or Ranger can get the GCM to 7000kg less ball mass (3500kg GVM + 3500kg ATM trailer), but the 5-cylinder needs a cooling system (radiator + intercooler) upgrade to get past 6600kg.
Without seeing the Axle Group Capacity of the van, I can't be sure but I suspect that the GTM and ATM could both increase by several hundred kg. Combined with a GCM upgrade, you could move some weight from the back of the tow vehicle into the van, maintain your overall current weight and still have some capacity left in the GTM, ATM and GCM.
Alot of great info here. I will pin it so others might see it.
If you can send me an email to svedostrippin@gmail.com I will send the plate info back. I would love to find out if there is wiggle room and the possibility to improve our vans ATM and GTM.
John Cadogan has good TH-cam videos on towing a caravan. Travels with Delaney made a good TH-cam video on tongue weight a few years ago.
@@SvedosTrippin Check the Axle Group Load Capacity (AGLC). It is what the suspension and axles are rated for, while the GTM is what they are registered for. There might be something else that needs to be upgraded to allow it, but GTM can generally be increased to AGLC. Assuming that 10% of the total is on the coupling, the other 90% is on the wheels, so divide the AGLC by 90% to find the possible ATM. For example, if the AGLC is 2700kg, the GTM could go to 2700kg and the ATM could go to 3000kg with 300kg ball weight.
Rule of thumb, 10" drum brakes limit the ATM to 3000kg unless the brake manufacturer will provide specs for breakaway braking limit vs tyre diameter, which most won't.
If the AGLC isn't high enough, then you'd be looking at replacing suspension &/or axles, as well as possibly reinforcing drawbar, etc..
That’s all well and good but has anyone thought of the fact that the chassis and suspension points and bolts are still the same as factory parts that’s a lot more strain on everything diff gears uni joints gearbox drive shafts axles bearings
As a fellow Aussie TH-cam reviewer, albeit motorcycle reviews this video you have made is potentially life saving information. I do many thousands of Kms a year on both motorcycles and in a motor home, I have come across so many accidents where the major contributing factor was poor set up. I would urge anyone watching this video to share it with others that may benefit from this information well done 👍.
Thanks so much, we hope this helps the community.
Yah I seen a trailer hitch way too high wagging swaying down the road.I beeped at him.Two exits ahead he rolled it.
Thank you so much for bringing this to the attention of so many people that might potentially find themselves in your situation. There are a raft of issues that caravaners face and, unfortunately, safety is a growing concern.
I noted that several times you mentioned the relevance of compliance with regards to insurance, in this presentation. With all respect, if you find yourself in a situation where an insurance assessment is required, that is most likely to be the least of your worries. If the vehicle combination is being operated outside of specification and beyond what is legally required and an injury or death occurs due to loss of control of the vehicle, you could easily find yourself staring down the barrel of a culpable driving charge (or similar) and an almost certain term of imprisonment, in the case of death. And that's not to mention the fact that you'll never enjoy a good night's sleep, again. And if it's one of your own that you lose, I don't know how you process that.
This isn't a compliance "thing", it's not an insurance "thing", It's about safety. And when you're towing a pig trailer that well and truly exceeds the weight of the tow vehicle, you're already on the outer limits of safety, regardless of the law, or insurance.
Thanks, once again, for putting the spotlight on this critical issue.
As a truck driver it scares me to see and hear about the amount of people who are blissfully unaware of the information in your video, kudos to you for such an informative video on such an important subject. Well done.
cheers mate, really appreciate to hear something positive from the truckies. Hopefully this video will make a few of the caravans on the road safer.
Truck drivers know more about how a bad load effects the stability of a vehicle, they are trained in this and also have the experience to back up their training. They are usually supported by large companies with financial backing to maintain their vehicles and make sure they are safe.
Caravaners and 4WD tourers are (often) much less experienced in driving with heavy loads. They also don’t always have the experience and finance to keep their vehicle and load maintained. They have often spent all or more than they can afford just to get their foot-in-the door and don’t have the luxury of driver training, proper maintenance and good eaility equipment.
Caravan manufactures are also trying to build to a price point to maximise their market and to maximise their profits. They often don’t have spare money to spend of qualified electricians, plumbers and automotive engineers. Often their sales staff are just as desperate for a sale as the stereotypical dodgy used car salesman, and a lot of their sales staff are former/failed dodgy used car salesman.
@@SalvoDan I agree with you truck drivers know more about load restraints and axle weights, however a caravan (a pig trailer) cannot be compared to a semi trailer (a dog trailer) in any shape or form. They are on two totally different levels. Chalk and cheese.
Even a grossly overloaded semi trailer (10-40% overloaded) will preform pretty well, ie; not get the 'speed wobbles', will still stop in a straight line, and while a little slower, the prime mover is more than capable of pulling the extra weight. This is something that cannot be said about caravans.
You can get a semi trailer empty on the drive and 10% over on the trailer and, while not ideal, and to be avoided, is nowhere near as unstable as a heavy caravan. Going the other way, a semi heavy on the drive and light or empty on the trailer is quite stable to drive.
Imagine joining three caravans together and towing them with a car at 90 -100 Km/h? Ridiculous, but that's effectively what a road train does, and does it with little to no modifications to the trailers and perhaps some spec changes to the prime mover, depending on what it is.
Legal axle loadings on trucks are geared towards prolonging the life of the road. The actual manufacturer ratings normally greatly exceed what the the truck is registered to legally carry.
Good for you to bring this to light as many vloggers will not discuss this and some actively flaunt that they are over weight. My Old D40 was 150kg over before it was loaded it was too difficult to lighten the vehicle, So I sold it and bought a new D23 it has and will not have an abundance of accessories fitted for this reason and just a vinyl cover over the tub. With myself passengers, fuel and 240 kg down ball weight etc. I around have 250 kgs available in the tub. I am amazed at how many Utes are so overloaded even a light truck tyre upgrade can push your vehicle over by a small margin. Thanks again as I am planning doing the lap mid next year and this has helped me highlight this to my wife and kids.
Keep up the good work.
Yes, many vloggers like to make you think you need everything and the reality is you just can't have very much.
Next week we will share what we cut down too and the weights we were able to achieve. Might help the wife to understand what is and what isn't possible 🤔
Thanks for watching and commenting.
Great educational piece, hopefully current and prospective Ute owners will watch this.
I hope so too!
Huge kudos to you & Mel for putting this on YT and being so honest and transparent! It would have been so easy not to put this episode up & i’m sure it crossed your minds, BUT travellers need to hear stories like yours! Well done guys 👍
Thanks we agree.
That’s what he said.
Sooo appreciate your honesty and courage in creating and posting this vlog. Thank you.
Thanks for watching and letting us know.
Great to see that you were honest and truthful. It had made me think twice what we add to our new set up. Sorry you had to loss your boat.
That's the hope, we can be honest and truthful and actually help people out. Thanks for watching and commenting.
Hey Brett, thanks so much for sharing what would’ve been a very difficult vlog to make. I really appreciate you guys taking the time to educate other unsuspecting caravaners on this critical aspect of travel and just how important it is to comply if you want to be legally covered. I’m also one of the sticky beaks who asked about your missing pride and joy only because I could tell how much fishing means to you, so I really feel for you mate ☹️ hopefully you’ll find another way of re-engaging with that passion for casting a line 🤞looking forward to part 2 of this very educational worthwhile presentation thanks again 👍 take care and see you guys next week 😀
Thanks so much for reaching out and being involved with our channel. We have something in the works so stay tuned.
What an 'eye-opener'. So many are in the same position without knowing. Upgrading capacities is not the panacea !
Knowledge is the answer. What you are allowed and what the vehicle is permitted is the answer.
Thanks Brett & Mel for sharing your honest concerns - it’s so important to ensure compliance and safety for your loved ones and others on the road - I’ve been aware of the high proportion of illegally overweight tourers for some time now and in fact a recent tragedy occurred where a heavily loaded 4WD/caravan and boat crashed on a downhill highway stretch between Wauchope and Port Macquarie NSW causing a fatality - this resulted in a conviction for the driver of four years and after he appealed was given an extra two years - not only has he killed a loved one but has a criminal record for the rest of his life - be very very careful out there.
yes. its important to get it right, and there are alot of people out there that are aware they are over but just don't care. We were blissfully unaware, but when we learned the reality we had to do something about it.
Great episode. We too have a BT-50 with Lovells 7000kg combined weight upgrade. Worth every penny to be insured correctly.
However we still are very conscious of what we put in our vehicle n Van. So many out there questionable.
Often thought you may be over only due to the boat and kudos to you guys for being so honest and sharing. A hard decision, but one so many hopefully will learn from. Safe travels, look forward to the alternative for fishing Brett.
Cheers guys, it's just so hard to get right.
Congrats on this, excellent education for us all. Your honesty is refreshing and appreciated. We went through the same thing and was blown away by our weights. Have corrected it now but see so many vehicle/van combos that are just outright frightening with the gear they carry.
Yup, you can spot em a mile away, and you spot em all too frequently. And it's got alot to do with the vanfluencers making you think you need everything. We hope by sharing our story honestly we help the community out there, so glad to hear this feedback from you.
We were weighed too. Overweight but just by a smidge. We were more overweight on rear axle. Changing to a Ute or LC wouldn’t fix the issue unless we paid for a big upgrade so we looked at patrol as the rear axle load is bigger. It’s a big headache but great you are talking about it as so many combinations are illegal out there on the road 😊
That's so true, I hope we can bring attention to the issue so people think about making sure they get it right. I don't want anyone out there finding out they are uninsured after an accident, it would be devistating.
Thanks for the interesting video, in North America we have lots of weigh scales for commercial vehicles but none for RV’s! I will guess that most trailers, caravans and tow vehicles are overweight. I have a heavy duty tow vehicle and a 5th wheel trailer which I try to keep to a limit what I carry in them, unless I go through a commercial scale I will never know.
That is great for you guys. Here in Australia, insurance agencies will use an over weight van as a way outvof honouring insurance claims as will the van manufacturers on any warranty claims.
Very strict here in Australia.
@@SvedosTrippin i noticed that when I was over the other year before Covid. I drove a camper van from Brisbane back to Adelaide, nothing wrong with being strict on weights.
Thanks so much for sharing Brett. As you said 'one of the hardest videos you've done'.
We know you loved the tinny, sorry that you guys had to let it go, but no option for safety/compliace reasons.
The vid was really informative and what a great help Cam was. Seemed like he really cared & not a cowboy business.
You've had some time to get used to the tinny gone, so hope it's been a bit easier the last few weeks.
Safe travels, see you next week for part 2 ❤
Thanks Lyn. Yeah sucks to see the Tinny go. But I want to be honest and open with everyone and share not only the highs but also the lows so I needed to make this vid as much as I diddnt want to.
We do have something in the works re. Getting on the water so stay tuned.
Great video. And what a professional Cam and his business are - I’ll certainly be using his services if they’re ever in WA.
Good luck to all of you guys.
great to hear, thanks for watching.
OMG such an amazing video. You both should be commended for your openness and dam right common sense in firstly reviewing your situation and then very difficult decisions to address the issues. Im very sorry for you for having to make the forced changes but to me this video can do more for Caravan safety around Australia than anything else Ive watched. If I'm travelling with the right weights that makes it safer for me and importantly those around me on the road.
Many of the comments written also add a great source of info to this problem
A huge thank you for this.
Thanks for such a positive comment, we do hope by being honest we can help shed some light onto a subject many ignore or choose to hide.
Well presented honest content , Thankyou for sharing your experience even though it wasn't what you wanted to hear .
thanks for watching and commenting.
The majority of police weighing of vehicles here in the USA is of commercial vehicles. But, it is good to try to get somewhat close.
I do like having dual axles on the trailer, giving a little of redundancy in case of a blowout.
One thing that is common here in the USA are Sway Bars or Equalizer Bars. Essentially they transfer weight from the rear axle of the vehicle to the front axle of the vehicle, although they do toss stresses on the vehicle around a bit.
yeah, we have something similar here called a weight distribution hitch. many people run them, would of helped with our problem but they also weigh 20KG's which is on the van so we opted not to go down that path.
Well done to you guys. We’ did a lap a year ago and couldn’t believe how many people were overweight. And by a lot more than you guys. I recon 90 percent of people with boats are over.
As a you tuber it’s great to see your activity trying to put across the wright message and do the right thing. I have commented a few times on other channels about weight. No response. So well done to you. Hope to see you on the road one day.
yes, many "influencers" make it look like you can have everything and are part of the problem. We wanted to share this experience and not sweep it under the rug. Thanks for watching and your kind comment.
Great video and information Brett and Mel, always love your honesty about everything that comes with traveling in a van.
Thank you, appreciate your positive feedback.
There is another part to this that needs to be considered. Watched countless TH-cam videos of these 3.5ton utes that when they have been towing large vans (up near 3ton loaded) that either the transmission or engines have died, with a cost of up to $10000 to repair. That is another issue with these light weight utes.
It’s interesting travelling around Australia and we see so many people with boats/trailers on top of their roof or canopy, big bull bar on the front and towing a caravan and I wonder how they are doing it? Thanks for you post and frankness.
I’ve done none of that and when got weighed the car was just under by 100kgs fully loaded
Yeah, we wanted to be like all the others with all the gear, but with a limited budget it's just not feasible. So many out there are over.
Quality information! This is the first time you guys have popped up in my TH-cam feed. Subscribed and will check out your channel. Safe travels.
Thanks Darren, hope to see you in the future 😀
Very educational & informative! Sad about the tinny as you love your fishing! But Safety First! Still lots more things to see & do on your Aussie Adventure. Stay safe❣️Look forward to your next Vlog.🥰
Thanks mom, i will miss the tinny but have something exciting to take its place.
@@SvedosTrippin What's that???!
@@susannlynchyzus8664 it's a surprise 😮
Great video, amazing honest content. Definitely an eye opener to weights. Kids are funny
haha Owen screaming in the background lol.
Sad to see the tinny go and you'll need some time to get used without it but with that precious cargo in the back of the car you want to be safe on the road. Very good content guys! Safe travels 🤙🏼
thanks mate. It is sad to go, might come up with a new way to get on the water but.
Chin up mate. Well done to you guys for rectifying your problem.
We did our lap last year “legally “. I estimate around 60 to 70 percent are over weight in some way. There is no way a small 4wd duel cab with a canopy and a 3.5 ton van on the back can be under weight let along have a tinny, bikes, kids etc etc. you can spot them a mile away. Rear end off the tow vehicle dragging its arse along the ground. Unfortunately the only way you can get around this is have nothing in the canopy or better still no canopy or upgrade to something with big weight numbers and spend 150k or more.
We have a jmacx 4495 gvm upgrade with rear axle at 2850, canopy but no boat. We are just under fully loaded.
I’m sure you guys will still enjoy your travels without the tinny and hope this video helps others to understand.
Hope to catch you on a fishing charter one day
Well done.
Thanks so much, you nailed it on every point. Catch ya on a charter somewhere 🤪
I guess you guys don't have weight distribution hitches there huh? We have that in the USA, where we can shift the weight to the forward axle off the rear. 🤠👍
We do have WDH here, but they have some disadvantages, I would use it as a last resort personally.
We managed to get our weights right with out one.
We had the same problem, canopy, boat, trailer, motor, all got left at home, put the tub back on with a lid, stripped out the van, we are good now,
and that's about the reality of it. You just cant have everything. Thanks for watching and commenting.
Great video - here in the USA I suspect at least 50% - probably much more - of the folks pulling trailers (caravans) are probably overweight. There is such a push toward making them lightweight so they can sell to a wider audience, but if you try to bring any serious gear with you you are going to exceed the GVWR. That was a very detailed weighing - nice. Thanks for making this.
Your welcome, thanks for watching and commenting. Here in aus there has been alot of focus on van weights with police blitz targeting it. And still we estimate 70% are over.
I dare say in thr USA where there is less focus on weights, that your numbers would be higher.
Great vid, going to get weighed tomorrow and very apprehensive about it but know we won't be comfortable until we know where we stand.
It has to be done, good luck tomorrow. C is for Comprimise, if your over you might just have to lose some luxuries.
@@SvedosTrippin We came in a bit under, so have a bit of room to pick up trinkets on our travel's.
@@geoffbuys5838 awesome, congratulations. Just watch what you accrue in your travels.
Really the vehicles we use to do these jobs (living out of with caravan and kids) aren't fit for purpose, the factory GVM around 3200kg simply isn't enough to load up the kit plus the kids.
To do the job of a truck, a truck may be needed. Raising awareness of these limitations is important.
(the results here show that we are often at or over GVM before hitching a caravan up to the ute.)
It can be done, but a max 2750 van is the reality and there is a lot of compromise in what you can take required. thanks for watching and commenting.
I've watched a few of these caravan weighing videos and one thing I have noticed with those mobile load cells is they never seem to counteract the fact that when one set of axles is up on the load cell, the other axle of the vehicle is quite a bit lower on the ground. Being level is crucial and having the weighed axle higher than the other axle will increase the weight on the weighed axle. An easy solution to this would be to have wooden pads the same height as the load cell for the other axle(s) to drive up on which will ensure the vehicle is level and the weights are accurate.
In this case, your figures were only 150 - 250kg out or about 4% of the relevant totals. If this was being weighed for enforcement purposes, you'd rightly want to ensure the vehicle is level as it would make a difference.
My experience comes from heavy vehicles and depending on the type of weighbridge that weighs you, you get anywhere from 300kg to 1000kg leeway (which can be up to 6% depending on the axle group) due of the discrepancies in the equipment used and the fact they are not always completely level. This is written into the law so whatever you weigh in at, the mass adjustment for that type of site gets deducted and you are assessed on the lower amount.
Do you guys have weight distributing hitches down there? It moves weight to the front axle.
Yeah, we considered a weight distribution hitch, but it adds 20 odd KG's onto the van and we already had a lot to lose from the van and it would also make hitching the van up more painful so we opted against it.
It also adds weight to the van axle(s). Also the load on the towbar regularly goes well beyond the rated capacity of the towball and gooseneck. Also if your are over GCM, then no re-distribution is going to fix that. Plus, as mentioned, add the extra weight of the WDH.
I use a WDH, but not because I need to remove weight from the rear axle, but because I need to add it to the front axle.
Keeping the minimum weight over the front wheels is critical to avoiding under steer, especially in an emergency when trying to avoid an obstacle or brake heavily.
Not just a caravan. Last year I travelled 6,000kms through central Oz including desert X-ings, by deisel 4x4. Apart from food, tools camping equipment & satellite coms, we had 40 lires of water and enough fuel for 1,200km. Any 4x4 that is modified beyond its original specs needs to be resurveyed. (Ours had been respec'd to 3.75 tonnes GVM - and we even removed the rears seats to cut down weight - just two of us). Even carrying too much on your roofracks can void coverage, or unsurveyed & over survey spec & BOOM there goes your insurance - and there plenty of 4x4s around who were clearly travelling out of spec, who were gambling with their vehicles, and insurance. Hard lesson.
this is true, alot of these 4x4 mods are so dam heavy. its easy to go over. I beleive 4WD 24/7 did a video about the issue recently. alot of modified 4x4's are over weight limits.
Who cares about insurance. You're playing with lives. Priorities.
It's hasn't surprised me at all, I've worked in the trucking industry and when it comes to GVW on privately owned RVs as I mentioned I'm not surprised at all.
I got rid of 75 kilos by leaving my wife at home.
🤣
You have to go to sleep sometime. Hope you wear a helmet to bed. Wife's "love taps" with a baseball bat during the night might make you re-think the comment. However, if I could get away with it, would have said the same thing.
Your killin me😂😂😂
😂😂😂😂😂😂 😂😂😂 fuck that is the best
😅
Saw a video a while back where a guy was weighed and was 400kg over on his rear axle, he’d had a GVM and GCM upgrade but not a rear axle upgrade. He just couldn’t work it out, he kept on saying that he’d just have to move stuff around and he’d be ok but the guy weighing him was saying, no mate, you just don’t have anywhere for the stuff to go and your van is over too. At the end of it, he seemed pretty determined to keep on trucking🤯
We are right on the edge, at one time I’d wonder about the guys who use big American trucks but now I get it, on truck rego with a GVM greater than 5 tonne and a GCM greater than 12 tonne, it just works.
Yup, you nailed it on many accounts there. I meet alot of people who know they are over and wont sort it out. And if i could afford a yank tank or a truck i would have one. Would be so good to have more capacity.
Thanks for watching and commenting.
how did they get a gcm upgrade?
If your van weighs more than your tow vehicle buy a truck.
@@michaelcook5233 pre rego in Vic, the only place you can do it for now. QLD & NSW have changed laws to allow it and what’s been done now is the engineering and certification.
@@chrisstevens463 100%
What we are seeing here is THE biggest problem with Caravans generally.
Almost without exception Caravan travelers are PLANNING to run, too close to the limits with no margin for error.
As a result they end up over weight, in the majortity of cases and not by a small amount.
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250Kg over weight is not a small amount.
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People need to STOP thinking they can buy the biggest caravan the vehicle will tow.
If you are looking for a GVM upgrade, you need to take a long hard look at what you are trying to do and your vehicle and caravan choices.
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Remember too that the towing capacities on passenger cars are for, "smooth improved surfaces" and not necessarily at highway speeds.
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People also need to look at towing with small trucks rather than passenger cars. They may find things more comfortable and cheaper in the long run.
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Remember in heavy transport, many companies weigh their vehicles EVERY TIME the vehicle leaves the yard AND they usually have some margin for error built into their loading plans.
Not to mention that rated towing capacity of modern cars is widely over inflated by manufacturers as they are chasing customers.
Honestly there needs to be more enforcement for light vehicles towing all trailers not just caravans.
The fines need to be connected to Points as well. So people start taking things seriously.
I've towed 24,000 lbs with my 05 Dodge Ram 2500 diesel. It handles the weight great. I prefer to keep it under 20,000 because of the gearing 3:73 the transmission likes to shift more than I like.
I run a spreadsheet (see my TH-cam channel) where I record EVERYTHING that goes in and out of the van. I can also calculate my approximate tow ball mass. Been doing this for a while since discovering we were overweight in our last van.
That's a fantastic idea.
Fantastic well explained subject. Good luck with getting it all sorted.
Thanks so much.
Glad you made the Vlog, such good information.
A few questions, how did they calculate the 4 family members sitting in the vehicle. Did he actually have you all sit in the vehicle or did he add an average weight per occupant. Also with the rear axle weight did it take into account the weight of the caravan on the ball when in combination. What amazes me is how many people you see towing large heavy caravans with Prados and MUX, my policy has always been the tow vehicle must weigh more then the caravan. Also on one trip I counted the number of vehicles we passed without towing mirrors, the percentage was 50 / 50.
Hi there. We were all in the vehicle for the weighing process as we will always be part of the pay load.
The vehicle was weighed seperate and in combination and Axel weights in both states were reported.
Hope that answers your questions.
If you are overweight. You are NOT INSURED. GOOD CONTENT BUDDY
thanks, its the reality, and there are so many that are over weight. insurance agencies just laughing their way to the bank.
@SvedosTrippin basically , if you get involved in an accident, and found faulty in any manner. And a human life has been lost or seriously injured or mamed. You are responsible, and I guarantee the book of LAW will be thrown at you. All along whilst you are NOT insured. In any manner. 3rd party inclusive. .
You are doing a good thing m8. Be vocal
Thank you. Realy appreciate these comments.
@@SvedosTrippin So are undertakers.
So ditching the Mrs kids n dog was a no go. 😂😉😎 lol
So much honesty. Too bad more caravaners couldn't take a lesson from you
Cheers mate, I don't mind it being a point of difference 😄
Thing we don't have to worry about in the US. I wish people would. Towing 30+' trailers with half tons.
What is the make/model of your tow vehicle and caravan?
Water and spare fuel are weight variables to consider.
Absolutely 💯
9:29 "Our insurance wouldn't tell us how they weigh unless we were making a claim" is all I would need to immediately change insurance companies! They are clear as day not transparent with their policies and will only ever be nothing but trouble come claim time. Do not give a company like that a single dollar of your money! 👍
This was a very I educational video, thanks for sharing
Your welcome, glad to hear it's helping people.
This all sounds like a not enough truck issue than anything else.
Where I am I see way too many vacationers way overloaded; tail end of the truck near dragging on the road.
If you’re gonna tow and haul get a vehicle that can do it. No half ton, shouldn’t be considering anything less than a HD 3/4 or 1 ton truck. Imo. Why run a vehicle at it’s max capability? Certainly doesn’t lend itself to longevity of said vehicle.
Yeah mate u must be right, school books and pencils are heavy!
Yep, more wobble boxes should be weighed more often, especially in Qld, wobble boxes are pandemic on Qld roads
What were the weights on each Axel on van and the tug?
I think it's displayed on the report that I put up in the video. If it's not there let me know and I will dig out the report.
So your camper has a weight limit? Is it the tow vehicle that dictates the weight of the whole rig?
There is vehicle limit (GVM) a van limit (ATM) and a combination limit (GCM). The vehicle dictates the combination limit yes.
You got to ask yourself how many times will you use a boat just rent one or go on a charter
It's a fair point you make.
Gr8 ep guys …. Them weights add up…. Stay safe 🤙
They sure do, thanks for watching.
Just being barely within the limit is still bad. And dangerous.
Exactly the reason why stuff breaks.
You had to weigh your camper?
Don't know what a tinney is....
Bottom line is you need a bigger truck or a smaller trailer.
To be safe you want to be well UNDER the tow vehicles tow rating ...
And you definitely want anti sway system on the trailer....
A tinny is the aluminium boat on his vehicle roof rack.
@@chrisstevens463 thanks
Most 4wd are overweight, by the time a Bullbar and Towbar is fitted, plus canopy and other knick knacks, plus fuel and passengers, you have exceeded your weight limit.
It's not hard to do.
Great video and trying to dissect little bits and pieces of information you're giving as im a newby to carvans. Do you say with the water empty even though it lightens your van it still affects the towball weight in a bad way?, can making the towball weight too light also put you in the red with weights?
There isn't a limit range on towball weights but you will have a maximum towball mass value on your van plate. However it is recommended you sit with in 8-12% of the ATM, with 10% being the target, the van wiil handle better in this range .
The reason cam weighs full of water and then again empty is your water tanks might be forward or rear of the axel and when you remove the water your towball mass can change. If you are aware of this and say for example when empty your towball mass was 7% you could chuck some heavy items in the front box when driving out of camp and empty to bring your towball mass to a be in the ideal range.
hope this helps, I also hope to create a video that really dissects and explains all the caravan weights and details like this will be included, so sit tight and hopefully I can make something to help clarify it all for you, but if you cant weight (pun intended) cam from "wild touring" has done and excellent video explaining caravan weights as well so go check that out.
@SvedosTrippin mate, perfect that cleared it up perfectly. Thanks for the response. I also replayed the conversation conversation regarding insurance a few times trying to understand it a little more clearly. Look forward to the next videos. Thanks 👍
Good on you for posting this.
You won't be the Lone Ranger in overweight vans out there mate, my guess is that 99% of them will be overweight.
The number of vans that I see with so much weight added to the rear of their vans just astounds me, full jerry cans, huge toolboxes, and the list goes on.
The Weights and Measures boys need to pull more vans over as they are a danger to themselves and other road users.......especially when they overtake and underestimate the distance it takes as this is when you see them panic and pull in too quick giving the van server fishtailing.
And the amount of weight that is put on roof racks is even more astounding, obviously no one takes any notice of load ratings.
There certainly is a bit of problem out, I don't want to mislead people into thinking they can take everything like I was.
Thanks for watching and commenting.
@@SvedosTrippin Ì look forward to the follow-up video.
This is the reason that I decided to go with a custom-made touring rig, by having the habitat mounted onto the back of a truck (tray extended by Hino) as I knew that there was no way I could ever get under the weight limits with the gear that I wanted to take with me on tour.
I have seen way too many vans smashed too bits on the side of the road due to what amounted to having way too much weight in their setup.....travel around the Pilbara and you will see this, as the combination of iron ore hauling road trains and caravanners don't work well together.
Hey bud I’ve got 06 nav and does struggle I’m looking at a Isuzu duel cab truck there a good deal at just over 70k drive away if that helps
no additional capacity on a DMAX, still a 6tonn truck.
Sorry I meant a 150 duel wheeler
Go to a truck scales when you are loaded.
Also if it says you max weight is 3000kg you should only total load to max 2500kg its not good to weight right up to max load allowed
I think they put pretty big tolerances in the limits. I wouldn't be worried about being close to the limit.
@@SvedosTrippin They would put tolerances so it means people arent pushing things to the full limit, but when some awnings, or items get wet they tske on kg. You go out and you find an area where fuel station of closed or cut off for some reason or the no attendant card only service stations where card processing us down and tou need to twke extra fuel or water or food on board.
You find some thing to buy on the way. Im tslking where legally people load them right to the kg limit then buy snacks for the kids and bottles of drinks and such any if this puts it iver legally 1kg and insurnace can use that to not pay out as well.
I love children because I used to be one but in the middle of a serious discussion would it be too much to ask the little loves to behave
Did you calculate the weight total with the whole family in the vehicles?
Yes, you should always weigh your rig with your family on board. They do and will count as part of your payload.
Work at a weight bridge, almost all car and vans that get pulled in are over
Yeah the stat's are 9 of 10. Pretty crazy right.
91% of our clients are overweight.
Me: HEY!!!! no need to be so personal xD
Classic.
Caravan manufacturers always promote the amount of storage but there’s no way you can utilise that storage and stay underweight.
i agree, I wish they would focus on payload. Somethings in the van are stupid heavy.
I am beginning to wonder if the mobile caravan weighing businesses have to have their scales calibrated and checked periodcally. There seems to be a number of surprises for people such as yourself when they get reweighed.
It seems to be pretty unregulated.
@@SvedosTrippin Sure is. Some weighing videos on TH-cam seem to be done by cowboys. Your latest weighing appears to have been done by someone who knows and cares about what they are doing.
Just like any industry. Its full of both by the book or fly-by nighters out there. Had a quote $480 in SA. No thanks. Free weighbridge western end Mildura ended up using. 60kg over GCM. 120 over rear but 80 under GVM. Search for weighbridge online if you just need a 80% diagnosis, if you want professional 100% results pay the $$. A Few hundred is less than a bent rear-end or snapped A'frame in some cases i guess.
As somebody employed in the compliance area of weighing vehicles I wonder whether you are being told and fully understand the compliance side of weighing these combinations, because from what I am seeing you could challenge the legitimacy of these numbers very easily and win in a court of law.
Other than buying a larger tow vehicle, eg: Ford F250, Dodge Ramcharger, you are extremely limited.
The majority of Japanese vehicles that people use for carrying and towing are obviously inadequate, particularly in your situation.
Best of luck in your unenviable quest to comply with the strict rules, regulations and laws that are imposed on everyone in the name of safety and compliance, not forgetting the demands/compliance with all insurance companies too.
Best of luck, all the best.
You are on point with your comment. Nothing an endless amount of funds couldn't solve, sadly that's not our position, though.
@@SvedosTrippin
I understand mate.
I have a 1990 Ford F150 V8 4WD and l'm in the process in finding out what my maximum load limits are for the vehicle and also what maximum weight l can legally tow.
I may have to sell the F150 and go up to the F250 for the size of the Offroad Caravan we want to buy.
The expenses sure become "very high" trying to be completely compliant to all of the authorities.
Hino, Mitsubishi, Iveco. You don't need a $150 k. truck from the states.
This is why Toyota used to rate their 4WDs at 2.5T, they were already aware it's not practical to tow more than this.
Yeah, the manufacturers certainly share some blame for the issue. Many think they can tow that 3.5 tonne van, it so so in the book.
But they do not any more.
Regardless of the specifics, you should never tow a van that’s heavier that the vehicle you’re towing it with.
Never, even if it’s technically legal.
You don’t want the tail wagging the dog.
Things like insurance or fines shouldn't be prime talking points, it's lucky you haven't had an accident and killed any of your family unlike Stephen Russell who received a 4 year prison sentence for a grossly overloaded caravan, and 250kg isn't just a little bit, also a safety margin is advisable as some of our roads are poor adding to more stresses.
Kudos to you for owning it and putting it out there, as you do see many travellers, including streamers that are well overweight and pleading ignorance doesn't cut it, looking forward to your next video.
Fair, I'm embarrassed about the situation. But we did weigh with full tanks of water, full tanks of fuel and full tanks of gass, so very rarely were we that grossly over loaded, not that it's an excuse. We also weighed before we left and figured we wouldn't be that far over. Goes to show what you accumulate, which we will discuss next week.
That's exactly the point that I made in an earlier post. I live in a fairly popular tourist area, adjacent to a caravan park, no less, and I see all sorts of comings and goings.
But that's not even my point. We've had a recent incident on the local freeway in which a caravan was turned into confetti and the damage to the tow vehicle hardly looked like it would buff out. It happened on a perfectly good sealed straight section of road in good conditions and it was a single vehicle accident.
I'm guessing that the two ambulances weren't there for a day out, nor were the SES or the fire brigade. Who cares about fines, who cares about insurance. It's irrelevant. Jail and my conscience is enough of a deterrent to me.
Kids could have been quiter.
certainly hope the officials have the brain power to calculate the FULL error of the scales and not just take the display value as gospel because its definitely not , especially on temporary scales like are used in the video
I though you got done by the Scalies with that Title! "You Got Weighed" ? You just re weighed yourself again!
Seen vids like this being 3-4 minutes tops.
They weight passenger vehicles and trailers down there? Wow how intrusive.
There was a case not too long ago where a heavily overloaded car and trailer went downhill, then out of control and crashed. Someone was killed as a result. Everything was subsequently weighed and the whole matter investigated. After going to court, the driver is now in jail. Is that intrusive? What would you want to happen pre-emtively if the person who died was your wife? Retired/machinist/part time trailer builder/mechanic in Land Down Under.
@@bobhudson6659 That happens often. With the weight having ZERO part in it. So you don't have a point
@@protonneutron9046he does if the cause of the crash was the drivers ignorance of their vehicles capacities, regardless.
About time they jumped on these , no excuse for arrogance
Empty the shita and water, the cops are looking for free stuff
Couldn’t hear for background noise’s 💩
Yup my apologies, I have kids.
Hahahahahahahahahaha!
About time you guys should get pinged for holding up traffic as well
lol 100 kgs in a shopping trolley?? A hundred kilo's is 5 cartons of booze!!!!
clearly you have never ever purchased booze in bulk?? 🤣😂😅
all you caravans are overload everyday everytime but nothing ever gets done about it why
Hmmm .... young lad's seatbelt doesn't appear to be in the correct position
Good lesson learned here on loads ... I'm betting there are just too many out there that would be overweight
There certainly are alot of over weight rigs out there. And it's not hard to look at them and know either...
Our boy is ADHD, sometimes he does silly things, we don't always catch it, but we are constantly telling him to wear it correctly.
Get a fold a boat lol
We went with an inflatable
I just don't get wanting to tow a house behind you full of crap & a boat on top, if you need all that crap stay at home and stay off the road!
Become a minimalist 😂
The trailers and RVs with people live in them are ALL overweight. All the belongings and fuel and full water tanks make allmost ALL trailers overweight. Cheap frames and brakes are not meant for heavy weight
U should always weigh it car Ur the problem with these travellers U should not have a liscence putting other people at risk
I trust the license will come with some spelling lessons for yourself 🤣.
@@SvedosTrippin u dont need to spell to be retired mate retired at 38 and be traveling for 6 years and pay my missis as well to be retired u keep doing u and ill keep doing me
😂
@@SvedosTrippinhe's a clown mate who can't understand the point of what you've done. As I was attempting to read his illiterate comment I was hearing Auto Expert John Cadogan reading it out 😂
What?