Notes

What’s weighing you down?

What’s weighing you down?
It doesn’t matter if you are towing or not…weighing matters. It can be very simple to go chubby as everything we put in our automobile, van or trailer weighs one thing. Going over can have an effect on automobile dynamics.

Increasing weight on a automotive or caravan can have an effect on the way they handle, add increased velocity and slight inputs from the driver and this may be catastrophic…we have all seen movies of people trying to appropriate trailer sway solely to finish up being concerned in an accident.

Braking distance is another one that can get us into bother. We should enhance the following distance when towing, even more within the wet, but if overloaded, the car and trailer can behave very in a different way beneath heavy braking. Steering effectiveness could be diminished by overweight or poor weight distribution causing the automotive to wander and never go where it's pointed.

Vehicle suspension loses its capability to do its job…too heavy and sagging greatly reduces suspension journey making the experience uncomfortable and will increase wear and tear on suspension parts. I even have also seen self-levelling airbag suspension hide weight problems on the rear axle of the automobile. Wheel alignment can even undergo from being chubby carrying tyres prematurely.

Legal compliance…all vehicles, caravans and trailers have compliance plates stating maximum weights. Failure to comply with these most weights means the automotive, caravan or trailer is deemed unroadworthy. This can affect your insurance coverage if you're involved in an accident or if pulled over by the NSW police may end up in a $439 nice and 3 demerit factors.

It’s a lot simpler to exceed your most weights than you may think…the TOYOTA LANDCRUISER is a great and very fashionable tow car but also very simple to overload…let’s have a glance at a quantity of numbers: Kerb weight (all fluids and fuel but no folks or gear – supply www.toyota.com.au) 2740kg – Landcruiser VX, let’s add 150kg for 2 folks, add 80kg for a steel bulbar and lights, add one other 80kg for gear and if towing a 3500kg caravan add 350kg tow ball weight = 3400kg. TOYOTA LANDCRUISER has a maximum weight (GVM) of 3350kg….50kg OVERWEIGHT. So even with a Landcruiser, it is very simple to go overweight.

The size of the caravan doesn’t matter either, it’s just as straightforward to overload an 18ft van as it is to overload a 25ft van…they all have most weights (ATM). Some have huge payloads however some have very small payloads. ATM – Tare = Payload. You could be towing a horse float with one or two horses, or a car trailer with a 4WD onboard or it may be a trade trailer full of substances.

You won't tow a trailer but might have a 4WD with canopy or toolboxes for work or play. It makes no difference as all of them have most weights that should not be exceeded … should you do you might be unroadworthy.

So how do you know if you're compliant? You set your car or mixture up like you would for travel, work or play and get it weighed by us.

We weigh utilizing the newest wi-fi weigh pads and indicators…we also provide a 3-page report that compares actual weights to those in your compliance plates so you'll have the ability to see how much out there payload you may have remaining or in case you have exceeded most weights. The report additionally explains all of the completely different acronyms used with vehicle and trailer weights.




We weigh in Sydney, Lower Blue Mountains and Central Coast and require a flat, hard stage surface to get the most accurate results.


Safe travels,

Craig


Here's my website: https://weighpro.com.au/2021/10/01/whats-weighing-you-down/