Caravan Tow Weights Explained - How much does our setup weigh?

#caravan #towing #4x4
Caravan and vehicle tow weights can be confusing! We have broken it down into layman's terms and explain our own dilemma when choosing a tow vehicle and trying to comply with weights.
We then put our 79 series Landcruiser and 18ft KEDRON off road caravan over the scales with a mobile weight check company to give you a real life example. Watch the full video to see exactly what our weights were in all seven categories and ultimately find out if we were under or over our weights!
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[@dalecaddaye5555]

Loved your video. It's great to see people caring about their weights. As a 40 year career truck driver who now caravans, I was paranoid about weights so bought a 2020 79 series single cab as it has 3400 GVM (1500/2300 kg axle cap.) and 6900 GCM. I have a soft canopy, no dual battery, no fridge etc in the back and still go 3200 kg (1230/1970 kg loaded axle weights) with a 290 kg ball weight. So many people seem to ignore the legalities and it won't be long before all those truck weighbridges start displaying "All Caravans Must Enter" signs to help the government pay some bills. Well done. PS - I absolutely love my 79 too. After driving Kenworths and Macks most of my working life, the 79 is luxury.

[@our.australia.trip.]

Hi Dale. Thanks for leaving a comment! I can appreciate your concern when selecting your setup after 40 years of operating heavy vehicles keeping a log book and eye on your axle weights constantly it must seem strange to hitch up a van and virtually have no one to pull you up on these things. Times are changing though. Cheers for watching mate 👍🏼😊

[@mickburns5546]

Well done. I’m continually amazed when at a caravan park and I watch the combinations driving in. Not only way,way over but, so often not even towing mirrors. Scares the hell out of me after driving trucks for many years. 😊

[@our.australia.trip.]

For sure! Times are changing though 😊

[@PeterN911]

Great video, very clear with your explanations and certainly learnt a couple of things watching this video.

[@our.australia.trip.]

Thanks Peter glad you picked something up! It’s a dense topic for sure 👍🏼

[@sea.nest.]

Brilliant video guys

[@our.australia.trip.]

Thank you! Tried our best to keep it simple and fun on such a confusing and dry subject 😅

[@dougneville9097]

Thanks guy,s well explained,weights are sometimes the last thing on people's minds when going on holiday's.👍🏾

[@our.australia.trip.]

It is easy these days with canopy’s and roof racks to bring the whole kit and caboodle! Always good peace of mind to be within the legalities 👍🏼👌🏼

[@indigothedog]

You guys a smashing it. That reminds me I need to get the 79 weighed before I start throwing in all the camping gear.

[@our.australia.trip.]

That’s very kind mate! Thank you 😊 It’s a great peace of mind. There are a list on our website article at the bottom of a few mobile weigh companies around Aus. Link is in the description 👍🏼

[@robertarmbruster5650]

Another really good video. You guys have a good grasp of the weight debacle, so much so you are able to impart that knowledge to us people. Very impressive Hayley and Brad, what a team.

[@our.australia.trip.]

Thanks again for the kind words mate! It is a little confusing so we try to break it down as easy as possible :)

[@therealmrnobody9351]

Great video for educating those who do not know, which i would imagine are many, well done.

[@our.australia.trip.]

Cheers, it’s a hot topic. A lot of people are very conscious of this now which is good. Some manufacturers wont sell vans to people who don’t have the correct tow vehicle which is a step in the right direction 👍🏼

[@therealmrnobody9351]

@@our.australia.trip. yes we have an fj cruiser and bought a jayco bushpack 12 ft van, they were conscious of what we could tow, and we are well within all weights. some of the tow vehicles i see towing big rigs , give me the heeby geebies.

[@Livedaybyday71]

Thank you for that information. As a potential newbie this helps and will continue to research

[@our.australia.trip.]

Glad it was helpful!

[@Livedaybyday71]

@@our.australia.trip. as I mentioned to someone a few minutes ago this will be a very new experience for me I've never towed a caravan before so learning about different things will be very new to me but the more research I do I think it will be safer and more knowledgeable where's the caravan lifestyle

[@williamdavis9253]

Absolutely superb video guys. Would have to be the most informative video we have seen. We went through the same with our RC Colorado and our hybrid offroad van. Our 2900kg gvm was exceeded by 144kg. when weighed by a mobile weighing service in Adelaide. Our ute and van were fully loaded and having 3 x 100AH agm batteries and my pullout RV steel tool drawers in the ute where the major problem. Removing the metal draws and replacing the AGM batteries with a 200AH lithium system made our set up legal. Keep up the great presentations 👏 🙌 👍

[@our.australia.trip.]

Thanks Will! 144kg is a lot to be over by. That's awesome you could keep the same setup and just tweak a few things. I bet you are not disappointed switching over to lithium, apart from the upfront cost they are miles better than the old tech. Appreciate the kind word & thanks for taking the time to leave a comment :)

[@matthewcarter232]

Great job guys, well explained, great tips and good teamwork on the video!👍

[@our.australia.trip.]

Thanks for the kind words Matt!

[@robyndehavilland1609]

What a great resource to share, and you explained it well and with confidence. See you on K’gari for next weeks video, been looking forward to that one😀

[@our.australia.trip.]

Thanks Robyn! See you there, it was a ball!

[@paulello6027]

Excellent stuff guys, super good info! (love the weigh sheets). Been struggling to understood all this, but your content sorted it for me 👍

[@our.australia.trip.]

Gday Paul & great to hear our video helped get your head around it! I know how you feel, the amount of time we spent running through this stuff motivated us to break it down into this (hopefully) simple guide! 😁

[@mrandmrsmeier8685]

Guys thank you so much for this great informative content. We are now going g to re assess our car and caravan. Valuable information and you guys nailed the facts. We are on the Gold Coast so will be using John for our future weigh in 🙏🏻💯

[@our.australia.trip.]

Thanks guys, that means a lot! John is an absolute gentleman and I’m sure he will sort you out 👌🏼😁

[@user-yh3xx5gl9g]

Great video guys

[@our.australia.trip.]

Thanks so much!

[@cruisin_our_country]

Well explain guys

[@our.australia.trip.]

Thanks Steve 👍🏼😊

[@carolinedickason9414]

Newbie question - what happens if you drive up to a weigh station, and you're over the allowed weight. Are you allowed to then drive off as is, to fix perhaps when you get home, or do you need to fix it / unload then and there?

[@pata8167]

Guys check the new federal agreement between the states to increase GCM Queensland is dragging it feet on post upgrade

[@our.australia.trip.]

Hey Pat! I tried to look for it but couldn't find anything, could you send me a link? A federal agreement would be the best way forward in a world of increasing caravan weights and people becoming aware/educated on weights! Also not surprised QLD would be dragging feet... they are know for this beuqacratic BS 🤣

[@mickpocock2102]

Something isn’t adding up here from what I can see. Correct me if I’m wrong but the weigh you got done before you bought the ute shows 1483kg rear axle load which I would assume is with an empty canopy (and only 15% fuel in the main tank as stated). Then when you got the ute weighed by EZI-WEIGH it shows 1861kg with both of you in the vehicle, plus a canopy full of gear and I’d assume full fuel tanks. Then add the 318kg of ball weight and you are over on your rear axle loading. This is before you allow the extra weight the 318kg adds to your rear axle as it’s added at least a metre behind the axle. I estimate you could be over your rear axle loading by about 140kgs.

[@our.australia.trip.]

Mick! You sure gave us something to think about this afternoon. After double checking the weight placard in the car we noticed the rear axle is rated to 2300kg from factory. Not 2150kg as stated on our first weigh. This means when taking into account ball weight and leverage our 1861kg + 436kg (ball weight + leverage) we equal 2297kg on our rear axle. Keep in mind we were overweight 43kg on our GVM which we have since removed this weight from our canopy and removed weight out of our front toolbox on the caravan so we should be a fair bit more under it now. Still pretty close though. Appreciate the comment!

[@mickpocock2102]

That’s great news. I was a bit worried for you guys there for a while. Glad it’s all good after you went to the trouble and expense of changing vehicles.

[@our.australia.trip.]

For sure! We have a 70L water tank over the rear axle which we empty if we know we are carrying a bit more in the car. It’s nice to have that flexibility in this setup which we didn’t have in the Hilux 👍🏼

[@mickpocock2102]

Just wondering if the EZI-WEIGH ever weighed with van attached or only seperate.

[@placestosea]

How close to your maximum rear axle weight are you? It's an interesting topic.

[@our.australia.trip.]

Rear axle loaded is 1861 kg. Max rear axle load is 2300 kg. So we have 439kg spare which we cannot physically exceed unless we upgraded our GVM further. Fortunate enough for us the 70 series axle ratings from factory are extremely good :)

[@placestosea]

@@our.australia.trip. have you considered reducing weight in the rear of the Toyota?

[@RealHooksy]

In simple terms, regardless of all of the calculations you should NEVER tow a trailer (caravan) which is heavier than the vehicle you are towing it with, even it tick all of the other boxes. You don’t want the tail wagging the dog. IE: if your car weighs 3 tonnes don’t tow anything heavier than 3 tonnes, even if it technically complies.

[@our.australia.trip.]

A good rule of thumb always!

[@michealplater9007]

You should be more concerned about being over car/caravan weights, not for vehicle damage/insurance, but if you have an accident and the Police get involved. You could end in jail.

[@our.australia.trip.]

Completely understand. It is a big liability!

[@joshowens2062]

I’d say you’d should be more worried for yours and other people’s safety