Being weighed

Fishvan · Post by **Fishvan** » Thu Nov 17, 2022 8:48 am

Hi to all. I have a 200 series with 19ft van and WDH attached. I have heard different versions of when you are being weighed at roadside whether you have the WDH bars on or off the van. This is going to change the axle weights one way or the other. Can it be verified what configuration it gets weighed in so I can setup accordingly. Also, if the bars do have to come off, do they get put in the car or the van for weighing?

Thanks in advance!

Regards Dennis.

Bushtrek · Post by **Bushtrek** » Thu Nov 17, 2022 11:25 am

The Road Authorities are interested in how your vehicle and combination presents to the road and other vehicles in the vicinity.
For that reason they are focussed on 2 relevant masses....

1- Gross Trailer Mass (GTM) and,
2- Gross Vehicle Mass (GVM).

Gross Trailer mass (GTM) is the maximum mass recommended by the manufacturer of your fully loaded caravan when it is hitched to your tow vehicle. The GTM of the caravan is transmitted to the ground by only the caravan tyres and excludes the mass distributed to the towing vehicle through the coupling.

Gross Vehicle Mass (GVM) is the maximum total mass of a fully loaded motor vehicle as specified by the vehicle manufacturer.
To measure your loaded vehicle mass, weigh your fully packed towing vehicle, including passengers, with the caravan hitched.

So, in both cases you leave the weight distribution bars attached and in place and take the mass readings accordingly.

Fishvan · Post by **Fishvan** » Thu Nov 17, 2022 2:27 pm

Thanks for that, I thought these days they were also big on checking axle weights on the car, in which case it matters whether the bars are on or not.

AroundAustralia · Post by **AroundAustralia** » Sat Nov 19, 2022 8:58 am

Interesting.

I had my LC 200 and 19' Bushtracker weighed last week. When I asked the question about WD Systems, I was told that Roadside Authorities and Private Weighing Contractors would insist the Bars were removed. In other words, they cant be used to manipulate axle loads.

Cheers.

Fishvan · Post by **Fishvan** » Sun Nov 20, 2022 11:03 am

Yeah, I was afraid of that as I thought I had read that of other people's experiences. I'm not sure I can bring the axle weight down enough to achieve that by removing stuff.