RV MAIL

I have been looking at caravans with the idea of trading up. But I am at a loss as to how this industry arrives at the Tare weight and the ATM weight. My present camper has a Tare of 1006kg with an ATM of 1306kg. I know the ATM includes the towball download. The towball download on my camper is 130kg, giving a spare weight of 170kg.

Now, the water tank is 60L and the 9kg gas bottle is 15kg, giving me a( spare payload) weight of 95kg. This is nowhere near enough for bedding, clothing and food. So how and what factors do the manufactures use as a standard? Is it possible to do an article on this mystery?

Brian Medlow- Cowirra, SA

Hi Brian, the payload capacity is the difference between the Tare and ATM. You’ re right in that the ball weight is included in the ATM, but remember: it’ s also included in the Tare.

Remember, too, that when the van is hitched up, the ball weight is now being supported by the towbar of the tow vehicle rather than the jockey wheel. The loaded weight of the van minus the ball weight should not exceed the van’ s Gross Trailer Mass rating, which is the amount that can be legally supported by the axles and suspension.

While you haven’ t provided your camper’ s GTM, it appears that it has a true payload capacity of 300kg, which is actually quite standard for a single-axle van, though arguably still not enough. And yes, we’ ll do an article next month. – Ed

I live in New South Wales. I have had my van registration in Victoria since I bought it a few years ago. All I had to do was have a garaging address in Victoria and a Victorian person with a Victorian driving licence to‘ okay’ it and they post the renewal to me in New South Wales. Now I have been told it is illegal to have a van registration in Victoria towed by a car registered in New South Wales. Can you advise on this?

Greg Martineer Via email

Hi Greg, it is not illegal to tow a van or anything else with an interstate rego. Plenty of haulage companies tow trailers registered in different states if they have multiple depots.

As for registering a van in Victoria if you have an interstate licence, the van must be registered to the address where it is normally garaged. There is nothing wrong with using a Victorian address if that is where it is kept. But if the van is usually kept / garaged interstate, it must be registered to that address. – Ed

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