| RV FEATURE
Offroad touring meant
carrying more equipment,
water and food, for greater
self-sufficiency. But it has, in
many instances, come with a
trade-off. These offroaders
required major structural
improvements, such as the
strengthening of the chassis,
framing and furniture, which
only added to the Tare weight.
So not only were vans growing
heavier when they left the
factory, they were permitted
to be loaded to the gunwales
– a 3500kg ATM became
common, and the market for
tow vehicles to match took off.
“Everything in travel is a
compromise, and some
people, with the size and
features they want, know that
these features will restrict
their loading ability, though in
the broader scheme of things,
300kg for a single-axle van,
and 400kg for tandem can
barely cover, say 260L, of
water,” Kedron Caravans’ Glen
Gall told GoRV.
In our desire to pack more
and more gear in order to
live off-grid longer, we may
have made a rod for our own
backs. As you might have
heard, the Gross Combined
Mass (the total permissible
weight of the tow vehicle and
trailer combined) of some
tow vehicles rated to tow
3500kg is such that when the
trailer is fully loaded, there’s
an unrealistic payload left for
the vehicle. Enough for one
passenger and a tank of fuel, if
you’re lucky. Fortunately, there
remains enough true 4WD
wagons and utes that can
competently haul such loads.
Whether your van is a
blacktop tourer or offroad
weapon, you’ll find the payload
allowance engraved on your
van’s compliance plate,
often listed as ‘load carrying
capacity’. If it isn’t specifically
listed, simply deduct the Tare
figure from the ATM.
But are you stuck with
that number? What if the
manufacturer has only allowed
300kg of payload but you
need 500kg? Are you up
a certain creek without a
paddle? Not always. Fact:
some RV manufacturers will
‘downgrade’ the ATM of the
van to make the van appeal
to owners of a certain class
of tow vehicle, most commonly
vehicles with a 2500kg
maximum towing capacity.
The good news is that
in these cases, where the
suspension, group axle rating
and chassis permit a higher
load-carrying capacity, it’s not
difficult for the manufacturer
to upgrade the ATM and
therefore provide additional
payload capacity.
However, in all other cases, it’s
not simply a matter of cranking
up the Aggregate Trailer
Mass. To have your van’s ATM
upgraded, if the manufacturer
isn’t willing or able to do it,
would involve working with an
engineer – a difficult, potentially
expensive process.
LEFT: This Roadstar GT Sport Mk2 has an
industry standard payload allowance.
ABOVE: Track Trailer camper owners at
one of the company's gatherings. Track can
forecast the Tare of its rigs very accurately.
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