RV FEATURE
In the real world , you might have a loaded caravan weight of 3200kg in a van that has a 3500kg ATM , which would probably reduce the ball weight to around 320kg .
Alternatively , you might opt for a caravan with an ATM of 2500kg or less and just enjoy the fact that your tow vehicle isn ’ t operating constantly on the edge of its capacity . It would also mean you weren ’ t frequently worried that an extra case of beer inside the car would tip your rig into illegal territory .
While some might say that it ’ s deceptive of vehicle manufactures to advertise a 3500kg towing capacity and 350kg towball maximum without also advertising the repercussions , the police and the courts won ’ t care about your moral argument . The onus , as always , is on the driver to know the rules and abide by them .
BUT WHY ?
While wrapping my mind around some of these issues , I chatted to our roving technical correspondent , Marty Ledwich . A key theme of our conversation was , why would vehicle manufacturers , who no doubt employ truly talented engineers , overlook the payload problem ? And of course , we haven ’ t even touched on another key issue , that of overloading the vehicle ’ s axles , in particular the rear axle .
The nearest we could figure , it seems these European and Asian vehicle manufactures don ’ t adequately appreciate Australia ’ s caravanning culture . In Europe , a you-beaut tandem-axle caravan would weigh in the neighbourhood of 2000kg , or 2500kg fully laden . On those figures , a caravanner towing with a 200 Series would have all the in-vehicle payload they need . In Asia , well , caravanning just isn ’ t a way of life like it is here .
But on our shores , our caravans can easily tip the scales at 3500kg ATM , while there ’ s no shortage of vans with an ATM of 4500kg . Why else would Cruisemaster bother to build the DO45 ?
There is method to this Australian weight ‘ madness ’, though . The reality is , we aren ’ t Europe . We don ’ t have an Autobahn or some other network of perfectly paved highways that will take you to all corners of the country . As Marty said , “ Have you seen the state of the Bruce Highway lately ?”
In many cases , our caravans are over-engineered for the simple reason that Australia ’ s conditions demand it – especially if you want to go offroad , which is half the fun of caravanning .
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