Towing and weights

[zilch]

We picked up our new "Off Road" caravan the other week and have just been putting it through a shakedown.
One key issue was to check out the weights, especially the rear axle load.. I had it checked by a company called
Weigh Check Gympie, who did a thorough check of both the vans and the P400 axle and TBW.. Quite surprised how well
it has done, to the point i was told best to add more weight to the Tow Ball to make it more optimum at 10% based upon
a 2911KG caravan. Going to optimise the TBW based upon 8-10%, the mobile weigh company said that was easily achievable
by just refilling the front water tank.. one page of the report attached so you get an idea when you load conservatively, it is possible to
avoid over doing the rear axle loads.. The Defender is a P400, 7 seat, tow pack, e-diff, side steps, front protection plate, rear recovery
eyes, side steps, RAI, roof rack with max trax, side ladder.. 2 adults and a full tank of Petrol.. Off Road caravan is a Zone 19' Peregrine
with Tare of 2687KG, and was loaded with about 240KG of "stuff"

Hope this helps some of the towers out there

184173

[Bosco15]

Wow! That's a very comprehensive set of measurements. They certainly do their job well.
Great to see such huge margins to play with, too.
I have read of many dual cab's, having been purchased to tow with, requiring re certifying after having accessories such as bullbars,etc added, as they go overweight and can no longer tow legally.

[discomatt69]

Very good report and still under weight it like all tow cars wouldn’t take much to go over, some more bits in the car , fridge, spare fuel/ water 2nd spare winch, recovery gear , compressor some fishing gear and it’s over
the rear axle is the clincher with less than 200kg spare and that’s before you add drawbar weight
luckily heaps spare in the van

[zilch]

Very good report and still under weight it like all tow cars wouldn’t take much to go over, some more bits in the car , fridge, spare fuel/ water 2nd spare winch, recovery gear , compressor some fishing gear and it’s over
the rear axle is the clincher with less than 200kg spare and that’s before you add drawbar weight
luckily heaps spare in the van

the Deffer was set up as we will tour, the plan is just to add a few extra bits which we will carry in the van, unless we decide to leave the van and head bush with some swags..I am aiming at around 250-260kg on the TBW max, about 8% ish percent, that should keep us well within GVM/GCM and of
course rear axle load

[DazzaTD5]

Personally I think the OP going to all the long winded trouble of getting their vehicle and the caravan weighed with such a detailed result shows an excellent attitude.
Here is one owner that should be praised and respected for going to the trouble and expense.

:BigThumb::BigThumb::BigThumb:

[Pedro_The_Swift]

When you install a TPM system remember that rear drivers side weight.. it will be why that tyre always builds more pressure than its cross axle buddy...
Mines the same, that tyre carries more than the other 3..

[zilch]

The weigh company even took some pictures and added the weights underneath, of course the GVM difference is only 251KG when
hitched.. Gives a better view on axle weights on both the Deffer and the Caravan..

184395

[zilch]

Personally I think the OP going to all the long winded trouble of getting their vehicle and the caravan weighed with such a detailed result shows an excellent attitude.

thank you, we were considering the rear axle prior to the weigh in, the primary reason was to make sure we were
not overloading the 1900kg limit.. Pretty chuffed on the actual results.. gives us the confidence when towing
(and if stopped by the plod), and also fix some of the scaremongering/BS we have seen on a number of social media posts.

[shadow101202]

Excellent report will need to use these guys myself soon when we pick up our van.

Your zone is light for an offroad van but you have to pay for that privilege.

We have the 5 door p400 which has a GVM of 3200kg (which annoys me that the 7 seater has a 80kg boost nevermind) I have added the winch bullbar/sidesteps and brushes, roof rack, ARB Tracks and recovery gear. With the Wife,kid, dog and full tank of fuel we weigh in at 2960kg so with a BW of 180 kg we are close to max GVM. I guess I will need to move the recovery gear and most of the payload to the van.