Thread: Weights.

Originally Posted by Pedro_The_Swift

Some weighbridge weights,,,
All up 4.04
van weight still hitched to car 1.62

car weight 2.34

so--
all up minus car gives me a van weight of -- 1.7T

so--
van weight minus van hitched gives me a ball weight of--

80kg?

same weighbridge used for all figures.
D2 front axle =1.1T
rear= 1.24T

D2 weight will be down as I have removed 3rd row and half of second row seating.


If thats right I am a happy camper

Or even a happy caravanner.

anybody confirm my figures?

From my understanding of how it works and going by the numbers you have supplied then yes your correct 80kg is your ball weight.

However 80kg is very low for a Aussie built 1.7 ton van, being less then 5%.

What does your vans compliance plate say are the various weights?

I take it given that it only weighed 1.7 ton and it is a 18" dual axle van that it had no water in the tanks and no personal gear in it? The reason I ask is most water tanks are in front of the axles so maybe when full then you will find that your ball weight would increase to around the 10% mark which many Aussie vans are built to be around.


cheers,
Terry

Its really worth watching what goes into the van, We tended to take stuff that might be useful. This stuff gets thrown into a cupboard, forgotten and sits there till you sell the van or gets used sometimes. We learned that the hard way last time we upgraded.
The last one we sold had that much stuff in it, good stuff that might be usefull?? Recon we were dragging around about a ton of it. It sneaks up on you, I put this bit in girlfreind also adds stuff end result A Lot of extra weight!
We now put in only what we need for the upcoming trip and adjust this depending on the type of camping. Good example was we had the camp ovens and all my cast iron pots and pans and we were staying in a park that did not allow fires. Had the water tank full when there was a tap on the site.
The new van has most of the cupboards empty and we use a lot less fuel on the way to where we are going.

Thanks,, The plate gives only the GVM,,
which is 1560,,
so I'm already 100kgs over,,

actually that might be wrong cos theres at least 140 litres of water on board!

yes Terry BOTH tanks (front and rear) are full, dont ask me why,, maybe the seller thought we'd spend a couple of days on the trip home.

so maybe I need to run with the rear empty and front full?

I dont think they needed to put much on the plates in 1990

Why is GVM only 1560 kg? Does it only have brakes on 1 axle?

Its beyond me Pedro, one of the things I found out really early on was that Vans are a whole different world and it is really important to find people who actually know what they are talking about rather then talking BS. Most van sites are full of nongs.

I found one forum (from recommendation) that has lots of people who are very knowledgeable and very helpful, but you have to join and be accepted before you can even read any posts, let alone ask questions.

The forum address is; rvtravelau : Caravans Motorhomes Campers Australia

It won't be to everyones taste but what the pedantic old buggers on there don't know about vans and fixing and improving them isn't worth knowing.

cheers,
Terry

I always thought the limit was 2000kg,
then you needed 4wheel brakes and breakaway brakes,,

anyone?

but mine has 4 wheel brakes anyway,,

thanks for that link,,