Do you know how much your Vehicle weighs when fully loaded for Club Trips? Do you know what your Vehicle GVM is? GCM What's That?? Do you know what your GCM is? GVM --- What's That??????Do you know what I am talking about???? Do you know the consequences of exceeding GCM and GVM??
What is GVM Gross Vehicle Mass - ie The total legal weight your vehicle can weigh on the road What does this include? Kerb Weight of the vehicle plus EVERYTHING that has been added, which includes Tray if it is a Cab Chassis Bullbar and winch if you have one Dual battery system including solenoid, cabling, second or even third battery The weight of the fuel in the tank and auxillary tanks The weight of all passengers, pets etc Tow Bars Compressor Recovery Gear Water Camping Gear Roof Racks Drawer Systems Computers, GPS, UHF Radios with cabling and aerials PLUS the down weight on the towbar of anything towed Kerb Weight is the manufacturer's Base showroom' weight of the vehicle
What is GCM Gross Combined Mass - The total legal weight your vehicle(gvm) PLUS anything being towed What does this include? The weight of the loaded Vehicle The weight of any trailer, caravan, boat etc ALSO when loaded What is Payload Payload is the weight that can be added to the base vehicle up to the rated GVM The differences can be quite different depending on the vehicle type and manufacturer eg. Payload for a Nissan Patrol TI is just 548kg Payload for a Land Rover Defender 130 HD is over 1700kg
So, what does this all mean? It means that depending on your vehicle type, you can just about load it up with 5 (or 7) passengers and a couple of handbags and you are over your GVM and driving an illegal vehicle Or you load up your vehicle with gear, add the rooftop dinghy or canoe and add your 2 tonne caravan and you could be over your GVM AND GCM and again driving illegally What are the implications of exceeding GVM or GCM? If you have not uprated your vehicle to carry extra weight you are driving an unsafe vehicle which will: Increase the risk of accidents due to poor handling Stress original suspension components and mounts leading to premature failure Possibly stress your original tyres leading to premature failure State Transport Officers have mobile weigh bridges and can weigh your vehicles to check weights and issue infringement notices leading to fines and maybe demerits They can also demand you offload things or prevent you continuing your journey Resulting in your vehicle having to be recovered Your insurance will be void in the event of an accident
Kerb Weight GVM Payload GCM Towing Weight HiLux SR5 S/C 1675 2835 1160 5335 2500 K/C 1845 2710 865 5210 2500 D/C 1920 2780 860 5280 2500 Ford Ranger S/C XL 1795 3200 1405 5950 2750 XL K/C XL 1870 3200 1330 5950 2750 XL D/C XL 2018 3200 1182 5950 2750 Mazda BT50 S/C 1692 3200 1508 5950 2750 K/C 1770 3200 1430 5950 2750 D/C 1944 3200 1256 5950 2750 Nissan Patrol DX 2366 3060 694 6260 3200 ST 2455 3060 605 6260 3200 TI 2512 3060 548 6260 3200
Kerb Weight GVM Payload GCM Towing Weight L/Cruiser Troopie GXL 2345 3300 955 6800 3500 Wagon GX 2230 3000 770 6500 3500 200 Srs GXL P 2635 3300 665 6800 3500 200 Srs GXL D 2640 3350 710 6850 3500 Prado GXL 2320 2990 670 5360 2370 Isuzu D-Max S/C SX 1619 2900 1281 5900 3000 K/C SX 1669 2900 1231 5900 3000 D/C SX 1859 2900 1041 5900 3000 Mitsubish Pajero GLX 2280 3030 750 6030 3000 Challang LS 2041 2710 669 5650 2940 Triton S/C GXL 1653 2930 1277 5700 2770
NJ PAJERO PAYLOAD And this DOES'NT include: Beer and Wine Tables Ropes/Poles/Pegs Chairs Cooking Utensils Clothes Stove BBQ Plate Gas Bottle Food Solar Panels 6th Tyre/Wheel Fishing Gear PortaPoty ETC ETC ETC 675kg Fuel 76Lt -70 2 Jerry Cans -45 2 Passengers -160 Water 65lt -70 RoofTop Tent -40 Dual Battery -35 Bull Bar -60 Spotlights -6 Tow Bar -40 Recovery Gear -25 MaxTrax+Shovel -10 50lt Fridge -20 Compressor -15 Drawer System -45 Tools & spares -25 GPS/Radio/Phone-10 Cargo Barrier -12 Fire Extinguisher -4 Roof Rack -35 Recovery Points -4 Side Steps -15!!!TOTAL 746Kg!!!
So What Can I Do?? Check your manufacturer's rated GVM and GCM - you'll find Tare(Kerb Weight), Aggr(GVM) and GCM on your Rego Documents and GVM on your compliance Plate Take the vehicle to a public weight bridge (sometimes Shire Tips have them for free) And weight it empty Take this weight away from the GVM and thats what you are legally allowed to carry Load up the vehicle as if setting off on a camp and weigh again If your 'loaded' weight is over GVM you can: Ignore it and risk fines, higher accident risk and voided insurance Reduce the weight carried Buy another vehicle with higher payload Consider a GVM Upgrade If you are towing, You still need to check your vehicle's weight and compare to GVM as above Weigh the fully loaded vehicle PLUS Trailer/Caravan and compare to GCM Check your Tow Ball weight
How do I go about a GVM Upgrade?? GVM upgrades (from the base Showroom model will require most, if not all of: Uprated Suspension likely to include: Heavier Duty Shockies Heavier Duty Coils Heavier Duty Springs Heavier Duty Torsion Bars Air bags Uprated Tyres likely to include Light Truck Tyre with higher rating An Engineering Certificate from a Registered Automotive Engineer An Application to DPI for the Upgrade Visit one of the Suspension Experts who has an Engineer in-house Once completed, advise your Insurance Company NOT NECESSARY It's best and cheapest to do it before taking delivery and before registration Check with the dealer Check with Suspension companies to see if they do it for your vehicle This would not normally include the cost of Engineering Certificate Post original Registration Visit/Call a Suspension Expert that can install the necessary parts and provide an Engineering Certificate and procure the new Compliance Plate
What's the cost?? For the lot $5000 - $6,000 For the Certificate/Appplication and New compliance Plate $1100 if no work needed Things to watch out for:- Not all 4WD companies can do this Not all suspension 'experts' can do this Some Companies advertise GVM upgrades, but are only for limited vehicle types And I suspect they are just selling you the suspension parts. Some say they can, but you have to have their certified' suspension fitted This means if you have already upgraded to some other, you'd need pay again Confirm how much upgrade weight they will apply for and see if it enough Some may only do around 300kg, others may go to 500kg Case History ARB HD springs and Shockies put on D-Max Poly-Air airbags added to D-Max Cooper ATR3 LT tyres put on D-Max Took it to SuspensionMan in Bellvue. He got underneath, had a look and said 'Fine' $1000 later - New compliance plate upgrading GVM from 2900kg to 3400kg (500kg)