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tug vehicle question


Rocket

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Now you have opened up a can of worms.

My suggestion would be the best you can afford, remembering while the duel cab utes may have a 3.5 ton tow capacity, ........... they wont do it easy, while a cruiser will do it better, but still not that easy when it comes to steep inclines and declines. (anything can tow on the flat)

Good luck in your research

Steve

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thanks Steve, currently I have a 1995 Ford Bronco with ABS brakes and woe and behold I find out that it can only tow 2800kg. Talk about being disappointed. Well at least I can tow the Kedron home with it but nothing in it by the look of things. Rocket

 

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Sorry to give you bad news Rocket.

If your van has a GVM of 3.5ton then you will require a veh with a tow capacity of 3.5t or better to tow it regardless of weather the van is loaded or empty.

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  • 1 month later...

Rocket,

Defiantly a can of worms, Qld from the 1st January are now coming down hard on over weight tow vehicles and vans, Dept transport personal have now the power to fine on the spot without the presence of police. Most cruisers have a GVM of 3.3t your van is GVM 3.5t, total allowed on the road combined is 6.8t.

Depending on your tow ball weight eg: 200kgs then your tow vehicle can not be more than 3.1t, does not leave much for loading unless you go for a GVM upgrade on your cruiser to 3.9t, this will give you more for the tow vehicle but less than for your van depending on the weight as you still only have a total GVM of 6.8t.

I would suggest a cruiser with the upgrade

 

Your choice

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  • 3 months later...
On 20 December 2015 at 8:24 PM, Steve and Kez said:

Sorry to give you bad news Rocket.

If your van has a GVM of 3.5ton then you will require a veh with a tow capacity of 3.5t or better to tow it regardless of weather the van is loaded or empty.

All vans unless upgraded are plated GVM = 3.5 tonne

Gross Vehicle Mass means weight of van and loading not to exceed 3.5 tonne.

if your van weighs 2.7 tonne you can legally tow it with any vehicle with a 2800 kg towing capacity so long as you dont exceed the GCM.

People who continue to give wrong advice such as this above, annoy me.

Get your facts straight before offering advice to some innocent party and causing them grief

Edited by HAVAGO
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On 9 February 2016 at 10:06 PM, Gary Clarke said:

Rocket,

Defiantly a can of worms, Qld from the 1st January are now coming down hard on over weight tow vehicles and vans, Dept transport personal have now the power to fine on the spot without the presence of police. Most cruisers have a GVM of 3.3t your van is GVM 3.5t, total allowed on the road combined is 6.8t.

Depending on your tow ball weight eg: 200kgs then your tow vehicle can not be more than 3.1t, does not leave much for loading unless you go for a GVM upgrade on your cruiser to 3.9t, this will give you more for the tow vehicle but less than for your van depending on the weight as you still only have a total GVM of 6.8t.

I would suggest a cruiser with the upgrade

 

Your choice

Just a couple of points of interest Gary,

Dept of Transport Enforcements have always had the power to book Van owners and have not ever needed traffic branch to look over their shoulder.

You are getting confused as most between tare weight and Gross Vehicle Mass, two entirely different measures.

Tow Vehicle has GVM of 3.3 tonne what is tare of your vehicle, tare plus load with van attached not to exceed 3.3 tonne

Van has GVM of 3.5 tonne what is tare of your van, tare plus load on the back of vehicle not exceed 3.5 tonne

Gross Combination Mass not to exceed based on this knowledge 6.8 tonnes

Vehicle sitting unhooked weighs example 3.1 tonne

Van weighs loaded 3.7 tonne

If your ball weight comes in at 200kg you are perfectly legal

Happy travels

 

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I would imagine that Rocket has got himself a new tug by now as his first  post was made way back in December '15.  It would be interesting to see which way he has gone.

 

Cheers

 

Merv

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21 hours ago, HAVAGO said:

Just a couple of points of interest Gary,

Dept of Transport Enforcements have always had the power to book Van owners and have not ever needed traffic branch to look over their shoulder.

You are getting confused as most between tare weight and Gross Vehicle Mass, two entirely different measures.

Tow Vehicle has GVM of 3.3 tonne what is tare of your vehicle, tare plus load with van attached not to exceed 3.3 tonne

Van has GVM of 3.5 tonne what is tare of your van, tare plus load on the back of vehicle not exceed 3.5 tonne

Gross Combination Mass not to exceed based on this knowledge 6.8 tonnes

Vehicle sitting unhooked weighs example 3.1 tonne

Van weighs loaded 3.7 tonne

If your ball weight comes in at 200kg you are perfectly legal

Happy travels

 

Not if your vans compliance plate states 3500kgs.  If you exceed that weight on the plate regardless of your overall weight,  (GCM) tug and van you are overweight.

 

Merv

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Merv 

I am explaining for some who will misunderstand, if they load there car and van and drive to the weighbridge and weigh the unit complete hooked up they need to come in at no more than the GCM of the tow vehicle in this example we are saying 6.8 tonnes.

They then need to drive forward to remove the tow vehicle from the weighbridge leaving only the van wheels on the bridge drop the drawbar jack and just lift the weight of the towball, in this example if you have 200 kg transferred to the tow vehicle drawbar weight your van will be 3.7 tonne.

A van with a plated GVM of 3.5 tonne, the GVM only comes into play if being towed, parked unhooked that van can be 3.7 tonne because you are no longer transferring the weight and your tug now weighs 3.1 tonne not the 3.3 when hooked up.

They then know how to load the van and tow vehicle for ongoing trips and satisfied if apprehended they are totally legal weight distribution wise and no issues with insurance should they unfortunately have an accident.

 

Combination Mass not to exceed based on this knowledge 6.8 tonnes

Vehicle sitting unhooked weighs example 3.1 tonne

Van weighs loaded 3.7 tonne

If your ball weight comes in at 200kg you are perfectly legal

 

Cheers

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Some interesting read for all courtesy of a like minded forum.

 

ts not confusing its set down in law 

How can I explain it My Cruiser was rated at towing capacity 3500kg however its GCVM was 6460kg which was the GVM of the tug and the GTM of the van if I had a 300kg ballweight.

You are towing the 3500kg but the ball weight is absorbed by the tug If you take the GVM of the Tug and the ATM of the Van you have counted the ball weight twice. You cant load the tug to GVM THEN hook up and be legal.

Plain and simple. Doesnt matter what the manual says. THATS THE LAW

The manual says GVM 3260 with a download of 150kg. To increase the ball weight to 250kg you have to remove 100kg of the payload to keep it at the 3260 by the added 100kg ball weight. To increase the ball weight to 350kg you have to remove 200kg and your GVM would still be 3260kg.

Well it would on my scales 3260 inc 150kg add extra 100kg bw =3360 so remove 100kg of gear = 3260kg
3260 GVM inc the 150 BW add 200kg of ballweight =3460 so remove 200kg of gear =3260kg 

As I said Shifting deckchairs You add it on and have to take it away to remain constant.

It is illegal to load your car over the plated GVM.

If your van is 3500kg and that is your tugs limit you can tow it but the ballweight is transferred to the tug.

Incidentally ballweight is always measured disconnected from the tug and remains that weight forever regardless of what you do with it.
 
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  • 2 months later...
On 10 June 2016 at 11:07 AM, Merv and Di said:

Not if your vans compliance plate states 3500kgs.  If you exceed that weight on the plate regardless of your overall weight,  (GCM) tug and van you are overweight.

 

Merv

You have not read my post properly and understood, this is the problem when people do not understand.

your van can be 3700 kg while parked no one is going to book you.

when you hook up to your tug and shift the 200 kg or more you van becomes quite legal, and as I have stated in my post it is combination of both with weight transfer.

 

Merv our van weighs 4.1 tonne fully loaded with 400 kg on the McHitch and trust me fully legal when running down the road.

We have been intercepted by Transport Enforcement in two different states and complimented on knowing our correct weights and having weights correctly dispersed.

Safe travels.

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If people are still unsure go to this link, get into issue 23 and they have a warts and all review of the tow vehicles on the market in respect to GVM in a way that people can either be reassured or worried.

http://www.unsealed4x4.com.au/issues/

cheers

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