Towing & Weights Consultation
Generally speaking this happens easily in the time it takes to weigh your caravan, but if need be we can create more time to help you understand the information and travel safely. Below are the common acronyms that people often find confusing. Hopefully they make some sense to you.
Need Help With Towing & Reversing etc?
If you've been caravanning for long enough you will know the comedy show that often happens when a couple arrives at a site and tries to reverse in.
However while it may be amusing to onlookers, to those struggling to park it's often embarrassing and frustrating.
There is no shame in getting help with towing and reversing a caravan! Even unhitching can become a struggle if you are forced to park on an angle and the jockey wheel is under pressure.
So if you'd like some patient guidance and instruction then we can head out to a quiet local carpark for an hour or so and spend some time practicing and developing some 'muscle memory' for the skill of reversing. We charge this at $110.00/hr.
What do The Acronyms Mean?
Here is an abbreviated understanding of the weights, along with a helpful graphic from www.rview.com.au/blog
TARE - The weight of your caravan when it leaves the factory. It is stamped on the ID plate.
ATM (AGGREGATE TRAILER MASS)
The weight of your caravan when loaded to maximum capacity.
ATM = TARE Mass (Caravan) + Maximum Payload
GTM (GROSS TRAILER MASS)
The maximum weight of the loaded caravan that can be supported by its wheels, (not counting the portion supported by the car when hitched.)
GTM = ATM – TBM
MAXIMUM PAYLOAD (CARAVAN)
This is the maximum weight that can be loaded into the caravan when towing.
Maximum Payload = ATM – TARE Mass (Caravan) – TBM
GCM (GROSS COMBINED MASS)
The gross combined mass is a combination of the maximum allowed mass of the trailer and the maximum allowed mass of the vehicle.
GCM = GTM + GVM
GVM (GROSS VEHICLE MASS)
The limit on weight that the car’s wheels can support – including the weight of the TBM and passengers.
GVM = Vehicle TARE Mass + Maximum Payload
MAXIMUM PAYLOAD (TOW VEHICLE)
Maximum payload is the total mass you are allowed to add to the vehicle’s tare mass.
