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Borgy's - Weigh Me RV Qualified Mechanic, Channel 10's "Are You RV Safe" Television Host, 25+ years touring, real-world and industry experience - Making Touring Safer!
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Another busy weekend at Weigh Me RV, weighing cars and caravans!One thing I found quite interesting over the weekend was...
21/10/2026

Another busy weekend at Weigh Me RV, weighing cars and caravans!

One thing I found quite interesting over the weekend was the contrast in manufacturer recommendations when it comes to weight distribution hitches (WDHs).

There's certainly no shortage of opinions on these! Spend five minutes on a caravan forum and you'll find plenty of people who swear by them. Some people even fit them to every car and caravan combination they own without giving it a second thought. Others wouldn't touch them with a ten-foot poll!

But here's why it's important to do your homework.

One of the vehicles we weighed was a Chevrolet Silverado 1500. Interestingly, the owner's manual states that a weight distribution hitch is optional when towing up to 3,175kg, but "required" above that weight. It also specifies a 50% correction to the front suspension height change when setting one up.

Compare that to Ford Australia, which states that the Ranger and Everest have been engineered to tow up to their maximum rated towing capacities without the need for a weight distribution hitch. Ford also warns that fitting an aftermarket WDH may affect vehicle durability, ride, handling and electronic stability control.

You can read Ford's statement here:

https://www.ford.com.au/support/how-tos/more-vehicle-topics/towing-and-trailers/does-the-ford-ranger-or-everest-need-a-weight-distribution-hitch

The point here isn't that weight distribution hitches are good or bad. They certainly have their place!

It's simply that they aren't a one-size-fits-all solution.

Before fitting one, take the time to check your vehicle owner's manual and the manufacturer's recommendations. And just as importantly, if you do use one, make sure it's adjusted to the manufacturer's specifications rather than simply tightening it up until everything looks level.

The other thing we see is incorrectly rated Weight Distribution Hitches being used for the combination. WDH have maximum trailer load and Tow Ball Mass ratings. So, make sure it's the right one for the job.

Every car and caravan combination is different, and what works well for one isn't necessarily right for another.

A little research can go a long way!

At Weigh Me RV, we can check the front axle load restoration is set correctly to align with general recommendations.

www.weighmerv.com.au

We had the mighty 80 series LandCruiser on the scales recently for one of our "pre-purchase" weighing sessions. Before p...
20/10/2026

We had the mighty 80 series LandCruiser on the scales recently for one of our "pre-purchase" weighing sessions.

Before purchasing a trailer, its always best to know exactly what your vehcile already weighs when fully loaded, so that you know how much payload you have remaining across all of the different weight categories.

In this case, the vehicle has been beautifully built with plenty of accessories, which have bitten into the vehicles available "payload". In fact, it was very close to the GVM as it stands without a trailer attached.

This exercise allowed the owners to get a true understanding of where they stand before committing to a new caravan or camper trailer, which can naturally save them some big dollars.

We were able to talk about the options available, simulate how a particular trailer could impact the vehicles weights and look at which trailers could potentially be suitable.

With 90% of everything we have weighed being overloaded in at least one category, I would say a "pre-purchase" weighing session is a great idea!

If you are looking to purchase a car or trailer, book yourself in a weighing session at www.weighmerv.com.au.

Sometimes the compliance plate is wrong! I had this beautiful Ford Everest Tremor" on the scales today, with a Stony Cre...
09/09/2026

Sometimes the compliance plate is wrong!

I had this beautiful Ford Everest Tremor" on the scales today, with a Stony Creek Outrider in tow.

The trailers compliance plate listed the ATM at 3000kg, and the GTM at 2600kg, which seemed a little off.

After weighing it, we worked out it was very close to the GTM rating despite being loaded fairly lightly. This raised a little more concern, as the trailer still had much more payload available in relation to the maximum ATM.

After a quick chat with the manufacturer, it turns out there was actually an error on the compliance plate. Instead of 2600kg, it should have been 2800kg, which was great news for the owner as the 2600kg GTM we were referring to was going to restrict them quite a lot.

It was a simple mistake made from factory, but one that could have really limited how the van was used if it didn't get picked up.

How did the Ford Everest go?

This particular 2026 Everest actually had the higher GVM of 3240kg. They are usually either 3100kg or 3150kg. Interestingly, while the GVM is higher than the other models, the Gross Rear Axle Capacity remains the same as standard at 1770kg. So, while the payload is a few kilograms higher than some models, the rear axle is still very much the vehicles achillis heal, weight wise.

For example, with 305kg of Tow Ball Mass (10.9% of ATM), two occupants in the front seats, two dogs on board (greyhounds), and a few little bits and bobs in the boot, the Gross Rear Axle Mass was exceeded by around 60kg.

From my experience, the rear axle limit on these vehicles is quite often reached by applying little more than the maximum amount of Tow Ball Mass (350kg max) and adding 2 occupants.

So, if you have a decent amount of Tow Ball weight, and a car full.of gear, its worth checking where your rear axle weight is sitting.

www.weighmerv.com.au

Back in for its annual weight check! Yep, a lot can happen weight-wise over the course of a year, especially if you get ...
08/09/2026

Back in for its annual weight check!

Yep, a lot can happen weight-wise over the course of a year, especially if you get away regulary. Items can accumilate and things get shifted around.

In this case, it was interesting to see how a few small changes made a difference. For example, the owners had removed a few items from the front of the trailer, and also raised the hitch height one notch, this removed weight from the front axle, and resulted in having more weight on the rear axle, which isn't ideal.

In fact, lowering the hitch hieght back down just one notch (approx 20mm) was enough to shift the weight bias back onto the front axle (slightly), and change the Tow Ball Mass from 302kg to 286kg, which was an 16kg difference.

It was also the perfect opportunity to re-check the caravans overall weight (ATM), which was lighter than the previous year thanks to some strategic culling.

The owners are also contemplating changing a few things with the set-up. Our weight results allow them to make informed decisions.

Some people reckon annual weight checks are overkill because they are not legally mandatory. But those who know, know its worth every cent!

Book your session in at
www.weighmerv.com.au

04/09/2026

Old school cool...

I picked up this old Millard Caravan as a project, but I just couldn't bring myself to renovate or modify it because it was just in such good condition for its age.

Pretty cool to see, eh?

Another "Pre-purchase Session" session saved this owner some big dollars. The owner of this Patrol come to me about 6-12...
31/08/2026

Another "Pre-purchase Session" session saved this owner some big dollars.

The owner of this Patrol come to me about 6-12 months ago with an older twin cab ute. He had just left a hefty deposit on a brand new caravan, but wanted some unbiased advise about the purchase. When I weighed the ute, it was very clear to us both that it would be substantially overloaded while towing that trailer (or anything bigger than a box trailer for that fact), despite the manufacturer urging him it would be perfectly fine.

The "Pre-Purchase Session" allowed me to not only weigh the vehicle, but also simulate how adding a trailer would affect its legal weights. It allowed me to explain what the real limitations are for that particular vehicle, and the traps to avoid just in time for him to cancel his caravan purchase, which would have totally overloaded his vehicle.

After deciding he really wanted a Nissan Patrol, we also spent some time going through build plans and objectives. We looked at what the vehicle would need accessory-wise in order to do the job, and of course, what kind of payload capacity it would actually need. In this case, the owner wanted a vehicle that can be a fully self sufficient camping rig, but still tow a decent caravan for full time travel in the future.

My typical saying for this scenario is, "you can carry the weight, or you can tow the weight, but not many set-ups will do both at the same time."

Well, that's what weighing over a thousand caravans has shown me anyway.

So, we calculated the anticipated weight of all the accessories, passengers, fuel and luggage and worked out that a typical GVM upgrade wasn't going to cut the mustard if the Patrol was going to be the vehicle of choice. It would need a big GVM and GCM upgrade to keep it compliant.

So, it went straight in for a 4499kg GVM and 7999 GCM upgrade from DMW Industries, pre-rego.

Today, we did a progress weigh check to see what the vehicle weighed after all of the accessories were fitted (well at least 90% of them) and it was all loaded up with camping gear.

It weighed in at 3627kg, which is 871kg under the GVM. The rear axle weighed in at 1896kg, which is 1004kg under the rear GAWR of 2900kg. With the vehicle at this weight, it can actually still tow the maximum Braked Tow Capacity of 3500kg if required, although that isn't the plan.

The vehicle's weight is sitting pretty much exactly where we thought it would be at this stage of the plan, which just proves it is worth planning it all properly.

The owner actually expressed that if it hadn't have been for these pre-emptive "pre-purchase" weighing sessions, not only would he have been towing overloaded with the old ute, but even with the Patrol, as he would not have known what GVM/GCM upgrades were required, and would most likely have underestimated the true "loaded weight" of the build.

This latest session was also about working out what to look for in a caravan, which is yet to be purchased, and we used our "Tow Vehicle Simulator" to help us work it all out.

We determined that even with a 3500kg trailer running a 350kg Tow Ball Mass, the vehicle will have 449kg left on the GVM, just under 500kg left on the rear axle and be 800kg below the GCM.

There are plans for a steel rear bar and second spare wheel to be fitted shortly, which will put a dent in the figures, but there is plenty of payload left to get the job done.

The owner also recognises that the original plan for a massive 23ft caravan probably isn't the best idea, and is looking for something around the 18ft mark that won't give my scales a heart attack when he gets it all weighed as a combination.

I get so many overloaded set-up on the scales, and there is often some big dollars involved in setting up a touring combination correctly. It's nice to get ahead of the game every once in a while, instead delivery bad news to new caravan owners after the fact.

A "Pre-Purchase" weighing session just makes so much sense!

Available in Bathurst only, book your session at www.weighmerv.com.au

Impressive results! In an industry obsessed with building big, heavy caravans, this little Neptune 402S from Silversun C...
28/08/2026

Impressive results!

In an industry obsessed with building big, heavy caravans, this little Neptune 402S from Silversun Caravans is a real breath of fresh air.

With an unloaded Tare weight of 1520kg stated on the compliance plate, I have to admit, I was a little sceptical. I mean, it has all of the mod-cons fitted including an internal ensuite with seperate toilet and shower, air conditioning, independent suspension etc.

The owner was literally in the middle of a trip away, so he was fully loaded, and the little Neptune weighed in at 2018kg. That's with 200L of water on board!

Impressively, the ATM is rated at 2500kg, giving the Neptune 481kg of remaining payload from an original 980kg - yep, you read that right.

The GTM is set at 2400kg, and it weight in at 1779 GTM, which is also 621kg under.

The drivers side weighed in at 885kg and the passenger side was 893kg, that is just 8kg difference!

The Tow Ball Mass weighed in at 237kg, which is 11.7% of the trailers loaded weight. The owner says it tows beautifully, and I believe it. The Tow Ball Mass will also naturally get reduced as the water level drops as it runs one big 200L water tank placed just in front of the axle.

The loaded trailer is also 560kg lighter than the tow vehicles unhitched weight, which is a major win!

How did the Hilux go? Well, it weighed in at 2816kg hitched, which is 234kg under the 3050kg GVM.

The Gross Combined Mass is the one that usually catches these utes out, but in this case, with a modest sized caravan that doesn't tip the scales, it weighed in at 4595kg, which is 1255kg under the GCM.

The rear axle is the achillis heel. It's rated at 1700kg, which is a bit lower than competing utilities. It weighed in at 1580kg hitched, which is still 119kg under but something that can be improved. It gives us 56% of rear weight distribution. There is also some extra weight placed in the back that isn't usually there, like 40L of extra water, just in case.

While the vehicle is still under its maximum limits, the owner is looking at GVM upgrades for the future to ensure it'll happily tackle some proper outback touring tracks. I think those stock shock absorbers will thank him for it.

Having the exact weights means he can work out the best option for what he needs.

It is my hope that caravanners shift their mentality from towing caravans that are on the edge of their limits and the cars capabilities, to modest set-ups that let you go exploring in comfort and are arguably safer on the road.

This little caravan proves it can be done.

Book your weighing session at
www.weighmerv.com.au

Pre-Purchase Vehicle Weighs: We had another Ford Ranger up on the scales the other day, this time it was to see how much...
17/08/2026

Pre-Purchase Vehicle Weighs:

We had another Ford Ranger up on the scales the other day, this time it was to see how much it could really tow before the owner purchased a brand new caravan.

You see, when the vehicle's manufacturer says that a vehicle can tow 3500kg, that figure is largely dependent on what the vehicle currently weighs with fuel, passengers and luggage etc. The large majority of vehicles with a Braked Towing Capacity of 3500kg will actually exceed their Gross Combined Mass if they try to tow that amount of weight if the vehicle has any load added to it from factory.

For this particular vehicle, the GVM is 3280kg, and it weighed in at 2707kg with passengers etc on board, putting it at 573kg under its GVM (remaining payload).

Luckily, it isn't loaded up with payload-sucking accessories like batteries, water tanks, winches, draws and a canopy, eh?

But, what about Tow Ball Mass?

Now, we need to remember that when you attach a trailer, its Tow Ball Mass gets transferred to the vehicle, and that weight comes out of the vehicles remaining payload. So, if the trailer weighed 2800kg, and you allowed a 10% Tow Ball Mass (280kg), in this case we would have about 293kg of remaining payload with the trailer hitched, at least theoretically.

The question is, is this enough? Will this allow for any extra load the owners are likely to add, like future accessories or those little extras you tend to chuck in for a trip away in the real world (like b**r, and more b**r).

And if the vehicle weighs in right on the the GVM, are you happy to run at the vehicles absolute maximum weight?

That's a call for the owner, but in our experince, a 5-10% payload buffer couldnt hurt.

Rear Axle Load:

The other considerations we look at when assessing a vehicles suitability to tow a particular trailer, is how that extra Tow Ball Mass will affect the front and rear axle loads.

In this case, the rear axle weighed in at just 1195kg (there was almost nothing in the tub), which is 764kg under the 1959kg Rear Gross Axle Weigh Limit.

Unfortunately, to calculate how much the rear axle will be loaded up when we hitch the trailer up, it's not as easy as simply adding the Tow Ball Mass to the rear axle weight - there is a leverage effect that transfers weight from the front axle to the rear axle on top of the Tow Ball Mass.

As part of our service, we can take a few extra measurements like the rear overhang and the wheelbase length, and use a formula to calculate how much weight gets transferred, and how much rear axle loading we are likely to see realistically.

In this case, we worked out that when a 287kg TBM is applied, we anticipate about 114kg will be transferred from the front to rear axle. In other words, adding a 287kg Tow Ball Mass should result in 401kg being applied to the rear axle. This brings the total rear axle load to 1596kg in theory, which is 362kg under the maximum. For this particular set-up, that should give us about 53% rear axle weight distribution.

What about Gross Combined Mass?

Well, this is another large peice of the puzzle. If the Ranger currently weighs 2707kg, and the caravan is estimated to weigh up to 2800kg (ATM), the combined weight is 5507kg, which is well under the Vehicles GCM of 6400kg.

So, we now know that if we add a 2800kg Trailer with 10% TBM to this vehicle at its current weight, the vehicle should be around 285kg under its GVM. The rear axle will have plenty of room too, providing it isn't loaded up with extra gear compared to our current weights, and the Gross Combination Mass should not be an issue either.

If the GVM does happen to creep up, or the customer simply wants to improve his remaining payload or towing performance, then a GVM upgrade is always an option too, especially given that the Gross Combination Mass isn't going to be the limiting factor with this particular combination.

So you see, by getting a quick weighing session done by Weigh Me RV, the owners have now got much more information to make educated decisions on the right caravan to purchase. They have been brought up to speed about the common weight-related traps when buying a new (or old) caravan, and have some real world figures to work with.

Doesn't that sound better than just guessing your way through a new caravan purchase, and hoping the salesman isn't telling furphys to get a sale?

Book your "pre-purchase Weighing Session" at www.weighmerv.com.au

This post really does say it all. A combination can feel fine, until it doesn't, especially under emergency conditions. ...
15/08/2026

This post really does say it all. A combination can feel fine, until it doesn't, especially under emergency conditions.

Things happen fast.

Had this Ford Ranger and Viscount on the scales over the weekend. The owner mentioned that the combination does not feel...
11/08/2026

Had this Ford Ranger and Viscount on the scales over the weekend.

The owner mentioned that the combination does not feel good to tow - swaying is an issue. The exact words were, "it feels horrible".

Interestingly, both the ute and the trailer were all well under their maximum allowable weights with a few hundred kilograms to spare across all individual categories.

So, why the sway? Well, there's a lot more to it then just the overall weights...the weight needs to be in the right places.

The first thing we noticed was the Tow Ball Mass was sitting at around 8% of the trailers overall weight (ATM). The water tanks were full, and they sit in front of the axle group. The customer also explained that he usually doesn't tow with full water, so that Tow Ball Mass would have been even lower on past trips.

The next thing we looked at was the weight distribution on the front and rear of the tow vehicle. The rear axle was about 500kg heavier than the front axle, and you could physically see the rear of the car was loaded up and sagging down.

The other issue we saw, was the caravans weight is heavier than the tow vehicle. This is perfectly legal, however, in my opinion, it isn't ideal. It basically allows the caravan to become the bully of the combination, and push the vehicle around a lot more.

So, we have 3 things contributing here;

1. A lower than average Tow Ball Mass allowing the trailer to lose stability quickly and sway.

2. The rear of the car is taking a large proportion of the weight, which means less weight on the front wheels - braking and steering are negatively affected by this, and being light on the front can allow the front-end to wonder, which can eventually become sway by the time it reaches the back of the trailer, a bit like a whip.

3. The trailer being heavier than the car means when the trailer does sway, the car is going to feel it a heck of a lot!

It just goes to show that you can be under your legal weights and still have an unstable set-up. That's why it pays to know exactly what your weights are, and importantly, where that weight is placed. Armed with that knowledge you can make adjustments to load, and look at what needs upgrading, like tyres, springs, shocks, Weight Distribution Systems etc.

Book your next session at
www.weighmerv.com.au

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