There’s been a bit of press lately about the importance of vehicle and trailer weights, with authorities starting to enforce this important aspect of vehicle road worthiness.
While the TVAN is comparatively light compared to a caravan it has a relatively high hitch weight and with some big trips planned it was time to get the rig weighed. I’ve been running a spreadsheet for some time to calculate vehicle weights but in the case of the TVAN I have relied on the manufacturer’s data, putting the rig over a set of scales would give me an accurate base line for the current configuration and changes we make in the future.

We chose a local mobile weighing service and can highly recommend Ben from Mobile Weight Check if you are in the Brisbane area. Our driveway is too steep for the exercise so we met Ben at a local sportsground car park to do the deed.
I deliberately loaded up the Cruiser and TVAN for the exercise, with full fuel and water tanks, recovery gear, all spare tyres and even the bike rack and mountain bike.
The weigh-in involves quite a few steps to accurately measure mass carried by each wheel and axle of the car and trailer, with and without the trailer hitched to the car.

The 200 Series has a GVM (Gross Vehicle Mass) upgrade from the standard 3,350kg to 4,015kg, giving significantly more payload than a stock Landcruiser. However the Cruiser has a lot of added accessories including being set up for solo travel with its own fridge, 12V oven and lots of storage, which I filled with tools and spares. The Cruiser also has a long range (215l total) fuel tank and its own 55l water tank, plus two spare wheels on the rear bar. I suspected that our problem would not be exceeding the allowable GVM of the car or trailer, but overloading of the Cruiser’s rear axle…
The rear axle of any vehicle is easily loaded when towing because the hitch is so far behind the axle, leading to a cantilever effect that multiplies the weight seen at the axle. In the case of a 200 Series Landcruiser this means that 200kg of hitch weight increases to nearly 300kg of axle loading, think of it like a see-saw effect as illustrated below:

Based on all of the above factors it was no surprise that the TVAN was well within its 1,800kg ATM (Aggregate Trailer Mass) rating, but the Cruiser had exceeded its GVM with the trailer hitched, and the car’s rear axle was overloaded.
The short term remedy to this situation was to drain all water from the Cruiser tank and the TVAN front tank, and to relocate some of the TVAN contents to rear of the trailer in order to reduce ball weight. That would at least make us legal on the day, until we burnt off some fuel.

Usually when we are touring I don’t take the bike (bike + carrier = ~50kg) and we don’t carry the extra spare tyre on the TVAN (~40kg), which significantly reduces ball weight and therefore car rear axle loading.

With a few big trips coming up I am glad of the knowledge gained from the weight checking process. I can now update my loading spreadsheet to ensure we not only remain legal, but that we are not overloading and stressing the Cruiser and TVAN any more than necessary on the rough tracks we often traverse.

This information is useful not just for determining legal axle loads, but also for calculating optimum tyre pressures to run, deciding on best way to load the car and trailer and selecting recovery equipment that is suitably rated for the vehicle mass. All of this makes for a more reliable rig and a safer journey.
I highly recommend that all overland travellers take the time to get your rig weighed and set your self up for success in your journey.
Hello Shane,
I have been following your Tvan pieces on YouTube for some time now, and found your tips on
( weber/ mileage meter/ savvy level etc) regarding your new toy to be of excellent standard, so thank you very much for that, if I upgrade my old Tanami to a new MK5 I’ll definitely by using your tips!
We have also enjoyed watching you travelling around Australia’s outback, but have just found your blog which will keep me busy, starting on your piece regarding weight!
Thanks again Shane
Best Wishes
John
Hi John and thank you!
Nothing wrong with a solid old Tanami, we thought about buying an older TVAN and refitting it but time is a bit uncertain for us so we took the quick and easy approach. I’m a bit behind with blogs and YouTube so I’ll have to get a few out before we head away next week for a few weeks of outback adventure 🙂
Cheers
Shane
Hi Shane some much great information its been amazing to see all you have done. Im currently looking to purchase a new Tvan and have a new ranger raptor coming so this is awesome that you have done all this already. Could you please share if the ball weight of the Tvan was 200kg with everything including front water tank and bike and rack and also the complete weight of the tvan.
thanks Luke
Hi Luke
The TVAN ball weight was 230kg with everything on board including bike on rack, spare tyre, full tanks, etc – it had an ATM of 1,735kg in this set up.
When touring I don’t normally take the bike or the spare wheel (two on back of the Cruiser fit the TVAN) which drops the ball weight to about 185kg, depending on what I also have stored behind the trailer axle.
On our recent Madigan Line trip I took the spare (3 in total) but carried firewood and other gear behind the axle, giving about 200kg ball weight with full tanks and a full fridge. The weight dropped away during course of the trip.
A TVAN would look great behind a Raptor, just need to watch the rear axle loading as what ever sits on the ball is increased by about 50% when transferred to the tow vehicle rear axle.
Cheers
Shane
Hi Shane
thanks so much for the information ive narrowed my camper choice down from either a X3, TVAN or Kimberley Karavan but think the Tvan is the right choice but am also concerned about ball weights with the rear axle. I was thinking of either not getting the front 70L tank and just putting 3 to 4 water containers between the bed and rear door any thoughts on moving weight backwards ?
thanks luke
Hi Luke
All three are good trailers, though the KK is a bit heavier and more of a hybrid van/camper that would be great in bad weather but harder to haul through tight country and soft sand. I have a friend with one and the body raising mechanism has proven to be finnicky too.
We opted for the front tank for increased off grid time and to avoid having the handle jerry cans, on short trips I leave the front tank empty to reduce ball weight and overall mass I’m dragging around. Jerry cans would travel okay on the step behind the bed but moving them around at each set-up/pack-down would be a chore that I know Suzzanne would not want to deal with. The TVAN has external side panniers behind the axle, ours has one on the LHS but the RHS is occupied by the optional Webasto diesel heater so you could purchase a lower spec TVAN and retain that spot for a second jerry can. With two jerry cans you would have 148l of water which is more than the X3’s standard 130l tank. We also know people who have the single tank used for washing/showering, and they take 10l water casks for drinking water – this works for them but we try to minimise disposable plastics and like the convenience of filling our water bottles from the TVAN’s many outlets that includes the hand pump outlet.
I love the Raptor concept and thought about one myself, but its a shame that the payload and towing rating had to be reduced to provide the great off road handling they’ve achieved for the base vehicle. Is it workable for you to reduce the weight carried in the Raptor itself and maximise the ATM of the trailer instead, thereby allowing you to manage the higher ball weight?
Cheers
Shane
Hi Shane
Thanks again for your information it has helped a great deal. Have narrowed it down to either a Tvan with the versatility as you mention above or a offline Domino or Raker hard floor option for kids and dogs as the Raker has a 1metre longer hard floor area for use but has alot of canvas. your thoughts?
Correct with the raptor i will be keeping as much out of it as possible with just a small awning, light weight front bar with winch and lights to keep the weight down. Will just need to store some fuel/jerry cans in the camper for the raptor being a petrol.
Hey Luke
The Domino looks like a great hybrid, a bit like the old Exodus 11 that had rear entry. They are tall which might mean a bit of track clearing in tight country, but definitely a nice set up. The Raker looks great in travel mode and the dirty gear storage on top is handy, but you are right about a lot of canvas, always an issue on those wet and cold mornings when you need to pack it away. For the money and convenience the Domino would be hard to beat…
We just got back from a remote desert trip that included nearly 1,000km between fuel stops with most vehicles running around 20l/100km, the only petrol was a Prado and he was closer to 25l/100km towing an AOR Matrix. Even with the 180l Prado tank he had to carry jerry cans, I ended up taking one for him in the rear pannier storage of the TVAN because our 200 Series has a long range tank and I didn’t need the extra. The standard 80l Raptor tank will really limit you unless your trailer can carry jerry cans, or there is the option of a 150l tank (e.g. Brown Davis) though it will eat into your GVM.
I see the Raker has 2 jerry holders, not sure where they sit? Looks like you could put jerries in front box of the Domino but a lot of the weight will transfer to the ball. A TVAN without the Webasto heater can carry two jerries behind the axle (reduces ball weight) and up to four in the right side front box (about half the weight will transfer to the ball).
I guess it comes down to your touring destinations Luke? Along the east coast fuel is always about, the problem will be if you want to go remote in SA/NT/WA which gets even trickier because ULP is not often available and you are forced to use Opal substitute.
Keep me in the loop mate, keen to see which way you go.
Shane