<span class="highlight">CARAVAN</span> WEIGHT RE-CERTIFICATION

Submitted: Saturday, Oct 11, 2014 at 15:52
ThreadID: 109781 Views:3655 Replies:3 FollowUps:7
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G'day
I have been reading about caravan weight re-certification. IE: where an engineer can check the caravan chassis to find how much weight it is built to hold and the weight originally set down by the caravan manufacturer. In some instances this can increase the payload or take up the load put on by people who have added items such as tool boxes, generator & fuel carriers etc. The engineer if approved by Main Roads Qld (in my case) issues a new compliance plate.
In my cas we live in the van full time and the commander insists that there isn't anything in the van that we can do without.
Has any body done this? Has anybody in NQ done this?
Regards to all
PeteM (Qld)
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Reply By: aussiedingo (River Rina) - Saturday, Oct 11, 2014 at 17:08

Saturday, Oct 11, 2014 at 17:08
Hello Peter, just a side question how do you find out the official weights for a caravan? I am in the process of restoring a 40 year old caravan - has been locked in a shed for the last 25 years in the bush, so has had little use & am about to get it registered. regards, dingo
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Follow Up By: Ron N - Saturday, Oct 11, 2014 at 20:46

Saturday, Oct 11, 2014 at 20:46
Aussiedingo - The only way to get an "official weight" is to put your 'van on a weighbridge. "Official weights" are rarely correct anyway, they can be all over the place.
Not sure what state you're in, but in W.A. you can't re-register anything without an officially certified weighbridge ticket that shows the 'van has been weighed recently.
The rego authorities will have "manufacturers kerb weights" for every make model and year of vehicle ever built, on record - but I doubt if they'd have caravan manufacturers "official weights" on record, because there have been too many caravan and trailer manufacturers, and many are long gone.
Incidentally, a correct weight for a 'van or trailer means it has to be unhooked and weighed on a stand-alone basis - otherwise the drawbar weight isn't included in the tare.
Naturally, you'll want to ensure that kerb weight is as low as possible for rego costs, so make sure the 'van is totally and completely empty when weighed.

Cheers, Ron.
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Follow Up By: The Bantam - Saturday, Oct 11, 2014 at 22:44

Saturday, Oct 11, 2014 at 22:44
if it is 40 years old, it wont have VIN plate and maybee not even a chassis number.

do you have any record of this van being registered in the past...rego certificates, number plates rego stickers..anything.

If you do you may be able to get a search done at QLD transport.

Having proof of being prior registered may help in getting it re registered.


However...if it has not been registered for over 25 years....there maybe not much information to be had.

There was a big software upgrade at QLD transport in the 90's, and a lot of information on trailers just disapeared or was entered eroronioulsy.

I have a trailer that I built back in the 80's and has been continuoulsy registered ever since.......they know bugger all about it and much of what they do know is wrong.

Prior to the 90's very little was actually recorded about trailers......they still record very little.....type, number of axles and GVM is pretty much it.

If they show no records about your van, you may pretty well have a blank slate.

cheers
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Follow Up By: member - mazcan - Sunday, Oct 12, 2014 at 14:37

Sunday, Oct 12, 2014 at 14:37
hi
the old vans that you are referring to had the chassis numbers welded onto the a-frame for some brands eg : viscount
cheers
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Follow Up By: aussiedingo (River Rina) - Sunday, Oct 12, 2014 at 14:42

Sunday, Oct 12, 2014 at 14:42
Thanks for that - yes my van does have the chassis number welded on it, it was previously rego in NSW & will be rego in Vic.
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Follow Up By: Ron N - Sunday, Oct 12, 2014 at 15:05

Sunday, Oct 12, 2014 at 15:05
I'm not sure what is going on with vehicle rego records in recent times.
A few years ago, I was supposedly reliably informed by a DOTWA operative that any registered vehicle/trailer/'van, etc, totally disappeared from ALL states records, once it had been de-registered for more than 3 years.
He told me they no longer had any records of rego numbers, serial numbers, or ownership, after that period had elapsed.

However, recently, DOTWA have started online rego accounts in W.A. (DOT Direct), whereby you can register online, and look up your registered vehicle (and unregistered vehicle) records - as well as transfer vehicles, and carry out other official notifications.

I registered and was very much surprised to see vehicles that I had de-registered and scrapped over 12 years ago - vehicles I had de-registered and still own - and others that I had SOLD over 20 years ago, still listed under my name!
I also have vehicles that have been de-registered and still own, that are NOT shown. So much for rego records accuracy.
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Follow Up By: The Bantam - Sunday, Oct 12, 2014 at 21:31

Sunday, Oct 12, 2014 at 21:31
So much for "big brother"....governments simply cant achieve any consistency with their records.

One of the known issues in QLD is that a lot of information was either lost or mangled in a software upgrade back in the 90's

All transport records systems would be subject to similar problems where at some time reciords systems have to be changed and records are either manually keyed across or converted.

Of course there is always some sort of economic imperitave and some records just disapear or detail is lost.

cheers
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Reply By: TomH - Saturday, Oct 11, 2014 at 17:11

Saturday, Oct 11, 2014 at 17:11
Yes I had one done at Caboolture about 6 years ago. Upped ATM by 300KG Cost just under $500. Someone up north should be able to do it.

Ask at a QLD transport office for list of Engineers in your area.
AnswerID: 540225

Follow Up By: TomH - Saturday, Oct 11, 2014 at 20:00

Saturday, Oct 11, 2014 at 20:00
It didnt require any modifications as the limiting factor was the chassis capacity.
The wheels, bearings, springs etc were all above the rating it obtained ans didnt need anything done to them.

Was taken from 2500 ATM to 2800 ATM
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Reply By: Member - Michael P (QLD) - Saturday, Oct 11, 2014 at 17:29

Saturday, Oct 11, 2014 at 17:29
Peter Hi,
Had my van re-certified a couple of years ago, had to provide a weigh-bridge certificate and Engineers cert. The van had to be empty for weigh-bridge.No water, gas etc.
If You check with Q Transport or local caravan repair centers for a Qualified Engineer.
The eng. would probably require an axle,brake & tyre upgrade to justify the extra weight.
Mike.
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