GVM Upgrade – When more is a burden

Understand Baz but I think one should really look at each item carefully with a view to "Is it really necesssary" , I like my policy of not adding anything unless weight is removed elsewhere as a cars ability to do the mission includes not just GVM but stress on every component from brakes to forces in the driveline.

I'm designing a camper at the moment which will have a maximum loaded weight of 750kg (with a trailbike) and I can't see any need at all for such things as trailer brakes , spare wheel or load re-aranging things basically because overall weight by design will be 25% of cars weight.

I hear you Baz
I have a very similar setup to yours including the GVM upgrade and it is fine but after doing a couple of lightweight trips without my canopy, just a swag and some gear in the tray the vehicle feels so much more nimble
I have just taken delivery of a half tray canopy to replace my current one in a bid to shed some kilos

I have found we have more room than we need anyway so thought I would reduce my size

I could drop a few kg's myself to help the cause as my doctor said I am exceeding my GVM

Thanks Baz - Interesting report.

We do all our trips solo now and they aren't what one would call safe and easy drives. We try to stay off the bitumen and "made" roads as much as we can. Love the remote areas. The Madigan solo soon. Safety, reliability and recovery being the over riding selection criteria. I like the policy that if you don't need it then don't take it. However at 70 and (won't say my wife's age) we do like the softer thicker mattress etc. And especially the 2nd smaller fridge/freezer which carries the ice cream. Bugger it - why rough it at our stage in life.

Our trip so far
The car is a "heavy" Toyota 100 series 2005 GXL 4.2TD IFS. And without an approved kit it has been an interesting job. We are going to 3700 Kg. Just a tad under the magic 3780 figure.

Until we sat down with the engineers who did some investigations of what we had done, or importantly not done, to the car plus a heap full of magical mathematics, (note not american maths) I believed that it was an unachievable goal to be "legal" at something less than the cost of an aircraft carrier.

Our previous mods included:
1. A couple of simple safety kits (lower wishbone and torsion bar mount strengthening), 2. rear spring upgrade by one stage and
3. Bilstein shock absorbers.

What also helped was no lift or any other work on the car. The engineers had a known, stable and strong platform to start with. They were pleasantly happy that we hadn't lifted it.

The following tasks were identified;
1. the installation of some stability air bags in the rear springs - Done,
2. get a new tare weight certificate - Done,
3. the removal of the third row seat belts - Done,
4. pass a stability and lane changing test drive - track booked for 5th June, and
5. engineers prepare RTA documentation.

Then off to the RTA. Maybe a pit inspection, but it's not obligatory. It would be fine for the pit inspection.

The hardest bit was getting all but 10 litres of fuel out of the car for the weighbridge tare ticket. that's 200 litres. Could you store 200 litres at home.

Relief in sight.

Phil

Hi Baz,...Hmmm, Just how good are the 130 Deefers in standard form with their load carrying capacitys........LOL.


Cheers Axle.

Baz, a very timely post from you.

Just a few days ago I posted this on the 4WD Action forum. It's interesting that tyres & fridges & GPS posts get wayyyy more reads than a post like yours or mine.......

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Weight of your 4WD
I wonder how many of us have a good understanding on what our loaded up rigs weigh?

If over Gross Vehicle Mass (GVM) the potential exists to:

(1) Break stuff, as the 4WD is not engineered to take the extra weight. You may only find this out when remote touring, for example, when roads & conditions stress everything beyond your normal scenarios. I know, ol' mate around the corner has driven heavily laden 4WD's for yonks and he's never had an problem. But can you honestly say you are not going to be either overweight or drive repeat hours - or both - in extreme conditions?

(2) Lose huge sums of money. If perchance the 4WD is involved in an insurance claim, my understanding is that, in theory, an insurer could reject a claim if over GVM. No matter if your fourby is worth $ 15 K or $ 95 K it could hurt to lose that amount in event of no insurance cover.

(3) Have significant and costly delays while repairs are being made. This cost could be exaggerated when in a remote area. For example, you break a suspension mount at Cape York or on the Gunbarrel Highway & you have to call for professional help. It could be from hours to days away. I'd caution here against the NIMBY syndrome - just look at the business local mechanics do at Birdsville and Mt Dare.

In general terms, wagons have a payload of 450-600 kgs; while dual cabs have payloads of 750-1,000 kg. A vast difference, indeed (don't have data on single cab utes, unfortunately, but I reckon they are of 1,000 kg order).

If you have a wagon and you have 4 people + 20 L water (enough for one day) + 20 kg personal gear & sleeping stuff each + a 40 L fridge & contents + some tucker & some cooking equipment, you're likely at GVM. Add any of these: bullbar, sidesteps, roofrack, recovery gear, winch, tools, compressor, 2nd battery, extra fuel, tables & chairs, tent, trailer or whatever, and you'll be well over GVM.

By way of example, I drive a 2011 build Mazda BT 50 auto dual cab. Currently it does not have a bull bar, but has ARB side steps. With a custom ally canopy + roofrack, 2nd battery, twin 1000mm drawers (one drawer loaded with of 45 kg of recovery gear,tools & compressor), full of fuel with me on board, it weighs 2730 kg.
If I add a 50 L fridge, wine & beer, 2 x swags & stretchers, 2 x chairs, table, pots'n'pans, 30 L water, food, one passenger, and two personal bags, it weighs 3,026 kg.
Take a second spare, another passenger, swag & bag, some extra fuel & water, etc - PHEW! - I'm over GVM!

I appreciate vehicle manufacturers quote payloads and towable loads which seem high. But how will those vehicles cope when being operated for hours/km's/days/weeks at the extreme of design & build strength?

If like me you have pushed the envelope, you'll find out that in the end, everything breaks or cracks. I'm talking serious stuff here, from shocks to chassis to axles to roofracks. Brand has no part to play - current Toyotas, Nissans and Mazda's all will fail. And that's only in my limited experience.

Food for thought, eh?

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That's the post - it has had about 9 replies, a tiny response relative to some other threads, which leads me to reckon its not of concern to most vehicle operators.

Cheers

It's a bit like buying a bigger garden shed. You'll always fill it up and want more so you may as well stay with the little shed and save a heap of brass.

Do GVM upgrades come with an upgraded chassis or is it just springs? The chassis should be the first thing that gets upgraded followed by everything else.

http://www.4x4australia.com.au/drive/1504/bent-utes/



Axle

I don't know about the Defender's carrying capacity but, according to Landrover, its towing capacity comes down from 3500 kg to 1500kg off road. I would not be surprised if carrying is much the came.