Authorities checking the weight of a Van

Hi Jimbo, I reported on this in another thread some time ago... A fair while back now, we were heading for Mt Beauty bit had to go via Sydney Rd and onto the Hume as we were picking up some other peeps... We were pulled into the weighbridge at Broadford and they were checking vehicle, trailer and combined mass. There was a very sad looking fella standing next to his even sadder looking Falcon wagon full to window level with paver's and a trailer(6x4) full of gravel... The rear of the car was on it's bump stops and the tyres of the trailer were half flat.

This was the first and only time I've seen it but I think it should be common place.

No, never heard of this happening.

Having towed vans and trailers across this wide land and even across the border to Mexico I have only ever been stopped twice for RBT. Thats it.

One day I pulled into the weighbridge at Katherine NT thinking that there was no one there, just to see what the van weighed. Anyway it was a tad over 3 ton according to the auto digital readout on the side of the buliding.

Just as I was getting back behind the wheel a smaller person in a khaki uniform raced out from behind the darkened glass screens and yelled " That towball on your Toyota is only rated at 1600 kilos and you are towing 3 ton!!!!!"

"So?"

"So I am going to fine you".

At that moment a Road Train came into view to be weighed and I was asked to move off the platform quickly and wait in the car park.

I started the Tojo and kept on moving and on in to the distance and beyond. Never heard another thing.

But he was right in a way. About 3 months later the towball snapped as I was pulling into a rest area on the side of the highway and the A frrame pushed the back doors in somewhat. I fitted a 3 ton tow ball and lightened the load after that...lol

I've seen it a couple of times in holiday periods on the NSW north coast, especially in summer. Up near Karuah the RTA was pulling over anyone towing or that looked loaded (overloaded ;-)) and putting them on the scales.
Also seen a combined RTA, Police, NPWS, Ag etc at the top of the hill west of Broken Hill checking all vehicles coming into NSW from SA, rego, weight, vehicle contents etc.

Another reason could be do trailers over 750 kgs have brakes, the 6x4 trailer full of paver's or gravel wouldn't , many everyday cars may have standard towbars which only allows up to 1200 kgs, I've seen Nissan bluebirds towing a 6cyl falcon on a car trailer. That sort of happens often in SA

Glad i haven't been stopped with the caravan!

Years ago we borrowed a flat topped trailer to move our furniture, then bought it. It had belonged to the local fuel depot, and everyone used to borrow it to move house or whatever. They continued to do so (it was that small a town). We made a stock crate for it for our goats, and one day loaded it to the brink with mallee roots for fire wood, then the local Mr Plod stopped us on the way home. My husband knew the limits for a trailer with no brakes, and told him with a grin the weight to the last ounce to be under the limit. Shortly after that, the same Mr Plod came and borrowed it for his personal use, and when my husband came home and asked who had borrowed the trailer today, i told him. But what did he do about the lights? We had fitted an oblong connection that fitted our wagon but about nothing else. He didn't even look, I said. Ah, that was in the good old days.

Jim,

In QLd the Transport Department guys can do it and apparently it is random unless they see a vehicle/van combination that obviously has an issue.

I gather trailer couplings, load weight, braking systems, tyres, registration and lighting are the big things they look at when checking vans.

what do you do once you are busted and the bacon says you aint towing it any further and yoru 500klms from anywhere....

once two years ago out on the newel hwy the police & RTA pulled every vehicle towing anything & checked it from weight to the type of brakes even the length of it
& there was this young girl just sitting there with her horse why her mum drove 200klms to get rid of one & come back for the other as the prado was not legal with both horses in the horse float. I know my own Patrol 6x4 (tow rated to 4500kg) is not legal with a horse float with 2 horses with just over-ride brakes as most are. must have brake aways to be legal in NSW after 2ton

Few years ago saw a XW Falcon towing a 25ft Bertram on a triaxle trailer on the Hume Hwy heading south. Had been stopped by police. Boat and trailer would have weighed ~2.5 times the car - amazed that he could get up the hills.

They had a blitz on in Brisbane north west a way back pulling over just about everyone with pipes on racks and trailers heading to the dump, There were a few sad people pulled up on the road side.

I understand many were given warnings apart from contractors who got fined. A lot of Mower contractors got hit in this blitzs.

Brian

I got stopped near Bordertown coming back in to SA from VIC. The plod had a road side stop set up and went over my vehicle and van looking for anything they could get me on. The van was in rego, but they winged about the lack of a rego sticker on the van. I could show them the stump ot the holder where it had come off on the trip so they let that one pass.

They eventually gave me a warning for having an obscured rear number plate on the Paj (covered in mud). The fact that it was also obscured by 14' of Jayco van was deemed irrelevant!

Cheers

Pete

ROFL ............. love that obscured number plate ................. this fella slipped through the GENE pool undetected I see.

I have not been stopped as of yet but its like an RBT it will happen when i least expect it.

Brian