Before & after - LC100 weighbridge weights
Submitted: Wednesday, Nov 21, 2007 at 19:56
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jdbb
Gday
When I bought the cruiser (2006 LC100 TD) I took it to the weighbridge and with full tanks, 3rd row seats removed, tow bar fitted and no passengers it weighed 2620 with 1380 on the front axle and 1240 on the rear.
Then I took it to ARB and on goes the winch, bull bar,
driving lights,
snorkel, compressor, radio and cargo barrier. Then I built a set of drawers and put in a waeco, recovery gear, tool box and a few other bits.
Yesterdays trip to the weighbridge with all the gear on it and two of us in the front seats, tanks full – weight 3040, front axle 1570, rear axle 1470. This is not good as there is only 220kg left for the rest of our gear and caravan. The thought of a rack and boat on top is gone.
So last night I took out all the gear from the back including the drawers and cargo barrier, weighed it all and it came to 175kg.
Back to the weighbridge today – weight 2870, front axle 1600, rear axle 1270. I should have realized that the cantilever effect would add weight to the front when the weight behind the rear axle was reduced but now I've only got 30kg to play with on the front axle.
I’m guessing that if I hook up van with 280kg tow ball weight on the back then the rear axle load will go up by about 340-360kg, and the front axle load will go down by about 60-80kg. From a previous post I gather that a WDH will transfer some of the load to the front axle and probably some to the caravan axles. Does anyone have any idea on how much the axle loads change? Does putting air bags in change any of these numbers?
John
Reply By: Peter 2 - Wednesday, Nov 21, 2007 at 20:22
Wednesday, Nov 21, 2007 at 20:22
Putting airbags in won't change much except to probably put even more on the front axle.
Remember though that you are running at or very close to GVM, the strain on the vehicle is also at or very near its design limit as
well. This eventually leads to things either wearing out prematurely or breaking.
The stiffer the
suspension the greater the shock load to running gear and the body. You have to upgrade the
suspension to handle the load but retain axle clearance, too much shock load from it bottoming out will hasten component failure.
AnswerID:
273006
Reply By: lifeisgood - Wednesday, Nov 21, 2007 at 20:51
Wednesday, Nov 21, 2007 at 20:51
With your van likely to be 2.8 to 3tonne thiis is starting to look like a job for an F250 diesel . Good luck
AnswerID:
273010
Reply By: fisho64 - Wednesday, Nov 21, 2007 at 21:03
Wednesday, Nov 21, 2007 at 21:03
putting airbags wont change the distribution one iota. It may ride better or whatever but gravity still acts in a vertical manner. You ciould put wooden blocks in there and the distribution will still be the same.
AnswerID:
273018
Reply By: Member - Douglas M (SA) - Wednesday, Nov 21, 2007 at 22:05
Wednesday, Nov 21, 2007 at 22:05
jdbb,
Some states allow a gvm upgrade It sounds like you need to get to a
suspension specialist and get it done. I think that what happens is that they do a
suspension upgrade, the vehicle goes to the nearest government inspection station and if it complies then is given a compliance plate and paper work to make it all legal. I didn't chase up the details because it is not allowed in S.A. I was corresponding with a company called "Specialised Vehicles" in NSW who could guarantee an upgrade in that state. Please note that I know nothing about the company other than the fact that the bloke I was writing to seemed to know what he was talking about. I'm sure there must be other companies around that do the same thing. Hope this helps.
Doug
AnswerID:
273035
Follow Up By: Member - Dick (Int) - Thursday, Nov 22, 2007 at 01:20
Thursday, Nov 22, 2007 at 01:20
TJM offer GVM upgrades for the 78 and 79 Series and have done two vehicles for me.
Mine was done by TJM in
Newcastle. They provide the documentation required by the RTA in NSW. It is a simple process. Am sure they also do the 100 Series.
FollowupID:
536379
Reply By: PeteS - Wednesday, Nov 21, 2007 at 22:20
Wednesday, Nov 21, 2007 at 22:20
Hi John
I'm no authority on the subject and cannot answer directly regarding the air bags however I feel they would place some weight back on the front wheels.
You do raise a very much forgotten point here.
Most of us load up for that long awaited geteaway. Many only worry about what their vehicle can legally tow not really worrying if they have exceeded the legal weight on tow vehicles axles etc.
I reckon most of us would go over the manufacturers limits if they made us liitle ones go over truckies weight bridges?
PeteS
AnswerID:
273038
Reply By: Crackles - Thursday, Nov 22, 2007 at 11:21
Thursday, Nov 22, 2007 at 11:21
After fitting out my 105 series there was 300 kg+ of assesories And thats exactly why ARB wont be putting anything on my next car, because everything they sell is made of steel. Any barwork on the next one will be alloy and will minimse weight with Plasma rope etc. Have been on a weight minimisation scheme with my
camping gear too, down sizing sleeping bags, mats, tent poles etc. Even removed the Glind shower and gone back to a simple canvas bag. When you look at alot of the clever campers around they dont take all the fancy gear or fit tonnes of assesories to their cars instead keeping it simple.
175 kg for draws and a cargo barrier is damn heavy and certainly one spot you could save weight. My 2 draw unit with fridge slide etc is only 75kg.
As a WDH is adjustable you could transfer as much as 200 kg + off the rear axles not that that would make it handle at it's optimum. Airbags would make practically zero difference to weight transfer, only ride height.
Depending on the overall weight of your van, transferring some load rearward may be an option to get your ball weight down and keep it off the car.
Cheers Craig.........
AnswerID:
273099
Follow Up By: jdbb - Thursday, Nov 22, 2007 at 12:09
Thursday, Nov 22, 2007 at 12:09
Thanks Crackles
My drawer unit weighs 75kg - the other 100kg was all the gear I put in it.
This is an interesting exercise trying to find a van that will keep me under max loadings and still have some creature comforts that I have become used to.
jd
FollowupID:
536432
Follow Up By: Member - Oldbaz. NSW. - Thursday, Nov 22, 2007 at 14:41
Thursday, Nov 22, 2007 at 14:41
Hi Crackles, you raise some interesting points re weight, I have
been lampooned on this
forum for suggesting that things like bull
bars, Elec
winches, huge
water tanks, high lift jacks etc can all be
left at home on most outback holidays & results in a huge weight
loss, better fuel economy too. But millions of $$ are spent by
advertisers convincing 4by owners that this stuff is compulsory,
necessary or desirable. Then there is that inherant fixation that
haunts most owners to keep bolting another bit on. Our last
trip was done without Bullbar,electric winch,high lift jack,
water
tank,roof rack,
driving lights,UHF, Sat Phone, Nav system, jerry
cans, side steps etc & none were missed or needed. Got
7k per Litre out of Petrol Jack with 4 aboard towing C/t. Most
cant get that without towing.....oldbaz.
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Follow Up By: Outbacktourer - Thursday, Nov 22, 2007 at 16:22
Thursday, Nov 22, 2007 at 16:22
You are absolutely correct oldbaz, the mags and aftermarket suppliers are a joke. If you spend enough money you get on the cover. Every item should be
well thought through and justified IMHO.
We can rest in the knowledge that the greatest carmaker of all time was of a similar mind. Henry developed the model T after remembering (as an apprentice for a traction engine maker) that he thought most of them broke under their own weight. That is why the Model T was absolutely as light as possible right down to the thickness of the body and the one coat of paint!
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Reply By: Axel [ the real one ] - Thursday, Nov 22, 2007 at 17:32
Thursday, Nov 22, 2007 at 17:32
For some reason , might be a scotch or 3 , but somehow Your figures / problem makes no sense to me , on our 80 series we have a GVM of 2960 kg and a CGVM of 5460 kg, ergo hitch up the c/t and put the boat on the roof rack and as long as my all up total weight is less than 5460kg in QLD we are legal.
AnswerID:
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Follow Up By: jdbb - Thursday, Nov 22, 2007 at 18:24
Thursday, Nov 22, 2007 at 18:24
Axel
I will be the first to admit that don't know a great deal about this stuff but from what I've read it appears there are a number of things you have to comply with.
My understanding is that in addition to CGVM, your tow vehicle GVM and axle loads also have to be within defined limits. I think your trailer will also have its own maximum weight and axle load.
John
FollowupID:
536505
Follow Up By: Member - Graham H (QLD) - Thursday, Nov 22, 2007 at 18:52
Thursday, Nov 22, 2007 at 18:52
Dont think so
You cannot exceed your GVM on either vehicle even if the GCVM is less than the maximum..
Or your legal axle weights for that matter either.
Other things to be considered are the towball weight, which is part of the tow vehicles Gross weight, also includes the occupants and you may not tow any caravan or trailer that has a higher GVM compliance weight than what your vehicle is rated to tow whether or not it is loaded to that maximum weight.
Believe me I learnt the hard way and it cost me $23,000 to fix it.
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Follow Up By: Axel [ the real one ] - Thursday, Nov 22, 2007 at 20:06
Thursday, Nov 22, 2007 at 20:06
Graham , nowhere did I say I was exceeding the GVM or the CGVM and /or towball weight , ,, thing is no one has stated what the CGVM of the original post , last trip to Moreton my all up weight was 5120kg ,
well within specs.
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Follow Up By: Member - Graham H (QLD) - Saturday, Nov 24, 2007 at 14:44
Saturday, Nov 24, 2007 at 14:44
Axel as you wrote
"as long as my all up total weight is less than 5460kg in QLD we are legal."
It would only be legal if both vehicles were under or on their legal GVM.
If for instance one was 200kg over and the other was 200kg under that doesnt make you legal
I didnt say you were exceeding anything but from the way in which it was written it could be taken that you perhaps were.
I was merely pointing out what is legal.
Eg the 80 probably has a load amount of about 650 kg.
So take two people 180kg ??? boat and rack 200kg, Fuel 135 kg,
Gear 100kg Ball weight 100kg. 715 kg already.
Easy to do as an ARB roof rack for a Patrol weighs in excess of 60kg before u put anything on it
FollowupID:
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Follow Up By: Member - Graham H (QLD) - Saturday, Nov 24, 2007 at 14:44
Saturday, Nov 24, 2007 at 14:44
Axel as you wrote
"as long as my all up total weight is less than 5460kg in QLD we are legal."
It would only be legal if both vehicles were under or on their legal GVM.
If for instance one was 200kg over and the other was 200kg under that doesnt make you legal
I didnt say you were exceeding anything but from the way in which it was written it could be taken that you perhaps were.
I was merely pointing out what is legal.
Eg the 80 probably has a load amount of about 650 kg.
So take two people 180kg ??? boat and rack 200kg, Fuel 135 kg,
Gear 100kg Ball weight 100kg. 715 kg already.
Easy to do as an ARB roof rack for a Patrol weighs in excess of 60kg before u put anything on it
FollowupID:
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Follow Up By: Member - Graham H (QLD) - Saturday, Nov 24, 2007 at 14:45
Saturday, Nov 24, 2007 at 14:45
Apologies for double post fingers a bit shaky today
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Reply By: Member - Neil M (NSW) - Thursday, Nov 22, 2007 at 18:05
Thursday, Nov 22, 2007 at 18:05
OOPS!!
Last year we took our LC100TD & 20' Bushtracker on a six month adventure of 25,000km through most of the major desert tracks in Oz.
We had a wonderful & relatively good run with our gear. We have just about everything on the Tojo, except a set of drawers & a roofrack. We carried lots of survival gear, tools & spares just in case.
When we were on the home run (bitumin) I happened to see a weighbridge, & oops!
Total weight 7.2 tonnes, 3.8t on the Bushtracker (3.5t ATM), & 3.4t on the Tojo.
Tojo didn't complain for the entire trip, nothing broke on either vehicle, but if we had had a prang, I hate to think what the insurance company would have thought.
We are a little more frugal with what we take now.
Neil
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Reply By: TroopyTracker - Thursday, Nov 22, 2007 at 21:15
Thursday, Nov 22, 2007 at 21:15
John,
Don't be too harsh on yourself. You already know more than most just by taking the time to understand GVM's and GCM's, and on top of that actually weighing things.
The only difference between your vehicle and others set up similarly is that you know/care how much it weighs.
I don't think there's an easy answer here.
Matt
AnswerID:
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Reply By: Peter 2 - Thursday, Nov 22, 2007 at 21:42
Thursday, Nov 22, 2007 at 21:42
Back in the very early 80's we were heading out of Alice and across the Tanami to get to the Kimberleys in a FJ45 troopy with all the gear for a 3 month trip including tinnie, outboard, 12 month old kid etc etc.
Popped the rig onto the weighbridge in Alice and the operator nearly had fit, refused to write it down and told us to drive very carefully as the troopy weighed 4.5t !!! The mates with similar gear weighed 4.1t but only one person in it.
When we did the CSR nth to Sth in 92 the HJ75 troopy weighed 4.2tonne with 2A, 3kids and all the fuel, food and
water required.
AnswerID:
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