Towing limits - what is legal?

If the compliance plate on the trailer states it is 750kg, and the car's limit is 710kg, can it be towed legally assuming the actual GTM is under 710kg?

Yes...but be aware that the weight is the total of trailer & load,
not connected to your car.......oldbaz

I think you will find that the rules state that you may not tow any trailer or van if its PLATED ATM exceeds the rated towing capability of your tow vehicle. This is whether the towed trailer is full or empty.

I bought my van when I had a Patrol auto 3.0TD.
Its rated capacity was 2500kg. The vans plated ATM was 2564kg
It was therefore illegal to tow it regardless of its load.

Result Sold Patrol bought a Cruiser

As follows

ATM is the weight of the trailer and its load Aggregate towing mass

GTM is the weight on the wheels ( excludes Ball weight) Gross towing mass

Ball weight is usually obtained by subtracting the GTM from the ATM.

EG My van has an ATM of 2800kg

It has a GTM of2495kg

Its ball weight is therefore 305 kg.

This rating is peculiar to this van as its ATM has been upgraded from 2564kg to 2800kg and as the chassis is rated at 2500kg I have to have a ball weight of just over the 300kg to be legal.

The above posts are confusing you by incorrectly stating GTM when it should be ATM which is the higher weight

PS. I checked this thoroughly with an engineer before I spent the $23,000 to upgrade my tow vehicle so am fairly sure of the facts.

There is also an earlier thread on this subject where others agreed with my definition

Sorry guys, I've been feeding you the wrong information. The trailer is actually 750kg ATM, so would this roughly be a 675kg GTM after subtracting the ball weight?

Now I'm even more confused. Do manufacturers normally quote towing limits in ATM or GTM?

Usually ATM which is the actual weight you are towing whether it is on the wheels or the towball, you are still towing that weight.
As I said you may not tow a higher ATM than you car is rated for full, empty or whatever.
If you are unsure ask the dealer. It should state the weight in you handbook . Otherwise try their website It usually gives towing weights in the specs.

Thanks for the detailed info. I'm surprised towing isn't more black and white. Not trying to argue the point, but on the RTA site (NSW), it refers to the "loaded mass", which to me means what you are actually towing at that point in time rather than what's on the compliance plate. I dunno - maybe it differs in QLD?

-----
(RTA site)
The loaded mass of the trailer must not exceed the lesser of:
- Rated capacity of the towbar and tow coupling.
- Maximum towing capacity of the vehicle.
- Maximum carrying capacity of the trailer.
- Maximum rated carrying capacity of the tyres.
-----

What is the braked capacity of your vehicle If u want a heavier trailer get on with brakes on it Problem solved probably

The explanation I had was that basically if your trailer or vans Plated ATM is less than your vehicles capacity you can load it up fully and be legal.
If it exceeds it the temptation is to still fill it up and then be illegal.

You do what you like but if its too heavy and you have a prang GOODBYE INSURANCE.

The Caravan repairer I go to says he has at least 3 calls a week from insurance companies on this subject.

If you doubt the advice ring up the RTA and ask them.

Im only going on the advice from an engineer within the industry who makes a living by certfying these vehicles so presumably he does know the rules.

In saying the above there are heaps of illegal rigs on the road.
I saw a van the other day that was not only obviously too heavy for the tow car but had chequer plate tool boxes along both sides of the chassis.
I would hate to think what it actually weighed and how far over its rated ATM it was.

Manufacturers in general are not over generous in putting heavier than necessary running gear so if its overloaded it can run bearings, blow tyres and do other nasty things usually in the middle of nowhere.

My problem is that I already have the trailer. The question is whether Subaru's limit is ATM or GTM - the manual isn't explicit enough and when I spoke to their customer service line, they weren't too sure and checked with someone else who said it was the 'gross'.

Anyway, I just spoke to the manufacturer. It's a 7x4 enclosed box trailer with a plated ATM of 750kg. The manufacturer wasn't all that sure what the GTM for the trailer was but suggested it was the ATM minus the tare weight. Does that sound right?

Sorry if my advice was off track, but as the RTA (NSW) will likely
be the authority to charge you I would pursue their ruling only, as
there seems to be varying ideas on the forum.....oldbaz.

oldbaz, no worries - I don't think even the RTA are sure. Their literature says that it is how much you're actually towing at the time that matters, whilst the person I've been e-mailing is saying it's the ATM on the compliance plate of the trailer.

You have two threads going on this subject now and dont seem to believe the answers on either.

Basically you may not tow anything that has a plated ATM that is higher than your cars capabilty
WHETHER ITS LOADED OR NOT.
As I said I went into this thoroughly because of the cost and can assure you that I am sure I got the facts straight.

Nothing can legally tow an unbraked trailer that is over 750KG ATM.
If your handbook says the max unbraked towing weight is 710 kg that will be ATM as well and you cant tow a trailer that has a higher plated weight.
You also may not legally load it above the plated ATM.

I also spent $475 getting my van uprated because the previous owner had added extra batteries and solar and I couldnt get much stuff in it and remain legal so got it upped 236kg to its maximum allowable ATM.

In the previous thread on here about this the guy had bought a van too heavy for his Prado and ended up having to buy a 200 series Croozer to tow it.
So there must be some truth in what we are saying

Graham, I wish only to establish the facts here. A call to the RTA
info line connected me to a towing consultant. I asked if I can tow an unbraked trailer with a 750KG GVM with a vehicle rated at
710 KG ??.. The answer ..Of course you can , but you are limited to that 710KG. I said I had been given info that it was illegal to even tow that trailer empty. Complete Rubbish he said. If the vehicles towing limit is not being exceeded, no law is broken....
in NSW...that is. Perhaps Qld have differing laws......oldbaz.

Confused yet ?? The rules are pretty straight forward it would seem and the original question is not that hard to answer , the scoobydoo has an UNBRAKED trailer towing limit of 710kg ,ergo loaded trailer or unloaded trailer can only weigh upto 710kg ,
in the scoobydoo hanbook there will be a braked trailer weight limit as well , failing that the compliance plate on the towbar will give a maximum weight , in QLD nowadays ALL trailers over 750 kg must have a braking system , not unusual to see trailers that weigh heaps more that 750kg sporting compliance plates stating they are under or just on the limit however , brakes cost $$$.

Hey oldbaz, thanks so much for that. I was actually going to pick up the phone tomorrow as my e-mail conversation had gone dead with the RTA, but it's good to know that I can legally tow up to 710kg (in NSW at least) and do not need to fit brakes to the trailer I already have.

Cheers.

Just got word back from Subaru that their towing limits are GTM not ATM, so this means I'm under the limit even with a full payload.