Aus Coast Weights

30/08/2026

Good morning all. One of our many jobs last week was to weigh up this lovely vessel as the proud owners are having new mast and sails designed. Always such a pleasure working with good professional crew when weighing up the vessels. Super impressed with the versatility of the Travel Lift for these types of vessels and the amazing skills of the operator. Great job and well done.

Safe travels

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26/08/2026

Good morning all. For those that haven't seen these yet, this is the suspension that Snowy River is fitting under there new Hybrid range of caravans. They are called SR Explore suspension. They use the Pedders springs and dual Foam cell shocks. Snowy River blog says they have easy adjustments for Camber and Toe, Enhanced stability and Vibration dampening, Improved Off road control and Reduced body roll. Can get them for Single or Tandem axles. Our client has said it tows beautifully on the road but hasn't tried it off road at this stage as he has only just purchased the van.

Anyway thought you might like to see these set ups.

Safe travels

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14/08/2026

Good morning all. Sometimes we weigh combinations like this that can pass all there legal weight compliances in both Vehicle and Caravan and yet still not be within the recommended Safe perimeters for towing.

For example, this vehicle had many hundreds of KGS of payload still available in axles, GVM, GCM, Tow capacity, and the same for the caravans Axles, GTM, ATM, Tow ball and Side to Side balances were also very good.

The issue arises when the caravan is found to be heavier than the vehicle when connected. It is not a legal requirement, but it is highly recommended that the Tow vehicle should always be heavier than what it is towing so that it has better control over the van, better stability, and reduces the vans ability to push the vehicle around. In this case, it was an easy fix, but I have seen over the years that in some cases, the owner has had no choice but to either change to a more suitable Tow vehicle or to a lighter caravan. Something to always think about when purchasing your Caravans or Vehicles.

I have had many owners bring there loaded vehicles down for a weigh on its own, and then we can calculate and look at all the perimeters to find what would be the best option for a Caravan to purchase to suit there vehicles. Doing this can save a whole lot of heartache and costs in the end. Just because your vehicle might have a 3500kg Tow rate for example, doesn't mean it can.

Safe travels.

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30/07/2026

Good morning all. It is always interesting when you get combinations like this. 2018 Hyundai Santafe with an 18ft Olympic Javelin caravan.

These vehicles only have a 2000kg Tow capacity and a 4290kg GCM which was fine for this caravan, but the issue is the vehicles only allow 150kg of Tow Ball Mass instead of the usual 10% of the Tow Capacity. So it was a bit of a juggle trying to obtain the optimum balance of the van and stay under the 150kg Tow ball mass especially with the 1 x water tank that is forward. But we nailed it in the end with a 10.11% TBM and the owner was happy with the results of both the Van and Vehicle. We had good payload numbers left for the vehicle, but can not afford any further weight on the hitch of the van.

This was a good weigh for the owner, as he now knows exactly what he can carry and where the weights need to be. The owner loves his camping and travels and this suits beautifully where he likes to go. Well done in having your combination checked.

Safe travels

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27/07/2026

Good morning all. Apologies for the lack of socials lately, this has been a very busy time for us.

Have had a spate of the vehicles this month found exceeding there Rear axle compliances and yet some of these have been ok with there GVM and GCM compliances. Have had a number of Landcruiser's including the 200 series and 79series, 1500 Rams, BT50, D-Max, Silverado 2500, and even had the new Ford Ranger Super Duty all over on there Rear axle compliances. Some already had compliance upgrades and yet still over. The prize this month however goes to a 79 series which was 544kgs over his Rear axle compliance. WOW.

A few of them we have been able to sort out on the day simply by either removing excess weight of Fire wood, Extra Tyres, Fuel drums, Generators, Fridges and some tools etc, or moving the position of weights around in the vehicle, or by changing the excess Tow Ball masses from the caravans, or changing the length of the Tow hitch on the vehicle, or a bit of everything above. Some have still had no choice but to take the vehicles home and simply start stripping. The 79 series was wondering why he was snapping Rear wheel studs. Scary and dangerous stuff. :(

Some clients have been surprised as they have driven there vehicles over the local public weigh bridge and thought they were ok as they only obtained basic weight figures of GVM, GCM and weight of van. But there is a lot of other figures that needs to be ascertained in a full weigh.

This is just a reminder to all that you can not just keep loading gear in with out knowing what your weights are. Vehicles and Vans all have there limits, and so it is important to load accordingly. Be safe out there, and have your rigs weighed to ensure you are legal and safe. There is plenty of good weighing operators all around Australia and so give them a call and have your combinations checked. There is also Government approved and licensed GoWeigh bridges that you can use. But what ever you choose, please have yours checked.

Safe travels

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15/07/2026

Good morning all. Aus Coast Weights in conjunction with Bill Robertson Toyota and Novus Glass Gladstone, are conducting a Free event for all public on Saturday morning 25th July at the Bill Robertson Toyota yard in Gladstone. Bill Robertson will be showcasing there new Electric and Hybrid vehicles, Novus Glass Gladstone will be conducting free windscreen chip repairs, and Aus Coast Weights will be conducting a Free 1 hour Caravan Safe Towing presentation starting at 10am. There will also be a free Barbecue and Give aways on the day. For all those that wish to attend, please contact Bill Robertson Toyota via Phone on 07 49722766, or Email billrobertsontoyota.com.au, or click on there website link.

You're Invited! Join us Saturday July 25th for our FREE Caravan Towing Talk and All-Electric & Hybrid Showcase.

Plus our good friends at Novus Glass Gladstone will be on-site offering FREE windscreen chip repairs* throughout the morning! 🎉

Bring your vehicle along, stay for the caravan towing talk thanks to Aus Coast Weights, while your chips get repaired and check out the latest EV and hybrid technology. 🚘⚡🔧

*Limited up to 2 chips per person

11/07/2026

Good morning all. We are set up once again at Calliope Historical Village Markets amongst 160 other stalls. Beautiful day out here, so come on out for a meal and a bargain.

29/06/2026

Good morning all. During our basic safety inspections prior to a weigh, I have witnessed multiples of times where the vans that have a dedicated Break away battery, fail the test as they are flat in charge. Some clients did not even know they had one, and some have seen the units but did not know what the unit does. I have found some units not switched on to receive any charge. Not all vans have them, so it pays to check your van to find out what power supply is used to operate your Break away unit.

The ADR/VSB1 regulations state that any trailer over 2000kg GTM must have a Break away system fitted and must have enough power supply to hold the brakes on for a minimum of 15 minutes if the Break away is activated. And so if your power supply is flat or cannot hold a charge, your caravan is deemed unroadworthy.

It is not a legal requirement, but is recommended in some safety guidelines to replace the battery every 2 years due to the natural degrading of these batteries. Recommend for all those that have these battery set ups, to check that it is charging, and that it is fully charged prior to your travels. When you press the test button a green light should indicate on the panel that shows it is fully charged. A little yellow light in the panel will indicate that it is charging, and the red light indicates it is low in charge.

Recommend also pulling the pin on your Breakaway switch on the A-Frame and test that the braking system actually works. You can do this by simply trying to drive forward. Some vans are also wired that the brake lights will also work, and some vans are not wired for the brake lights to also work as it is not an ADR requirement. If you find any issues or not sure of your system, then recommend having it inspected or repaired.

Safe travels everyone.

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28/06/2026

Good morning all. Well we completed our 24 day push up challenge alongside 230213 other registered persons all pushing to raise money for Mental Health in Australia.

We managed to raise a total of $12,092,847 . Pretty good effort by all and hopefully this will help all those that are struggling.

Well done everyone. Time to rest the arms now. :)

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