Repercussions for being overweight...

Submitted: Friday, Jun 28, 2019 at 09:02
ThreadID: 138608 Views:7867 Replies:4 FollowUps:11
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Following article in RV Daily a few days ago reporting a driver being charged with a number of offences following a fatal crash in January this year in NSW.

RV Daily Article

Cheers, Baz - The Landy
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Reply By: axle - Friday, Jun 28, 2019 at 12:33

Friday, Jun 28, 2019 at 12:33
Theres a few out there that are totally oblivious to rules and regulations in regard to towing!

This will make you chuckle Baz , I spoke to a guy yesterday who had a 30ft van swinging off the back of a 95mod deefer wagon!...He had no concerns at all,(so he said..LOL).. To add to the amazing situation he was from WA,and now having a spell in Old Bar NSW.

Cheers Axle.
AnswerID: 626415

Follow Up By: Rangiephil - Friday, Jun 28, 2019 at 14:31

Friday, Jun 28, 2019 at 14:31
Quote from autoexpress.

Defenders are popular towing vehicles, hardly surprising given the 3,500kg maximum braked trailer weight. That's notably more than some Nissan Navara versions, which offer a maximum of 2,600kg. The Ford Ranger comes close with a 3,350kg towing limit for some versions.Sep 21, 2018.

In fact a 95 has a max towing weight of 4000Kg according to Carsguide.

In the UK my Discovery 2 has a max towing weight of 4000Kg.
Goes to show what good gearing and a good chassis can do, compared to the tinfoil of 1 tonne utes.
Regards Philip A
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FollowupID: 900190

Follow Up By: axle - Friday, Jun 28, 2019 at 14:54

Friday, Jun 28, 2019 at 14:54
The Deefers have a good chassis theres no doubt about, it. Ive owned one for twenty years....Would I tow 3t and over with the 300tdi?.....only to the end of the street.lol…..to many other factors to consider.

Cheers Axle.
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FollowupID: 900191

Follow Up By: splits - Friday, Jun 28, 2019 at 23:03

Friday, Jun 28, 2019 at 23:03
In the UK my Discovery 2 has a max towing weight of 4000Kg
'''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''

Philip
What do they tow over there that weighs 4000kg? A 4000kg dog trailer around a farm is not likely to kill anyone but a anyone thinking a 4000kg caravan is ok out on the highways is living in fairy land. A van that size could flick a little Discovery out of the way in seconds if something like a strong cross wind hit it.

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FollowupID: 900200

Follow Up By: Member - PhilD_NT - Friday, Jun 28, 2019 at 23:30

Friday, Jun 28, 2019 at 23:30
In the UK my Discovery 2 has a max towing weight of 4000Kg.

I had a 1975 Range Rover here in the NT and it was plated as 4000kg and never in the 3+ decades I had it was it ever commented on at Rego renewal times. Not a problem as it never towed more than a loaded box trailer. Only issue they commented on was that they reckoned I was doing a good job cleaning the underneath.
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FollowupID: 900201

Follow Up By: Member - silkwood - Sunday, Jun 30, 2019 at 10:19

Sunday, Jun 30, 2019 at 10:19
In Australia the 3.2 4x4 Ranger also has a towing capacity of 3500kg (PX2, PX3). Please do not try this at home, folks...

Cheers,
Mark
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FollowupID: 900247

Follow Up By: Member - 105Tvan - Sunday, Jun 30, 2019 at 16:38

Sunday, Jun 30, 2019 at 16:38
If you look into the Rangers Tow capacity, the Ranger would need to be almost empty to accomplish this legally. The driver would also need to be an extreme lightweight.
Robert
105 Cruiser with a Mk2 Canning Tvan pushing.
VK3PPC Amateur.
VZU641 Outpost unassigned HF.

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Follow Up By: rumpig - Sunday, Jun 30, 2019 at 17:08

Sunday, Jun 30, 2019 at 17:08
I'd be checking the towbar fitment on the Ranger before trying it, i know of 3 vehicles in the past 6 months that have split the rear chassis where the towbar mounts to.....they have a bad habit of the mounting bolts coming loose, and movement in the towbar is peeling open the chassis rails.
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FollowupID: 900259

Follow Up By: Member - silkwood - Monday, Jul 01, 2019 at 19:47

Monday, Jul 01, 2019 at 19:47
T-Van...Hence my reply... do not try this at home!

John Cadogan has a decent clip on towing and overloading...

Complete Guide to Heavy Towing

Rumpig, where did you get to "know of" these three vehicles?

Cheers,
Mark
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FollowupID: 900297

Follow Up By: rumpig - Monday, Jul 01, 2019 at 20:09

Monday, Jul 01, 2019 at 20:09
Hi Mark....One is my sister inlaws vehicle, one is a close friends fathers vehicle, and the 3rd one i was told about by a mate that is part owner of several 4wd shops. I forget now who’s vehicle the 3rd one was, but it was a well known name in the 4wd industry.
2 of the towbars were factory fitted Ford items, the 3rd was a Hayman Reece replacement for the originally factory fitted Ford towbar (they replaced the Ford towbar as they didn’t like something about how it worked with thier set up)
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FollowupID: 900300

Follow Up By: Ron N - Monday, Jul 01, 2019 at 23:59

Monday, Jul 01, 2019 at 23:59
Bolts coming loose in a towbar is something that should be picked up with regular vehicle servicing - just the same as suspension components should be regularly checked for loose or damaged components.

I never rely on any towbar fitter, to tighten bolts properly. Towbar suppliers employ myriads of drongoes from Centrelink, who are just asked if they can hold a spanner, before they are tasked to fit towbars.

Every new vehicle I have ever fitted a towbar to, has had the towbar retaining bolts tightness checked by myself, or by one of my mechanics, before any trailer is hitched up.
We also check to see if the fasteners are fitted correctly, and fitted with appropriate washers or spacers, where required.

Cheers ,Ron.
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FollowupID: 900306

Reply By: duck - Friday, Jun 28, 2019 at 15:45

Friday, Jun 28, 2019 at 15:45
Baz
if you want to see something that not many know about, If you tow with a truck (over 5000kg) using a 50mm ball will be shocked to find that you can not tow a 3500kg trailer with a 50mm ball
Example
Where a AS4177.2 compliant 50mm ball coupling is being installed on a bus with a 6500kg GVM, the ATM limit of the trailer that can be towed is calculated as follows: 50???????? ???????????????????????????????? ???????????????? ????=6500*10,000,0004903*6500-10,000,000
50???????? ???????????????????????????????? ???????????????? ???? = 2972kg truck is over 5000kg
Check out Vehicle standards Guide (VSG-16) 50mm ball couplings


AnswerID: 626423

Reply By: Member - johnat - Saturday, Jun 29, 2019 at 20:08

Saturday, Jun 29, 2019 at 20:08
Living not too far from there, I can attest to the facts regarding the charges - it's been all over the local media (must be slow since the election ...) but, and this is important, the charges did not result from a weighing event, but from a fatal accident.
Minor difference, I know, but it does not help that people are suggesting that the police weighed the van.
The van was "estimated" to be overweight. How they came to that remains a mystery (unless there was a HUGE amount of stuff inside).
AnswerID: 626452

Reply By: Rangiephil - Sunday, Jun 30, 2019 at 10:13

Sunday, Jun 30, 2019 at 10:13
I have an acquaintance who owned an insurance adjusting company, who inspected damaged vehicles and caravans after accidents.

Some of his stories were hair raising, like the one where a van sat on its tail when disconnected from a vehicle.
I am sure that he was capable of estimating the load from the van and debris after an accident. He had inspected hundreds of vans for insurance companies.
He inspected hundreds if not thousands of cars after a flood event in Newcastle. Any computer controlled car which had water to the dash was written off.
Regards Philip A
AnswerID: 626457

Follow Up By: Ron N - Monday, Jul 01, 2019 at 23:52

Monday, Jul 01, 2019 at 23:52
Rangiephil - Standard regulations for Statutory Write Off vehicles today, state that any water that enters a vehicle and rises to a level above the door sills, for any period of time, means that the vehicle MUST be declared a Statutory Write Off.

The reason being, that there are many safety-critical electronic and electrical items located at floor level, or under the seats, and if any of these safety-critical items become immersed, they can become corroded or otherwise damaged by immersion, and fail to operate.

As so many safety-critical items in a vehicle are needed to operate together satisfactorily, any one of those items not functioning correctly, means that the entire safety system is compromised.

See Page 3 in the link below ...

Damage Assessment Criteria for Statutory Write Offs

Cheers, Ron.
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FollowupID: 900305

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