I finally did it - stressful day!

[Cuppa]

Before starting my camper conversion I should have weighed the bare shell & then weighed everything before deciding to fit. Problem is everything seems essential for longer term living & travelling out of the vehicle.

The DX 4.2 cab chassis has a GVM of 3400kg, & from the start folks have told me I'd be struggling with weight.

In particular ThreeDogs will be reading this with a knowing smirk on his face, he's been hassling me to get the camper weighed for a while now, convinced that it would be overweight. I undertook to 'fess up when I got it weighed, but until that point have endured many sleepless nights followed by head in the sand days.

Well today was the day my camper went over the scales. No individual axle weights, just a total. (At the local scrap merchants weighbridge for free). It went on with both fuel tanks full, water tank full, & everything we would want to carry for long term travel, excepting a full supply of food. A reasonable amount of food was on board, but I expect we could put in a further 50kgs worth if planning an extended bush stay at a location where additional water was available. The weight did not include myself or MrsTea, who between us would contribute a further 130kg.

I had hoped the weight would be close to the 3400kg GVM, with a few bits & pieces we could change or remove if we were a bit over, but really I had no idea despite having tried to add it all up in my head in the early hours of the mornings day after day as it nagged away at me.

So what was the weight? .............................. ummmm............... 3700kg dead on! Add 180kgs for extra food & the two of us which brings it up to 3880kg, 480kgs over the GVM! Gulp.

It is clear that I can't remove that amount of weight without virtually going back to a bare shell. I really don't know how Telstra get away with it, they are known to load up their vehicles. I wonder if they, as a large corporation just wear the risk, something individuals with more limited means are in no position to do. To get under the GVM would mean a couple of swags in the back & that'd be about it!

As you might imagine, after I had sat & pondered the lack of options open to me, I was in a pretty dark place ................ until a little light crept in whilst at the local suspension/spring works emporium.

In the past I read up on the net about GVM upgrades & learned that there was only one way to go about this, Lovells Springs have a GVM upgrade kit developed in conjunction with the state road traffic authorities but it is only available on brand new vehicles........... BUT........ that has now changed & the kits are available for retrofitting to some Toyota's & Patrols. Problem is the kit is only available for 3 litre Patrols, not the 4.2 that I have.

HOWEVER, there is a way around this which involves an amenable engineer to check the fitting of the 3 litre Patrol kit & sign off on it. This results in an increase of the GVM to 3900kg.

Not a cheap option. Cost of the engineer is $1200 on top of the cost of the kit. All up the cost will be somewhere between $5500 & $6000 which whilst hurting the hip pocket, still hurts less than ripping out much of the work I've done & towing a camper trailer, resulting in 'split living arrangements'.

Go on TD, tell me "I told ya so", you know you want to.

Cuppa

[krbrooking]

Unlucky Cuppa sorry to hear that. Not sure of the practicality or expense but have you looked into fitting a third floating axle or is that the suspension upgrade you are talking about, not even sure if it would increase your GVM but common sense says to me it would.

[megatexture]

and i imagin the upgrade includes brakes also ? surely its not just a suspension thing?

[DX grunt]

My philosophy is KIS (note: purposely left out the last S, because we are all on the same team here. Right?)

Wow. I know there's not a lot of room for leeway.

All the best, Cuppa. Take care, bro.

Rossco

[Cuppa]

Not really unlucky, just poor planning.
No I haven't looked a 3rd axle, but must admit I don't like the idea of 6 wheels. I would think that this might also be a lot more expensive.
The suspension upgrade seems to me to be a 'red tape' solution. As far as I can tell it involves new springs & shocks all round, probably little different to what I already have fitted. The difference is that Lovells have been through the process to make their upgrade acceptable to the RTA's already, which is the significant factor in being able to get the engineer to accept it. Because of the coal mines, power stations & associated industry locally in the Latrobe Valley the local engineer is already familiar with these upgrades, & given that engineers in general have been described to me as a 'finicky breed' such familiarity is a definite help.
It would also leave me with a set of spare OME shocks, & someone may wish to purchase my OME HD springs.

[Cuppa]

and i imagin the upgrade includes brakes also ? surely its not just a suspension thing?

Tyres have to meet the load ratings (mine do), but apparently the brakes remain unchanged.

[DX grunt]

My philosophy is KIS (note: purposely left out the last S, because we are all on the same team here. Right?)

Wow. I know there's not a lot of room for leeway.

All the best, Cuppa. Take care, bro.

Rossco

Bump. We posted at the same time.

[Maxhead]

Oh crap Cuppa!!.
I know how much thought and calculations you have put into this project but knowing your abilities I am sure you will be able to make it legal and get on your way.

I know I struggled to keep my vehicle and van under GVM and GTM before our trip. I had to compromise alot and leave lots of gear behind, in hindsight we did not really need them anyway but we did have a lot more to play with having a caravan.

All I can say is good luck mate, I know you will resolve this issue with minimal expense (hopefully)

Good luck mate

[Cuppa]

My philosophy is KIS (note: purposely left out the last S, because we are all on the same team here. Right?)

Wow. I know there's not a lot of room for leeway.

All the best, Cuppa. Take care, bro.
Rossco

It's alright Rossco mate, you can call me 'S'.
Sure ain't a lot of leeway. Have you weighed yours when fully kitted out ready for a trip?

Cuppa

[DX grunt]

Share your pain, bro.

The caravan we wanted to retire in is too heavy for my ute. Damn.