GORV - Digital Magazine Issue #23 | Page 33

RV FEATURE SO YOU WANT TO GO CARAVANNING. FANTASTIC! JUST READ AND UNDERSTAND THIS – AND OUR IMPORTANT THREE-PART GUIDE – FIRST. Caravan and tow vehicle weights. Are you sick of hearing about them yet? Don’t be. When you’re caravanning, there’s no more important subject with which to be intimately familiar. That’s why, in the previous three issues of this magazine, we covered them so extensively. These articles proved to be very popular – there’s a genuine desire and need in the RV community for the correct information on these matters, it seems. So we’ve summarised the three articles here, giving you the most important information within the one reference guide. TOW VEHICLE TERMS In the first of the three articles, we gave a detailed description of the terminology associated with the tow tug… Kerb Mass: This is defined by the Australian Design Rules (ADRs) as the mass of the vehicle in running order unoccupied and unladen with all fluid reservoirs filled to nominal capacity, including fuel, and with all standard equipment. It will not include the weight of any accessories fitted to the vehicle, such as bullbars. Kerb Mass is generally not stated on the vehicle’s compliance plate. Gross Vehicle Mass: The GVM is defined by the ADRs as the maximum laden mass of a motor vehicle as specified by the manufacturer. It should be stated on the vehicle’s compliance plate. / 33