How we almost failed our caravan weight check (and how to fix it)

The towing trap - to weigh or not to weigh? that was the question ...

Myself and several of our friends are caravan owners and love setting off from our home on the NSW Central Coast to explore Australia, but the issue of correct weight has been a hot topic of conversation.

In my opinion, getting your car and caravan professionally weighed is one of the best things you can do for your safety and peace of mind, and the experts agree.

It's not just about the total weight, it's about how that weight is distributed across the axles and the chassis.

We booked Kevin Leonard from Get-A-Weigh, a mobile weighing service to come and assess our set up at home which included our tow vehicle and van.

The trap many caravanners fall into is a common misconception that if your tow ball weight is under the limit, you're good to go, he told us. In reality, there are nine considerations to ensure you have it right.

According to government data by Tourism Research Australia (TRA), Aussie travellers took 15.2 million caravan and camping trips in the year ending 2024.

Caravan and campervan registrations have steadily grown over the last decade, TRA research shows, with more than 901,000 registered as at January 2024 - a 27 per cent increase since 2019.

In New South Wales alone, the penalties for being overweight are more than just a slap on the wrist.

A fine can be a stomach-dropping $469 for each non-compliance and three demerit points to your license per item you have wrong. The reason for this is an overweight vehicle is legally considered "unroadworthy."

If you are found to be significantly over limit, a defect notice can be issued stopping you from driving any further, which could really dampen your road trip. You may have to leave your caravan on the side of the road or call a tow truck to move it to a safe location until the weight issue is fixed.

The other thing to consider (and this is a big one according to Kevin), is if you have an accident and your rig is found to be overweight, your insurer may deny your claim and void your insurance.

Before Kevin weighs our van, we needed to have everything packed as if we were about to head away. This included a full tank of diesel and the water tanks filled. Clothes, food and even the dog were part of the weight check.

As far as the van was concerned we just scaped by. Usually we don't fill our water tanks, so that gives us a little more weight to play with.

Our big issue was our car's rear axle, the invisible villain of towing, Kevin said.

Most people check their total weight, but few realise their car's rear suspension is screaming for help. Despite our tow ball weight being correct for the size of our van, it didn't quite cut the mustard when it came to the car's rear axle.

Kevin suggested a weight distribution hitch (WDH) to bring our set-up to compliance, which we now have. For us, this was the most cost effective solution.