Towing safely was on the minds of the East Gippsland Roadrunners and Gippsland Gypsies branches of our Club when they ran a ‘tug and van’ weigh-in muster at Mallacoota, Victoria last weekend.   Victorian Police and Vic Roads representatives attended to weigh in the rigs.

Members attending loaded up their RVs to full capacity as if they were going on an extended trip rather than just a few days for a branch muster.   Generators were loaded, and water tanks and gas bottles filled to capacity.

On the Friday afternoon of the muster, 20 tugs and vans were weighed in five areas – Aggregate Trailer Mass (ATM), Gross Vehicle Mass (GVM), Gross Combined Mass (GCM), ball weight, and Gross Trailer Mass (GTM).  This was followed by a two hour Question and Answer segment on the Saturday morning.

While some of our members’ vans failed to meet their legal weights in one or more areas, for most, all that is required is a reconfiguration of how they carry their load.  The exercise was a public relations / educational exercise by Victorian Police and Vic Roads, and no infringement notices were issued for tugs or vans.

Members left the muster with a far better understanding of towing weights.  All attending considered the exercise was well worthwhile.

Not only is towing overweight illegal, but it can cause an accident.  It could also void a claim under your insurance policy.  We encourage all RVers who have not had their tugs and vans weighed recently to do so when departing on your next trip, fully loaded and with water tanks and gas bottles filled to capacity.  You may be as surprised as many of our members were at Mallacoota.

The Australian Caravan Club would like to extend special thanks to our members Derek Hale and Dennis Carstairs for their work in organising this event, to the Victorian Police, to Vic Roads, and to the many members of East Gippsland Roadrunners and Gippsland Gypsies who participated.