Unfortunately, these articles require a fair bit of reading. However, if you are genuinely interested in being safe, legal and caring about the longevity of the vehicle you may wish to buy - or currently own - then get a cuppa (or glass of red), settle back and spend some time reading.
Cheers - happy reading - John
aussietraveller said
11:03 AM Oct 13, 2015
Thanks for posting this John I think we all need to have a good read although there is a bit of time involved its well worth the time,especially the one on tow ratings and the chart that gives the specs for a range of vehicles on the market that are commonly used as tow vehicles.
With articles as valuable as this one I believe the General advice and information section is more appropriate than the Techies as more people will read it in this section and maybe save some of our members heaps of grief in purchasing a vehicle and setting it up to tow legally and safely.
Well Done
Bruce and Bev said
04:38 PM Oct 13, 2015
Once again John, thank you for taking the time to post these URL's which are so vital to us.
A pity manufacturers choose to lie about their vehicles towing weights - I guess that's where RV makers got the idea to lie about their vehicles weights.
Most people wont go to the extent that these articles (and many others also written) say we should to ensure we, and our vehicles are safe on the road, but it never ceases to amaze me at how often you pull into a country roadhouse and see tugs with their nose up in the air and their bums facing the ground. Aside from the danger, it must make for terrible driving, especially in any cross winds - and obviously they've driven 1000s of kms like this
Gday...
This topic has been bandied around on a couple of other threads recently.
I thought I would put this information in one new thread for those who may have missed the discussions that have meandered around within other topics.
Again, this could quite probably have been in Technies' Corner, but I felt it had more relevance as general advice to members.
Weight Distribution Hitch advice - http://caravansplus.com.au/catalog/help-tips10.php
Sway control advice - http://caravansplus.com.au/catalog/help-sway-control.php - apart from the AL-KO ESC, there is also now the Dexter ESC.
General towing advice - http://www.towingguide.com.au/content/towing_your_trailer.html
Vehicle actual towing ability - https://practicalmotoring.com.au/car-advice/why-a-3500kg-tow-rating-may-not-really-be-a-3500kg-tow-rating/
Unfortunately, these articles require a fair bit of reading. However, if you are genuinely interested in being safe, legal and caring about the longevity of the vehicle you may wish to buy - or currently own - then get a cuppa (or glass of red), settle back and spend some time reading.
Cheers - happy reading - John
With articles as valuable as this one I believe the General advice and information section is more appropriate than the Techies as more people will read it in this section and maybe save some of our members heaps of grief in purchasing a vehicle and setting it up to tow legally and safely.
Well Done
A pity manufacturers choose to lie about their vehicles towing weights - I guess that's where RV makers got the idea to lie about their vehicles weights.
Most people wont go to the extent that these articles (and many others also written) say we should to ensure we, and our vehicles are safe on the road, but it never ceases to amaze me at how often you pull into a country roadhouse and see tugs with their nose up in the air and their bums facing the ground. Aside from the danger, it must make for terrible driving, especially in any cross winds - and obviously they've driven 1000s of kms like this