Do you have any recourse against the van manufacturer if the actual tare weight is higher than that on the compliance plate, reducing your actual available payload
Mark,
I think you'd be hard-pressed to find any new caravan or motorhome to be at the manufacturer-declared TARE on or after delivery. I believe you'd have no chance of compensation as the manufacturer will always be able to say or claim that there are items added after or fitted that are not part of TARE weight.
Cheers,
Roy.
Maybe but only if they had specified items (inclusions) as being included in the tare when they were not. In other words you would need to have checked what was and was not included and there be a significant discrepancy. And then I suppose you would need to see a lawyer and go down a not fit for purpose or falsely advertised/ not as described route. If you just made a rash assumption rather than a reasonable person being misled by the information provided then you are probably out of luck.
This sort of thing would cease to be a problem if the state registering authoriy insisted on a weigh bridge certificate on registration. I am sure that these authorities are well aware of this problem as it has been around forever.
Mark, I think you'd be hard-pressed to find any new caravan or motorhome to be at the manufacturer-declared TARE on or after delivery. I believe you'd have no chance of compensation as the manufacturer will always be able to say or claim that there are items added after or fitted that are not part of TARE weight. Cheers, Roy.
Our Crusader came with a weighbridge ticket on delivery, several manufacturers do this, but way too many don't.
We have brought 3 different brands, all from private sellers, then checked the tare weights.
The 2004 camper trailer after removing a few loose items eg. The extra annex and pole tube, it then come in with in a few kilograms.
2009 pop top caravan which we brought in 2011, it was going in for repairs from water damage and I stripped out everything that could get covered in dust. After picking it up I went via the weighbridge, by memoir was about 250 kilograms lighter then the tare weight. After refitting it was about 40 kgs heavier then tare, my guess it was the roll out awning fitted after the Melbourne built pop top left the factory as it was fitted up here Queensland.
Around this time I was hearing more about weights of caravans and then became more aware of legal side of caravanning.
2016 purchased a 2012 model dual axle at a clearance sale but had done some serious checking before bidding.
First time out 110 kgs overweight. Stripped the caravan out, tare weight was very close. After this I worked looking for unnecessary weight, now I have removed all lot of unwanted metal from here and there. The ensuite door, along with cupboard shelves, slide out BBQ and now well under the original tare weight.
I do feel that the tare weights when the caravans leave the factory are reasonably correct but change very quickly at the sale yards. Runners for the annex, heavy anderson cable set up for the refrigerator, pole carrier and a big Ctec battery charger were fitted at the sales yard changing the tare weight considerably.
Just like the TARE is often a "made up" number, the ATM may also be an "invention" and can often be easily increased, if that is your wish.
Cheers,
Peter
