NOT WHAT WE EXPECTED

So this post will fill you in on why we will be here at Lowood until next Tuesday the 8th. State of origin final day.

The day after Micks birthday (23rd June) we were booked in for a one on one caravan towing and weight course. This was originally meant to be done in May before we left our home but they postponed. A little miracle this ended up (even though as per usual I was upset about the change at the time) because having to deal with what came next was not something I would have been able to handle while packing and leaving our home.

As you are aware we already had the van back for warranty on roof solar, window install and then window leak.

But as we arrived in Lowood we realised that the solar was not charging from the panels on the roof again.

So we knew we had to take it back to Caboolture again.

Then the caravan expert arrived. He weighed us first before the driving part. Van was under weight but needed to have more weight in back and less at towball end but it was legal. Thats been adjusted now.

But the brand new 4wd hi lux that is a one ton ute with new springs put in by Mick was way way over. 600kg over. Even if packed differently there was no way we could make this legal. The GVM on a new vehicle doesn't even take into account a full fuel tank and some don't even account for a passenger in the vehicle. Ours had a Towbar, Bullbar, canopy all put on by Toyota. Nothing said by them even though they knew why we purchased it. We then put a roof tent, awning AND all these metal drawers in the back for funky storage system.

Our heart sank. Apparently the springs Mick put in are not taken into account when weighed because they are not certified and named on a compliance plate.

So after some research and deep discussion we went with a full GVM upgrade at Pedders. Extremely expensive and has eaten a good chunk of our budget for this year but the peace of mind and knowledge that we are towing safe as well as a much smoother drive is so worth it. It was hard to swallow but I'm really glad it happened.

When this was done a lot changes on a vehicle including lights and brakes. So new ceremic brakes, foam struts (not gas) are also done. And a lovely blue compliance plate under the bonnet.

What blows my mind is the amount of people out there like us that purchase a new car and load up but are not legal. Our car seemed to tow fine. But it wasn't. Not really.

I really believe everyone who wants to tow a caravan needs to do this day course and with that they can register it and tow it. I think that this is a high chance of coming in soon. The police are weighing out west. We had heard 65 of 90 vans pulled over are overweight in van, towball or vehicle. We have been warned of fines being issued of $5000 in NT. We are aware that different rules apply in different states.

And now our vehicle and van are legal and we dont have to worry about not being covered in our insurance cover if something bad happened.

Now Pedders on the car and the caravan. We did not put the heavy metal drawers back in. They weighed a stupid 300kg. They are going into Micks tool shed at home. We are legal. Underweight. Have capacity to put some wood in every so often.

We actually really like the new set up. Good old plastic crates. Nothing stacked. Can see everything at a glance and generally do not have to move something to get to something else.

And while here we hit 20000 k service so had this done as well.

The caravan course and reweigh will happen on Tuesday 7th next week and away we go on 8th.

As much as all of this has not been easy to accept it is all a blessing. I cannot see it any other way. Better now than later.Read more