Do you have a wild appetite for adventure that needs to be satiated? You may spend your working week behind a desk in a city office but are secretly yearning for the great outdoors and are making plans for a month-long escape during your holiday break. You cannot wait for this to roll around, as after all this is the reason why you bought that 4wd vehicle in the first place. So, together with a couple of buddies, you plan to head into the wilderness for a rudimentary camping adventure using nothing but tents and supplies. However, you may need to check your vehicle first, or you could be in for a rude surprise.
Ready to Go…
You may think that your vehicle is fully prepared for any off-road excursion, especially as you have fitted different wheels and tyres to cope with loose surface driving. Furthermore, you have added a bull bar, tow bar and winch and some underbody protection to make your vehicle bullet-proof. All you need to do is make sure you are adequately prepared and stock up the vehicle with enough tools and provisions.
What Does the Plate Say?
Before you go too much further, you should have a look at the plate that sits within the engine bay or near to the driver's door and details the specifications of the vehicle. On that plate, you will see a figure known as the "GVM" or gross vehicle mass. This is laid down by Australian Design Rules and specifies how much your vehicle can weigh when fully laden, taking into account all of your modifications. Don't forget; this will include your passengers as well as all of your provisions for your lengthy trip.
Don't Take the Risk
This is not something that you want to risk, as if you get into an accident and the vehicle is found to be over its GVM, then you could face a costly fine and find that your insurance is void with obvious connotations.
Coming into Compliance
Take your vehicle into a specialist, once you have determined how much it's likely to weigh on your trip. They will be able to introduce some upgrades to the 4wd suspension system that will then make your vehicle conform with the higher limits. When the engineers have finished with their modifications, they will fit a revised compliance plate.
Just check that these modifications are sanctioned by the government so that all your paperwork will be in order before you set off.
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