New rules coming in Qld regarding tow upgrades.

[ozynorts]

Article in today's couriermail.
TOUGH new laws to be introduced by the Palaszczuk Government will stop upgrades to 4WD vehicles to allow them to tow larger caravans, boats, horse floats and work toolbox trailers. The new laws mean any Queensland driver wanting to buy a caravan will probably need to buy a new vehicle as well.

Under the proposed new codes, to come into effect in two weeks, the towing capacity of 4WD vehicles will not be able to be upgraded after purchase.Queenslanders who need an increased carrying or towing capacity will be forced to buy large, powerful, expensive and fuel-inefficient imported utes and trucks.

The popular Toyota LandCruiser is among the 4WDs to be affected.

The upgrades – such as improved suspension and shock absorbers – provide a more stable, safer ride and quicker stopping, while increasing towing capacity.The weight of accessories such as water tanks, extended fuel tanks, bull bars and winches force many vehicles over their legal weight limit, which also makes upgrades necessary.Vehicles operated in excess of their legal carrying capacity are declared unsafe and are not covered by insurance.The ban will mean that many caravaners will be lucky to fit two people and a full load of fuel into their vehicles before they are over the legal towing limit.Transport Minister Mark Bailey, despite repeated requests, has not told peak industry bodies why the Government is proceeding with the new laws.The vehicles most affected include the most popular 4WDs on the market, including the Toyota LandCruiser, Toyota Hilux, Nissan Patrol, Ford Ranger, and Isuzu D Max.The new laws will affect up to a million 4WD drivers and 200,000 “grey nomads’’. Queensland is home to eight of the top 10 caravan ownership postcodes in Australia, at Bundaberg, Hervey Bay, Toowoomba, Mackay, Gympie, Gladstone, Maryborough and the Sunshine Coast.

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Caravan industry bosses say it’s the most nonsensical legislation they have ever seen. NSW and Victorian drivers will be able to tow caravans in Queensland without being subjected to the same laws as Queenslanders.The new code will prevent the same modifications undertaken to meet specifications required by Queensland’s police and the State Emergency Services.Australian Caravan Club treasurer Graeme Tree yesterday said the ban meant any Queensland driver wanting to buy a caravan would probably need to buy a new vehicle as well.“If this was about safety, it would apply to all vehicles on the road,” Mr Tree said.“But these are modifications that are fitted to Queensland police, emergency services, fire and parks vehicles to increase safety in towing.“They are already on thousands of private vehicles in Queensland and are perfectly legal in other states.“These are upgrades that will still be allowed to be fitted here in Queensland to new vehicles on the showroom floor. But once it’s on the road, it’s banned. It just doesn’t make sense.”Mr Tree said the proposed changes to Vehicle Codes LS11 and LS15 would decrease safety on Queensland roads and unwittingly put drivers of 4WDs in breach of their insurance.“Modifications to most 4WD vehicles are essential for legal towing, so from September 4, most Queenslanders buying a caravan will also need to buy a new vehicle,” he said.“It is inconceivable that Queensland would stop people improving the safety of their towing vehicle when the modifications are allowed under federal laws and before registration in Queensland.”

Despite repeated requests, Transport Minister Mark Bailey has not told peak industry bodies why the Government is proceeding with the new laws. Picture: AAP/Glenn Hunt

Australia’s leading manufacturer of the towing upgrade equipment, Lovells, says the draft codes will have a major impact on current towing practice and will lead to higher vehicle costs.Lovells chief executive Simon Crane said the usable payload of many 4x4 vehicles today was minimal. Additional basic optional equipment and two or three adult occupants would bring the vehicle close to its legal maximum weight.Add long range fuel tanks, bull bars, winches, side steps, roof racks, recovery gear, a payload of camping equipment or tool boxes, or an industrial-type custom body, and the vehicle may exceed the allowable weight.Mr Crane called on Mr Bailey to explain the proposed regulation changes – and to delay the planned introduction.“This is a change that has been dreamed up by bureaucrats without consultation or explanation,” he said.“It makes no contribution to safety and is actually counter-productive.’’Mr Bailey has not responded to requests for meetings with the 4WD industry stakeholders.A spokesman for Mr Bailey said it was a complex issue and he was unable to give a comment.

Ray and Lynne Friis with their caravan at Wellington Point. Picture: AAP/Steve Pohlner

‘REVENUE RAISING’ THROWS ROAD TRIP PLANS INTO DISARRAYWHEN Wellington Point couple Ray and Lynne Friis retired, they decided to buy a caravan and travel Australia.Little did they know their plans would be thrown into disarray by new State Government laws which effectively mean they will have to buy a larger vehicle to tow their caravan.“I feel let down,’’ Mrs Friis said yesterday. “It almost feels as if this government is targeting grey nomads. We saw the new motor home stamp duty go up recently and now this. It’s definitely about revenue raising. If it was about safety why do they allow the emergency services vehicles to be upgraded?’’The peak industry body for caravans has tried unsuccessfully to seek an explanation as to why the Government is going down this path.Mrs Friis said the new law was “silly”. “It means if we want to buy a bigger caravan we can’t,’’ she said.“We have worked hard all our lives to enjoy our retirement and travelling with the caravan is a big part of that. Now we are hit with these extra charges to make sure we can tow. It makes no sense whatsoever. The thing is we haven’t even been told why they are doing it.”Mrs Friis said Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk should reconsider the new law.“I would say to her, please listen to the consumer,” she said. “We are being targeted and it’s not fair.’’

[rayken1938]

Typical Courier Wail beat up this is a result of federal department of transport circular and will be Australia wide.
Cheers
Ray
News

No more GCM Upgrades on new vehicles

Wes Whitworth, 2 months ago 104 2 min read 2254


The Australian 4WD Industry Council of Australia have just released a statement regarding changes to GCM re-rating for vehicles undergoing a Second-Stage-of-Manufacture. As of July 1, 2018, there will be no more GCM upgrades permitted on new vehicles.
It has been a long standing modifications on new vehicles to change out tow bars, hitches and suspension components to effectively increase both the Gross Combination Mass (GCM) and Gross Vehicle Mass (GVM). The upgraded GCM was only able to be completed on a new vehicle, essentially pre-delivery, with modification plates to be affixed to the vehicle before first registration.
As of June 8, 2018, the Australian Automotive Aftermarket Association (AAAA) & 4WD Industry Council have now been notified of these changes by the Federal Department of Transport. The change was issued via an updated Circular by the National Vehicle Administrator following consultation with all state and territory transport regulators.
Where this change will be felt the most, is in the caravanning circles, simply due to the upgraded GCM (read: Towing Capacity) no longer being available, especially with the increased weight of caravans and camper trailers, for the typical mid-sized dual cab ute.
For example, the Ford Ranger XLT dual cab has a GVM of 3200kg, and a GCM of 6000kg, leaving an ability to tow up to 2800kg when it’s fully loaded (think bullbar, lights, winch, batteries, wheels, tyres, canopy, roof racks, fridge etc). The average van may well weigh 2200kg, however add water, food, gear, furnishings to the van and you’re very quickly pushing the GCM limit of the Ranger and a caravan. The average GCM upgrade ranges anywhere from 500kg to 1000kg, allowing for a lot more gear or caravan to be towed across the countryside.
Something worth noting, is that with this change being made due to safety concerns across the country, we should well expect more enforcement and weighbridging of vehicles on the roads into the future.
It is still early days in these changes, and we’re waiting to see what else comes of this change, or will new buyers need to go up to a full-sized / American sized ute? Let us know your thoughts below; would you pick a smaller caravan, or a bigger ute? One thing’s for certain, there’ll be no more GCM upgrades.

[scottar]

Word on the street was that HSV were partially behind the push to can upgrades ..........now that they are selling a big yank import. ARB was also in the mix due to Lovell's giving them curry in the GVM upgrade sales as ARB could not offer a GCM upgrade. If the rumours are true it's pretty poor form IMO on the pollies part.....not that we could expect any different though I guess.

[Noelm]

I guess in a strange twisted way, maybe something good might come out of it, Australia wide towing laws? never did get this state by state standard. I never was particularly fussed about tow ratings, something just seems fundamentally wrong when you can just go and buy a huge boat/van and hook it up to a "Ute" without ever having towed anything before and just set off down the road, with a couple of tonne behind! now before anyone throws rocks at me, I am not suggesting big vans and boats should be banned, or some sort of truck licence be required to travel, it just seems the whole concept is flawed somehow, I mean you need a special add on to your boat license to ride a JetSki, or another test to your car license to ride a motor bike, so, why not similar to tow over a certain weight or length?

[Steeler]

I guess in a strange twisted way, maybe something good might come out of it, Australia wide towing laws? never did get this state by state standard. I never was particularly fussed about tow ratings, something just seems fundamentally wrong when you can just go and buy a huge boat/van and hook it up to a "Ute" without ever having towed anything before and just set off down the road, with a couple of tonne behind! now before anyone throws rocks at me, I am not suggesting big vans and boats should be banned, or some sort of truck licence be required to travel, it just seems the whole concept is flawed somehow, I mean you need a special add on to your boat license to ride a JetSki, or another test to your car license to ride a motor bike, so, why not similar to tow over a certain weight or length?

This x 1000

[Dignity]

Or how about getting back to realistic GCM to start with, over the years the towing capacity has crept up where most Utes are advertised as having 3.5 T towing capacity,this is absolute BS. Most would be flat out safely towing 2.5 T safely, talk to people's like Clayton Towing who attend plenty of accidents involving caravans, boats trailers etc. Yes, often other factors are involved but they all should be included as part of towing capacity considerations.

[Noelm]

Yep, fully agree, just because a manufacturer says your vehicle can tow (say) 3.5T doesn't mean it's a good idea, I know it's legal and all that sort of stuff, but being on the limit of a vehicles capability does not leave a big margin for error if/when something goes wrong, an emergency stop, a swerve at highway speed to miss a Kangaroo or Wombat could lead to disaster when that big pendulum on your towbar decides to go in a different direction the the car, add to that the before mentioned lack of any skill or knowledge required to tow such a mass, and an oncoming vehicle might be in for a bit of excitement.

[Swanie1975]

At the end of the day don't swerve, mow it down. Seen too many lately where cars have been destroyed and people hurt by losing control trying to avoid Roos/dogs etc.

[Noelm]

The swerve to avoid an animal was just an example, there could be lots of reasons why evasive action cannot be avoided, another car coming the other way, on the wrong side of the road, plenty of reasons to swerve other than an animal, mind you, anyone who has tried to run over a Wombat would think twice about doing it again, I have personally seen one tip a Toyota troopy on its side when it was hit accidentally.

[BOBOAU]

You have never been able to up-grade the towing capacity. If your vehicle is rated to tow 3.5T, then that is it. What you have been able to do in the past is up-grade the GVM (gross vehicle mass)and/or the GCM (gross combined mass) I got the Lovells up-grade earlier this year, before they were stopped. My GVM is now 3900kg, and I can tow 3500kg. Total GCM 7400kg. With mod plate and paper work. So glad I got it done when I did.

[soulfish]

You have never been able to up-grade the towing capacity. If your vehicle is rated to tow 3.5T, then that is it. What you have been able to do in the past is up-grade the GVM (gross vehicle mass)and/or the GCM (gross combined mass) I got the Lovells up-grade earlier this year, before they were stopped. My GVM is now 3900kg, and I can tow 3500kg. Total GCM 7400kg. With mod plate and paper work. So glad I got it done when I did.

boboau ...im not sure which vehicle you are talking about,..but you can certainly upgrade the BTC (braked towing capacity) on a brand new 200 series landcruiser..GVM upgrade to 3800kg..4000kg BTC upgrade which gives a GCM of 7800kg..all through Lovells....sounds like your talking about a 79series landcruiser single cab..if you are you can actually get a 4200kg GVM upgrade but towing stays at 3500kg on a single cab & also as of last week the dual cab .the GCM increases to 7700kg...the BTC upgrade is on hold at the moment for the 79 series....check out BAM GARAGE website..cheers

[BOBOAU]

Ok, learn something new every day. Yes my vehicle is a 79 single cab. I thought GCM increases were on hold as well ?

[soulfish]

Ok, learn something new every day. Yes my vehicle is a 79 single cab. I thought GCM increases were on hold as well ?

Mate you can still do it on brand new landcruisers prior to first registration..the've stopped upgrades on second hand ones which they call (in service)...you could get a 4ton tow upgrade on a 2007 onwards 200 series but that is stopped for the time being...in the 79 series the 4200gvm upgrade can can be done on single cabs that are 5 star ancap rated which I think is late 2016 onwards prior to first registration...the dual cab can be done from build date of 1st month 2018..it wasn't allowed to have the 4200kg upgrade until last week...I don't know whats changed in it...the new tow rating should have been out now but put on hold while the mess is sorted..im not sure if it will be 4000kg or under if or when it happens

[Darren J]

I understood the "claimed change" was backed down on by the government. But depending on who you get advice from was misinterpreted in any case and made no change to GVM or GCM issues in the first instance - was just hyped media representation. The ATM tow upgrade options I can't comment on.

My 2016 200 series is about to get a post rego increase to GVM (in QLD) in the next few weeks (It already had a smaller pre-rego increase). The original factory plate has no marked GCM and new engineering plate likewise will have no marked GCM.
It will then have a GVM of 3845kg and ATM 3500kg. The engineer agrees that defaults to a GCM of the two combined, but notes it is not to be marked on the mod plate. I think some other GVM suspension suppliers have been marking new GCM on the 200 series, which some (opinions of various engineers again) consider illegal to be marked on the plate.
The confusion around this has been going for some time - its no wonder the average guy out there (or even some of the engineers) are very confused.

EDIT: The above situation is only able to apply as the post rego mod plate upgrade is linked to a tested second stage manufacture certification (like ARB or Lovells have). Mod plates without the SSM testing (ie a one of engineered solution) - sees the upgrade restricted to 10% maximum of the original GVM and no increase allowed at all to the original GCM. I believe that scenario may be causing confusion to this issue...

The official government response to the recent media claims stating no change made - http://statements.qld.gov.au/Stateme...-in-queensland

And to confuse people, the following article description describes post rego scenarios (correctly) BUT whee they are not linked to an SSM certification. The artile fails to identify a post rego SSM linked mod plate scenario at all. But they can be done. mine is booked in in a few weeks.
https://mr4x4.com.au/queensland-towing-laws-changing/


Clear as mud!.

[gofishin]

Yes, the debacle of proposed towing law changes in QLD, and the recent statements and backflips by Govt is ludicrous in my mind. The fact that one state can declare their own laws when supposed National Towing Laws were introduced between the states in when, between 2001 to 2007 i recall, is further insanity.

2 guys living 1 street apart and either side of a state border have completely different rules/laws to abide by??? FFS, make it a federal matter and clean the ambiguity and confusion up!

End of rant [emoji41].

...The original factory plate has no marked GCM and new engineering plate likewise will have no marked GCM...

By law, the class of vehicles we are mostly discussing don’t require a GCM to be stated. However, if a 1st (original) or 2nd stage manufacturer chooses to do so, they can, and this is then taken as the rated GCM by law.

If a GCM is not stated, then one cannot be assumed; by TMR, police... anyone. This is (or at least was ~6yrs ago) Law.

However, if a GCM is not stated in the Manual or on a plate by the 1st stage manufacturer, but, that manufacturer lists a GCM on their website in a particular country, then that published GCM has become the rating. i.e. facelift LC200. Toyota have not previously done this on LC’s. This is another grey area that needs to be cleaned up!

Prior to Toyota publishing a GCM on their website, a GVM upgrade did not necessarily need to reduce BTC by Law - unless a GVM upgrade company chose to do so. i.e. previous ARB GVM upgrade.

...It will then have a GVM of 3845kg and ATM 3500kg. The engineer agrees that defaults to a GCM of the two combined, but notes it is not to be marked on the mod plate...

This Engineer, amongst many others (incl manufacturers and Jurno’s... etc), is also contributing to this mass confusion.

The ADR defines GCM as the sum of the maximum allowable combination of GVM and the ‘axle loads’ of the trailed mass. I.e. GVM + GTM, not GVM + ATM (or GVM + BTC).

Because the towball mass is borne by the towing vehicle, it is not physically possible to attain a GCM of ‘GVM + ATM’ unless there is zero towball mass. In my mind, stating such a GCM is opening avenues for some tool trying to achieve this to maximise his ‘combination mass’, and resulting in a likely catastrophe on the highway - and that 2c opinion is from another confused Engineer [emoji23].
Cheers


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