This boat trailer in Merrimac is designed to carry a dinghy and needed the tare weight measured so it could be registered. The boat trailer was recently purchased second-hand and registration had lapsed for quite some time. The trailer was likely built in the 1970s, and while it is in great condition, there is no current VIN number for registration.
The new owner had to apply to the ROVER system for a VIN number before he could apply for registration. The VIN application required the trailer’s tare weight measurement, so we used a forklift to remove the boat from the trailer for the tare recording. (Tare means the unladen or empty weight of a trailer with all accessories fitted.)
Caravan for sale?
I see many private ads with caravans or trailers for sale showing the tare weight and the ATM. If the tare weight is taken from the caravan’s compliance plate, the chances are that this might be inaccurate.
The caravan may have new batteries, portable appliances like refrigerators, an awning, tool boxes, another water tank and many other accessories since the compliance plate was created. Usually tare weight on the compliance plate is recorded at the time the caravan leaves the factory. If a dealer fits extra spare wheels, a larger awning, a BBQ, electric jack and suspension upgrades, this factory tare weight recording could be completely under.
Many times, a dealer will provide a weighbridge report or a mobile weight specialist’s report at the time of sale. This can be a valuable report for the new owner.
Is tare weight important?
Tare is not a compliance weight like ATM or GTM on a caravan. Tare is just a reference to show what the absolute empty weight of a caravan or trailer could be. This would be with all tanks empty.
It’s great to know how much you can load in your caravan…
As a guide, you can subtract the tare weight from the ATM, (ATM – Tare = Payload), and this results in the payload – or, the amount of weight you can add to an empty caravan before it reaches the maximum allowed weight called ATM. (ATM: aggregate trailer mass.)
It was a pleasure to assist Frank with measuring his boat trailer’s tare weight in Merrimac. I wish Frank many happy fishing trips for the future.
If you need tare weight measured for registration purposes, or you are planning to sell your caravan and want to record the updated tare weight – contact me today for a caravan or trailer weight session today: Phone 0474 911 123 or book here…
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