About 6 months ago I upgraded my 150 GXL 2014 D4D with a 50mm OME lift, ARB Deluxe bullbar, winch, driving lights and dual battery. ARB recommended appropriate springs etc for the weight of bullbar etc. I also took out the 3rd row seats and added some draws I knocked up from plywood. Recently I added a flat steel roofrack.
Unfortunately, all this gear has taken me close to the GVM for the 150 of 2990 kg. I took it on a weighbridge with a fridge and a moderate load of stuff, full fuel tank and it came in at 2690 kg. 300 kg off max. Add me, the family and a full load for a trip and the Prado would likely be over the max. Forget about trying to tow anything.
I contacted ARB to see about upgrading the GVM, various manufactures do this, but not OME for a Prado!
So after upgrading my car with all their gear, and loading it up for a trip, it seems the car would not likely be legal? So to take trips in the vehicle as modified (without a massive diet), I think I need to change suspension! I got some quotes to take the GVM to 3500 kgs but with engineers cert it looks like being close to $4k.
Which begs the question why don't ARB/OME provide a GVM upgrade for arguably the most popular 4WD in Australia they sell a bunch of other gear for which could then likely make the car illegal? Why wasn't I told when I bought the gear? Am I missing something?
For what I found to be a great explanation of GVM GCM etc check out this link https://autoexpert.com.au/posts/towi...iler-australia in it, the point is made and am not sure how valid it is, but apart from potential loss of insurance the author raised the point that if a vehicle is knowing driven over the legal weight and is involved in a crash where there is a fatality, there is the potential for criminal charges. Again, I don't know if this is true and would depend on the circumstance, but for me with potential loss of insurance, its a major concern.
It seems if you are upgrading your vehicle (the Autoexpert article suggested there is an average 600 kgs margin between unmodified kerb weight and GVM for most 4WDs e.g. Cruisers, Rangers, Navaras etc) you should seriously consider getting a GVM upgrade or you could be wasting a lot of cash and potentially putting yourself in strife, or am I missing something?
Unfortunately, all this gear has taken me close to the GVM for the 150 of 2990 kg. I took it on a weighbridge with a fridge and a moderate load of stuff, full fuel tank and it came in at 2690 kg. 300 kg off max. Add me, the family and a full load for a trip and the Prado would likely be over the max. Forget about trying to tow anything.
I contacted ARB to see about upgrading the GVM, various manufactures do this, but not OME for a Prado!
So after upgrading my car with all their gear, and loading it up for a trip, it seems the car would not likely be legal? So to take trips in the vehicle as modified (without a massive diet), I think I need to change suspension! I got some quotes to take the GVM to 3500 kgs but with engineers cert it looks like being close to $4k.
Which begs the question why don't ARB/OME provide a GVM upgrade for arguably the most popular 4WD in Australia they sell a bunch of other gear for which could then likely make the car illegal? Why wasn't I told when I bought the gear? Am I missing something?
For what I found to be a great explanation of GVM GCM etc check out this link https://autoexpert.com.au/posts/towi...iler-australia in it, the point is made and am not sure how valid it is, but apart from potential loss of insurance the author raised the point that if a vehicle is knowing driven over the legal weight and is involved in a crash where there is a fatality, there is the potential for criminal charges. Again, I don't know if this is true and would depend on the circumstance, but for me with potential loss of insurance, its a major concern.
It seems if you are upgrading your vehicle (the Autoexpert article suggested there is an average 600 kgs margin between unmodified kerb weight and GVM for most 4WDs e.g. Cruisers, Rangers, Navaras etc) you should seriously consider getting a GVM upgrade or you could be wasting a lot of cash and potentially putting yourself in strife, or am I missing something?
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