Hi All,
In August 2016 I purchased a 10 month old Jayco 20.6 Expanda. Its Tare weight was 2615kg and ATM 3090 giving a payload of 475kg. I then started customizing the van by adding the following…… 2nd battery, storage box on A-frame, washing machine, rear bike rack, grey water tank, and underbody protection. These mods effectively consumed over 100kg of the payload.
Aware that we would be pushing the max ATM when loaded up for a trip, my wife and I were careful not to load the van with unnecessary camping equipment etc. A visit to the weighbridge prior to going away confirmed our fears with the van weighing 3260kg, over weight by 170kg.
The water tanks were full so they were drained allowing us to travel, albeit at our max weight.
An ATM upgrade to 3400kg was needed and after getting nowhere with Jayco head office, the following describes how it was successfully achieved.
An engineer licensed with the Roads Authority as a vehicle certifier was required to undertake the process. I had Troy from Finke Engineering Unanderra come look at my van for an assessment. He took measurements and photos so that he could compile a report on what mods may be necessary. The report (attached) indicated that the chassis rails needed stiffening with the addition of welded fish plates (see photos), the draw bar to be fully welded not just stitched welded, and the coil springs upgraded. The stock wheels, tyres, axles etc were deemed to be of sufficient capacity to carry the new ATM of 3400kg.
Aware this was not going to be a cheap exercise I moved forward with the proposed changes.
The welding was carried out by a company recommended by Troy at Finke Engineering and I purchased the stiffer springs from Jayco . When all was completed Troy inspected the work and provided the necessary reports and compliance certificate for me to present to the Roads Authority. I first had to have the van weighed at a registered weighbridge so that a new Tare weight could be recorded on the registration papers. The new tare was 2760kg giving me a 640kg payload, keeping in mind that all the accessories I added at the start were now a portion of the tare weight and not the payload as before.
How much did this cost???? Engineering $1100
Welding $1700
Springs $344
TOTAL $3144
Hopefully somebody finds this info helpful.
Cheers
Pottsie
In August 2016 I purchased a 10 month old Jayco 20.6 Expanda. Its Tare weight was 2615kg and ATM 3090 giving a payload of 475kg. I then started customizing the van by adding the following…… 2nd battery, storage box on A-frame, washing machine, rear bike rack, grey water tank, and underbody protection. These mods effectively consumed over 100kg of the payload.
Aware that we would be pushing the max ATM when loaded up for a trip, my wife and I were careful not to load the van with unnecessary camping equipment etc. A visit to the weighbridge prior to going away confirmed our fears with the van weighing 3260kg, over weight by 170kg.
The water tanks were full so they were drained allowing us to travel, albeit at our max weight.
An ATM upgrade to 3400kg was needed and after getting nowhere with Jayco head office, the following describes how it was successfully achieved.
An engineer licensed with the Roads Authority as a vehicle certifier was required to undertake the process. I had Troy from Finke Engineering Unanderra come look at my van for an assessment. He took measurements and photos so that he could compile a report on what mods may be necessary. The report (attached) indicated that the chassis rails needed stiffening with the addition of welded fish plates (see photos), the draw bar to be fully welded not just stitched welded, and the coil springs upgraded. The stock wheels, tyres, axles etc were deemed to be of sufficient capacity to carry the new ATM of 3400kg.
Aware this was not going to be a cheap exercise I moved forward with the proposed changes.
The welding was carried out by a company recommended by Troy at Finke Engineering and I purchased the stiffer springs from Jayco . When all was completed Troy inspected the work and provided the necessary reports and compliance certificate for me to present to the Roads Authority. I first had to have the van weighed at a registered weighbridge so that a new Tare weight could be recorded on the registration papers. The new tare was 2760kg giving me a 640kg payload, keeping in mind that all the accessories I added at the start were now a portion of the tare weight and not the payload as before.
How much did this cost???? Engineering $1100
Welding $1700
Springs $344
TOTAL $3144
Hopefully somebody finds this info helpful.
Cheers
Pottsie
