The rig setup guide
Set your rig up right — and know it's legal.
Understand what your rig weighs and where its limits sit, in plain English. Then check your own numbers in minutes — whatever you tow or drive.
Understand what your rig weighs and where its limits sit, in plain English. Then check your own numbers in minutes — whatever you tow or drive.
Seven short steps from "I'm not sure" to "I've got this."
An overloaded rig can void your insurance, strain your brakes and tow vehicle, and make the van harder to control — exactly when you least want surprises, far from help. The reassuring part: it's all knowable, and once you've set your rig up right, it stays right until you change something.
Your rig carries a compliance plate stamped with its limits. Learn these and the rest falls into place. The diagram below shows a caravan example — the same terms apply across rig types, which the checker handles for you.
The compliance plate — near the door or on the drawbar — gives Tare and ATM. Your tow vehicle's placard in the door jamb, plus the owner's manual, give GVM, GCM and towing capacity. Write them down once; they don't change unless the rig does.
Load the rig the way you actually travel: full water, gas, fridge, gear, everyone aboard. Weigh the combination, then the tow vehicle alone. A couple of sums give your real loaded weights. Public weighbridges sit in most regional towns.
For a towball, aim for about 10% of the loaded van weight; for a fifth-wheeler's pin, 15–25%. Too little and it can sway; too much and you overload the rear of your tow vehicle. Load heavy items low and over the axle — weight stored behind the axle is what starts a sway.
Add them up and it's easy to find 200–300 kg you hadn't pictured.
Take less — do you really need full water for one night near town? Redistribute — shift weight between van and vehicle, and forward of the axle. Upgrade — a licensed engineer can fit a GVM or GCM upgrade, but it's a proper modification, not a sticker. Whatever you change, confirm it at a weighbridge.
Pick your setup, enter your numbers once, and we'll save them — update in seconds whenever the rig changes.
A clear read on whether your setup is within its limits.
Pop in your name and email to unlock your full results on screen — we'll send you a copy to keep, too.
We'll email your report and the occasional Camps tip. No spam — unsubscribe any time.
GVM — most your loaded vehicle may weigh. GCM — most a vehicle and what it tows may weigh together. ATM — most your loaded trailer may weigh. Towball / pin mass — the download on the tow point. Roof load — the most your vehicle's roof may carry while driving.
Payload is what's left for gear, water, gas and people after the empty weights. Rigs go over from many small items, not one big one — so watch the payload remaining.
For over 30 years, Camps Australia Wide has been the trusted guide for Australian travellers seeking freedom on the road. What began as a printed book — the original "Traveller's Bible" — has evolved into Australia's #1 camping app. But one thing has never changed: our absolute commitment to personally checking every campsite before we recommend it to you.
We live and breathe this. Our team is on the road, visiting campsites, checking facilities, testing access tracks, and experiencing each location as a real traveller would — not as a reviewer browsing photos online. When a campsite earns a place in CAMPS, it has passed our Personally Checked™ standard. When it no longer meets that standard, it comes out.
That's what makes CAMPS different from every other camping app on the market. Not the number of features. Not the interface. The fact that someone from our team has actually checked and approved the site.
We're a fiercely independent, Australian family business. We don't take money from, and are not owned by, caravan park chains. Every recommendation is verified by real Aussie campers, which is why Rig Ready carries the same standard: honest, practical, and on your side. Tools like this exist to take the guesswork out of life on the road, so you can spend less time worrying and more time out there. We do the hard work ourselves — because you deserve to arrive knowing exactly what's waiting for you.
A chat assistant that answers plain-language questions about your setup — and pre-fills the checker straight from your vehicle. It follows you down the page; tap the Rig Coach button any time.