GORV - Digital Magazine Issue #21 | Page 58

STAY AND WEIGH A CARAVAN PARK WITH A WEIGH BRIDGE? WHAT A FANTASTIC IDEA! A holiday park in country New South Wales has installed a weigh bridge for guests to ensure their vans are compliant. He said the weigh bridge could measure the tow vehicle’s weight, the van’s towball weight, and the total weight of the van. Gundagai Cabins and Tourist Park director Duncan Grady said the weigh bridge was fitted after another of the park’s directors noticed an increase in police roadside caravan weight checks. “We provide a spec sheet that lets you calculate your various weights to check against your vehicle’s ratings,” Mr Grady said. “The ideal time to weigh your van is when you are on the road. There is not much point in weighing when your van is not loaded with all your usual travelling gear.” “We also see a lot of large vans come through our park every day, and more often than not they are kitted out with post-delivery extras that all add to their weight,” he said. “People are retrofitting extra gas bottles, increased water storage, bike racks, solar panels and awnings, just to name a few. “After nearly a year of researching various scales and weigh bridges, we came up with the final installation plan. It needed to be affordable, accurate, self-serve and relatively quick to operate. It also needed to be easy to navigate your van – we didn’t want it to involve any reversing or difficult manoeuvres to access the scales.” 58 gorv.com.au The weigh bridge, which is exclusively for the use of park guests, is located on the park’s exit driveway “so you can weigh on your way out and get a true idea of your actual travelling weight”. The cost to use the weigh bridge is $28. While it is intended to be self-service, park staff are happy to help. MORE INFO www.gundagaitouristpark.com.au