Is my Van illegal??

On the outside you would think that my van is legal but there is one hidden factor some DIY van designers forget that could mean a hefty fine and put your life in danger.

That is GVM - 'Gross Vehicle Mass'.

Thats right, your vehicle must be under its GVM or you risk being fined and insurance will most likely not cover you in a accident.

Yes in the world of vehicles you get fined for being too fat!

Bucky's GVM is 2710 kg. His kerb weight is 1560. He also has a Payload of 1150kg. As you can see you add kerb weight and payload and you get the GVM in my case.

Is Bucky over Weight?

I was a bit concerned with all the wood work inside and panelling that Bucky might be overweight. And that new awning was heavy being canvas.

Bucky Waiting to be Weighed at Sykes Transport Kewdale

A quick journey to a public weigh station rid me of my fears.

It will cost me ($40 dollars) but I will have some good info to guide the rest of the Van build. Initially I went to the Fremantle 24/7 Public Weight Bridge and had difficulty getting it to work.

So instead headed off to Sykes Transport Public Weight Bridge in Kewdale and found it was easy to use.

You just drive onto the ramp if the lights green and weight 1 min. Then you walk to lady in office and give her your rego number and she gives you a cerificate. It's open 5 days a week and no booking is needed. Just line up behind the other vehicles as it gets busy.

Bucky is still Underweight

Bucky weighs in at 1880Kg so he is very light still. And I hope to keep him light in order to get better fuel economy. Guess the aluminium frames and aluminium roof racks are keeping the weight down. This has also shown me the different weight that is bearing on the front and back axles. So this info will assist me in my future modifications.