What We Learnt at the Busselton Caravan & Camping Show (and How We Didn't Blow Away)
Okay not to be dramatic but setting up our stand on Saturday felt like setting up in a cyclone.
I'd spent weeks getting signs, banners and folders ready (I may have got a bit carried away with the printing), and on Saturday morning most of it was trying to blow away. We spent the day holding things down with one hand and talking to people with the other.
Moving on..
We had two vehicles on the stand. Trent's Ranger, and one of our customers' 300 Series, fitted with a 3,999kg GVM upgrade. How good does she look. People kept walking up to the 300 and asking the same three things, so here's the short version of what we told them.
Do I need a GVM upgrade or a lift kit?
This was the big one, and it's fair enough, because they get mixed up all the time.
A lift kit raises the vehicle. More clearance, room for bigger tyres, better off road. What it doesn't do is change how much you're legally allowed to carry.
A GVM upgrade raises the legal maximum weight your vehicle can be when it's loaded up. That's the one that matters when you've bought a new van, or you've got a canopy, water, a fridge and all your gear on the back. Once it's fitted it's inspected in house and plated, and you take the certificate to the Department of Transport.
Some people need both. Plenty of people think a lift sorts out the load, and it doesn't.
What are the rules?
Every vehicle has a legal maximum weight on its own (GVM), and a legal maximum for the vehicle and trailer together (GCM). Most people we spoke to had no idea what theirs were, which is completely normal. We wrote a full post on it earlier in the year, GVM vs GCM: What Actually Limits Your 4WD in WA, which goes through it properly.
Lift kits have their own rules in WA about how far you can go before it needs extra sign off. We'll tell you where your setup sits before anything gets fitted.
What options have I got?
It depends on the vehicle. We're accredited for both Dobinsons and DMW GVM upgrades. Both run Dobinson springs and shocks, and on some vehicles one plates higher than the other, so we'll show you both figures where there's a choice.
If you haven't picked up the new car yet, talk to us before it's registered. On some vehicles the upgrade options are different before rego.
Then comes the part we actually love, which is picking the spring and shock setup that suits how you use the car. Towing every weekend and towing twice a year aren't the same job.
THANK YOU
A massive THANK YOU to Trent, Akka and Jackie, who were there from set up to pack down, chasing banners across the site and still having good conversations with everyone who stopped by. Thanks to our customer Ethan for lending us the 300 for the weekend. And thanks to everyone who came and had a chat, even when we were clearly losing a fight with the weather.
If we spoke at the show and you're still thinking it over, or you missed us, send your vehicle details through our booking form and we'll go from there. busseltonautorepairs.com.au/contact
(Everything came home in one piece. Just.)
