The Ultimate Australian Caravan Safety Checklist

Why an Australian caravan safety checklist matters in 2026

More than 900,000 caravans and campervans were registered in Australia as at January 2024 — up around 27% since 2019, and an all-time record, according to BITRE road-vehicle data. The problem is that driver-training uptake has not kept pace. When Queensland Police and the NHVR ran roadside weighing blitzes in the last two years, 90% of towing vehicles and 70% of caravans they stopped were over their legal weight. A separate NSW roadside program found close to 40% of caravans overloaded. An industry analysis of pre-trip inspections found more than 80% of combinations rolling out for a holiday were either over-weight or otherwise unroadworthy.

The crash data is less dramatic than the enforcement data, but the failure mode is specific. Industry research attributes the bulk of caravan accidents — around 91% in one widely-cited analysis — to sway or snaking that owners panic in and lose control of. Yaw forces rise with the square of speed, which is why a loose-handling rig that felt fine at 80 km/h becomes unrecoverable at 100 km/h.

The fix is boringly practical. A pre-trip safety checklist you actually run catches the majority of what causes crashes: wrong ball weight, under-inflated tyres, hot bearings, worn brakes and unsecured loads. This guide walks through every item on that list for Australian conditions in 2026 — the weights, the pressures, the temperatures, the state-by-state rules and the mistakes that keep catching owners out.

The 10-minute pre-trip safety checklist

Before towing a caravan, check: tyre pressure and tread (car and van), wheel bearing condition, brake controller and breakaway cable, coupling and safety chains, all lights and indicators, tow ball weight and load distribution, towing mirrors, gas off, water tanks secured, and that combined weight is within your GCM.

That's the short answer for anyone in a hurry. The full morning check runs closer to ten minutes once you've done it a few times.

1. Tyres — walk around all six wheels (four on the tow vehicle, two-to-four on the van plus the spare). Check cold pressure against the placard load, look for bulges, embedded objects and tread below 2 mm.
2. Wheel bearings — hand on each hub. Warm is fine, hot-to-touch is not. Listen for grinding when you spin a wheel off the ground at a service.
3. Coupling — drop the hitch onto the ball under load (don't just hook and latch), check the latch is fully closed, pin in.
4. Safety chains — crossed under the coupling, shackled at both ends, nothing dragging.
5. Breakaway cable and battery — cable short enough to pull the pin before the chains go tight, battery tested within the last two trips.
6. Brake controller — gain matched to loaded weight, short cable-tug test before you leave the driveway.
7. Lights — brake, indicator, tail, reverse, number-plate lights. Phone camera on a selfie stick works solo.
8. Mirrors — both extended, field of view covering 4 metres out at 20 metres behind the driver's seat.
9. Tow ball weight and GCM — latest weighbridge ticket, 10% ball weight on a loaded van.
10. Interior — gas off at the bottle, fridge on 12 V, drawers latched, TV and BBQ secured, water tanks to travel level.

When each check happens. Run steps 1-10 in the morning before departure. Re-run steps 1, 2, 4 and 7 at the first fuel stop (about 150 km). Run step 2 at the bottom of every long descent.

Most of steps 1-3 can be consolidated if you run a wireless tyre pressure monitoring system with hub-temperature sensors — the readings sit on a dashboard display instead of on your knees at every valve. More on that below.

Common mistake: the 2-minute walkaround. Kicking each tyre, tugging the chains and declaring it done gets a rig on the road, but it doesn't catch a tyre that's lost 15 psi overnight or a hub that's been humming since the last trip. The 10-minute check is the one that actually prevents roadside breakdowns.

Know your weights — ATM, GTM, GCM and tow ball explained

Australian caravan compliance is a vocabulary test. If you can't translate the six acronyms on your compliance plate, you can't prove you're legal. Here they are in plain English.

Tare, ATM, GTM, GCM, GVM and TBM

• Tare is the empty kerb weight of the caravan as it left the factory. Empty water tanks, empty gas bottles, no cargo, no accessories.
• Aggregate Trailer Mass (ATM) is the maximum legal weight of the caravan when it is not hitched to a tow vehicle. It covers tare plus every bit of payload plus the tow-ball weight. This is the single most-enforced number on your plate.
• Gross Trailer Mass (GTM) is ATM minus tow-ball weight — the weight actually carried by the caravan's own wheels while hitched. Trailer tyre load ratings are sized against GTM, not ATM.
• Gross Vehicle Mass (GVM) is the tow vehicle's maximum legal weight — passengers, cargo and the down-force of the caravan's ball weight all count towards this number.
• Gross Combined Mass (GCM) is the combined weight the tow vehicle's manufacturer is willing to stand behind. A ute with 3,000 kg GVM and a 3,500 kg braked tow rating usually has a GCM of around 6,000 kg, not 6,500 — meaning you can't max out both numbers at the same time.
• Tow Ball Mass (TBM) is the vertical down-force the caravan exerts on the ball. A loaded van should sit at roughly 10% of ATM on the ball.

Where to find each number

Tare, ATM and GTM live on the caravan's compliance plate and on the chassis VIN plate. GVM and payload live on the vehicle placard inside the driver's door jamb. GCM is in the tow-vehicle owner's manual — it is not always on the placard, and it is the number most owners miss.

The 10% tow ball weight rule (and when 5-15% is the real range)

The rule of thumb is that a loaded caravan should carry about 10% of its ATM on the tow ball. Shorter vans tolerate 8-10%; longer off-road pop-tops generally need 10-12%; fifth-wheelers sit higher again. Too light and the van starts wagging the car at speed; too heavy and you overload the rear axle of the tow vehicle and unload the steering.

Because yaw forces rise with the square of speed, an under-weighted ball that feels acceptable at 60 km/h is four times less stable at 100 km/h. That's the bite.

Worked example — 150-Series Prado + 22-ft off-road van (illustrative figures)

Take a 150-Series Prado with a 3,000 kg GVM and a 6,000 kg GCM. Hook it to a 2,800 kg loaded GTM off-road van with a 280 kg ball weight (roughly 10% of a 3,080 kg ATM).

• Vehicle loaded with people, fuel and travel kit: about 2,650 kg.
• Add the 280 kg ball weight: 2,930 kg — inside the 3,000 kg GVM with 70 kg to spare.
• Combined: 2,930 + 2,800 = 5,730 kg — inside the 6,000 kg GCM with 270 kg to spare.

That's a compliant rig on paper, with very little room left for accessories (bull bar, winch, fridge, second spare). Bolt on 80 kg of bar work without re-weighing and the rear axle goes over. Use these figures as an illustration — pull the exact GVM and GCM for your specific model year from the owner's manual, not a brochure.

Chain of Responsibility (CoR) — why fault is not just yours. Under the NHVR's Chain of Responsibility provisions, every party involved in putting a caravan on the road — driver, vehicle supplier, van manufacturer, dealer, even the consignor of a freight load — shares a legal duty to make sure the combination runs within its weight limits. Fines for breaches run to around $469 per non-compliance item with three demerit points attached, and overloading can void the insurance on both the caravan and the tow car.

Table 1 — Australian towing weight terms

Term	Full name	Definition	Where to find it
Tare	Kerb weight	Empty caravan — no water, gas, cargo	Compliance plate
ATM	Aggregate Trailer Mass	Max legal weight of unhitched caravan (tare + payload + ball)	Compliance plate / VIN plate
GTM	Gross Trailer Mass	ATM minus ball weight — weight on caravan's own wheels when hitched	Compliance plate
GVM	Gross Vehicle Mass	Max legal weight of loaded tow vehicle (people + cargo + ball mass)	Vehicle placard / owner's manual
GCM	Gross Combined Mass	Max combined weight of vehicle + caravan as rated by the tow-vehicle maker	Owner's manual / manufacturer data
TBM	Tow Ball Mass	Vertical down-force on the tow ball (~10% of loaded ATM)	Weighbridge / ball scale

Common mistake: "I weighed it at the dealer." Tare was correct on delivery day. By the time you've added water, gas, bedding, recovery kit, generator, fridge, awning mat and the second spare, the van is 300-500 kg heavier. Re-weigh loaded, at a public weighbridge, after the first shakedown trip.

Tyres — cold pressure, load rating and the math most owners skip

Tyres are the biggest single safety lever on the pre-trip checklist, and the one most owners guess at. Underinflation is implicated in roughly 80% of tyre blowouts, and a tyre running more than 25% below placard pressure is about three times more likely to appear as a pre-crash factor. An NHTSA study (DOT HS 811 681) found that vehicles equipped with a functioning tyre pressure monitoring system were about 56% less likely to be running severely under-inflated tyres.

LT vs P — why caravan tyres are different

Passenger (P) tyres are built for a soft ride. Light Truck (LT) and Commercial (C) tyres use stiffer sidewalls, higher load ratings and higher working pressures. For a caravan, P-rated tyres are the wrong tool. A P-class tyre tops out at about 250 kPa (36 psi) for a standard-load casing and 280 kPa (40 psi) for extra-load; an LT tyre is rated for 350-450 kPa (50-65 psi) and a matching load index in the 110-120 range.

Load index and the 90% rule

Every tyre sidewall carries a load index — a number like 94, 110 or 121 that maps to a maximum weight per tyre (94 = 670 kg, 121 = 1,450 kg). The industry rule is simple: never load a caravan tyre above 90% of its load index. That headroom absorbs kerb strikes, pot-holes and temperature rise without pushing the casing into failure.

Cold vs hot pressure — never bleed hot

Tyres are pressurised cold, by definition. A typical passenger tyre gains around 4 psi during normal highway driving; an LT tyre gains about 6 psi. The label on the door jamb and the caravan placard are cold numbers.

Never bleed a hot tyre on a road-side stop. If the cold pressure was 50 psi this morning and it reads 56 psi at a rest stop, the tyre is behaving normally. Bleed it back to 50 psi hot and you are leaving the rest stop with 44 psi cold — dangerously under-inflated for the rest of the drive home.

Tread depth and the DOT age code

The legal minimum tread depth is 1.6 mm across the main tread. Below that your tyre is unroadworthy, insurance can be declined and you're likely to be fined. VicRoads recommends keeping caravan tread above 2 mm as a working minimum.

There is no law in Australia capping tyre age, but the industry recommendation for caravan tyres sits at six years (versus ten for general road use). Caravans age their tyres faster because the rubber sits in UV, flexes rarely and takes set flat-spots during long stints on the driveway. Find the DOT code on the sidewall — the last four digits read as the week-then-year of manufacture. "3012" means the tyre was built in week 30 of 2012.

Worked example — 2,800 kg GTM tandem axle

Take a 2,800 kg GTM tandem-axle van on four LT235/75 R16 load-index 120 tyres (1,400 kg per tyre).

• Load per tyre: 2,800 / 4 = 700 kg.
• That's 50% of the 1,400 kg load index — inside the 90% ceiling.
• Manufacturer pressure tables for an LT235/75 R16 at 700 kg per tyre sit at about 55 psi cold.
• Expect around 61 psi after an hour at 100 km/h.

Run that van at 40 psi because "that's what the Prado takes" and the tyre flexes, heats, delaminates and throws the tread belt. That is a textbook blowout.

Table 3 — Cold tyre pressure by load (sample LT casing)

GTM (kg)	Load per tyre (kg)	% of load index	Recommended cold PSI	Notes
1,800	450	33%	40 psi	Light load, highway
2,400	600	44%	50 psi	Typical loaded family caravan
2,800	700	52%	55 psi	Fully-loaded off-road van
3,200	800	59%	60 psi	Near placard — check max
3,500	875	65%	65 psi	Approaching 90% rule — plan tyre upgrade

Cold pressures rise around 6 psi during normal driving on LT casings. Never bleed hot.

Underinflation, blowouts and the TPMS advantage

The numbers from the NHTSA are worth restating in context: an estimated 56% reduction in the chance of running severely underinflated tyres once a monitor is fitted. That's because the monitor sees the slow leak at 300 km — not the loud bang at 700 km.

Where iCheckTPMS fits. A wireless iCheckTPMS kit screws a sensor onto each valve cap and streams live pressure and temperature to a solar-powered dash display every five minutes, moving or parked (InstaData™). The IC008 covers a 4WD plus a single-axle van on eight sensors; the IC010 scales to ten for dual-axle vans, fifth-wheelers and twin-spare setups; the IC005 suits the tow vehicle on its own. IntelliData™ sets the high and low alarm thresholds automatically the moment you fit the sensors to cold tyres, so there is nothing to program. For the full kit-by-kit breakdown see our Australian TPMS buyer's guide, and the DIY installation guide for fitting.

For off-road work where you're deflating and reinflating several times a day, a set of Pro Series Automatic Tyre Deflators pairs naturally with a TPMS — set the pressure you want, let the deflator hit it, and let the TPMS confirm it on the dash. iCheckTPMS On/Off Road Mode rebaselines the alarms when you air down, so the display stops nagging the moment you drop to beach pressures. For the right PSI on each surface, see our 4WD tyre pressure guide.

Common mistake: bleeding a hot tyre at a roadhouse. You've just made the run home dangerously underinflated.

Wheel bearings — the invisible failure point

Bearings are the item on this checklist with the least warning before catastrophic failure. A hub that was cool this morning can be 20 km from total breakdown by lunch, and because there is no official Australian tally of caravan fires caused by bearing failure, most owners under-weight the risk. They are the single best use-case for a hub-temperature sensor, and hub-mounted wheel bearing temperature monitoring is where Australian-owned iCheckTPMS is the only manufacturer with a product on the market.

The thermal runaway cycle

Bearing failure doesn't happen all at once. A bearing starts losing grease — through a failed seal, excessive service intervals, water ingress, or a dust-track abrasion. The remaining grease thins and migrates. Dry metal contacts dry metal. Friction generates heat. Heat thins the grease further. Metal distorts, galls, cracks, fatigues. At the end of that cycle the wheel can lock, the hub can catch fire, or the wheel can part company with the axle altogether.

Service intervals

Australian conditions are harder on bearings than European conditions — more dust, more water crossings, more heat. The industry baseline is:

• On-road caravans: inspect and re-grease at least once a year or every 10,000 km, whichever comes first.
• Off-road and heavy-duty caravans: every six months.
• Full repack and race replacement: at the interval specified by your axle manufacturer, and sooner for heavy off-road use.

Use marine-grade grease (better water resistance), check both the inner and outer races for pitting or spalling, and always replace the seal.

The hand-on-hub test (and its limits)

The traditional check is to put the back of your hand on each hub at every rest stop. A hub that is warm-but-touchable (around 45-65 °C in Australian summer conditions) is fine. A hub that makes you pull your hand away fast (70-90 °C) has a problem. A hub too hot to touch (90 °C plus) is an emergency — stop before the next bend.

The problem with the hand test is two-fold. One, once grease breaks down the failure cycle accelerates fast — the previous rest stop can tell you very little about what the next 20 km looks like. Two, once you can smell burning grease, you're often already past the window to stop before a wheel departs.

Hub-mounted temperature sensors — the modern upgrade

A hub-mounted temperature sensor bolts through the hub cap or replaces the cap entirely, and streams live hub temperature to the same monitor that shows your tyre pressures. The advantage over a hand test is continuous monitoring — you see the trend before it spikes. The iCheckTPMS Wheel Bearing / Hub Temperature Sensor is the only product on the Australian market built specifically for this job. It reports hub temperature on the same display as your tyre pressures, comes in single-axle (two sensors) and dual-axle (four sensors) configurations, and pairs with any IC005, IC008 or IC010 kit.

Table 4 — Wheel bearing temperature reference

Hub temperature	Status	Action
Ambient + 5-15 °C	Cool	Bearing lightly loaded — normal first 10 km
45-65 °C	Normal warm	Healthy loaded caravan on a warm Australian day
65-70 °C	Elevated	Monitor — re-check in 20 km
70-90 °C	Warning	Stop at next safe point. Inspect play, grease colour
90 °C+	Danger	Pull over immediately
120 °C+	Critical	Grease breakdown, fire and hub-separation risk

Common mistake: "I touched the hub at the last fuel stop and it felt fine." Bearing failures can accelerate sharply in the space of a single fuel-stop gap once grease breaks down. The hand test fails you at exactly the moment you need it most.

Coupling, safety chains and breakaway cable

The coupling is where the rig becomes a rig. Four parts matter here: the latch, the chains, the cable and the breakaway system.

The coupling latch — drop it on, don't just hook

Hook the coupling over the ball. Then push down hard with your bodyweight on the drawbar before you close the latch. If the latch rides over the ball without seating properly — if the ball is slightly too large, the coupling worn, or the jockey wheel left the ball proud of the cup — the latch will close over the ball without gripping it. On the first pothole, the cup separates. The chains are there to catch exactly this failure.

AS 4177 safety chains — stamp, number, crossed

Australian-compliant safety chains must be stamped with three things: the manufacturer's identification, the number "4177" and the safe working load. Chains without those stamps are not compliant, regardless of how strong they look.

Cross the chains in an X-pattern under the coupling — if the cup departs the ball, the crossed chains cradle the drawbar and keep it from digging into the road. Shackle at both ends; rated D-shackles sized to the chain's SWL, not whatever was in the toolbox.

One chain or two?

• Up to 2,500 kg ATM: one AS 4177.4-1994 chain.
• 2,500-3,500 kg ATM: two chains.

Breakaway cable and system

A breakaway cable runs from the tow vehicle to the breakaway switch on the drawbar. If the caravan detaches — from the ball and the chains — the cable pulls the switch and the van's 12 V battery applies the trailer brakes.

Under ADR rules, a breakaway system is mandatory on any caravan with a GTM of 2,000 kg or more, and the battery must hold the brakes on for at least 15 minutes after detachment.

Battery test — will it hold brakes for 15 minutes?

Breakaway batteries are often the most neglected item in the caravan. A dead breakaway battery is a breakaway system that does nothing at the moment it's needed.

• Check voltage at the start of every trip. A healthy 12 V SLA reads 12.6 V or higher rested.
• Pull the breakaway pin on a stationary van and time the trailer-brake hold with a multimeter on the brake feed.
• Replace breakaway batteries every two years as a habit.

Common mistake: the breakaway battery that lasts 15 minutes when new and 3 minutes at four years old. Replace on a schedule, not after a failure.

Brakes — electric brake controller and trailer brakes

The brake rules in Australia are graded by caravan weight, and the controller setup is graded by conditions.

Brake requirements by ATM

• 0-750 kg: no trailer brakes required.
• 750-2,000 kg: electric brakes on at least one axle, driver-controllable.
• 2,000-2,500 kg: driver-controllable brakes on all wheels, plus breakaway.
• 2,500-3,500 kg: all wheels braked, breakaway, and two AS 4177 chains.

Proportional vs time-based controllers

A time-based controller ramps trailer braking over a fixed time after the brake pedal is pressed — simple, cheap, and clunky in stop-start traffic. A proportional (inertia-sensing) controller measures the rate of deceleration and blends trailer braking to match. Proportional controllers are the modern default for any van over 2,000 kg; the feel is much closer to a car-only drive.

Setting brake controller gain — the 40 km/h test

• Find a quiet, flat stretch of road with no traffic behind.
• Accelerate to 40 km/h.
• Pull the manual trailer-brake lever to full.
• The trailer should just about pull the rig to a stop without the tow-vehicle wheels locking, and without the trailer wheels chirping. If the trailer locks first, back off the gain. If the tow vehicle slows without any help, wind the gain up.
• Repeat with a loaded van — an empty van needs far less gain than a full one.

The three brake tests every pre-trip

1. Driveway test. Roll at 5 km/h, pull the manual lever — trailer should grab.
2. Breakaway pin tug. Pull the pin with the van stationary — trailer brakes should engage.
3. First-hundred-metres test. Brake firmly on the first quiet stretch — no trailer pull or push, just a smooth combined stop.

Table 5 — Trailer braking requirements by ATM

ATM range	Brake requirement	Breakaway system?	Safety chains
0-750 kg	No brakes required	No	1 × AS 4177.4 chain
750-2,000 kg	Electric brakes on at least one axle, driver-controllable	No	1 × AS 4177.4 chain
2,000-2,500 kg	Driver-controllable brakes on all wheels	Yes (hold ≥15 min)	1 × AS 4177.4 chain
2,500-3,500 kg	Driver-controllable brakes on all wheels	Yes	2 × AS 4177.4 chains

Common mistake: gain set too high locks the trailer wheels on wet bitumen; gain too low lets the caravan push the car through the stop. Re-test after every van service.

Lights, indicators and electrical

Trailer lighting is covered by two Australian Design Rules: ADR 13/00 (vehicle lighting) and ADR 42/04 (general vehicle construction). Every trailer light mirrors a corresponding vehicle signal: brake, indicator, tail, reverse, number plate.

7-pin vs 12-pin flat plug

All Australian caravans use flat plugs compliant with AS 4177.5-2004.

• 7-pin: brake, indicator, tail, reverse, earth. Enough for a basic on-road caravan.
• 12-pin: adds internal battery charge, fridge signal, reversing camera feed and auxiliary returns. A 7-pin plug fits a 12-pin socket for flexibility on hire vans.

Do not run heavy 12 V loads through the 7 or 12-pin plugs. The cable is too thin for the current an under-slung battery or a three-way fridge pulls. Use an Anderson SB50 plug with a minimum 8 B&S cable for battery-charge and fridge runs.

The two-person light test

Solo? Set your phone camera recording on a tripod behind the van, then run through every light in sequence from the driver's seat. Review the footage once. Beats crawling behind the van with a mirror.

Common mistake: running the 12 V fridge through the 12-pin connector. Cable voltage drop cooks the plug and warms your groceries.

Mirrors and visibility

Australian law (ADR 14/02, echoed in NSW's Road Transport Regulation 2017 and equivalent state rules) requires drivers of combinations with a caravan wider than the tow vehicle to be able to see 4 metres out from the side of the caravan, at a point 20 metres behind the driver's seating position.

Clip-on vs replacement mirrors

• Clip-ons bolt onto the standard tow-vehicle mirror and extend the field of view. Inexpensive, rattly at speed.
• Replacement towing mirrors swap out the factory mirror entirely. Sturdier, higher cost, sometimes require door-skin preparation.

Folding mirrors in when unhitched

The over-dimensional rules permit nothing to protrude more than 150 mm from the side of a vehicle. When the caravan is detached at a campsite, fold extension mirrors in or remove clip-ons — the first narrow bush gate will do the job for you otherwise.

Common mistake: leaving clip-on mirrors fully extended when you drop the van at camp. The first tight gate rips them off.

Load distribution and securing the interior

After tow ball weight, load distribution is the single biggest sway-prevention lever. Sway is implicated in the vast majority of caravan crashes; load distribution is where owners lose control of their own ball weight number.

The 60/40 rule of thumb

The widely-used industry guide is roughly 60% of the payload ahead of the caravan's axle and 40% behind. Push too much weight behind the axle and the van becomes a pendulum at speed — every small steering input amplifies instead of damping.

Heavy items low and central

Generators, recovery gear, tool boxes, water jerries — the further they are from the caravan's centre of mass, the more rotational inertia they add to a sway event. Store heavy items in the tunnel boot or under-bed lockers, close to the floor and close to the axle line. The half-dozen kilos of fry pans on the top shelf of the rear kitchen matter less than you think; the 30 kg generator in the rear bumper basket matters more.

Side-to-side balance

Fresh water and grey water tanks are rarely centred on the chassis, and a 120 L fresh tank is 120 kg of water that shifts your side-to-side balance. Check which side each tank sits and adjust cargo in the opposite locker to compensate.

Securing the cabin

Drawer latches fail quietly. Check every catch before departure. The TV, the microwave, the BBQ, the outdoor speaker and the kettle need to be physically restrained — not just parked on top of the counter.

Post-loading weighbridge habit

After you've loaded for real — water, gas, kit, two weeks of food — drive to a public weighbridge before your first trip of the year. Weigh van alone (jockey wheel down), then van plus car. Work backwards to ATM, GTM and ball weight. The ticket lives in the van glove box for the next 12 months.

Common mistake: the full fresh-water tank mounted behind the axle. Adds 80 kg of ball weight you didn't plan for and shifts the centre of mass rearward — the textbook sway recipe.

State-by-state towing rules comparison

Every state has its own twist on caravan speed limits and compliance. Nobody else publishes a national comparison, so here's one.

Speed limits

• NSW: follow the signed limit up to 110 km/h. Drop to 100 km/h whenever the tow vehicle is over 4.5 t GVM or the combination is over 4.5 t GCM.
• VIC: no caravan-specific limit. Follow signed speed up to 110 km/h; heavy combinations over 4.5 t GCM capped at 100 km/h.
• QLD: signed limit for combinations under 4.5 t GCM; 100 km/h cap above that.
• WA: blanket 100 km/h cap for any car-plus-caravan combination, regardless of the posted limit. The outlier.
• SA, TAS, ACT: signed limit, 100 km/h cap at 4.5 t GCM.
• NT: open-speed zones abolished in 2016 — standard signed limits apply.

Licence classes

A standard Class C licence covers any trailer up to 9 tonnes GTM or the manufacturer's rated tow limit, whichever is lower. That's every consumer caravan on the Australian market.

• LR: tow vehicle 4.5-8 t GVM.
• MR: tow vehicle over 8 t on two axles.
• HR: tow vehicle over 8 t on three axles or more.

Chain and breakaway thresholds (national via ADR)

Chain and breakaway rules follow ADRs and are consistent across states — one AS 4177 chain up to 2,500 kg ATM, two above, breakaway mandatory at 2,000 kg GTM.

State quirks worth knowing

• QLD requires a safety certificate for caravans 750 kg-3.5 t ATM before registration or transfer.
• NT abolished open-speed zones in 2016, so "no limit" is history.
• WA caps every car-plus-caravan at 100 km/h — this catches visitors from SA every long weekend.

Table 2 — State-by-state towing rules (2026)

State / Territory	Speed (car + caravan)	Heavy-combo cap	Class C licence limit	Notable local rule
NSW	Signed (up to 110)	100 if GVM >4.5 t or GCM >4.5 t	≤9 t GTM	ADR breakaway from 2,000 kg
VIC	Signed (up to 110)	100 if GCM >4.5 t	≤9 t GTM	No caravan-specific cap
QLD	Signed	100 if GCM >4.5 t	≤9 t GTM	Safety cert 750 kg-3.5 t ATM
WA	100 max (any caravan)	100	≤9 t GTM	Blanket 100 km/h cap
SA	Signed	100 if GCM >4.5 t	≤9 t GTM	—
TAS	Signed	100 if GCM >4.5 t	≤9 t GTM	—
ACT	Signed	100 if GCM >4.5 t	≤9 t GTM	—
NT	Signed	100 if GCM >4.5 t	≤9 t GTM	Open-speed zones abolished 2016

The "heaviest rule wins" principle

An interstate trip applies the stricter rule whenever state rules conflict. If your SA plate says you can tow at 110 km/h but you cross the WA border, the 100 km/h WA cap applies the moment you cross the Nullarbor line.

Common mistake: crossing into WA at 110 km/h because that was legal back in SA. WA caps every combination at 100, sign or no sign.

Emergency kit and roadside readiness

What you check before departure is only half the picture — what you pack decides how a bad day plays out.

The 12-item caravan emergency kit

1. Reflective triangle (x2) — legally required in some states, sensible everywhere.
2. Fire extinguisher — 1 kg ABE dry-powder minimum, mounted on a bracket.
3. First-aid kit — remote-area specification if you're heading north of the Tropic.
4. Hi-vis vest for every adult traveller.
5. Bottle jack rated to caravan ATM plus jack plate for soft shoulders.
6. Wheel brace that actually fits the caravan wheel nuts (not assumed).
7. Spare wheel secured on its carrier, inflated to placard.
8. Jumper leads or portable lithium jump starter.
9. Tow rope or snatch strap rated for tow vehicle GVM.
10. Torch with spare batteries — head-torch is better at night.
11. Tyre repair plug kit (on-road) or full-repair kit (off-road).
12. Written insurance + roadside number card — not just the app.

What the law actually requires

Reflective triangles are legally required in some jurisdictions; fire extinguishers are recommended in all. Carry them regardless.

The bottle jack trap

A 2 t trolley jack — the one in the tow vehicle boot — will not lift a 2,800 kg caravan. You need a bottle jack rated for the caravan's ATM (plus margin), and a solid jack plate for when the jack sits on loose gravel or soft bitumen.

Mobile blackspot planning

A TPMS alert on the Stuart Highway is the difference between a daylight tyre swap and a night-time blowout. Plan comms: Starlink Mini for extended touring, HF radio for the Outback, and a Personal Locator Beacon on every recovery kit. For the full touring kit list that goes beyond the pre-trip checks, see our grey nomad essential safety gear guide.

Common mistake: the standard trolley jack. It won't lift a loaded caravan, and swapping wheels on a roadside at midnight is not the time to discover that.

The 9 most common caravan towing mistakes in Australia

The most common caravan towing mistakes in Australia are: exceeding tow ball or GCM limits, confusing tare with real-world loaded weight, skipping the weighbridge, under-inflating tyres for load, ignoring wheel bearing heat, poor load distribution, not using towing mirrors, driving too fast, and failing to check brake controller gain.

Here are all nine in order, with the fix for each.

1. Exceeding tow ball mass or GCM

Fix: weigh loaded, at a weighbridge. GCM is in the owner's manual, not the door placard. A ute plated for 3,500 kg towing is almost certainly GCM-limited below both GVM and max tow rating combined.

2. Confusing tare with real-world loaded weight

Fix: tare is the delivery weight. Real-world is tare + 300-500 kg of cargo, water, gas, kit. Re-weigh after the first shakedown.

3. Skipping the public weighbridge

Fix: $15 a ticket buys you certainty. Every insurance claim after a weight-related incident asks for a weighbridge receipt.

4. Under-inflating tyres for load

Fix: pressure by load, not by habit. See the table in the tyre section — a 2,800 kg GTM van on LT235/75 R16 wants 55 psi cold, not 40.

5. Ignoring wheel bearing heat

Fix: hand on every hub at every rest stop, or fit hub-mounted wheel bearing temperature sensors for continuous monitoring. Over 90 °C is a stop-now event.

6. Poor front-to-rear and side-to-side load distribution

Fix: 60/40 front-of-axle rule. Heavy items low, central, close to the axle. Balance side-to-side for water tanks.

7. Driving without proper towing mirrors

Fix: 4 metres clearance at 20 metres back. Clip-ons or replacement — but always extended.

8. Driving too fast for conditions

Fix: yaw forces rise with the square of speed. A van that handles fine at 90 km/h can be unrecoverable at 105 km/h. Respect the state cap, and drop another 10 km/h on rough surfaces or cross-winds.

9. Failing to check brake controller gain after every service

Fix: 40 km/h manual-lever test after every van service, every re-load, and every long layover.

On-road behaviour — sway, stopping distances, overtaking

The pre-trip checklist puts a safe rig on the road. On-road habits keep it there.

Early sway signs and the counter-intuitive recovery

Sway starts as a gentle side-to-side tug through the steering. Catch it early: ease off the accelerator, keep the steering dead-straight, and let the electric trailer brakes pull the van back into line. The worst thing you can do is stomp the car brake — that compresses the caravan forward into the tow vehicle, pivots it harder, and turns a wobble into a jackknife.

If you have a manual trailer-brake lever on the controller, a single firm tug on the lever applies trailer braking only. That is the correction that pulls a van straight. Keep the car braking off.

Why loaded stopping distances are 1.5-2× longer

Ball weight sits on the rear axle, compressing the rear suspension and unloading the front. Front-wheel braking effort drops. ABS thresholds shift. Combine that with double the total mass and stopping distances on a loaded combo can be 1.5-2× the car-only distance, especially downhill.

Plan following distances accordingly. A 3-second gap car-only becomes a 5-second gap loaded.

Overtaking and being overtaken — the truck wake effect

A road train rolling past a caravan generates a bow wave that can push the van out, then pull it in as the truck moves ahead. Hold the wheel steady, back off the accelerator, wait for the wake to settle. Don't correct into the bow wave — let it ride out.

Descents, runaway lanes, engine braking

Long Australian descents (Cunningham's Gap, the Great Dividing Range, the Kangaroo Valley descent) can overheat caravan brakes if you rely on them. Use engine braking: one gear lower than you'd drive up the same hill, and feather the trailer manual-lever tug as needed. Runaway lanes exist. If you need one, take it early.

Common mistake: stomping the car brake to kill a sway. That's the jackknife signature. Ease off the accelerator, keep the wheel straight, tug the trailer-brake lever.

Rest-stop recheck routine

A two-minute walk at every rest stop catches what the morning check missed.

The 90-second walk

• Touch each hub, including the spare carrier hub if it's active.
• Press each tyre sidewall — look for a flat.
• Eye the coupling, chains and breakaway cable for chafe.
• Eye the tow vehicle tyres for embedded objects — stones in the tread, bent valve stems.
• Look under the van for dangling cables, loose straps, leaking taps.

What a TPMS changes

With a wireless tyre pressure monitoring system and hub-temperature sensors, the rest-stop walk becomes a confirmation rather than a discovery — you've already seen every pressure and every hub temperature from the driver's seat on the last 300 km. The walk is for chafed cables, low gas bottles and embedded nails you could never have seen on the dash.

Common mistake: skipping the walk because nothing felt wrong. Bearings fail silently right up until they don't.

FAQ

What should I check before towing a caravan in Australia?

Before towing a caravan, check: tyre pressure and tread (car and van), wheel bearing condition, brake controller and breakaway cable, coupling and safety chains, all lights and indicators, tow ball weight and load distribution, towing mirrors, gas off, water tanks secured, and that combined weight is within your GCM.

What is the safety checklist for caravanning in Australia?

An Australian caravan safety checklist covers: (1) correct weight and load distribution (ATM, GTM, tow ball, GCM within limits), (2) tyre pressure set cold to load, (3) wheel bearing condition and temperature, (4) coupling, safety chains and breakaway cable, (5) brake controller and trailer brakes, (6) all lights working, (7) mirrors and visibility, (8) gas and water secured.

What are the most common caravan towing mistakes?

The most common caravan towing mistakes in Australia are: exceeding tow ball or GCM limits, confusing tare with real-world loaded weight, skipping the weighbridge, under-inflating tyres for load, ignoring wheel bearing heat, poor load distribution, not using towing mirrors, driving too fast, and failing to check brake controller gain.

Is TPMS mandatory for caravans in Australia?

No. Tyre pressure monitoring systems are not legally required for caravans or passenger cars in Australia, although TPMS has been mandatory on new passenger cars in the United States since 2007 and across the European Union since 2014. A wireless TPMS is still best-practice safety kit — NHTSA data (DOT HS 811 681) shows TPMS-equipped vehicles are about 56% less likely to run severely underinflated tyres.

What tow ball weight should my caravan have?

Aim for approximately 10% of fully-loaded ATM as a rule of thumb, within a practical range of 5-15% depending on van length. Too light and the van wags; too heavy and you overload the rear axle of the tow vehicle. Always measure loaded, at a weighbridge or with a purpose-built tow-ball scale, not at the dealer delivery.

How often should caravan wheel bearings be serviced?

At least once a year for on-road caravans, or every 10,000 km — whichever comes first. Off-road and heavy-duty caravans should be inspected every six months. Re-pack with marine-grade grease, check the races for spalling, and consider a hub-temperature monitor so you can track bearing health between services.

What temperature is too hot for a caravan wheel bearing?

Healthy caravan hubs run between 45 °C and 65 °C after 20-30 minutes of driving in typical Australian summer conditions. Anything above 70 °C warrants investigation at the next stop. Above 90 °C, pull over immediately — you're at risk of grease breakdown, bearing failure and a hub fire. Above 120 °C is critical.

Do I need a special licence to tow a caravan in Australia?

Not for most consumer caravans. A standard Class C licence lets you tow a trailer up to 9 tonnes GTM or the manufacturer's rated limit, whichever is lower. A Light Rigid (LR) licence is required for tow vehicles between 4.5 t and 8 t GVM, and heavier combinations step up through MR and HR classes.

What speed can I tow a caravan at in Australia?

It depends on the state. Western Australia caps any car-plus-caravan combination at 100 km/h regardless of the posted limit. New South Wales drops to 100 km/h when the combined GCM exceeds 4.5 tonnes. Other states follow the signed limit until combined weight exceeds 4.5 t, when the 100 km/h cap kicks in. Check the state-by-state table above.

Final safety checklist summary

Run this list every trip:

• Weigh the rig loaded. Know your ATM, GTM, GCM and ball weight.
• Set cold tyre pressure by load, not by habit.
• Hand on every hub, every rest stop. Fit hub-temperature sensors for continuous read-out.
• Check coupling latch under load. Chains crossed, breakaway cable short, battery tested.
• Test brake controller gain after every service and every reload.
• Walk the lights. Extend the mirrors. Fold them when unhitched.
• Load 60% ahead of the axle, heavy items low and central. Match side-to-side for water tanks.
• Know the state you're in — WA caps every caravan at 100 km/h.
• Pack the bottle jack. Test the breakaway battery. Carry the weighbridge ticket.

Australian-owned iCheckTPMS builds wireless, solar-powered tyre pressure monitoring kits specifically for 4WDs, caravans and fifth-wheelers, including the only hub-mounted wheel bearing temperature sensor on the market. See the full range at our TPMS kits and the wheel bearing temperature sensor page.