Vehicle Loading (With/Without Trailer) - Ford Falcon (FG) 2010 Manual

Vehicle loading (with/without trailer)

GENERAL DEFINITIONS
Before loading your vehicle, familiarise
yourself with the following terms:
Mass
Mass is also generically called weight.
Towball download
The amount of load that a trailer exerts
down onto the vehicle towball.
Vehicle kerb (unladen) mass
The mass of the vehicle including
optional equipment, plus fluids and fuel
filled to nominal capacity. It does not
include occupants or luggage, or towball
download.
Laden vehicle mass
The vehicle kerb (unladen) mass plus
all weight added to the vehicle itself,
including luggage and occupants.
Gross axle load (GAL)
The total load carried by a single axle
(front and rear), due to the vehicle kerb/
unladen mass, including any optional/
aftermarket equipment, plus the loads
resulting from any luggage (cargo), all
occupants and the towball download.
As measured at the wheels to ground
interface.
Gross axle load rating (GALR)
The maximum allowable load that can
be carried by a single axle (front or rear).
Refer to the listed values in the Towing
and Load Limits table in in Guideline 5 of
Trailer Towing section.
Gross axle load rating - Rear
(GALR-Rr)
Is the maximum permissible value for the
gross axle load on the rear axle.
Laden Trailer Mass (LTM)
The mass of the trailer (including the
towball download), plus the trailer
contents.
GUIDE TO DETERMINING
AND ADjUSTING VEHICLE
LOADS
1. Use the appropriate maximum
values from the Towing and Load
Limits table in Guideline 5) of Trailer
Towing section.
2. Weigh your vehicle as you
customarily operate the vehicle with
limited occupants and luggage, and
determine the front and rear GAL
(Gross Axle Loads), and trailer mass
values separately when towing. To
obtain correct values, take your
vehicle to a public or commercial
weigh station.
3. Add and adjust loads, and confirm
compliance to the applicable ratings
by reweighing the vehicle and trailer,
where appropriate or uncertain.
As a guide to assist in adjusting the
axle and vehicle loads the following
table has been provided. It displays the
approximate loads that are carried by
the rear axle when occupants, luggage
and trailer towball downloads are
changed or applied.
These values may be used to predict the
approximate effects of adjusting loads as
a variance to the values established after
the vehicle has been initially weighed.
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