Nearly everyone checks one towing number: the big braked figure on the brochure. "3,500kg? Beauty, my van's 2,800." Then they load the family, the fridge, the awning and the full water tank, hitch up, and drive off hundreds of kilos over a limit they didn't even know existed.
Towing legally in Australia isn't about one number. It's about four, and they interact. The good news: you don't need a spreadsheet. Pick your vehicle below, tell it what you're carrying and towing, and it checks the lot against that car's real published weights.
Check your setup
Every figure here comes from the vehicle's own manufacturer specs in our database: kerb weight, GVM, GCM, braked tow rating and the tow-ball limit. You add the load. The gauges go green, amber or red so you can see instantly which limit bites first.
Payload 450 kg · GVM 2,050 · GCM 3,650 · Braked tow 1,600 · Tow-ball 160 kg
Vehicle Payload310 / 450 kg
GVM1,910 / 2,050 kg
Tow Capacity (Braked)1,600 / 1,600 kg
GCM3,350 / 3,650 kg
Tow-ball Download160 / 160 kg
Near a limit — check your loaded weights carefully
Passengers & luggage 150 kg
Total weight of people and gear inside the vehicle
External0 kg
Internal0 kg
Trailer / caravan weight (ATM) 1,600 kg
Fully-loaded trailer weight, not the dry tare
Tow-ball download 160 kg
Assumed at 10% of trailer ATM
Rear axle (optional)
Enter both from a weighbridge / your compliance plate to add a rear-axle gauge. Nothing here is estimated.
Vehicle weights (kerb, GVM, GCM, braked-tow and tow-ball limits) are the manufacturer's published figures from our database; payload = GVM − kerb. Tow-ball download is assumed at 10% of the trailer weight unless you enter your own. Rear-axle load is only shown if you enter both values yourself. Figures are a guide, not independently verified — confirm against the compliance plate and never exceed rated GVM, GCM, tow or tow-ball limits.
Here's the whole vocabulary in plain English. Learn these five and towing stops being a mystery.
Term
What it really means
Braked towing
The most you can tow when the trailer has its own brakes. This is the headline number, and the least likely to catch you out.
Payload
How much weight you can put in and on the car. It's GVM minus kerb weight, and it has to cover people, gear, accessories and the tow-ball weight.
GVM
Gross Vehicle Mass. The heaviest the fully loaded car is allowed to be. Go over and you're illegal, full stop.
GCM
Gross Combined Mass. The heaviest the car and trailer are allowed to be together. This is the one that quietly ends road trips.
Tow-ball download
The downward push the trailer puts on the tow bar, usually around 10 percent of the trailer's weight. It counts against your payload and has its own limit.
The trap: legal to tow, illegal to load
This is where good people get fined and insurance gets voided. Take a typical dual-cab ute rated to tow 3,500kg braked, with a GCM around 6,000kg and roughly 1,000kg of payload. On paper it looks bulletproof. Watch what happens on a real trip:
Kerb weight (the empty ute): about 2,300kg
Two adults, kids, fuel and camping gear: about 400kg
Bullbar, drawers, fridge, second spare: about 200kg
Tow-ball download from a 2,800kg van (10 percent): about 280kg
Add the on-vehicle load (400 + 200 + 280 = 880kg) and you're near the 1,000kg payload ceiling before the trailer is even rolling. Now the combined picture: 2,300 kerb + 880 on board + 2,800 van = 5,980kg, basically kissing that 6,000kg GCM. One more esky and you're over. You never touched the 3,500kg tow rating, and you're still illegal.
That's the entire point of checking all four numbers together. The calculator above does it as you drag the sliders, so you can see the exact moment a gauge tips into amber or red.
Tow-ball download, quickly
The tow-ball weight is sneaky because it lands twice. It sits on your tow bar (so it has its own rating you can't exceed), and it counts as payload on the car (so it eats into GVM). If you don't know your real ball weight, 10 percent of the loaded trailer weight is the standard assumption, and that's what the tool uses unless you enter a measured figure from a weighbridge.
Braked vs unbraked
Any trailer over 750kg in Australia must have its own brakes, and over 2,000kg it needs brakes on all wheels plus a breakaway system. The unbraked figure (usually 750kg) only matters for little box trailers. When a brochure quotes one big towing number, it's almost always the braked one.
Don't get caught out: the 30-second check
Weigh the trailer loaded, not empty. Dry tare weights lie. Use the ATM (the fully loaded rating) or a weighbridge.
Count the tow-ball weight as payload, because it is.
Add every accessory. Steel bars and drawer systems add up fast.
Check GVM and GCM, not just the tow rating.
If you're close on paper, you're over in the real world once the tank's full and the kids are in.
The legal bits (Australia)
Trailers over 750kg must have working brakes; over 2,000kg needs brakes on all wheels and a breakaway device.
Most states cap towing at 100km/h (some at the posted limit), so check your state's road rules.
Car plus trailer generally can't exceed 19 metres combined.
Never exceed the vehicle's rated GVM, GCM, braked tow or tow-ball figures. These are on the compliance plate and in the owner's manual.
Rules vary by state and change over time, so treat this as a starting point and confirm the current requirements with your state transport authority before a big trip.
Pick the right tow vehicle from the start
If you're still shopping, the easiest way to avoid all of this is to buy a vehicle with real headroom in its GCM and payload, not just a big tow number. Our best towing vehicles guide ranks them on the figures that matter, and you can compare any two utes or 4WDs side by side in the comparison tool.
Weight figures are the manufacturer's published specifications from our database, shown as a guide and not independently verified. Always confirm against your vehicle's compliance plate and owner's manual before loading or towing.
Check four numbers, not one. Your trailer's loaded weight must be under your car's braked towing rating. But you also can't exceed GVM (the car fully loaded), GCM (the car and trailer combined), or the tow-ball download limit. It's common to be under your tow rating but over GVM or GCM once the family and gear are on board. The calculator on this page checks all of them at once.
What is the difference between GVM and GCM?
GVM (Gross Vehicle Mass) is the most your car can weigh fully loaded, including passengers, gear and the tow-ball weight. GCM (Gross Combined Mass) is the most the car and trailer can weigh together. You can pass GVM and still fail GCM, or vice versa. Both are hard legal limits.
How much is tow-ball download?
Tow-ball download is the downward weight the trailer puts on your tow bar. For most trailers and caravans it sits around 10 percent of the loaded trailer weight, so a 2,000kg van is roughly 200kg on the ball. That weight counts against your payload and GVM. Your car also has a maximum tow-ball rating you must not exceed.
Does adding a bullbar reduce how much I can tow?
Not the tow rating itself, but it eats your payload. A steel bullbar, a second spare, drawers and a fridge can easily add 200kg or more to the car. That weight comes off what you can carry and adds to your GVM and GCM totals, so heavy accessories can quietly push a loaded, towing setup over the line.
Why does towing wreck my range or fuel economy?
Pulling extra mass and dragging a big flat trailer through the air costs energy. Diesel utes commonly use 30 to 50 percent more fuel towing a caravan, and EVs can lose 30 to 50 percent of their range. Plan fuel or charging stops around the loaded figure, not the brochure one.
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Disclaimer: All information in this article was believed to be correct at the time of publishing (12 July 2026). Prices are manufacturer recommended retail prices (RRP) and may vary by state, dealer, and options. Specifications, government incentives, and rebates can change without notice. Always verify details with the manufacturer or relevant authority before making a purchase decision. Running cost estimates are based on average Australian driving conditions at 15,000 km/year. CarSorted does not accept payment for recommendations or rankings.