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FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
Are GCM or BTC Upgrades Allowed in the NT?
No.
The Vehicle Standards Office does not recognise any change in GCM from the original, first stage manufacturer. This determination applies to both in-service and SSM upgrades that purport to increase the GCM.
Are GCM or BTC Upgrades Allowed in WA?
GCM Upgrades: Yes.
The Department of Transport allows this under VTB 181A. Depending on the popularity of the vehicle type, we may need to wait until there are multiple customers before conducting the required tests.
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BTC Upgrades: No.
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The Department of Transport directs people to section 168 of the Road Traffic (Vehicles) Regulations 2014 where it says that only the manufacturer of the vehicle can define the BTC of a vehicle. The department's interpretation of this manufacture is the first stage manufacturer of the vehicle only.
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Refer to the DTMI FAQ page here for more details.
Are GCM or BTC Upgrades Allowed in SA
Yes.
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The Department of Infrastructure and Transport does allow these under limited circumstances.
Are GVM, GCM & BTC Upgrades Allowed Across Australia
Yes.
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The Department of Infrastructure and Transport does allow these under limited circumstances.
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Usually this occurs as a result of a Second Stage of Manufacture, the common ways people refer to this are: Federal Approval or Pre-Rego. The way this works is: 1. A customer selects and purchases a vehicle - 2. The vehicle is re-manufactured according to the SSM 3. The vehicle is registered.
The registration must occur after the re-manufacturing, thus the term Pre-rego.
These kinds of changes are accepted by most jurisdictions, with the notable exceptions of QLD, WA, ACT and the NT. See the below table for further details: Green is allowed, red is not allowed, and orange means a special process.
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There are some weird caveats to all of the above, and you will be right to thinking that these are murky waters... Some examples: A vehicle owner gets a pre-rego kit for GVM/BTC/GCM installed in NT, and then is weighed in NSW - are they committing an offense? No because the NSW government accepts the pre-rego approval. Alternatively, someone with a Pre-rego kit in NSW drives to WA and is weighed - are they committing an offense? No, because WA accepts that a vehicle legal in their home jurisdiciton is legal in WA. As is usually the case with these kinds of things - it is a buyer beware scenario!
Can my pig Trailer Weigh more than my Tow Vehicle
For LVs: Yes, as long as you comply with all your other limits (GVM, GCM, BTC, etc.)
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For HVs: No, this practice is specifically excluded by the Road Traffic (Vehicles) Regulations r. 166.
I have a LandCruiser but I don't know its GCM - how can I find out what it is?
For many years LandCruisers were produced without a specified GCM. This value is specified by the Manufacturer. If the manufacturer does not specify it, then your vehicle does not have a specified GCM. Typically people will simply add the GVM and the BTC together to get a pseudo GCM (if these were loaded to their maximums, then you can't theortically carry anymore without exceeding either your GVM or BTC so it is crude, but it works). But this is not the GCM for the vehicle as it doesn't have one. Where people get into disagreement about this is when a vehicle has a GVM Upgrade, and then the question is, what is the new pseudo GCM. Is it the old pseudo GCM (original GVM + original BTC), or is it a new value (new GVM + original BTC). The truth is, it doesn't matter, as the vehicle does not have a GCM...
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To know if your vehicle has a specified GCM, it will be based on the age of the vehicle - see attached links for 2x 70 Series spec sheets - 1 from 2016 showing no GCM listed, and one from 2018 showing a GCM. You can look these up for Prados and the 200 Series as well.