A FREE Queensland Government-organised information session for
caravanners has been hailed a resounding success.
About 36 vehicles, including 18 towing caravans, turned up at the
four-and-a-half hour Saturday morning event at the Transport and Main
Roads inspection site on the Cunningham Hwy between Ipswich and Amberley.
"It seems to have been a very valuable exercise," senior policy
officer (Vehicle Standards) Peter Twining told
Caravanning News. "From feedback, it looks like we will try to do it
again next year."
He said questions were answered, caravans weighed and ball-weights
checked.
"Most people seemed to be very wary and had reduced their weights before
arriving," Mt Twining said.
"We had a couple that were over but only marginally. We found that the
later-model 'vans were probably better balanced and designed for weight
distribution."
He revealed that a couple of owners were "pretty amazed" when
they discovered they were very close to the maximum ATM.
"Some people don't understand things," Mr Twining explained. "They might
innocently put half a dozen annexe polls on the front of their caravans
and extra non-standard accessories. This results in more weight on the
ball.
"But everything was well received and people were happy ... nobody had to
walk home!"
Modifications was also another popular topic raised by visitors during the
session, he added.
