GVM, GCM, axle loads and the difference between what a canopy can carry and what your ute is allowed to carry.
Most overloading is not deliberate. It happens because people count the obvious things and forget the rest. Water, fuel, recovery gear, a fridge, a second battery and a roof top tent add up long before you have packed clothes.
Learn four numbers before you pack
GVM is the most your vehicle may weigh, fully loaded, including you. GCM is the most the vehicle and trailer may weigh together. Payload is GVM minus what the vehicle weighs empty, and it is what you actually have to spend. Axle loads are separate limits for the front and rear, and you can be under GVM and still over on the rear axle.
All four are on your vehicle's compliance plate or in the manual. They differ by model year and by market, so use the ones on your vehicle and nobody else's.
What a canopy costs you
Our double cab canopy weighs 65 kg. That comes off your payload before you load anything into it. Fit out that canopy with a drawer system, a water tank and a fridge slide and you can be a couple of hundred kilograms down before the first bag goes in.
Where it goes wrong
Weight goes in the back because that is where the space is, and the rear axle takes it. The front gets light, the steering goes vague and the load only shows up when you brake hard on a loose surface. Put the heavy items low and as far forward in the load space as you can, over or ahead of the rear axle rather than behind it.
Weigh it
Estimating does not work. Load the vehicle exactly as you would leave, then take it over a public weighbridge and get the front and rear axles separately. It is the only way to know whether you are legal, and it usually costs less than a tank of fuel.
