GVM, or Gross Vehicle Mass, is the maximum your vehicle is allowed to weigh when it is fully loaded. It is set by the manufacturer, stamped on a plate on your vehicle, and it includes everything: the vehicle, fuel, accessories, passengers, gear and tow ball weight.
GVM is a single limit on the whole vehicle as it sits on the road. Everything that has mass and is not the trailer counts towards it: the vehicle itself, a full tank of fuel, the bull bar, the canopy, the roof rack, the driver, every passenger, the dog, the tools, the water, and the downward weight the trailer puts on the tow ball.
That last one catches people out constantly. Tow ball weight is not part of your trailer's weight for this purpose. It is pressing down on the back of your vehicle, so it is part of your vehicle's weight, and it comes out of the same allowance as everything you have loaded in the tub.
What GVM is not is a measure of how much you can carry. That figure is payload, and it is what is left of the GVM after the vehicle's own weight is taken off. Two utes with an identical GVM can have very different payloads, because one of them is heavier before you touch it.
There is a compliance or identification plate on your vehicle, usually in the door jamb or under the bonnet, and the GVM is on it. That plate is the number that matters legally, because it describes your actual vehicle rather than a brochure's idea of it.
The manufacturer's spec sheet will tell you the same figure for a standard vehicle, and that is where the numbers on this site come from. If your vehicle has been modified, had a GVM upgrade, or was built as a cab chassis and later had a tray fitted, trust the plate over any brochure.
Below is the GVM every current model we hold spec sheets for, alongside the payload that GVM actually leaves once the vehicle's own kerb weight is deducted. The gap between the two columns is the point of this page.
| Model | GVM | Payload |
|---|---|---|
| Ford Ranger | 3,150 to 3,350kg | 753 to 1,412kg |
| Toyota LandCruiser 79 Series | 3,510kg | 1,310 to 1,380kg |
| Kia Tasman | 3,160 to 3,250kg | 1,013 to 1,365kg |
| Mazda BT-50 | 3,000 to 3,100kg | 887 to 1,357kg |
| Isuzu D-Max | 3,000 to 3,100kg | 896 to 1,350kg |
| Mitsubishi Triton | 3,070 to 3,200kg | 910 to 1,335kg |
| Toyota HiLux | 2,950 to 3,120kg | 778 to 1,260kg |
| GWM Cannon | 3,050 to 3,495kg | 685 to 1,150kg |
| Nissan Navara | 3,190kg | 964 to 1,064kg |
| LDV T60 Max | 3,050 to 3,150kg | 800 to 1,040kg |
| KGM Musso | 2,880 to 3,220kg | 790 to 1,010kg |
| Volkswagen Amarok | 3,100 to 3,350kg | 791 to 974kg |
| BYD Shark 6 | 3,500kg | 725 to 900kg |
| Toyota LandCruiser 300 | 3,280 to 3,380kg | 660 to 800kg |
| Toyota LandCruiser Prado | 3,100 to 3,200kg | 580 to 615kg |
Current generation only, from the manufacturers' published spec sheets. Ranges cover every variant of that model.
Kerb weight is what the vehicle weighs ready to drive, with fluids and, under the Australian definition, a 90kg driver. Tare mass is a lighter figure, measured with a nearly empty tank and nobody in it. Some brands publish one, some publish both, and a payload worked out from tare will always look better than the truth by 50kg or so.
Payload is GVM minus kerb weight. It is the honest answer to how much you can put in and on your vehicle, and it is the number this site is built around.
GCM, Gross Combination Mass, is a separate and bigger limit that covers your vehicle and its trailer together. It is the reason you cannot tow the maximum and carry a full load at the same time, and it has its own guide.
Being over GVM is an offence in every Australian state, and the fines are real. The bigger issue is insurance: an insurer that determines the vehicle was overloaded at the time of a crash has a straightforward reason to reduce or refuse a claim, and that applies to the vehicle, the trailer and anything you hit.
Then there is the vehicle itself. GVM is not an arbitrary number. It reflects what the brakes, suspension, chassis and tyres were engineered to handle. Overloaded utes stop longer, wander under load and chew through tyres and bushes, and none of that shows up until the moment you need it not to.
The honest position is that a very large share of fitted-out touring utes in this country are over GVM without their owners knowing. Not because people are reckless, but because a canopy, a bar, a set of drawers, a fridge, water and a family adds up faster than anyone expects. That is exactly what the calculator on this site is for.
The calculator uses published manufacturer figures for your exact variant, then adds what you have fitted and what you are carrying, and tells you what is left. It takes about a minute and it does not ask for your email.
If you want the definitive answer, take the vehicle to a public weighbridge, loaded the way you actually travel. A calculator works from the manufacturer's figures, and your vehicle has had a life since then.
GVM stands for Gross Vehicle Mass. It is the maximum total weight your vehicle is allowed to be when fully loaded, including the vehicle itself, fuel, accessories, passengers, gear and any weight the trailer puts on the tow ball.
No. GVM is the maximum the whole loaded vehicle may weigh. Payload is what is left of that once the vehicle's own kerb weight is deducted, and it is the figure that tells you how much you can carry.
Not the trailer's whole weight, but it does include the part of it that presses down on your tow ball, which is usually around ten percent of the trailer's mass. The vehicle and trailer together are limited by GCM instead.
On the compliance or identification plate, usually in the driver's door jamb or under the bonnet. The manufacturer's spec sheet gives the same figure for a standard vehicle, but the plate is what applies to yours.
An engineered modification, usually to the suspension, that raises the vehicle's legal GVM. It does not always raise the GCM, which means it can increase what you carry without increasing what you can tow. We have a separate guide on that.
Published figures for your exact variant, plus your bar work, canopy, passengers and trailer. No sign-up.