When I purchased my new vehicle being a first time van owner I asked the dealer to fit a tow bar and set it up electrically to tow a van of around 2.5T. What I ended up with was a 3.1T rated towbar (310kg ball load), red arc electric braking system, 12 pin plug and an anderson plug so I thought that I was ready to go. When I signed up for the van the dealer gave me a sheet of paper showing the wiring configuration and other requirements I needed to make the tug and van compatible and legal in NSW i.e. breakaway unit. I took the vehicle to an auto electrician just to check if everything was OK and he quoted me $450 to supply and fit the breakaway unit plus make changes to the wiring (including relocating the 12 pin plug which would be in danger of being damaged when lowering the spare wheel). When the van is finally delivered I will have to again take it back to him to get the van's rear view monitor fitted at yet another cost. Is there anything else that I am unaware of that is going to bite me when I go to hook this van up for the first time ? I know that I could be up for the Haymen Reece weight distribution bar and I definitely need a set of towing mirrors but the dealer would fit those things on the day of delivery.
Breakaway should be part of the Van, you only need a power source for battery, which should come from the 12 pin plug. Make sure your van is prewired at the very least for camera. There is a version with a microphone built into camera so you can hear through in cab monitor. Just check price from dealer of Hayman, prior to rocking up. cheers Craig
You are correct the breakaway unit is actually fitted to the van its the battery monitor that I have to have fitted in the vehicle as per NSW law. I think it's a bit of a double standard that a van over 2T registered in NSW requires a battery monitor to be fitted with an alarm (that is either audible or visible to the driver) when anyone else travelling through the state does not need to have one. As you say Macka I still think that the 2nd Auto Electrician has seen me coming, I could have taken the vehicle back to Mitsubishi and got them to move the plug 2 inches but it's just as quick to get this guy to do it while he's working on the other stuff. The van will be wired for the camera as it is a standard fitting it's the tug that I will need to have wired from the plug to the monitor but I can't do that until they give me the monitor. I hope that this is the end of it I'm beginning to think that it would have been easier and cheaper to buy a weekender on Bondi beach.
Totally agree CC about NSW being a nanny state but then again when I lived in South Africa it made Australia feel like a nanny country. At least in ZAR they still gave you some credit for being able to work out what was safe or not e.g. if you wanted to drive around with 20 people standing in the back of your truck that was your business. The down side was that that at the time (mid 90s) they were losing more people on their roads during a holiday period than we were losing in Australia in a whole year. I'm not against safety laws but this one seems to be a bit pointless when it's not a national requirement to have this breakaway monitor in your vehicle. By the way I believe that the South African government were using the Victorian RTA as a consultant on how to improve things because Vic at the time had one of the worlds best road safety records.
NSW normally sets the standard for new laws, may be because it is the biggest nanny state. As to the cost I agree even for my rig. Cheers
It's not so much a nanny state it's a thieving state ,why do we have to pay so much more for our regos then other states even national parks have a big lick at our expense, I wish I had a relo in western Aussie like my mate who uses there address for his pay nothing much rego...
You don't need a family member.
Just a mate. Missus mate etc.
That signs application stating that that rego no is based at/on their property.
IE. You use them as a home base when not travelling.
Does in SA anyway. (or did)
Mate from NSW used my Addy in adel for over 20 yrs for his rego's.
car and Yacht.
I had mine in Victoria at same time. Still do and I've lived here for 16 yrs.
(Own property down there.)
We have 1 boat and car here. Ute, boat and van. Vict.(MUCH Cheaper)
Probably wandering a little bit away from the original subject but I agree with CC on the high registration costs in this state compared to when we lived in WA . Were you aware that if you have a seniors card you can get 20% of national park entry and if you are a NSW resident with a pension card or a full time carer you can apply for a free pass.
If you go on the NSW Roads and Maritime website they give the details of all discounts that apply to vehicle rego in NSW etc. I have a the seniors card that doesn't entitle me to any discount on rego but if I had a pension card it would. The discount also applies to war widows/widowers and people with permanent or severe disabilities.
Thanks everyone for the advice, the monitor is costing me $90 (from the auto eleco) and the van has the Dexter anti sway system fitted which apparently doesn't require a 2nd Anderson plug. That is why I think the $450 that the Auto Electrician quoted me to supply & fit the monitor, move the 12 pin plug a couple of inches and make sure that the configuration matches the van's wiring is a little bit steep. He seems like a nice enough guy and he says that is going to need the car for around 3 hours to do this work so maybe I'm wrong. The van has a rear camera but they won't give me the monitor until I take delivery of it so I'm not sure if he has included the prewiring for that.
CC thanks for highlighting the possibility of a discount on rego. but I am going to need to be self funded for the next 6 years and will only qualify for a seniors card. We are by no means wealthy and with some sensible budgeting should be ok what we don't really need is to throw away money unnecessarily.
