Watch your weight with Reich portable caravan scales

Short of running over a public weigh bridge every time you set off on your holidays, ensuring that you are within the correct weight limits of your caravan or camper trailer is not always easy.

Loading up with too much gear, or having too much weight on the tow ball, can have disastrous consequences when towing, both from a safety as well as legal and financial perspective.

Plus there’s the ongoing cost of visiting a weigh bridge, while DIY solutions like bathroom scales are not advisable considering they're not designed for weighing extra-heavy items like trailers.

Available nationally from Australian distributor Sunbuster Solar Shades,  the Caravan Weight Control portable scale from German company Reich is a lightweight, portable and user-friendly option for anyone who wants to keep a regular check on their caravan’s weight.

The Reich scales are available in two models: a yellow version for weighing up to 1000kg per wheel (for single axle caravans weighing up to 2000kg and tandem axle vans up to 4000kg), and an orange version for weighing up to 1500kg per wheel (single axle vans up to 3000kg and tandem axle up to 6000kg).

Both units are light and compact, measuring 360mm x 70mm x 45mm and weighing only 1kg, so they are easy to store in either the tow vehicle or caravan when not being used.

According to Steven van Schagen from Sunbuster Solar Shades, they’re also simple to use. Just place the scales at either side of the caravan wheel and drive over the scales at a slow pace (about 3km/h). Then do it for the other wheels, as well as the coupling with using a stump of wood to measure the tow ball mass.

“By pressing buttons at certain intervals, it will add up the weights and give you the overall weight of the rig, the towball weight, and each side’s weight, so packing alterations can be performed,” he said.

While made in Germany, the Reich scales have been calibrated to work with bigger, heavier Australian-built caravans.

“What is important to recognize is that the Australian instrument has been designed with Australian conditions and performance in mind,” he said.

“Before releasing the product into the market place, the instrument was remade to suit our 4000kg rig, 450kg towball weights, and big chunky cross-country tyres and heavy-duty suspensions. Sunbuster’s redevelopment of the product was significant and took place over an 18 month period.

“Don’t be fooled by cheaper CWCs appearing in the marketplace,” he also warned.

“Imported scales via internet sellers and eBay scammers are not warranted for Australian use because they could very well be unsatisfactory to use on Australian rigs. A telltale sign is the boxing on fake scales is different to the original Reich version.”

Available online from $299.30-$375 depending on the model, he said purchasing a Reich Caravan Weight Control scale should pay off in the long run.

“Weighbridges are a continuing expense, whereas this instrument is a one off cost and ‘learn how to use’ application,” he said

“The CWS claims 3% accuracy, and when it is a known advertised fact that public weighbridges are accurate to only 50kg, the CWC makes great economic sense.”

However, he cautioned that owners should always be mindful about how much their rig weighs and how it is packed when towing, and offered the following tips:

- When purchasing a new rig always demand a current weighbridge certificate dated that morning before settlement. Check this against rego papers and VIN plates for accuracy. You may just find the rig is too heavy to tow with your vehicle or discover there is limited payload.

- A good rule to help reduce weight is ‘If you haven’t used it in the last 12 months, remove it from your rig’. That includes heavy items like a generator that can really eat into your payload.

For more information about caravan weights, and how the Reich Caravan Weight Control scale works and where to buy one, visit the Sunbuster website.