Author: Vincent

August 29, 2025

Towing Terms Made Simple

GVM, ATM, TBM? Caravan Weights Explained

If you’re thinking about getting into caravaning but haven’t bought a van or a tow vehicle yet, you’re in the perfect position to get things right from the start. Before you fall in love with a caravan at the dealership or grab that dual cab ute on sale, you need to understand one thing: weights.

Acronyms like GVM, ATM, TBM, and GCM aren’t just red tape, they’re make-or-break numbers that will decide what you can tow, how safely you can do it, and whether your setup is even legal.

In this guide, we’ll break down each of the key towing terms, show you how they fit together, and help you avoid the common traps that leave new caravan owners stuck, overloaded, or frustrated.

What All the Caravan and Towing Acronyms Really Mean

Before you buy a caravan or a tow vehicle, get yourself familiar with these key weight terms. They form the rules of the game when it comes to safe and legal towing.

Let’s start with the “empty weights,” but keep in mind—no one tows empty. The loaded figures are what actually matter on the road.

Kerb Weight (Car, Ute, SUV)

The weight of the tow vehicle with a full tank of fuel, all standard fluids, and no passengers or cargo and no accessories, not even a tow-bar.
Why it matters: It’s your starting point to work out how much payload (stuff) you can carry.

Tare Mass (Caravan)

The weight of the caravan or tow vehicle when it leaves the factory. Includes standard equipment but no water, gas, luggage, food, or people.
Why it matters: Tells you how much capacity you have before hitting your legal limits.

Reality check: Kerb weight and Tare are rarely what you’re driving or towing with. You’ll always be over those numbers. In theory, they’re useful. In reality? They’re mostly academic.

GVM – Gross Vehicle Mass

The maximum legal weight of your tow vehicle, fully loaded with driver, passengers, fuel, gear, and if towing the tow ball weight (TBM)
Set by the manufacturer. You can get this upgraded, but bear in mind there are a lot of caveats, like it may not include GCM or rear Axle loads upgrades, then there is pre / post rego, and each state has different rules.
Why it matters: Many people exceed GVM without realizing it, especially when towing.

ATM – Aggregate Trailer Mass

The maximum loaded weight of the caravan when it’s not hitched up.
Includes everything: water, gas, food, clothes, bikes, annexes.
Why it matters: This is the top limit stamped on your caravan compliance plate. Exceed it and you’re illegal. This is where the caravan payload comes in. Too small and you will blow it easily.

TBM – Tow Ball Mass

The downward force the caravan applies to the vehicle’s tow ball.
Usually 8–12% of the ATM, but it depends on loading and caravan design.
Why it matters: It counts toward your car’s GVM and rear axle load. Too heavy, and you could be overloaded even if your van is “legal.”

GTM – Gross Trailer Mass

The caravan’s total weight when hooked up, meaning part of the weight is on the car via the tow ball.
GTM = ATM – TBM
Why it matters: GTM sits on the trailer’s own wheels, so it’s what your caravan axles and suspension are handling.

GCM – Gross Combination Mass

The maximum total weight of the tow vehicle and the caravan combined.
Set by the tow vehicle’s manufacturer.
Why it matters: Even if both your car and van are under their own limits, you can still be over GCM. That’s a common mistake.

Rear Axle Load

Even if you’re under GVM and GCM, you can still be overloaded if your rear axle is carrying too much.
Tow Ball Mass (TBM) transfers directly to the rear axle.
Add a canopy, drawers, fridge, tools, and passengers, all of that piles onto the rear.
Most utes and wagons have lower rear axle limits than you’d expect.

Payload

How much weight you can add to the car or caravan before hitting the GVM or ATM.
Payload: Car=GVM – Kerb (Caravan= ATM – Tare)
Why it matters: Accessories, tools, people, food, water, camping gear—all this eats into your payload.

Where to Find Towing Specs for a Vehicle

Sometimes it is not easy to find on the manufactures website. You can try the handbook for your car or my favorite way is a search through Google on Redbook.com.au, I would do a search like below –

Google search i.e redbook Isuzu D-max 2023, or use the search on redbook.com.au

Find the particular model of car that you have, then scroll down and go to Overview –> Specifications –> Dimensions & Weights

Below are the main specifications we are concerned about for this example vehicle.

Tare Mass 1960 kg
Kerb Weight 2015 kg
Gross Vehicle Mass (GVM) 3000 kg
Gross Combination Mass (GCM)5850 kg
Payload 985 kg
Towing Capacity (braked) 3500 kg
Maximum Towball Download (TBM) 350 kg
Maximum Front Axle Load 1450 kg
Maximum Rear Axle Load 1910 kg

For the caravan you should be able to get the ATM from the manufactures site, or the compliance plate.

Summary

Whether you’re towing a small pop-top or a full-size off-road caravan, your tow vehicle needs to match the weight, the purpose, and the legal limits. Here’s a breakdown of the main classes of tow vehicles in Australia with one or two examples for each.

Also you need to consider how long your road trips are going to be, a few weeks/year, then you probably want an all rounder vehicle, longer time frame say a year + then probably might want to move up a size or two.

For maximum stability when towing, you want the tow vehicle to be heavier than the towed vehicle.

1. Dual Cab Utes (Most Common for Touring)

Great balance of towing capacity, payload, and versatility. Perfect for towing most caravans under 3,000 kg.

Isuzu D-MAX — 3,500 kg towing, 6,000 kg GCM, known for reliability and simplicity.
Ford Ranger — 3,500 kg towing, strong GCM and tech, great all-rounder.

2. Large 4WD Wagons (Comfort + Capability)

More comfortable for long-distance touring with the family. Often slightly lower payload than utes, but better ride quality.

Toyota LandCruiser 300 Series — 3,500 kg towing, strong GCM, built for towing big vans.
Nissan Patrol Y62 — 3,500 kg towing, reliable, great option under $90k, same as the Landcruiser, built for towing and off-road conditions.

3. American Pickups (Heavy Towing Power)

Ideal for big caravans, toy haulers, or towing with high payload. Expensive, but very capable.

NOTE: If your GVM goes over 4,500 Kg, you will need to get a LR truck license.

RAM 2500 — up to 12,000kg GCM, with correct setup
Chevrolet Silverado 2500 — Heavy-duty towing, over 12,000 kg GCM, engineered for serious loads.

4. Light Trucks (For Big Vans or Conversions)

For those towing extremely heavy rigs or converting to motorhome/truck + fifth-wheeler setups. Higher GVM and GCM than most utes or 4WDs.

Isuzu NLR 45-150 — 4,500 kg GVM, 8,000 kg GCM, car licence legal.
Hino 300 717 — 6,500+ kg GVM, great base for truck camper builds or heavy towing.

August 18, 2025

Overweight Towing Setups in Australia

Why 3 Out of 4 Fail the Test

As we’ve been travelling around Australia, we’ve come to realise that towing weights aren’t just about caravans. The problem is often the entire setup: tow vehicle and caravan together. You pass other vehicle setups along the road, and ask yourself, “how is that even close to being legal?”

I came across a YouTube video that really drove this home. The numbers were staggering: almost three-quarters of towing rigs tested were overweight somewhere. Here’s what stood out to me—and why anyone planning a lap of Australia needs to pay attention.

Summary

Three-Quarters of Rigs Are Non-Compliant – About 75% of caravan/tow vehicle combinations tested failed somewhere—ATM, GVM, axle load, or towball weight.
Caravans Over Their ATM – Nearly half of caravans were over their Aggregate Trailer Mass, and 29% had unsafe towball mass.
Tow Vehicles Overloaded – Tow vehicles were no better: rear axles (47%) and GVM (40%) were the most common failure points.
American 1500 Trucks Aren’t a Magic Bullet – Nearly 80% of 1500 series pickups failed compliance, mostly because of poor rear axle limits. Without a GVM upgrade, they can’t tow heavy vans legally.
The LandCruiser 200’s Hidden Weakness – Australia’s most popular tow vehicle has just 650 kg of payload, quickly eaten up by passengers, accessories, and towball download. Even with upgrades, 80% of setups failed.
Heavier Vans Drive Vehicle Failures – Caravans averaging 3.3 tonnes put huge pressure on tow vehicles. Lighter vans behind utes or SUVs had fewer compliance issues.
Payload Reality Check – More than half of vans had less than 650 kg payload capacity—barely enough for two adults with water and gear, let alone families.
Accessories Add Up Fast – Fridges, slides, batteries, drawers, and canopies often tip vehicles into overload. A GVM upgrade is often essential, but even then you have to load smart.
Canopies Are Payload Killers – Heavy canopies and trundle drawers add big weight behind the rear axle, one of the worst places to carry extra kilos.

The Realities of Towing

If you find yourself bringing everything—extra tools, every camp gadget, half the shed—it’s time to compromise. Compromising is the answer to staying within legal limits.

The same thing for vehicle accessories, you don’t need everything imaginable on the car.

Even with our modest setup, we are close the the ATM for the caravan, and the TBM (Tow Ball Mass) is getting close to the limit as well.

If you are starting the journey of buying a caravan, then on a reasonably standard vehicle, the following statement should be a good starting point, a good practical shortcut to get you started.

A good starting point is to aim for 70–80% of your vehicle’s maximum tow rating. At 70%, you’ve got a big safety margin. At 80%, you can tow a little more caravan but still stay on the safe side. What you should avoid is running right up at 100% — that’s when the problems begin.”

Final Thoughts

Overweight towing setups are far more common than most travellers realise. It’s not just the caravan—it’s the vehicle, the axles, the towball, the whole rig.

If you’re planning your trip, I strongly suggest watching the video linked above. It shows the scale of the problem and why safe towing in Australia comes down to compromise, smart loading, and sometimes upgrades.

At the end of the day, we’re out here to enjoy the journey. Staying within limits means peace of mind, and an easy drive, so we can enjoy the sunsets.

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August 7, 2025

Tobermorey Station Campground

It definitely was a relief to get to this station. The road from Jervios Station to here is hard going.

To see our travels along the Plenty Hwy, have a look at this post. It describes the route conditions at the time we went through.

Website: Tobermorey Station
Fee Category: Paid
Booking: No
Powered Sites: No
Dog Friendly: Yes
Amenities: Yes
Dump point: No
Pool: No
Fire pits: Yes
Telstra: No
Starlink: No problems
Generator: No (Overflow yes)

Our Experience

This station has prepared the campground a bit better than the last place. There is actual grass to camp on, nice after being in red dirt for the last 2 days.

The amenities block is in a tin shed, it is bigger, with multiple flushing toilets, hot showers for males and females.

There are multiple fire pits spotted around the campground, trees for shelter, and the grounds were reasonable level. A camp kitchen is also available.

Unfortunately for us, when we were there the station was on skeleton staff, so nothing was open, except the gas pumps, and the campground. There is a bar and a shop.

Petrol and Diesel is available, at outback prices.

Some Pics

There are free camps along the Plenty / Donohue Hwy, but why not support these stations along the way, and make you trip a bit more comfortable.

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August 7, 2025

Jervois Station Campground

This was our first stop over when doing the Plenty Hwy. At 340 Km from Alice Springs, and being a relatively easy drive, it was good to get here, as we were uncertain as to what to expect of the Plenty Hwy.

You can read more about our time on the Plenty Hwy here.

Website: N/A
Fee Category: Paid
Booking: No
Dog Friendly: Yes
Amenities: Combined toilet / shower
Dump point: No
Pool: No
Fire pits: Yes
Telstra: No
Starlink: No problems
Generator: ?

Our Experience

This is a basic campground, we paid $20 for the night, firepits are placed around the campground, just pick one to park next to.

There is no powered sites here.

The facilities are basic, but clean enough. They are combined toilet and shower, one each for males and females. Bonus is the toilets are flushing and the showers are hot. That’s pretty good considering how remote this place is.

The more important thing to consider is fuel, there is petrol and diesel here. The tuck shop has basic supplies, drinks, chippies, chocolate.

The campground felt safe, as well as being relatively level, there is the typical red dirt everywhere.

Some Pics

You can free camp along the Plenty Hwy, but why not support these Stations, and maybe the facilities will make the journey a bit more pleasurable.

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August 7, 2025

The Plenty/Donohue Hwy Conditions

We have recently completed the Plenty/Donohue Hwy, starting from Alice Springs going over the Queensland border the highway becomes Donohue Hwy to Boulia. An epic 750 Km stretch of road.

When we wanted to go from Birdsville to Alice Springs in 2019, we gave the Plenty hwy a miss due to it being too rough. We drove up to Berkely Hwy, then back down to Alice Springs. A massive detour. This is why the Plenty/Donohue Hwy is sometimes described as the world’s longest shortcut.

Back then, we stayed at the Gemtree Campground, during our stay we were advised that there was a plan is to completely seal the Plenty Hwy by 2025.

I can advise , that as by the date of this post, the Plenty/Donohue Hwy is about 50% sealed.

We split this journey up into 3 sections, Alice Springs to Jervios Station, next section is to Tobermory Station, then the last section is to Boulia.

Road conditions

KM from start of Plenty Hwy	Description
0 – 171	Sealed
171 – 210	Un sealed, pretty good condition
210 – 271	Sealed
271 – 277	Unsealed, road works, – Jervios Station
277 – 507	Unsealed, Bull dust in sections, deep ruts in places.
507	Tobermorey Station
510 – 551	Sealed
551 – 572	Un-sealed, but relatively smooth, easy going
572 – 581	Sealed
581 – 627	Un-sealed, relatively smooth, easy going
627 – 750	Sealed to the end

Some pics

Summary

Getting to Jervios Station was not too difficult, with about 45 Km unsealed, and non of it too challenging. Ruts to deal with, but not too severe.

The toughest part is between the 2 stations. Google maps will say 6 – 7 hours, for a stretch that is about 230 Km long. We managed it in about 4.5 hours, and that was taking our time, with as much care as possible. Our average speed in this section was about 70 Km, we also lowered our tyre pressures. Bull dust patches need to be handled with care, especially if towing a caravan.

From Tobermorey Station to Boulia (Donohue Hwy), this is the easiest stretch, even the unsealed parts are some of the smoothest we have come across, not many areas had much in the way of ruts to deal with.

Checking Present Road Conditions

Before embarking on this trip you should check to see present road conditions –

Plenty Hwy – NT

Donohue Hwy – QLD

These roads can flood easily, this will make them un-passable.

Also time of year, This is NOT a summer road, November – April, temps will get close to if not exceed 40 C, also this is the wet season, so expect flash flooding.

It was an adventure, not one I am keen to repeat too soon. Would I do it again? Yes I would, especially in a few years time, as hopefully they have made more progress on sealing the road.

August 5, 2025

Champagne Corner – Free Campground

This is a free campground just a short drive from Roxby Downs. Lots of space, and if you go over the sand dune, lots of flat spaces to choose from .

Once you turn right into Andamooka Rd, turn right again to go over the sand dunes, the pictures here are of that side.

Website: N/A
Fee Category: Free
Booking: No
Dog Friendly: Yes
Amenities: Nill
Dump point: No
Pool: No
Fire pits: No
Telstra: Ok
Starlink: No problems
Generator: Yes

Our Experience

We stayed here for a full day, there were some people on motocross bikes buzzing around, but they stayed well away from us.

You have to be fully self sufficient here, there are no facilities.

While there is plenty of red dirt around, the ground is level, and there is plenty of space to spread out. If it is wet, I would not suggest coming here.

There is minimal road noise, and having the town of Roxby Downs about 5 minutes drive away is a bonus. Most supplies that you would need will be available there, and at normal prices too.

Today Roxby Downs, originally the name of the local station, is a pleasant modern town which houses mine workers and their families. It is a classic modern mining town which provides its residents with all the amenities. Being purpose-built it has an attractive wide main street, good quality housing, pleasant streetscapes, a modern school, a cinema, shopping centre, sports facilities, a hotel motel and caravan park
https://www.aussietowns.com.au/town/roxby-downs-sa

We had a look at Andamooka which was about 35 Km drive away, when we were there, the town looked almost deserted, nobody around.

We also chose to drive along the dirt road to Lake Torrens Lookout.

A Few Pics

Summary

We thought this was a great place to hang out for a day or two. Even though we have no idea whose land this is, we found it quite central to two towns.

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August 3, 2025

Spuds Roadhouse – Our Experience

It was a welcome relief to finally get here, after driving 370 Km from our last place Blyth Showgrounds.

The campground looked well kept, but due to heavy usage, the facilities were getting a bit tired, they were clean and usable.

Website: Spuds Roadhouse
Fee Category: Donation
Booking: No
Dog Friendly: Yes
Amenities: Toilets / Showers
Dump point: No
Pool: No
Fire pits: No
Telstra: Good
Starlink: No problems
Generator: Yes

Spuds Roadhouse outside pub area, view of the campground and gas station

Our Thoughts

The campground next to Spuds Roadhouse is not actually run by them, it is managed by the Outback Communities Authority. Having a look at their website for details about his campground did not reveal any information.

There are no bookings, so first come first serve. Take note that this place can fill up fast in the afternoon during peak travel season. You would want to get here by 2pm. We got here at 3pm, and managed to get one of the last spots available.

At the roadhouse you can get a beer, meal, and a few supplies. Bear in mind it will be outback prices, and the selection is not the best.

Petrol / Diesel is available, at slightly inflated prices, we paid $2.28/ L for petrol, Diesel will be similar.

Some Pics

As you can see there is a lot of puddles everywhere, there was some rain the previous day, so some campsites were just mud and hence unusable.

All in all, it was a good campground with all the usual facilities, it felt safe, the ground was reasonably level, we would definitely stay here again when passing through.

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July 28, 2025

Blyth Sportsground RV Park

This is our review of this campground, which is a donation camp, we stayed here for one night. We would definitely stay here again, the whole campground and facilities are top notch.

Website: N/A
Fee Category: Donation
Booking: No
Dog Friendly: Yes
Amenities: Toilets / Showers
Dump point: Yes
Pool: No
Fire pits: No
Telstra: Good
Starlink: Good
Generator: Yes

Our Experience

The campground is well maintained, with great (near new) facilities, even including showers. It is about 140 Km north of Adelaide.

You must be fully self contained, which means keeping grey water, and disposing of it down the dump point which is by the toilets.

The campgrounds are reasonably level, quite, and felt safe. There is a notice about sports days, while the grounds are not closed to campers, it will become busy.

The town Blyth is just a short 5 minutes walk away, there is unfortunately not much going on there, with a population of 300. Even the local hotel as closed down, maybe that’s temporary.

The sporting facilities are top notch for a town with not many people in it.

A more popular town for visitors is Clare, which is just 13Km down the road. It is a major wine town with about 30 wineries.

Some pics

Blyth town

Blyth is a small town in the Mid North of South Australia, located 13 kilometres west of the renowned Clare Valley. The town is located on the lands of the Kaurna people, the indigenous people who lived there before European settlement.

It has a population of 306, the farming community spanning the plains between the Clare Hills and the Barunga/Hummocks ranges.

Located approximately 132 kilometres north of Adelaide, the district’s climate and soils are well suited to wheat, barley, legumes, hay, sheep, cattle and pigs.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blyth,_South_Australia

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July 26, 2025

Tooleybuc Sporting Club

We have stayed at the Tooleybuc Sports Club twice over the past year, and can recommend it to anyone wanting an overnight stay.

This is about 470 Km to Adelaide.

Website: Tooleybuc Sports Club
Fee Category: Free / Paid for power hook up
Booking: No bookings needed, for power yes
Dog Friendly: Yes
Amenities: toilets and shower
Pool: No
Telstra: Poor
Starlink: May have problems with trees

Our Opinion

The first visit was in the middle of summer where the temps were hitting mid 30’s. It was hot, and also no power (powered sites already pre-booked).

The facilities were decent, clean, so no problems there. You do have to be self contained as the is no water hookups, and also, where we parked there is no where to put the grey water. You park on a solid road surface. If it has been raining for a bit then this place will be good.

There have been changes between the two times we have visited.

The second time here and they changed the way you can park in the first area you come to. You now reverse in and the last two sites closest to the Golf shed are powered sites so don’t go in there unless you want power. More unpowered sites further down by the bowling green and toilet/showers.

This second time was in winter, good thing though is we were on power, so we could run our A/C for heating.

Town is a short walk away, about 5 minutes, and the Murray River is right nextdoor.

Some pics

If we are passing through, we would definitely stay here again. Just have to watch out for the weather, in summer it can get very hot, in winter overnight can get very cold.

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July 15, 2025

Budget Update – 5 Months on the Road

What does it cost to live full time on the road in Australia?

A difficult question to answer as everybody is different in their setups, wants and needs. For us, a couple on the road towing a caravan with their dog, taking our time getting around. Below is a breakdown of what it has cost us so far.

This is our second 5 months on the road, our first 5 months was covered in this post.

Expenses – Jan to May 2025

What Happened?

Looking over these totals, you can see we have had a few unusual (one off) expenses. Below I will go through some of these.

Tolls: Due to an overseas trip in June, we spent some time going between Sydney and Oberon. Since we are towing a caravan and are unfamiliar with this area we stuck to the motorways which involved toll roads, expensive ones at that!
Experiences: We have pre-paid a Horizontal falls tour for September, that was expensive.
Subscriptions: We seem to have a lot of subscriptions, i.e Google, Microsoft, Binge, Netflix, the list goes on, need to look at this.
Medical: It’s a fact of life that as you get older, things don’t work as well as they should, both of us have minor medical issues that require medication and visits to the doctor and/or specialists from time to time.
Caravan repairs/Maintenance: No our caravan is not falling apart, it actually is holding up quite well. As you travel you can end up in places where some items you thought would not needed, suddenly become needed. i.e a gas heater, shade sail track for the right side of the caravan, Stone Stomper, this also includes a service and some minor repairs.
Dog Expenses: Shadow had to go to the vets to fix some problems, the other cost is mainly grooming. He does not malt, so he needs regular visits to the groomer, otherwise he turns into a smelly ball of fur.
Caravan Parks: As stated in the earlier 5 months, we are hoping to spend less in this area. In the first 5 months we spent $4,400, this time $3,400. That’s a good improvement.

Things to Note

Car & caravan insurance and registration, both are expensive. Registration is not something you can do anything about. After spending some time on getting insurance quotes from about 6 companies, we stayed with our present insurer RACQ, who turned out to be very competitive. We pay about $4,500 in total.

Phones & internet – we are with Telstra. The phones, tablet and a mobile hotspot for the caravan are on plans. We only use Starlink when going remote otherwise it is paused. Our Telstra bill is about $230 / month. We are buying phones as part of the plan, about 1 year to go.

Summary

Now that another 5 months have passed, how are we going with our budget? Again unusual expenses crept in. The caravan modifications were a big one. Next week will be some new tires for the Patrol.

Also, due to a previously planned overseas trip (planned 2 years ago), and also a Rugby British Lions game in Adelaide, we have been at the bottom of the country in the middle of winter when we originally planned to be north at this time of year. Once these 2 items have been completed, we will be heading back to the right area of Australia for this time of year.

We did make progress on our accommodation expenses, with a reduction of about $1,000 over the 5 months.

Takeaways was also improved on, another $500 or so saving there. We need to save more in this area. Maybe a seperate list of what we actually buy in this category will help.

Fuel

Fuel, a slight change there. we did 10,100Km which cost $4,000, which works out at $21/100Km.

Subscriptions is an area that needs to be looked at. I think we have too many, currently running at $286 / month. Wow, that’s out of hand.

So our new average per month, EXCLUDING the caravan mods, insurance, rego and phone plans is –

Average/month = $5,582 or per week = $1,395

Previous 5 months

Average/month = $6,300 or per week = $1,600

An improvement, lets see what the second half of this year brings.

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July 9, 2025

Sandy Point Reserve – Our Experience

Our experience at Sandy Point reserve was a good one. In fact this campsite has to be one of the better free ones we have been to so far. If you are traveling through Hay, or want to stay a day or two, then consider this campsite.

Website: Sandy Point Reserve
Fee Category: Free
Booking: No
Dog Friendly: Yes
Amenities: Toilets
Dump point: No
Pool: No
Fire pits: Yes
Telstra: Good
Starlink: Trees may be a problem
Generator: Yes

Just located and parked up at our campsite

Description

This campground is large, with plenty of sites available. I would be surprised if you got here and could not find anywhere to park up for the night. After saying that, I would be careful of the trees, they are large and there was a sign saying ‘beware of falling branches’. A few gum trees around.

The toilets are actually pretty decent for free. In fact you could say they are better than some paid campgrounds we have been to, amazing.

There is no dump point (see below) or potable water.

Fire pits are everywhere, and since we were here in the middle of winter, it was nice to get a nice fire going in the evening.

NOTE: No firewood collection on site so come prepared with your own supply.

This campground is on dirt so in the wet it may not be a place to be. There are plenty of deep potholes around, which looked like when it was wet, people got stuck and struggled to get out.

There are showers at the Information center and you can also ‘borrow’ their bikes if you want. A dump point at the SES center, about 2 minutes drive away.

There is silo art that you see on the way in and very close to the camping area. Suggest setting up then take easy walk there.

You are not far from the river and there is a day area where there are bbqs and picnic table. Very well set out.

The town Hay is just a few minutes walk away.

Hay is a wonderful sleight of hand. Drive through the town and you feel you are in a prosperous and substantial rural town. Drive out of the town and you are on the great, flat Hay plain with its low-lying saltbush. Every famous person who has visited or stayed has commented on the flatness of the surrounding land.
https://www.aussietowns.com.au/town/hay-nsw

SomePics

Drone Flyover

It was a shame we could not stay longer (had to get to Adelaide), we will definitely be back, and stay for a day or two.

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July 8, 2025

Carcoar Dam – Our Experience

This is our review of our stay at Carcoar Dam, a positive one considering how busy it was.

We stayed here with friends over Easter weekend. It was very busy, we still managed to find a spot to camp and would recommend this campground to anyone. The dam itself is nice with not many mosquitoes around, were we just lucky? or far enough away from the water?

Website: Carcoar Dam – Water NSW
Fee Category: Free
Booking: No
Dog Friendly: Yes
Amenities: Toilets
Dump point: No
Pool: No
Fire pits: Yes
Telstra: Good
Starlink: Good
Generator: Yes

Our Experience

This campground is a reasonably large one, with some level sites, but also a large portion of the campground is not level, but manageable. If you are in a caravan, there is another large section which is not caravan suitable due to the slope of the land, even with leveling blocks you will struggle.

The toilets are adequate / usable with some of them being broken, the showers are broken and are completely unusable, it is free so expectations have to be in line with this price point.

The dam itself seems to be a water sports hot spot, plenty of water skis, boats, kayaks around and some people trying their hand at fishing.

Carcoar Dam is stocked with Murray cod, golden perch (yellow belly), silver perch and trout. Redfin is the most common catch.
https://www.waternsw.com.au/

Some Pics

A very popular place over Easter weekend, and I would imagine over most public / school holidays as well. A great place to check out if passing through.

Weather

Carcoar Weather Averages

Month	Jan	Feb	Mar	Apr	May	June	July	Aug	Sept	Oct	Nov	Dec
Temp Max C	29.8	29.2	26.3	21.0	15.8	12.3	11.5	13.4	17.4	21.3	24.9	28.2
Temp Min C	13.3	13.2	10.7	6.5	3.3	1.4	0.3	1.1	3.3	5.9	8.5	11.3
Rain Avg (mm)	62.5	50.5	50.9	52.1	59.5	85.4	78.1	78.3	64.9	78.5	63.0	60.9

This table will show the average temp min/max rainfall per month for Carcoar, NSW.

Looking through these numbers, summer will be the best time, while for me personally I would avoid winter, the overnight temps are getting too close to 0 for me.

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