Bandicoot, my congratulations, and many happy months of touring in your new EC! Please share with us your impressions of the vehicle as they develop.
However, with the greatest of respect, it is in my view wishful thinking to expect insurance companies to do the right and honourable thing if and when you need them. In reality, should you be unlucky enough to have an accident in your EC that is your fault, your insurers will dilligently look for and duly find all legal and technical looopholes to deny payment of your claim. Nothing personal, just business. There is no malice in this, it is just how that industry normally operates - business is business, and they will not pay if they do not have to.
Having the extra fuel and water tanks labelled 'for off road use only' does not get you off the hook, I am afraid.
Firstly, any and all goods are supposed, by law, to be fit for the purpose that they are sold for. In this case, the obvious purpose of additional fuel and water tanks is to carry extra diesel and water wherever the vehicle goes. You would not be able to legally fly a plane with a long range tank option making it overweight on the basis of a sticker on the instrument panel stating that Tank A is for use in flight, but Tank B is for use on the ground only. Similar principle applies to your EC.
Secondly, correct me if I am wrong, but I would tentatively say there is really no such thing as 'off-road' in Australia. In rare cases, and only very occasionally, you can drive cross-country, where there are no roads and never have been. That is, if you have a permission from the landowner, a state land management agency or a national park authority. 4WD magazines occasionally do such trips in remote deserts, after obtaining a fistful of permits.
We ordinary mortals, , however, generally drive our 4WDs on road. That is, on dirt roads and 4WD tracks which are on occasions quite remote, rough and difficult to negotiate. However, most of them are either gazetted public roads, or vehicular access trails proclaimed by local shires. I understand Canning is technically a gazetted road, as is most of Cape York and most Simpson trails.
I have to agree with ozzyfishaman - you can and should mitigate your risk by having your EC certified as 6000kg GVM vehicle and having it formally described as such on both compliance plates - the chassis manufacturer's one, and the 'secondary manufacturer' plate affixed to the vehicle by the EC builders. That way you do not give anyone a pretext to deny you an insurance payout, or slap you with a fine just because they can, if you are several hundred kilos over 4500kg.
The downside is having to go and get a light truck (LR) licence, plus the increased cost of registration. On the other hand, if your GVM is plated at 6 tonnes, you do not have to stop at heavy vehicle checking stations - that applies from 8 tonnes upwards; I don't think you fall into the scope of Safe-T-Cams heavy vehicle monitoring in NSW either, as heavy vehicles these cameras keep an eye on are ones with the GVM over 8 tonnes.
As to the rego, in some states (NSW, maybe also ACT) you might be able to apply for a special exemption, arguing that your EC is not a "goods carrying vehicle" to which truck registration rates apply. NSW formally defines 'motorhome' or 'campervan' as a specialised "people carrying vehicle" with a capacity of 2-6 persons, designed for sleeping in it. You may be able to negotiate a lower rego rate by formally declaring that the vehicle is for recreational use only. I am unaware of any upper GVM limit for motorhomes under that definition.
However, with the greatest of respect, it is in my view wishful thinking to expect insurance companies to do the right and honourable thing if and when you need them. In reality, should you be unlucky enough to have an accident in your EC that is your fault, your insurers will dilligently look for and duly find all legal and technical looopholes to deny payment of your claim. Nothing personal, just business. There is no malice in this, it is just how that industry normally operates - business is business, and they will not pay if they do not have to.
Having the extra fuel and water tanks labelled 'for off road use only' does not get you off the hook, I am afraid.
Firstly, any and all goods are supposed, by law, to be fit for the purpose that they are sold for. In this case, the obvious purpose of additional fuel and water tanks is to carry extra diesel and water wherever the vehicle goes. You would not be able to legally fly a plane with a long range tank option making it overweight on the basis of a sticker on the instrument panel stating that Tank A is for use in flight, but Tank B is for use on the ground only. Similar principle applies to your EC.
Secondly, correct me if I am wrong, but I would tentatively say there is really no such thing as 'off-road' in Australia. In rare cases, and only very occasionally, you can drive cross-country, where there are no roads and never have been. That is, if you have a permission from the landowner, a state land management agency or a national park authority. 4WD magazines occasionally do such trips in remote deserts, after obtaining a fistful of permits.
We ordinary mortals, , however, generally drive our 4WDs on road. That is, on dirt roads and 4WD tracks which are on occasions quite remote, rough and difficult to negotiate. However, most of them are either gazetted public roads, or vehicular access trails proclaimed by local shires. I understand Canning is technically a gazetted road, as is most of Cape York and most Simpson trails.
I have to agree with ozzyfishaman - you can and should mitigate your risk by having your EC certified as 6000kg GVM vehicle and having it formally described as such on both compliance plates - the chassis manufacturer's one, and the 'secondary manufacturer' plate affixed to the vehicle by the EC builders. That way you do not give anyone a pretext to deny you an insurance payout, or slap you with a fine just because they can, if you are several hundred kilos over 4500kg.
The downside is having to go and get a light truck (LR) licence, plus the increased cost of registration. On the other hand, if your GVM is plated at 6 tonnes, you do not have to stop at heavy vehicle checking stations - that applies from 8 tonnes upwards; I don't think you fall into the scope of Safe-T-Cams heavy vehicle monitoring in NSW either, as heavy vehicles these cameras keep an eye on are ones with the GVM over 8 tonnes.
As to the rego, in some states (NSW, maybe also ACT) you might be able to apply for a special exemption, arguing that your EC is not a "goods carrying vehicle" to which truck registration rates apply. NSW formally defines 'motorhome' or 'campervan' as a specialised "people carrying vehicle" with a capacity of 2-6 persons, designed for sleeping in it. You may be able to negotiate a lower rego rate by formally declaring that the vehicle is for recreational use only. I am unaware of any upper GVM limit for motorhomes under that definition.
