# About and legal documents
Source: https://docs.loadmate.io/account-settings/about-and-legal
The About screen in loadmate shows your app version and build, the legal documents you accepted with dates, the safety disclaimer, and how to contact support.
About is the quiet reference screen in loadmate — the one you open now and then rather than every day. It holds two practical things. First, the exact version you are running, which support asks for when you get in touch. Second, the documents you agreed to when you set up your account, with the version and date you accepted each one. It is also where loadmate spells out, in plain words, what kind of tool it is. To find it, open the **More** tab, then **Settings**, then **About**. Everything here is free. There is no Pro feature, no upgrade prompt, and a demo session sees the same screen.
## Find your version and build
At the very top of the About screen you will see the loadmate brand mark, and just beneath it a small line giving your version number and build number.
![Top of the About screen showing the loadmate brand and a version and build number line.]()
That little line is more useful than it looks. When something seems off and you contact us, it is the first thing support will ask for, because it tells them exactly which build of the app you are running. You do not have to memorise it — as you will see below, **Contact support** carries this information into your email for you.
The version line only appears once loadmate has finished loading its app information, which takes a moment after the screen opens. If it has not shown yet, wait a second and it will appear.
## The legal documents — and what you accepted
Under the **LEGAL** heading you will find four documents you can open and read at any time:
* **Terms of Use** — the agreement that covers your use of loadmate.
* **Privacy Policy** — how your information is handled.
* **Safety Disclaimer** — what loadmate is, and what it is not (explained in plain language in the next section).
* **Open source licences** — the credits for the software components loadmate is built on.
The first three carry a small sublabel showing the version you accepted, and the date you accepted it where one is on file — for example *v2.0 — Accepted 14 May 2026*. If a version is recorded but no acceptance date is, the row shows just the version on its own, so a brand-new setup may show a version with no date yet. The date follows your chosen region: US users see the month first (May 14, 2026), while AU, UK and EU users see the day first (14 May 2026).
![About screen Legal section showing Terms of Use, Privacy Policy, Safety Disclaimer, and Open source licences rows.]()
When you tap one of the first three, it opens inside loadmate. If you have signal, it shows the current document from the web. If you do not, loadmate falls back to a copy bundled with the app, so you can still read the terms, privacy policy or safety disclaimer when you are parked somewhere remote — with a small note on screen to say you are reading the offline copy. The **Open source licences** row opens your device's built-in licence page instead.
Right at the bottom of the screen, below the support options, there is a small footer noting that loadmate is made in Western Australia, the copyright line for 4Thought RV Pty Ltd trading as loadmate, and the company ABN. It is there for the record — nothing to tap.
## What the safety disclaimer actually means
The Safety Disclaimer is worth reading once, because it sets out — in loadmate's own words — exactly what the app is for. In plain terms: loadmate is a planning and awareness tool. It works from the numbers and documents you give it to help you understand your towing setup and make informed decisions. It does not make those decisions for you, and it does not certify, approve or guarantee any outcome.
That matters because of what loadmate is *not* a substitute for. It is not a replacement for a professional mechanical inspection, a certified weighbridge measurement of your actual weights, engineering certification, legal compliance advice, or your manufacturer's own specifications. Everything loadmate shows depends on the numbers you enter. So your plate, your handbook, your weighbridge ticket, your mechanic, and your local road authority remain the source of truth whenever you need an official answer.
Think of loadmate as the companion that helps you see your setup clearly and keep good records — not the authority that signs it off. If you are ever in doubt about whether your towing setup is safe or legal, get independent professional advice before you tow.
## Contact support
Under the **SUPPORT** heading, **Contact support** is the direct line to the loadmate team. Its sublabel shows the support email address you will be writing to.
loadmate opens a new email addressed to the support team in your usual mail app, so you can write to us the way you write any other email.
Describe what you were doing and what you saw. The more specific you can be — which screen you were on, what you tapped, what appeared — the faster we can help.
Send the email as normal. The version and build line from the top of this screen helps us place exactly which build you are on.
If you would rather not retype your version number, glance at the top of the About screen first — that line is exactly what support needs to know which build you are running.
## Rate loadmate
Just below **Contact support**, **Rate loadmate** is there if you would like to leave a review. Its sublabel changes with your device: on an iPhone or iPad it points you to the App Store, on an Android phone or tablet to the Play Store. On a desktop browser there is no sublabel, since there is no app store to rate in.
Tapping it asks your device to bring up its rating prompt, and where that is not available it opens the store listing instead. Your device decides whether the quick in-app rating box appears — sometimes the operating system holds it back, in which case you are taken to the store page to leave your review there. Either way, a kind word genuinely helps other caravanners find loadmate.
## Where to go next
About is the reference corner of loadmate. These pages cover the everyday account jobs that sit alongside it.
Find the in-app help, send feedback, and see the other ways to reach the loadmate team.
See how setting up your account is where you first accept the terms, privacy policy and safety disclaimer.
Check what your plan includes, and manage or restore your loadmate subscription.
# Export my data
Source: https://docs.loadmate.io/account-settings/export-my-data
Export your loadmate records - vehicles, loads, weigh-ins, service, tyre, and warranty history - as a single spreadsheet you can keep, print, or share. A Pro feature that saves to your device.
The records you build up in loadmate — your vehicle and trailer details, the way you pack, your weigh-ins, and your service, tyre, and warranty history — are yours to keep. Export my data hands them back to you as a single spreadsheet you can open on a computer or phone, print for a folder, or pass to a mechanic or the next owner of your rig.
It is a portable copy that lives outside the app. Once it is saved to your device, it is an ordinary spreadsheet file — it opens in Excel, Numbers, or Google Sheets, and it keeps working whether or not you still use loadmate. Think of it as a printout of everything you have entered, gathered into one tidy file so nothing is stranded inside the app.
## Where to find it
You will find this under **Export my data**. Open the **More** tab, then **Settings**, then **Export my data** in the **Data & Privacy** group. On a larger screen, such as a tablet, the same page may appear in a panel beside your other settings rather than on its own — it is the same thing, and it works the same way.
## What you can export
Everything the export includes is your own caravan record-keeping — not the app's own settings. When you open the page, loadmate shows you a short list of what it found, with a count beside each kind of record, so you can see at a glance what is about to go into the file.
The file can include:
* **Your vehicles and trailers** — makes, models, registrations, weight ratings, and tyre details.
* **Everything you have loaded** — each item, its weight, and where it is stored.
* **Weigh-ins** — the readings you have recorded at a weighbridge.
* **Service and tyre history** — what was done, when, the odometer reading, and the cost.
* **Maintenance tasks** — what is due, and what you have already ticked off.
* **Warranty** — the cover you have logged and any issues you have raised.
* **Trips** — the journeys you have planned or recorded.
The export only ever contains your **own** records. If you are exploring the sample rig in demo mode, the page asks you to switch to your own profile first, so the file is always your real data and never the demo caravan.
## Export it to a spreadsheet
Creating the file takes a single tap, and you choose where it is saved.
Go to More, then Settings, then Export my data. loadmate gathers your records and shows you what it found.
One button builds the whole workbook. There is nothing to tick or configure — everything you have is included.
Your device asks where to keep the file — for example, the Files app on an iPhone or iPad, your Downloads on a computer. Pick a spot you will remember. The file is named with the date, like loadmate-my-data-2026-07-06.xlsx, so past exports stay easy to tell apart.
Exporting is a **save**, not a send. loadmate writes the file to your device and you take it from there — open it, print it, or attach it to an email or a message yourself. Once the file is saved, loadmate has no further hold on it.
Exporting never changes or removes anything. Your records stay exactly as they are in the app; the spreadsheet is simply a copy.
## What's inside the file
The workbook opens with a **Summary** page — the date you exported, your region, and how many of each kind of record are inside — followed by one clearly-named tab for each: Vehicles, Trailers, Loads, Weigh-ins, Service history, Tyres, Maintenance, Warranty, and Trips. If you have no records of a certain kind, that tab is simply left out, so the file only ever shows what you actually have.
The figures read the way they do in the app. Weights and distances use your region's units — kilograms or pounds, kilometres or miles — and the column headings use your region's towing words, so a heading says GVM, MAM, or GVWR to match the paperwork you copied the numbers from in the first place. If any of those words are unfamiliar, the glossary explains each one in plain English.
## It's a Pro feature
Export my data is part of **loadmate Pro**. If you are on the free version, the page explains this and offers to upgrade rather than leaving you guessing.
Keeping your records is a good habit whichever version you are on — and exporting them is one of the things Pro adds. Upgrading also unlocks the rest of loadmate's paid tools; your subscription page has the full picture.
## Keep your file safe
The spreadsheet holds your own details — registrations, weights, and notes you have written. That is exactly what makes it useful, but it also means it is worth keeping somewhere private, the same as you would any document with your rig's details on it. loadmate cannot reach the file once it is on your device, so where it lives, and who you share it with, is entirely up to you.
## Where to go next
See what loadmate Pro includes and how to upgrade or manage your plan.
Thinking of leaving? Export your records first, then see how account deletion works.
The units and towing terms your exported file uses follow your region.
Every towing weight word in your spreadsheet, spelled out in plain English.
# Help and feedback
Source: https://docs.loadmate.io/account-settings/help-and-feedback
Contact loadmate support or send feedback via a pre-filled email opened from the app. Find the Help and Support links, what to write, and how it works offline.
When a screen is confusing, a number looks wrong, or you have an idea to share, the fastest way to sort it out is to tell a real person. The support links inside the app open a ready-to-send email. The app version, your device, and your region are already filled in. You describe the problem in your own words, and nothing technical is left for you to chase down. The same email carries your feedback, and that feedback shapes where the app goes next.
This page explains where the support links live, what to write, and what happens when you have no signal.
## Reaching support from the app
There are a few ways into support, and they all lead to the same place — a pre-filled email to **[hello@loadmate.io](mailto:hello@loadmate.io)**. It is an email, not a chat window or an in-app form. When you tap one of these, your own mail app opens with a draft ready to go.
The most direct door is on the **More** tab. Look for the **Help & Support** row, with the line *Contact us, report a bug, or get help* beneath it. Tap it and your email app opens.
You will find the same thing in two other places, in case that is where you happen to be:
Tap **Help & Support**. This is the quickest route from anywhere in the app.
Open **Settings** from the More tab, then tap **Help & Feedback** (*Report a bug or suggest a feature*).
Open **About** and, under the Support heading, tap **Contact support**. The support address — **[hello@loadmate.io](mailto:hello@loadmate.io)** — is shown right under that row.
![About screen Support section showing Contact support and Rate loadmate rows.]()
The labels differ — *Help & Support*, *Help & Feedback*, *Contact support* — but they all open the same email to the same address. Use whichever you reach first.
Reaching support is open to everyone — whether you are on the free version, your subscription has lapsed, or you are exploring the demo rig. There is nothing to unlock.
## What to put in your message
This is the part that makes it easy. When the email opens, the subject and the top of the message are already filled in for you. The subject reads **loadmate support — …** with a note of where you tapped from. The body lists the app version, the build, your device, your region, and a few other technical details that help us find the problem.
Below all of that, you will see a line that says **Please describe the issue or feedback below.** That is where you come in. You only need to add, in plain words:
* What you were trying to do.
* What you expected to happen.
* What actually happened instead.
You do not have to dig out your app version or device model — those are already attached. If your message is about a number that looked wrong, mentioning the screen you were on and roughly when it happened helps a lot. And if it relates to a notification you saw, you can find the exact wording and date under **Activity & alerts** on the More tab and quote it.
Towing terms differ from place to place — kerb weight, nose weight, tow ball mass and tongue weight all describe related things in different markets. Your region is already attached to the message automatically, but if your question turns on one of those terms, a plain mention of where you tow saves any guesswork.
## When you have no connection
You can still write your message when you are out of signal. Tapping a support link opens your mail app and fills in the draft using details already stored on your device, so you can type away from a quiet campsite or a remote road. Your mail app holds the message and sends it once you are back online — there is nothing special you need to do.
If your device has no email app set up at all, loadmate cannot open one, and you will see a short message saying **No email app is available on this device.** Occasionally, if something goes wrong opening the mail app, you will see **We couldn't open your email app right now. Please try again.** In that case, try once more, or write to **[hello@loadmate.io](mailto:hello@loadmate.io)** directly from any email program you use.
If the trouble is with your connection more broadly — pages not loading, data not syncing — there is more help on [When you have no connection](/troubleshooting/no-connection).
## Feedback is welcome
Support and feedback use the same email. The **Help & Feedback** link even spells it out: *Report a bug or suggest a feature*. So if a button sits in an awkward spot, a piece of wording confused you, or you wish loadmate did something it does not yet do, send it the same way. It reaches the people who build the app, and notes from real caravanners shape what gets worked on next.
A gentle word on privacy: there is no need to paste your number plate, vehicle identification number, or any card details into a support message. We only ask for what we actually need to help, and never for payment details by email.
## Where to go next
Support is one of several ways loadmate keeps you on solid ground. These pages cover the neighbours.
What still works offline, what waits for signal, and how to tell the difference.
Find your app version, the support address, and the legal documents in one place.
Look back over the notifications loadmate has shown you, so you can quote one in a support message.
# Notifications
Source: https://docs.loadmate.io/account-settings/notifications
Push notifications settings let you choose which loadmate reminders you get - service, warranty, trip and seasonal - and fix it when none arrive.
Between trips it is easy to lose track of the small things — a service falling due, a warranty window closing, a trip you meant to prepare for. A push notification is loadmate tapping you on the shoulder about one of those when the app is shut. It is a backup, nothing more. The same items always wait for you inside the app, in the Attention Feed, so a notification you miss never means a problem you miss.
This page is about choosing which of those taps you want, and what to do when none seem to arrive. There is nothing to pay for here — every part of this screen is open to everyone. To find it, open the **More** tab, then **Settings**, then **Notifications**.
## First, your phone has to allow it
Before loadmate can send you anything, your phone has to give it permission. That is a setting on the phone itself, not inside loadmate, so it is the first thing to check.
![Notifications screen with a yellow warning banner, Open settings button, disabled switches, and Safety alerts marked Always on.]()
When the phone is blocking notifications, the top of the screen shows a yellow banner: *Notifications are turned off for loadmate. Enable them in your device settings to receive alerts.* While that banner is showing, the **Push notifications** switch and the categories below it are greyed out. There is no point choosing reminders the phone will not deliver.
To fix it, tap **Open settings** in the banner. That takes you straight to loadmate's page in your phone's own settings, where you can allow notifications. loadmate cannot flip that switch for you — only you can grant the permission on your phone. Once you have allowed it there, come back to this screen and the banner is gone.
When notifications are switched on, that yellow banner is replaced by a calm blue one reminding you that these settings control push notifications only — your in-app alerts in the Attention Feed are always shown either way.
## The master switch: Push notifications
At the top of the list sits one switch that governs all the rest: **Push notifications**, with the note *Master switch for all push* beneath it.
Think of it as the main tap. When it is on, the reminder categories underneath become live and you can pick and choose between them. When it is off, all of those categories dim together and stop responding — a single, easy way to silence every reminder without losing your individual choices.
This switch only becomes available once your phone is allowing notifications. If it looks greyed out, that is the phone still blocking them — sort that out first using **Open settings**, then this switch will come to life.
## What each category covers
Below the master switch, under the heading **CATEGORIES**, loadmate groups its reminders so you can keep the ones that matter to you and quieten the rest.
![Categories card showing Safety alerts always on and Service and Maintenance, Warranty reminders, Trip reminders, and Seasonal nudges switches.]()
The first row, **Safety alerts**, sits apart from the others. It has no switch — it is marked **Always on**, and it stays that way. These are the critical, safety-related notices. Because they matter most, they cannot be turned off, and they keep their full colour even when everything else is dimmed. The one kind of reminder you would never want to miss is the one you cannot accidentally silence.
Beneath it are four reminders you can switch on or off as you like:
* **Service & Maintenance** — *Overdue tasks, upcoming services.* A nudge when a job you have recorded is coming due or has slipped past.
* **Warranty reminders** — *Coverage expiring, follow-up due.* A heads-up as a warranty window approaches its end, or when a recorded issue needs a follow-up.
* **Trip reminders** — *Pre-trip checklist, departure nudges.* A prompt to run through your checks before you set off.
* **Seasonal nudges** — *Holiday trip suggestions, re-engagement.* The occasional gentle suggestion as the seasons turn.
Each one is a simple switch. Tap it on for reminders you want, off for those you do not, and the choice is saved straight away.
These four switches only come to life when two things are both true: your phone is allowing notifications, and the **Push notifications** master switch is on. If a row looks greyed out, check both — the phone first, then the master switch.
A reminder can only arrive when there is something to remind you about. Service and warranty nudges depend on the dates and details you have saved, so the more you keep your records current, the more useful these reminders become.
## Push notifications vs in-app alerts
It is worth being clear about what these switches do and do not change. Everything on this page controls *push notifications* — the messages that reach you when loadmate is closed or in the background.
They do not touch what you see inside the app. The Attention Feed — loadmate's running list of things that need a look — is always shown, no matter how these switches are set. So if you prefer a quiet phone and turn most reminders off, nothing is lost. The same items are still waiting for you in the app the next time you open it.
## Clear the app badge
At the foot of the screen is a row called **Clear app badge**, with the note *Remove the number badge from the app icon*.
That little number that sometimes sits on the loadmate icon on your home screen is the app badge. Tapping this row clears it, and loadmate confirms with a brief *Badge cleared* message. It only tidies the number on the icon — it does not dismiss anything inside the app or empty your Attention Feed, so the items themselves are still there for you when you open up.
## If notifications are not arriving
If reminders have gone quiet, work through these in order — they follow the same path the screen lays out, from the phone inward.
Open this Notifications screen. If you see the yellow *Notifications are turned off for loadmate* banner, tap **Open settings**, allow notifications for loadmate on your phone, then return here. This is the most common cause.
With the phone allowing notifications, make sure the **Push notifications** switch near the top is on. If it is off, every category is silenced at once.
Find the category for the reminder you were expecting — say **Service & Maintenance** for a service nudge — and confirm its switch is on.
A reminder needs underlying detail to fire. If a service has no due date saved, or a warranty has no expiry recorded, there is nothing yet for loadmate to count down to. Add the missing detail and the reminder has something to work from.
Whatever the cause, remember the safety net: even with every push reminder off, the same items always appear in the Attention Feed inside loadmate. A missed notification is only ever a missed tap on the shoulder — never a missed problem.
## Where to go next
These pages cover the data your reminders draw on, and the regional settings that shape how loadmate speaks to you.
Set your region so loadmate uses the right terms and units throughout the app.
Keep your service history current so Service & Maintenance reminders have something to count down to.
Record coverage and expiry dates so warranty reminders can warn you before a window closes.
See what your trip reminders nudge you towards before you set off.
# Your profile and sign-in
Source: https://docs.loadmate.io/account-settings/profile-and-sign-in
Manage your loadmate profile to update your display name and email, change your password, and connect or disconnect Google and Apple sign-in.
Your account details and the ways you sign in live in one place. This is where you keep your name and email correct, and where you control how you get back into loadmate next time. If you set loadmate up months ago, the most common stumble is not remembering *how* you signed in last time — a password, a Google account, an Apple account, or a one-tap magic link sent to your email. This page shows you which one you are using, so getting back in is never a guessing game.
Nothing on this page costs extra. Updating your name, changing your email or password, and connecting another sign-in method are all open to everyone, whether you are on the free plan, lapsed, or a Pro subscriber.
## Where to find your settings
Everything to do with your account sits behind the **More** tab. Open it, then tap **Settings**. The first group you see is headed **ACCOUNT**, and the top row there is **Profile** — its smaller line reads *Name, email, password*, which is exactly what it holds. Tap that row to open your profile.
![Settings screen with the Account section showing a Profile row labelled Name, email, password above a Subscription row.]()
The **Subscription** row sits just below Profile in the same group, but it has its own page. If you came here to check or manage your plan, head to [Your subscription](/pricing-account/manage-subscription) instead.
## Your name and email
The Profile screen opens with a small circle showing your initials, taken from your display name. Further down, under a **Profile** heading, are two fields you can edit.
* **Display name** is the name loadmate uses for you. It needs to be between 2 and 50 characters.
* **Email address** is where loadmate reaches you. It has to look like a real email address — a name, an @ sign, then a domain.
A **Save** button only appears once you have changed something, so you cannot save by accident while you read. Make your edit, tap **Save**, and loadmate confirms with a short *Profile saved* message.
If your email has not been confirmed yet, a gentle banner may sit at the top of the Profile screen with a **Verify email** link. You can tap it whenever suits you. Confirming your email matters for a few sensitive actions, which are covered on [Your data and account](/account-settings/sign-out-delete-account).
## Changing your email
Changing your email is a little more careful than changing your name, and for good reason — your email is how you get back in. You will notice a small line under the email field that reads *Changing email requires re-authentication*. That is loadmate's plain way of saying it will ask you to confirm it is really you before the change goes through.
Type your new email into the **Email address** field, then tap **Save**.
A sheet titled **Confirm it's you** appears, with the line *For security, please sign in again to continue.* If you sign in with a password, you type your password here. If you sign in with Google or Apple, you tap a single **Sign in with Google** or **Sign in with Apple** button instead.
Once you have confirmed, loadmate saves the new email and shows the *Profile saved* message.
This confirmation step is nothing more than signing in again. loadmate is not checking your identity with anyone else or making a decision on your behalf — it simply wants to be sure it is you sitting there before it changes something as important as your email.
If you signed in with a magic link, changing your email isn't available from this screen yet. Instead of the confirmation sheet, you will see a message titled **This step isn't available**, explaining that this account uses a magic link instead of a password. The word "yet" is the app's own — it is a known gap, not a permanent one.
## The ways you sign in
This is the part that saves the most head-scratching. Near the top of the Profile screen, under the **Account** heading, loadmate tells you plainly how you currently sign in:
* If you have a password, you see a tappable **Change password** row.
* If you signed in with a magic link, you see **Signed in with a magic link**.
* If you signed in with Google or Apple, you see **Signed in with Google** or **Signed in with Apple**.
It is a direct reflection of what is connected to your account, nothing more. Whether you *have* a password at all depends on how you first signed up — so if you set loadmate up with Google, there simply is no password to change, and that is normal.
Below that is an **Authentication** section you can tap to expand. It lists **Google** and **Apple**. Next to each one you will see either a connect button — **Connect Google** or **Connect Apple** — to add that way of signing in, or a **Disconnect** button to remove it.
![Profile Account section showing the current sign-in method and an expanded Authentication list with Google and Apple connect options.]()
Connecting a second method is a good habit. If you ever lose access to one — a forgotten password, or an old email — having a backup way in means you are never locked out.
You must always keep at least one way to sign in. If only one method is connected, its **Disconnect** button is greyed out, and tapping it shows *You must have at least one sign-in method.* That is loadmate quietly protecting you from accidentally locking yourself out.
## Changing your password
If you sign in with a password, the **Change password** row under **Account** takes you to a simple screen with three fields.
Type the password you use now.
Type the password you would like to switch to. The helper line reminds you it needs to be **at least 8 characters**.
Type the new password once more to be sure it matches.
The save button only becomes active once your current password is filled in, your new one is long enough, and the two new entries match. When you save, loadmate confirms with *Password changed*. If the current password you entered was wrong, it tells you plainly — *Incorrect current password. Try again.* — and lets you have another go.
![Change password screen with current password, new password, confirm new password fields, and a save button.]()
The Change password row only appears if you actually have a password. If you signed in with a magic link, Google, or Apple, you will see a *Signed in with...* line in its place rather than a password screen — there is no password to change, so there is nothing missing.
Your data stays safe in the cloud, and these changes only affect how you sign in — never the rig details, weights, or history you have built up in loadmate.
## Where to go next
Your profile is the front door to the rest of your account. These pages cover the settings that sit alongside it.
Check your plan, see what Pro unlocks, and manage your subscription.
Set your region so loadmate shows the right units and terminology for you.
Choose which reminders and alerts loadmate sends you, and how.
Sign out on this device, or delete your account when you need to.
# Region and units
Source: https://docs.loadmate.io/account-settings/region-and-units
Set Region and Units in loadmate to match your paperwork. Towing terms, weight units, dates, and spelling follow the market you pick - no separate unit switch.
Your region sets the words and units loadmate uses to match your paperwork. Caravan plates and manuals differ by market. The maximum loaded weight of your tow vehicle is a GVM in Australia, an MAM in the United Kingdom, and a GVWR in the United States and Europe/international fallback.
Tell loadmate which market your documents come from, and every screen follows: the towing terms, the units, the date format, even small spelling differences. This matters because you copy the numbers off your labels into the matching fields. If the region is wrong, the words on screen will not match the words on your plate, and it is easy to type a weight into the wrong place. Set your region once, and the figures you read off a label land where they belong.
## Where to find it
You will find this setting under **Region & Units**. Open the **More** tab, then **Settings**, then **Region & Units**. On a larger screen, such as a tablet, the same controls may sit in a panel beside your other settings rather than on their own page — but it is the same list, and it works the same way.
## Choosing your region
The screen lists four regions, each with a flag, its name, and a short preview of the towing words it uses. Pick the market your vehicle and trailer paperwork comes from — not necessarily where you happen to be travelling today. If your van's compliance plate is Australian, choose Australia, even if you are touring abroad.
![Region and Units screen listing Australia, United Kingdom, United States, and Europe, each with towing terminology previews.]()
Tap the region you want, and loadmate asks you to confirm before it changes anything. The four choices, and the towing terms each one shows you, are:
* **Australia** — GVM, ATM, GCM, with weights in kilograms.
* **United Kingdom** — MAM, MTPLM, GTW, with weights in kilograms.
* **United States** — GVWR, Trailer GVWR, GCWR, with weights in pounds.
* **Europe** — GVWR, GTWR, GCWR, with weights in kilograms.
These previews are the short, abbreviated forms — the same shorthand you see stamped on a plate. If a term is unfamiliar, the glossary spells each one out in plain English for the region you have chosen.
Tapping the region you are already on does nothing — there is no change to confirm, so the screen simply stays as it is. To switch, tap a *different* region.
## What your region changes
Below the region list, loadmate shows you exactly which units it will use, so there are no surprises. There are three rows: the unit it shows weights in, the unit it shows lengths in, and the way it writes dates.
![Unit display card showing weight, length, and date format rows with values for the selected region.]()
The United States is the only region that uses imperial units. Choose it, and weights show in pounds, lengths in inches, and dates are written month first. Australia, the United Kingdom, and Europe all use kilograms for weight and millimetres for length, with dates written day first.
Region also shapes a few words you will recognise from your own market — *tyre* or *tire*, *weighbridge* or *truck scale*, *kerb* or *curb*. These follow your region automatically, so the wording matches the documents and signs you are used to. And the change reaches the whole app at once: vehicle and trailer ratings, your coupling weight, weigh-ins, tyre records, and rig comparisons all start using the terms and units of the region you picked.
## Confirming a region change
Because switching region re-words and re-units every screen, loadmate always asks you to confirm first. When you tap a new region, a short dialog appears asking whether you want to change to that region.
![Confirmation dialog for changing region, with Cancel and Change buttons and a message that saved data is preserved.]()
Choose a region other than the one you are on. The confirmation dialog appears straight away.
The dialog tells you what is about to happen: the towing terms, units, and the compliance figures shown across the app will update to the new region. Crucially, it reassures you that **your data is preserved — only the display changes**. The weights and ratings you have already entered stay exactly as they are; only the words and units around them shift.
Tap **Change** to apply the new region, or **Cancel** to stay where you were. Nothing is changed unless you tap **Change**.
Saving a region change needs a connection. If you are offline when you tap **Change**, loadmate lets you know there is no connection and keeps your old region until you are back online — it never saves the change half-finished. This is about saving safely, not about a paid feature: choosing your region is free for everyone.
After switching region, it is worth reopening any setup screen you were partway through and glancing at the labels before you save. The numbers you entered are untouched, but the words around them may now read differently — so a quick look confirms each value is still sitting against the right term.
## Why units follow your region
There is no separate kilograms-or-pounds switch, and that is on purpose. Units are not chosen on their own — they follow your region. The screen says as much: units are derived from your region and cannot be set independently. This keeps things consistent. A single market always pairs the same words with the same units, just as your paperwork does. The United States uses pounds and inches together, because that is how American plates are written. Australia uses kilograms and millimetres together. One choice, and everything stays in step.
Your region helps loadmate's labels match your source documents and shows the compliance figures for that market. It does not decide local road rules or grant legal permission for a trip — that judgement is always yours. Region matches the words and units; it does not approve a tow.
## Where to go next
Once your region is set, these pages help you put the matching terms and units to work.
Every towing weight word, spelled out in plain English for the region you have chosen.
Compare a vehicle and trailer using the terms of the market your documents come from.
See where region first comes up when you set loadmate up, and how the rest follows.
Manage the rest of your account details alongside your region and unit choices.
# Sign out or delete your account
Source: https://docs.loadmate.io/account-settings/sign-out-delete-account
Sign out to close your session, with records kept safe in the cloud, or delete your loadmate account for good, erasing every vehicle, load, trip and weigh-in.
Signing out and deleting your account sit next to each other in the list, but they do opposite things. Signing out closes the session. Your records stay safe in the cloud, and you sign back in whenever you like. Deleting your account is final. It erases the account and every record on it, and it cannot be undone. Both sit at the foot of your **Settings** list, so this page makes the difference clear and walks you through the checks loadmate puts in front of deletion.
To find either one, open the **More** tab, tap **Settings**, and scroll to the bottom of the list.
## Sign out closes the session, not the account
Signing out is the everyday, reversible choice. Use it when you are stepping away rather than leaving for good — setting up a new phone, lending the device to someone, or tidying up who has access. Nothing is deleted. You can sign back in with the same method any time.
![Sign out confirmation dialog with Cancel and Sign out buttons.]()
From the **More** tab, tap **Settings**, then scroll to the bottom. **Sign out** is the outlined button near the foot of the list.
Tapping it opens a short check titled **Sign out?**, reassuring you that *your data stays safe in the cloud* and you can *sign back in anytime*. Tap **Sign out** to confirm, or **Cancel** to stay signed in.
Once you confirm, loadmate returns you to the start screen. Your account and every record on it are untouched — sign in again with the same method and everything is exactly where you left it.
Signing out is open to everyone — free, lapsed, or exploring the demo rig. It only ends the current session; it never touches your saved records.
## Deleting your account is permanent
Deleting your account is the final choice, and it is meant to feel different. The control is the red **Delete my account** text directly below the Sign out button, at the bottom of your Settings list. There is no heading above these two. They sit together at the foot of the list, so take a moment to be sure which one you are tapping.
![Bottom of the Settings list showing Sign out above Delete my account.]()
Tapping **Delete my account** opens a confirmation step titled **Delete your account?**. It tells you plainly that this *will permanently delete your loadmate account and all associated data*, and that *this action cannot be undone*. You can still back out here with **Cancel**.
Deleting your account erases it for good — every record you have saved goes with it, and nothing can be recovered. It is not a way to pause or downgrade, and it does not stop any store subscription you may be paying for. Use it only when you are certain you want the account and its records gone permanently.
## Before loadmate will delete the account
loadmate puts a few calm safety checks in front of deletion so it cannot happen by accident. You may see one or more of these on the confirmation step, depending on your account.
### Your email must be verified
If your email address has not been verified yet, the **Delete my account** button stays greyed out and a note appears: *Verify your email before you can delete your account.* This safeguard confirms you really hold the email on the account before anything is erased. Once your email is verified, the button becomes active. You can verify it from your profile. Reach out through **Help & feedback** if you get stuck.
![Delete account confirmation step with a greyed out Delete my account button and a note to verify email first.]()
### An active subscription keeps running
If you have an active Pro subscription, a caution note reminds you that *deleting your account will not cancel your subscription — manage it in the App Store first* (it names Google Play or your store instead, depending on where you subscribed). Where the store allows it, a **Manage subscription** link sits just below to take you straight to the store's subscription page.
This note is a reminder, not a barrier. You can still delete your account with a subscription running. But deleting the account does not cancel store billing. loadmate cannot stop, refund, or manage your store subscription for you. That is handled by the App Store or Google Play. If you want billing to stop, cancel it in the store before or after you delete. Otherwise it keeps charging.
### Confirming it's you
When the checks above are clear and you tap the active **Delete my account** button, loadmate asks you to confirm it's you before going ahead. What you see depends on how you sign in:
* **If you sign in with a password**, you reach a **Confirm it's you** step asking you to *sign in again to continue*. Type your password into the field — you can tap the show/hide control to check it — then tap **Confirm**.
* **If you sign in with Google or Apple**, you tap a single **Sign in with Google** (or **Sign in with Apple**) button to re-confirm through your provider.
* **If you sign in with a magic link** (the email sign-in link, with no password), a note appears that says *this step isn't available from this screen yet*. Tap **Got it** to close it. Deletion through a magic-link account is not finished in the app today, so if this is you, please get in touch through **Help & feedback** and the team will help you remove your account.
![Confirm it's you sheet asking for the account password before deletion continues.]()
While the deletion runs, loadmate shows a brief *Deleting account…* message. Deletion is free for everyone — there is no Pro requirement to remove an account, and the only checks are the ones above.
## What deletion removes
When deletion goes ahead, your loadmate account and all the records saved on it are permanently removed. In plain terms, that means everything you have built up in the app goes with the account:
* Your vehicles and trailers
* Your loads and weigh-ins
* Your planned trips
* Your maintenance and service history
* Your warranty records
None of this can be brought back afterwards. If you sign up again later, you start with a completely empty account — there is no way to restore what was deleted, so make sure you have noted down anything you want to keep before you go ahead.
## The confirmation screen
Once deletion finishes, loadmate shows a final screen with a green tick and the heading **Your account has been deleted**. It thanks you for using loadmate and confirms that your account and all associated data have been permanently removed.
![Account deleted screen with a green check icon, confirmation text, and a Continue button.]()
There is only one button here — **Continue** — and the back gesture is switched off, so this screen is a clean, deliberate ending rather than something you can wander back from. Tapping **Continue** clears the app on this device and returns you to the start screen, where you could begin again with a fresh account if you ever choose to.
## Where to go next
If you were heading for delete but only want a break from the app, sign out instead. And if a subscription is what you really want to change, sort that out in the store first.
Change or cancel Pro billing in the store, separately from your loadmate account.
Set the region and units loadmate uses across the app.
Choose which reminders and alerts loadmate sends you.
Get in touch if you need help verifying your email or removing a magic-link account.
# Create your account
Source: https://docs.loadmate.io/getting-started/create-account
Create your loadmate account with Google, Apple, email, or an email link, accept the three legal documents, and continue straight to setting up your rig.
Open loadmate, choose the sign-in method you want to use, accept the legal documents when they appear, then continue to set up your rig. Signing in first means everything you set up afterwards is saved to the right account.
You can ask "can my car tow this caravan?" on the research path without signing in. The steps below are for when you are ready to set up your own rig, where your answers are saved to your account.
## Sign in options
loadmate offers four ways to sign in. Pick whichever suits you:
* Google
* Apple
* Email and password
* Email link
The email link option sends a sign-in link to your inbox, so you can get in without a password. After you request a link, loadmate shows a waiting screen and checks for the link to be opened. There is a short wait before you can resend, and you finish on the same device you started on.
Signing in is free, and so is looking around. Pro only comes up later, when you save your own rig data.
Available sign-in methods can vary by device and store. If a method is not shown on your phone, choose one of the others.
## Region and account repair
Your region sets the units and terminology you see across the app, such as kilograms or pounds and the weight terms used for your country. loadmate asks for your region once.
Most of the time you do not see a region step here, because your account already has a region or your earlier research choice carries over. If your account is missing a region, or has one loadmate no longer supports, a region step appears after sign-in. Tap your region, confirm, and continue.
## Accept the legal documents
Before loadmate sets up your account, you agree to three documents:
* [Terms of Use](https://loadmate.io/terms)
* [Privacy Policy](https://loadmate.io/privacy)
* [Safety Disclaimer](https://loadmate.io/safety-disclaimer)
Each is shown as a card you can expand to read in full. You can open any document for the complete text on the website.
Tick the single checkbox to confirm you agree, then choose Agree and continue. The button does nothing until the box is ticked, so nothing is recorded until you have agreed.
If you decline, loadmate signs you out and returns you to the start. You can sign in and try again whenever you are ready.
If loadmate updates one of these documents later, you are asked to agree again the next time you open the app, with a note saying which document changed. This keeps your agreement current.
## Continue to rig setup
Once you have agreed, loadmate takes you to rig setup. If you do not have a vehicle yet, you choose how to start: add your own vehicle, or explore with sample data first.
After legal acceptance, choose whether to add your own rig or open the demo rig first. You can switch to your own setup whenever you are ready.
## Related
* [Take a first run through loadmate](/getting-started/first-run)
* [Find legal documents later](/account-settings/about-and-legal)
# Use the demo rig
Source: https://docs.loadmate.io/getting-started/demo-rig
demo rig lets you explore loadmate with a complete, region-matched sample setup before adding your own. Tap through the Rig Score, loads, and tyres risk-free.
The demo rig lets you explore loadmate with a complete, sample setup before you enter any of your own details. You meet it on the setup screen right after you sign in, and you can come back to it any time. Tap through it freely to see how loadmate works, then add your own rig when you are ready. The demo numbers belong to the sample rig, so use them to learn the app rather than to make towing decisions about your own vehicle or trailer.
## Start sample data
After you sign in and accept the legal documents, you land on a setup screen. If you have not added a vehicle yet, you choose between adding your own tow vehicle or exploring with sample data. Choose **Explore with sample data** to open a pre-built demo rig from your region.
The demo rig matches your region, so the vehicle, trailer, and terms look like your market rather than someone else's. An Australian setup shows a tourer, a UK setup shows a caravanner's rig, and a US setup shows a travel trailer.
## What the demo lets you see
The demo is a complete, populated rig, so every screen works the same way it will once your own data is in. You can open each area and see real behaviour:
* The Rig Score and how it responds across the rig.
* Loads and where they sit across the vehicle and trailer.
* Tyre details for the demo vehicle and trailer.
* Maintenance records and what is scheduled.
* Warnings and attention items raised on the demo rig.
A demo banner sits above the score and names the rig you are exploring, so you always know you are looking at sample data and not your own setup.
The demo numbers belong to the sample rig. They do not describe your own vehicle or trailer, so use them to learn the app, not to judge a real load.
## What stays read-only
The demo rig is read-only. You can tap through every screen, open every detail, and try every area without worrying about changing or breaking anything, because nothing you do is saved to the demo. This keeps the demo true to life: what you see is what the product does.
Looking around the demo and using Can I Tow It? are free. Saving your own rig data is a Pro feature, so the first time you try to add or edit your own vehicle, trailer, loads, or history, an upgrade sheet appears. Pro is an annual subscription. If Pro later lapses, your saved data stays visible read-only. For a full breakdown of what is free and what needs Pro, see [Free and Pro](/pricing-account/free-and-pro).
## Move from demo to your own rig
When you are ready, leave the demo and start your own setup. Add your tow vehicle and trailer, then build out loads, tyres, and the rest from there. Your own data is saved and managed once you are set up, and the demo rig is not mixed into it.
To begin a fresh setup from the start, see [First run](/getting-started/first-run).
# First run
Source: https://docs.loadmate.io/getting-started/first-run
First run setup in loadmate: pick your region and units, accept the legal documents, and choose between sample data or adding your own tow vehicle and trailer.
Use this page once you are ready to set up your own rig in loadmate. By this point you may already have used Can I Tow It?, created an account, or explored the sample rig. The first real setup pass is about getting the foundation right: region, legal documents, vehicle, trailer, baseline weights, storage, tyres, loads, and measured data.
## Choose your region
Your region controls the terms and units loadmate shows. Choose the region that matches the plate, label, manual, or specification sheet you are reading from.
![Region selector with Australia, United Kingdom, United States, and Europe options.]()
Region changes labels such as GVM, MAM, GVWR, ATM, MTPLM, GTWR, Trailer GVWR, GCM, GTW, GCWR, tow ball mass, nose weight, tongue weight, kilograms, and pounds. It does not change your subscription currency or decide the road rules for a trip.
If you choose the wrong region, you can change it later from [Region and Units](/account-settings/region-and-units). After changing region, reopen any setup screen you were using and check the labels before saving.
Use the region of the documents you are entering, not necessarily the country you are travelling through today.
## Accept the legal documents
Before loadmate saves your account setup, you accept the current legal documents. Read them in full before agreeing:
* [Terms of Use](https://loadmate.io/terms)
* [Privacy Policy](https://loadmate.io/privacy)
* [Safety Disclaimer](https://loadmate.io/safety-disclaimer)
The legal gate appears during account setup, and may appear again later if one of the documents changes. Declining signs you out until you are ready to accept.
For the account step in more detail, see [Create your account](/getting-started/create-account).
## Choose how to start
After sign-in, legal acceptance, and region setup, loadmate shows the setup choice. You can add your own vehicle, or explore with sample data first.
![Setup choice showing add vehicle and explore sample data options.]()
Choose sample data if you want to see the app before entering your own figures. loadmate loads a read-only rig so you can move around the Rig tab, open a load, look at a weigh-in, and see how the score and checks respond.
Choose add your own vehicle when you have enough information to start your real setup. You do not have to finish everything in one sitting. The setup checklist on each vehicle or trailer profile shows what is still outstanding.
## What to have nearby
Setup goes faster, and your numbers are more trustworthy, when you have the real figures in front of you:
* Your tow vehicle compliance plate, for kerb weight (AU tare weight) and the rated loaded-vehicle limit: GVM (AU), MAM (UK), or GVWR (US and Europe/international).
* Your trailer or caravan plate, for the loaded-trailer limit and the weight on the hitch: ATM and tow ball mass (AU), MTPLM and nose weight (UK), Trailer GVWR and tongue weight (US), or GTWR and coupling load (Europe/international).
* Your tyre details from the sidewall and from the sticker inside the driver's door or by the fuel cap, including size, load index, and age.
* Any recent weighbridge ticket, so you can record measured weights rather than estimates.
If a value from your plate, your tyre sticker, or your manual is missing, leave it out and find the real figure rather than entering a guess. loadmate uses the numbers you enter, and a guessed rating leads to a result you cannot rely on. loadmate cannot confirm a rating for you.
Do not enter guessed plate or manual values to fill a gap. A rating that is wrong makes every compliance check on that rig wrong.
## Set up your own rig
Work through setup in this order:
1. [Add your tow vehicle](/vehicles/add-tow-vehicle). Start with a name, or make and model, then add the trusted rating and baseline details after save.
2. [Add your trailer or caravan](/vehicles/add-trailer). Choose the trailer type, enter the plate ratings, and set the baseline weight.
3. Set up storage zones on both assets so each load has a real place to sit.
4. Add the tyre profile from the Tyres section on each asset, so Health can watch age and load-rating headroom.
5. [Add your loads](/loads/add-load), including tanks and regular gear.
6. Record measured data from a [weigh-in](/weigh-ins/weigh-in-overview) when you have a recent ticket.
Once your vehicle, trailer, loads, and tyres are in, the Rig tab becomes your home screen. It shows your score, grade cells, key limits, and the next action to take. From there you can record a weigh-in, run a pre-trip checklist, and keep your rig current as the load changes.
If you would rather look around first, start with the [sample rig](/getting-started/demo-rig). When you are ready to save your own figures, [add your tow vehicle](/vehicles/add-tow-vehicle).
# Towing setup and safety help
Source: https://docs.loadmate.io/index
loadmate help docs to set up and maintain your towing rig - add your tow vehicle and caravan, manage loads, track your Rig Score, weigh in, and plan trips.
loadmate helps you set up and maintain a towing rig before you tow. Open the page that matches the job in front of you: compare a possible setup, set up your rig, add loads, check the score, record measured weights, plan a trip, or look up the towing terms on your paperwork.
Start with Research if you are comparing a setup, or set up your own rig when you have your vehicle and trailer details nearby.
## Start with setup
Setup is the foundation for everything else, so start here. The usual order is:
* Add your tow vehicle, with its make, model, and plate-rated values. See [Add a tow vehicle](/vehicles/add-tow-vehicle).
* Add your trailer or caravan and complete its setup checklist. See [Add a trailer](/vehicles/add-trailer).
* Check the ratings loadmate carries against your compliance plate and update anything that differs. See [Edit ratings](/vehicles/edit-ratings).
* Add tyre details, then set up storage zones so loads have a place to sit. See [Tyre setup](/tyres/tyre-setup) and [Set up storage zones](/vehicles/set-up-storage-zones).
* If you tow with a weight distribution hitch, record its details. See [Weight distribution hitch](/vehicles/weight-distribution-hitch).
If you are brand new, the [first run guide](/getting-started/first-run) walks through sign-in, region, and your first rig. To look before you commit, start with the [demo rig](/getting-started/demo-rig).
## Add and manage loads
Once storage is ready, you can record what you carry. Loads are everything you put in and on the rig, from gear to consumables.
* Add a load with its weight and where it sits. See [Add a load](/loads/add-load).
* Track the water, fuel, and gear that change weight as you fill or empty them. See [Water and consumables](/loads/water-and-consumables).
* Reuse familiar items from [Load Library](/loads/load-library), then review or export the current setup in [Load Report](/loads/load-report).
* When you move a load between assets or zones, check the effect before you save. See [Load changes](/loads/load-changes).
## Check score, weigh-ins, trips, tyres, service, warranty
With a rig and loads in place, these pages keep the setup current.
* Rig Score gives you a read on your setup at a glance. Start with [What is Rig Score](/rig-score/what-is-rig-score), then read the [score bands](/rig-score/score-bands), how to [improve your score](/rig-score/improve-score), and the [Compliance Snapshot](/rig-score/compliance-snapshot).
* Weigh-ins let you calibrate against measured numbers. See [Record a weigh-in](/weigh-ins/weigh-in-overview), [Read a weigh-in](/weigh-ins/read-weigh-in), and [Update tow ball weight](/weigh-ins/update-tow-ball-weight). Tow ball weight is called tow ball mass (AU), nose weight (UK), and tongue weight (US).
* Create the trip first with [Plan a trip](/trips/plan-a-trip), then run the [pre-trip checklist](/pre-trip/checklist). Afterwards, you can [share a trip summary](/trips/share-trip-summary).
* Tyres have their own setup and guidance. See [Tyre setup](/tyres/tyre-setup) and [Pressure and load](/tyres/pressure-and-load).
* Keep service records and tasks in one place with [Service records](/maintenance/service-records), and track cover with [Coverage and issues](/warranty/coverage-and-issues).
## Tools, account, regions, and troubleshooting
These pages cover plans, regional terms, and what to do when something looks off.
* Before building a saved rig, use [Can I Tow It?](/research/can-i-tow-it) to compare a vehicle and trailer on paper.
* If a term is unfamiliar, use the [Glossary](/tools/glossary).
* To find an alert you dismissed, snoozed, or acknowledged, open [Activity and alerts](/tools/activity-and-alerts).
* For settings help, see [Region and units](/account-settings/region-and-units), [Notifications](/account-settings/notifications), [Help and feedback](/account-settings/help-and-feedback), [About and legal documents](/account-settings/about-and-legal), and [Sign out or delete your account](/account-settings/sign-out-delete-account).
* loadmate uses your region's terms and units. See [Australia](/regions/australia), [United Kingdom](/regions/united-kingdom), [United States](/regions/united-states), and [Europe](/regions/europe).
* If something is not what you expect, see [Why my score changed](/troubleshooting/score-changed), [Missing data](/troubleshooting/missing-data), or [No connection](/troubleshooting/no-connection).
## Try it now
Open loadmate and head to the Rig tab. On a demo profile it shows the score gauge, the four grade cells, and recent score history, so you can see what a complete setup looks like before you add your own.
# Add a load
Source: https://docs.loadmate.io/loads/add-load
Add loads to your rig - gear, people, and consumables - using five methods from rapid add to a detailed form, then assign zones and see your Rig Score.
A load is anything you carry that changes the weight on your rig: gear, people, accessories, awnings, recovery kits, or consumables like a water tank. You add loads from the Rig tab: open your Capacity card, tap manage loads, then use the add button. That opens the **Add item** sheet, which offers five ways to add an item, from a quick name-and-weight entry to a full detailed form.
Saving any load to your own rig requires Pro. Demo data stays read-only, so you can look around the demo rig without changing anything.
## Open the load list
On the Rig tab, tap your Capacity card, then tap manage loads. From there you can open the full list to see and manage everything on the rig in one place. When a rig has no loads yet, this is where the empty state appears with an action to add your first item.
Tap the add button to open the **Add item** sheet. Its subtitle reads "Choose how to add items to your rig", and it offers the five methods below.
![The Add item sheet showing Rapid add, My library, Common items, Detailed, and Import from Spreadsheet methods]()
## Which method should I use?
Each method suits a different moment. The five cards below are the methods in the **Add item** sheet; each has its own section further down the page.
Best for getting a batch of items in fast, with just a name and weight.
Best for reusing an item you have already saved on a rig.
Best for picking from a preset catalogue when you are not sure of weights.
Best for full control over one item, including consumables.
Best for adding many items at once from a CSV or Excel file.
Use this table to pick the fastest one for the job, then read the matching section below for the detail.
| Method | Best for | Speed | Sets a zone? | Sets consumables? |
| ------------------------- | ---------------------------------------------------------------- | ------- | ------------------------------------------------ | ------------------------------ |
| Rapid add | Adding a batch of items quickly with just a name and weight | Fastest | No — items land unassigned | No |
| My library | Reusing an item you have already saved on a rig | Fast | Yes, in the form | Yes, in the form |
| Common items | Picking from a preset catalogue when you are not sure of weights | Fast | No — items land unassigned | Set later in the app |
| Detailed | Full control over one item, including consumables | Slower | Yes | Yes |
| Import from a spreadsheet | Adding many items at once from a CSV or Excel file | Bulk | From the file, where the location matches a zone | No — set in the app afterwards |
If you start the add flow from a specific storage zone in your loads list, the detailed form opens with that zone already selected, so you can skip the method choice and go straight to the item details.
## Rapid add
Rapid add carries the **Recommended** badge because it is the quickest way to get a holiday's worth of gear into loadmate. You enter only a name and a weight, then tap **Save & next**. The form clears and puts the cursor back on the name field so you can keep going without lifting your hands off the keyboard. A running counter at the top shows how many items you have added and their total weight.
Items added this way are created **unassigned** to any zone, and their weight is recorded as a manual entry. You assign each item to a storage zone later from your loads list, once you know where it actually sits.
Open the **Add item** sheet and choose **Rapid add**.
If your rig is hitched, choose whether the item sits on the vehicle or the trailer.
Type the item name and its weight.
Tap **Save & next**. The item is saved and the form clears for the next one.
Close the sheet when you are done.
Estimates are fine in rapid add — you can refine any weight later. Do not leave heavy gear out just because the number is not exact.
Rapid add does not handle consumables. For an item that changes weight as you travel, such as a water tank or gas bottle, use the detailed form instead.
![Rapid add sheet showing Vehicle and Caravan tabs, item name and weight fields, a running item count, and the Save and next button.]()
## My library
**My library** reuses an item you have already entered on any rig. loadmate keeps a personal catalogue of your saved items, so a "rear drawers" or "generator" you set up once is ready to drop onto another rig.
Selecting an item from My library opens the **detailed form pre-filled** with that item's name, weight, weight source, and category. You can adjust anything before you save, and you choose the asset and zone in the form. This makes it the fast path for repeat gear that you still want to place precisely.
If your library is empty, add a few items to any rig first — every item you save appears in your library for next time. For more on which details travel with a saved item and which are specific to the trip, see [Load library](/loads/load-library).
## Common items
**Common items** is a searchable preset catalogue, grouped into categories such as Recovery Gear, Kitchen & Dining, and Water & Sanitation. You can search by name, filter by category, and tick as many items as you need. The footer shows the selected count and total weight, and a single **Add all** button drops every ticked item onto your rig at once. When your rig is hitched, Add all shows whether the items are going to the vehicle or the trailer.
The weights shown are **typical** values — a starting point, not a measurement. After adding, open each item and confirm the real weight when you can, so your safety scores reflect your actual gear. Items added from Common items land **unassigned**, so assign them to zones afterwards from your loads list.
Open the **Add item** sheet and choose **Common items**.
If hitched, choose the vehicle or the trailer.
Search or filter, then tick the items you want.
Tap **Add all**.
Confirm the real weight for each item, and assign storage zones, from your loads list.
## Detailed
The **Detailed** path opens the full Add item form. It gives you every option for a single item, including consumables, attachments, and the toggles that change how the item is treated.
![The detailed Add item form with name, weight, category, storage location, weight source, and the Permanent item toggle]()
Work down the form:
* **Item name** — give the load a name you will recognise, such as recovery kit, generator, or rear drawers.
* **Weight** and **Category** — enter the best weight you have and pick a category. For a consumable, the weight field is filled in for you from the consumable section below.
* **Weight source** — choose **Weighed** or **Estimate**. Weighed values give the most accurate safety scores; record an estimate when you are working from a label or a careful guess, and refine it later. (Items pulled from a library may carry a **Library** source.)
* **Storage location** — pick the zone where the item sits, or leave it unassigned. The zone is what tells loadmate where the weight is.
* **Permanent item** — turn this on for gear that always travels, such as a fixed toolbox; leave it off for trip-only gear.
* **Variable-weight item** — turn this on for anything that changes weight as you travel. See the consumables detail below.
* **Excluded from calculations** — turn this on if you want the item recorded but kept out of compliance checks. Its weight will not count toward your limits.
* **Notes** — optional notes about the item.
* **Attachments** — add up to five photos or PDF files, such as a receipt or a spec sheet.
Use **Save** to add the item and close the form, or **Save & add another** to keep the form open with your asset, zone, category, and weight source retained — handy for entering a run of similar items.
### Variable-weight (consumable) items
Turning on **Variable-weight item** opens the consumable section. This is for anything whose weight changes between trips or during a trip.
* **What changes?** — choose the kind: **Water tank**, **Fridge or groceries**, **Gas bottle**, **Spare fuel / jerry can**, or **Other**.
* **Weight when full** — the item's weight at full capacity. This is required for a consumable.
* **Fill level** — tap **Full**, **3/4**, **1/2**, **1/4**, or **Empty**. The calculated weight updates as you change it.
* **Advanced** — open this to enter an **Empty item weight** (the container's own weight) for a more accurate result. This is optional; leave it out and loadmate works from the full weight and fill level alone.
The calculated weight is shown live so you can see exactly what loadmate will record. You can also change the fill level later straight from the loads list. For the full picture on water, gas, fuel, and how fill levels are stored, see [Water and consumables](/loads/water-and-consumables).
## Import from a spreadsheet
If you keep your gear in a spreadsheet, you can add many items at once by uploading a CSV or Excel file. Import is additive, so it works best into an empty or intended list, and it cannot set consumable fill levels. The full walkthrough — template columns, the preview screen, and the rules for what imports cleanly — lives on its own page:
Template columns, the preview screen, and the rules for what imports cleanly.
## Pick an asset and zone, or leave unassigned
If your rig is hitched, choose whether the item sits on the tow vehicle or on the trailer or caravan, then pick the storage zone where it actually sits. The zone is what tells loadmate where the weight is, which is what lets it work out how weight sits across the axles and the coupling — the tow ball mass (nose weight in the UK, tongue weight in the US). Closer placement to the right axle gives a steadier, healthier setup.
You do not have to place a load in a zone before you can save it. If you do not yet know where an item will sit, leave it unassigned. An unassigned load still counts toward your total weight, and you can move it into a zone later from your loads list. Until then, its weight cannot be distributed across your zones, so assign a zone once you know the position.
To define the zones you place loads into, see [Set up storage zones](/vehicles/set-up-storage-zones).
## Save and review your Rig Score
Save the load when the name, weight, and placement read the way you want. The item is now part of what loadmate measures, alongside everything else on the rig.
Your Rig Score reflects the change the next time you open the Rig tab, rather than animating on the add sheet itself. Open the Rig tab to see the updated score and grades, and check your loads list to confirm the item landed in the zone you expected.
The fuel your tow vehicle runs on is part of the vehicle's baseline weight, not a load item. Add loads for the gear, people, and consumables you carry, and leave the vehicle fuel tank to the vehicle setup. Portable items such as a spare jerry can are loads and can be added here.
Try it now: add one item you know the weight of, leave it unassigned if you are unsure of the spot, then open the Rig tab to see how the score and grades respond.
Consumables that change weight as you travel, such as water tanks and gas bottles.
Review what has changed on your rig since your last weigh-in.
Which details travel with a saved item and which are specific to the trip.
Add many items at once from a CSV or Excel file.
# Import loads from a spreadsheet
Source: https://docs.loadmate.io/loads/import-loads
Import loads from a CSV or Excel spreadsheet to add your whole rig at once. Use the loadmate template, map columns, and check the preview before you confirm.
If you have a lot of gear to enter at once, you can import it from a spreadsheet instead of adding items one at a time. Import earns its keep in two situations: a big first-time setup where you are entering your whole rig from scratch, or moving across from a packing list you already keep in your own spreadsheet. For a handful of items, adding them in the app is usually quicker; see [Add a load](/loads/add-load).
To start, open the loads area and tap Add item, then choose Import from Spreadsheet. The import screen opens with two choices: download the template, or select a file you have already prepared.
## Before you start
Import only **adds** items. It cannot edit, replace, or de-duplicate a list you already have, and there is no overwrite option. If you import the same file twice, you get two copies of everything. So build the spreadsheet complete and correct the first time, and import it into an empty list or one you intend to add to. If a list already has items in it, importing adds to them rather than replacing them.
![Import Items screen showing Download template and Select file action cards for the selected asset.]()
The safest way to use import is to get the spreadsheet right before you bring it into loadmate, then check the preview carefully before you confirm.
## Download the template
The template is a ready-made spreadsheet with the correct column headings already in place. Download it, fill in your items, and import it back. Keeping the headings exactly as supplied means loadmate recognises every column without you having to map anything by hand.
The template downloads through your device's Save to Files picker, so you choose where it lands. Open it in any spreadsheet app and fill in one row per item.
The columns are:
| Column | What it does |
| ---------------- | ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
| Item Name | The name of the item. Required — a row with no name is skipped. |
| Weight | The weight of the item, as a number. Required, and it must be greater than zero. |
| Weight Unit | Kilograms or pounds. Leave it blank to use your region's default. |
| Asset | Which vehicle or trailer the item belongs to, by name. |
| Storage Location | The storage zone the item sits in, by name. |
| Category | The kind of item, for grouping (for example Kitchen & Dining, Recovery Gear). |
| Notes | Any free-text note you want to keep with the item. |
| Permanent | Mark Yes for gear that stays on the rig and is not unpacked between trips. |
| Weight Source | Whether the weight is a weighbridge figure (Weighed) or your own figure (Estimate). |
The template also includes helper dropdown sheets that list the valid values for Asset, Storage Location, Weight Unit, Category, and Weight Source. These are filled from your own saved assets and zones, so picking from the dropdowns is the surest way to get names that match. Do not rename the columns or edit the helper sheets.
There are no consumable columns in the template. You cannot set water, fuel, or fill levels from a spreadsheet. Import brings in the item and its weight; you mark which items are consumables and set their fill levels in the app afterwards. See [Water and consumables](/loads/water-and-consumables).
## Fill in your items
Work through the spreadsheet with these points in mind:
* One row per item. Each row becomes one load in loadmate.
* Weight must be a number greater than zero. A row with a missing or zero weight is skipped during import.
* Asset and Storage Location should match the names of your saved assets and zones. Use the helper dropdowns to copy the exact names. If a Storage Location name does not match a saved zone, the item still imports — it just lands unassigned to any zone, ready for you to place later.
* Mark Permanent for gear that lives on the rig permanently, such as a fitted toolbox or a fixed water filter.
* Leave Weight Source blank, or set it to Weighed or Estimate. A blank Weight Source imports as an estimate.
You do not have to fill in every column. Item Name and Weight are the only ones that are required; the rest are optional and can be left blank.
## Import the file
Back on the import screen, tap Select file and choose your CSV or Excel file.
If you used the template and kept the headings, loadmate recognises every column straight away. If your headings do not match — for example you brought your own spreadsheet with different column names — a column-mapping step appears so you can tell loadmate which of your columns is the item name, which is the weight, and so on. This step only shows when loadmate cannot work out the item name and weight columns on its own.
A preview shows what will be imported before anything is saved. It lists every row and reports the totals at the top: how many items will be imported, how many rows carry a warning, the total weight, and how many items will land unassigned. Rows with no usable weight are flagged and are not imported. Rows whose Storage Location does not match a saved zone import as unassigned.
![Import preview screen showing two parsed load rows, their total weight, and an Import 2 items button.]()
Read the preview carefully, because this is your last check before the items are added. If something looks wrong, go back, fix the spreadsheet, and select the file again. When the preview reads the way you want, confirm to import. Importing your own loads requires Pro.
## After importing
Once the import finishes, loadmate tells you how many items were added, how many were skipped, and how many landed unassigned. A few short steps finish the job:
Assign zones to any unassigned items, so loadmate knows where the weight sits across the axles and the coupling.
Mark any consumables and set their fill levels. Import cannot do this; see [Water and consumables](/loads/water-and-consumables).
Open the Rig tab to bring your score up to date against everything you just added.
To see exactly what changed and how it affects the saved rig, see [Review load changes](/loads/load-changes).
## What import cannot do
Import is a fast way to add a lot of items at once, but it is deliberately limited. It cannot:
* Edit or replace loads you already have — it only adds.
* De-duplicate. Importing the same file twice creates duplicates.
* Set consumables or fill levels. Water, fuel, and fill levels are set in the app after import.
Importing your own loads is a Pro feature.
Add gear one item at a time in the app — usually quicker for a handful.
Mark items as consumables and set their fill levels after import.
See exactly what changed and how it affects the saved rig.
Browse common items to add by name instead of typing every weight.
# Review load changes
Source: https://docs.loadmate.io/loads/load-changes
Load changes shift weight across your axles and coupling. See how editing, moving, or removing items affects your saved rig and your Rig Score.
You manage your gear from the Rig tab, on your Capacity card, where you tap through to the items list. A single load change can move more than one check: adjusting an item's weight, moving it between zones, or moving it between the vehicle and the trailer shifts where weight sits across the axles and the coupling, which is exactly what the score and compliance checks read. Before you tow, review the item you changed, use the preview when you are moving load between the vehicle and the trailer, save, then open the Rig tab to see the updated attention items.
Saving a move requires Pro. You can open every sheet and read the previews without Pro, but committing a move is a Pro action.
## Edit a load
Open the load you want to change from your rig view or the items list, then edit its weight, name, storage zone, category, or notes. The load detail also keeps a short history, so you can see what changed and when, including before and after weight and location.
When you save an edit, loadmate marks the affected checks for an update rather than recalculating on the spot. The new number appears the next time you open the Rig tab, so a quick edit does not block you while you are still packing.
Open the item you want to change. The edit is only committed when you save it.
## Move a load
There are two kinds of move, and they behave differently.
* A move within the same asset shifts a load from one storage zone to another on the same vehicle or trailer, for example from the rear tray to the cabin. This changes how weight sits across that asset's axles.
* A cross-asset move shifts a load between the vehicle and the trailer while you are hitched. This changes both assets at once, including the weight carried at the coupling.
For a within-asset move, open the load, expand the Move within section, and pick the new zone. Each zone in that list shows its expected axle change so you can compare before you tap. For a cross-asset move, use the preview first, described below, so you can see the effect before you commit.
A cross-asset move runs as one action, so your rig data is never left half-moved between the vehicle and the trailer: if your phone loses signal partway through, the move either completes fully or does nothing at all. To confirm a move actually saved, reopen the load. It will show its new home (the trailer or the vehicle), and the load detail's short history will list the move with a fresh timestamp. If you do not see that, the move did not go through, so try again once you are back in range.
Saving a move requires Pro. Cross-asset bulk moves are not supported, so move one item across the hitch at a time.
## Use Cross-Asset Preview
When you are hitched, the load detail shows a Move to trailer or Move to vehicle section with a preview. The preview is read-only: it shows the expected effect of the move before anything is saved, so you can answer the everyday hitched-rig question of whether an item should sit on the vehicle or on the trailer without committing to the move first. Each target zone lists its axle change, the coupling change, and a small score-impact figure.
Open the load you are weighing up, choose the other asset as the target, and read the preview. If the result looks better, confirm the move; if not, close the sheet and nothing changes. Viewing the preview is not the same as saving the move.
The preview covers a single load move between the vehicle and the trailer. It is not a full planning tool for trying out many changes at once, and it does not promise a particular result. Use it to compare one move before you save it.
## Move several loads at once — batch select
When you want to shift several items from one zone to another, you do not have to open each one. Selection mode lets you tick a batch of rows and move them together.
Long-press any load in the items list to switch the list into selection mode. A checkbox appears beside every row and the top bar shows how many items you have ticked.
Tap more rows to add them, untick to remove, and tap the cross to leave selection mode without changing anything.
With items selected, tap Move at the top. The sheet shows the number of items you are moving and their total weight, then lists the items themselves so you can confirm the selection.
Below the selection is a Move to list of every zone on that asset. Each destination shows its expected axle change and a small score-impact figure, plus a short hint — recommended, caution, or avoid — so you can pick the zone that helps your balance rather than one that pushes an axle over its limit. The zone the items already sit in is marked as current and cannot be chosen.
Pick a destination, check the summary, and confirm.
Two things to keep in mind before you start a batch:
* **Bulk move is within-asset only.** You can move several vehicle items together, or several trailer items together, but you cannot bulk-move items across the hitch. If your selection mixes vehicle and trailer items, loadmate tells you and does not open the sheet, so split the job into two batches.
* **Bulk move requires Pro.** As with a single move, saving a batch move is a Pro action.
Selection mode also offers an Archive action for tidying up a batch of items you no longer carry, with a confirmation step before anything is removed. There is no bulk delete and no bulk zone-assign: to put unassigned items into zones, assign them one at a time from the items list, or move them in a batch once they share a zone.
## See how the weight is distributed
The items list and the load detail together show where your weight sits. There is no single whole-rig balance screen; instead you read the picture at two levels.
On the items list, each asset has a summary card at the top of its section — one for the vehicle, one for the trailer when you are hitched. Below the summary, your zones appear as collapsible sections. Tap a zone header to open it. Each zone shows how many items it holds and their combined weight, and where you have set a zone limit, a capacity bar fills up as the zone gets heavier so you can see at a glance which zones are close to full. Zones without a limit show a prompt to set one in storage settings.
For a single item, open it and read the distribution panel near the top of the load detail. It shows:
* the item's effective weight (for a consumable, this is the weight at its current fill level),
* its storage zone and its distance from the datum,
* and how that item's weight splits across the asset — front axle and rear axle for a vehicle, or tow ball mass and trailer axle for a trailer.
The split is shown as two figures, a percentage for each side, and a small bar, so you can see whether an item leans toward the front or the rear, or toward the coupling or the trailer's own axle.
The coupling figure is labelled for your region: tow ball mass in Australia, nose weight in the UK, and tongue weight in the US. Vehicle axles are always shown as front axle and rear axle.
## Changes since your last weigh-in
When you have changed your load since your last measured weigh-in, the items list shows a Changes since card for each asset that changed. The card is titled with the count and the weigh-in it compares against, for example "3 changes since \[your weigh-in label] weigh-in". Tap it to expand.
Inside, the changes are grouped into Moved, Updated, and Removed. Each row names the item, the date it changed, and the figures behind it: its current and baseline weight with the difference between them, the zone it sits in now versus where it was, and the axle change that move or edit produced. A removed item shows what it weighed at the baseline so you can see the weight you have taken off.
This card is not a Pro feature — anyone can read it. It compares against the newest weigh-in that actually included your loads, so it only appears once you have recorded such a weigh-in. A coupling-only reading does not count as a baseline here, so if you have only ever recorded a tow ball mass, nose weight, or tongue weight check on its own, the card stays hidden until you record a full weigh-in that includes your loads.
## Review Rig Score after save
The Rig tab owns your score. When you change a load, loadmate flags the rig for an update; the next time you open the Rig tab, the score is brought current against every change you have made since you last looked, without you having to refresh anything. So the order that matters is straightforward: make your change, save, then open the Rig tab.
After the score updates, check the attention items beneath the gauge. They point you at what changed and what, if anything, still needs your attention. A move that helped one check can affect another, so read the items rather than the headline number alone. If you are not sure why the score moved, see [What is Rig Score](/rig-score/what-is-rig-score) and [The score changed](/troubleshooting/score-changed).
A higher score does not by itself confirm that the rig is legal or safe to tow in every condition. It reflects the data you have entered; weather, road, and how the rig actually drives are still yours to judge.
## When to re-weigh
Edits, moves, and fill-level changes keep your estimates current, but they are still your figures, not a measured reading. Your changes are compared against your last weigh-in that included loads, which is your known-good baseline.
Re-weigh after anything that genuinely shifts how much your rig weighs or where the weight sits, rather than waiting for some general "enough has changed" feeling. Good prompts to head back to a weighbridge are:
* You added or removed a lot of heavy gear, such as a full kit for a long trip, an awning, an e-bike rack, or a generator.
* You changed your tyres, fitted a different size, or swapped to a heavier-duty set.
* You made a big fuel or water change, such as filling empty tanks to full or running them right down, on a rig where those tanks hold a lot.
* You moved heavy items between the vehicle and the trailer, or reorganised the rig in a way that noticeably changed the balance.
* You had a professional weigh-in done. Record that reading in loadmate so it becomes your new baseline.
A fresh weighbridge reading that includes your loads resets the baseline, so every future comparison starts from real measured numbers again. A coupling-only reading, such as a tow ball mass (AU, the download on the hitch), nose weight (UK), or tongue weight (US) check on its own, does not reset that baseline, because it did not account for everything you are carrying.
Record a measured reading so it becomes your new baseline.
Add or remove the items you carry.
See how your changes feed the score on the Rig tab.
Work out why the number moved after a save.
# Load Library
Source: https://docs.loadmate.io/loads/load-library
Load library lets you reuse saved items or pick from the common catalogue instead of retyping loads, with a Permanent toggle for gear that always travels.
The load library helps you add familiar gear without typing the same details every time. Use it for the things you carry often, such as chairs, recovery gear, bikes, tools, water containers, and the standard items you pack for a longer trip.
There are two libraries, and they are not the same thing. Your own saved items are one. The common items catalogue is the other. This page explains both, how to add from each, and what the **Permanent** toggle means on a saved load.
Adding items to your rig requires a Pro subscription. The **Add item** methods are Pro-gated, and a lapsed subscription shows a renewal notice at the top of the method picker. Demo data is read-only and is never written to.
## My library vs common items
When you open the **Add item** sheet, two of the methods pull from a library. They look similar but draw from different places.
| Method | What it is | Weights | Whose it is |
| ---------------- | ---------------------------------------- | ------------------------------------------------------- | ------------------------------------------------------ |
| **My library** | Items YOU have already entered and saved | Your own weights, carried over from when you saved them | Yours, private to your account |
| **Common items** | A preset catalogue grouped by category | Typical starting weights you adjust | Shared catalogue, the same for everyone in your region |
**My library** is your own shortlist. Every load you save becomes reusable, so the next trip you can add it again without rebuilding the entry. The weight comes across from the time you saved it, which is usually closer to correct for your rig.
**Common items** is a starting point, not a record of your gear. The weights are typical values for that kind of item, so you almost always need to confirm the real weight afterward. It is useful when you are setting up for the first time, or adding something you have not weighed yet.
If your **My library** is empty, that is normal at first. It fills up as you save your own items. Until then, use **Common items** or the **Detailed** form.
## Permanent and trip loads
Every saved load can be marked **Permanent** or left as a trip load. You set this with the **Permanent item** toggle on the **Detailed** form.
* **Permanent item** means gear that always travels, regardless of the trip. The hint reads "Always loaded, regardless of trip". A water filter, a spare wheel, fixed tool kits, recovery boards that never come off.
* **Trip load** is the default when the toggle is off. It is for gear that comes and goes, such as a generator, an extra fridge, bikes, or fishing gear for one trip.
Today, the toggle is a label, not a lock. A load you mark **Permanent** carries a small **Permanent** badge in the items list and the load detail, and you can filter the items list to **Permanent** or **Trip** to see each group on its own. It does not pin the item to a particular vehicle or trailer, and it does not stop you editing, moving, or removing the item.
Trip load bundles, swapping whole packs of gear in and out for touring, weekends, or off-grid trips, are flagged as coming soon in the app. Marking gear **Permanent** now is how you tell those bundles apart later, so it is worth setting accurately even though it does not change anything yet.
A saved item in **My library** is reused, not relocated. When you add it to an asset, loadmate creates a new load on that asset from your saved details. Adding the same saved item to your vehicle and again to your trailer gives you two separate loads, one on each. That is different from picking up a load that is already placed and shifting it across, which is the cross-asset move covered in [Load changes](/loads/load-changes).
## Add from the library
To add an item, open the items list and choose **Add item**, then pick a method.
![The Add item method picker showing My library and Common items as separate options]()
Search for one of your saved items and choose it. loadmate opens the **Detailed** form pre-filled with your saved name, weight, and category, so you can adjust before saving. Choose the asset and zone, then save.
Search or filter by category, then tick the items you want. The selected count and total weight show at the bottom. Tap **Add all** to add them in one go. Items added this way arrive **unassigned**, so you assign zones afterward from the list. If your rig is hitched, you can choose whether the items go on the vehicle or the trailer before you add them.
A library item is not automatically correct for your rig. Whichever method you use, review its weight before you rely on it. A careful estimate is better than leaving the item out, but a measured weight is better again.
A measured weight beats an estimate every time. If you have weighed the item, even on a bathroom scale, use that figure and mark the source as measured rather than estimated.
## Save your own repeat items
When an item is part of your usual setup, save it so you can reuse it. Every load you add through the **Detailed** form is also remembered in **My library** under your account, so next time you can add it again from **My library** without rebuilding the entry.
This is most useful for gear that comes and goes:
* Generator.
* Extra fridge.
* Fishing gear.
* Bike rack and bikes.
* Camp chairs and table.
![The detailed Add item form with the Permanent item toggle visible]()
## Keep weights accurate
The library is a shortcut, not a scale. If your item differs from the common item, use your own weight.
Good sources include:
* Packaging or product labels.
* A bathroom scale for smaller gear.
* A receipt or product specification.
* A measured weigh-in after the rig is packed.
A measured weigh-in is the most reliable of all, because it captures how the item actually sits on your axles. The library gets the item onto the list quickly; the weigh-in confirms it.
Ordinary one-off load entry, item by item.
Water tanks, gas, and other variable-weight items.
Add many items at once from a file.
Everything grouped by zone with source badges.
# Load Report
Source: https://docs.loadmate.io/loads/load-report
Load Report gives you a zone-by-zone PDF summary of what your rig is carrying, the vehicle and trailer weight split, and which items are weighed versus estimated.
Load Report gives you a single, tidy summary of what you are carrying and where it sits. Use it when you want a clearer list than the normal rig view, or when you need a record to check against while you pack.
Load Report is a Pro feature.
## Open Load Report
You can open Load Report from a couple of places:
Tap the report icon in the top bar.
Tap **Actions**, then choose **Load Report**.
The report reads the current rig, the active loads, your saved zones, and the load details you have entered. It opens full screen so the whole setup is easy to read.
![Load Report showing the loadmate masthead, rig name, snapshot date, combined load weight, vehicle and trailer split, and the first vehicle zone blocks]()
![Load Report detail showing zone blocks with item weights and weighed source badges]()
## What the report shows
The report is laid out zone by zone, grouped by where the weight sits:
* A header showing the rig name, the date the report was taken, the item count, and the combined weight.
* A vehicle/trailer split bar, so you can see at a glance how the load is shared between the tow vehicle and the trailer or caravan.
* **Items on the tow vehicle**, broken down by storage zone.
* **Items on the trailer or caravan**, broken down by storage zone.
* **Unassigned items** that still need a proper zone.
Each item shows its name, its category, its weight, and a state tag where one applies (for example moved, updated, or weighed). Consumables such as a water tank, gas bottle, or fridge appear in their zone at their current fill weight, not the full weight — so the report reflects how the rig is actually packed right now. To change a fill level, see [Water and consumables](/loads/water-and-consumables).
## Weighed and estimated weights
The header shows how many of your items are based on a real weighed figure rather than an estimate. If everything is weighed you see a confirmation; if some items are still estimates, the report flags that and shows a weighed count out of the total.
Use that as a quick accuracy check. A report built mostly from estimates is still useful for spotting where the weight sits, but it is not a substitute for a measured figure.
A report is only as accurate as the loads and weights you entered. Keep tanks, trip gear, and unassigned items current before you rely on it.
## Zones and limits
Inside each asset block, every storage zone shows its own subtotal and a small fill bar. If you have set a weight limit for a zone, the report shows how the zone compares to that limit, and it flags any zone that is over.
Unassigned items are worth clearing first. They still add weight to the totals, but loadmate cannot place them accurately across the axles until you tell it where they sit. You can assign a zone to each one from the items list.
## Share or keep a copy
The app bar at the top of the report has an export action. It produces a PDF of the report so you can share it or download a copy:
* On a phone or tablet, the export option opens the share sheet so you can send or save the PDF.
* On the web app, it downloads the PDF to your device.
A report is handy before a trip, before a weigh-in, or when you are reviewing what changed after repacking.
Treat the exported PDF as a snapshot. If you move gear or change fill levels afterwards, export a fresh copy.
## What the report is not
Load Report is a packing and review aid built from your entered data. Use it to see what changed, where the weight sits, and which items still need attention.
If you need measured weights, record a [professional weigh-in](/weigh-ins/weigh-in-overview). If you want the limit rows behind the current setup — your tow ball mass (nose weight in the UK, tongue weight in the US), axle loads, and the totals they roll into — open [Compliance Snapshot](/rig-score/compliance-snapshot).
Add, remove, or adjust the gear the report summarises.
Set fill levels so tanks, bottles, and the fridge read at their real weight.
Browse and reuse common items when building your load list.
See the tow ball mass, axle loads, and totals behind the current setup.
# Water and consumables
Source: https://docs.loadmate.io/loads/water-and-consumables
Track water, fuel, gas, and fridge weight with fill-level taps, plus the gear that changes between trips, so your Rig Score reflects what is really on board.
Most of what changes on your rig between trips is the everyday stuff: water that drains down over a week, a fridge that empties as you eat, gas bottles, and spare fuel. Alongside that is the gear you pack for one trip but not the next. Use fill levels for the things whose weight changes as you use them, and ordinary loads for the gear that simply comes and goes. Then keep the items that have changed enough to matter up to date, so the Rig Score and compliance checks are working from what is actually on board.
Saving consumable details or fill-level changes requires Pro.
## Consumables and fill levels
A consumable is a load whose weight changes with how full it is, such as a water tank, fridge contents and groceries, a gas bottle, or a spare fuel can. Rather than editing the weight by hand every time, you mark the item as a variable-weight item once, tell loadmate what it weighs when full, and from then on you keep it current with a quick fill-level tap.
To set one up, open the item in the detailed form, turn on the **Variable-weight item** toggle, choose what changes from the **What changes?** list, and enter the full weight. From then on the weight follows the fill level you set.
You can change the fill level straight from the items list without opening the full form. Each consumable row shows a small fill pill. Tap it to expand a strip of five quick choices, then tap the level that matches what is on board:
* **Full**
* **3/4**
* **1/2**
* **1/4**
* **Empty**
loadmate works out the current weight from the level you tap, so a water tank or a jerry can takes a couple of taps and the score recalculates from what is actually on board rather than a stale guess. The strip closes itself again after a moment, and the choices are large enough to tap comfortably on the move.
You do not need to know what a tank or container weighs empty to use fill levels. There is an advanced option for an empty-item weight if you want the figure to be more exact, but for most items the full weight and the fill level are enough.
## What changes?
When you mark an item as a variable-weight item, the **What changes?** list tells loadmate what kind of consumable it is. The choices are:
* **Water tank**
* **Fridge or groceries**
* **Gas bottle**
* **Spare fuel / jerry can**
* **Other**
## Everyday weight sources
For consumables, the best source is often simpler than it sounds:
* Water: 1 litre is about 1 kilogram.
* Fuel and gas: use the container label, stamped tare, or supplier information.
* Food and fridge contents: use packaging, receipts, or a careful estimate.
* Portable gear: weigh it at home if it is small enough, or use the product specification until you can measure it.
If an item is heavy and uncertain, mark it as estimated and come back to it after a weigh-in. A visible estimate is safer than leaving the item off the rig entirely.
## Gear and accessories
For gear that does not change in weight as you use it, add it as an ordinary load rather than a consumable. This covers the recovery kit, awning, tool box, generator, bikes, and the rest of the kit you carry.
It helps to think of gear in two groups:
* Permanent gear is always on the rig, such as the recovery kit, tool box, or spare wheel. Tagging it permanent keeps it on every trip without you relisting it each time.
* Trip gear is carried only for a particular trip, such as surfboards, a generator, or extra chairs. Tagging it as trip gear lets it come and go without cluttering your everyday setup.
Place each item in a storage zone so its weight sits in the right spot across the axles and coupling. If you add something quickly and have not chosen a zone yet, it stays as Unassigned until you place it. To create a new item, see [Add a load](/loads/add-load). For saving an item you reuse trip after trip and for the permanent and trip-gear detail, see [Load library](/loads/load-library).
## What belongs outside Loads
Loads tracks the items you carry. A few related things live elsewhere, so it helps to know where to look:
Storage zones are set up on each vehicle and trailer, not inside an individual load. Zones are the named places gear sits, and you create them once per asset.
Plate ratings and the empty, or tare, baseline weight of the vehicle and trailer are part of each asset's profile, not a load you add.
A measured weighbridge reading is recorded as a weigh-in, which is what your changes are compared against, rather than entered as a load.
Keep every item you actually carry in Loads, including the heavy gear. The point of tracking loads is that the score and compliance checks reflect the real rig, so leaving items out to make a number look better only makes the warnings wrong.
## Update before a trip
Before you head off, update the items that have changed enough to matter. In practice that means topping up the fill levels for water, fridge, and fuel, adding any trip-only gear you have packed, and removing anything you have taken off since last time.
Once your consumables and gear are current, the Rig Score and compliance checks are working from what is actually on board.
See what has shifted on your rig in one place before you set off.
Setting up from scratch? Import a lot of items from a spreadsheet, then mark the consumables and fill levels in the app afterward.
# Add maintenance tasks
Source: https://docs.loadmate.io/maintenance/add-maintenance-tasks
Add maintenance tasks from loadmate's library of caravan and tow-vehicle jobs, or create a custom one. Set intervals and trigger modes so each job counts down.
The task library is a ready-made list of common caravan and tow-vehicle jobs you can add in a single tap, so you do not face a blank page on the day you start. It is also there to remind you of the jobs that are easy to forget, the ones that matter most for safe towing: testing the breakaway system, repacking the wheel bearings, renewing a gas certificate. You do not have to invent a maintenance plan from memory; you pick the jobs that apply to your rig, and loadmate counts each one down for you. Open the task library from the **More** tab, then **Service & Tasks**, then **Add from library**.
## Browse the library
The library is organised so you can find the right job without scrolling endlessly. Filter by the asset it applies to, the tow vehicle or the trailer, then narrow by category, such as brakes, gas, electrical, or service. Within each category the jobs are grouped together, and safety jobs are listed first so the items that protect you on the road are the first ones you see.
![Maintenance task library with vehicle and trailer task categories, add buttons, and seeded jobs.]()
Each job you have already added shows a small marker, a green check labelled **Added**, in place of the add button. That way you can browse the whole list without worrying about adding the same job twice. The marker is worked out per asset and updates as you go, and a progress line at the top tells you how many of the library's jobs you have added so far. There is no need to add everything; take the jobs that match how you travel and leave the rest.
The trailer jobs are labelled to match your region. In Australia and the United Kingdom the trailer is shown as your **Caravan**; in the United States it is shown as your **Trailer**. The job itself is the same whichever label you see.
## Items tuned to your region
The library shows the jobs that apply where you tow, so you are not offered paperwork or checks that belong to another country. The clearest example is the Australian gas certificate, also known as a safety inspection renewal, which appears for Australian users and is hidden from everyone else. Most jobs, including the breakaway-system test and the bearing repack, are useful everywhere and are shown to all regions.
![Australian maintenance task library examples including safety inspection renewal and gas certificate tasks.]()
You do not choose your region on this screen. loadmate reads the region you set when you created your account, and shows the matching jobs and the matching wording for distances and trailer terms. If something looks out of place for where you live, check your region in account settings.
## Add a library task
When a job looks right for your rig, tap it to open a short confirmation sheet. The sheet shows the job's name, a plain description of what it covers, and its suggested schedule, so you can see exactly what you are about to add before you commit to it. Adding from the library is the quick path: the sensible defaults are already filled in, and you can accept them as they stand.
![Add-from-library sheet for a maintenance task with interval and last-completed fields.]()
Three things on the sheet are worth a moment to confirm.
The interval is how often the job comes around, shown as a distance (kilometres, or miles for United States users), a time in days, or both. A bearing repack might be set to every 10,000 kilometres, while a gas certificate might be set to every 12 months. You can accept the suggested figures, or open **Customise intervals** to enter your own.
The trigger mode decides which interval brings the job due. **Whichever first** brings it due as soon as either the distance or the time is reached, **Distance only** counts down on kilometres alone, and **Time only** counts down on days alone. Pick the one that matches how the job is actually scheduled on your rig.
If you know when the job was last done, enter that date, and the odometer reading if you have it. This gives the countdown an accurate starting point, so the next-due date and distance are calculated forward from real work rather than from today. If the job has never been done, you can leave this set to never.
Each job you add belongs to one asset and keeps its own schedule, so an oil change on the tow vehicle and a jockey-wheel grease on the caravan count down independently and do not interfere with each other. A few jobs apply to both the vehicle and the trailer; if you add one of those without a particular asset in view, loadmate asks which asset it belongs to first. Tap **Add task** to save it, and the job joins your task list with its first countdown already running.
Saving a task to your own rig is a Pro feature. You can browse the whole library, open the add sheet, and read every detail as a free, lapsed, or demo user, but the final save needs Pro. Demo rigs come with tasks already in place so you can see how the library works; those demo tasks are there to look at and cannot be changed.
## Create a custom task
If you keep a routine the library does not list, you can build it yourself with **Add custom task**. This is the place for the job that is particular to your rig or your habits, anything from flushing the water system on your own schedule to a one-off reminder to renew a membership before your next big trip. A custom task counts down and behaves exactly like a library task once it is saved.
![Custom maintenance task form with name, asset, category, recurring schedule, and trigger fields.]()
Give the task a clear **title** so you will recognise it later, then choose a **category** that fits, such as water, gas, or service. The category helps the task sit in the right group in your list. The custom task is added to the asset you are working on, the same way a library task is.
The next decision is whether the task repeats. The **Recurring** toggle is the difference between a job you want to keep doing and a single reminder you only need once.
### A recurring job
Turn **Recurring** on for anything you do again and again. The sheet then asks for an interval, a distance, a time in days, or both, and a trigger mode that decides which one brings it due, exactly the same choices as a library task. You can also enter when the job was last done, as a date and an odometer reading, to give the countdown a real starting point. You need to set at least one interval before you can save.
### A one-off reminder
Leave **Recurring** off for a task you only need to be reminded about once. Instead of an interval, you give it a target: a **due date**, a **due odometer**, or both. loadmate works out for itself whether to count down on time, on distance, or on whichever comes first, based on what you entered. A one-off task is tidied away once you mark it done, rather than rolling forward to a next interval.
### A before-every-tow check
The form also carries a **Check before every tow** toggle. Turn it on and the task becomes a pre-trip check instead of a countdown job: it appears on every planned trip's checklist to be ticked off per trip, and it never goes overdue — its date and odometer fields become optional while the toggle is on. This is the right shape for walk-around items like "coupling secured" or "hatches latched". There is also a quicker way to add the common ones in bulk: see [Set up your pre-trip checks](/pre-trip/set-up-your-checks).
Add any **notes** you want to keep with the task, then save. Saving a custom task needs Pro in the same way as a library task, and the task joins your list with its countdown running.
It is usually worth checking the library first, even for a job you think is unusual, because the seeded list runs to well over a hundred common jobs across both the vehicle and the trailer. A library job comes with a sensible interval and description already filled in, which saves you setting everything up by hand. Reach for a custom task when nothing in the library is a fair match, or when the routine is genuinely your own.
## What to do next
Once your jobs are in, the day-to-day work happens in your task list, where you complete jobs, snooze the ones that can wait, and watch the countdowns.
See overdue, due-soon, and on-track jobs in one place, mark them done, and snooze what can wait.
Set your major-service interval so loadmate counts down to your next service.
Record finished work with its date, odometer, cost, and notes.
See how the schedule, tasks, and history fit together in one hub.
# Keep your odometer current
Source: https://docs.loadmate.io/maintenance/keep-odometer-current
Update your odometer on the Update odometer sheet so loadmate keeps distance-based service countdowns accurate. Confirm the estimate or enter a new reading.
Your odometer is the distance reading on your dashboard — the total your vehicle has travelled, shown in kilometres (miles for US users). It is the heartbeat of every distance-based countdown in loadmate. When your next service shows as *due in 1,500 km*, that figure is simply the gap between your current reading and the service mark. If your reading is out of date, the gap is wrong too — so a service can fall due without loadmate warning you in time.
The good news is that you rarely have to think about it. The reading mostly keeps itself current, and loadmate only asks for a hand on the few occasions it needs one. This page explains how it stays current, and how to set it yourself when you want to.
## It mostly stays current on its own
You do not have to log the odometer as a separate chore. It comes along for the ride with the things you already do: when you log a service, complete a maintenance task, or finish a planned trip, the reading you enter — or the distance from the trip — is carried through to your main odometer for you. In everyday use, that keeps the reading roughly in step with your travels without any extra effort.
Between those moments, loadmate estimates your reading for you by adding up the distance of the trips you have finished since you last entered one. It marks an estimated figure as *Estimated*, so you always know whether a number was measured or worked out. There is more on how that estimate works, and when loadmate nudges you to refresh it, on [Odometer reminders and estimates](/maintenance/odometer-reminders).
loadmate only ever moves your odometer forward. If a reading comes in lower than the one already recorded, it is kept safely in your history rather than winding your current figure back. You can see how that works, and how to fix a reading that looks wrong, on [Your odometer history](/maintenance/odometer-history).
## Update it directly when needed
Sometimes you will want to set the reading by hand — after a long drive you did not record as a trip, when you first set your rig up, or simply when loadmate prompts you. You do this on the **Update odometer** sheet. Open it from the maintenance hub (the **More** tab, then **Service & Tasks**), or tap **Update** straight from a reminder when one appears.
![Update odometer sheet showing the current reading at the top and a new reading field with a save button.]()
The sheet shows your current reading at the top, then gives you two simple choices.
Choose **Still about right?** when the figure on screen already looks correct — for example when loadmate is showing a trip-based estimate that matches your dashboard. You confirm it with a single tap on the button, which reads **Confirm — still 78,234 km** with your own reading in place of that example. This freshens the date on your reading without changing the number, which is all loadmate needs to know the estimate is good.
Choose **New reading** to type the exact number from your dashboard. If you are entering a figure you read on an earlier day, set the **Reading date** underneath; a date in the future is not accepted. This records a precise reading and is the most accurate way to bring things up to date.
Whichever you choose, loadmate recalculates your distance-based countdowns straight away, so your service schedule and every task that counts down by distance reflect the new figure the next time you look. The very first time you set a rig up there is only one option, **New reading**, because there is nothing yet to confirm.
Looking at the odometer sheet, your current or estimated reading, and your recent history is open to everyone — free, lapsed, or exploring the demo rig. Saving an update on your own rig is a Pro feature, like the other changes you make in maintenance. The demo rig's figures are real but fixed, so they are there to explore rather than edit.
## Where to go next
A current reading is the foundation for everything distance-based in loadmate. Once it is fresh, these pages show what it feeds into.
See every reading loadmate holds, where each one came from, and how to fix one that looks wrong.
Understand when loadmate nudges you to refresh the reading, and how it estimates in between.
Set your service interval by distance, time, or whichever comes first, so loadmate can count down.
Confirm the odometer before a big trip so your pre-trip checks project forward from a real number.
Before your next long trip, open the maintenance hub and confirm the odometer. If the figure shown looks right, **Still about right?** takes a single tap — and your pre-trip checks and countdowns all work from a fresh number.
# Log a service
Source: https://docs.loadmate.io/maintenance/log-a-service
log a completed service in loadmate with its type, date, odometer, cost and provider, so your maintenance history is kept and your next due dates stay in step.
Log a service when you want to record work you have already had done: the service you just paid for, with its date, the odometer reading at the time, and any notes. The point is not to remember to book the next one here, but to keep a trustworthy record of what was done and when. Each service you log becomes part of your rig's history and, where it matters, nudges your next due dates back into step.
Service records replace the glovebox logbook with something that survives a lost folder. If a paper service booklet goes missing or a workshop stamp fades, the record in loadmate is still there. When you come to sell the rig, or make a warranty claim, that history is yours to show as evidence of how the rig has been looked after.
## Open the log and pick the service type
Open the log-service sheet from the maintenance hub. From the **More** tab choose **Service & Tasks**, then start a new service from the recent service history section — **Log first service** when the history is empty, or **View all** to open your history and log from there. The sheet opens with a short set of fields grouped under **Service**, **Cost**, **Next service due**, and **Details**, so you only fill in what you have to hand.
![Log service sheet with the service type menu expanded to show major service, minor service, oil and filter change, inspection, and other.]()
The first choice is the **Service type**. The options are **Major service**, **Minor service**, **Oil & filter change**, **Inspection**, and **Other**, and the sheet starts on Minor service. Pick whichever best describes the work that was done. The type matters for more than tidy records: a **Major service** is the one that resets your service schedule, which is covered further down this page. If you tow both a vehicle and a trailer, an asset toggle at the top of the sheet lets you say which one the service was for.
If the work you had done does not fit any of the named types, choose **Other**. Nothing is lost by doing so; the record is kept the same way, and you can describe the job in the notes field.
## Set the date and odometer
Next, set when the service happened and what the odometer read at the time. The **Date** field defaults to today, which is right if you are logging the service the same day; tap it to choose an earlier day if you are catching up on a job from a week or a month ago. You cannot pick a date in the future, because a service that has not happened yet is not a record to log.
![Log service sheet showing the service date and odometer at service date fields.]()
The **Odometer at service date** records the distance reading when the work was done, shown in kilometres for Australia, the United Kingdom, and Europe, or miles for the United States. It is optional. If you leave it blank, loadmate fills in a trip-based estimate worked out from your most recent known reading and the trips you have logged since, so a sensible figure is still kept against the record. An estimated reading is marked as such wherever it appears, so you can always tell a figure you typed from one loadmate worked out for you.
If you have the workshop invoice in front of you, type the exact odometer figure from it. An exact reading you enter yourself becomes your rig's current odometer, which keeps every distance-based countdown accurate. A trip-based estimate is kept against this one record only.
## Add cost, provider, notes and receipts
The remaining fields are all optional and are there to make the record more useful to you later. The **Cost** field, under the Cost heading, records what you paid; it is captured and stored against the service so you have it for your own reference. The **Workshop / provider** and **Notes** fields, under Details, let you record who did the work and anything worth remembering, such as parts replaced or advice the mechanic gave you. If you have logged a provider before, the field offers it back as you type, so you do not retype the same workshop each visit.
loadmate stores the cost, provider, and notes for you. It does not contact the workshop, send anything to the provider, or book the work. The provider field is simply a label on your own record, so you can recognise where the service was done when you look back.
If a service record already has receipts or photos attached, they are kept with the record when you edit it. The log-service sheet itself does not add new attachments; you view a record's attachments on its full service detail, opened from your service history. So the place to look back at a receipt is the saved record, not this entry sheet.
## What happens when you save
When you save, the service is added to your service history straight away, so it appears in the recent list on the hub and in the full history. If you logged a **Major service**, loadmate also resets your service schedule to this completion point and works out the next-due date and odometer afresh from your set interval, so the schedule and your history stay in step. A Minor service, oil and filter change, inspection, or other service is recorded but does not move the schedule.
If you entered the odometer yourself, that reading also becomes your rig's current odometer, keeping it up to date as a natural side effect of logging the service rather than as a separate chore. Your Rig Score and the rig's safety findings are marked to refresh, so the next time you open the rig page they take the new service into account. None of this happens instantly behind your back; it simply means the rig page is current the next time you visit. The reading you enter here also appears on [Your odometer history](/maintenance/odometer-history) as a Service reading.
See every service you have logged, edit a record, or pull up evidence for a warranty claim.
Set the interval that drives your next-due date and odometer countdown.
See how logged maintenance feeds into your score and findings.
Saving a service on your own rig requires Pro. Demo data stays visible so you can see how a logged service looks, but it cannot be changed.
# Your odometer history
Source: https://docs.loadmate.io/maintenance/odometer-history
Odometer history keeps every reading loadmate holds, with its source and status. See where each number came from, trace it to its record, and fix a wrong one.
Every odometer reading loadmate holds is kept on a list, with a note of where it came from and what it is doing. Nothing is ever quietly overwritten. That means you can always look back and see how a number was arrived at — and, if a reading is wrong, put it right without losing the rest. This page shows you how to read that history and how to correct it.
## Where to find it
Each vehicle and each caravan keeps its own odometer history. Open the asset's profile from your garage, and on the **Overview** tab you will see an **Odometer history** card showing the last few readings. Tap **View history** to open the full list.
## What each row tells you
Each row is more than a number. You see the distance, and just below it a short line telling you where the reading came from and what it is being used for.
**Where the reading came from:**
* **Manual update** — you typed it in, or confirmed it, on the odometer sheet.
* **Trip** — taken from a trip you finished.
* **Service** — entered when you logged a service.
* **Tyre change** — entered when you recorded a tyre change.
* **Fuel stop** — entered at a fuel stop during a trip.
* **Weigh-in** — entered when you recorded a weigh-in.
**What the reading is doing:**
* **Current** — the reading your countdowns are using right now.
* **History only** — an older or backdated reading, kept for the record; it does not change your current figure.
* **Estimated history** — a past reading loadmate worked out from a trip, rather than one you measured.
* **Correction** — an entry that puts right an earlier reading that was wrong.
* **Updated entry** — a newer version of a reading you changed.
## Open the record behind a reading
Many rows can take you straight to the record they came from, so you can check it. Tap a reading that came from a **Trip** to open that trip; a **Service** reading opens the service record; a **Weigh-in** opens the weigh-in; a **Tyre change** opens that asset's tyre records. A row that can be opened shows a small arrow on the right.
A reading you typed in yourself is not tied to a record, so it does not open anything. And if the record a reading came from has since been deleted, the row shows **Source link unavailable** and simply stays put.
## Fixing a reading that looks wrong
Sometimes a reading you enter is lower than the one already saved — often an older figure you forgot to log at the time. loadmate never winds your odometer back: an older, lower reading simply sits in your history and leaves your current figure alone. It only double-checks with you when a lower reading is dated *today or later*, since that usually points to a typo. Then it shows a **Check odometer reading** message laying out both readings with their dates, so you can decide what to do.
You have up to three choices:
* **Correct entry** — go back and fix the number you just typed. Choose this if it was simply a slip.
* **Use latest reading** — keep the reading already on record. loadmate fills your current figure back into the box for you.
* **Fix setup reading** — this appears when loadmate has estimated trip history built from your first reading that it can rebuild. It opens the setup-repair tool described next.
## When the first reading was wrong
Your very first reading is special: loadmate uses it as the starting point for the estimated trip history it works out for you. So if that first number was typed wrong, those estimates would all be off. When loadmate has built estimated trip rows from your first reading, a **First reading look wrong?** card appears at the top of your history, with a **Fix setup reading** button.
Fixing the setup reading is safe. You enter the correct starting figure, and loadmate rebuilds only the estimated trip rows from it. The readings you typed yourself, and your trips, services, tyre records, fuel stops, and weigh-ins, are all left exactly as they are. loadmate shows you how many estimated rows it will rebuild before you confirm with **Apply fix**.
## Your caravan keeps its own history
Your caravan's distance is its own. It might be towed by a different vehicle, and your vehicle can drive plenty of kilometres without it. So loadmate keeps a separate odometer history for the caravan, opened the same way from the caravan's profile.
When you finish a trip towing the caravan, loadmate moves the caravan's reading forward from the caravan's *own* last reading by the distance of that trip. It does not copy the tow vehicle's number across. That keeps each one accurate on its own terms.
## Where to go next
Add or confirm a reading, and see how the odometer stays current as you travel.
Learn when loadmate nudges you to refresh the reading, and how it estimates in between.
Look back over every service you have logged — many of those readings appear here too.
Open a finished trip to see the distance that moved your odometer forward.
# Odometer reminders and estimates
Source: https://docs.loadmate.io/maintenance/odometer-reminders
odometer reminders in loadmate nudge you when a reading goes stale and estimate your current figure from logged trips, so your countdowns stay reliable.
You do not have to remember to check your odometer. loadmate keeps an eye on the date of your last reading and steps in gently when it is getting old — and in between, it fills the gap with an estimate so your countdowns always have a sensible figure to work from. This page explains how the estimate is worked out and what each reminder means, so nothing takes you by surprise.
## How loadmate estimates between updates
Even before you confirm anything, your distance countdowns need a current figure to count from. So loadmate works one out: it takes your last confirmed reading and adds up the distance of the trips you have finished since. That total is your working figure until you enter a fresh reading.
This is a plain sum of the trips you have recorded — not a clever prediction, and not a guess that learns over time. Because it only counts trips you have logged, it does not know about everyday driving or any towing you did not record, so a reading you confirm yourself is always better. Whenever loadmate is showing a worked-out figure rather than a measured one, it labels it as **Estimated** so you are never in any doubt.
Your caravan is estimated the same way, counted on its own trips — see [Your odometer history](/maintenance/odometer-history) for how each asset keeps its own readings.
## A gentle reminder after about a month
When your last confirmed reading is around a month old, a quiet banner appears near your service schedule on the maintenance hub. It is titled **Odometer needs updating** and shows which figure your distance countdowns are currently using. An **Update** button opens the odometer sheet. It is a courtesy, not a warning: your countdowns keep working from the latest estimate in the meantime.
![Service schedule card on the maintenance hub with the next due odometer and an odometer needs updating reminder.]()
You will see the same gentle prompt as a single item on your [pre-trip checklist](/pre-trip/checklist) when you are getting ready to travel, and in your trip screens when a trip is involved — because that is exactly when a fresh reading matters most.
## A stronger nudge after around three months
If a reading goes a good while longer without an update — around three months — the prompt moves up to your Rig attention feed, the list of things your rig wants you to look at, as a single item asking you to refresh it. By now your figures have been running on an estimate for a while, so a confirmed reading is worth the moment it takes. A quick **Still about right?** or a fresh **New reading** clears it.
These reminders only appear for assets where you are actually tracking maintenance or trips, and they never escalate beyond a calm nudge. loadmate does not book appointments, contact a workshop, or arrange anything on your behalf — keeping the reading fresh is the only thing it asks of you.
## If you have been away
Coming back to loadmate after a season away should not greet you with a wall of stale-reading flags. So if you have not opened the app for a while — about a month or more — it holds these reminders back rather than piling them up. They return gently once you are using the rig again, so you can settle back in first.
## Keeping your due dates accurate
A fresh reading is what makes the whole maintenance picture trustworthy. With the odometer current, your [service schedule](/maintenance/service-schedule) counts down to the real distance remaining before your next service, and every distance-based task shows a countdown you can rely on rather than one quietly running on an old number. With a fresh reading, *due in 800 km* really means 800 km to go. With a stale one, that same figure might have been true thousands of kilometres ago.
Before your next long trip, open the maintenance hub and confirm the odometer. If the figure shown looks right, **Still about right?** takes a single tap — and your pre-trip checks and countdowns all work from a fresh number.
Add or confirm a reading, and see how the odometer stays current as you travel.
See every reading loadmate holds, where each one came from, and how to fix one that looks wrong.
See how a current reading lets your pre-trip checks project forward accurately.
Understand the alerts that appear on your rig, including the odometer nudge.
# Service history
Source: https://docs.loadmate.io/maintenance/service-history
Service history keeps a lasting log of every service across your tow vehicle and trailer in one timeline, to edit records and back up warranty or resale claims.
Service history is the complete, lasting log of every service you have recorded for your rig. The maintenance hub shows only a short preview of your most recent services; this page is the durable record sitting behind that preview, holding everything you have logged. Come here when you are trying to remember when the last brake service happened, when you need a record to support a warranty claim, or when you want to look back over what you have spent on servicing over time. Nothing here expires or rolls off, so it stays a reliable account of the work your rig has had done.
## Your vehicle and trailer, side by side
When you are hitched, service history brings your tow vehicle and trailer together into a single list, ordered by date with the newest service at the top. You do not have to switch between assets to see the whole picture: a brake service on the caravan and an oil change on the tow vehicle sit in the same timeline, in the order they happened. Each row shows the type of service, a small chip telling you whether it belongs to the vehicle or the trailer, the date, the odometer reading, the workshop or provider if you recorded one, and the cost if you entered it.
![Service history list with tow vehicle and caravan records shown together in date order.]()
The asset chip only appears when more than one asset is in view. If you are looking at a single vehicle or a single trailer on its own, the list shows that asset's services without the chip, because there is nothing to tell apart. When you have several assets and have not narrowed the view to one, a filter at the top lets you choose between all of them, your current setup, or one asset at a time. A search box above the list lets you find a record by its type, asset, date, odometer, cost, or provider, which is handy once the history has grown long.
If an odometer reading was worked out from your trips rather than typed in by hand, the row shows a small "Estimated" badge next to it. That simply tells you the figure is a careful estimate, not a reading you entered yourself. You can see every reading, and where each one came from, on [Your odometer history](/maintenance/odometer-history).
## Open a record to read, edit, or delete
Tap any row to open the full service record. The detail view opens as a panel and lays out everything you captured: the service type and a line telling you when it was logged and at what odometer, then a Service details card showing the date, the odometer, the cost if you recorded one, and the provider if you named one. Below that, a Next service due card shows the date and odometer your schedule is currently counting down to, and if you added notes or photos of a receipt, those appear underneath.
![Service record detail with date, odometer, cost, provider, notes, edit, and delete actions.]()
At the foot of the record are two actions. **Edit** reopens the service in the log-a-service form, filled in with what you saved, so you can correct a date, fix an odometer figure, or add a cost you looked up later. **Delete** removes the record for good, after a confirmation step, so you do not lose anything by accident. Editing or deleting a service on your own rig is a Pro feature, so loadmate will prompt you to upgrade if you are not on Pro. You can still open any record and read everything in it without Pro.
Deleting a service record cannot be undone. If the service had updated your odometer when you first logged it, removing it records a matching correction, so only delete a record you genuinely entered in error.
On the demo rig the records are there to explore and you can open any of them, but they are fixed examples. Editing and deleting are switched off for demo data, so you can look without changing anything.
## Using your history for warranty and resale
A complete service history is worth keeping for the moments when someone asks you to prove the rig has been looked after. A warranty claim often turns on showing that scheduled servicing was done on time, and a buyer weighing up your van will pay more for a rig with a clear, unbroken record than for one with a shoebox of faded receipts. Because your history survives a lost folder and travels with you, it is there when you need to point to it.
Be clear about what this record is and is not. Service history captures completed work only: the services you have already had done and logged. It is not a booking diary and it does not reach out to anyone. loadmate keeps the record and counts down to your next service, but it does not book appointments, contact mechanics, or deal with workshops or outside service providers on your behalf. Arranging the work, and keeping any original paperwork your warranty or buyer might ask to see, stays in your hands. For tracking cover and faults alongside your servicing, see [Warranty coverage and issues](/warranty/coverage-and-issues).
## Your units follow your region
Distances in your history follow the region you set, not your device's language. If your region is Australia, the United Kingdom, or Europe, odometer readings show in kilometres (km). If your region is the United States, they show in miles (mi). You do not convert anything yourself; loadmate stores every reading the same way underneath and shows it in the units you expect.
![United States service history showing imperial distance and US currency formatting.]()
Record a completed service so it appears here and your schedule rolls forward.
See your schedule, tasks, and recent history together on the maintenance hub.
See every odometer reading behind these services, and trace or fix one.
# Service & Tasks
Source: https://docs.loadmate.io/maintenance/service-records
Service and Tasks gathers your next major service, recurring task countdowns, and logged history in one hub, so you see what is due before the road.
A service record is useful, but the real value is knowing what comes next. Service & Tasks brings your next major service, your recurring maintenance tasks, the full task list, and your service history together in one place, so you can see what is coming before it becomes a problem on the road. It is a forward-looking hub, not just a logbook: the point is not only to record the work you have done but to surface the work that is due.
To open it, go to the **More** tab and choose **Service & Tasks**. That is the home screen for everything in this section. From there you can set a service schedule, add the jobs you want to track, log work you have completed, and look back over your full history.
loadmate keeps your records and counts down to what is due. It does not book appointments, contact a workshop, or arrange anything on your behalf. Reminders appear on your rig's attention list and through your device's notifications, and booking the work stays in your hands.
## What the hub shows you
Once you are set up, the Service & Tasks hub reads from the top down as a quick status of your rig. Each section answers a different question, so a glance tells you whether anything needs your attention before your next trip.
![Service & Tasks hub filtered to one tow vehicle, with overdue tasks, the service schedule, and an odometer reminder visible.]()
Reading down the screen, you will see:
* **Your tasks at a glance.** A summary of the maintenance jobs you track, showing how many are overdue, due soon, or on track, with a way to open the full list. This is where recurring jobs like greasing the hitch or repacking bearings count down towards their next due point.
* **Your service schedule.** The next major service for the asset, shown as a countdown by distance, by time, or by whichever comes first. It tells you when the next service falls due so you do not have to remember the manufacturer's interval and work back from your last receipt.
* **A reminder if your odometer reading is old.** A gentle banner appears near the schedule when your latest distance reading has gone stale, because every distance-based countdown depends on it. More on this below.
* **Your recent service history.** A short preview of the last few services you have logged, newest first, with a way to open the complete history.
If you have both a tow vehicle and a trailer or caravan, the hub can show them together or let you focus on one at a time, so each asset's schedule and tasks stay clear.
The help icon in the top corner of the hub opens a short explainer of how the whole section fits together. If you are ever unsure what a card is telling you, that is the quickest place to look.
## Your first-time setup checklist
The first time you open Service & Tasks, you will not see a blank screen. Instead, the hub shows a short setup checklist titled **Set up maintenance tracking**, with a small progress chip and a "takes about a minute" estimate. It walks you through the few things loadmate needs before it can count down to what is due.
![First-time Service & Tasks setup checklist with the service schedule, odometer, and maintenance task steps still open.]()
The checklist has up to three steps. You can work through them in any order, and the checklist marks each one done as you complete it.
Set your major-service interval — for example every 10,000 km (or every 6,000 miles for US users), every 12 months, or both. This is what lets loadmate know when your next service is due and count down to it. This step is marked done once an interval is saved.
Pick the jobs you want to track. You can choose from a library of over 100 common caravan and tow-vehicle tasks, each with sensible default intervals, or add a custom one of your own. This step is marked done once you have added a task, or simply opened the task library to look — so browsing first does not hold you up.
Give loadmate a recent distance reading as a starting point. Distance-based reminders need somewhere to count from, so this step appears whenever your schedule or any of your tasks counts down by distance. It is marked done when your latest reading is recent.
All three need to be true before any distance countdown can work, and it helps to understand why. A schedule sets the interval, so loadmate knows how far apart your services are. A task gives loadmate something to count down — without one, there is nothing to track. And a recent odometer reading gives the count somewhere to start from: a distance-based reminder cannot tell you that a service is 1,500 km away if it does not know how far you have travelled. The odometer step only appears when something actually counts down by distance; a purely time-based setup does not need it.
Once the last step is ticked, you will see a brief "you are all set" confirmation, and then the checklist tidies itself away so your schedule, tasks, and history take its place. If one of those inputs later slips — say a reading goes stale again — the checklist quietly comes back to point you at what to top up. It is there to help, not to nag.
## When your odometer reading goes stale
Your odometer is the heartbeat of every distance-based countdown. When the reading you last gave loadmate gets old, the hub shows a gentle reminder near the schedule card that your distance countdowns are based on an ageing figure and would be more accurate with a fresh one. Nothing breaks in the meantime; the reminder is simply asking you to keep the numbers accurate.
![Service schedule card with the next due date, next due odometer, and an odometer needs updating reminder.]()
You usually do not have to update the odometer as a separate chore, because it stays current as a side effect of logging a service, completing a task, or finishing a planned trip. When you do want to top it up directly, the reminder gives you a one-tap way to do it. The full detail on how readings stay current, and when a reminder appears, lives on its own page.
To learn more, see [Keep your odometer current](/maintenance/keep-odometer-current) for how to update it, [Your odometer history](/maintenance/odometer-history) to trace or fix a reading, and [Odometer reminders and estimates](/maintenance/odometer-reminders) for when a reminder appears.
## Get help any time
If you would like a plain-English refresher on how the whole section works, tap the help icon in the top corner of the hub. It opens a short sheet titled **How maintenance tracking works** that explains the moving parts without any jargon.
![How maintenance tracking works help sheet explaining the service schedule, maintenance tasks, and countdowns.]()
The sheet covers three things:
* **Service schedule** — setting your regular service interval, such as every 10,000 km or 12 months, and how loadmate counts down to the next one and reminds you as it approaches.
* **Maintenance tasks** — adding the one-off or recurring jobs you want to track, like greasing the hitch or repacking bearings. You can keep it light or track every job; it is up to you.
* **How countdowns work** — how reminders use distance, time, or whichever comes first, and how logging trips keeps your odometer current so loadmate can recalculate due dates and flag servicing before or during travel.
You can open this help sheet at any time, and it never changes any of your settings.
## Where to go next
Service & Tasks ties several smaller pieces together. Each one has its own page with step-by-step guidance, so head to whichever you need.
Set your major-service interval by distance, time, or whichever comes first, so loadmate can count down to the next service.
Pick from the task library or create your own, so each job gets its own countdown.
Work through overdue, due-soon, and on-track jobs, mark them done, and snooze the ones that can wait.
Record completed work with its date, odometer, and notes, and keep your schedule and history aligned.
Look back over every service you have recorded, for warranty evidence or your own peace of mind.
Understand why the odometer matters and how to keep distance countdowns accurate.
Saving changes on your own rig requires Pro. You can explore the whole hub — the schedule, the task library, your tasks, and your history — as a free, lapsed, or demo user; only saving a real change asks you to upgrade. Demo data stays visible so you can look around, but it cannot be altered.
# Set up your service schedule
Source: https://docs.loadmate.io/maintenance/service-schedule
Set your major-service interval in loadmate by distance, time, or whichever comes first, anchor it to your last service, and watch the next-due countdown.
Your service schedule is your major-service interval kept as a countdown inside loadmate. You tell it how often the big service falls due, such as every 10,000 km or every 12 months, and from then on it counts down to the next one for you. That is the whole job: you no longer have to remember the manufacturer's interval or dig out the last receipt to work out when the next service is coming. This is an in-app reminder, not a workshop booking. loadmate does not contact a mechanic or hold an appointment for you; it simply keeps the figure in front of you so the date does not creep up unnoticed.
## Open the schedule and set your interval
Open the schedule from the Service & Tasks hub: from the **More** tab, choose **Service & Tasks**, then tap the service schedule card. If you have not set one yet, the card invites you to set it up; once a schedule exists, the same card lets you edit it. The sheet that opens asks for a few plain things, and you only fill in the ones that apply to how your service is measured.
![Edit service schedule sheet with trigger mode, distance interval, time interval, last service date, and last service odometer fields.]()
Pick whether the service is due by distance, by time, or by both. This is the first choice on the sheet, and it decides which of the fields below you need to fill in. The next section explains the three options in detail.
If your service is measured by distance, type how far apart the services are, in kilometres (miles for US users), such as 10,000. This field only appears when your countdown uses distance.
If your service is measured by time, choose the number of months between services from the list, such as 6, 12, or 24. If your interval is not one of the listed options, pick **Custom** and type your own number of months.
Enter the date of your last completed major service, and its odometer reading if you have it. This is the starting point loadmate counts forward from, so the next-due figure lines up with the work you have already had done. The date cannot be in the future.
Tap **Save schedule**. loadmate works out your next-due date and odometer from the interval and the last-service anchor, and starts showing the countdown on the hub. If you are editing an existing schedule, you can also tap **Clear schedule** to remove it.
If you leave the last-service odometer blank on a distance schedule, loadmate fills in a trip-based estimate from your logged trips where it can, so you are not stuck if you do not have the exact reading to hand.
Saving a service schedule on your own rig requires Pro. You can open the sheet and work through every field as a free, lapsed, or demo user; only the final save is held back. Demo data shows a realistic schedule you can read and explore, but it cannot be changed.
## Choose how it counts down
A major service can fall due because enough time has passed, because you have covered enough distance, or because either one has arrived. loadmate lets you choose which of these drives your countdown using the trigger mode selector at the top of the sheet. The three options carry the labels below, and the right choice depends on how your manufacturer states the interval.
![Trigger mode selector changing between Whichever first, Distance only, and Time only.]()
The service is due as soon as either the distance or the time arrives, whichever comes around first. This is the default, and it matches the most common way handbooks are written. For example, "every 10,000 km or 12 months, whichever comes first" means a van that sits in the driveway over winter still becomes due on the 12-month mark even though it has barely moved, while a van that tours hard reaches the distance first. You fill in both the distance and the time interval for this mode.
The service is due purely on distance, and time does not enter into it. Choose this when your interval is stated only in kilometres or miles, such as "service every 10,000 km". You fill in the distance interval and loadmate ignores the calendar. Because this mode leans entirely on distance, it relies on your odometer being reasonably current.
The service is due purely on elapsed time, and distance does not enter into it. Choose this for jobs tied to the calendar rather than how far you travel, such as an annual service for a van that does low distances. You choose the number of months and loadmate counts the days forward from your last service.
## Your next service, worked out for you
Once your interval and last-service anchor are in, loadmate does the arithmetic. It adds your time interval to the last-service date to give the next-due date, and adds your distance interval to the last-service odometer to give the next-due odometer. You can see both figures previewed on the sheet before you save, so there are no surprises. After saving, they appear as a countdown on the service schedule card on the hub, ticking down as the date approaches and as you cover distance.
![Service schedule card showing the next service date and odometer due point.]()
If you chose **Whichever first**, both figures show and the one that arrives first is the one that matters. If you chose **Distance only** or **Time only**, you simply see the single figure for that mode. When you later log a major service against this rig, loadmate re-anchors the schedule to that completion date and odometer and recalculates the next-due figures from there, so your countdown rolls forward without you setting it up again. Logging a service is covered on [Log a service](/maintenance/log-a-service).
## Why the odometer matters here
A distance countdown is only as good as the latest odometer reading behind it. If loadmate is working from a reading taken thousands of kilometres ago, the "next due" distance figure drifts away from where you really are. You do not have to update the odometer as a separate chore, because it stays current as a side effect of logging services, completing tasks, and finishing trips. When a reading does go stale, the hub shows a gentle reminder so you can refresh it; see [Odometer reminders and estimates](/maintenance/odometer-reminders) for when that happens and how loadmate estimates in between.
Time-only schedules are unaffected by a stale odometer, since they count the calendar rather than distance. If your schedule uses distance at all, keeping the reading current keeps the countdown accurate. See [Keep your odometer current](/maintenance/keep-odometer-current) for how and when to update it.
Record a completed major service so the schedule re-anchors and your next-due figures roll forward.
Understand why the reading drives every distance countdown, and how loadmate keeps it fresh.
See how the schedule sits alongside tasks, the task library, and your service history.
# Track and complete tasks
Source: https://docs.loadmate.io/maintenance/track-and-complete-tasks
All Tasks lists every maintenance job on your rig in one screen. Filter by overdue, due soon, or snoozed, mark jobs done, and snooze reminders that still count.
All Tasks is the full forward-looking list of maintenance work across your rig, gathered into one screen. It holds every job you are tracking, whether it is overdue, due soon, on track, or snoozed, for both your tow vehicle and your trailer or caravan. Open it from the **More** tab, then **Service & Tasks**, then **View all** on the tasks card. The hub gives you a short summary; this is where you come when you want to manage your reminders as a set, rather than one row at a time.
## Find work fast with the tabs
A row of filter tabs runs across the top of All Tasks so you can jump straight to the work that matters. From left to right they are **Overdue**, **Due soon**, **On track**, **Snoozed**, **Completed**, and **All**, and each tab carries a small count so you can see at a glance how many jobs sit in each group. The list opens on **All** by default, so you start with the whole picture and narrow down from there.
![All tasks screen with overdue, due soon, on track, snoozed, and completed filters.]()
Each tab has a plain meaning. A job is **overdue** once its due date has passed or its due odometer reading has gone by, whichever applies to that task. A job is **due soon** when it is within the lead-in window of its next due point but not yet past it; loadmate treats that window as the **42 days or 1,500 kilometres** (miles for US users) before the job falls due. A job is **on track** when it is neither overdue nor due soon, and **snoozed** when you have set it aside until a date you chose. The **Completed** tab keeps your finished and archived jobs for reference.
A second row of filters separates the two kinds of work: **All**, **Maintenance**, and **Pre-trip checks**. Maintenance covers the due-date and odometer jobs above. Pre-trip checks are your before-every-tow walk-around items — they appear on every trip's checklist, never go overdue, and carry a small "Pre-trip" badge so they are easy to spot in the All view. To set them up or change them, see [Set up your pre-trip checks](/pre-trip/set-up-your-checks).
The point of the tabs is to take the worry out of remembering. If you only ever glance at one, make it **Overdue**, then **Due soon** before a trip. Anything sitting under **On track** is genuinely fine to leave alone — and your pre-trip checks never appear in Overdue at all, because their moment is the trip checklist, not a calendar.
## Open a task to see the detail
Tapping any task row opens its detail screen, which is the full picture of a single job. It shows what the job is, the asset it belongs to, and its current status, along with how it is due: the date it is due by, the odometer reading it is due at, or both, with the closest trigger highlighted. A short "why this is due" panel explains the figures, showing the schedule it follows, when it was last completed, and your current odometer, so the countdown never feels like a black box.
![Maintenance task detail showing interval, last completed information, due status, and task actions.]()
The detail screen is also where you act on a single job. From the action block you can **mark it done**, **edit the task** to adjust its intervals or trigger, **snooze** the reminder, add a **note**, or **archive** the job if you no longer want to track it. Making changes to your own rig requires Pro; you can open and read every part of the detail freely, and saving a change is the only step that asks you to upgrade.
## Mark a task done
To record that a job is finished, use the round check button on the right of the task row, not a tap on the row itself. The check opens the completion sheet, which is a short form that captures the **date** you did the work and the **odometer** reading at the time, with optional fields for the **cost** and a **note**. The date defaults to today and the odometer pre-fills with your latest reading, so for most jobs you simply confirm what is already there and save.
![Animation of opening the task completion sheet, confirming date and odometer, and marking a task done.]()
What happens next depends on the kind of job. A **recurring** job, such as a bearing repack or an oil change, rolls forward: loadmate works out the next due date and odometer from the date and reading you just entered, and the job carries on counting down to that fresh point. The completion sheet shows you that next-due preview before you save, so you can see where the job lands. A **one-off** job, such as a single repair, is archived once you mark it done and moves into the **Completed** tab; the sheet shows a gentle note that this will happen.
Confirming the odometer when you complete a job is worth the extra second. Your odometer is the heartbeat of every distance-based countdown, so an up-to-date reading keeps every other job's "due soon" timing accurate as well.
The completion sheet also keeps **Snooze** and **Archive** tucked under a **Task settings** heading, so you can set a job aside or stop tracking it without leaving the sheet. Saving a completion records a timeline entry and refreshes your Rig Score and safety findings on your next visit, so the rig page reflects the work you have just done.
## Snooze a reminder
Snoozing hides a job from your active lists until a date you pick, without stopping its countdown. You can snooze from the task's detail screen, from the **Task settings** in the completion sheet, or with a long press on the row. loadmate suggests a short delay, and you choose the date you want to be reminded again. The job moves out of **Overdue**, **Due soon**, or **On track**, and into the **Snoozed** tab, where its row reads **Snoozed until** the date you set.
![All tasks Snoozed tab showing a Major service row with Snoozed until 20 July 2026.]()
The important thing to understand is that the underlying countdown keeps ticking the whole time. Snoozing only quiets the reminder; it does not move the real due date or due odometer. When the date you chose passes, the job leaves the **Snoozed** tab on its own and returns to its true status, so a job that was already overdue when you snoozed it comes back as overdue, not as fresh.
Snoozing is for tidying your view, not for buying time on safety-critical work. A snoozed brake or bearing job is still overdue underneath, and loadmate will surface it again the moment the snooze runs out. Snooze to declutter, not to forget.
Reminders surface through the rig attention feed and through your device's notifications. loadmate cannot guarantee a notification arrives if those are switched off at the device level, and it does not book the work or contact a workshop for you, so the booking always stays in your hands. To see and act on alerts from across the app in one place, see [Activity and alerts](/tools/activity-and-alerts).
Build your task list from the library of common jobs, or add a custom one.
Find every reminder and notification from across the app in one feed.
See which maintenance jobs fall due before or during your planned trip, alongside your own walk-around checks.
# The pre-trip checklist
Source: https://docs.loadmate.io/pre-trip/checklist
loadmate's pre-trip checklist flags the readiness items for one trip - tyre age, service timing, load changes - so you clear them before you hitch up.
The pre-trip checklist is a quiet readiness review for one planned trip. It looks at the rig you are taking and the dates you are travelling, then shows the things worth your attention before you leave — in two groups. First, anything the app has **found** for these dates: a service falling due, a tyre ageing out, a load that changed since your last weigh-in. Below that, **your own pre-trip checks**: the walk-around jobs you choose to do before every tow, ready to tick off one by one.
It is not a score, and it is not a nag. It is a second pair of eyes on the numbers you have already entered, plus a home for the routine you already do at the drawbar — so you can clear one short list before you hitch up.
The checklist can only see saved data for the first group. Your eyes still own the physical check — which is exactly what the second group is for.
## Open trip readiness
Readiness lives on the planned trip itself, not on a separate screen. To find it:
Tap **Trips** in the main navigation. Your planned trips are listed with their dates and a short countdown.
Tap the trip to open its detail. You will see the route, the countdown to departure, the estimated distance, the rig you have selected, and the readiness section for that trip.
Scroll to the readiness area. It shows either a short list of outstanding items or an all-clear state, depending on how close you are to leaving and what loadmate can see.
### Why the list grows as departure nears
The checklist becomes live as departure approaches. About two weeks before you leave, loadmate starts re-checking the trip. It combines what is already on your Rig with items it expects to matter by your travel dates. The outstanding items then begin to appear.
A trip more than about two weeks out shows the countdown instead of a live list. That far ahead there is nothing useful to act on. Tyres have not aged, services are not yet due, and loads have not drifted in a way you can fix today. As the dates get closer, the items the trip cares about appear, so you have time to act.
Anything with a due date that lands **between today and your departure day** shows up as "due before you leave", so a service booked-in window or a task deadline never hides in the gap between now and the trip itself. Work that falls due mid-trip appears too, using the trip's dates and expected distance.
The checklist is trip-aware, but it is not cut off from the rest of your rig. It can include trip-window checks **and** selected current rig findings that matter before departure, such as tyres, service timing, warranty timing, or a load that has changed since your last weigh-in. The Rig tab remains the main home for your full attention feed; the checklist is the slice that matters for *this* trip.
## Review the two groups
The readiness section is split into two labelled groups, because they are two different kinds of work:
**Needs attention before you go** lists what the app has found for these dates — service or task timing, tyre age, warranty expiry, a stale odometer, a load that changed since your last weigh-in. These are exceptions: on a well-kept rig this group is often just a single green line reading "Nothing due before this trip."
**Your pre-trip checks** lists the walk-around jobs you have chosen to do before every tow — coupling secured, chains crossed, breakaway connected, lights working, and whatever else you add. This group belongs to you: it shows a simple "2 of 8 done" style label and comes back fresh for every trip. If you have not set any up yet, the card here offers to start you off — see [Set up your pre-trip checks](/pre-trip/set-up-your-checks).
Away from the trip itself, the strips on the Trips list and the Rig page show a plain count of what is still pending, such as "3 pre-trip checks pending", and turn into a green "No outstanding checks" strip once you are clear.
Readiness is **checklist-derived, not a second score**. It tells you whether anything needs attention before this trip. It does not try to grade your readiness out of 100. Your Rig Score is shown separately and measures something different: the safety of the rig itself.
## Tick items off
Every row has a round tick control on the left. One tap marks it done **for this trip**; tap again to undo. Ticked rows stay visible, greyed and struck through, and sink to the bottom of their group so what is left stays at the top. Your ticks are saved with the trip, so they are still there if you close the app or pick the trip up on another device.
Your pre-trip checks reset for every trip — ticking "Coupling secured" today does not tick it for next month's trip, because you will check it again then. That is the point of a routine.
Ticking an item here does **not** update your maintenance records. If you actually completed a service or finished a task, use the row's **View** or **Log service** action to record it properly — that clears it everywhere, permanently, and keeps your service history accurate. The tick is for "handled for this trip", nothing more.
As you tick, the trip's pending count comes down everywhere at once — the checklist, the Trips list strip, and the Rig page trip card all read the same tally.
Opening a planned trip and reading its readiness checklist is free, so you can always see the shape of the list. Creating, editing, starting, cancelling, or deleting a trip, and logging a fuel stop, are saved actions that need active Pro. Demo trips show the full checklist and let you try ticking, but demo ticks are not saved — they reset when you leave.
## What can appear
The checklist draws from a few sources, each owned by the matching part of the app. It favours the things that matter before *this* departure. It pulls in current rig findings only when they are relevant to the trip. Below is what you might see, and why each one earns a place on the list.
When a trip is departing soon and you have changed what you are carrying since your last weigh-in that included loads, the checklist flags it. Packing for a trip is exactly when your weight estimates drift away from your last measured reading. A full water tank here, a generator left behind there. This item points you back to the changed loads so you can review them. For how moves and fills are compared against your baseline, see [Review load changes](/loads/load-changes).
If a service or a maintenance task is already overdue, falls due **before you leave**, or falls due across your travel dates, it appears here. loadmate checks the due date against today through to your trip end, and the due odometer against the trip's expected distance. That way, work due in the run-up or mid-trip shows up while you can still act on it, instead of catching you halfway there. The tow vehicle is always checked. The trailer is checked when it is hitched.
The recurring walk-around checks you have set up — from the common list or written yourself — appear on every trip's checklist as their own group. They carry no due dates and never go overdue; they are simply there to be ticked off before each tow. To add, remove, or change them, see [Set up your pre-trip checks](/pre-trip/set-up-your-checks).
Tyres age by date, not just by tread. If a tyre would cross its regional age warning or critical threshold by the end of the trip, the checklist looks ahead and flags it. Missing tyre details the rig needs, such as size, load rating, manufacturing date, or an installed date from a tyre-change record, also appear here. That way you can complete the profile before departure, rather than guess on the road.
If your tow vehicle's odometer reading is 30 or more days old when distance-based planning matters for the trip, the checklist shows a gentle reminder to update it. A current reading keeps the service and task timing accurate. Those countdowns depend on knowing where the odometer actually sits today. For how loadmate estimates between updates and when this reminder appears, see [Odometer reminders and estimates](/maintenance/odometer-reminders).
If a warranty coverage date is set to expire between your trip start and trip end, the checklist flags it. You can then act before cover lapses partway through the trip, by logging any issue or planning around it.
The checklist does **not** print a single recommended tyre pressure for every rig. Cold pressure depends on your own tyres, your load, and the manufacturer or placard guidance for your setup. So pressure is handled on the tyre screens, not as a one-size pre-trip number. See [Pressure and load](/tyres/pressure-and-load).
## Act on an item
Every app-found item is a way in, not a dead end. Its **View** and **Log** actions take you to the screen where the fix actually lives, so real work gets recorded properly instead of only ticked for the trip.
* A **service** item opens the service record. Where it is available, a service row also offers a direct "Log service" shortcut.
* A **tyre** item opens the tyre profile so you can add the missing detail or review the age.
* A **load-change** item opens your changed loads so you can review what moved since the last weigh-in.
* A **warranty** or **odometer** item opens the screen that owns that data.
Make the change on that screen, then come back to the trip. The next time you read the readiness section, the item you handled has dropped off and the count is lower.
A clear checklist means only that loadmate has no visible readiness items for this trip **from the data it can see**. It is not a guarantee that the rig is safe to tow. Always finish with the ordinary walk-around and source checks you would do before any tow.
## Clear or set aside an item
There are three ways an item leaves the outstanding tally, and they mean different things:
* **Fix it at the source.** Log the service, complete the task, update the tyre detail. The item drops off everywhere, permanently, because the underlying issue is gone.
* **Tick it off.** Marks it handled for this trip only. Ticked rows dim and sink; your records are untouched.
* **Dismiss it.** For app-found items that do not really apply to this trip, a **Dismiss** control clears the row from readiness counts. Some safety-critical items cannot be dismissed, so the control will not be there for them. Dismissing is not a service record either — if the underlying issue is still real, it stays in your full attention feed on the Rig tab.
Your own pre-trip checks are tick-only — there is nothing to dismiss, because you put them there yourself. Remove one you no longer want from [Set up your pre-trip checks](/pre-trip/set-up-your-checks) and it stops appearing on future trips.
When everything is fixed, ticked, or set aside, the section shows the all-clear state. Read that as "no items loadmate is tracking for this trip". It is a quiet, plain signal, not a safety certificate.
### The Rig page calms down with you
The trip card on the Rig page reads the same tally as the checklist. While checks are outstanding it shows an amber "checks pending" strip and, close to departure, an attention card asking you to review the list — turning red only when you are within a day of leaving **and** something outstanding is itself a red-level finding. Once the checklist is clear, both go green and quiet: "No outstanding checks" and a calm "you're all set" card. If a trip alert ever looks urgent, the checklist behind it will show you exactly why — the two can no longer disagree.
## After the trip: share the summary
Sharing happens **after** a trip, not before. There is no pre-departure share or export of the readiness checklist. The checklist is for getting you ready, not for sending on.
Once a trip is completed, you can share it as a quick line of text from the completed trip. For the full flow, see [Share a trip summary](/trips/share-trip-summary).
Choose the walk-around checks you want on every trip's checklist, from the common list or your own.
Set up a planned trip with a destination and dates so you get a readiness checklist before you leave.
Once a trip is done, share it as a quick line of text from the trip.
**Try it now.** Open the Trips tab, tap an upcoming trip, and read its outstanding readiness items. Pick just one, say a tyre detail or a service that falls due mid-trip. Follow it through to its screen and fix it there. That is the whole habit: clear the visible items at their source before you leave.
## The walk-around still belongs to your eyes
The app cannot see your coupling, your mirrors, or your awning, and it never will. What it can do is hold your walk-around list so nothing gets skipped on a distracted morning: coupling locked, safety chains crossed, breakaway connected, lights and indicators working, tyres visibly sound, hatches and step stowed, gas secured, everything on the roof tied down.
Put those in [your pre-trip checks](/pre-trip/set-up-your-checks) once, and every trip gives you the same list to tick as you physically confirm each one at the rig. The tick records that *you looked* — it is your eyes doing the checking, with the app just keeping count.
loadmate helps you work from the numbers you enter. Keep your source documents handy, and use a weighbridge, truck scale, or local authority when you need official evidence.
# Set up your pre-trip checks
Source: https://docs.loadmate.io/pre-trip/set-up-your-checks
Choose the walk-around checks loadmate puts on every trip's pre-trip checklist - pick from the common list or add your own, and tick them off per trip.
Most caravanners run the same ritual before every tow: coupling, chains, breakaway, lights, gas, steps. Your pre-trip checks put that ritual in the app, so every planned trip's checklist carries your list ready to tick off at the rig — and nothing gets skipped on a distracted morning.
These checks are deliberately different from maintenance tasks. They have **no due dates and never go overdue**. They do not nag you between trips. They simply appear on each trip's checklist, you tick them as you physically confirm each one, and they come back fresh for the next trip.
## Find the setup screen
There are two ways in, and they land in the same place:
Open a planned trip and scroll to the readiness section. If you have no checks set up yet, the **Your pre-trip checks** group shows a "Set up your pre-trip checks" card — tap it.
Open **More → Maintenance** and tap the **Pre-trip checks** row. It shows how many checks you have set up for the selected vehicle or trailer.
## Add checks from the common list
Tap **Add checks** to open the picker: a dozen of the most common walk-around checks — coupling secured, safety chains crossed, breakaway cable and battery, lights and indicators, tyre pressures looked over, gas bottles off, aerial down, steps and stabilisers up, hatches latched, load secured, mirrors adjusted, jockey wheel stowed.
Tick the ones that match your rig and confirm. Each becomes a pre-trip check for this vehicle or trailer. Checks you have already added show pre-ticked and cannot be added twice.
## Add your own
Your rig has its own quirks — the bike rack strap, the fridge latch, the padlock on the toolbox. Tap **Add your own**, type a short name, and it joins the list. Keep the wording the way you would say it out loud at the rig; you are the one reading it at 7am.
## How they behave on a trip
On every planned trip's checklist, your checks appear as their own group with a simple "3 of 8 done" label. One tap ticks a check for that trip; tap again to undo. Ticks are saved with the trip, and the whole list resets for the next one — because you will do the walk-around again then.
They also stay accurate in the counts: outstanding checks are included in the trip's "checks pending" tally on the Trips list and the Rig page, so ticking them calms those surfaces too. For the full checklist behaviour, see [The pre-trip checklist](/pre-trip/checklist).
Pre-trip checks live alongside your maintenance tasks. In **All Tasks** they appear under their own **Pre-trip checks** filter with a small badge, so they never muddle your due-date work. In the task form, the **Check before every tow** toggle is what makes a task behave this way — you can turn it on for an existing task too, and its due dates become optional while it is on.
## Remove or change a check
On the Pre-trip checks screen, each row has a remove control. Removing a check you added here takes it off future trip checklists entirely. Removing the flag from a task you created yourself in Maintenance simply returns it to being a normal task — its due dates and history stay put.
Removing a check never touches trips you have already completed, and it is not a safety sign-off — it just means you no longer want the app keeping count of that one.
The list keeps count; **your eyes do the checking**. A ticked walk-around is a record that you looked, not a substitute for looking. Nothing on this screen inspects your rig.
Where your checks appear before each trip, alongside anything the app found for your dates.
Due-date and odometer-based jobs live here — the other half of keeping the rig ready.
**Try it now.** Open More → Maintenance → Pre-trip checks, add the five checks you already do from the common list, then open your next planned trip. Your ritual is now on the checklist, ready to tick at the drawbar.
loadmate helps you work from the numbers you enter. Keep your source documents handy, and use a weighbridge, truck scale, or local authority when you need official evidence.
# Free and Pro
Source: https://docs.loadmate.io/pricing-account/free-and-pro
loadmate Free vs Pro: explore a demo rig for free, or upgrade to the annual Pro plan to save your own vehicles, weigh-ins, Rig Score, and maintenance.
loadmate has two plans. Free is for exploring the app and a demo rig from your region. Pro is for saving and maintaining your own vehicles, trailers, loads, weigh-ins, tyres, maintenance, and warranty records.
## Free
Free gives you the whole product on demo data. You sign in, pick a demo rig that matches your region, and explore every screen as if the data were your own.
On Free you can:
* Explore a fully populated demo rig from your region, with a banner reminding you that you are looking at a demo profile rather than your own setup.
* See every feature on that demo data, including the Rig Score, compliance checks, loads, weigh-ins, trips, maintenance, and tyres.
* Open the create and edit screens to see how they work. The demo data is read-only, so you can tap through freely without changing anything.
The free experience is the trial. There is no separate signup for a limited version, and your safety information stays free.
Your safety score and compliance checks are always free, including after a Pro subscription ends.
## Pro
Pro is the annual subscription that lets loadmate manage your own rig. Upgrading is simple: the first time you try to save your own rig data, such as adding your first vehicle or trailer, the upgrade sheet appears with the Pro price for your region and a one-tap upgrade. You can also start or manage it any time from More -> Settings -> Subscription; see [Manage your subscription](/pricing-account/manage-subscription).
With Pro you can:
* Add your own vehicle and trailer and keep them saved.
* See a live Rig Score on your real setup, recalculated every time you change something.
* Save weigh-in reports and use them to calibrate your setup.
* Track a weight distribution hitch.
* Keep tyre profiles, maintenance records, and warranty records for your own assets.
* Plan trips with a pre-trip checklist.
There are no feature tiers inside Pro. One annual price gives you the full product on your own data.
If you already had Pro and reinstall loadmate or move to a new phone, use Restore purchases to re-link your subscription without paying again.
## What happens when Pro lapses
If a Pro subscription ends, your own data is not deleted. You keep reading your vehicle, trailers, loads, trips, and history, and a banner explains that your subscription has ended. loadmate does not reload demo profiles over your real rig.
While Pro is lapsed, write actions wait until you renew. You can still open many screens and review what you have saved, but saving changes to your own rig data prompts you to renew first. Your safety information stays visible the whole time.
To renew, open the subscription screen. See [Manage your subscription](/pricing-account/manage-subscription) for the steps.
## Pricing wording
Pro is an annual subscription, billed once per year per region. There is no monthly billing, no free trial, and no introductory or limited-time pricing. The free experience is the trial.
When you reach a Pro action, the upgrade sheet shows the annual Pro price for your region and an upgrade action. You can subscribe, restore an existing purchase, or dismiss the sheet and return to what you were doing.
To see the upgrade sheet, open any action that saves your own rig data, such as adding your first vehicle.
## Related
* [Explore the demo rig](/getting-started/demo-rig)
* [Manage your subscription](/pricing-account/manage-subscription)
# Manage your subscription
Source: https://docs.loadmate.io/pricing-account/manage-subscription
Check your loadmate plan status, restore a purchase after a reinstall or new phone, and manage or cancel Pro billing through the App Store or Google Play.
loadmate shows your plan status inside the app. The billing behind it — the payment, the renewals, and any cancellation — is handled by the store account that bought Pro, either Apple's App Store or Google Play. That split keeps your subscription in a place you already trust, so a new card or a new phone never puts your data at risk. This page explains how to read your status in loadmate, and what to do when something needs a hand.
## Check your plan status
Open the **Subscription** screen from your settings. loadmate names your plan and, where it applies, when it renews.
There are three things the screen might show you under **CURRENT PLAN**:
* **Free** — listed as a research tool, with an upgrade card below it. You can read your status, look at your rig, and explore freely, but saving changes to your own rig is a Pro feature.
* **loadmate Pro** — your active subscription, with a renewal line that reads **Renews** followed by the date your plan next bills. That date is shown in the format for the region you chose in loadmate.
* **Lifetime** — a one-off purchase that never renews. The plan still reads **loadmate Pro**, with the line **Lifetime — No renewal needed** below it. Because there is nothing to renew, there is no store link to manage.
Your renewal date is shown in your chosen region's date format, but the price and currency come from the store, not from loadmate. Changing your region inside loadmate changes how figures are displayed; it does not change what the store charges you or when.
## Restore a purchase
If you have already bought Pro but loadmate shows you as Free — most often after reinstalling the app or setting up a new phone or tablet — you do not need to buy it again. The **Restore purchases** link, near the bottom of the Subscription screen, relinks the Pro you already own.
Restore works with the store account that is already signed in on your device. loadmate does not choose or switch accounts for you, so it is worth a quick check first.
On an iPhone or iPad, open the device **Settings**, tap your name at the top, and check it is the Apple Account that bought Pro. On an Android phone or tablet, open the **Google Play** store, tap your profile picture, and confirm the right Google Account is selected. If the wrong account is signed in, switch it there — that part lives in your device's own settings, not inside loadmate.
Back in loadmate, tap **Restore purchases**. The subtitle reminds you: **Reinstalled? Tap to restore your Pro access.** loadmate checks your connection, then asks the store to confirm what you own.
If your purchase is found, loadmate shows **Purchases restored** and your Pro access comes back. If nothing is found, it shows **No purchases found to restore.** — usually a sign you are signed in to the wrong store account, so go back and check the first step.
Restoring needs a connection. If you are offline, loadmate shows a no-connection message rather than failing quietly — reconnect and tap **Restore purchases** again.
## Manage or cancel in the store
When your plan is active **loadmate Pro**, the Subscription screen shows a link to manage it. On an iPhone or iPad it reads **Manage subscription in App Store Settings**; on an Android device it reads **Manage subscription in Google Play Subscriptions**. Tapping it opens the store's own subscription page, where you can change your payment method, switch plans, or cancel.
This link appears only when you are on an active **loadmate Pro** plan. A **Lifetime** purchase never renews, so it shows no manage link — there is nothing to cancel or renew. Cancelling, refunds, and payment changes all happen in the store itself; loadmate simply opens the right page for you.
## When a renewal fails
If a renewal payment does not go through — an expired card is the usual culprit — your plan lapses. loadmate shows a caution banner at the top of the Subscription screen that reads **Your Pro subscription couldn't renew. Update your payment method to continue.**
Nothing is deleted. Your rig, your history, and everything you have recorded stay exactly where they are, and you can still open the app and read it all. What pauses is saving new changes, until the payment is sorted out. On a phone or tablet, the banner includes a **Manage subscription** link straight to the store, so you can update your card and pick up where you left off.
## Buying happens in the apps, not on the web
Subscribing to Pro happens inside the loadmate apps on a phone or tablet — not in the browser. If you open loadmate on the web, the Subscription screen shows a card that reads **Purchases are available on the iOS and Android apps. Open loadmate on your phone or tablet to subscribe.** Restoring a purchase is also app-only.
![Web subscription fallback card explaining that purchases are available on iOS and Android apps.]()
To subscribe or restore Pro, use the app on your phone or tablet. You can still read your status on the web — only the buying and restoring live in the apps.
## If your status looks wrong
Sometimes loadmate can look as though it has forgotten your Pro — usually right after a reinstall, a new device, or a lapsed payment. Work through these in order. Most of the time the first or second step fixes it.
loadmate confirms your subscription with the store over the internet. If you are offline or on a weak signal, your status can read low. Reconnect, then close and reopen the Subscription screen. There is more on connection issues on [No connection](/troubleshooting/no-connection).
Make sure your device is signed in to the same store account that bought Pro, then tap **Restore purchases**. This is the single most common fix after a reinstall or a device change.
If your status is still wrong after a good connection and a restore, get in touch with support at [hello@loadmate.io](mailto:hello@loadmate.io) and tell us what you see on the Subscription screen.
## Where to go next
Your plan decides what you can save, so it is worth knowing how the pieces fit together. These pages cover the rest.
See exactly what comes with Free and what Pro unlocks, so you can decide what suits the way you travel.
Set up the account that holds your rig and carries your Pro access across your devices.
Understand what loadmate does when you are offline, and why a weak signal can affect your plan status.
loadmate never processes your payment, cancels your plan, or issues refunds — Apple and Google handle all of that through the store account that bought Pro. loadmate only shows your status, opens the right store page, and relinks a purchase you already own. Your recorded data stays safe whatever your plan is doing.
# Australia references
Source: https://docs.loadmate.io/regions/australia
Australian towing terms in loadmate: GVM, GCM, ATM, GTM, tare, and tow ball mass. Match each plate or weighbridge figure to the right field for Australia.
When your region is set to Australia (in More -> Settings -> Region & Units), loadmate uses Australian towing terms throughout the app. The labels you see match what is stamped on your vehicle compliance plate (the metal plate in the engine bay or door frame), your trailer plate, and your manual, so you can read a number off the document and enter it into the matching field without translating it in your head.
Use the labels on your vehicle plate, trailer plate, manual, and measured ticket. Enter the matching loadmate field using the AU terms shown in the app.
## Common terms
loadmate shows these Australian terms when your region is Australia. Each one names a figure you can read off a plate, a manual, or a weighbridge ticket.
* **GVM (Gross Vehicle Mass)** — the maximum loaded weight of your tow vehicle, stamped on the vehicle compliance plate.
* **GCM (Gross Combination Mass)** — the maximum combined weight of the tow vehicle and the loaded trailer together.
* **ATM (Aggregate Trailer Mass)** — the maximum loaded weight of the trailer or caravan when it is not coupled to the vehicle.
* **GTM (Gross Trailer Mass)** — the loaded trailer weight carried by the trailer axles when it is coupled to the vehicle.
* **Tare weight** — the empty, unladen weight of the trailer.
* **Tow ball mass** — the downward weight the coupling puts on the tow ball. This is the most safety-critical figure in the app, so getting the label right matters.
loadmate also uses Australian spelling and metric units in this region: kilograms (kg) for weight, litres (L) for tank and fuel volumes, kilometres (km) for distance, and kPa for tyre pressure. Spelling follows the Australian set, such as tyre, kerb, and colour.
In the United Kingdom and the United States the same physical figures carry different names. For example, tow ball mass (AU) is nose weight (UK) and tongue weight (US). loadmate swaps the whole set when you change region, so you only ever see one market's terms at a time.
## Common mix-ups
* Do not confuse **ATM** with **GTM**. ATM is the loaded trailer when it is not coupled. GTM is the weight carried by the trailer axles when it is coupled.
* Do not put trailer **ATM** into the vehicle **GVM** field. Vehicle limits come from vehicle documents.
* Do not use **tare weight** as the loaded limit. Tare is the empty reference weight.
* Do not treat **tow ball mass** as the whole trailer weight. It is only the downward load at the coupling.
* Do not copy a brochure value over the plate if the two disagree. Check the physical plate first.
## Where to find ratings
Most of the numbers loadmate asks for come straight off a document you already have:
* **Vehicle compliance plate** — GVM, GCM, kerb weight, and the braked towing capacity for your tow vehicle.
* **Trailer or caravan plate** — ATM, GTM, and tare weight for the trailer.
* **Tow bar and coupling labels** — the maximum tow ball mass your hardware is rated for.
* **Owner's manual** — figures that are not on a plate, and the recommended tyre pressures for your load.
* **A measured weighbridge ticket** — the actual loaded weights and tow ball mass once your rig is packed.
Enter each figure into the field with the matching Australian label. When the app's label agrees with the document in front of you, you can be confident the number is going in the right place.
Adding your own trailer and saving these Australian ratings against it is part of setting up a rig. See [Add a tow vehicle](/vehicles/add-tow-vehicle) and [Add a trailer](/vehicles/add-trailer) to enter your plate figures.
## Use this with source documents
loadmate compares the figures you enter against the ratings on your plates and tells you where you stand against those limits. It uses the National Heavy Vehicle Regulator (NHVR) terminology as the national reference for Australian towing.
For state-level road rules or permit questions, check the current official source for the place you tow. For measured weight evidence, use a certified weighbridge.
loadmate helps you work from the numbers you enter. Keep your source documents handy, and use a weighbridge, truck scale, or local authority when you need official evidence.
# Europe references
Source: https://docs.loadmate.io/regions/europe
European towing terms made clear: match maximum authorised mass on EU plates and type-approval papers to loadmate GVWR, GTWR, and GCWR limits in metric units.
When your region is set to Europe, loadmate uses metric units and the international shorthand labels shown in the app: GVWR for the tow vehicle limit, GTWR for the trailer limit, and GCWR for the combined limit. European plates and type-approval documents may use longer "maximum mass" wording, so match the rating type and number carefully before entering it.
## Common terms
European documents often use "maximum mass" or "maximum authorised mass" wording. These are the terms to match against loadmate's labels:
* **GVWR** — the vehicle's loaded limit in loadmate; look for the vehicle's maximum authorised mass or maximum mass.
* **GTWR** — the trailer's loaded limit in loadmate; look for the trailer's maximum authorised mass or maximum mass.
* **GCWR** — the combined vehicle-and-trailer limit in loadmate; look for maximum mass of the combination.
* **Towable mass** — the towing limit for the vehicle.
* **Static vertical load on the coupling point** — the downward load at the coupling.
* **Mass in running order** — the empty or ready-to-run mass used before you add loads.
* **Axle mass** — the limit on each axle or axle group.
Weights are shown in kilograms (kg), distances in kilometres (km), lengths in millimetres (mm), volumes in litres (L), and tyre pressures in kPa unless your local document uses another unit.
## Where to find ratings
Start with the physical source:
* Vehicle statutory plate or label for maximum mass, combination mass, VIN, and axle limits.
* Vehicle manual or type-approval document for towable mass and coupling details.
* Trailer statutory plate for maximum mass and coupling load.
* Tyre sidewall and placard for tyre size, load index, age, and pressure guidance.
* Measured weighbridge ticket for actual loaded weights.
If a document uses a local-language label you are unsure about, match the number and context carefully before entering it. Do not copy a trailer limit into a vehicle field just because the numbers look similar.
## Common mix-ups
* Do not confuse the vehicle's own maximum authorised mass with the combination limit.
* Do not use trailer empty mass as the trailer loaded limit.
* Do not treat the coupling load as the full trailer weight. The static vertical load on the coupling point is only the downward load at the coupling — the same figure called nose weight in the United Kingdom, tow ball mass in Australia, and tongue weight in the United States.
* Do not use a brochure weight when the plate or type-approval document gives a different value.
## Official-source boundary
European type-approval rules define what appears on statutory plates and approval documents, but member-state road, licensing, inspection, and enforcement rules can differ. loadmate surfaces the values you enter and checks them against the limits it can calculate.
For official source material, start with EUR-Lex type-approval and statutory-plate material, including [Regulation (EU) No 19/2011](https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/?uri=CELEX:32011R0019) for manufacturer statutory plates and [Regulation (EU) No 1230/2012](https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/?uri=CELEX:32012R1230) for masses and dimensions terminology. Then check the road or licensing authority for the country where you tow.
## Try it now
Set your region to Europe, then open the Garage tab and tap your vehicle or trailer. Check that the labels read GVWR, GTWR, and GCWR with metric units, then match those fields to the equivalent rating types on the documents you have in front of you.
loadmate helps you work from the numbers you enter. Keep your source documents handy, and use a weighbridge, truck scale, or local authority when you need official evidence.
# United Kingdom references
Source: https://docs.loadmate.io/regions/united-kingdom
UK towing terms in loadmate match your plates: set MAM, GTW, MTPLM, MiRO, and nose weight using the labels on your tow car, towbar, and caravan documents.
When your region is set to United Kingdom (in More -> Settings -> Region & Units), loadmate uses UK towing terms throughout the app. The labels you see on each field match the words on your vehicle plate, handbook, trailer plate, and caravan documents, so you can copy figures across without translating them in your head.
## Common terms
These are the UK terms loadmate uses for the main weights and ratings. Each one maps to a figure you already have on a document or plate.
* Maximum Authorised Mass (MAM): the laden weight limit for your tow car. It is the figure you check your loaded weight against.
* Gross Train Weight (GTW): the combined limit for the tow car and caravan together when both are laden.
* Maximum Technically Permissible Laden Mass (MTPLM): the laden weight limit for your trailer or caravan.
* Mass in Running Order (MiRO): the trailer or caravan empty weight, used as the baseline before you add loads.
* Nose Weight: the downward load the coupling puts on the tow ball. This is the single most safety-relevant figure to get right.
A few supporting terms appear on the same screens:
* Kerbweight is the empty weight of the tow car.
* Max Towing Limit is the towing capacity of the tow car.
* Maximum Permitted Noseweight is the limit your tow car and towbar can carry at the coupling.
* The trailer is called a caravan, the tow vehicle is the tow car, and the place you weigh is the weighbridge.
Coupling load is named differently in each region. In the UK it is nose weight; in Australia it is tow ball mass (TBM); in the United States it is tongue weight. loadmate shows the UK term when your region is United Kingdom.
Weights are shown in kg and lengths in mm, matching what you read off UK plates and documents.
## Common mix-ups
* Do not confuse **MAM** with **MTPLM**. MAM is the tow car loaded limit. MTPLM is the caravan or trailer loaded limit.
* Do not use **MiRO** as the loaded limit. MiRO is the empty or running-order mass before your added loads.
* Do not treat **nose weight** as the full caravan weight. It is only the downward load at the coupling.
* Do not use a driving-licence towing rule as a replacement for the plate value. The app needs the rating printed for the vehicle or caravan.
## Where to find ratings
Each UK term comes from a source you can read directly. Use these when you set up your rig or check the values loadmate carries.
* MAM, Kerbweight, and Max Towing Limit: the tow car's VIN or chassis plate and the handbook.
* Maximum Permitted Noseweight: the towbar plate or the towbar fitting instructions.
* MTPLM and MiRO: the caravan or trailer plate and the caravan documents.
* Measured nose weight: a separate reading taken with a nose weight gauge, or a weighbridge ticket.
When you add or edit a vehicle or trailer, enter these figures from the plate rather than from memory. See [Add a tow vehicle](/vehicles/add-tow-vehicle) and [Add a trailer](/vehicles/add-trailer) for where each field sits in the setup flow.
If a plate figure and the handbook disagree, enter the plate value. The plate is the figure enforcement checks against.
## Use this with source documents
loadmate compares the figures you enter against the limits on your plates and tells you how much margin you have left. It works best when the number on screen matches the plate, handbook, caravan document, or weighbridge ticket in front of you.
The Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency (DVSA) sets and enforces the rules these figures relate to. For driving-licence rules, enforcement questions, or measured weight evidence, use the DVSA source, your plate, or a certified weighbridge.
## Try it now
Set your region to United Kingdom, then open a trailer profile. The fields read in UK terms, with MTPLM, MiRO, and nose weight shown against the values you take from the caravan plate and documents.
loadmate helps you work from the numbers you enter. Keep your source documents handy, and use a weighbridge, truck scale, or local authority when you need official evidence.
# United States references
Source: https://docs.loadmate.io/regions/united-states
loadmate switches to US towing terms when you set your region to United States - GVWR, GCWR, tongue weight, dry weight, CAT Scale - matching your manuals.
When your region is set to United States (under More -> Settings -> Region & Units), loadmate uses US towing terms throughout, so every label matches the paperwork in front of you. Your source values come from the vehicle label, the owner's manual, the trailer label, the manufacturer's documents, truck-scale tickets, and separate scale readings where needed. This page explains the terms you see and where to read each number.
## Common terms
loadmate names each weight and rating the way US documents name it, so the on-screen label reads like the figure on your label or manual. These are the terms you see when your region is United States:
* Vehicle laden weight limit: Gross Vehicle Weight Rating (GVWR).
* Combined laden weight limit: Gross Combined Weight Rating (GCWR).
* Trailer laden weight limit: Trailer GVWR.
* Trailer empty weight: Dry Weight.
* Vehicle empty weight: Curb Weight.
* Towing capacity: the towing figure from your vehicle's manual or label.
* Coupling load on the hitch: Tongue Weight.
Weights show in pounds (lbs), volumes in gallons (gal), distance in miles (mi), and hitch measurements in inches (in). Tire pressure shows in psi. The app uses American spelling, so you read "tire", "curb", and "color" as they appear on your documents.
loadmate records the values you enter and checks them against each other and against your loads. It does not verify that the numbers match the physical rig, so enter each figure carefully from your trusted documents.
## Common mix-ups
* Do not confuse **GVWR** with **GCWR**. GVWR is for one vehicle or trailer. GCWR is the combined vehicle and trailer limit.
* Do not put **Trailer GVWR** into the tow vehicle field. Trailer values belong on the trailer.
* Do not use **Dry Weight** as the loaded trailer limit. Dry Weight is the empty reference weight before cargo, water, and options.
* Do not treat **Tongue Weight** as the full trailer weight. It is only the downward load on the hitch.
* Do not use an advertised tow rating without checking the owner's manual and label for the exact vehicle configuration.
## Truck scale and CAT Scale wording
When loadmate points you at a measured weight, US copy uses the term you actually look for: truck scale, or a CAT Scale. AU, UK, and EU users see "weighbridge"; in the United States you see truck scale or CAT Scale instead, so you head to the right facility.
A truck-scale or CAT Scale ticket gives you measured gross and axle weights for a baseline weigh-in. It may not give tongue weight directly, so enter tongue weight only from a separate scale reading, the scale process you follow, or the source documents for your rig. loadmate keeps those readings distinct and uses them to track what changes after you load. To record a professional weigh-in, see [Record a weigh-in](/weigh-ins/weigh-in-overview). To update tongue weight from a separate reading, see [Update tow-ball weight](/weigh-ins/update-tow-ball-weight).
## Where to find ratings
Every rating comes off a document you already have, so you enter the number straight from the source rather than estimating it:
* GVWR, GCWR, and Towing Capacity: the vehicle label inside the driver's door jamb, and the owner's manual.
* Trailer GVWR and Dry Weight: the trailer label, usually on the front or A-frame, and the manufacturer's specification sheet.
* Maximum Tongue Weight: the hitch or receiver sticker, and the vehicle's towing section in the manual.
* Tire size, load index, and speed rating: the tire placard (the sticker inside the driver's door or by the fuel cap) and the tire sidewall.
Enter these when you add your tow vehicle and trailer. For the steps, see [Add a tow vehicle](/vehicles/add-tow-vehicle) and [Add a trailer](/vehicles/add-trailer).
## What varies by state
Weight ratings such as GVWR, GCWR, Trailer GVWR, Towing Capacity, and Maximum Tongue Weight are the figures you read from labels, manuals, and hitch or receiver markings. loadmate measures your loads against the values you enter from those sources. Some towing rules, such as licensing, braking, and speed details, vary by state. For anything specific to where you tow, check the rules for your state with the relevant authority.
## Try it now
Set your region to United States under More -> Settings -> Region & Units to see US terms across the app. Then open a trailer profile from the Garage tab and confirm the labels read as Trailer GVWR, Tongue Weight, and Dry Weight, matching your trailer's documents.
loadmate helps you work from the numbers you enter. Keep your source documents handy, and use a weighbridge, truck scale, or local authority when you need official evidence.
# Can I Tow It?
Source: https://docs.loadmate.io/research/can-i-tow-it
Compare a tow vehicle and trailer before you buy or build a rig in loadmate. Can I Tow It? runs towing and stability checks with no account needed.
Can I Tow It? helps you check a tow vehicle and trailer before you buy, borrow, or build your full setup in loadmate. It is a quick planning tool: no account is needed, and the result shows how the numbers you entered fit together.
On the first screen, choose **I'm researching a setup**. That opens Research without sign-in. If you are already in the app, open **More**, then **Can I Tow It?**.
Use it when you are shopping, comparing several caravans or trailers, or checking whether a setup is worth taking further before you start entering your real rig.
## Choose region
Choose your region first. Region changes the units and terms you see, so the fields match the plate, manual, or seller paperwork in front of you. Australia, United Kingdom, United States, and Europe are supported.
For region terms, use the regional reference pages or the [Glossary](/tools/glossary). If a label does not match your paperwork, pause and check which rating the document is using before you enter the number.
## Enter the required values
Start with the four values loadmate needs for the basic check:
* Tow vehicle loaded limit: GVM, MAM, or GVWR.
* Tow vehicle braked towing capacity.
* Trailer loaded limit: ATM, MTPLM, trailer GVWR, or GTWR.
* Trailer empty weight: tare, dry weight, or MRO.
Work from source documents, not memory. Good sources include the vehicle plate, the trailer or caravan plate, the owner's manual, towing-equipment fitting instructions, and a seller specification sheet checked against the plate where possible.
If a value is missing, leave it blank until you can confirm it. A guessed rating can make the result look more certain than it is.
## Add optional values
The optional fields make the result more complete. They are not just nice-to-have notes:
* Vehicle name and trailer name help you recognise a saved comparison later.
* Kerb or curb weight helps loadmate estimate how much vehicle payload remains.
* GCM, GTW, or GCWR lets loadmate check the combined vehicle and trailer limit.
* Tow ball, noseweight, tongue, or hitch rating lets loadmate check the coupling limit.
* Expected loaded tow ball, nose, or tongue mass lets loadmate check what the trailer is expected to put on the coupling.
* Water tank capacity lets the planner model empty, part-full, and full water.
With only the four required values, loadmate can still check the headline towing and trailer margins. Checks that need optional data are shown as not assessed rather than guessed.
## Enter loaded tow ball mass carefully
The expected loaded tow ball, nose, or tongue mass is the weight the loaded trailer is expected to place on the vehicle coupling for the trip you are planning. It is not the vehicle's tow ball limit, not the hitch rating, and not usually the ball mass printed for an empty or tare trailer.
This matters because entering the limit can hide an overload, and entering an empty/tare ball mass can understate the real load once water, gas bottles, batteries, food, tools, bikes, or front-boot gear are added. The best source is a measured loaded coupling weight. A trusted loaded estimate is better than a brochure empty figure.
If you do not know the loaded value, leave the field blank. loadmate will estimate it from the trailer loaded limit using a regional default, but the estimate is only a planning fallback. Replace it with a measured or better supported value when you can.
## Include water tanks
Add water tank capacity if the trailer or caravan has one. Water is heavy enough to change the result: roughly 1 kg per litre, or about 8.3 lb per US gallon.
The capacity field is the tank size. The planner later uses that capacity with a fill-level slider, so you can compare empty, part-full, and full-water scenarios without changing the trailer's fixed specs.
## Read the result
The result screen gives a high-level answer first, then shows the checks underneath. Treat the top result as a summary, not the whole answer.
The load limit tells you the practical headroom for the setup you entered. If one limit is tight, loadmate shows the limiting area so you can see what is holding the pair back before you add people, water, or gear.
The five checks are:
* Towing capacity: whether the trailer loaded limit fits within the vehicle towing limit.
* Coupling weight: whether the expected loaded tow ball, nose, or tongue mass fits the vehicle or hitch limit, when that limit is entered.
* Vehicle loaded limit: whether the vehicle can carry its own kerb or curb weight plus coupling load.
* Combined limit: whether the vehicle and trailer fit within GCM, GTW, or GCWR.
* Trailer loaded limit: whether the trailer's empty weight leaves useful room under ATM, MTPLM, trailer GVWR, or GTWR.
If a check says not assessed, loadmate did not have the optional value needed for that check. Go back and add the missing spec if the check matters for your decision.
## Use the planner
The planner appears after you enter enough advanced details for loadmate to model a loading scenario. It is where the research check becomes more practical: instead of only asking whether the pair works on paper, it shows what happens as people, gear, and water are added.
![Research planner sliders being adjusted for passengers, water, and trailer gear while load limits update.]()
Use the preset chips for common situations, or move the sliders yourself:
* Passengers adds people in the tow vehicle.
* Vehicle gear adds luggage, tools, or other gear carried in the vehicle.
* Water changes the trailer tank fill level, but only appears when water tank capacity was entered.
* Caravan or trailer gear adds load carried in the trailer.
As you move the sliders, loadmate updates the loaded trailer, the available margins, and the tightest constraint. If the tightest limit changes, the page helps you see whether the problem is the vehicle, the trailer, the coupling, or the combined limit.
## Check stability
The stability check is an advanced Research step. It uses planning inputs, so treat the result as a way to understand how the expected coupling load affects the vehicle before you move on to measured setup work.
It needs three values from you:
* Wheelbase.
* Rear axle rating.
* Hitch overhang.
Front axle rating and trailer length are optional. Add them when you have them, because they improve the explanation and confidence.
The check uses the loaded scenario from the planner. It estimates how the tow ball, nose, or tongue mass shifts load between the vehicle axles, then looks at rear-axle headroom and stability-related factors. This is useful because a pair can pass a simple towing-capacity check but still be tight at the rear axle once it is loaded.
Weight distribution hitch support is off by default. If you turn it on, loadmate uses a 70% front axle load restoration estimate. That is a planning estimate only, so your real WDH setup still needs to follow the hitch maker's instructions, vehicle limits, trailer limits, and any measured setup checks required in your region.
## Read the stability result
The stability result is built to be read in order:
* The story card explains the result in plain language.
* The axle loads card shows the estimated front and rear axle effect.
* The factor insight explains the main reason behind the result.
* The WDH advisory appears when a weight distribution hitch may help the rear-axle picture.
* The confidence pill tells you how much of the result is based on entered data rather than missing or estimated values.
If the result is tight or uncertain, update the missing specs first. Then check whether the loaded scenario itself is realistic.
## Save comparisons
Saved comparisons let you return to a vehicle and trailer pair without entering every value again. They are useful when you are comparing several trailers or when you want to discuss the numbers with a partner, seller, fitter, or inspector.
Use **Try another** to reset the current check and start a new combination. Saved comparisons are deleted one at a time from the saved list: swipe a comparison left, or open the card menu and choose delete. Deleting a comparison cannot be undone.
If you use Research without signing in, saved comparisons live on that device only. They are not transferred to your other devices and are not backed up to the cloud. You may lose them if the app is uninstalled, app data is cleared, browser or device storage is reset, or the device is replaced. Create an account before relying on saved research as a long-term record.
## Turn a comparison into your rig
When you are ready to proceed, **Make this my rig** or **Set up full profile** starts the conversion bridge. The final save in that bridge requires Pro.
The bridge gives you a head start, not a finished rig setup. loadmate creates base vehicle and trailer assets from the selected specifications and creates the active setup that pairs them together.
After conversion, review the setup before relying on it:
* Confirm the vehicle and trailer specs and fill in anything still missing.
* Check baseline weights, especially if any values came from brochures or estimates.
* Set up storage zones so loadmate knows where gear sits. See [Set up storage zones](/vehicles/set-up-storage-zones).
* Review any loads created from the planner sliders. Assign them to the right storage zones, or delete them and rebuild your load list to match your actual rig.
* Recheck tow ball, nose, or tongue weight once the real setup is loaded.
loadmate helps you work from the numbers you enter. Keep your source documents handy, and use a weighbridge, truck scale, or local authority when you need official evidence.
# Compliance Snapshot
Source: https://docs.loadmate.io/rig-score/compliance-snapshot
compliance snapshot is the legal-limit table behind your Rig Score. See your current weight, each limit, and the margin left before you hit it, row by row.
Compliance Snapshot is the plain list of your rig's legal weight limits, with how close you are sitting to each one. It answers a simple question, one row at a time: how much more gear can I load before I reach this limit? loadmate calls that headroom your **margin**, and the snapshot is where you read it.
This is the legal-limit view behind your Rig Score. The score blends three things — staying within your legal limits, how the rig handles, and the health of the parts that keep you safe. The snapshot opens up the first of those. Stability, health, and confidence live in the [score breakdown](/rig-score/score-breakdown).
## Open Compliance Snapshot
Go to the **More** tab and choose **Compliance**.
You can also reach it from the Rig Score help sheet, from prompts on a low or locked score, and from links in the score breakdown. However you arrive, it is the same screen: a table of every legal-limit check loadmate can work out from the numbers on your rig.
You do not have to pay to read it. The snapshot is open to everyone — free, lapsed, and demo users alike. More on that below.
![Compliance Snapshot table showing vehicle and trailer limit rows with current, limit, and status values.]()
The snapshot reads only from the data already on your rig. Keep those numbers accurate — record weigh-ins, update your loads, and correct a rating when you find the real figure — and every row stays trustworthy.
## How to read the table
Each row is one legal limit. Reading across, you see five things:
* **Check** — the name of the limit, in your region's wording.
* **Current** — what your rig actually weighs against that limit right now, the way it is loaded.
* **Limit** — the rated figure you entered from the plate, label, manual, or a measured record.
* **Margin** — the headroom left: how much more you can add before you reach the limit. This is the number to watch.
* **Status** — a short label and a colour: **Within limit** (green), **Near limit** (amber, getting close), or **Exceeded** (red, over the limit).
Read the row label first, then go straight to the **Margin** column. A healthy row has good news in it — room to spare. A row in red is asking for action before you travel.
On a narrow phone the Margin column may tuck away to keep the table readable. Turn the phone to landscape, or read the same headroom from the Current and Limit figures: the gap between them is your margin.
## What each row checks
Which rows appear depends on your setup and whether you are hitched to a trailer. The names change with where you tow, so each one below is shown with its regional wording.
### Your tow vehicle
* **Vehicle weight** — how heavy your loaded tow vehicle is against its own ceiling. Your region calls this **GVM** (AU), **MAM** (UK), or **GVWR** (US and Europe/international): the most your loaded vehicle is allowed to weigh. When you are hitched, this row accounts for the weight pressing down through the coupling onto the vehicle.
* **Combined weight** — the tow vehicle and trailer added together against the pair's ceiling: **GCM** (AU) or **GCWR** (US), also called Gross Train Weight in the UK. This is the heaviest the whole rig may be.
* **Towing limit** — how heavy a braked trailer your vehicle is rated to pull. Loaded trailer weight is checked against this.
* **Front axle** and **rear axle** — the load carried by each axle against what that axle is rated to take.
* **Coupling load on the vehicle** — the down-weight the trailer puts on the tow ball, checked against what your vehicle and hitch are rated to carry. This is **tow ball mass** (AU), **nose weight** (UK), or **tongue weight** (US).
### Your trailer or caravan
* **Trailer weight** — how heavy your loaded caravan or trailer is against its ceiling: **ATM** (AU), **MTPLM** (UK), Trailer GVWR (US), or **GTWR** (Europe/international). This is the most your loaded trailer may weigh.
* **Trailer axle weight** — the weight sitting on the trailer's own wheels, against its axle-group rating. In Australia this is the trailer's GTM.
* **Coupling load at the trailer** — the same nose or ball weight, read from the trailer's side.
The exact names and abbreviations shift from country to country. To decode any of them in your local wording, open the [Glossary](/tools/glossary) (**More -> Glossary**) and your region's reference page:
GVM, ATM, GTM, GCM, tow ball mass — what each term means and where to find it.
MAM, MTPLM, nose weight, Gross Train Weight — UK plate and label wording.
GVWR, GCWR, tongue weight, GAWR — US sticker and manual wording.
GVWR, GTWR, GCWR, coupling load, and metric units for European rigs.
## A worked example: reading one row's margin
Margin is just the gap between where you are now and the limit you are allowed. Here is the **Trailer weight** row for an Australian caravan, read across:
| Check | Current | Limit | Margin | Status |
| -------------------- | -------- | -------- | ------ | ------------ |
| Trailer weight (ATM) | 2,650 kg | 3,000 kg | 350 kg | Within limit |
Read it as a sentence: "My loaded van currently weighs 2,650 kg. Its ATM limit is 3,000 kg. I have 350 kg of margin — that is how much more I can load before I reach the limit." The status reads **Within limit** because there is comfortable room left.
Now picture loading 400 kg of water, gear, and supplies into that van. The Current figure climbs past 3,000 kg, the Margin turns negative, and the status flips to **Exceeded**. Same row, very different reading — and a clear sign to take weight back out before you hitch up.
![Compliance Snapshot table showing an Aggregate trailer mass row marked Exceeded, with nearby trailer rows marked Near limit and Within limit.]()
Margin is your friend, not a target. Loading right up to a limit leaves you nothing for a full water tank, a wet awning, or the shopping you pick up on the way. A healthy margin is room you keep on purpose.
## Why margin matters on the road
These are not paperwork numbers. Each limit exists because something physical is at stake.
* **Less margin means longer stopping.** A heavier rig pushes brakes, drivetrain, and cooling closer to their design edge. Stopping distances grow, and long descents heat the brakes faster.
* **Axle and tyre limits protect your running gear.** An overloaded axle overworks its tyres and bearings and changes how the rig steers and brakes. Overloaded tyres run hot, and a hot tyre is the most common cause of a towing blowout.
* **The coupling load is a balance, not just a ceiling.** Too little weight on the tow ball lets a tail-heavy van wag the car and start to sway. Too much lifts the front of the vehicle, lightens the steering, and squats the rear. There is a sweet spot, and both the too-low and too-high ends matter.
If a hard legal limit is **Exceeded**, that holds your Rig Score down no matter how green everything else looks. A real overload is never averaged away. Take weight off, or recheck the rating, before you travel.
## When a row reads "No limit" or is blank
A row shows **No limit** in the Limit column, an em dash in the Margin column, or does not appear at all when loadmate does not yet have the rated figure it needs to do that check. This is not a fault — it simply means a number is missing from your setup.
The usual gaps are:
* A **plate limit** not yet entered for the vehicle or trailer.
* A **baseline weight** missing, so loadmate does not know what the asset weighs before you load it.
* **Storage zones** not set up, so loads have no place to sit and cannot be totalled.
* No **hitched context** yet, for a check that only applies while you are towing.
If your whole snapshot is locked behind a setup banner rather than showing rows, that is the same story on a larger scale: loadmate is waiting on a few core figures before it can show the score and the full table.
To find and fix the missing input, see [My score is locked or showing missing data](/troubleshooting/missing-data). Fill in the figure it names, and the row fills itself in.
Never type a guessed plate or manual value to make a row appear. A wrong rating makes every check on that asset wrong. If you do not have the real figure, leave it out and find it. loadmate cannot confirm a rating for you.
## It is open to everyone — not an upgrade path
Compliance Snapshot is free to read. You can open it and study every row as a free, lapsed, or demo user, and you can share or export the snapshot as a PDF for your records or a roadside check.
It is **not** a feature that asks you to upgrade. If reading a row makes you want to fix something — move a load, correct a rating, or record a weigh-in — that fix follows the normal rules for that part of the app, and saving a change to your own rig is where Pro comes in. The snapshot itself never gates the view.
![Compliance Snapshot screen showing the in-app export or share control at the top of the view.]()
## How it fits with your Rig Score
The Rig Score is the headline. Compliance Snapshot is the legal-limit detail behind it — the rows that decide whether your rig is within its weights. The other parts of the score, how the rig handles and the health of its parts, are covered in the [score breakdown](/rig-score/score-breakdown).
So use the two together:
The headline number and what it does and does not mean.
Compliance, stability, health, and confidence, each in plain words.
If the number moved and you are not sure why, start here.
Every towing term — GVM, ATM, nose weight — spelled out in your wording.
If a row looks wrong, go back to the source document before you change anything: the plate, manual, hitch label, tyre sidewall, weighbridge ticket, truck-scale slip, or your regional authority page that owns that figure.
loadmate helps you work from the numbers you enter. It reflects your figures and the rules it can apply to them; it does not tell you what is legal or safe to tow. Keep your source documents handy, and use a weighbridge, truck scale, or local authority when you need official evidence.
# Improve your Rig Score
Source: https://docs.loadmate.io/rig-score/improve-score
raise your Rig Score by working its lowest grade cell - compliance, stability, health, or confidence - then make one real change before your next trip.
Your Rig Score lives on the **Rig** tab, the app's home screen. The way to lift it is to improve the real things behind it, then let the score catch up. You do not need a formula, and you do not need to chase a particular number. Almost every improvement is ordinary setup work: move a load, give a load a home, top up a tank reading, log a service you have done, record a professional weigh-in, or update your coupling-weight reading. Make the change, save it, and the next time you open the **Rig** tab the score is brought up to date against everything you have changed since you last looked.
This page is the action guide: where to start, what to do in each area, and why each action helps in plain terms. If your score has just moved and you want to work out what caused it, that is a different question — see [My Rig Score changed - why?](/troubleshooting/score-changed).
loadmate never tells you that a rig is legal or safe to tow, and it never promises a fixed number of points for any change. It works from the figures you enter and shows you where the rig stands today. The actions below are the ones that genuinely move the picture; how far each moves your own score depends on your rig.
## Start with the lowest grade cell
Under the score gauge sits the grade strip: four cells — **Compliance**, **Stability**, **Health**, and **Confidence** — each with its own letter grade you can read at a glance. Start with the lowest cell. That is where there is the most to gain, and where your effort goes furthest.
Tap that cell. It does one of two things. If the cell is held back by setup you have not finished, it opens a short sheet that takes you straight to the fix. If the cell is scoring but low, it opens a breakdown that names what is pulling it down. Either way, a low grade is a signposted next step, never a dead end. To read what each line in a breakdown means, see [The score breakdown](/rig-score/score-breakdown).
When your rig is set up enough to score, the **Rig** tab can also show a single next action beneath the gauge, naming the highest-impact step for you right now. If that line appears, it is the simplest place to begin; otherwise, work down the grade strip from the lowest cell.
![Rig tab next-action chip pointing to Set up storage zones.]()
If a cell shows a dash instead of a grade, that part of the score is waiting on data, not marking you down. Tap it and add what it asks for. The same is true of the whole gauge: if it is locked rather than graded, it is waiting on missing setup — usually plate values, a baseline weight, or storage zones — and the locked line names exactly what to add. See [What is the Rig Score](/rig-score/what-is-rig-score).
## Improve compliance
Compliance is the legal-limit side of the score: your loaded vehicle and trailer limits — GVM (AU) / MAM (UK) / GVWR (US and Europe/international), the trailer limit ATM (AU) / MTPLM (UK) / Trailer GVWR (US) / GTWR (Europe/international), the combined GCM (AU) / Gross Train Weight (UK) / GCWR (US and Europe/international), each axle, and the coupling load. A low compliance grade means the rig is sitting close to a limit, over one, or that a limit cannot be checked because a rating or a weight is missing.
Three ordinary fixes move it:
* **Take off weight you do not need for this trip.** Less weight means more room under every limit, so brakes, suspension and tyres all work with margin to spare instead of at their edge. This is the quickest win when a total is tight.
* **Redistribute weight off whatever is tight.** If one axle or the coupling is the problem, the answer is often to move a heavy item rather than remove it. Shifting a load between zones, or between the vehicle and the trailer while hitched, changes where the weight presses down across the axles and the tow ball. Use the preview before you commit so you can see the effect first.
* **Correct the numbers.** A wrong plate rating or an out-of-date weight can make compliance look worse — or falsely better — than the truth. Check the rating values you typed against the figures stamped on your vehicle and trailer plates, and fix any that drifted.
To see exactly which check is tight before you start, open the [Compliance Snapshot](/rig-score/compliance-snapshot). It lists every weight, every limit, and the margin left on each, so you move the right item the first time. For how a single load change ripples across the checks, see [Review load changes](/loads/load-changes).
loadmate flags a measured or entered weight that lands over a limit so you can look again. That is a prompt to re-check the reading, not a ruling that you are illegal. When you need official evidence, use a weighbridge, truck scale, or local authority.
## Improve stability
Stability is about how the rig will behave on the road — whether it tracks straight, steers cleanly, and resists sway. A rig can be inside every weight limit and still score low here, because staying under the limits says nothing about a snaking caravan or a tow vehicle that has gone light at the front.
The everyday fixes are about *where* the weight sits, not how much:
* **Keep heavy gear low and near the axles.** Weight stacked high, or pushed out to the front or back of the trailer, acts like a pendulum: it swings and feeds sway even when the totals are fine. Move the heavy items down low and in towards the axle line, and the rig settles.
* **Give every load a home.** A load you have added but not yet placed in a zone cannot be worked into the balance, so it holds the whole stability picture back. Assign each item to a storage location. If the stability cell shows a caution, its breakdown usually takes you straight to the items still waiting to be placed.
* **Mind the tow-ball balance.** Too little weight pressing down on the ball lets a tail-heavy trailer start to wag the car — the classic recipe for sway. Too much lifts the vehicle's nose, lightens the steering and squats the rear. There is a sweet spot: move heavy items forward to add coupling weight, rearward to ease it.
In solo mode (no trailer), stability reads the vehicle's own load: how high it sits, how it splits front to rear, and what is up on the roof. Roof weight is the worst place for stability because it raises the centre of gravity most, so move heavy gear inside and low whenever you can.
A good ball-weight figure on its own does not rescue poor loading — loadmate will still hold stability down if the heavy items are badly placed, because the physics does not care that one number looks tidy. To set up the zones that make placement possible, see [Set up storage zones](/vehicles/set-up-storage-zones).
## Improve health
Health covers service status and tyre condition. It counts in both solo and hitched modes, so keeping it current is worth doing whether or not you are towing this week.
Two kinds of entry move it:
* **Tyre details.** Add each tyre profile and keep its age, load rating, and pressure current. Rubber hardens and cracks with age regardless of tread, and an overloaded tyre overheats — both end in the blowouts that cause most towing trouble. Entering the dates and ratings is what lets the score reflect the tyres you actually run. See [Set up tyre profiles](/tyres/tyre-setup) and [Pressure and load](/tyres/pressure-and-load).
* **Service records.** Log services as you do them, so scheduled work and history stay current. Overdue brakes, bearings and fluids are exactly the parts that fail under towing strain, so a service that loadmate can see counts towards health. See [Service & Tasks](/maintenance/service-records).
Finishing a planned trip offers to update your odometer, which keeps distance-based service reminders accurate without a separate chore. An old odometer reading can make a service look due when it is not, or hide one that is.
## Improve confidence
Confidence is a separate read on how complete and trustworthy your data is, and it scales the score you see. When confidence is low, the headline number is pulled down rather than padded over — it is loadmate admitting it does not yet have a full picture of your rig, not a mark against your towing. The reward is the other way round: as you fill the picture in, the displayed score lifts visibly, because the true number is finally allowed to show through. For what each confidence badge word means, see [What is the Rig Score](/rig-score/what-is-rig-score).
You lift confidence by closing the gaps:
* **Record a professional weigh-in.** A measured reading is the single strongest thing you can add. It replaces estimates with real numbers and sets a known-good baseline for everything that follows. See [Record a weigh-in](/weigh-ins/weigh-in-overview).
* **Set a baseline weight** for the vehicle and, when hitched, the trailer, so every later calculation starts from something solid.
* **Complete the plate values** rather than leaving rating fields blank.
* **Configure your storage zones** so loads have somewhere to sit and can be counted.
* **Keep fill levels current** for tanks, gas, and consumables, so the weight you carry on the day matches what is really on board.
Confidence reflects the data you have entered, not a verdict on your rig. A thin data picture simply means there is more to add before the score can be sure. Add it and the number firms up.
## When the right answer is a professional weigh-in
Sometimes no amount of editing fixes the real problem, because your figures are still estimates underneath. A professional weigh-in — at a weighbridge, truck scale, or with a mobile weigher — is the right next step when changes have built up enough to matter: after you have added or removed a lot of gear, reconfigured the rig, or moved heavy items between the vehicle and the trailer.
A fresh weighbridge reading resets your baseline, so every comparison after it starts from real numbers again. It is also the biggest single lift to confidence, which is why a low confidence cell often points here first. To capture one, see [Record a weigh-in](/weigh-ins/weigh-in-overview); to read the result, see [Read a weigh-in report](/weigh-ins/read-weigh-in).
## When the right answer is only a tow-ball reading
If the only thing that has changed is your coupling load, you do not need a full weigh-in. A single reading from a ball scale — tow ball mass (AU) / nose weight (UK) / tongue weight (US) — can be entered on its own. It updates the trailer's coupling weight and the compliance and stability that depend on it, and the next **Rig** view recalculates.
This is the practical at-home check between weighbridge visits. Because it is just the one reading and does not account for all your loads, it updates the coupling weight **without** creating a professional weigh-in record and **without** resetting your weighbridge baseline. For the full steps, see [Update tow-ball weight](/weigh-ins/update-tow-ball-weight).
**Which one do I need?** Use a full professional weigh-in when a lot has changed or you want a fresh baseline for the whole rig. Use a tow-ball-only reading when the single thing you want to confirm is the weight on the coupling. The first resets your baseline; the second updates one figure and leaves the baseline as it is.
## Acknowledge without hiding
Some safety alerts cannot be dismissed, because the condition still matters while it is live. If one of those cards offers **Understood**, tapping it tells loadmate you have seen it. The card goes quieter and drops to the bottom of its group, but it stays visible — and the score does not change.
Use **Understood** when you cannot fix something right away but do not want the same card shouting while you work through the rest of the screen. If the underlying problem gets worse, the alert returns to full urgency. Hard legal-limit failures do not offer **Understood**, because those are the ones to act on before you tow.
You can review acknowledged, dismissed, and snoozed alert actions later in [Activity and alerts](/tools/activity-and-alerts).
## A quick way to begin
It is the app's home screen. The score gauge and the four-cell grade strip are at the top.
Tap the lowest of **Compliance**, **Stability**, **Health**, or **Confidence** — or, if the single next-action line is showing beneath the gauge, follow that.
Move a load, assign a zone, update a fill, log a service, record a weigh-in, or update the coupling reading. Save it.
The score is brought current against your change. Repeat from the next lowest cell.
Reading this guidance and exploring the score is free. Saving a real change to your own rig — loads, ratings, weigh-ins, tow-ball updates, services, or tyres — needs Pro; demo data stays visible but cannot be altered. loadmate helps you work from the numbers you enter. Keep your source documents handy, and use a weighbridge, truck scale, or local authority when you need official evidence.
# Score bands and the grade strip
Source: https://docs.loadmate.io/rig-score/score-bands
score bands let you read your Rig Score at a glance: the colour band, the four grade cells, and the sparkline that show what is holding your rig back today.
The top of your Rig tab is built to be read in a moment, the way you would glance at a fuel gauge before pulling out. A single colour and number tell you how your rig is sitting right now. The grade strip just below breaks that one read into its parts, so the score is never a black box: you can see at a glance whether the thing holding it back is compliance, stability, health, or confidence, and tap straight into the detail.
This page is about reading the display calmly. For what each part actually measures, see [The score breakdown](/rig-score/score-breakdown). For what the score is and is not, see [What is the Rig Score](/rig-score/what-is-rig-score).
## The headline band
The band is the headline. It is the signal you check before you hitch up: one colour and one number that say how the whole rig is sitting right now, loaded the way it is loaded today. It refreshes itself against any change you have made since you last looked, so what you see is current.
The colour does the fast work, no maths needed:
* **Green** means good. Your rig is reading well across the board, and you have not flagged anything that needs a second look before you go.
* **Amber** means caution. Nothing here is alarming, but it is worth a look before you set off. Amber also covers the encouraging case where your rig is genuinely close and a weigh-in or a missing detail is all that stands between you and green.
* **Red** means attention. Something needs sorting before you tow, whether the handling itself reads poorly or a limit is being pushed.
The number sits with the colour for when you want the more precise read, but the colour alone is enough for the glance. A green band is not a permission slip — loadmate does not tell you it is legal or safe to tow. It tells you how your rig is reading against the figures you have entered, so you can make the call.
When loadmate does not yet have enough set up to score you accurately, the band locks instead of showing a misleading figure. A locked band is a prompt, not a penalty: a required piece of setup is missing, and the line beneath names exactly what to add. See [What is the Rig Score](/rig-score/what-is-rig-score) for how the locked state works.
The band reads your active rig. If you switch which vehicle or trailer is active, the band re-reads for the rig you switched to.
## The four grade cells
Under the band sits the grade strip: four cells that break the one headline into its parts, so you never have to guess which area is pulling the score down. Each cell shows a letter grade, and you read it the way you would read a report card — A is strong, lower letters mean there is room to improve. You do not need to know how the areas are weighed against each other to use it.
![Hitched grade strip showing Compliance, Stability, Health, and Confidence cells.]()
The four cells are always the same: **Compliance**, **Stability**, **Health**, and **Confidence**. Each is a quick read, not the full story — and here is why each one matters on the road:
* **Compliance** — your weight and plate-limit checks. This is the legal floor of the rig: it watches the room you have left under each rated limit. Less room means harder braking and more strain on every climb, so this is the cell to keep healthy first.
* **Stability** — how the rig handles once it is moving. Good handling comes down to where the weight sits. Too little weight pressing down on the tow ball, for instance, lets a tail-heavy van start to wag the car and build into a sway; too much lifts the front and dulls the steering. This cell reads how close you are to that sweet spot.
* **Health** — service timing and tyre condition. Overdue brakes, bearings and ageing tyres are exactly the parts that fail under towing strain, so this cell keeps an eye on the things that age whether you drive or not.
* **Confidence** — how complete and trustworthy your data is. Where your data is thin, this cell reads lower and the headline band stays more cautious, so a sparse picture never looks more certain than it is. A real weigh-in is what firms it up.
For the checks inside each of these, see [The score breakdown](/rig-score/score-breakdown).
A cell can wait for its data. If a cell does not have what it needs yet — say you have not added tyre dates or storage zones — it shows a dash instead of a grade and stays tappable, so a missing piece reads as something still to add rather than a bad result.
### Hitched and solo read differently
The strip keeps its four cells whether or not a trailer is attached, but the Stability cell measures a different thing in each mode.
When your tow vehicle and trailer are connected, the strip reads in **hitched** mode, and Stability is about the pair together: the balance on the tow ball, how the vehicle and trailer are matched, and where weight sits along the trailer.
When you have a vehicle on its own, the strip reads in **solo** mode, and the Stability cell reads how the vehicle alone is handling instead — things such as how high the load sits, how it splits front to rear, and any weight up on the roof. The intuition is the same in both: weight in the wrong place is what unsettles a rig, and this cell is your early read on it.
![Solo grade strip showing the same four cells with the solo Stability grade.]()
In solo mode, if the Stability cell is reading conservatively only because your active loads have not been placed in a storage zone yet, the cell shows a small caution marker while keeping its grade and its tap behaviour. Opening it then points you straight to the loads that still need a home, so you can lift the read by telling loadmate where your gear actually sits.
## What happens when you tap a cell
Every cell is a tap into more detail, so a low or locked grade is never a dead end. This is the part that turns the strip from a verdict into a to-do list.
* A cell with a grade opens the [breakdown](/rig-score/score-breakdown) for that area, where you can see which individual checks are strong and which are pulling the cell down.
* A cell that is waiting on setup opens the path to add what is missing, such as storage zones or tyre dates, so the next action is right there.
* The Confidence cell opens its own breakdown, which explains what is holding your confidence back and the highest-impact things you can add next — usually a weigh-in.
![Animation showing a grade cell being tapped and the breakdown sheet sliding up with that category's checks.]()
Some of the fixes you reach from a cell, such as moving a load or editing a rating, open the page that owns that data. To work through them in a sensible order rather than one at a time, see [Improve your score](/rig-score/improve-score).
## Payload, loads, and capacity live elsewhere
The grade strip is four cells, and payload is not one of them. How much weight you have packed, and how much capacity you have left against your limits, live in your loads and capacity views rather than in the strip.
This split is deliberate. The strip answers "which category is holding my score back". Your loads and capacity views answer "how much have I packed and how much room is left", with the per-item detail and the remaining headroom against each limit. To adjust what you are carrying, start in [Add a load](/loads/add-load). To read where your weight sits against your limits, open the [Compliance Snapshot](/rig-score/compliance-snapshot).
## Score history from the sparkline
Under the score sits a small line chart, the sparkline. It plots your recent scores so you can see the shape of how your rig has been tracking — climbing as you weigh in and complete your setup, dipping when you pack heavier, settling as things stay steady. It is a trend at a glance, the direction of travel, not a verdict on any single change. The sparkline only appears once you have a couple of scores to join up, so a brand-new rig will not show one yet.
![Rig tab showing the score gauge, grade cells, and the small score-history sparkline beneath the score.]()
![Full score history opened from the sparkline, showing how the score has moved over recent weeks.]()
Tapping the sparkline opens the full score history, where you can read your past scores over a window you choose — the last month, three months, six months, a year, or everything — with the best, lowest, and average alongside. This is worth a look when you want to see whether you are trending up over a season or have slipped back since your last weigh-in.
![Animation showing the score history range chips being tapped and the chart redrawing for each time window.]()
The history shows you the scores over time, not the reason behind each move. To understand why a particular number changed — a load you shifted, a weigh-in you recorded, a service that came due — see [My Rig Score changed - why?](/troubleshooting/score-changed), which walks through the common reasons.
To read your standing right now, open **Rig** and tap the lowest grade cell, then use the detail that opens as your next reading path. Tap the sparkline when you want the trend over time. For what the score is and when it locks, see [What is the Rig Score](/rig-score/what-is-rig-score).
# The score breakdown
Source: https://docs.loadmate.io/rig-score/score-breakdown
Score breakdown lists every check behind your Rig Score grades. Tap a cell to open the sheet for Compliance, Stability, Health, and Confidence reads.
The grade strip gives you four letter grades. The breakdown is what sits behind them. Tap any cell on the Rig tab and a sheet opens for that area, listing the individual checks and how each one is reading. This page walks through every check so you can see exactly what the score is watching, in plain words.
![Score breakdown sheet opened from the Compliance cell: the header shows the capped score and the Verified badge, a red alert names the exceeded tyre load rating, and the Compliance checks are listed but paused.]()
The sheet above is showing a rig that is over a hard limit, so its checks are paused. The sections below explain what each row means and what the paused state is.
## How the breakdown sheet reads
When you tap a grade cell, the sheet opens to that category. At the top it repeats the score gauge and the confidence badge, with a **How is this calculated?** link if you want the plain-English explanation. Below that, the category's checks are listed as rows.
Each row is one check. It shows the check's name and a colour that matches the band colours on the gauge: green for healthy, amber for borderline, red for a problem, and grey when there is no data to read it yet. Tap a row to expand it for the current reading and what it means for your setup.
Where a check has no data, it reads as a missing input rather than a low grade, so an empty row is a prompt to add something, not a mark against you.
![Compliance breakdown sheet showing the score header, confidence badge, and a mix of green and amber check rows.]()
![Animation showing a Compliance breakdown row expanding to reveal the current reading and its meaning.]()
## Capped is not the same as locked
These two states look similar on the gauge, but they mean opposite things, so it is worth being clear which one you are seeing.
**Capped** means loadmate has your data, and that data shows a hard limit has been broken. The rig is over a weight limit, an axle rating, a towing capacity, a tyre's rated load, or its coupling weight is dangerously low or high. This is a danger reading, not a low grade. The gauge reads **Score Capped** in red, a red alert at the top names the limit, and the breakdown rows below are paused — they show a dash instead of a grade so a good reading elsewhere cannot soften the warning. No amount of good news makes an overloaded rig safe to tow, so the score refuses to average it away. Clear the named limit and the score returns to its normal reading.
**Locked** means the opposite: loadmate does not have enough data yet to score at all, so it shows **Incomplete Setup** instead of a number. Nothing is wrong with the rig; the app simply will not show a figure it cannot stand behind. It names what to add and points you to the screen for each item. For the locked state and what unlocks it, see [What is the Rig Score](/rig-score/what-is-rig-score).
A capped score is a stop-and-check, not a tap to clear. The named limit is a real overload — too much weight, an overloaded tyre, or a coupling weight far outside its safe range. Sort the load or the rating before you tow, then let the score recalculate.
The limits that cap the score are: over your combined weight limit (GCM / Gross Train Weight / GCWR), over your vehicle's weight limit (GVM / MAM / GVWR), over your trailer's weight limit (ATM / MTPLM / Trailer GVWR / GTWR), over an axle rating, over your braked towing capacity, over your tyres' rated load, or a coupling weight (tow ball mass / nose weight / tongue weight / coupling load) that is critically low or high.
## Compliance
Compliance is the legal floor: how much room you have under each weight limit. Each check compares a loaded weight against a limit you entered from the plate, and the closer you sit to a limit, the faster that check drops. For each one, the plain reading comes first, then why that limit matters once you are moving. When hitched, it reads:
* **Combined Weight** — the tow vehicle and trailer together against the pair's limit (GCM / Gross Train Weight / GCWR). *Why it matters: this is the total mass your brakes, engine, and cooling have to manage. The less room here, the longer it takes to stop and the harder things work on a long climb.*
* **Vehicle Load** — your loaded tow vehicle against its limit (GVM / MAM / GVWR). *Why it matters: this is what the tow vehicle's own suspension, brakes, and tyres carry before the trailer is even counted. Overload it and the parts that steer and stop you are working past their design.*
* **Trailer Load** — your loaded trailer against its limit (ATM / MTPLM / Trailer GVWR / GTWR). *Why it matters: the trailer's axles, tyres, and chassis are rated for this weight. Past it, a tyre or axle is the most likely thing to give out at speed.*
* **Rear Axle** and **Front Axle** — the weight on each axle against what that axle is rated to carry. *Why it matters: an overloaded axle overworks its tyres and bearings and changes how that end of the rig brakes and grips. Balanced axles keep braking and steering even.*
* **Hitch Load Limit** — the down-weight on the coupling against the hardware limit, shown as tow ball mass, nose weight, or tongue weight for your region. *Why it matters: the coupling and the vehicle's rear suspension are rated for a set down-weight. Past it, you are leaning on parts beyond what they are built to hold.*
In solo mode, with no trailer attached, compliance narrows to **Vehicle Load**, **Rear Axle**, and **Front Axle**.
For the full row-by-row legal view, with every margin spelled out, open the [Compliance Snapshot](/rig-score/compliance-snapshot).
![Stability breakdown sheet in hitched mode listing each handling check with its colour read.]()
## Stability
Stability is how the connected rig behaves once it is moving. A rig can pass every weight limit and still read low here, because handling is about where the weight sits, not just how much. Each check below is followed by the feel of it on the road:
* **Hitch Weight Balance** — whether the coupling weight is a healthy share of the trailer's weight, inside the ideal range for your region. *Why it matters: too little weight on the ball lets a tail-heavy trailer wag the car and start to sway; too much lifts the front and dulls the steering. There is a sweet spot in between.*
* **Vehicle-Trailer Match** — whether the tow vehicle is heavy enough for the trailer it is pulling. *Why it matters: a trailer that out-weighs its tow vehicle is far more likely to push the car around in a crosswind or an emergency swerve, instead of the car staying in charge.*
* **Load Arrangement** — whether the load is kept low and concentrated near the axles rather than stacked high or pushed to the ends. *Why it matters: weight out at the ends swings like a pendulum and feeds any sway; weight low and over the axles stays calm.*
* **Load Placement** — whether individual items are sitting too far from the axle group. *Why it matters: a single heavy item at the extreme front or back, especially the back, can unsettle the whole rig even when the totals look fine.*
* **Steering Authority** — whether coupling weight has lightened the front axle enough to affect steering. *Why it matters: if the nose weight lifts the vehicle's front too much, there is less grip on the wheels that steer, and the car responds vaguely just when you need it most.*
* **Tow Vehicle Setup** — whether the wheelbase and rear overhang suit the trailer. *Why it matters: a tow ball far behind the rear axle on a short wheelbase makes a longer lever, and that lever magnifies every sway. It is mostly fixed by the vehicle, so it guides which trailer suits it.*
* **Trailer Size Factor** — whether the trailer's length adds leverage that works against stability. *Why it matters: a long trailer, particularly with a short drawbar, is more sway-prone, so it needs its weight kept central and low.*
A good hitch weight reading on its own does not earn a strong stability grade. If the load is badly placed, stability is held down anyway, because the right amount of weight on the ball cannot make up for heavy gear sitting in the wrong place. The breakdown reads them together so a tidy ball figure cannot hide a poorly packed trailer.
## Solo stability
When you are not towing, the second category becomes Solo Stability and reads the vehicle on its own:
* **Centre of Gravity** — how high your gear sits in the vehicle. *Why it matters: a tall, top-heavy load raises the risk of tipping in a swerve or a quick roundabout. The lower the weight sits, the steadier the vehicle leans.*
* **Load Distribution** — how weight is spread between the front and rear axles. *Why it matters: too much over either end upsets the balance between braking and steering, so the vehicle stops and turns evenly when weight is shared.*
* **Roof Load** — the proportion of weight carried up on the roof. *Why it matters: the roof is the worst place for weight, because it lifts the centre of gravity most and hurts both handling and fuel use. Heavy gear belongs inside and low.*
Solo stability reads once your vehicle has storage zones set up and loads placed in them. A load you have added but not yet given a location does not penalise solo stability; the breakdown points you to those items so you can place them.
![Solo Stability breakdown sheet showing centre of gravity, load distribution, and roof load rows.]()
## Health
Health covers upkeep, and it counts in both solo and hitched modes:
* **Service Status** — how your next service sits against its schedule, by date and by odometer. *Why it matters: brakes, bearings, and fluids are exactly the parts that work hardest under towing strain, so an overdue service is felt most when you are loaded and on a hill.*
* **Tyre condition** — the age and load rating of your tyres. *Why it matters: rubber hardens and cracks with age no matter how much tread is left, and an overloaded tyre overheats — both end in a blowout, the most common cause of towing trouble. Entering the manufacture dates from the sidewalls is what lets this check read the tyres you actually run.*
## Confidence
Confidence is the one category that does not sit in the breakdown rows. It is the badge at the top of the sheet, and it scales the whole displayed number rather than adding points to it. *Why it matters: a score built on guessed weights would be a false comfort. When loadmate is less sure of your figures, it shows a lower number rather than a high one with a quiet caveat — so the number you read is one you can act on.*
The badge reads three things: the strength of your baseline (a professional weigh-in is the strongest, a factory figure the weakest), how complete your data is, and how far the rig may have drifted since its last weigh-in. When confidence is low, the displayed score is pulled down so it does not pretend to know more than it does. As you add real data, the badge climbs and the number lifts with it.
Tapping the Confidence cell opens its own breakdown with the highest-impact things you can add next — usually a weigh-in. For what each badge word means, see [What is the Rig Score](/rig-score/what-is-rig-score), which is the one place that defines the confidence badge.
![Confidence breakdown sheet showing the badge, data-strength reads, and the highest-impact next step.]()
## Findings
Below the category rows, the sheet can show findings: short notes that combine more than one check into a single, plain-language issue, such as a high centre of gravity paired with a rear-loaded trailer. Each finding names the problem and the action that addresses it, so a pattern spread across several checks reads as one clear next step.
![Findings area at the foot of a breakdown sheet showing a plain-language issue and the action to take.]()
## Reading versus changing
The breakdown is part of the score, so reading it is just part of using the Rig tab. The fixes you reach from it are the real work: moving a load, editing a rating, logging a service, saving tyre dates, or recording a weigh-in.
When you are ready to act on what the breakdown shows, [Improve your score](/rig-score/improve-score) works through the changes that lift each category. If the score moved on its own and you want to know why, see [My Rig Score changed - why?](/troubleshooting/score-changed). For any towing term you are unsure of — tow ball mass, GVM, ATM, GCM and their UK and US equivalents — the [Glossary](/tools/glossary) has the plain meaning.
loadmate helps you work from the numbers you enter. Keep your source documents handy, and use a weighbridge, truck scale, or local authority when you need official evidence.
# What is the Rig Score?
Source: https://docs.loadmate.io/rig-score/what-is-rig-score
the Rig Score gives you one read on your loaded rig, blending compliance, stability, health, and data confidence, plus why the gauge locks before you tow.
The Rig Score is one clear read on your rig, right now, the way it is loaded. It lives as a gauge on the **Rig** tab. It is there so you do not have to hold your whole setup in your head before you tow. Several things feed into the one number: your plate limits, your baseline weights, where each load sits, your tyres, your service, and how complete that data is. You can glance at the result before you hitch up. It is not an approval to tow, and it is not a legal pass. It is a clear summary of work you have already done, in one place you can read in a moment.
![Rig tab showing the score gauge and grade cells.]()
Underneath the gauge, the same read is split into plain categories, so when the number moves you always know where to look. None of these is a legal ruling on its own. The score reads them together so you do not have to weigh several separate scores against each other yourself.
## Why a single number helps
Towing safety lives in a lot of small details: a weight limit on a plate, a tyre date on a sidewall, a service that is nearly due, a heavy box that crept to the back of the van. Any one of them is easy to forget on a busy morning. The score's job is to gather all of them into one read you can take in at a glance, then point you at the detail that needs you.
It is a calm instrument, not an alarm. It does not predict your trip, it does not learn, and it is not an AI judgement. It is calculated from the figures you enter, so it is only ever as good as your data, which is exactly why one part of the score watches how complete that data is.
## What the score watches
The score keeps an eye on four areas. You can see each one in the grade cells under the gauge. This page keeps each to a single glance. For every individual check behind a category, see [The score breakdown](/rig-score/score-breakdown).
### Compliance
Compliance is the legal floor: the weight and plate-limit checks for your rig, such as your loaded tow-vehicle limit (GVM in AU, MAM in the UK, GVWR in the US and Europe/international), the combined limit (GCM / Gross Train Weight / GCWR), the trailer limit (ATM / MTPLM / Trailer GVWR / GTWR), axle limits, and the weight on the coupling, shown as tow ball mass (AU), nose weight (UK), tongue weight (US), or coupling load (Europe/international).
Why it matters: every limit on those plates is a real engineering boundary. Run over your trailer limit and the axles, tyres, and chassis are carrying more than they were built for. Being within these limits is the minimum, not the whole picture, because a plate-compliant rig can still handle badly on the road. The [Compliance Snapshot](/rig-score/compliance-snapshot) is the detailed view, listing every weight, limit, and margin row by row.
### Stability
When you are hitched, the score watches stability: how the rig will behave once you are moving. This covers how much weight presses down on the tow ball, how well the vehicle and trailer are matched, how the load is arranged, and the size and shape of the trailer.
Why it matters: this is the handling question that compliance alone cannot answer. Too little weight on the ball and the trailer starts to wag the car, which is the classic recipe for sway. Heavy items at the very back of a long van swing like a pendulum and make sway worse. A good coupling-weight figure is not a green light if heavy gear still sits out at the ends, so the score reads weight placement alongside the ball figure.
When you are not towing, the score watches solo stability instead: how high your load sits, how it splits front to rear, and how much weight is up on the roof. This gives a roof-loaded touring vehicle a real handling read even with no trailer attached, because a tall, top-heavy load raises the tip-over risk in a swerve or a roundabout.
### Health
Health looks at your service status and your tyre condition. Entering tyre dates and your service schedule moves the score in both solo and hitched modes.
Why it matters: overdue brakes, bearings, and fluids are exactly the parts that fail under towing strain, and tyre rubber hardens and cracks with age regardless of how much tread is left. Keeping these current is real safety work, so the score reflects it in the number rather than leaving it outside.
### Confidence
Confidence is a separate measure of how complete and trustworthy your entered data is. When important details are missing, estimated, or old, the displayed number is pulled down so it does not pretend the data is stronger than it is. As you add accurate, measured data, your confidence rises and the true score shows through.
Why it matters: a confident-looking number built on guesses is a false reassurance. loadmate would rather show you a lower number and tell you what to firm up. The score is calculated from the data you enter; it is not a prediction or an AI judgement.
## How loadmate names your confidence
Next to the gauge, loadmate shows a confidence badge. It is a plain word for how much measured data sits behind your score:
| Badge | What it means in plain words |
| -------------- | ------------------------------------------------------------------------ |
| **Verified** | The score rests on weighed, current data. This is the strongest footing. |
| **Good** | Solid data, a step or two short of fully verified. |
| **Estimated** | Based largely on calculated or spec figures, not a real weigh-in. |
| **Incomplete** | Too little data to stand behind the number yet. |
The way to raise the badge is the same simple work every time: weigh the rig, ideally at a weighbridge; fill in your loads, storage zones, and tyre details; and re-weigh after big changes. Each step earns a stronger badge and lets the real score come through. Other pages in this section point back here when they mention confidence, so this is the one place to read what each badge word means.
![Rig tab showing the Verified confidence badge beside the score gauge and grade cells.]()
The confidence badge is about your data, not your rig. A **Verified** badge on a low score still means a low score; it just means you can trust it. An **Incomplete** badge means add data before reading the number too closely.
## The locked gauge and what to fill in
Before the gauge can show a real number, the score checks that you have entered enough to score accurately. It looks for the minimum the calculation needs: your vehicle plate limits and a baseline weight, plus, when you are hitched, the trailer's limit and baseline and both the vehicle and trailer storage zones. In solo mode, the trailer and storage-zone items do not apply.
If that minimum data is missing, the gauge locks and reads **Incomplete Setup** instead of showing a misleading high or low number. A locked gauge is not a penalty for a half-set-up rig. It is a setup prompt. It names the missing item in plain words, such as your vehicle compliance limits, a vehicle or trailer baseline weight, the trailer limit, or your vehicle or trailer storage zones, and it gives you a path to fix each one.
Why it matters: a score built on a missing weight or limit would be a number loadmate cannot stand behind. Locking is the app refusing to pretend. Add the named input, then return to the **Rig** tab and let the score render from the updated data.
While the gauge is locked, the next-action line and the score history are hidden, because there is no settled score to attribute them to yet. The Compliance Snapshot stays one tap away, so you can still read your legal compliance rows before a full score is ready. For help reading a locked gauge, see [Missing data](/troubleshooting/missing-data).
## If your number changed
The score is not a one-off badge. It moves when your loads, weights, tyres, service, or confidence change, and when your rig switches between hitched and solo. That is by design: it is meant to track your real setup, not sit still.
When the number moves, open the grade cells and look for the one that changed. A new load can shift Stability, a weigh-in can shift Compliance, and an overdue service can shift Health. For the full, step-by-step way to trace a change against what you did recently, see [My Rig Score changed - why?](/troubleshooting/score-changed).
Some actions you reach from the score area write to your own rig data, such as editing a load or recording a weigh-in. loadmate prompts before those changes are saved.
## Where to read more
The categories above are the quick version. The other pages in this section go deeper:
* For the colour bands, the grade cells, and the score history without the formula, see [Score bands and the grade strip](/rig-score/score-bands).
* For every check behind each category, see [The score breakdown](/rig-score/score-breakdown).
* To raise the number with practical changes, see [Improve your score](/rig-score/improve-score).
* For plain definitions of any towing term used here, see the [Glossary](/tools/glossary).
## Try it now
Open the **Rig** tab and read the gauge first. Then look at the cells underneath to see which area is shaping the number, and check the confidence badge to know how much measured data sits behind it. If the gauge reads **Incomplete Setup**, follow the missing-data line and complete the named item before you read the score as a decision aid.
loadmate helps you work from the numbers you enter. Keep your source documents handy, and use a weighbridge, truck scale, or local authority when you need official evidence.
# Activity & alerts
Source: https://docs.loadmate.io/tools/activity-and-alerts
Activity & alerts is your read-only history under More, listing every towing alert you dismissed, snoozed, or acknowledged so nothing you set aside gets lost.
Activity & alerts lives under **More**, then **Activity**, and it is a read-only history of the alert actions you have taken. Open it to review the alerts you have dismissed, snoozed, or acknowledged, all in one date-ordered list, so nothing you set aside is lost from view.
It is a history, not a second to-do list. To fix the underlying issue, open the screen named by the alert or go back to the feature that owns it, such as Rig, Service & Tasks, Tyres, Trips, or Warranty.
## Open Activity & alerts
Open **More**, then **Activity**.
The screen reads alert history for your saved assets. A fresh profile may be empty until you dismiss, snooze, acknowledge, or re-show an alert.
## What appears here
Rows are grouped as a simple date-ordered log. A row can show:
* **Dismissed** when you set an alert aside.
* **Snoozed** when you asked an alert to wait.
* **Acknowledged** when you tapped **Understood** on a safety alert that cannot be dismissed.
* **Shown again** when you turn an acknowledgement back off.
Each row keeps the alert title and the date the action was recorded. If a snoozed alert still has a return date, the row also shows when it returns.
## What does not appear here
Activity & alerts is a history view, not the place to fix the original issue. Use the linked screen to update the trip, Rig Score input, maintenance task, or alert.
Use it as a memory aid:
* If the row is about a rig safety finding, open the **Rig** tab and review the current alert or grade cell.
* If it is about service or tasks, open **More**, then **Service & Tasks**.
* If it is the odometer nudge, open **More**, then **Service & Tasks**, and update the reading. See [Odometer reminders and estimates](/maintenance/odometer-reminders) for what it means.
* If it is from a pre-trip checklist, open the planned trip and review readiness again.
* If the alert no longer appears on the source screen, the underlying condition may already have changed.
## Understand Understood
Some safety alerts are deliberately not dismissible. When those alerts show **Understood**, tapping it calms the card but does not hide it. The alert stays visible, still counts as current safety context, and does not change the score.
If the underlying problem changes or becomes more serious, loadmate shows the alert at full urgency again. Hard legal-limit failures — where a weight is over a legal plate limit — stay at full urgency and do not offer **Understood**.
## Snoozed tasks and checklist items
Service & Tasks has its own **Snoozed** tab in All Tasks. That is where to find maintenance tasks you have snoozed until a date. When a task snooze expires, it returns to its normal overdue, due-soon, or on-track status.
The pre-trip checklist can also record a snooze action into Activity & alerts. That helps you find the fact that you set a trip item aside, but the checklist itself is still driven by the current trip and the current rig data.
# Glossary
Source: https://docs.loadmate.io/tools/glossary
towing terms explained in your region: this loadmate glossary maps GVM, ATM, tow ball mass, nose weight, load index and DOT codes to the words on your plate.
This is the plain-language list of the towing terms you will see on your plates, your paperwork, and in loadmate. The same weight has a different name in each region, so every term below shows what it is called in Australia, the United Kingdom, the United States, and Europe/international fallback. loadmate only ever shows one region's names at a time — the ones that match your selected region.
If you set your region first, the labels in the app will already match the words on your plate, and you can use this page to understand what each one means.
## Weights and limits
These are the figures loadmate checks your rig against. Each one is a number you read off a plate, a label, a manual, or a weighbridge ticket.
**Vehicle laden limit** — the most your loaded tow vehicle is allowed to weigh, stamped on its plate. Stay under this.
*AU: GVM (Gross Vehicle Mass) · UK: MAM (Maximum Authorised Mass) · US: GVWR (Gross Vehicle Weight Rating) · EU/international: GVWR (Gross Vehicle Weight Rating).*
**Combined laden limit** — the most the tow vehicle and the loaded trailer are allowed to weigh together.
*AU: GCM (Gross Combination Mass) · UK: GTW (Gross Train Weight) · US: GCWR (Gross Combined Weight Rating) · EU/international: GCWR (Gross Combined Weight Rating).*
**Trailer laden limit** — the most your loaded trailer or caravan is allowed to weigh when it is not coupled to the vehicle.
*AU: ATM (Aggregate Trailer Mass) · UK: MTPLM (Maximum Technically Permissible Laden Mass) · US: Trailer GVWR · EU/international: GTWR (Gross Trailer Weight Rating).*
**Trailer empty weight** — the trailer's weight with nothing added. loadmate uses this as the starting point, or baseline, before your loads.
*AU: Tare weight · UK: MiRO (Mass in Running Order) · US: Dry Weight · EU: mass in running order.*
**Vehicle empty weight** — the tow vehicle's weight empty, before passengers and gear.
*AU: Kerb weight · UK: Kerbweight · US: Curb Weight · EU: mass in running order.*
**Coupling weight** — the downward weight the trailer presses onto the tow ball. This is the single most safety-critical figure in towing, so getting the right label matters.
*AU: Tow ball mass (TBM) · UK: Nose weight · US: Tongue weight · EU: static vertical load on the coupling.*
**Maximum coupling weight** — the most downward coupling weight your towbar or hitch is rated to carry. Your coupling weight must stay under this.
*AU: Maximum tow ball mass · UK: Maximum permitted noseweight · US: Maximum tongue weight · EU: coupling load limit.*
**Towing capacity** — the heaviest braked trailer your vehicle is rated to tow.
*AU: Braked towing capacity (BTC) · UK: Max Towing Limit · US: Towing Capacity · EU: towable mass.*
**Axle limit** — the most weight allowed on a single axle or axle group.
*AU: Axle limit · UK: Axle limit · US: GAWR (Gross Axle Weight Rating) · EU: axle mass.*
**Trailer axle weight** — on a coupled trailer, the part of the loaded weight carried by the trailer's own axles (the rest sits on the tow ball). Mainly an Australian term.
*AU: GTM (Gross Trailer Mass).*
Payload is not a plate figure — it is what is left over. It means how much you can still add, worked out as the laden limit minus the empty weight. loadmate tracks this for you as you add loads.
## Hardware, tyres, and other terms
**A-frame** — the triangular drawbar at the front of a trailer or caravan that reaches forward to the coupling.
**Weight distribution hitch (WDH)** — towing gear that spreads the coupling weight back across the tow vehicle and the trailer axles, instead of leaving it all on the rear of the tow vehicle. Set up well, it can keep your steering and braking sharper and the rig less likely to sway. See [Set up a weight distribution hitch](/vehicles/weight-distribution-hitch).
**Anti-sway device** — hardware that resists the trailer swinging side to side. loadmate records whether you have one; it does not adjust it.
**Load index** — a number printed on the tyre sidewall that maps to how much weight one tyre can safely carry. loadmate uses it to check your tyres against the weight your rig is actually carrying. See [Tyre setup](/tyres/tyre-setup).
**DOT code (tyre age)** — the code on the tyre sidewall whose last four digits are the week and year the tyre was made. For example, **3421** means week 34 of 2021. loadmate uses this to track tyre age. See [Pressure and load](/tyres/pressure-and-load).
**Placard** — the small sticker, usually inside the driver's door or near the fuel cap, that lists the recommended tyre sizes and pressures for your vehicle.
**Compliance plate** — the metal or printed plate fixed to a vehicle or trailer that lists its official weight ratings. This is the figure to trust when something disagrees.
**Baseline weight** — the empty, ready-to-tow weight loadmate starts from before adding your loads. You set it from the plate, the manual, or a measured weigh-in. See [Record a weigh-in](/weigh-ins/weigh-in-overview).
## Open the full glossary in the app
The app carries the complete, searchable glossary in your region's terms. Open **More**, then **Glossary**. It opens as a reference screen, so you can look up a word without changing any of your rig data. Help links and explanation sheets across the app can also drop you straight onto a specific term.
When you know the word, type it in the search field — GVM, MTPLM, tongue weight, load index. When you do not know the acronym, search the everyday idea instead: "combined" for the combined limit, "coupling" for tow ball mass or nose weight, "tyre" or "tire" for the tyre terms.
## A guide to the words, not the numbers
This glossary explains what a term means. It does not tell you the value for your own vehicle or trailer. For the actual number, read the plate, label, manual, specification sheet, tyre sidewall, or measured ticket, and enter that.
If a glossary explanation and a plate label seem to disagree, trust the plate for the value, and contact support or a qualified fitter before saving a guess.
# Your completed trip
Source: https://docs.loadmate.io/trips/completed-trip
Open a completed trip to read back its route map, distance and duration stats, and saved feedback, then tap Duplicate to reuse the route for next season.
Open a finished trip and you do not see a blank receipt. You see the **story of the trip**: where you went, how far and how long you were out, the rig you took, what you wrote down, and how it all felt. loadmate puts this together for you. It uses what was saved while you travelled and the feedback you gave when you got home. You do not assemble anything. You open the trip and read it back, like a page in a logbook you did not have to write.
This page walks through each part of that story. It then covers the two things you will most often want afterwards: opening any jobs the trip left you with, and starting next year's trip from this one. It finishes with the quickest way to share where you have been.
Reading a completed trip is free for everyone, including demo. Demo trips are read-only, so you can look around a finished demo trip without changing anything. Starting a new trip from one (Duplicate) is a Pro action.
## The completed trip story
Open a finished trip from your Trips list. The top of the screen sets the scene. There is a small **Completed** badge and a tag naming the rig you took. A line tells you when you got back: **Returned today**, **Returned yesterday**, or **Returned 6 days ago**. Then comes the headline of the trip itself, the route you travelled.
Below that sits a route map and the headline numbers for the whole trip.
![Completed trip story showing the route map, Open in Maps button, returned date, and distance, duration, and destination stats]()
The three figures across the top are the quick summary of the trip:
* **Distance** — how far you travelled, shown in the units you use (kilometres or miles).
* **Duration** — how many days you were away.
* **Destinations** — how many stops the trip had, such as "Direct", "1 stop", or "3 stops".
Under the numbers, the **Itinerary** lists the journey in order: where you set off, any stops along the way, and where you finished, with the dates beside each one. If you wrote anything in your trip **Notes**, that sits here too, kept exactly as you left it.
### Open in Maps
The route map at the top is a still picture of where you went. Tap **Open in Maps** and loadmate hands the route to your phone's own maps app: your start, your stops, and your destination. You can then see it on a full, live map there.
loadmate does not give you turn-by-turn directions or a moving map inside the app. **Open in Maps** simply passes the route to the maps app you already use, where the real navigation lives.
* **Distance** is the length of the route you planned and travelled, in your own units. If a trip never had a measurable distance, this row stays out of the way rather than showing a zero.
* **Duration** counts the days from when you left to when you returned.
* **Destinations** counts the stops on the route. A straight there-and-back reads as "Direct". A touring loop shows the number of stops you made.
The rig you took is shown as a tag near the top, not as one of these three numbers. That way you can always see at a glance which van and tow vehicle the trip belonged to.
## Your saved feedback
After a trip, loadmate asks you a gentle question: how did it go? Whatever you answered comes back here as a preview. The feeling of the trip lives alongside the route and the numbers.
The preview leads with the tone you chose:
* **Smooth** — nothing of concern. The trip towed the way you expected.
* **Mixed** — mostly fine, with a thing or two worth noting.
* **Rough** — something needed attention, or the trip felt unsettled.
Beneath the tone is a short summary, along with when you logged it. For a smooth trip it reads "Nothing to flag". For a mixed or rough trip it tells you how many things you flagged. If you flagged anything specific, those notes appear as their own short rows, so you can see them without opening anything further.
When loadmate has something useful to say about what you flagged, one more small line appears under the summary: **Setup pointer found — tap to see why**, or, just as often, **Setup looked right — tap for what else it could be**. Both lead to the same place: the full feedback view.
To read everything you saved, tap **View full**. That opens your full notes, every flagged item, and the trip context, exactly as you left it. An **Edit** button is there if you want to revise it.
### Why this can happen
Inside the full view, each thing you flagged carries its own **Why this can happen** section. Tap it open and loadmate reads your symptom against the rig you actually towed that day — the snapshot it saved when you submitted the feedback — and explains the connection in a couple of plain sentences, using your own numbers.
Report sway, for example, and it checks what your tow-ball weight was carrying that day — nose weight or tongue weight in your region's words — against the steady band for your setup: *"On this trip your tow ball mass was about 7% of the van's weight — below the steady band for your setup (9–11%). A light ball lets the van steer the car instead of following it. Moving weight forward of the van's axles is the usual fix."* A **Learn more in the glossary** link sits underneath if the term is new to you.
loadmate is careful about what it claims here:
* **When the numbers point somewhere**, it says so and names the usual fix.
* **When your setup looked right**, it says exactly that — and points to the things it cannot see, like crosswinds, passing trucks, or tyre pressures. If you noted those conditions yourself, it acknowledges them: "You noted crosswinds on this trip, which fits."
* **When there was not enough setup data** from that trip, it says that too, and suggests a weigh-in so the picture is complete next time.
* **When something needs a workshop first** — a brake that grabbed, damage, heat, or a smell — the setup explanation stands aside entirely. Inspection advice always comes before load theory.
These explanations describe your setup; they never judge a past trip. And they never touch your Rig Score — the score and its limits always come first.
### When a smooth trip earns it
If you logged a smooth trip and the numbers genuinely back it — everything under its limits, tow-ball weight in the steady band, a ready-band score at departure — a small card appears beside the preview: **That steadiness was you.** It quotes the figures from the day you set off. Trips feel planted when the setup is right, and this is loadmate telling you yours was. If anything was over a limit that day, the card never appears, however smooth the trip felt.
If you have not given feedback yet and a trip is still recent, this section shows a calm prompt instead of nagging you: **How did this trip go?** with a **Log feedback** action. If more time has passed and you never logged anything, it simply reads **No feedback saved yet**, with no prompt. For how the feedback questions work and how to fill them in, see [Finish a trip and give feedback](/trips/finish-and-feedback).
You do not re-enter feedback here. This is the saved copy. To change it, open it with **View full** and tap **Edit**.
## Worth a workshop check
Some of the things you can flag in feedback are always worth a professional look: a brake that grabbed or pulled, a symptom that never settled, something that happened more than once, or anything involving damage, heat, or a smell. When your answers match one of those, the trip's feedback carries a **Worth a workshop check** card. It lists the reasons in plain words — "Sway or wandering didn't settle during the trip", "Damage, heat or smell was reported" — so you can see exactly why it is suggesting a check.
Under the reasons sits one button: **Add to Maintenance**. Tap it and loadmate creates a real maintenance task for the right asset, carrying the urgency your answers suggested — urgent flags are marked to check before your next tow. Until you tap it, this card is a recommendation and nothing more. The moment a task exists, the card switches to task language and links you to it.
In the United States this card reads **Worth a shop check** — same card, your region's words.
## Follow-up tasks from this trip
Sometimes a trip leaves you with a job to do, such as a wheel to inspect or a service to bring forward. If your feedback created one of these, it appears here under **Follow-ups from this trip**. Tapping the row opens the real job over in your Maintenance area. Each row is labelled "Created from trip feedback", with a **View** action. An **All maintenance** link sits at the top of the section so you can jump to the full list.
loadmate never invents these jobs for you. A follow-up task appears here **only** because you chose to create one — either during feedback, or by tapping **Add to Maintenance** on the workshop-check card above. loadmate does not guess tasks from a trip, and it does not create one quietly behind your back. If you did not ask for a follow-up, none appears.
Because of that, only genuine, saved jobs ever show up here. You will never see an inspection or a tyre check that loadmate dreamed up. And if a trip left nothing to follow up on, this section simply does not appear. No empty box, no nagging line. Its absence is the good news.
For what a maintenance task is and how it is tracked once it lands, see your Maintenance area through the **All maintenance** link.
## Reuse this trip
The trips you enjoy are the ones you will want to do again. Rather than re-type every stop, you can start a fresh planned trip from a finished one.
On the completed trip, tap **Duplicate**. This begins a new planned trip built from this one. Its route, its stops, the same rig, and your notes all carry across.
A **Choose new dates** sheet opens. loadmate explains that it will copy the route, stops, rig, notes, and attachments. So the only thing it asks for is when you are going. You set two dates: a **Start date** and a **Return date**.
Tap **Create trip** and loadmate builds the new planned trip and opens it, ready for you to adjust anything before you travel.
You may see the words "plan a similar trip" used to describe this. That is exactly what **Duplicate** does. The button you tap is labelled **Duplicate**.
**Duplicate** is a Pro action. The "Choose new dates" sheet opens for everyone so you can see how it works, but creating the new trip needs Pro. On a demo trip, loadmate shows the demo read-only message instead, because demo data cannot be changed.
## Quick share
From a finished trip you can send a quick, plain-text summary to family or friends: where you went and when. Tap **Share** and your phone's normal share options open, with the route and the dates ready to go. Send it by message, email, or anywhere else you share things.
This plain-text **Share** is free for everyone. There is no Pro gate on it.
loadmate is also building two fuller ways to pass a trip on — a tidy picture card and a PDF — but they are not ready to open in this version yet. See [Share a trip summary](/trips/share-trip-summary) for what works today and what is coming.
Try it now: open a finished trip, tap **Open in Maps** to see the route on a full map, then scroll down to read back your saved feedback. If it was a good one, tap **Duplicate** to start next season's trip from it.
For the trip overview and your travel stats over time, see [Your trips and stats](/trips/trip-list-and-stats). To revisit how the feedback questions are asked, see [Finish a trip and give feedback](/trips/finish-and-feedback). To see how this trip's distance moved your odometer forward, see [Your odometer history](/maintenance/odometer-history).
# While you are on the trip
Source: https://docs.loadmate.io/trips/during-your-trip
The during-trip dashboard lets you log weight changes, fuel stops, and odometer updates as you tow, keeping your rig score and service reminders accurate.
When you set off, your planned trip turns into a calm towing dashboard for the days you are on the road. It is one place to record what changes, what you fill, and how far you have gone. That way nothing about the trip slips out of date, and you are not left piecing it together from memory afterwards.
Each entry takes only a few seconds. The changes you log stay separate from your everyday packing setup. When the trip ends, you decide whether to keep them. Along the way they keep your score, your fuel economy, and your service reminders accurate.
The dashboard and every sheet on this page open for everyone, so you can see exactly what they ask for. **Starting** a trip, **logging** a fuel stop, and **saving** a weight or odometer change need Pro, and demo data is read-only — you can look around a demo trip but not change it.
## When the trip becomes a dashboard
While a trip is still in the future, it is a plan: a route, your dates, and a pre-trip checklist counting down the things to sort before you leave. Once the trip is underway, loadmate switches that same screen over to the during-trip dashboard described below. The dashboard has a weight banner, three quick actions, and an **End trip** button you can reach at any time.
This is the moment loadmate begins recording real data about the journey, which is why it sits behind Pro. Before this point you are still planning. After it you are towing, and the during-trip tools are switched on.
### Why loadmate freezes a snapshot
The instant a trip begins, loadmate takes a **departure snapshot** — a frozen picture of your rig at the moment you left. It records your rig score, your total weight, how your rear axle and your coupling weight were sitting, and your odometer reading, exactly as they were at departure.
The snapshot card shows four plain figures:
| Card label | What it means |
| ---------------- | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
| **Score** | Your rig score at the moment you set off. |
| **Total weight** | The whole rig's weight at departure. |
| **Rear axle** | How full your rear axle was, shown as a percentage of its limit. |
| **Tow ball** | How loaded the coupling was, shown as a percentage of its limit. The figure that carries your region's wording — tow ball mass, nose weight, or tongue weight — lives on your Rig screen; this card simply shows the percentage. |
This matters because it lets the questions at the end of the trip be specific rather than vague. Because loadmate knows your rear axle was near its limit when you left, it can ask "how did the back end feel?" instead of a generic "how was the trip?".
The departure snapshot is a frozen record, not a live reading. It captures how the rig was at the moment you left and does not keep updating as you drive. The weight banner just below it is the part that moves as you log changes.
## The towing dashboard
Once the trip is underway, the dashboard is the screen you will come back to. It is laid out top to bottom so the most useful things are easy to reach.
![In-progress trip dashboard showing the current leg, trip distance, completed legs, journey log, and End journey action]()
* A **Current effective weight** banner. "Effective weight" simply means your departure weight, plus or minus everything you have logged since. It shows the weight you left with, the running total of your changes, and where that leaves you now.
* A short readiness line, ** items noted at departure**, recording what your pre-trip checklist still had outstanding when you set off. It only appears if anything was outstanding, and you can tap it to expand the list of those items.
* Three quick actions for the things that change on the road.
* An **End trip** button pinned to the bottom of the screen the whole time you are towing, so it is always one tap away when you arrive.
The three quick actions are the heart of the dashboard. Each one is covered in its own section below.
Record gear, water, or people going on or off the rig.
Note a fill so loadmate can work out your fuel economy.
Keep your distance accurate for service and tyre timing.
The readiness line shows a plain count — for example **2 items noted at departure** — never a "2 of 5" fraction and never a progress bar. Tap it to expand the list of those items, and tap again to fold it away. It is a record of what was still outstanding when you left, so you can glance back at it without it nagging you while you drive.
## Log a Change (weight)
Things move on and off your rig during a trip. You fill the water tank at camp, pick up a grandchild for part of the way, buy a week of supplies in town, drop a heavy awning at a friend's place. **Log a Change** records each of these in seconds, so your score stays accurate without you having to rebuild your whole packing list.
Tap **Log a Change** on the dashboard. The sheet, titled **Log a Change**, opens from the bottom of the screen.
Under **Type**, choose what happened: **Filled water**, **Emptied water**, **Bought supplies**, **Removed gear**, **Picked up passenger**, **Dropped off passenger**, or **Other**. loadmate already knows whether each one adds or removes weight, so you never have to think about plus or minus signs.
Type the **Weight change** in your usual units. An estimate is fine — a full water tank, a bag of shopping, a person's rough weight. For a passenger, loadmate even offers a sensible starting figure you can adjust.
Under **Where on your rig?**, pick the storage zone the weight went into or came out of. Your own zones are grouped under **Vehicle zones** and **Trailer zones**. If you are not sure of the exact spot, choose **Not sure / General** — the change still counts toward your total weight.
Add an optional **Notes** line if you want a reminder of the detail, then tap **Save change**.
A change you log here is **temporary** — it belongs to this trip only and does not touch your saved loads. The running total on the weight banner updates straight away, and your rig score refreshes from it. When you reach the end of the trip, loadmate gathers all of these up and asks one simple question — **Keep changes** or **Revert** — so you decide then whether any of them should become part of your everyday setup. Until that moment, nothing about your normal packing has been altered. The full keep-or-revert step is covered in [Finish a trip and add feedback](/trips/finish-and-feedback).
A rough estimate is far better than nothing. The point of logging a change is to keep the picture roughly right while you tow — a full tank is about the same every time, and a week's groceries lands in the same ballpark trip after trip. You can always refine your real loads later from the Rig tab. Do not skip a heavy change just because the number is not exact.
## Log a fuel stop
Logging your fills is what lets loadmate show your real fuel economy for the trip — a genuinely useful number when you are budgeting a long tow.
Tap **Log fuel stop** on the dashboard. The sheet, titled **Log fuel stop**, opens. The date defaults to today; tap it to change it if you are logging an earlier fill.
Enter the amount in the **Litres** field. This reads as gallons if your region uses imperial units.
**Cost per litre** and **Total cost** are optional. Enter the price per unit and loadmate works out the total for you, or just type the total straight in.
Type the current **Odometer** reading. This one is needed — it is what ties the fill to a distance, and it also keeps your vehicle's odometer up to date for service and tyre reminders.
Leave **Full tank fill?** on when you brimmed the tank, or turn it off for a part-fill. This is the setting that makes an economy figure possible — see the note below.
**Station / Location** is optional. You can type any station or place name; when you are online it can suggest nearby places, but it works perfectly well on the text you type with no signal at all. Tap **Save** when you are done.
For the most accurate economy reading, fill to the same level every time — for example, click off at the first cut-out on every full fill. Consistent fills are what let loadmate compare like with like.
Fuel economy is worked out from the distance between two brimmed tanks and the fuel it took to top the second one back up. With only one full fill, there is nothing to measure against yet, so the dashboard's fuel summary will say it needs at least two full fills before it shows an economy number. Once you have logged that second full tank, your figure appears — in **L/100km**, or **MPG** if your region uses imperial units. Part-fills are still recorded and added up; they simply cannot anchor an economy reading on their own.
## Update odometer
The odometer is the heartbeat of your service and tyre reminders. **Update odometer** is a quick way to set the reading mid-trip without logging a fuel stop, so your distance-based service intervals and tyre-age countdowns stay accurate.
Tap **Update odometer** on the dashboard. A short prompt opens with two ways forward:
* **Enter actual** lets you type the real number off your dash under **Actual reading**, then tap **Accept** to save it.
* **Skip** leaves it for now. Tap it once and loadmate shows a gentle reminder that maintenance schedules depend on odometer accuracy; tap again to confirm you are skipping.
A new reading should be the same as, or higher than, the one loadmate already has. If you enter a lower number, loadmate treats it as older history rather than overwriting your current reading — so a slip of the finger will not wind your odometer backwards.
You only need to do this if you want to nudge the reading along between fills. Every fuel stop you log with an odometer reading already keeps it up to date. The end-of-trip prompt is the one that offers a ready-made projected figure to **Accept**; see [Finish a trip and add feedback](/trips/finish-and-feedback). For the full picture on odometer readings and what they drive, see [Keep your odometer current](/maintenance/keep-odometer-current).
## When you arrive
When you reach the end of the day's towing, tap **End trip** at the bottom of the dashboard. loadmate walks you through a short wind-down: it offers to set your final odometer, then — if you logged any weight changes — asks whether to **Keep changes** or **Revert** them, and finally invites you to note how the rig felt. None of that happens automatically behind your back; you stay in control of each step. The whole wind-down is covered in [Finish a trip and add feedback](/trips/finish-and-feedback).
Where every trip starts: destination, dates, and the rig you are towing.
The readiness checks that count down before you leave.
Ending a trip, the odometer and weight review, and how the rig felt.
**Try it now:** the next time you fill the water tank at camp, open your in-progress trip, tap **Log a Change**, choose **Filled water**, and watch the weight banner update. It takes about ten seconds, and your score stays accurate for the rest of the journey.
# Finish a trip and add feedback
Source: https://docs.loadmate.io/trips/finish-and-feedback
Ending a trip in loadmate: confirm your odometer, keep or revert weight changes, and rate how the rig felt, so service timing and your Rig Score stay current.
Ending a trip asks you for two small things: the distance you drove, and how the rig felt. loadmate uses both. The distance keeps your service timing, your weights, and your Rig Score up to date. The feel gives you a useful note for next time. Nothing here is busywork, and there is no jargon to learn.
You can open every form and look around for free. Saving is the part that needs Pro: ending the trip, keeping weight changes, submitting feedback, adding a follow-up, duplicating, cancelling, or deleting. Demo data stays read-only, so you can explore without changing anything.
## End the trip
While a trip is in progress, one button waits at the bottom of the trip: **End trip**. It only appears once a trip is under way. An upcoming trip has no "End trip" button, and there is no "Start trip" button to look for here either.
Tap **End trip** when you are home and unhitched. loadmate then walks you through three short steps, in order: the odometer reading, a quick weight review (only if you logged weight changes on the road), and then feedback.
Open the trip and tap **End trip** at the bottom. This only appears while the trip is in progress.
loadmate offers the projected reading. Accept it, type the real one, or skip.
If you logged changes while away, you decide whether they stay in your setup.
Tell loadmate how the rig felt — or tap to be reminded another time.
### The odometer prompt
The first thing you see is **Update odometer**. loadmate already knows roughly how far you travelled, so it offers a projected reading for your tow vehicle and asks if that looks right. You have three choices:
* **Accept** — take the projected figure. This is the quick path when the trip went as planned.
* **Enter actual** — type the real number off your dashboard into the **Actual reading** field. Use this when you want it exact.
* **Skip** — move on without recording anything this time.
This small question is the main link between your trips and the rest of loadmate. The reading keeps your service reminders, tyre dates, and warranty timing accurate, with no need to jot down mileage by hand. That is why skipping it shows a gentle reminder: those reminders depend on your odometer being right. For how the reading is used and updated afterwards, see [Keep your odometer current](/maintenance/keep-odometer-current).
loadmate guards against winding the odometer back by accident. If the number you enter is lower than the reading already on file, it does not just accept it. It stops, shows you both readings, and offers to keep the latest one it holds or to correct the original setup figure. You choose. Nothing changes quietly behind your back. You can review or fix any reading later on [Your odometer history](/maintenance/odometer-history).
There is a nice touch for caravanners here. When you confirm the tow vehicle reading, your **trailer's own odometer advances automatically** by the distance of this trip. You do not get a second prompt for it. Your caravan keeps its own service, tyre, and warranty history, even if you tow it behind a different vehicle next season.
A caravan or trailer wears with the distance it travels, not the distance a particular tow vehicle has done. By advancing the trailer's reading on its own, loadmate can age its tyres and time its servicing on its real distance, whichever vehicle is on the front. If you sell the tow vehicle and buy another, the caravan's history stays intact.
### Keep or revert weight changes
This step only appears if you logged weight changes while you were away: filling or emptying water, buying supplies, dropping off gear, and so on. If you did, loadmate shows **Trip weight changes** and asks one plain question. Keep these changes in your load setup, or revert to how it was before the trip?
* **Keep changes** — writes the changes you made on the road into your normal packing setup, then refreshes your Rig Score to match. Choose this when the new arrangement is how the rig will travel from now on. For example, you finally added that second water tank for good.
* **Revert** — leaves your usual setup exactly as it was before the trip. Choose this when the changes were just for this trip, like extra supplies you have since used up.
There is no wrong answer here, and nothing is locked in. If you keep changes and later wish you had not, you can adjust the loads yourself from your loads list any time.
## Add post-trip feedback
After the odometer and weight steps, loadmate brings you to the feedback screen with one question. Feedback is never required, and there is no rush. If now is not the moment, tap **Later**, and loadmate keeps the trip flagged so it can remind you. The window stays open for 30 days after the trip finishes, which is plenty of time to get home, unpack, and think about how it went.
### How did the trip feel?
The feedback starts with **How did the trip feel?** and three simple choices:
* **Smooth** — the rig behaved itself.
* **Mixed** — mostly fine, but one or two things stood out.
* **Rough** — something genuinely concerned you.
![Trip feedback screen showing Smooth, Mixed, and Rough sentiment choices and the towing context field]()
Your choice shapes what loadmate asks next. **Rough** adds one extra question, **How serious was it?**, so loadmate can tell the difference between something you merely noticed and something that felt unsafe. **Smooth** and **Mixed** keep it short and do not ask about seriousness.
### Tell us what happened
On **Mixed** and **Rough**, loadmate shows a list of plain-language things you might have felt: sway or wandering, light steering, rear sag, braking that felt wrong, brake grab or pull, bouncing or pitching, tyre or wheel heat, engine or transmission strain, hitch or coupling noise, scraping or clearance, and load that moved. There is also a **Something else** row for anything not on the list. (On Mixed the heading reads *Anything stand out?*; on Rough it reads *What happened?*.) Tap whichever ones match. Nothing is required, so skip the lot if nothing in particular stood out.
Tap a row to expand it, and loadmate asks three quick questions about that one thing:
* **When did it happen?**
* **How did you respond?**
* **Did it settle?**
The choices match the symptom you picked. What you would have done about sway is not what you would have done about soft braking, so the buttons differ. Each expanded row also has an **Add a note about this** link, in case you want to jot a detail in your own words for that one symptom.
These answers do more than fill a log. Once you submit, loadmate compares what you felt against how your rig was actually set up on that trip and explains the connection on the completed trip — in plain words, with your own numbers. When your setup looked right, it says so. Answering never commits you to any action.
### Tyre or hub heat, and "Something else"
Two of the rows ask slightly different questions:
* **Tyre or wheel heat** asks **Which wheel?** (Trailer wheel, Vehicle wheel, or Not sure) and **What did you observe?** This is where you record a smell, smoke, a tyre-pressure (TPMS) alert, or a hot hub when you touched it.
* **Something else** is for anything the list does not cover. It needs a short note before you can save, so loadmate knows what you mean.
If you saw damage, or noticed heat or a smell, it travels along as a mark on the relevant symptom row, not a separate row of its own. You record it once, in the place it belongs.
### Anything different about this trip?
Tucked into the symptom step is an optional question: **Different from how you usually pack?** It lets you mark a one-off, such as a fully loaded car for a big shop or a heavier-than-usual water fill. That way the trip reads as a special case next to whatever you flagged, rather than a permanent change in how the rig behaves. Leave it alone if the trip was a normal one.
### Add a maintenance follow-up (optional)
On any of the three answers, Smooth, Mixed, or Rough, you can add a follow-up if something deserves a closer look. Tap **Add a maintenance follow-up**, and loadmate asks four small things:
1. **What needs checking?** — name it in plain words, such as "fridge stopped working".
2. **Where should it be saved?** — Tow vehicle, Trailer, Hitch or coupling, or Not sure.
3. **Maintenance area** — Brakes, Tyres or wheels, Suspension or sway, Engine or drivetrain, Electrical, or Something else.
4. **Choose follow-up** — what should happen next.
That last step shows you the consequence of each choice before you pick it:
| Choice | What it does |
| --------------------------------- | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ |
| **Remind me before the next tow** | Creates a maintenance task and shows it in your pre-trip checklist for the next tow. |
| **Roll into the next service** | Creates a maintenance task for the asset you chose. No pre-trip alert. |
| **Just keep a record** | Saves the note on this trip's feedback only. No task, no alert. |
A maintenance task is only ever created when **you** choose one of the task-creating follow-ups here. Feedback on its own never creates a task in the background. If you pick **Just keep a record**, or skip the follow-up entirely, no task is made. The note simply stays with the trip.
Separately from this card, some of the things you can flag are always worth a professional look: a brake that grabbed, a symptom that never settled, anything involving damage, heat, or a smell. When your answers match one of those, the completed trip shows a **Worth a workshop check** card listing the reasons in plain words, with an **Add to Maintenance** button. That is still a button you tap — nothing goes into Maintenance until you choose it. See [Your completed trip](/trips/completed-trip) for how that card works.
## What feedback is for
When you submit feedback, loadmate quietly saves a snapshot of your rig exactly as it was on that trip: the weights, the balance, the setup. So if you report sway, heavy braking, or heat, that report carries the real state of the rig from that day. Months later, when you compare trips or show a mechanic, the picture is the true one from the time it happened, not whatever your rig looks like today. A vague memory of "it felt off near the hills" becomes something you can actually look back on.
That snapshot now works for you straight away. On the completed trip, each thing you flagged carries a small **Why this can happen** section that reads your symptom against the rig you actually towed that day. Report sway, and loadmate checks what your tow-ball weight was carrying — nose weight or tongue weight in your region's words — against the steady band for your setup, and tells you what it found in one plain sentence. When the numbers point somewhere, you get the usual fix. When your setup looked right, it says exactly that, and points to the things it cannot see, like wind or tyre pressures. And when a smooth trip's numbers genuinely back it, the trip earns a quiet "That steadiness was you." For the full read-back, see [Your completed trip](/trips/completed-trip).
## Edit, plan similar, cancel, or delete a trip
From the trip itself you have a few housekeeping actions. Each one needs Pro.
Change the dates, destination, notes, or the rig on the trip. Use **Edit** when the plan shifts or you got a detail wrong.
Copies this trip into a fresh one with new dates, so a favourite route is ready to go again without re-entering everything.
For a trip you have not taken yet. **Cancel trip** marks it as cancelled and tucks it into a tidy, collapsed Cancelled list. Nothing is lost; it just steps out of the way. (You will not see this on a trip you have already finished.)
Removes the trip and its details for good. loadmate asks you to confirm first, because this one cannot be undone.
Try it now: open a finished trip, tap into its feedback, and choose **Smooth**, **Mixed**, or **Rough** — even just to see the questions. You can tap **Later** and come back to it any time.
Once the trip is wrapped up, you can pass it on as a quick line of text. See [Share a trip summary](/trips/share-trip-summary) (a picture card and a PDF are coming in a later version). To revisit the route, the feel, and your notes any time, open the [completed trip](/trips/completed-trip). For everything that happens while you are still on the road, such as logging changes, fuel stops, and odometer updates mid-trip, see [During your trip](/trips/during-your-trip).
# Plan a trip
Source: https://docs.loadmate.io/trips/plan-a-trip
Plan a trip in loadmate by setting a destination, dates, route shape, stops, and the rig you tow, so the pre-trip checklist can flag what needs attention.
Planning a trip is not really about the route. You tell loadmate three things: **where** you are going, **when**, and **which rig** you are taking. With those in hand, the pre-trip checklist can start listing what needs attention a few days before you leave, while there is still time to fix it.
Everything else on the form is optional. Set the destination, the dates, and the rig, and you have done the part that matters.
The new-trip form opens for everyone, so you can see exactly what it asks for. **Saving** a trip to your own rig needs Pro, and demo data is read-only — you can look around a demo trip but not save changes to it.
## Open the new-trip form
Open the **Trips** tab from the bottom of the screen. Your upcoming and completed trips are listed there. To start a new one, tap **Add**, the button with the plus sign near the bottom of the list.
There is no "what kind of trip?" question first. Tapping **Add** takes you straight into the planning form. On a phone it slides up from the bottom of the screen. On a tablet or a wide window it opens as a panel in the middle. Either way it asks for the same things, in the same order.
The form is headed **Planned trip**. A planned trip is one with a destination and dates. That is the kind loadmate uses to check your readiness before you set off.
## Set the destination and dates
These are the two things loadmate really needs. Once it knows where you are headed and how long you will be away, it can work out which checks matter and roughly how far you are going.
In the **Where are you going?** field, start typing the town, park, or place. As you type, loadmate offers matching suggestions. Tap the right one and the address fills itself in. Choosing a suggestion, rather than typing free text, is what later lets loadmate sketch the route and work out the distance.
Tap **Leaving** to choose the day you set off, and **Returning** to choose the day you get home. Both are needed. The pre-trip checklist uses that window to decide what to watch: a service that falls due while you are away, say, or a tyre that crosses an age warning before you return. The **Returning** date cannot fall before the **Leaving** date. loadmate will ask you to fix the order if it does.
By default loadmate departs from **Current location**. If you are setting off from somewhere else, such as a friend's place or a storage yard, open **Starting from** and type the starting point. Leave it alone and loadmate assumes you are leaving from where you are now.
You can also give the **main destination** its own **Arrive** and **Leave** dates if you want loadmate to know how long you are staying there. These are optional, and both must sit inside your leaving and returning window.
## Choose the route shape
Under the destination, loadmate shows a small callout describing the shape of your trip, such as *Round trip — returns to home*, with a **Change** link beside it. Tap **Change** to open the shape picker. There are three shapes to choose from:
You travel out to your destination and come **back to where you started**. This is the everyday holiday shape: home to the coast and home again. loadmate measures the full there-and-back distance.
Your **destination is the final stop**. You are not planning a return on this trip. This suits a relocation, a delivery run, or a trip whose return you will plan separately. loadmate measures the outbound distance only.
You come home, but to a **different return place** than where you started, or by a different road. Choose a **Return to** location. You can add stops on the way home as well as on the way out, which is handy for a circuit where the run home is its own part of the trip.
![Trip route shape picker showing Round trip, One-way, and Loop choices]()
You can switch the shape at any time while you are filling in the form. Changing it only affects how loadmate draws and measures the route. It does not lose the destination or dates you have already entered. Switching away from Loop simply drops the separate return place.
## Add stops along the way
If your trip has stops between home and your destination, add them as **stops** so the route reflects the real drive. A stop might be an overnight halt, a town to fuel up and stretch, or a relative to visit.
Tap **Add stop** and type the place. You will also see **Add a stop here** between points on the timeline. As with the destination, the suggestions help you land on the right spot.
Each stop can carry its own **Arrive** and **Leave** dates, so loadmate knows roughly when you will be where. These dates must sit inside your trip window, between your **Leaving** and **Returning** dates, and a stop's **Leave** cannot be before its **Arrive**. loadmate will gently point out any date that does not fit.
Tap a stop to change its place or dates. Tap the bin icon to remove it if your plans change. Add as many as your trip needs.
For a **Loop** trip, you can add stops on the way home as well, so a circuit reads as one continuous trip rather than two separate ones.
![Planned trip form showing an added stop and Save trip action]()
## Choose the rig you are taking
This is the quiet but important one. Your **rig** is the tow vehicle paired with the trailer or caravan you are towing: the exact setup you will have on the road. The form shows it on a **Configuration** row near the bottom.
If you only have one rig, it is already chosen and you can move on. If you have more than one vehicle or trailer, tap **Change** on that row to open **Choose trip rig** and pick the pairing you will actually tow. This matters because the pre-trip checklist reads from that exact rig, not from every asset in your garage. Your weights, your loads, your score, and your tyre and service status all come from the rig you choose here.
For those checks to be worth trusting, it helps to make the chosen rig **current** before you lean on it. None of this happens on the trip form. It lives on the rig itself. A quick pass now saves surprises later:
Add, remove, or adjust gear so your load list reflects this trip.
Set fill levels for tanks and bottles so the weight is realistic.
Add manufacture dates and load ratings so the tyre checks can read.
A fresh weighbridge or scale reading lifts the confidence in every number.
You do not have to do all of that before you can save the trip. The trip will still save without it. But the more current the rig, the more the pre-trip checklist can tell you before you leave.
## Add notes and photos
If you want to keep trip details in one place, open **Add more details** near the bottom of the form. There you will find:
* **Notes** — a free-text field for anything you want to remember: a campground booking reference, a gate code, who you are meeting, what time check-in is.
* **Attachments** — tap **Add files** to attach up to five photos, such as a snapshot of a booking confirmation or a map you saved.
Both are optional. They travel with the trip, so the details are there when you open it again on the road, days later.
## Distance and the route map
loadmate draws a small **route preview** that updates as you add the destination, the stops, and the route shape, so you can watch the trip take shape at a glance. This preview is a simple sketch, not a street map. It is just there to show the order of your stops.
Once the trip is saved, loadmate works out the **distance** for the route and fetches a small **route map** from Google. The map appears on the trip alongside a rough drive estimate. It is a picture of the route and a distance figure, a calm reference rather than a live map.
loadmate is **not** a navigation app. It will not give you turn-by-turn directions. For the driving itself, keep using the navigation you already trust, whether that is your phone maps, a dedicated sat-nav, or your in-car system. loadmate's job is to tell you where you are going, how far it is, and what still needs attention before you set off.
## After you save
Tap **Save trip** when the destination, dates, and rig read the way you want.
The trip lands in your list on the **Trips** tab, under your upcoming trips. From there it sits quietly until departure draws near. The active checks begin about two weeks before you leave, and that is when the **readiness** checklist comes to life. Readiness is a short pre-departure list. It fills itself in as your leaving date approaches, showing what needs attention while there is still time to act. It shows a plain **count**, such as *3 pre-trip checks pending*, or **No outstanding checks** when you are clear. There is no score and no progress bar, so it never feels like a test.
Readiness combines two things. First, items tied to your trip window: a service or warranty falling due while you are away, or a tyre crossing an age threshold by your return. Second, a few current findings from your chosen rig that matter before departure. It is not a safety score. Your Rig Score is shown separately on the Rig tab. For the full list of what can appear, see [The pre-trip checklist](/pre-trip/checklist).
Open the trip from your list to edit its dates, destination, stops, notes, or rig. You can also duplicate a trip to reuse it as a starting point, or cancel and delete one that is no longer happening. Editing the dates can shift which readiness items appear, because the window has moved. After a change, reopen the trip and glance at the checklist again. Starting, logging changes during, and finishing a trip are all covered on [During your trip](/trips/during-your-trip).
This page is about planning. Walking out to the van and checking the hitch, the lights, the load straps, and the tyres before you pull away is still your own job. It is a habit worth keeping whatever the app says. loadmate prepares you from the information you have entered. It does not replace the look around your own rig.
**Try it now:** open the **Trips** tab and tap **Add**. Type your next destination and set your leaving and returning dates — even just those two fields show you how the pre-trip checklist starts to take shape.
For the trips list, your travel stats, and where everything lands, see [Your trips list and stats](/trips/trip-list-and-stats). For what readiness can flag before you leave, see [The pre-trip checklist](/pre-trip/checklist).
# Share a trip summary
Source: https://docs.loadmate.io/trips/share-trip-summary
Share a finished trip from the completed trip screen as a short text line with route and dates. Free, no Pro needed, and it leaves your weights and Rig Score out.
When a trip is done, it is nice to have something to show for it. loadmate lets you pass a finished trip on as a short line of text. It sends the route and the dates, straight from the completed trip screen. It is a quick way to say "we did the lap, here's where we went" in a message, an email, or a caravan forum reply.
The full record of the trip stays in the app. The route, how it felt, and any notes you left all stay on the completed trip in your Trips tab. This page is about getting that trip out of the app and into someone else's hands.
Sharing a finished trip as text is free. You do not need Pro. It also works on the demo rig, so you can try it before you decide anything.
## Share a finished trip
The share lives on the completed trip itself. When you tap **Share**, your device opens its normal share sheet. The route and the dates are already written out for you, and you choose where they go.
On the Trips tab, find the trip you want and tap to open it. A finished trip shows its route, how it felt, and the trip's actions along the bottom.
The **Share** action prepares a short line of text. The route sits on one line, the dates on the next. Nothing else is included.
Your device's normal share sheet opens. Choose a message, an email, a forum reply, or wherever you want it to land.
You will also find **Share** in the three-dots menu at the top of a completed trip. It does exactly the same thing as the **Share** button along the bottom, so use whichever is easier to reach.
## What the shared text contains
The shared text is short on purpose. It is two lines:
* **The route** — where you set off and where you ended up, such as "Home → Mungo National Park".
* **The dates** — when the trip ran.
That is all it sends. It leaves out your measured weights, your Rig Score, and any internal record numbers. So you can pass it on without spelling out how your rig is set up. If a trip has a destination but no starting point saved, the text simply shows the destination and the dates.
Want to say a bit more? After loadmate fills in the line, type a few words of your own before you send. The share sheet drops you into a normal message you can edit, so the route and dates are a starting point, not the whole note.
## Richer formats — coming later
loadmate is building two fuller ways to pass a trip on. One is a tidy picture card you could post to a forum or save to your photos. The other is a PDF you could keep on file or print. Neither is ready to open in this version of the app yet. For now, the share that works is the line of text described above.
When the picture card and the PDF arrive, the quick text share will stay free, and the richer formats will be part of Pro. We will update this page with the steps the moment you can use them.
## Privacy and good sense
A shared message is a snapshot. It is a frozen picture of the trip as it was when you sent it.
Once you send a shared trip, it does not update. If you later edit the trip or change your rig, the message you already sent stays exactly as it was. When you want the current version, share the trip again.
The rest is common sense. Treat a shared trip like any other message you send. Once it leaves the app, it belongs to whoever you sent it to. loadmate does not track who opens it or where it goes next. So only share trip detail with people you are happy to share it with.
For anything official, your figures are still a guide rather than a certificate. A weighbridge or truck scale is the source of truth for weights, wherever you are.
## Keep planning, keep sharing
Set up your next trip so there is a fresh one to share at the end.
See what comes free, including sharing a finished trip as text, and what Pro adds.
Try it now: open a completed trip and tap **Share**. Send the line to yourself first, so you can see exactly what lands before you pass it to anyone else.
# Your trips and travel stats
Source: https://docs.loadmate.io/trips/trip-list-and-stats
Browse the Trips tab to find, search, and filter trips by destination, date, or rig, then open the Stats scorecard for your distance, days, and places visited.
The Trips tab holds everything you have planned, started, or finished. It is one scrollable list, grouped by time, with a search box at the top and a few simple filters. Open it from the **Trips** tab at the bottom of the screen.
Over time, this list becomes a travel diary. Open it months later, type the name of a town you stayed in, and you will find the trip again. You can see at a glance which finished trips still want your notes. Once you have a handful of trips behind you, a scorecard appears showing how far you have travelled with this rig. It is simply the part of loadmate that remembers where you have been.
You can browse, search, filter, and read your travel stats for free. Cancelling a trip is a Pro action. Demo trips are read-only, so you can look around without changing anything.
## Find a trip in the list
The list is grouped into sections by time. The sections always appear in the same order. Each one only shows up when it has a trip in it:
* **In progress** — a trip you have started and not yet ended
* **Departing this week** — trips leaving within the next week
* **Coming up** — trips planned further ahead
* **Awaiting feedback** — finished trips waiting on your notes
* **Recently completed** — trips you have just returned from
* **Earlier trips** — older finished trips
* **Cancelled** — plans you called off, tucked away and collapsed until you ask to see them
Every trip uses the same row shape all the way down the list: a small route symbol, a status dot, the trip name, where it goes, and the dates or distance. The rows look the same whether a trip is coming up or long finished. That way you scan one steady pattern instead of learning a different card for each kind of trip.
![Trips list showing in progress, departing this week, coming up, and awaiting feedback sections]()
On a larger screen, such as a tablet, the list and the trip you have open can sit side by side, so you can browse and read at the same time. On a phone the open trip fills the screen.
## Search and filter
When the list grows, two tools help you find one trip quickly.
A **search box** sits at the top and stays put while the rest of the list scrolls. Its placeholder reads *Search destination, date, or notes*. Type the town you stayed in, a date, or a word from your own trip notes, and the list narrows as you type. A small clear button removes your search when you are done.
Just below it is a **filter row** that scrolls away with the list. It holds three controls:
* A **status filter** that opens a short menu when you tap it: **All**, **Upcoming**, **Completed**, and (once you have any) **Cancelled**. Pick one to show only trips of that kind. Each option carries a small count. The **Cancelled** option only appears in the menu when you actually have a cancelled trip.
* A **rig filter** that reads **All rigs**. Tap it to narrow the list to a single vehicle or trailer setup, so you only see the trips you took with that rig. This filter only appears once you have trips across more than one rig. If all your trips belong to a single setup, there is nothing to filter, so it stays out of the way.
* A **time-range chip** that sets how far back the list reaches.
The time-range chip starts on **Last 12 months**, so you see the past year of travel by default. Tap it to choose a different window:
* **Last 12 months** — the default; the past year of trips
* **This year** — trips from the start of the current calendar year
* **Last year** — the previous calendar year
* **All time** — every trip you have ever recorded
* **Custom range** — pick your own start and end dates
The time-range you choose scopes both the visible list **and** your travel scorecard totals further down. If your numbers look smaller than you expect, check whether the chip is set to **Last 12 months** rather than **All time**.
## When a trip needs you — the row action
Most rows are just there to be read. A small action button only appears on a row when that trip is waiting on you. The list stays quiet until there is something to do:
* A trip that is **In progress** offers a button to open it again, so you can carry on where you left off.
* A finished trip that is waiting on your notes shows a **Log feedback** button. Tap it to record how the trip went while it is still fresh.
* A trip in the **Departing this week** group with outstanding pre-trip checks shows how many are pending and a **Review** button to work through them. Trips planned further ahead stay quiet. The readiness prompt waits until departure is close.
The readiness prompt on a departing-soon row is always a plain **count** of what is still outstanding, such as *2 pre-trip checks pending*. It is never a "3 of 8 done" fraction, and never a progress bar. It is just a quiet count that tells you whether there is anything to look at before you leave. Tapping **Review** opens that trip's pre-trip checks.
Rows with nothing pending have no action button at all. An absence of a button is good news, not a missing feature.
For the full walk-through of those upcoming checks, see [Pre-trip checklist](/pre-trip/checklist).
## Cancelled trips
If a plan falls through, you can cancel a trip rather than throw it away. There are two ways to do this. Open the trip from the list and choose **Cancel trip**, or use the prompt loadmate shows when a planned trip's dates have already passed. Cancelling **keeps the record**. The trip moves into the collapsed **Cancelled** section, out of your active and upcoming lists, but still there in your history. That is different from deleting, which removes the trip entirely.
The Cancelled section stays tucked away by default. A *Show cancelled trips* line lets you open it when you want to look. You can also bring cancelled trips back into view by choosing **Cancelled** from the status filter, or by searching. An old plan is never truly lost. It is just out of the way.
Cancelling a trip is a Pro action, and you cannot cancel a demo trip — demo data is read-only. If you are on the free tier, the upgrade sheet appears before anything changes.
## Your travel scorecard
Once a single rig has **five or more completed trips**, a **Stats** chip appears in the filter row. Tap it to open a scorecard inside the list. It sums up your travels with the rig you have selected in the rig filter, and shows five numbers:
How many trips you have completed.
The total distance you have recorded, in your region's units (kilometres or miles).
The total number of days you have spent travelling.
How many different destinations you have been to.
Your single longest trip, by distance.
The scorecard follows the same time-range chip as the list. Switch from **Last 12 months** to **All time**, and the numbers change from a single year to your whole travel history. You can collapse the scorecard back down to a one-line summary whenever you want the full list back.
The five-trip threshold counts the trips for the rig you have **selected in the rig filter**, not your whole account. Each rig earns its own scorecard once it has five completed trips behind it.
The **Stats** chip is the button that opens the scorecard. **Trips** is the first number inside it (how many you have completed). They sound similar, but they are different things.
This scorecard is a quiet summary of your own travel, shown inside the list. It is not a year-in-review, not a shareable card, and not an export. To share a finished trip, you do that from the trip itself. See [Share your trip summary](/trips/share-trip-summary).
## What is free and what needs Pro
Browsing the list, scrolling the sections, searching, the status, rig, and time-range filters, and your travel scorecard are all free. **Cancelling** a trip is a Pro action. You can cancel from a trip you open here, or from the prompt that appears when a planned trip's dates have passed. Demo trips are read-only.
**Try it now:** Open the **Trips** tab and tap the time-range chip. Switch it to **All time**. The list expands to show every trip you have recorded. If a rig has five or more trips behind it, tap **Stats** to see how far you have travelled.
# I cannot sign in
Source: https://docs.loadmate.io/troubleshooting/cant-sign-in
Get back into loadmate by matching the sign-in method you used - email and password, magic link, Google, or Apple - reset your password and fix error messages.
Being locked out of an app is the moment that feels worst, because it seems as though everything inside has gone with it. In loadmate it has not. Your rig — every vehicle, trailer, load, weigh-in, and warranty date — is tied to your account and waits for you to get back in. Failing to sign in does not delete anything; it just means you have not yet matched the key to the lock.
Most sign-in trouble comes down to two fixable things: using a different method than the one you signed up with, or a small typo in the email or password. Signing in does need a live connection, because loadmate has to check your account with our servers, so it is one of the few things that cannot finish offline. Work through the sections below in order and you will almost always be back in within a couple of minutes.
## Use the same method you signed up with
loadmate lets you sign in four ways: email and password, a passwordless email sign-in link, your Google account, or your Apple account. Your account is tied to the method you first used to create it. That is the single most common cause of a stubborn sign-in problem — trying Google when you actually signed up with email and password, or the reverse, will simply not find the account, because to loadmate those are different front doors to different accounts.
So before anything else, think back to how you first set up loadmate. If you used email and password, sign in with email and password. If you tapped a Google or Apple button to get started, use that same button now. loadmate does not have a "which method did I use?" lookup to remind you, so this part leans on your memory; if you genuinely cannot recall, the reset-password path below is the safe next step for an email-and-password account.
If you are not sure where to start, follow these steps from the top. They go from the most likely cause to the least, so most people are back in before the last one.
Think back to how you first created the account — email and password, the email link, Google, or Apple — and use that same method now.
Sign in with the matching front door. Trying Google when you signed up with email and password will not find your account.
For an email-and-password account, tap the reset link, enter your email, and follow the email to set a new password.
A "too many attempts" message is a short safety pause. Wait a few minutes, then try again.
If none of these get you in, email us from Help and feedback and tell us the exact message you saw.
## Common sign-in messages and what they mean
When sign-in does not go through, loadmate shows a short message rather than just failing quietly. Here is each one in plain words, with what to do:
* **"The email or password did not match."** Check both the email and the password and try again, or reset the password. loadmate shows the same message whether the email is unknown or the password is wrong, on purpose — so a stranger cannot use the sign-in screen to learn whether your email has an account. It is not that loadmate cannot tell; it is choosing not to reveal it, which protects you.
* **"That email already has an account."** You are trying to create a new account with an email that is already registered. Sign in instead of signing up.
* **"Choose a longer password."** The password you picked is too short or too simple. Use a longer one.
* **"Check the email is typed correctly."** The email address is not in a valid shape — usually a missing `@` or a stray space.
* **"Too many attempts — wait a few minutes."** loadmate has paused sign-in briefly after several failed tries. This is a safety pause, not a lock-out; wait a few minutes and try again, and it clears on its own.
## Reset your password
If you signed up with email and password and the password will not work, you do not need to remember the old one. On the sign-in screen, tap the reset link, enter your email, and loadmate sends you an email with a link to set a new password. Open that email on the same device, follow the link, choose a new password, and sign in with it.
If you are already signed in and simply want to change your password — not because you are locked out — you do that in Settings rather than through the reset email. The reset email is the path for when you are stuck on the sign-in screen; the Settings change is the calm, planned version for when you are already in.
## When you are offline
Signing in is one of the few actions that genuinely needs a connection, because loadmate has to reach our servers to confirm who you are. If you try to sign in with no signal, loadmate does not hang or fail silently — it shows a no-connection message with **Try Again** and **Continue Offline** so you know exactly what happened.
The email sign-in link is no exception; it still needs a connection to complete, so there is no "magic link works offline" shortcut. Move to better signal, turn off airplane mode, or rejoin Wi-Fi, then tap **Try Again**. The no-connection page below covers the full picture of which actions wait and which retry.
## Re-authentication for sensitive actions
Some actions are sensitive enough that loadmate asks you to prove it is really you, even after you are signed in. Before you delete your account, and for other sensitive account changes, a small sheet appears asking you to sign in again. Changing your password works a little differently: that form asks you to re-enter your current password in the same screen, rather than opening a separate sheet. Either way the point is the same — it protects your account if someone else has brief access to your unlocked phone, because they would still have to clear this extra check to do anything serious.
You sign in again the same way you normally do. If your account is on Google or Apple, the sheet re-prompts you through that provider rather than asking for a password, so follow whichever button matches your account. Your stored rig is never at risk from this step; it is an extra lock in front of a sensitive action, not a barrier to your own data. The account-deletion flow, and the warning that comes with it, lives on its own page, linked below.
## Where to go next
See how each sign-in method sets up an account, so you can confirm which one you used.
Signing in needs a signal — see which actions wait, which retry, and how to clear a connection message.
If your Pro status looks wrong once you are back in, check and fix it here.
The sign-out and account-deletion steps, including the warning that deletion cannot be undone.
Getting back into your account is free for everyone; there is no Pro gate on signing in. A lapsed Pro signs in normally and lands read-only until they renew, and the demo rig is a pre-account explorer state rather than a sign-in failure — keeping demo data is an upgrade, covered on the changes-not-saving and free-and-pro pages, not here. Whatever your subscription state, signing in never loses your rig: it is tied to your account and waits for you.
# My changes are not saving
Source: https://docs.loadmate.io/troubleshooting/changes-not-saving
Changes not saving in loadmate means a held save, never lost data. Tell apart the demo rig, lapsed Pro, and free upgrade sheet, then fix the right one.
When a change "won't save", the first fear is usually that the fridge weight or the warranty date you just typed has vanished. It has not. loadmate checks whether you are allowed to write at the moment you tap save, and if the answer is no, it holds the save and leaves everything you typed exactly where it is. The block is on the SAVE, never on your work.
There are only a few reasons a save gets held, and they are all expected states rather than bugs. You might be looking at the demo rig, your Pro subscription might have ended, or you might be a free user meeting the upgrade sheet for the first time. A separate, less common case is a photo that would not attach, which is about your device's camera or photo permission and not about loadmate at all. Read the top of the screen, match it to one of the cases below, and you will know in seconds which it is.
## Tell the three blocks apart
The reason loadmate can hold a save after you have already typed everything is that it checks your access right at the save, not at a greyed-out button. That is why you can open a form, fill it in, and only then see a banner or a sheet. It is working as intended, and it is the opposite of losing data: the work sits there, waiting for the right state.
Each block announces itself differently. The demo rig shows a banner across the top and a short message when you try to edit. A lapsed Pro shows a caution banner. A free user's first real save opens an upgrade sheet. Work through the four headings below to match what you saw, then follow the one fix that applies.
## Are you looking at the demo rig?
The demo rig is the sample setup loadmate gives you to explore, and it carries a banner across the top of the screen the whole time you are in it. The data looks real so you can see how everything works, but it is read-only by design. If you try to change something on the demo rig, loadmate shows a short message telling you demo data cannot be changed, and your edit is not saved.
There is no free "leave demo" button. The only way out of the demo rig is upgrading to Pro. When you do upgrade, loadmate clears the demo data for you and gives you a clean slate to start your own real rig, so you are never stuck editing on top of the sample. Until then, the demo rig stays put so you can keep looking around.
## Has your Pro subscription ended?
If you had Pro and it has lapsed, loadmate keeps all of your data and full read access, but it switches your own rig to read-only until you renew. You will see a caution banner saying your Pro has ended, and tapping it takes you to the subscription screen. Nothing is deleted; your loads, weigh-ins, and warranty records are all still there to look at.
To save again, renew your subscription. Renewal happens in the app store on your device, the same place you first subscribed. Renewing a lapsed Pro never wipes your data; your real rig is waiting exactly as you left it. For checking your status, restoring a purchase, or sorting out a status that looks wrong, see the manage-subscription page below; this page does not re-teach those steps.
![Populated Rig screen showing a lapsed Pro caution state.]()
## Did the upgrade sheet appear?
If you are on the free plan, the first time you try to save a real change on your own rig, loadmate opens an upgrade sheet showing the Pro price for your region. This is the expected free-to-Pro line, not an error. What you typed is held while you decide, so you can read the sheet, close it, and come back without retyping anything.
Reading and exploring stay free; it is saving your own changes that needs Pro. If you would rather understand exactly what is free and what Pro adds before you decide, the free-and-pro page below lays it out. Either way, your half-finished entry is not lost just because the sheet appeared.
## Could not add a photo?
Adding a photo, to a warranty record, a vehicle, or a service entry, opens a chooser asking whether to use the Camera or your Photo Library. If you tap cancel, or if your device has not granted loadmate permission to use the camera or photos, the chooser closes and nothing is added. loadmate does not put up its own "permission denied" message here, so the only sign is that no photo appeared.
This one is about your device, not loadmate. Open your device's own settings, find loadmate in the app list, and turn on camera or photo access, then try adding the photo again. Once permission is granted, the chooser works normally and your photo attaches. This case can happen even to a Pro user, because it is a device permission rather than a subscription block.
## Work through it in order
If you are not sure which case you are in, walk the steps below from the top. They go from the most common cause to the least, and the last step catches the one situation that looks like a failed save but is really a queued one: a connection message means your change is waiting to sync, not blocked.
Check the top of the screen. A demo banner means you are exploring the sample rig; a "Pro has ended" banner means your subscription lapsed. Either one explains the held save straight away.
If a sheet asked you to upgrade to Pro when you tapped save, that change needs Pro. Your typed work is held behind the sheet, not discarded.
If only a photo would not attach, open your device's settings, turn on camera or photo access for loadmate, and try again.
A connection message is different — the save is queued and will sync when you are back online, not blocked. See the no-connection page for what waits and what retries.
## Where to go next
See exactly what is free, what Pro adds, and why saving your own rig sits behind the upgrade line.
Renew a lapsed Pro, check your status, restore a purchase, or fix a status that looks wrong.
Learn what the demo rig is for, what you can and cannot do in it, and how upgrading clears it.
A connection message means a queued save, not a blocked one — see what waits, retries, or needs support.
Reading is free for everyone, including demo and lapsed users. Saving a real change on your own rig requires Pro: a free user meets the upgrade sheet on the first save, a lapsed Pro is read-only until they renew in the app store, and demo data stays visible but cannot be edited. In every case the block is on the save, never on the work you already typed, and upgrading from demo clears the sample rig only after you purchase — renewing a returning Pro keeps your real data.
# Get help and fix common problems
Source: https://docs.loadmate.io/troubleshooting/get-help
Stuck in loadmate? Match the banner, blocked save, connection message, or locked score on screen to the right fix, or email support, and get back to towing.
Most of what looks like a "problem" in loadmate turns out to be one of a handful of expected states, not a fault. A banner across the top, a message asking you to upgrade, a gauge that will not move — each of these is loadmate telling you plainly what is going on, not the app breaking. The trick is to read the message first and match it to the right fix, rather than assume the worst.
While you sort any of this out, your saved rig is never at risk. Your vehicles, trailers, loads, weigh-ins, and warranty dates live on your own device and stay put. This page is a symptom router: tell it what you can see on screen, and it points you at the page that fixes it. Nothing here changes your data; it only helps you read what loadmate is already showing you.
## Start with what you can see
loadmate names the situation on screen before anything else happens, so the first move is always to read the message in front of you rather than guess. A connection message, a banner saying you are in the demo rig, a sheet asking you to upgrade, and a locked score with a line under it are all clear, readable states. None of them is a silent failure, and none of them throws away what you typed.
Once you have read the message, the rest is matching. Each card on this page covers one of those states and sends you to the page that walks you through it. If what you see does not match any of them, that is when it is worth contacting us, and the last section shows you how.
Look at the top of the screen for a banner, and read any message, sheet, or line of text loadmate is showing you. That message is the diagnosis, written in plain words.
Find the section that describes what you are seeing — a blocked save, a sign-in problem, a connection message, or a score that moved or locked — and open the page it links to.
If the message does not fit any of these, head to the **Still stuck? Contact us** section and email us with what you saw.
## Something I changed did not stick
If you made a change and it did not save, the save was almost certainly blocked on purpose, and what you typed was not lost. There are three common reasons loadmate holds a save: you are looking at the demo rig, your Pro has ended, or you have not upgraded yet and the upgrade sheet appeared. A fourth, separate case is a photo that would not attach, which comes down to your device's camera or photo permission rather than anything in loadmate.
In every one of these, loadmate blocks the save, not your work. The page below names each banner and sheet so you can tell in a few seconds which one you are looking at, and what to do next.
![Rig screen with a visible demo banner above the bottom navigation.]()
## I cannot get into my account
Being locked out feels like everything inside is gone, but it is not. Your rig is tied to your account and simply waits for you to get back in; signing in does not load or lose any of your towing data. Most sign-in failures come down to two fixable things: using a different method than the one you signed up with, or a small typo in the email or password.
Signing in does need a live connection, since loadmate has to check your account with our servers. The page below covers the sign-in methods, what the on-screen messages mean in plain English, and how to reset a password you cannot remember.
## The app says it cannot connect
Almost everything you do in loadmate keeps working without a signal, because your data lives on your device and routine edits queue quietly and sync the next time you are online. So if you add a load or change a weight in a dead spot, that change waits and saves itself later; you do not lose it. The connection message is not app-wide.
A small set of actions do need the network right then — signing in, account changes, and subscription steps — and those are the ones that show a connection message with **Try Again** and **Continue Offline**. The page below explains which actions wait, which retry, and the separate case where loadmate cannot reach our servers at all.
## My score looks wrong or is locked
A readiness score that has changed and a score that is locked are two different situations, with two different pages. If the number moved since you last looked, that is loadmate responding to something you did — a new load, a weigh-in, a service logged — and the score-changed page shows you how to trace the move back to its cause.
If the gauge is locked and shows a line under it asking for a value, loadmate is not guessing a number it cannot stand behind. It needs one missing input, such as a plate rating or a baseline weight, before it will show a score. The missing-data page walks you through reading that line and filling the gap.
## Still stuck? Contact us
If none of the pages above match what you are seeing, the next step is to email us. From the **More** tab, open **Help and feedback**, and your email app opens with the details already filled in, so you do not have to describe your setup from scratch. A real person reads and replies; there is no in-app chat or case tracker, so the reply comes back to your email.
There is no in-app FAQ or help-centre screen to dig through — these docs and that email path are the support route. The full walk-through of the help-and-feedback step, including what gets filled in for you, lives on its own page, linked below.
![Settings and More area showing the Help and Support row.]()
Before you email, note the exact words on screen and which screen you were on. loadmate already attaches your device details for you, so your part is just the "what I saw and what I expected" — that is what helps us answer fastest.
## Where to go next
Work out which of the three expected blocks — demo, lapsed Pro, or not-yet-upgraded — is holding your save, and what to do about it.
Get back into your account, whichever method you used, and read what the sign-in messages actually mean.
Tell the three connection states apart and know which actions wait, which retry, and which need support.
Trace a readiness score that moved back to the load, weigh-in, or service that caused it.
Reading help is free for everyone, including demo and lapsed users. This page only points you at the right fix; it never changes your data. The pages it links to are clear about what needs Pro — saving on your own rig requires Pro, demo data stays read-only, and a lapsed Pro is read-only until you renew — but looking around and getting back to towing costs nothing.
# My score is locked or showing missing data
Source: https://docs.loadmate.io/troubleshooting/missing-data
Locked Rig Score showing missing data? Read the line under the gauge to find the missing input - plate values, baseline, or storage zones - and tap to fix it.
A locked score is not a punishment, and it does not mean you have done something wrong. It means loadmate is declining to show a number it cannot stand behind yet, because something it needs to score your rig accurately is still missing. Rather than show you a misleading low or high figure, the gauge locks and names the setup step that will give you a real score.
Locked is different from low. A low score means loadmate has scored your rig and the result is poor. Locked means there is not yet enough to score it at all. The difference matters, because a locked gauge is a setup task you can finish in a minute, not a verdict on your towing. This page helps you read the line under the gauge and map it to the right screen, without guessing at any value, and nothing you have already saved is lost while the gauge waits.
## Read the missing-data line
When the score is locked, open the **Rig** tab and read the line under the gauge. It names what is missing, such as your plate values or your storage zones, and it is the fastest way to know where to go. That line is a tap-to-fix shortcut: tapping it takes you straight to the screen that collects the missing input, so you do not have to hunt through menus to find the right place.
Read the named line as a setup task, not a result. A locked gauge means loadmate has chosen not to invent an answer, which is the opposite of a fault. It is also distinct from a score of zero: a zero is a scored result, usually a rig that has crossed a hard limit, while a lock is the absence of a score because a core input is still missing. If you see a real number that is simply very low, that is a scored result and the [score-changed page](/troubleshooting/score-changed) will help you trace it. If you see a locked gauge with a named line, stay here.
![Rig tab with a locked score and a missing-input line under the gauge.]()
## Inputs that can lock the score
A small set of core inputs decide whether the gauge can render at all. If any of them is missing, the score locks until you provide it. None of these is loadmate being fussy: each one is a figure the score genuinely cannot work accurately without.
The first group is your **plate or rating values** for the tow vehicle. These are the most your loaded tow vehicle is allowed to weigh, the most your vehicle and trailer together are allowed to weigh, and the most you may tow with trailer brakes fitted (in Australia GVM, GCM, and braked towing capacity; in the UK MAM, GTW, and the maximum towing limit; in the US GVWR, GCWR, and towing capacity; in Europe/international GVWR, GCWR, and towable mass). You will find these on the vehicle's compliance plate or in the handbook, and you enter them as printed.
The second is a **baseline weight** for the rig, which is the starting weight your loads are added against, so the score has something solid to measure from. The strongest source for this is a professional weigh-in, which gives you measured numbers rather than estimates, although a weigh-in is not the only way to provide one.
The third group only applies when you are **hitched**: the score also needs the trailer's laden limit (ATM in AU, MTPLM in the UK, Trailer GVWR in the US, or GTWR in Europe/international), a trailer baseline weight, and storage zones set up on both the vehicle and the trailer. Storage zones tell loadmate where weight sits, which is what the stability checks depend on, so until both sides have zones the hitched score stays locked. Not every gap locks the gauge, though. Many optional or out-of-date inputs lower confidence instead, so the gauge still shows a number, just a lower and more cautious one. Adding or refreshing that data lifts the score rather than unlocking it.
![Vehicle ratings screen showing GVM, GCM, and braked towing fields.]()
## Fix a locked score
Each missing input has a home screen, and the tap-to-fix line usually takes you straight there. The recovery is one tap and one accurate entry, so you rarely need to navigate yourself.
On the **Rig** tab, read the line below the gauge. It names exactly what is missing, whether that is a plate value, a baseline weight, a trailer limit, or storage zones.
Tap the named line. loadmate takes you to the screen the line takes you to, which is the one that collects that missing input, so you land in the right place without searching.
Enter the named plate value, baseline, trailer laden limit, or storage zones as they appear on your plate, paperwork, or weighbridge slip. Save from that screen.
Go back to the **Rig** tab. With the missing input in place, the gauge renders a real score from your updated data.
If you are not sure of a plate value, rating, or baseline weight, do not enter a best guess. A wrong number is worse than a locked gauge, because a lock loses nothing while a wrong figure produces a score that looks trustworthy and is not. Find the correct figure first: check the vehicle's compliance plate, the trailer's plate or build documents, the manufacturer handbook, or a recent weigh-in slip. Then enter the value as printed. Rather than re-teach each destination here, the cards below link the screens that own these inputs.
## Use Compliance Snapshot for legal-limit context
The Compliance Snapshot is a legal-limit view that reads your current data and shows your weights and margins against each limit, such as the loaded vehicle limit, the combination limit, the trailer laden limit, the axle limits, and the coupling weight. Once loadmate has your vehicle limits and a baseline, it can render those legal-limit rows even while the overall score is still locked on something else, such as storage zones. So if your only remaining gap is zones, you still get a limits read from the locked Rig screen.
If the lock is because the plate values or the baseline themselves are missing, the snapshot link is not there yet, because the rows it needs are exactly what is missing. Fix that first: the line under the gauge points you to the screen that collects it. Once those limits and the baseline are in, the snapshot becomes available from the gauge. Compliance Snapshot is free for everyone, including demo and lapsed users. It shows you the rows; it does not interpret the legal rules for you or decide whether you are road-legal, so read the margins yourself and treat them as the figures, not a ruling. To learn how the gauge and its inputs fit together, see [What is Rig Score](/rig-score/what-is-rig-score).
## Where to go next
Where the plate-rated limits for your vehicle and trailer live, so you can enter or correct them as printed.
Capture a measured baseline from a weighbridge or mobile weigher, the strongest source for the figure the gauge needs.
Tell loadmate where weight can sit on the vehicle and trailer, which the hitched stability checks depend on.
How the gauge, its inputs, and the locked state fit together, in plain language.
Reading the locked-state line and Compliance Snapshot is free for everyone, including demo and lapsed users. The snapshot appears from the locked gauge once loadmate has your vehicle limits and a baseline, so if the lock is only about storage zones you still get a legal-limit read; if those limits or the baseline are what is missing, fix that first and the snapshot becomes available. Saving the missing input writes your own data (ratings, baseline, storage zones) and needs Pro, and a demo rig may show a locked or worked example state you cannot edit out. A lock loses nothing: it is loadmate declining to show a number it cannot stand behind, and everything you have already entered is still there waiting once the gauge can render.
# When loadmate cannot connect
Source: https://docs.loadmate.io/troubleshooting/no-connection
No connection in loadmate? Tell the no-signal message from the cannot-reach-our-servers screen, and know when to wait, tap Try Again, or contact support.
The most reassuring fact in the whole app is this: almost everything you do in loadmate works without a signal. Your rig data lives on your device, so adding a load, recording a weigh-in, or editing your van details out in a bush camp is held safely on the phone and synced later when a bar comes back. You cannot lose a change to a dropped signal. It waits for you.
That is why the connection message is not something that takes over the app. It is not app-wide. It appears only for the handful of actions that truly need the network at that moment, such as signing in or checking your subscription. Everything else keeps working as normal. This page tells the two messages apart, so you know when to simply wait, when to retry, and when the problem is on our side rather than yours.
## Most of loadmate already works offline
loadmate keeps a copy of your rig on the device itself, so the app does not need the internet to remember your loads, weigh-ins, services, or van details. When you make a routine edit out of range, loadmate holds it on the phone and sends it up the moment you have a signal again. There is no message and nothing for you to do.
This is the part people worry about most, because caravanners spend their best days exactly where the signal is worst. You can pull up to a remote weighbridge, type in the figures off the slip, and drive off again with no bars at all. The entry sits on your phone and syncs on its own later. So treat data entry as always available, and do not let a missing signal stop you from recording something while it is fresh in your mind.
## The "no connection" message
A small number of actions need the network right now and cannot be held for later. Signing in, checking your subscription, and changing account or region settings all reach our servers as you do them. If you start one of those without a signal, loadmate shows a connection message rather than leaving you waiting on a spinner that never finishes.
![No connection overlay with Try Again and Continue Offline actions over the sign-in screen.]()
The message sits over your current screen, and that screen stays visible behind it. Nothing on the page is lost, and you have not been thrown out of the app. It names the action plainly, so you can see it is a connection problem and not something wrong with your setup. When a real signal returns, the message clears itself without you having to do anything.
## Try again, or continue offline
The connection message always gives you the same two choices, and which one is right depends on whether you need that action this minute. **Try Again** rechecks the connection and, once you have a bar, finishes the action you started. The usual fix before tapping it is to move to where the signal is stronger, switch off airplane mode, or rejoin Wi-Fi, then try once more.
**Continue Offline** simply clears the message and lets you carry on with the rest of the app. It does not complete the action you were in the middle of. So if you reached this message while signing in, tapping Continue Offline closes the message and leaves you on the sign-in screen, still signed out, because signing in genuinely needs a live connection. To actually get in, find a signal and tap Try Again instead. Nothing you typed is lost and you are not thrown out of the app, so there is no harm in clearing the message and coming back to Try Again once you have a bar.
The message names the action that needs the network, such as signing in or checking your subscription. If it was a save you started, treat it as not yet saved until loadmate confirms it.
Move to where the signal is stronger, turn off airplane mode, or rejoin Wi-Fi. A bar or two is all the app needs.
Tap **Try Again** to finish the action now, or tap **Continue Offline** to dismiss the message and carry on with the rest of the app. Note that the action you started, such as signing in, will not complete until you tap Try Again with a signal.
For an account or settings write, reopen the item once you have a connection and finish it. Routine edits need nothing from you; they sync on their own.
## When loadmate cannot reach our servers
There is a second message that looks similar but means something different. If your device clearly has a signal but loadmate still cannot work, the problem may be on our side rather than yours. In that case you see a screen saying loadmate cannot reach our servers, with **Try Again** and **Contact Support** instead of Continue Offline.
The difference matters. The "no connection" message is about your signal, so the fix is to find a bar. This second screen is about our backend being unreachable even though your signal is fine, so finding a bar will not help. Tap Try Again a few times; if it keeps failing, tap **Contact Support** and tell us what you were doing. That sends a message to our team with your device details already filled in, so you only have to describe what happened. The full support path is on the help-and-feedback page if you would rather start it from Settings.
## Check a queued change after you reconnect
Once you are back online, it is worth a quick look to confirm everything caught up. For routine edits there is nothing to do, because loadmate flushes them to our servers on its own as soon as the signal returns. The load you added at the weighbridge, the weigh-in you typed in the gully, the service you logged in the shed all sync without you touching them.
For an account or settings action that hit the connection message, the action was set aside rather than queued, so finish it once you have a bar. Reopen the screen you were on, check the value is what you expected, and save again if it did not take. Do not assume a save completed just because the message cleared. A ten-second check now saves you wondering later whether the change actually landed.
loadmate has no sync-conflict screen to wrestle with, because there is nothing to resolve: a queued offline edit is not a conflict, just a change waiting its turn. The app never asks you to pick between two versions of a load. Your edits are held on your device and sent up in order when the signal returns.
## Where to go next
Signing in needs a live connection. If you have a signal but still cannot get in, work through the sign-in fixes here.
Check your Pro status, see what to do if it looks wrong, and restore a purchase from the subscription screen.
Reach our team by email with your device details already filled in, straight from Settings.
Not sure which message you are seeing? Start at the symptom router and let it send you to the right page.
Working offline is free for everyone, including demo and lapsed users, because it is a feature of your device and not a Pro extra. Whether a particular save is then accepted is a separate question, covered on the changes-not-saving page. The connection message and the "cannot reach our servers" screen both offer the same help to every tier, and contacting support is never gated.
# My Rig Score changed - why?
Source: https://docs.loadmate.io/troubleshooting/score-changed
Rig Score moved up or down? Use the score history chart to read the date it changed and trace it back to your loads, weigh-ins, tow-ball, or data confidence.
Your Rig Score is not a one-off badge. It moves when the inputs change, when the confidence in your data changes, or when your rig switches between hitched and solo. A score that drops or climbs is almost always the result of something you did recently, not the app passing judgement on a rig you never touched.
loadmate keeps a record of every move so you can see when it happened and line it up against your own actions. This page is about tracing a change: read the date the score moved, then match it to what you did around then. loadmate never silently rewrites your numbers, and nothing you saved is at risk while you work out what shifted.
## See when the score moved (score history)
The history chart sits directly under the score on the **Rig** tab. It shows a compact recent trend of how your displayed score has moved, covering the last 180 days, with one value kept for each day. Tap it to open the full history sheet, where range chips let you change how far back you look.
The chart tells you **when** the score changed. It does not label the cause of each move, so the trace is yours to make: read the date of a move, then check what you changed around that date. That is by design. loadmate does not guess a reason for you, and it cannot invent a cause it has no record of, so the chart shows the timeline and you supply the "ah, that was the day I added the spare battery".
![Rig tab showing the current score with a compact score-history chart beneath it.]()
![Score history sheet with range chips, average, best, low, and a score trend chart.]()
On the **Rig** tab, tap the small history chart under the score. The full history sheet opens, and the range chips let you widen or narrow the view.
Find the day the score stepped up or down. That date is your anchor, because the cause is almost always something you saved on or near it.
Line the date up against your recent loads and fills, weigh-ins and tow-ball updates, tyres, services, and any setup edits. Work through the sections below in that order.
For the precise limit rows behind a move, open **Compliance Snapshot** from the Rig tab. It shows your weights and margins against each limit, so you can confirm exactly which figure shifted.
## Check loads and fills
Loads are the most common reason a score moves day to day. Every time you add an item, move it between the vehicle and the trailer, remove it, or change a consumable fill, loadmate recalculates your rig the next time you open the Rig tab. One load change can touch more than one part of the score at once, because it can shift how much weight sits against each limit, where that weight sits for balance, and how well measured the picture is overall.
Consumables move on their own clock. Water tanks, gas bottles, jerry cans, and food all change weight as you travel, and a single fill-level tap updates them. If you topped up the water or ran a tank down between trips, that alone can move the score, even though you did not touch a single packed item. A trip is just another place this happens: if you packed differently for a journey or kept a weight change at the end of it, that change stays on the rig and the score reflects it.
loadmate only recalculates from what you actually saved. It does not estimate a load you did not enter or quietly adjust a fill level behind your back, so if a load change lines up with the date, opening your loads will show you exactly what is assigned where.
## Check weigh-ins and tow-ball updates
Two separate things in this area can move the score, and it helps to tell them apart. A professional weigh-in is a full record from a weighbridge or mobile weigher. When you set one as your active baseline, the score starts working from those measured numbers instead of your earlier estimates, so the displayed number can move noticeably. Switching which weigh-in is active does the same thing, because it changes the foundation the whole score is built on.
A tow-ball weight update is a separate, lighter action. This is tow ball mass in Australia, nose weight in the UK, and tongue weight in the US. When you take a single coupling reading from a ball scale and save it, loadmate updates your trailer coupling baseline without creating a new weigh-in history record. That update can shift stability and compliance on its own. A weigh-in or a coupling reading usually raises the score's confidence as well as changing the weight, because measured numbers are firmer than estimates, so a move here is often two effects at once. If a move lines up with one of these, open your latest report to confirm which record is active.
## Check tyres, services, and setup edits
The health side of the score reacts to the maintenance details you keep current. Adding or editing a tyre profile, logging a service, or updating the odometer can each clear an overdue item or surface a new one, and any of those can nudge the score. The odometer one catches people out: when you finish a trip, loadmate offers to record the odometer, and that keeps your maintenance due dates accurate. So a score that moved after a trip with no other change is often an odometer update from that trip.
Setup edits are a different kind of change, because they alter the data the score is allowed to use. Editing your plate values recalculates compliance against the new limits. Changing a baseline weight feeds every calculation that follows. Editing storage zones changes where loadmate thinks weight can sit. The important thing to know is that a setup edit can either recalculate the score or lock it, because if you clear or partly edit a required item, loadmate would rather hold the gauge than show a number it cannot stand behind. If your score locked after a setup edit, the [missing-data page](/troubleshooting/missing-data) explains the line under the gauge and how to clear it.
## When the move is confidence, not weight
Sometimes the underlying weights have not changed at all, but the displayed score still moves. The number you see is the raw score scaled by how sure loadmate is about your data. When your data is complete and recently measured, the displayed score sits close to the raw score. When data is thin, estimated, or out of date, the displayed score is pulled down, so the number reflects the real data picture rather than hiding a gap behind a confident figure.
This means two things can move the displayed score without any limit being crossed. Filling in load weights, storage zones, or tyre details makes the picture more complete and lifts the score. A recent weigh-in or fresh readings make it fresher and lift it too, while old data slowly lowers it over time. Because the history chart shows the move but not the cause, confidence is often the answer when you cannot find a load or weigh-in change to blame. A score that drifts down with nothing obvious behind it is usually loadmate telling you a measurement has gone stale, not a fault. The fix is to refresh a measurement or fill a gap, and [improve your score](/rig-score/improve-score) walks through the practical steps.
![Compliance Snapshot screen showing score breakdown and confidence context.]()
If you also dismissed, snoozed, or acknowledged an alert around the same time, that on its own does not move the score. Tapping **Understood** only quietens a card while the live issue stays visible. Open [Activity and alerts](/tools/activity-and-alerts) from the More tab if you want to line those actions up against the date too.
## Where to go next
The practical steps that lift the score, from filling a data gap to refreshing a measurement that has gone stale.
Confirm which weigh-in is your active baseline and read the measured numbers the score is built on.
If a setup edit locked the gauge instead of moving the number, this page shows you how to clear it.
A dated record of the alert actions you took, handy for lining up against a score move.
Viewing your Rig Score, the history chart, and the full history sheet is free for everyone, including demo and lapsed users. The score recalculates on your own saved data, and those saves (loads, weigh-ins, tow-ball, tyres, services, setup edits) need Pro to write, so the demo score will not move from your actions because demo data cannot be edited. loadmate never silently changes your numbers: every move traces back to something you did.
# Pressure guidance and load ratings
Source: https://docs.loadmate.io/tyres/pressure-and-load
Tyre pressure guidance points you to the placard and sidewall, while loadmate checks load-index headroom against your loaded weight so the tyres can carry it.
Your tyre status lives in the Garage tab: open the vehicle or trailer and look at the Tyres section, which also feeds the Health grade. Pressure advice and load-rating checks answer two different questions, and it helps to keep them apart. loadmate can tell you whether the tyres on an asset have enough rated capacity for the load you have entered. It does not pretend to know the exact cold pressure your tyres need on a given day. For pressure, use the manufacturer placard (the sticker inside the driver's door or by the fuel cap), the tyre sidewall, a tyre fitter, and your local road rules. Use loadmate to keep the load-rating and age picture visible as you load and plan.
## Use a trusted cold-pressure source
loadmate does not print one exact cold pressure for you, and that is on purpose. The right number depends on three things the app cannot read for you: how heavily you are loaded right now, the tyre maker's own pressure-and-load table for that exact tyre, and your local road rules for heavily loaded towing. A single figure would have to pretend it knew all three, so loadmate leaves the pressure decision with the sources that genuinely hold it and keeps the load-rating and age picture in front of you instead.
Set cold pressures from a source you trust:
* The manufacturer placard, usually inside the driver's door frame or filler flap.
* The tyre sidewall, for the maximum cold pressure printed on it.
* A tyre fitter, who can advise for your loaded weight and how you tow.
* Your local road rules, which can set requirements for heavily loaded towing.
Set pressures when the tyres are cold, before driving warms them. As a conservative guide, running near the tyre's maximum cold pressure suits a heavily loaded tow, but treat that as a starting point and confirm it against the placard or a fitter.
loadmate does not tell you the exact PSI or kPa for your tyres today. Check cold pressures yourself against the manufacturer placard and the tyre sidewall before every trip, and ask a tyre fitter if you are unsure.
## Read the load index on the sidewall
The load index is the per-tyre weight rating printed on the sidewall. It sits just after the size code, as a number followed by a letter, for example 121S. That number is the load index, and the letter is the speed rating.
The load index is the figure loadmate uses for the carrying-capacity check, so it is worth reading it off correctly when you set up the asset's tyre profile. The sidewall shows it next to the size, and the tyre profile form has an inline tip pointing to where the number sits if you are not sure which figure to read. You enter it once, and from then on loadmate keeps the load-rating picture current for you.
For more on entering and saving these values, see [Set up your tyre profile](/tyres/tyre-setup).
## How loadmate checks carrying capacity
loadmate works out how much weight your tyres are rated to carry and compares it with what the asset actually weighs loaded. The carrying capacity is the per-tyre load-index rating multiplied by the number of tyres on the asset. So a set of four tyres each rated for a given weight gives a combined figure, and that figure is what your loaded weight is measured against.
The loaded weight comes from the same numbers you already keep in loadmate. For a vehicle it is the loaded vehicle weight, and for a hitched trailer or caravan it is the loaded trailer weight. When that loaded weight comes within about ten percent of the combined tyre rating, loadmate flags it as marginal. When it goes over, loadmate flags it as exceeded. This is a gap that the usual towing limits miss: a rig can sit inside its vehicle and trailer ratings and still be over what the tyres are rated to carry, and you would not see it from the other compliance numbers.
If there are no active loads on the asset yet, loadmate hides the carrying-capacity result rather than showing a figure against zero weight. Add your loads first, then the check has something real to measure against. To keep the loaded weight accurate, keep your water, fuel, and gear current; see [Water and consumables](/loads/water-and-consumables).
Check the asset's tyre profile first, then compare the sidewall load index and tyre count against the current loaded weight shown in loadmate. That is the quickest way to confirm the tyres have enough headroom for how you are loaded right now.
Saving tyre details requires Pro.
## What age and region change
Tyres age from the day the rubber is made, not just from how far they have rolled, so loadmate also watches tyre age. It uses the manufacturing date from the sidewall DOT code when you have entered it, and otherwise falls back to the fitted date. As the tyres get older, loadmate first raises a warning to prompt a sidewall inspection, then a stronger alert when they are due for replacement regardless of tread.
The age warnings are region-aware and trailer-aware. In Australia, loadmate raises an inspect-the-sidewalls warning from around four years and a replace-them alert from around five years. In the UK, Europe, and the US the warning starts from around five years and the replace alert from around six. Trailer and caravan tyres are flagged about a year sooner than those figures, because they often age in the sun and cover little distance even when the tread still looks fine. When loadmate raises an age warning or alert, treat it as a prompt to inspect the sidewalls and ask a tyre fitter before the next trip. For where these dates come from and how to read the sidewall code, see [Set up your tyre profile](/tyres/tyre-setup).
Terminology and units follow your region too. On Australian and UK pages tyres are spelled tyre and pressures read kPa first. On United States pages it is tire and PSI first. The combined tyre rating and loaded weight read in the unit system you have set, so the numbers match the figures you already work with.
## When to ask a tyre fitter
loadmate keeps the load-rating and age picture in front of you, but a fitter is the right call for anything you cannot settle from the placard and sidewall. Book a fitter or get tyres inspected when:
* You are unsure what cold pressure to run for how you load and tow.
* A tyre keeps losing pressure between trips.
* There is visible damage, a bulge, a cut, or uneven wear.
* loadmate raises an age warning or alert on the tyres.
* The carrying-capacity check comes back marginal or exceeded, and you cannot reduce the load.
A marginal or exceeded result means the tyres are at or over their rated capacity for the load you have entered. Either take weight off the asset or fit tyres with a higher load rating before you travel. If the result still looks wrong after that, recheck the load index and tyre count on the profile, since a mistyped number is the most common cause.
loadmate helps you work from the numbers you enter. Keep your source documents handy, and use a weighbridge, truck scale, or local authority when you need official evidence.
# Set up your tyre profile
Source: https://docs.loadmate.io/tyres/tyre-setup
Tyre profiles let you record sidewall details - size, load index, fitted and DOT dates - so loadmate tracks tyre age and load headroom for your rig.
A caravan can look fine from the outside while its tyres are aged, under-rated, or simply not the tyres the paperwork assumes. The tyre profile lives in the Garage tab: open the vehicle or trailer, then go to the Tyres section. Read the sidewall once, enter what is fitted to that asset, and loadmate uses it for tyre age and load-rating headroom. Come back when the tyres change, or when you find a more accurate date or load index.
## What the tyre profile represents
The tyre profile is the set of tyre details fitted to one vehicle or one trailer. It captures the tyre size, load index, fitted date, manufacturing date if you can read it, tyre count, and a few optional details such as brand, model, speed rating, pressure, and notes.
If the tyres on an asset are not all the same, enter the lower-rated tyre so the safety figures stay conservative, and add the difference in the notes field. If you replace the whole set later, use Log tyre change rather than editing old history by hand.
The profile sits with the asset because tyres matter when that vehicle or trailer is being assessed. You should not have to hunt through a separate maintenance file to answer a simple question like "how old are these tyres?" or "does this load index still leave enough headroom?"
## Details to collect before you start
Almost everything you need is printed on the tyre sidewall, so it helps to read one tyre before you open the form. Collect:
* Tyre size, the size code on the sidewall, for example 265/70R17.
* Load index, the per-tyre rating number, for example 121. There is an in-app tip showing where this number sits on the sidewall if you are not sure which figure it is.
* Tyre count, how many road tyres are fitted to the asset, for example 4 on a vehicle, 2 on a single-axle trailer, or 4 on a tandem.
* Fitted date, the month and year the tyres went on.
* Manufacturing date from the DOT code, if you can read it. This is optional but worth adding when you can.
A few details are optional and can be left out: speed rating, brand and model, the maximum pressure marked on the sidewall, and notes. The sidewall is the source for the size, load index, and DOT code. Reading it gives loadmate an accurate profile to watch.
## Open the Tyres section from Garage
The tyre profile lives inside each asset, not on a separate screen. To reach it, open Garage, choose the vehicle or trailer you want, then scroll to the Tyres section on the asset's overview. From there you can add the profile, edit it later, or log a tyre change.
![Garage asset Tyres section showing fitted tyre details and health metrics.]()
If the asset has no tyre profile yet, the Tyres section shows an empty state with an action to add tyres. Once a profile is saved, the section shows a summary of what is fitted along with the current age and load-rating headroom.
## Enter or edit the asset tyre profile
From the Tyres section, open the add or edit form. Enter the tyre size, load index, and fitted date, then set the tyre count. These are the fields the form needs; the rest sit under an optional details section you can expand if you have the information.
![Edit tyres form with tyre size, load index, manufacturing date, tyre count, optional details, and save action.]()
The tyre count should match the tyres carrying that asset's load. loadmate uses it with the load index for broad asset-level capacity and headroom checks. It is not a wheel-by-wheel setup step.
Saving tyre details requires Pro.
## Log a tyre change
When the tyres are replaced, use Log tyre change from the Tyres section. This opens a change sheet with the current tyres shown at the top, then fields for the new tyres.
![Log tyre change sheet with previous tyres, new tyre size, load index, installed date, manufacturing date, and save action.]()
Update the details that changed, usually the fitted date, manufacturing date, tyre size, load index, and odometer. Optional details such as brand, model, and notes are there if you want a clearer history later.
Logging the change records the event and resets the age calculation for that asset. Editing the existing tyre profile is better for fixing a typo or adding a missing DOT date; logging a change is better when the physical tyres have actually been replaced.
## Add the manufacturing date from the DOT code
The manufacturing date tells loadmate when the rubber was actually made, which can be a year or two before the tyres were fitted. Adding it gives a more accurate starting point for tyre age than the fitted date alone.
You read it from the DOT code on the sidewall. The last four digits are the week and year of manufacture, so 3421 means week 34 of 2021. Enter it as a month and year. If you leave the manufacturing date blank, loadmate falls back to the fitted date for age, so you still get age findings either way; the manufacturing date just makes them more accurate.
Tyre age uses the manufacturing date when you provide it, and the fitted date when you do not. Adding the manufacturing date does not clear any other tyre detail you have already entered.
## Save and review the Health result
When you save the profile, loadmate stores what is fitted and flags the score and tyre findings to refresh. The next time the Rig and Health surfaces load, they recalculate against the new profile, so the tyre age reading and the load-rating headroom on this asset update to match what you entered.
The saved Tyres sheet shown above becomes the place you check the tyres on this asset at a glance: what is fitted, how old it is, and whether the load rating still has headroom against the current load. You should only need to open it again when the tyres change or when you want to correct the source details.
For what the figures mean and how to act on them, see [Tyre pressure and load](/tyres/pressure-and-load). If you have not added the asset yet, start with [Add a tow vehicle](/vehicles/add-tow-vehicle) or [Add a trailer](/vehicles/add-trailer).
loadmate helps you work from the numbers you enter. Keep your source documents handy, and use a weighbridge, truck scale, or local authority when you need official evidence.
# Add a tow vehicle
Source: https://docs.loadmate.io/vehicles/add-tow-vehicle
Add a tow vehicle in loadmate Garage, then enter its legal limits and baseline weight so compliance checks and your Rig Score have the right numbers to run.
Every weight check loadmate makes starts from your tow vehicle. How much it can legally carry, how much it can safely tow, how the load should sit, and the score it gives your rig all trace back to the numbers you enter here. Get the vehicle in first, with its real limits and its empty weight, and the rest of the app has solid ground to stand on.
You do not need every document in front of you to begin. Add the vehicle by name in under a minute, then fill in the limits and the starting weight afterwards, when you have the plate, the manual, or a weighbridge ticket to hand. This page walks through both halves.
## Open Garage and start
Go to the **Garage** tab. If you have not added anything yet, Garage greets you with a short empty state and a single button to add your first vehicle.
![Garage empty state with the option to add the first vehicle.]()
Tap the add action and choose **Vehicle**. If you already have a trailer set up, Garage still offers an add-vehicle action so you can complete the rig.
## Name the vehicle
The first screen asks only for enough to identify the vehicle. You can type a **nickname**, or fill in the **make and model**. Either one on its own is enough to create the record, so you are never forced to fill in both.
![Add vehicle form with a photo, nickname, make, model, year, and registration fields and a Continue button.]()
The photo, year, and registration are all optional. There is no odometer box on this screen, and nothing about weights or limits yet. This step is just the name on the door.
A nickname becomes the name you see everywhere in loadmate — Garage, rig setup, your trips. Something like "Big Red" is easier to spot than the make and model. Skip it and loadmate shows the make and model instead.
Looking around in demo mode is free. Saving a real vehicle of your own is a Pro feature, so when you tap **Continue** on your own rig loadmate asks you to upgrade first. Your typed details stay on the form while you do.
## What happens after you save
Once the vehicle is saved, loadmate confirms it and offers a short list of recommended next steps. Pick the one that matches whatever you have handy right now.
![Post-save confirmation with Add specifications, Set baseline weight, and Add a trailer next steps.]()
* **Add specifications** — choose this if you have the vehicle plate or manual with the legal numbers on it.
* **Set baseline weight** — choose this if you have the factory kerb weight or a weighbridge result.
* **Add a trailer** — jump straight to adding the other half of the rig.
* **Go to vehicle profile** — collect your documents first and come back later.
You will also see a card offering to record any warranty cover while the paperwork is out. That is optional and you can skip it.
On the vehicle profile, the **Overview** tab shows a short **Vehicle setup** checklist for as long as important details are still missing. It has three steps, in this order:
![Vehicle overview setup checklist showing Add specifications, Add baseline weight, and Configure storage locations.]()
1. **Add specifications** — the legal limit numbers printed on your vehicle plate, manual, or towbar.
2. **Add baseline weight** — the empty weight loadmate starts from before passengers, cargo, and trailer load.
3. **Configure storage locations** — the places on the vehicle where you usually carry gear.
A green tick means a step is done; an open circle means it is still waiting. Tyres are not on this checklist — they live in the **Health** area, so tyre-safety guidance can run on its own once you add tyre size, load rating, age, and pressure there.
The score and compliance checks stay quiet until the specifications and baseline weight are in. That is expected, not a fault. The checklist is simply telling you which inputs are still missing.
## Add the legal limits
Specifications are the legal numbers loadmate checks your rig against. Enter them from a trusted source: the compliance plate, owner's manual, VIN plate, towbar or receiver label, or tyre placard, depending on which one names the figure. A help banner at the top of the form reminds you where to look.
![Vehicle specifications form with required loaded-vehicle, combined, and braked-towing limits, a recommended coupling limit, and a collapsible axle-limits section.]()
Three limits are required:
* **Loaded vehicle limit** — GVM in Australia, MAM in the UK, or GVWR in the US and Europe/international. The heaviest the vehicle is allowed to be, fully loaded.
* **Combined limit** — GCM in Australia, GTW in the UK, or GCWR in the US and Europe/international. The heaviest the vehicle and trailer are allowed to be together.
* **Braked towing capacity** — the heaviest trailer the vehicle may tow when the trailer has its own brakes.
Two more are optional but worth adding:
* **Maximum coupling limit** — the most weight that may press down through the tow ball, nose, or tongue. loadmate marks this **Recommended**, because it is the limit a heavy front-of-van load is most likely to breach.
* **Front and rear axle limits** — tucked inside a collapsible **Axle limits** section. A vehicle can sit under its total loaded limit and still overload one axle, especially once passengers, rear cargo, and tow-ball load pile onto the back. Enter these when your plate lists them.
| Field | Where to find it | Do not enter |
| -------------------------- | ---------------------------------------------------------- | ----------------------------------------------------------- |
| Loaded vehicle limit | Vehicle compliance plate, VIN plate, door label, or manual | Trailer ATM, MTPLM, GTWR, trailer GVWR, or brochure payload |
| Combined limit | Vehicle plate or manual | The vehicle-only loaded limit |
| Braked towing capacity | Vehicle manual or towing section | The trailer's empty weight |
| Maximum coupling limit | Towbar, hitch, receiver, or vehicle towing section | The whole trailer's weight |
| Front and rear axle limits | Vehicle plate, axle label, or manual | A guessed split of the total |
If a number is missing from your source, leave it blank and come back when you have the right document. loadmate does not look up factory ratings for you, and a guessed limit can make a safety check look healthier than it really is.
Saving your specifications switches on compliance tracking. It does not make your rig legally approved or signed off. The checks are only ever as good as the numbers you copied in, from the source you copied them from.
For a field-by-field walkthrough of every rating, see [Edit your vehicle ratings](/vehicles/edit-ratings).
## Set the starting weight
Your starting weight — the app calls it the **baseline weight** — is the empty weight of the vehicle, before any passengers, cargo, accessories, or trailer load. This is the figure every later calculation builds on. If loadmate does not know what the vehicle weighed empty, it cannot tell you what room is left for everything you pack.
You can enter it two ways, chosen with a **Factory / Weighed** toggle at the top of the form.
### Factory mode
Use **Factory** when you are working from the maker's published figure — the kerb, curb, tare, or unladen weight from the plate or brochure.
![Factory baseline form with kerb weight, a fuel-included toggle, fuel type, and tank capacity fields.]()
The one thing worth checking is fuel. A full tank can add 70 kg or more, and not every published figure includes it. If your source does **not** include a full tank, leave **Fuel included in weight** switched off and enter the **fuel type** and **tank capacity**. loadmate then works out the fuel weight and adds it to your starting point for you. If the published figure already includes fuel, switch the toggle on and you are done.
### Weighed mode
Use **Weighed** when you have a real measurement from a weighbridge or a professional mobile weighing service. A measured weight beats a published one, because it reflects your actual vehicle with its bull bar, drawers, and roof rack already on it.
![Weighed baseline form with a total weight, a measured date, and front and rear axle weights entered.]()
Enter the **total weight** and the **date** you weighed it. If your ticket also lists **front and rear axle weights**, switch **Do you have axle weights?** on and type both in — that gives loadmate the best possible footing for axle checks.
If you only know the total, leave that toggle off and use the **percentage split** instead. It spreads your total across the two axles as an estimate. It is genuinely useful, but it is not a substitute for a measured front-and-rear result, so get the axles weighed when you can.
A tow-ball or ball-weight reading is not the same thing as the starting weight. It only tells you the load pressing down through the coupling. Use [Record a weigh-in](/weigh-ins/weigh-in-overview) for measured vehicle weights, and [Update tow-ball weight](/weigh-ins/update-tow-ball-weight) for the coupling figure.
## Finish the rig
With the limits and starting weight in, two jobs remain. Set up your **storage zones** so loadmate knows where each load sits, and add **tyre details** from the Health area so tyre age, pressure, and load guidance can run. Then add the trailer — it is the other half of every weight check.
Add the van you tow, with its own limits and weights, so loadmate can check the full rig.
Tell loadmate where you carry gear, so load placement and axle checks work properly.
A field-by-field guide to every legal limit and where to find it on your vehicle.
Tour the Overview and Health tabs, and learn what each section of a profile does.
loadmate works from the numbers you enter. Keep your source documents handy, and use a weighbridge, truck scale, or local authority when you need official evidence.
# Add a trailer or caravan
Source: https://docs.loadmate.io/vehicles/add-trailer
Add a trailer or caravan to your loadmate garage, then enter its plate limits and empty baseline weight so the coupling split and stability checks stay right.
The day something feels wrong on the road, you want loadmate to already know your trailer: how heavy it is empty, how much weight presses down on the tow ball, and where the gear sits. None of that can be worked out from a name alone. So adding the trailer is only the first step. The real value comes from the two numbers behind it — the plate limits and the empty baseline weight — and you enter those from the paperwork you already own. This page walks you through the whole thing, gently, in the order the app does.
You start with a quick identity, so the trailer shows up in your garage. Then loadmate hands you a short checklist and you fill in the rest when the documents are in front of you.
## Open the Add Trailer flow
Open the **Garage** tab and tap **Add**, then choose **Trailer**. Your garage holds every vehicle and trailer you tow, and this is where you create a new one. If you have already added a tow vehicle, you can pair it with the trailer afterwards, so it does not matter which one you add first.
Browsing the add form is free. Saving a real trailer onto your own rig needs Pro, and loadmate only asks for the upgrade at the moment you save, never before. If you are still exploring the demo rig, the app steps you out of the demo cleanly first so your own trailer is saved to your own garage.
To add the tow vehicle as well, see [Add a tow vehicle](/vehicles/add-tow-vehicle).
## Add the trailer identity
Give the trailer something you will recognise in your garage. You can enter a **nickname**, or the **make** and **model**, or both — you need a nickname on its own, or a make and a model together. You do not have to track down a model code or a year before you can save, so a friendly name like "the van" is enough to get started, and the rest can wait.
Just below the nickname, the form asks you to **choose the trailer type** before you reach the make and model fields, so look for the type dropdown there rather than further down the page.
Choose the **trailer type** that best matches what you tow. The list runs: caravan, camper trailer, boat trailer, box trailer, fifth wheel, horse float, and other. The type gives the trailer the right identity in your garage, and a fifth wheel uses different towing hardware from an ordinary tow-ball trailer, so the app treats it differently from the start. If none of the options fits cleanly, choose **Other** and lean on a clear nickname.
Further down, after the make, model, year, and registration fields, choose the **axle type**: single, tandem, or triple. This tells loadmate what sort of axle group the trailer rides on, before you start entering limits, baseline weights, storage zones, and loads.
If you pick **fifth wheel**, loadmate sets the axle type to a fifth-wheel setup for you, so you do not need to choose single, tandem, or triple — none of those three chips needs to be selected. The chips stay on screen, but you can leave them as they are, because a fifth wheel is hitched and weighed differently.
Tap **Continue** when the identity reads the way you want. This creates the trailer in your garage and takes you to a short success screen.
## Choose your next step
After the trailer is created, loadmate shows a tick and a recommended-steps card: **Add specifications**, **Set baseline weight**, and **Set up storage zones**. There is no wrong order, so tap whichever you have the documents for right now.
If you have already added a tow vehicle and it is your active rig, you will also see **Activate this trailer**, which hitches the new trailer to your vehicle and opens your Rig screen so you can see the combined picture straight away. If you would rather fill in the details first, choose **Go to trailer** to open the profile, or skip back to the garage and come back later. Nothing is lost either way.
## Add specifications
Specifications are the rated limits printed on the trailer's compliance plate, certification label, manufacturer sheet, or manual. These are the numbers every trailer compliance check is measured against, so enter them straight from the document in front of you. A help banner at the top of the screen reminds you these usually live near the drawbar or A-frame.
![Edit specifications screen showing the trailer laden limit, the maximum tow ball mass, and a collapsed Optional section.]()
loadmate labels these with the terms used in your region, so they match your paperwork:
* **Trailer laden weight limit** — the most the trailer may weigh fully loaded. This is the one **required** value. It appears as aggregate trailer mass (ATM) in Australia, maximum technically permissible laden mass (MTPLM) in the UK, Trailer GVWR in the US, and GTWR in Europe/international.
* **Maximum coupling load** — the most weight the coupling may carry. It appears as maximum tow ball mass (AU), maximum nose weight (UK), or maximum tongue weight (US). This one is optional, but worth adding: a trailer can be under its total limit and still over its coupling limit.
Below those, an **Optional** section folds away a couple of extra plate values you can add if your trailer lists them: an axle group limit, and, in Australia, the gross trailer mass (GTM). Tap **Optional** to open it. These are the load carried by the trailer's own axles when it is hitched, and they let loadmate check more of the picture.
| Field | Where to find it | Do not enter |
| ----------------------- | -------------------------------------------------------------------- | ---------------------------------------------- |
| Trailer laden limit | Compliance plate, certification label, or manufacturer specification | The empty tare weight |
| Maximum coupling load | Coupling label, trailer plate, or manual | A measured tow-ball reading from a loaded trip |
| Axle group or GTM limit | Trailer plate or axle label | A guessed split of the trailer's total weight |
If a value is missing from your trusted source, leave it blank and come back when you have the right document. loadmate does not look up trailer ratings for you, and a guessed limit is worse than a blank one.
To revisit any rating later, see [Edit ratings](/vehicles/edit-ratings).
## Set the baseline weight
The baseline weight is the empty starting weight loadmate uses before it adds water, gas bottles, tools, food, clothes, bikes, and everything else you pack. For a trailer it needs two parts:
* the **total empty trailer weight**
* the **empty weight pressing down on the coupling** — the tow ball, nose, or tongue
From those two figures, loadmate works out the weight sitting on the trailer's axle group, and shows you that split in a small **Calculated baseline** card as you type. If the coupling figure is wrong, the axle-group figure and every stability check after it will be wrong too, so this is worth getting right.
The screen has two tabs at the top — **Factory** and **Weighed** — and you pick the one that matches what you actually know.
### Factory baseline
Choose **Factory** when you are working from the manufacturer's tare, dry, MiRO, or unladen weight. This is the right starting point when you have not yet taken the trailer to a weighbridge. Enter the **tare weight** in the first field.
![Factory baseline showing the tare weight field and the Enter weight option for tow ball mass at tare.]()
Under **Tow ball mass**, you have a choice. If your source gives an empty tow-ball, nose, or tongue weight, leave it on **Enter weight** and type that figure into the **tow ball mass at tare** field. loadmate previews the empty coupling weight and the remaining axle-group weight for you.
If you only know the total empty weight, switch to **Estimate %** and use the slider instead.
![Factory baseline with Estimate % selected, the tongue-weight slider at 10 percent, and a 3 to 17 percent range.]()
The slider starts around 10% and lets you settle on a sensible share of the coupling. The range itself shifts with your region — it runs 3% to 17% in metric regions and 5% to 20% in imperial ones — so the suggested band matches how trailers are usually loaded where you tow. An estimate is far better than leaving the split unknown, but it is still an estimate. Replace it with a measured coupling weight the first chance you get.
### Weighed baseline
Choose **Weighed** when you have a result from a weighbridge, truck scale, or professional mobile weighing service. Enter the **total measured weight** and the **date measured** so loadmate knows how recent the figure is.
If the weighing included a separate tow-ball, nose, or tongue reading, leave **Tow ball mass** on **Enter weight** and type it in. This gives loadmate the cleanest possible empty trailer split: total, coupling, and axle group, all measured.
If the ticket only gives the total trailer weight, switch to **Estimate %** until you can measure the coupling. As you slide, loadmate tells you the weight in kilograms or pounds the percentage works out to, so the number stays real to you.
![Weighed baseline with Estimate % selected, the slider at 10 percent, and a calculated kilogram figure beneath it.]()
Do not copy the trailer's **maximum coupling rating** into the baseline coupling field. The rating is a limit — the most the coupling may ever carry. The baseline field is the **actual empty coupling weight** the trailer rests at with nothing packed. They are different numbers, and mixing them up quietly poisons every later check. In the same way, do not pair a factory tare with a measured loaded coupling reading, or a measured total with a guessed plate rating. Use one clear source — all factory, or all weighed — then update it when better measured data arrives.
## Why the empty coupling weight matters so much
Where weight sits over the axles decides how the trailer tows. Weight kept low and close to the axles helps the trailer track steadily. Too much weight behind the axles lightens the coupling and makes the trailer far more likely to sway — and sway is what turns a routine drive into a frightening one. loadmate can only spot that pattern if it knows the true empty split to start from. That is the whole reason the baseline asks for the coupling weight, not just the total.
## Finish the rest of the setup
Back on the trailer profile, a **setup checklist** names the steps still to do. There are three required ones — the specifications, the baseline weight, and the storage zones — and the checklist always points to the next one so your compliance and score numbers stay trustworthy.
Set up the **storage zones** before you start placing loads precisely. Storage zones are the named spots on the trailer — a tunnel boot, a water-tank position, a drawer — and each one's distance is measured from the centre of the trailer's axles, so loadmate knows whether a load sits ahead of, over, or behind them. Without zones, the app cannot work out how weight spreads across the axles and coupling. See [Set up storage zones](/vehicles/set-up-storage-zones).
A weight-distribution hitch is **not** a required setup step in any region. It is optional hardware you can configure later if your rig uses one, and leaving it out does not hold up the checklist or your score. See [Weight-distribution hitch](/vehicles/weight-distribution-hitch).
Tyres are not a checklist step either. You add them from the Tyres section of the profile, where they feed the Health grade rather than gate the checklist.
## Where to go next
Define the named spots on the trailer so each load sits in a real place and the axle math is accurate.
Optional hardware. Configure it only if your rig uses a WDH; it never blocks your setup.
Add the vehicle that does the towing, then pair it with this trailer to see the combined rig.
Come back any time to correct a plate value or fill in one you left blank.
loadmate works from the numbers you enter; it never invents a trailer's ratings or weights. Keep your compliance plate, manual, and any weighbridge tickets handy, and use a weighbridge, truck scale, or local authority when you need official evidence.
# Edit vehicle and trailer ratings
Source: https://docs.loadmate.io/vehicles/edit-ratings
edit vehicle and trailer ratings in loadmate so a saved limit or baseline weight matches your compliance plate or weighbridge ticket, then refresh your score.
The numbers on your compliance plate are the limits every safety check in loadmate is measured against. If one of them is wrong — a digit transposed when you first set up, or a figure that has changed because you fitted a new towbar or had the rig re-plated — every check that depends on it is quietly measuring against the wrong line. This page shows you how to put a rating right, and just as importantly, when you should and should not touch one.
Editing a rating is not a way to tune your score. It changes the limits loadmate uses for the whole rig, so it should only ever match the plate, label, manual, or weighbridge ticket the figure came from. You copy the number; your plate stays the authority.
Never change a rating to move your score. A rating must match your trusted source, such as the compliance plate or the manufacturer's specification. Entering a value that is not on your documents removes the safety check it was meant to protect, and the score you see afterwards is reassuring you about a rig that no longer exists on paper.
## Find the vehicle or trailer
Open your garage and tap the vehicle or trailer you want to update. That opens the asset's profile. From there, choose the section that holds the value you need to correct:
* **Edit specs** for the legal rating numbers — the loaded vehicle limit, the combined limit, braked towing capacity, axle limits, the trailer's loaded limit, and the maximum coupling load.
* **Edit baseline weight** for the empty starting weight loadmate begins from before it adds passengers, cargo, accessories, trailer load, and coupling load.
The labels you see are written for your region, so enter each figure exactly as it reads on your local plate or paperwork.
## Field guide for common mix-ups
The acronyms blur together, and the same document often carries half a dozen of them. Use this table to put each figure where it belongs — and, just as important, where it does not.
| If the document says | It usually belongs in | Do not copy it into |
| ---------------------------------------------- | ------------------------------------------ | ----------------------------------- |
| GVM, MAM, or GVWR | Tow vehicle loaded limit | Trailer loaded limit |
| GCM, GTW, or GCWR | Combined vehicle and trailer limit | Vehicle-only limit |
| ATM, MTPLM, Trailer GVWR, or GTWR | Trailer loaded limit | Tow vehicle limit |
| Kerb, curb, tare, unladen, dry weight, or MiRO | Starting or baseline weight for that asset | Loaded limit |
| Tow ball mass, nose weight, or tongue weight | Coupling-weight field | Gross trailer weight |
| Front axle or rear axle limit | Matching axle limit field | A guessed split of the total weight |
If a value is printed on a trailer plate, use it for the trailer. If it is printed on a vehicle plate or in the vehicle manual, use it for the tow vehicle. If a seller's brochure disagrees with the plate, treat the plate as the figure to trust.
The plates live in predictable places. A tow vehicle's compliance plate is usually inside the driver's door jamb. A trailer's plate is usually near the drawbar or A-frame. Take a photo of each one while you are standing there, so you have the source to check against later.
## Edit specifications
Open **Edit specs** when a legal rating number is wrong or incomplete. The form arrives pre-filled with what you saved before, so change only the fields that need correcting and leave the rest alone.
![Vehicle specifications form with the compliance-plate banner and legal rating fields.]()
For a tow vehicle, the specs form covers:
* **Loaded vehicle limit** — GVM in Australia, MAM in the UK, GVWR in the US and Europe/international. Required.
* **Combined vehicle and trailer limit** — GCM in Australia, GTW in the UK, GCWR in the US and Europe/international. Required. loadmate will not accept a combined limit lower than the vehicle's own loaded limit, because the combination can never legally weigh less than the vehicle alone.
* **Braked towing capacity.** Required.
* **Maximum coupling load** — tow ball mass, nose weight, or tongue weight. Marked *Recommended*: optional, but worth adding if your plate lists it.
* **Front and rear axle limits.** Optional, tucked under an expandable Axle limits section.
For a trailer, the form covers the trailer's loaded limit (ATM, MTPLM, Trailer GVWR, or GTWR) as the required figure, the maximum coupling load, and — under an optional section — the axle group limit, plus the gross trailer mass (GTM) for Australian rigs that show it.
Front and rear axle limits are optional, but they earn their keep. A vehicle can sit comfortably under its total loaded limit while one axle is overloaded — it happens with passengers, heavy rear storage, accessories, or coupling load, even when the overall figure still looks fine. If your plate prints the axle limits, adding them lets loadmate catch that.
If a field is not printed on your plate, label, manual, or towbar source, leave it blank and go and find the right source rather than guessing a number. Wheelbase and hitch-overhang measurements are not entered on this form.
Take each number from one physical document at a time. Reading every figure off the same compliance plate, label, or specification sheet keeps your ratings consistent and avoids quietly mixing values from two different sources.
## Edit a tow vehicle's starting weight
Open **Edit baseline weight** when the empty starting weight needs adding or correcting. This is the weight loadmate begins from before it adds people, cargo, accessories, trailer load, and coupling load — so if it drifts, every load and compliance check downstream of it drifts too.
The tow vehicle's baseline form has two tabs, and you pick the one that matches what you actually have.
Use **Factory** when you are working from the manufacturer's published kerb, curb, tare, or unladen weight.
![Factory baseline weight tab with kerb weight, fuel-included toggle, fuel type, and tank capacity fields.]()
Check whether that published weight already includes fuel. If it does not, turn **Fuel included in weight** off and enter the fuel type and tank capacity. loadmate then adds the fuel weight to the starting point for you, so your empty figure is accurate rather than a litre short.
Use **Weighed** when you have a measured weight from a weighbridge or a professional mobile weighing service.
![Weighed baseline tab with the axle-weights toggle on and front and rear axle weights entered.]()
If your ticket gives separate front and rear axle weights, leave **Do you have axle weights?** turned on and enter them directly. Direct axle weights make your axle checks far more useful, because loadmate knows exactly where the empty weight sits over each axle.
If the ticket gives only the total vehicle weight, turn **Do you have axle weights?** off and let loadmate use a percentage split until you can get the axles measured.
The percentage split is an estimate. It is better than leaving the axle split unknown, but it does not replace a measured front and rear result. The weighed total is real; the split is loadmate's best guess until a weighbridge gives you the true one.
## Edit a trailer's starting weight
A trailer's **Edit baseline weight** form is laid out differently from the tow vehicle's, because what matters for a trailer is how its empty weight divides between the coupling and its axles — not a front and rear axle split. There is no "Do you have axle weights?" toggle here.
You still choose between two tabs at the top:
* **Factory** when you are working from the trailer manufacturer's published tare, unladen, or MiRO weight.
* **Weighed** when you have a measured trailer weight from a weighbridge or mobile weighing service, with the date it was taken.
Underneath the weight you entered, a second toggle decides how loadmate works out the coupling (ball) weight:
* **Enter Weight** when you know the exact tow ball, nose, or tongue weight at the empty trailer's coupling — for example from a ball-weight scale. You type that figure in, and loadmate shows it as a percentage of the trailer's weight so you can sanity-check it.
* **Estimate %** when you do not have a measured coupling weight. You drag a slider to set the tongue weight as a percentage of the trailer's weight, and loadmate works out the coupling load and the axle-group load from it.
A loaded caravan or trailer normally carries roughly 10% of its weight on the coupling. The slider lets you nudge that estimate up or down, and the range you can choose from is shown at each end. Use **Enter Weight** the moment you have a real ball-weight reading — a measured figure always beats an estimate.
Whichever way you set the coupling weight, loadmate shows a small preview of the calculated tongue weight and axle-group weight so you can confirm the numbers look right before you save.
A tow-ball scale or coupling-weight reading does not replace the vehicle's or trailer's starting weight. It only tells you the load pressing down through the coupling. Use [Record a weigh-in](/weigh-ins/weigh-in-overview) for measured weights, and [Update tow-ball weight](/weigh-ins/update-tow-ball-weight) for the coupling reading.
## What happens when you save
There is no extra "recalculate?" prompt on the specs and baseline forms. When you save, loadmate quietly rebuilds the compliance limits from your new figures and marks your Rig Score as needing a refresh. The next time you open the Rig tab, it works out a fresh score against the corrected numbers.
So a corrected rating or starting weight can move your score up or down, and that is exactly what should happen. The score is not punishing you for editing; it is showing you a truer picture of the rig now that the limits match your documents. If the Rig tab shows a new warning or a missing-data line, open it to see what the change affected and what to do next.
Saving a real change to your own vehicle or trailer data needs Pro. You can open these forms, read your current figures, and look around for free, but committing an edit on your own rig is a Pro action. Demo data stays visible so you can explore the screens, but it cannot be edited.
## Units follow your region
You type figures in the units you already use. If your region is set to imperial, the fields read and accept pounds, and loadmate converts to its internal store for you; if your region is metric, you work in kilograms. You never do the maths yourself — enter the number as your plate or ticket prints it, in the unit shown beside the field, and loadmate handles the rest.
## Keep a note of the source
loadmate stores the rating or weight value, not the document it came from. Keep your own record of where each figure originated — a photo of the compliance plate, the towbar label, the specification sheet, or the weighbridge ticket. If a figure is ever questioned, that photo is your evidence.
loadmate is not the source of truth for a rating. The figure on your plate, label, manufacturer's documents, or measured ticket is. loadmate holds the value so it can run your checks against it, and warns you when the rig is approaching a limit — but it is your plate that draws the line.
## Try it now
Open one of your saved assets, go to **Edit specs**, and confirm each rating still matches your compliance plate or source document. Then open **Edit baseline weight** and check whether the starting weight is factory-based or measured. Correct anything that has drifted, save, and return to the Rig tab to see the refreshed score.
## Where to go next
Setting up a caravan or trailer? Add it here, then come back to fine-tune its ratings and baseline.
Replace an estimated baseline with a measured one from a weighbridge or truck scale.
Understand how your ratings and starting weight feed the score you see.
Setting up a new rig from scratch? Start here, then come back to fine-tune the ratings.
loadmate works from the numbers you enter. Keep your source documents handy, and use a weighbridge, truck scale, or local authority when you need official evidence.
# Manage your vehicles and trailers
Source: https://docs.loadmate.io/vehicles/manage-your-rig
edit your vehicle or trailer details and photo in your garage, then archive, restore, or permanently delete an asset that has left your fleet.
Rigs change. You buy a new tow vehicle, sell the old van, give the camper a fresh name, or finally snap a decent photo of the lot parked up at a showground. Once a vehicle or trailer exists in your garage, you are not stuck with it as first entered. You can tidy up its details, swap its photo, set it aside when it leaves the fleet, and bring it back if it returns. This page covers that ongoing housekeeping, and it is clear about the one thing that cannot be undone.
## Edit a vehicle or trailer's details
Open the asset from your garage to reach its profile. Each section there has a small **Edit** control. Tapping it opens the **Edit details** screen for that vehicle or trailer.
For a vehicle you can change the nickname, make, model, year, and registration. For a trailer you get those same fields plus two more that describe the trailer itself: its **type** (caravan, camper, boat trailer, box trailer, fifth wheel, horse float, or other) and its **number of axles** (single, tandem, or triple). Choosing a fifth wheel sets the axle type for you.
![Edit vehicle details screen showing photo, nickname, make, model, year, and registration fields.]()
One rule keeps an asset identifiable: you must leave either a nickname, or both a make and a model. If you clear all three, loadmate asks you to fill at least one of them back in before it will save. That way every vehicle and trailer always has something to show on its card.
These are identity details only. The numbers that matter for towing safety — your loaded vehicle limit, your trailer's rated weight, your tow ball figure — live on a different screen, because getting them wrong has real consequences. Editing a nickname here never touches your ratings or your rig score.
Saving a change to your own vehicle or trailer is a Pro feature. You can open the Edit details screen and look around on the free plan, but tapping Save asks you to upgrade. See [Free and Pro](/pricing-account/free-and-pro) for what each plan includes.
## Change or remove the photo
At the top of the Edit details screen is the photo. Tap it and loadmate offers to take a new photo with the camera or pick one from your gallery. If a photo is already there, the same tap also offers to remove it.
A photo is purely for recognition. It does nothing to your numbers or your score. But when you keep two or three similar white vans, a clear picture is the quickest way to be sure you are looking at the right one before you load it.
## Set an asset aside: archive
When a vehicle or trailer leaves your fleet but you might want its history later, **archive** it rather than delete it. Archiving hides the asset from your everyday garage while keeping everything about it safe and recoverable.
To archive, press and hold an asset's card in your garage. A sheet slides up asking **Archive this one?** It explains that the asset will be hidden from your garage and that you can restore it any time from the Archived filter. Confirm with **Archive**.
Archiving is gentle and reversible. The asset and all its records stay exactly as they were; they are simply tucked out of sight. Right after you archive, loadmate shows a short message with an **Undo** button if you tapped by mistake. If the trailer you archive happened to be hitched, loadmate also quietly unhitches it for you and refreshes the affected rig's score.
You cannot archive the vehicle you are currently towing with. If you try, loadmate asks you to switch to a different vehicle first. This stops you from accidentally setting aside the rig your score and checks are built around.
## Bring an archived asset back: restore
Nothing archived is lost. In your garage, the filter chips along the top include an **Archived** view. Tap it to see everything you have set aside.
Open an archived asset — by a tap or a press-and-hold — and a sheet offers **Restore to garage**, **Delete permanently**, or **Cancel**. Choose Restore and the asset reappears in your garage exactly as it was, history and all, ready to use again.
![Archived garage asset action sheet with Restore to garage, Delete permanently, and Cancel.]()
## When something is gone for good: delete
Deleting is different from archiving, and the difference matters. **Delete permanently** removes the vehicle or trailer and everything tied to it: its loads, its service records, its warranty records, its photos, and its place in any rig. There is no Archived view to fall back on and no Undo. It is gone.
Because of that, the delete sheet does more to slow you down. It lists how many loads, service records, and warranty records will go with the asset, so you can see exactly what you are about to lose. Below that it states plainly: **This action cannot be undone.** Only then does it offer the red **Delete permanently** button.
![Delete permanently confirmation sheet listing loads, service records, and warranty records that will be removed.]()
Archive when you are unsure. Delete only when you are certain you will never want the asset or its records again. If there is any doubt, archive: it costs nothing and keeps the door open.
You also cannot delete the vehicle you are currently towing with, the same as archiving. Switch to another vehicle first.
## Why demo vehicles cannot be changed
If you are exploring loadmate with the built-in demo rig, you will notice that pressing and holding a demo card does nothing, and the demo assets cannot be edited, archived, or deleted. This is deliberate. The demo rig is there for you to look around safely, without any risk of breaking the example or losing your bearings. Nothing you do can damage it, and it never mixes with your own data.
When you are ready, add your own vehicle and trailer. From that point on, every part of this page applies to them: edit them, photograph them, archive them, restore them, and — only when you truly mean it — delete them.
## Where to go next
Back to the list of all your vehicles and trailers, where you switch the active pair and hitch up.
Open an asset to read its limits, baseline, compliance, and condition at a glance.
Change the weight limits that drive your safety checks — separate from these identity details.
See which changes need Pro and what stays free, including looking around the demo rig.
# Set up storage zones
Source: https://docs.loadmate.io/vehicles/set-up-storage-zones
storage zones tell loadmate where gear sits on your tow vehicle or trailer, so it can work out axle and coupling load - set them up by photo or manual table.
A total weight tells you how heavy your rig is. It cannot tell you whether that weight is sitting low over the axle, high on the roof, forward in a tunnel boot, or hanging off the rear bar. Yet that is exactly what decides how your rig handles and how much sits on the coupling. Storage zones are how you tell loadmate where weight is carried, so the numbers it gives you reflect the rig you actually packed, not just its total mass.
You set zones up once, from the Garage tab: open the vehicle or trailer, then choose Configure storage. Use names that match the rig in front of you, such as front tunnel, over axle, rear locker, tray, boot, or van cupboard. Do this before you rely on load placement, and you only have to do it again when your layout genuinely changes.
## Why zones matter
A storage zone is a named place on the vehicle or trailer where gear sits. Once your zones are in place, loadmate knows where each load is positioned, so it can work out how the weight spreads across your axles and across the coupling.
This is the difference between knowing you packed 40 kg of gear and knowing what that 40 kg is doing to the rig. Forty kilograms in a front tunnel boot pushes weight onto the coupling. The same 40 kg over the rear axle barely touches it. Without zones, loadmate only sees the total. With zones, it can see the balance.
The tow hitch is the one zone that matters mechanically more than the rest. Its position is what loadmate uses to estimate the weight on the coupling, called tow ball mass in Australia, nose weight in the UK, or tongue weight in the US. Because it matters so much, both manual tables always keep a hitch row, and on a trailer photo the hitch point is placed automatically and cannot be removed.
## Choose photo or manual setup
When you open Configure storage, you choose how to describe your zones. You can take a side-on photo of the rig and tap where things sit, or you can list each zone by hand in a table. Both paths describe the same rig and feed the same numbers, so pick whichever suits the moment. You can start with the table and move to a photo later, or the other way round.
Photo setup is the easier path when you can get a clear, square side-on photo. Instead of measuring every distance with a tape, you tap the places you can see. It also gives loadmate more to work with: because you tap each point on the image, loadmate captures the height of the zone above the axle line as well as its front-to-back position. That height detail is what helps centre-of-gravity reporting, and the manual table cannot capture it.
Manual setup is the dependable fallback. If you cannot get a clean side-on photo, or you would simply rather type, you list each zone with a name and a distance. loadmate treats the missing height detail neutrally rather than marking you down for taking the simpler route.
Photo setup is an estimate based on where you tap, not a survey measurement. Take your time placing each point, keep the camera square to the rig, and switch to manual setup if you cannot get a clean side-on photo.
## Check the measurements first
Photo setup needs one known real-world measurement before loadmate can turn a flat photo into a measuring tool. The Configure storage screen shows a card for this, and the photo button stays disabled until the measurement is filled in.
For a **tow vehicle**, that measurement is wheelbase: the distance from the centre of the front wheel to the centre of the rear wheel on the same side. loadmate uses it to scale the photo and to work out where each zone sits relative to the rear axle. You can usually find wheelbase in the owner's manual, the specification sheet, or the vehicle data plate. If you measure it yourself, park on level ground and measure centre to centre between the wheel hubs. Enter wheelbase in millimetres on metric markets and inches on imperial markets; loadmate reads your figure in those units even though the entry field's label may still read "mm".
For a **trailer or caravan**, loadmate needs total length and body length. Total length runs from the coupling to the rear of the trailer. Body length is the box or living section only, with the drawbar, A-frame, or tongue left out. Together these tell loadmate where the axle group and the hitch sit before you place a single zone. Check the compliance plate, owner's manual, builder specification, or seller sheet first. The entry card lets you switch units, so you can type metres, millimetres, feet, or inches, whichever your paperwork uses.
To change any of these values later, return to Configure storage and tap Edit on the dimensions card.
## Use photo measurement
Photo setup walks you through it one step at a time, with a guidance strip across the top that always tells you what to tap next.
Pick a photo from your camera or gallery. A clear, square, side-on shot works best, with the whole rig in frame and the ground roughly level.
On a vehicle you tap two points: the centre of the front wheel, then the centre of the rear wheel. loadmate already knows your wheelbase, so those two taps tell it how many real millimetres each pixel is worth. On a trailer you tap four points in turn: the hitch coupling, the front of the body, the axle group, then the rear of the body. If the two points are not roughly level, loadmate refuses the calibration and asks you to try again, because a tilted photo would throw every distance off.
Now tap each place on the image where gear sits. On a tow vehicle, loadmate suggests a front-to-back set of starter names as you go — front nose, front cabin, rear cabin, boot or tray, then tow hitch — so the first few zones label themselves in the order most people tap them. Tap Skip guided zones at any point to name them freely instead. On a trailer the hitch is placed for you during calibration, and each further zone you tap is named Storage 1, Storage 2, and so on, which you can rename to suit the rig.
Tap a marker to select it and fine-tune it, or drag it to a better spot. If the rig faces the other way in your photo, use Flip orientation so front and rear read correctly. A summary card shows how many zones you have placed and where the hitch sits.
Tap Save storage locations. loadmate uploads the photo and stores each zone with its position and height.
![Animation of the photo measurement storage-zone setup screen using a side-on trailer image.]()
Each placed point shows its distance and its height beside it, so you can sanity-check what you tapped before you save.
## List your zones by hand
The manual table does the same job without a photo. You open it from the same Configure storage screen, then add each zone with Add storage zone.
For every zone you set a name and a distance. The distance is measured front to back along the rig: from the **rear axle** on a tow vehicle, and from the **centre of the axles** on a trailer or caravan. A zone forward of that line is a positive number; a zone behind it can be entered as a negative number. Distances are shown in millimetres on metric markets and inches on imperial markets, matching whatever you use elsewhere in the app.
On either manual table — vehicle or trailer — the tow hitch row is required. loadmate adds it for you and keeps it in place, and saving stays disabled until its distance is entered, because that one figure drives the coupling-load estimate.
Open any zone to set a few extra details:
* **Side of the rig.** Choose left, centre, or right, so a heavy water tank or a single drawer bank reads as off to one side rather than dead centre.
* **A weight limit.** Optional. Covered in the next section.
* **Roof zone.** On a tow vehicle only, mark a roof rack or roof box as a roof zone, so its height is treated as up high rather than near the ground.
A zone you no longer use can be archived, which keeps its history but takes it out of the active picture, or deleted outright.
## Name the zones you recognise
Give each zone a name you would say out loud while pointing at the rig. Front tunnel, over axle, rear locker, tray, boot, and van cupboard all work, because you will recognise them again when you place a load.
Aim to cover the places where weight is isolated or where you regularly store heavy gear: water tanks, fridges, tunnel boots, drawers, rear trays, roof racks, bike racks, gas lockers, under-bed lockers, and the like. You do not need a separate zone for every small shelf. If a little cupboard sits right beside a larger locker, one nearby zone is usually close enough for planning. There is no fixed limit on how many zones you can add, but past a point the extra detail stops changing anything useful.
For a long storage area, place the zone at the practical centre of where the weight normally sits. On a roof rack, put it near the midpoint of the rack or the gear you usually carry there. Try to keep heavy roof loads centred between the axles, low if you can, and within the rack's and the vehicle's limits. loadmate treats one long area as a single point, so split a roof rack or long tunnel boot into separate zones yourself if you want finer detail.
## Use weight limits where they matter
If you set an optional weight limit on a zone, loadmate can warn you as that zone fills up. This is most useful for places with a real rating: roof racks, bike racks, rear trays, drawer systems, tunnel boots, and storage boxes with a listed capacity. The limit is entered in kilograms on metric markets and pounds on imperial markets.
Leave the limit blank when you do not have a meaningful rating. Ordinary cupboards and lockers rarely carry a clear per-zone limit, and a guessed number makes the warning look more exact than it really is. The zone works perfectly well without one; the limit only adds a fill-up warning on top.
A zone weight limit is a packing aid, not a safety limit. It warns you about one shelf or rack filling up. It does not check your axle loads, your coupling load, or your legal limits. Those come from your ratings and a real weigh-in.
## Edit or switch setup later
To change a saved layout, open Garage, choose the vehicle or trailer, then open Configure storage. From there you can return to either Photo measurement or the manual table. In photo setup, tap or drag a marker to reposition it, or edit a zone in the list below the image. In the table, open any zone to change its details.
Moving a zone is not the same as renaming it. If you move a zone that already has loads in it, that weight now sits somewhere different on the rig. When you change a zone's distance on the table and loads are sitting in it, loadmate shows a short confirmation listing the affected zones before it saves, so a shifted score or balance reading never surprises you. Confirm to go ahead, or step back if you only meant to rename.
If you started with the manual table and later add a photo, you are updating the same storage setup, not starting over. Review the zone names, positions, hitch point, and any weight limits before you rely on the score. The photo can add the height detail the table could not capture, so your centre-of-gravity picture may become a little more useful afterwards.
## What changes when you save
Storage geometry feeds the rig score. When a storage change saves, loadmate marks your score as needing a fresh calculation, and the Rig tab recalculates the next time you open it. A moved zone, a new hitch position, or a different side can shift the axle, coupling, stability, or centre-of-gravity readings. That is expected: the app is simply using the geometry you just gave it. If your trailer is hitched to a vehicle at the time, the change flows through to that vehicle's combined picture too.
Setting up storage zones describes your rig so the numbers can reflect it. It does not prove your loading is within legal limits.
Looking around storage setup is free, including in the demo rig: open Configure storage, switch between photo and table, and see how zones are placed. Saving a real change on your own rig — adding, moving, or deleting a zone, setting a weight limit, or saving a calibrated photo — requires Pro. Demo data stays visible so you can explore, but it cannot be edited.
## Where to go next
See where Configure storage sits on a vehicle profile, and what else lives there.
Put gear into the zones you just set up, so loadmate can place its weight on the rig.
Understand the number your storage geometry helps shape, and how to read it.
Turn your packed estimate into measured evidence at a weighbridge.
loadmate gives decision support for towing safety, not legal weight certification. For legal weight evidence, use a certified weighbridge, and remember that towing safely remains the operator's responsibility.
# Inside a vehicle or trailer profile
Source: https://docs.loadmate.io/vehicles/vehicle-and-trailer-profiles
vehicle and trailer profiles give each asset one home: read its weight limits, baseline, compliance bars, and service health on the Overview and Health tabs.
When you want to know whether your tow vehicle or your caravan is set up properly — its weight limits, what it weighs empty, how close it is sitting to those limits, and whether it is due for a service — you do not want to go hunting through half a dozen screens. Each asset has one home that gathers all of it in one place. This page shows you how to read that home, so a glance tells you what is set up, what is left to do, and what needs attention.
You open a profile by tapping a vehicle or caravan from your garage. Every profile is laid out the same way, whether it is the tow vehicle or the van behind it, so once you know one you know them all.
## Two tabs: Overview and Health
A profile has two tabs across the top.
* **Overview** is about how the asset is *set up* — its weight ratings, its empty weight, how loaded it is against those limits, its tyres, and where it stores cargo.
* **Health** is about its *condition over time* — when it is next due for a service, the age of its tyres, and its warranty cover.
The split is deliberate. Setting a rig up correctly and keeping it maintained are two different jobs, and you usually come to the profile for one or the other. Keeping them apart means each tab stays short and scannable instead of becoming one long wall.
![Vehicle profile screen showing the Overview and Health tabs with a completed overview below.]()
## The Overview tab, top to bottom
### The setup checklist comes first
The very first time you open a new asset, the top of Overview shows a **Vehicle setup** (or **Trailer setup**) card — a short checklist of what is still missing. It is one consolidated card, not a scatter of separate prompts, so you see your remaining steps as a single tidy list in order:
1. **Add specifications** — the weight ratings printed on the asset's compliance plate.
2. **Add baseline weight** — what the asset weighs empty.
3. **Configure storage locations** — the zones where you load cargo.
Each row shows a circle that fills in with a tick once that step is done, and tapping a row takes you straight to where you complete it. Once all three are ticked, the checklist disappears on its own and the summary cards take its place. You can also tap the small **X** to dismiss it early if you would rather see the cards now and come back to setup later.
loadmate needs these three pieces to judge your rig accurately. The ratings tell it your limits, the baseline tells it your starting weight, and the storage zones let it work out where your load sits. Until they are in, your safety score and compliance figures are working from less than the full picture — which is why the checklist nudges you toward them.
![Vehicle profile overview showing the Vehicle setup checklist with storage locations still incomplete.]()
### The Compliance limits card
Once your specifications are in, a **Compliance limits** card appears. This is simply a clear list of the maximum weights your asset is rated for — the numbers off its plate, laid out so you can read them without squinting at the sticker.
For a **tow vehicle** the card groups its towing limits (your combined-rig limit, the most a braked trailer can weigh, and the maximum load on the tow ball) above the vehicle's own limits (its loaded-vehicle limit and each axle's limit). For a **caravan** it shows the trailer's limits (its loaded limit, its axle-group limit, and the load it puts down on the coupling).
The exact names depend on where you are. Your loaded-vehicle limit is called GVM in Australia, MAM in the UK, and GVWR in the US and Europe/international; your combined-rig limit is GCM, GTW, or GCWR; your caravan's loaded limit is ATM, MTPLM, Trailer GVWR, or GTWR. loadmate shows whichever names match your region automatically, so the card always reads in the terms you know.
Each limit row has a small information icon. Tap it if you are ever unsure what a particular rating means — it opens a plain-English explanation of that number and why it matters.
### The Baseline weight card
Below the limits sits the **Baseline weight** card — what your asset weighs empty, before you load anything in. It shows the total at the top with a small badge telling you where the figure came from: **Weighed** if you put it on a weighbridge, or a factory/spec figure if it came from the book. A weighed figure is the more trustworthy of the two, and the badge colour reflects that.
Underneath, the card breaks the weight down — front and rear axle for a vehicle, coupling load and axle group for a caravan — so you can see how the empty weight is spread. This is the foundation every load calculation builds on, which is why it earns its own card.
### The Compliance summary card and what the bars mean
The **Compliance summary** card is where loadmate compares what your rig actually weighs against each of those limits. Every limit gets a bar and a percentage. The percentage is how much of that limit you are using right now: 70% means you have headroom, 100% means you are at the line, and anything over reads in red because you are above the rating.
The bars change colour as they fill — green while you have comfortable room, amber as you get close, red once you are at or over the limit. So a quick scan tells you whether your rig is sitting safely or asking for attention, without you doing any arithmetic.
The figures here are quiet on purpose until there is something real to weigh. Before you have entered your specs or added any load, the card has nothing to show: on a tow vehicle it stays hidden altogether, and on a caravan it shows a short "nothing to compare yet" message in place of bars. That is not the app being broken — it simply has nothing to measure yet. As you add your ratings, your baseline, and your loads, the bars fill in and start telling you something. A quiet or absent compliance card means "not enough entered yet", not "all clear".
On a tow vehicle, the combined-rig and tow-ball bars only appear while the vehicle is actually hitched to a trailer in your current setup. Unhitched, those limits do not apply, so loadmate leaves them out rather than show you a number that has no meaning right now.
### Tap a bar for the full detail (tow vehicles)
On a **tow vehicle**, tap any compliance bar to open a detail sheet that lays the same number out in full. It explains what that limit is, then shows three lines: **Calculated** (what your rig weighs against it), **Limit** (the maximum), and **Used** (the percentage), with a larger bar beneath. It is the unhurried version of the summary row — useful when a bar is amber or red and you want to understand exactly how much room is left before you start shifting gear around.
On a **caravan** the compliance bars are read-only: they show you the same figure and colour at a glance, but they do not open a detail sheet. The numbers and what they mean are the same; there is just nothing extra to tap through to.
### Tyres and storage
Further down Overview you will find your **Tyres** section — a single summary of the rig's tyres showing their age, rating, and how much load capacity is spare — and your **storage** section, which lists the zones you have set up for cargo and how many there are. Both are summaries here; you tap through to add or change the detail. Setting up storage zones has its own page, linked below, because getting your zones right is what lets loadmate work out where your load actually sits.
### The Odometer history card
If you have set up the service module under Health, an **Odometer history** card appears on Overview too, showing your recent distance readings. Until the service module is set up there is nothing for it to show, so it stays hidden — it only turns up once it is useful.
### Quick links at the bottom
The bottom of every Overview is a short list of **Quick links** — the handful of jobs you come back to most, gathered in one place so you do not have to remember which screen each lives on. On a tow vehicle they are: edit specifications, edit baseline weight, and manage storage locations.
A **caravan** has the same three plus two more: **WDH settings**, and an **Update ball weight** action. That last one opens a measurement tool for the load your van is putting down on the tow ball right now — it is kept here, separate from the baseline card, because baseline is your van's empty starting weight while the ball-weight measurement is about the loaded rig. Like the limit names, this action is labelled for your region: it reads **Update tow ball mass** in Australia, **Update nose weight** in the UK, and **Update tongue weight** in the US.
## The WDH card (caravans only)
If your caravan uses a weight-distribution hitch and you have set it up, a **WDH** card appears on the trailer's Overview. It shows which mode the hitch is in and, when the van is actually hitched to a tow vehicle, how much weight the hitch is shifting — adding load back onto the tow vehicle's front axle, taking it off the rear, and putting some onto the van's own axles. When the van is not hitched, those figures show a dash, because the effect only exists with the two connected.
Most caravanners do not use a weight-distribution hitch, so this card simply will not appear unless you have one set up. If you do, see [Set up a weight distribution hitch](/vehicles/weight-distribution-hitch) for how to record it and read its effect.
## The Health tab: condition, not setup
The **Health** tab answers a different question from Overview. Overview asks "is this asset set up correctly?"; Health asks "how is it doing, and what is coming up?". It is the same maintenance view you would see in the maintenance hub, brought onto the profile so you can check an asset's condition without leaving it.
At the top sit three quick actions — **Update odometer**, **Log service**, and **Add task** — for the jobs you do most. Below them, an **Upcoming** card lists anything due soon or overdue across services, tasks, and warranty expiry, with the most urgent first, so one glance tells you whether anything needs doing. Under that, up to three module rows summarise **Service**, **Tyres**, and **Warranty**, each showing its current state and tapping through to the full module. The **Tyres** row only appears when tyre tracking is switched on for that asset, so on a rig with tyres turned off you will see just the Service and Warranty rows.
It is worth being clear how this differs from the Overview setup checklist. The checklist is about *setup-completeness* — have you entered your ratings, baseline, and storage. Health is about *ongoing condition* — is a service due, are the tyres ageing, is a warranty about to lapse. A rig can be fully set up on Overview and still have an overdue service flagged on Health; the two are not measuring the same thing.
The **Warranty** row on Health opens the main warranty hub directly, the same place you reach from the More tab. It reflects your coverage — how many warranties are active and the nearest expiry — and tapping it lands you straight in the hub rather than bouncing you sideways through another menu.
![Vehicle profile Health tab with quick actions, upcoming maintenance, and service, tyres, and warranty rows.]()
## Where to go next
The profile is the map; these pages are the jobs it points you to.
Enter or correct the weight limits from your asset's compliance plate so the limits and compliance cards read true.
Define where you load cargo so loadmate can work out where your weight actually sits.
See how your whole rig sits against every limit at once, including the combined-rig figures that come alive when a van is hitched.
Open the full maintenance view behind the Health tab to log services and keep your schedule accurate.
# Set up a weight distribution hitch
Source: https://docs.loadmate.io/vehicles/weight-distribution-hitch
Record your weight distribution hitch in loadmate using spring bars or FALR mode, so the Rig Score reflects the load it shifts off your tow vehicle's rear axle.
When a heavy van is hitched to the back of a tow vehicle, all that weight pressing down on the coupling tends to push the rear of the tow vehicle down and lift the front. As the front lifts, the steering goes light, the headlights point at the trees, and the rig is more likely to wander or sway. A weight distribution hitch is the gear that takes some of that coupling weight and spreads it back across the front of the tow vehicle and the trailer's own axles, so the vehicle sits more level and steers more like it did unhitched.
Not every rig needs one, and loadmate does not need one either. A weight distribution hitch is **optional**, and it lives on the **trailer**. If you do not use one, you can skip this page entirely — the rest of your trailer setup is unaffected, and nothing here is missing from your checklist. This page is for when you do have one, and want loadmate's Rig Score to account for the weight it moves around.
## Do you need a weight distribution hitch?
This is a decision for your hardware, not for loadmate. The answer lives in two documents you already own: your **tow vehicle's owner manual** and your **coupling or hitch instructions**. Both usually state, in plain terms, the coupling weight above which a weight distribution hitch is recommended or required.
As a rough guide, these setups commonly benefit from one:
* A heavy caravan or large trailer where the weight pressing down on the coupling is a big share of what the tow vehicle is rated to carry.
* A tow vehicle that visibly squats at the rear, or whose steering feels light, once the van is hitched.
* Any setup where your vehicle or coupling manual names a weight distribution hitch as recommended or mandatory.
And these usually do not:
* A small, light trailer — a box trailer, a tinny on a single axle, a light camper.
* Any setup your manual says should **not** use one. Some vehicles and some couplings are not compatible with weight distribution gear, and fitting it anyway can do harm.
Whether to fit a weight distribution hitch, and how to set it up, is decided by your tow vehicle manual, your coupling instructions, and where needed a qualified fitter — never by this page or the Rig Score. loadmate records the hitch you already have so the assessment matches your real setup. It does not tell you to buy one, or how tight to wind it.
## Where to find the settings
A weight distribution hitch is configured on the trailer it belongs to, and it only does anything while that trailer is hitched to your tow vehicle. You reach the settings from the trailer:
* Open the trailer profile and use the **WDH** card or quick link.
* Or, on the Rig tab, tap the **WDH** badge on the hitch point card to open its detail sheet, then choose **Edit settings**.
You can open the settings while the trailer is unhitched, but the form shows a hitch-required warning, the fields stay greyed out, and saving is blocked. loadmate needs the trailer hitched to your active tow vehicle so it can work out the effect against the real pair of vehicles. Hitch up first, then come back.
## Choose your mode
The very first choice on the screen is the **calculation mode**, and it matters because the two modes describe two genuinely different kinds of hardware. Pick the one that matches the gear you actually own. The screen reminds you which is which: *Spring bars for chain-link systems. FALR for hydraulic or percentage-based WDH setups.*
![WDH settings screen with the FALR mode selected, the WDH Active toggle on, hardware weight, the resolved tow ball mass, and the Front Axle Load Restoration slider.]()
### Spring bars
Choose **Spring bars** if your hitch is the traditional kind: steel bars (often called spring bars or load bars), chains or brackets, and a tension setting you adjust when you hitch up. This is the most common type in Australia and the UK.
In this mode loadmate works the effect out from the numbers printed on your gear and setup sheet:
* **Bar rating** — the minimum and maximum coupling weight your bars are rated for. There are two boxes, a low and a high figure.
* **Bar length** — how long the bars are. This one is always entered in **inches**, even if everything else on your screen is in kilograms or pounds, because spring bars are sold and labelled by inch length the world over. Type the inch number from the bar; loadmate does not convert it.
* **Applied tension** — a slider for how tight you have wound the setup, from loose to firm. Set it to roughly where you actually run it.
A worked example: say your bars are rated 360–540 kg, they are 30 inches long, and you run the tension around the middle. loadmate takes those numbers, works out how much load the bars are moving, and shows you the result in the Effect Preview lower down. You are not doing any maths — you are just describing the gear you have.
### FALR
Choose **FALR** if your hitch does not have a tension knob to read off — typically a hydraulic weight distribution hitch, or any setup where your fitter or weighbridge gives you a **percentage** rather than a tension setting. This is the default loadmate offers US users on first setup, and the right choice for hydraulic systems anywhere.
FALR stands for **Front Axle Load Restoration**. That is exactly what it measures: the share of the front-axle weight your vehicle *lost* when the van was hitched that the hitch is set up to **put back**. A FALR of 70% aims to restore about 70% of the front-axle weight the coupling took off.
FALR works from two things:
* **The restoration percentage** — a slider, marked *Recommended: 50–100%*. Set it to the figure from your fitter, your hitch maker, or your own wheel-arch or weighbridge measurement.
* **The coupling weight** — the weight pressing down on the tow ball, which loadmate already holds for your trailer. Depending on your region this is shown as **tow ball mass** (AU), **nose weight** (UK), or **tongue weight** (US). The form shows where that number came from, with a small label such as **Weighed** or a manufacturer source.
A worked example: your coupling weight is recorded as 160 kg, and your fitter set the hitch to restore 70% of the lost front-axle load. You select FALR, confirm the 160 kg is correct, and slide to 70%. loadmate restores about 70% of the front-axle weight that 160 kg took off, and shows the result in the Effect Preview.
FALR is only as good as the coupling weight it is built on. If that number is missing or out of date, fix it before you rely on FALR — and never copy the maximum rating off the coupling plate, or save a guess just to fill the box. See [Update tow-ball, nose, or tongue weight](/weigh-ins/update-tow-ball-weight).
You can switch back and forth between Spring bars and FALR to compare them. loadmate keeps the values you typed for each mode while you switch, and writes nothing until you tap save — so it is safe to experiment.
## Enter the hardware weight
Both modes ask for the **hardware weight**: how much the weight distribution gear itself weighs, sitting on the trailer's A-frame. This matters because that gear adds to the trailer's total weight whether or not the hitch is doing its job — so recording it keeps your trailer's loaded figures accurate.
WDH product labels often print this with a decimal, like 31.5 kg, so type the number exactly as shown rather than rounding it. loadmate accepts the decimal.
## Read the Effect Preview before you save
As you enter your values, a live **Effect Preview** updates at the bottom of the screen. It is a plain-language picture of what your settings will do, shown before you commit anything. Three rows tell the story:
* **Front Axle** — how much weight is put **back** onto the tow vehicle's front axle (shown with a `+`). This is the weight that brings your steering back.
* **Rear Axle** — how much weight is taken **off** the tow vehicle's rear axle (shown with a `−`). This is the squat the hitch relieves.
* **Trailer Axle Group** — how much weight is shifted onto the trailer's own axles (shown with a `+`).
The numbers are in your own units — kilograms, or pounds for US users.
loadmate needs a few measurements about your tow vehicle and trailer — the wheelbase and the hitch distances — to work the effect out. If any of those are missing while the trailer is hitched, a **Missing vehicle or trailer measurements** warning appears above the preview, and the three rows read zero because loadmate cannot calculate the effect yet. You enter those measurements when you set up storage zones, not on the ratings form, so the preview comes to life once your storage is configured. See [Set up storage zones](/vehicles/set-up-storage-zones).
## Save, and review the rig
When the figures match your gear, tap **Save WDH Settings**. loadmate stores your configuration on the trailer. In FALR mode it also stores the exact coupling weight the calculation was based on, so it can tell later whether the setup still matches the way the trailer is loaded.
Saving a weight distribution hitch is a Pro feature, like the other changes you make to your own rig. Anyone can open the settings, read them, and explore them on the demo rig for free — saving a real change to your own trailer needs Pro. See [Free and Pro](/pricing-account/free-and-pro).
After you save, open the **Rig** tab. The Rig Score recalculates the next time you view it, so the score and compliance numbers reflect the weight your hitch redistributes. When a saved weight distribution hitch is active and the trailer is hitched, a **WDH** badge appears on the hitch point card, showing the current mode at a glance. To see how this feeds the overall number, read [What is the Rig Score](/rig-score/what-is-rig-score).
## When loadmate flags that your setup has drifted
A FALR setup is built on one particular coupling weight. If you later load the van differently and that weight moves a long way — loadmate watches for a shift of more than about **10%** from the figure FALR was saved against — your hitch is no longer tuned for how the van sits now.
When that happens, loadmate raises a **WDH tongue weight changed** item in the Rig attention list. This is FALR-mode only; spring-bar setups are not watched this way, because they do not pin themselves to a single coupling weight. Open the item, check your current coupling weight, and save the FALR settings again with the up-to-date figure.
![Rig attention section showing a WDH tongue weight changed item asking the user to review their WDH settings.]()
## Changing or removing it later
To change a saved setup, reopen the WDH settings from the trailer profile or the Rig detail sheet, edit the values, and save again. The Rig Score updates the next time you open the Rig tab.
To take the hitch out of the picture entirely, use **Remove WDH** from the trailer profile or the Rig detail sheet. Removal applies straight away, with a short undo option — so an accidental tap is recoverable for a few seconds. Saving or removing a hitch on your own rig both require Pro.
A weight distribution hitch is part of your towing setup, so adding, changing, or removing it in loadmate changes how your rig is assessed. Make sure what is recorded here matches the hardware actually fitted to your rig before you trust the score. Always work from your hitch maker's instructions and the limits for your vehicle, trailer, and hardware when you fit, adjust, or remove the gear — and use a weighbridge or truck scale when you need official evidence.
## Where to go next
Keep the coupling weight current so FALR stays accurate and the drift warning stays quiet.
Enter the wheelbase and trailer measurements the Effect Preview needs to show real numbers.
See how your hitch, your weights, and your limits all feed the one safety number.
Understand what you can explore for free and what saving a real change needs.
# Your garage
Source: https://docs.loadmate.io/vehicles/your-garage
Your garage stores every tow vehicle and caravan you own. Add assets, pick your active rig, and hitch up so each limit check and Rig Score reads real details.
Before loadmate can tell you anything useful about your towing safety, it needs to know what you tow with and what you tow. Every weight limit, every load you place, every warning about being over the mark, and the safety score itself are all worked out from the details of your own vehicle and your own caravan. Get those set up once, and the rest of the app has solid ground to stand on.
Your garage is where that setup lives. It is the home for every tow vehicle and every caravan you own, and the place you come back to whenever you want to check one, edit it, or switch which pair you are travelling with. This page explains what the garage holds, how to add your first asset, and how to choose and hitch the rig you are using today.
## Why the garage is the foundation
Think of the garage as the filing cabinet for your rig. Each vehicle and each caravan is a record, and loadmate reads from those records constantly. The limit your vehicle is allowed to weigh fully loaded, the laden limit of your caravan, where your storage zones sit, your tyre details, your service history, your warranty dates — all of it hangs off the asset you set up here.
This is also why setting things up carefully pays off. A wrong or missing baseline weight, for example, throws off every calculation that follows it. The garage does not do the safety maths itself; it holds the facts that the safety maths depends on. Spend the few minutes here, and everything downstream becomes trustworthy.
## When your garage is empty
The very first time you open the garage, there is nothing in it yet, and loadmate shows you that plainly rather than dropping you into a blank screen. You see a short headline, **Your garage is empty**, a line explaining that adding your first vehicle is how you get started with towing safety, and one clear button: **Add your first vehicle**.
![Empty garage screen with a ghosted preview of the asset list, the headline Your garage is empty, and an Add your first vehicle button.]()
The faint, greyed-out shapes above the headline are a preview of what the garage will look like once it has assets in it — a hint of the layout to come, not real records. Start with your tow vehicle. Once it is in, loadmate will guide you on to adding a caravan.
Adding and editing your own assets is a Pro feature. If you are exploring loadmate in demo mode, you will see a ready-made example rig already set up so you can look around. That demo rig is view-only: you can open it and see how everything fits together, but it cannot be changed.
## The asset list and what each card shows
Once you have more than one asset, the garage shows them as a scrollable list, grouped into **Vehicles** and **Trailers** so the two halves of your rig stay clearly separated. Your most recently used asset sits at the top of each group.
Each asset appears as a card. The card leads with the name you will recognise — the nickname you gave it, if you set one, or its make and model if you did not. Below the name sits a short line of detail: the registration number and the current odometer reading, where you have entered them. If a card is the one you are currently travelling with, it carries a small **Active** badge on the right; the others show a chevron instead, telling you to tap through to open them.
Tapping a card opens that asset's full profile, where you edit its details and check its health. A long-press on one of your own assets opens the archive and delete controls, for when you sell or retire a rig. (A long-press on the demo rig does nothing — it is immutable.)
![Garage screen with active vehicle and trailer selectors, filter chips, and grouped vehicle and trailer cards.]()
## Sorting the list with the filter chips
Above the list sit four filter chips, so a fuller garage stays easy to scan:
* **All** — every active vehicle and caravan together. This is the default.
* **Vehicles** — just your tow vehicles.
* **Trailers** — just your caravans and trailers.
* **Archived** — assets you have put away, such as a rig you have sold. These are kept for the record and shown dimmed; tap one to restore it if you change your mind.
Archived assets are deliberately tucked behind their own chip so they do not clutter the rigs you actually use. Nothing is lost when you archive — its weigh-ins, service records, and warranty dates all stay attached, ready if you ever bring it back.
## Choosing your active rig
This is the part that makes the garage more than a list. You may own more than one tow vehicle, or more than one caravan, but you only travel with one of each at a time. The pair you are using is your **active rig**, and the strip at the top of the garage is where you choose it.
The strip has two boxes — your active vehicle on the left, your active caravan on the right — with a chain link between them. Tap the vehicle box to open a sheet listing your vehicles, with the current one ticked; choose another to switch. Tap the caravan box to open the matching sheet for your caravans, including a **No trailer** option for travelling solo.
If your active caravan is heavier than your active vehicle is rated to tow, the strip flags it with a small caution dot beside the caravan's name — a quiet nudge that the pair you have chosen is over the towing limit and worth a closer look.
![Garage selector strip showing the active vehicle box, chain icon, and active trailer box above the asset list.]()
Switching matters because loadmate scores the rig you have chosen, not all of them at once. The active vehicle and active caravan are the pair every limit check, load placement, and score is worked out for. Pick the wrong pair and the numbers are for a rig you are not actually towing.
Think in situations, not vehicles. loadmate is built around the combination you are travelling with right now — this vehicle, towing that caravan — rather than treating each one in isolation. Choosing your active pair is how you tell loadmate which situation to think about.
### Hitching and unhitching
The chain link in the middle of the strip is more than decoration. When you have a caravan selected, it shows a joined link, meaning you are hitched. When no caravan is selected, it shows a broken link, meaning the vehicle is travelling solo.
Tap the chain to change that. If you are hitched, tapping it asks you to confirm before unhitching. If you are not hitched, tapping it opens the caravan selector so you can hitch one up. The caravan selector does one more safety job here: if a caravan's laden limit (ATM in Australia, MTPLM in the UK, Trailer GVWR in the US, or GTWR in Europe/international) is heavier than what your active vehicle is rated to tow, the sheet flags that caravan with a full amber caution band and a warning triangle **before** you hitch — so the warning reaches you while you can still act on it.
Hitching and unhitching is not just a label change. It tells loadmate the rig has changed, so it marks the score for that vehicle as needing a fresh look and recalculates. A hitched rig and a solo vehicle are two different safety pictures, and the score reflects whichever one you are in.
## When you have just one vehicle, or only a caravan
A new garage often holds a single tow vehicle and no caravan yet. In that case loadmate shows the vehicle on its own and, just below it, a gentle prompt to add a caravan — because combined towing compliance and stability scoring need both halves of the rig to read from. You are not stuck; the prompt simply points at the natural next step.
If instead you have added a caravan but no tow vehicle yet, the garage shows your caravan and a card inviting you to add a vehicle. In this caravan-only state there is no rig to choose yet, so the selector strip does not appear — it returns once you have added a vehicle to pair with. A caravan with nothing to tow it has no hitched compliance to check, so loadmate nudges you to complete the pair.
![Single-vehicle Garage state showing an active tow vehicle and an add-a-trailer prompt.]()
## Where to go next
The garage is the hub; each setup task has its own page with step-by-step guidance. Start with whichever you need.
Create your tow vehicle — the foundation every other check reads from. You only need a name or a make and model to begin.
Add the other half of your rig so loadmate can check combined limits and stability once you hitch up.
Open an asset to read its limits, baseline, compliance, and condition — and reach every setup task from one place.
Edit details, swap a photo, or archive a rig you have sold — then restore it later if it comes back.
# Add warranty coverage
Source: https://docs.loadmate.io/warranty/add-coverage
warranty coverage in loadmate records a manufacturer, extended, or component warranty. Enter the start date and duration and you get a countdown to expiry.
A warranty you cannot prove is a warranty you do not really have. When the fridge stops cooling, the question is always the same: was it still covered, and can you show it? If the answer lives in a folder somewhere, or only in your memory, the cover is worth less than it should be.
Recording the cover once fixes that. Read the start date and the length off the purchase paperwork or the appliance card, type them in, and you have turned "I think the fridge is still under warranty" into a real date that loadmate counts down to and warns you about before it runs out.
## The three kinds of cover
loadmate keeps three kinds of warranty, and the type you choose is just a label that helps you recognise the record later. Pick whichever fits the paperwork in front of you.
![Add coverage sheet showing manufacturer, extended, and component warranty type choices.]()
* **Manufacturer.** The warranty that came with the vehicle or trailer from the maker, such as the cover on a new caravan from the factory.
* **Extended.** Extra cover you bought from a dealer or a third-party provider, on top of the maker's warranty. This is the one people most often forget they paid for.
* **Component.** Cover on a specific part, such as the fridge, the awning, the hot water system, or the solar regulator. These usually come with their own appliance card or receipt.
Most caravans have several clocks running at once. The fridge, the hot water system, the air conditioner, the awning, and the solar regulator often each carry their own warranty, bought on different days and lasting different lengths. While the paperwork is out, add each appliance as its own component record. That way every one gets its own expiry warning, instead of all of them blurring into a single date you cannot trust.
## Add a coverage record
Open the Add coverage sheet from the Warranty hub. From the **More** tab choose **Warranty**, then tap **Add warranty coverage**. The details all come straight off your purchase paperwork or the appliance card, so it helps to have them to hand before you start.
![Add coverage sheet showing the coverage label, provider, start date, and duration fields.]()
![Animation showing a component warranty being entered, saved, and added back to the Warranty hub.]()
Tap **Add warranty coverage** on the hub, then choose manufacturer, extended, or component at the top of the form. Give the record a short label so you recognise it later, such as "Dometic fridge warranty".
Set the **Start date** — usually the purchase date on your receipt — and the **Duration** in months. These two are all loadmate needs to start the countdown.
Open the **Advanced** section to record the provider, a policy number, a distance limit, notes, or to attach a photo or PDF of the paperwork. Every one of these is optional; skip what you do not have.
Tap **Save coverage**. The new record appears on the hub straight away, with its countdown already running.
You never type an expiry date. loadmate works it out from the start date plus the number of months, so you only enter what is printed on the paperwork. And loadmate never looks warranty terms up from an outside database: the records are the ones you enter, so what you see on the card is exactly what you recorded, nothing guessed or filled in from elsewhere.
## What each field means
Most of the form is optional. Only the type, the start date, and the duration are needed to start a countdown; everything else is there to make the record more useful to you later. Each field has a small **i** icon beside it that opens a one-line explanation, so you are never left guessing what a box is asking for.
* **Label.** A short name for the record, so you can tell your fridge cover from your awning cover at a glance.
* **Start date.** Usually the purchase date from your receipt. This is where the countdown begins.
* **Duration.** How many months the warranty lasts from the start date. loadmate adds this to the start date to work out when the cover ends.
* **Provider.** Who the cover is with, such as the maker, the dealer, or an insurer. It is a label on your own record; loadmate never contacts them.
* **Policy number.** The reference printed on your warranty document or receipt, handy to have on file if you ever need to quote it.
* **Distance limit.** The maximum distance the warranty covers, if it has one, shown in kilometres or miles to match your region.
* **Start odometer.** Your distance reading when the warranty began. This box only appears once you have entered a distance limit.
* **Notes.** Anything else worth remembering about the cover — where the paperwork lives, who to call, or exactly what is included.
* **Attachments.** Keep the paperwork with the cover. Tap **Add photo** or **Add PDF** to save the warranty document, the receipt, or the appliance card straight onto the record — up to five files, each up to 10 MB. You can open or remove them later from the coverage record.
Some warranties expire after a set distance as well as a set time. loadmate stores and shows a distance limit so you have the figure on the record, but the warnings count down by time only. There is no second countdown watching your odometer, so treat the distance limit as a note to yourself rather than something the app will alert you about.
## Review or edit a coverage record
Open a coverage record by tapping its card on the Warranty hub, or by tapping the warranty card on a vehicle or trailer's Health tab. The detail screen shows the cover at a glance, with a colour word telling you whether it has plenty of time left, is getting close, is very close, or has lapsed.
![Coverage detail screen showing an active warranty with plenty of time remaining and edit actions available.]()
To change something, tap **Edit coverage**. The same form reopens with everything you entered, so you can fix a date, extend the duration, or add a policy number you found later, then save the changes. If a record no longer applies, you can delete it from the same screen.
Any photos or PDFs you attached show here under **Attachments** — tap one to open it, or remove it if you no longer need it.
![Coverage detail screen showing an Attachments card with saved warranty files and remove actions.]()
Deleting a coverage record is safe for anything you have linked to it. If a warranty issue is tied to that cover, the issue keeps every one of its own details — the title, the date you noticed the problem, your description, and any photos — and simply notes that the linked coverage is no longer there. You never lose the evidence you logged just because you tidied up an old warranty.
## Add cover right after you add a rig
Just after you add a vehicle or a trailer, loadmate offers a warranty card on the success screen with **Go to Warranty** and **Skip for now**. The moment you finish adding a rig is usually when the purchase paperwork is still on the table, so it is the easiest time to record the cover.
![Add-a-vehicle success screen showing the Warranty coverage card with go-to-warranty and skip actions.]()
There is no pressure to do it then. Tap **Skip for now** and the card steps aside; the Warranty hub is always waiting under the **More** tab when you are ready.
## Where to go next
See how loadmate counts down to expiry, where the warnings appear, and how to dismiss one you have handled.
Record a problem the moment you notice it, with the date and any photos, and link it to the cover that applies.
Return to the one place that holds all your coverage and any logged issues for the rig.
Exploring is free for everyone, including demo and lapsed users: opening the hub, reading every field tooltip, and looking around the Add coverage form are all open. Saving a real change on your own rig — adding, editing, or deleting a coverage record — asks you to upgrade to Pro. Demo data stays visible so you can see how it all looks, but it cannot be edited.
# Warranty
Source: https://docs.loadmate.io/warranty/coverage-and-issues
Warranty coverage and issues live on one screen for your active rig, with badges that warn before cover lapses and a dated history you keep and control.
Most rigs have five to ten warranty clocks ticking away at once: the tow vehicle, the van, the fridge, the awning, the hot water system, the solar. Each one started on a different day and runs out on a different day, and the paperwork for them is usually scattered across a glovebox folder, a kitchen drawer, and an old email or two.
The week one of them fails is the worst possible time to go digging for whether it was still covered. Warranty records each clock once, warns you before any of them runs out, and lets you log a problem the day you notice it so the date is on record. It keeps your own dated history in one place; it does not chase the claim for you.
## What Warranty keeps for you
The Warranty hub is the one screen that holds everything for the active rig: every coverage record you have entered, and every issue you have logged. Open it and you see your cover and your problems together, instead of hunting through separate screens or trying to remember which booklet the fridge warranty lived in.
![Warranty hub showing active coverage cards and a logged issue for the active rig.]()
The screen has two parts. The coverage list shows each warranty as its own card, with a small status badge telling you at a glance whether it has plenty of time left, is getting close, or has lapsed. The issues list shows any problems you have logged, newest first, each with the date you first noticed it. From here you can open any card to read its full detail, add another coverage record, or log a new issue.
Once you have logged an issue, you can keep a running, dated record against it — every phone call, email, and visit, and what each person promised — then save the whole lot as a professional PDF to hand over. loadmate builds that evidence for you; it still does not lodge or chase the claim on your behalf. See [Track a warranty claim](/warranty/track-a-claim) and [Save an evidence PDF](/warranty/evidence-pdf).
The very first time you open Warranty, the hub is empty on purpose. Instead of a blank screen, it shows a short explanation of why recording your cover here is worth the few minutes, with a button to add your first coverage record. Nothing is hidden behind that empty state; it is simply the starting point before you have entered anything.
## Open Warranty and find your way around
There are two ways into the hub. The usual one is the **More** tab: tap **Warranty** in the list. The other is from the warranty card on a vehicle or trailer's **Health** tab, which takes you straight into the same hub.
![More tab showing the Warranty coverage row with an expiry badge and no private account details visible.]()
![Empty Warranty hub with the first-run explanation and the action to add coverage.]()
The Warranty row on the More tab carries a small badge only when a coverage is getting close to its expiry date, and stays quiet the rest of the time. So the row is a gentle prompt: a badge means something is worth a look, and no badge means nothing needs your attention right now. The warranty card on a Health tab works the same way, showing the state of your cover alongside the other ownership signals you already check there. It reflects your coverage only, not any logged issues.
If you are ever unsure what the hub is for, tap the help icon in the top corner to open the **Why track warranties here?** sheet. It is a short, plain-English explainer, and it never changes any of your records.
Most caravans carry separate warranties for appliances such as the fridge, the hot water system, the awning, and the air conditioner. While the paperwork is in front of you, add each one as its own record. That way every appliance gets its own expiry warning, instead of a dozen different dates blurring into one.
## Why recording it once matters
Warranty dates are easy to lose track of, right up until the moment something stops working. By then the booklet has often gone walkabout, and you are left trying to remember whether the purchase was three years ago or four, and whether the cover was two years or five.
![Warranty help sheet explaining why tracking coverage dates and issues matters.]()
A dated record you made while the item was still covered is far easier to rely on than a memory you reconstruct months later. Recording the cover once, when the paperwork is in front of you, means the date is settled and loadmate can warn you in good time. Logging a problem the day you notice it does the same job for issues: it puts the date beyond doubt.
Be clear about what this is and is not. loadmate keeps your history and counts down to each expiry. It does not lodge or chase a claim for you, contact the maker or dealer, interpret warranty terms, or guarantee any outcome. The record is yours, ready to show as evidence when you need it; acting on it stays in your hands.
## Where to go next
Warranty ties a few smaller pieces together, and each has its own page with step-by-step guidance. Head to whichever you need.
Record a manufacturer, extended, or component warranty from your paperwork, and let loadmate work out the expiry date.
Understand the badges and warnings, what each colour means, and how to handle a warning you have already dealt with.
Capture a problem the day you notice it, with the date and an optional photo, and link it to the cover that applies.
Open a logged issue any time to read its details, update them, or remove it.
Exploring Warranty is free for everyone, including demo and lapsed users: open the hub, read your coverage and issues, open the help sheets, and see the More tab badge with no upgrade prompt. Saving a real change on your own rig — adding, editing or deleting a coverage or an issue, dismissing a warning, adding or removing a photo, or linking a coverage — requires Pro. Demo data stays visible so you can look around, but it cannot be edited.
# Save an evidence PDF
Source: https://docs.loadmate.io/warranty/evidence-pdf
Save a whole warranty claim as a tidy, branded PDF — your details, the vehicle and cover, the full dated timeline, and any outstanding promises — ready to email to a dealer or hand to a consumer-protection body.
There comes a point in some warranty problems where talking stops being enough and you need it in writing. A dealer asks you to "send through the details". A manufacturer wants proof of when the fault started. Or a claim stalls, and you decide to take it further, to a consumer-protection body. That is the moment loadmate can hand you a complete, orderly record of the whole thing — ready to send, in a single file.
## Save the PDF
From an issue's top bar, tap the download icon. loadmate gathers the entire claim into a tidy, branded PDF and saves it to your device.
It saves through your device's **Save to Files**, so you choose where it goes — a folder you will find again, or wherever you keep documents. From there you can attach it to an email to the dealer or manufacturer, print it, or pass it to a consumer-protection body. It is an ordinary PDF, so whoever you send it to can open it on any phone, tablet, or computer.
## What is in it
The PDF pulls together everything the claim holds, laid out cleanly so it reads well to someone seeing it for the first time:
* **You and the rig** — your name, and the vehicle or trailer the claim concerns, with its make, model, year, and registration.
* **The linked cover** — the warranty you connected the issue to, so the reader can see it was in force.
* **The full dated timeline** — every call, email, and visit you logged, in order, with the photos and documents you attached along the way.
* **Any outstanding promises** — what was pledged and by when, so a "we'll sort it next week" that never happened is there in black and white.
In short, it is the record you have been keeping, gathered into one document that speaks for itself.
## A Pro feature
Saving the evidence PDF is a Pro feature. Everything leading up to it — opening an issue, reading its whole timeline, checking the status — stays free for everyone. Tap the download icon without an active Pro subscription and loadmate shows the upgrade sheet instead of saving the file.
Non-Pro, lapsed-Pro, and demo users can read a claim in full, but saving the PDF needs Pro. On the demo rig the record is there to explore so you can see how it works; it cannot be exported.
You can trust what the PDF says, because none of it comes from anywhere but the record you built. loadmate does not contact the dealer, fetch your paperwork, or add anything of its own — it simply arranges what you logged into a form you can hand over. The evidence is yours; loadmate just makes it presentable.
## Where to go next
Keep the dated record the PDF is built from: log each call, email, and visit, and set the status as the claim moves along.
Open a logged issue to read or change its details, manage its photos, or remove it.
Capture a problem the day you notice it, with the date and a photo, and link it to the cover that applies.
# Warranty expiry warnings
Source: https://docs.loadmate.io/warranty/expiry-warnings
Warranty expiry badges in loadmate count down colour-coded warnings before cover lapses, so you can log an issue in time or dismiss one you have handled.
The whole point of recording your cover is the heads-up before it lapses. While a warranty is still in date, you can log any outstanding problem and have it on record while the item is covered. Once the cover lapses, that option is gone, and a fault you noticed a fortnight too late is much harder to stand behind.
So loadmate watches the dates for you. This page explains the warnings you will see, where they turn up, and how to clear one you have already dealt with.
## How loadmate counts down
Once a coverage record has a start date and a coverage period in months, loadmate works out the expiry date and counts down to it. You do not have to do the sums yourself, and you do not have to remember which of your warranties runs out first.
![Coverage detail screen showing an amber expiring warranty badge, countdown, and progress bar.]()
The quickest signal is the colour of the badge on each coverage. It tells you at a glance how much time is left:
* **Green** means there is plenty of time — more than about three months (90 days) until expiry.
* **Amber** means it is getting close — inside about three months, under 90 days to go.
* **Red** means it is very close — the last month or so, under 30 days.
* A **lapsed** marker means the cover has already run out.
![Warranty hub showing an expiring coverage card with a 45 days left badge.]()
Open any coverage record and you also get a progress bar across the top, filling up as the period elapses. A nearly full bar in amber or red is your cue that the warranty is winding down, and it is the same colour story as the badge, just shown as a strip you can read in a second.
## Where warnings appear
A badge on a card is easy to miss if you are not looking at the Warranty hub, so loadmate also surfaces an expiring warranty in the places you already check. You do not have to go hunting for it.
Here is everywhere a warning can show up:
* **On the coverage cards and the Coverage Detail screen** — the colour badge and the progress bar described above.
* **On your rig's attention list** — when a warranty is roughly 45 days from expiring, it raises a warning so you have time to act while the item is still covered. This works for both the tow vehicle and the caravan or trailer, so cover on either one will surface.
* **On the More tab Warranty row** — a small badge counts the coverages that are within about 60 days of expiry. When nothing is close, the row stays quiet, so the badge only appears when there is something worth a look.
* **On the Health tab** — the warranty card there reflects the same coverage state, healthy, expiring soon, or lapsed, alongside the other ownership signals you already check.
* **Before a planned trip** — pre-trip readiness flags any cover that will expire during the dates of the trip, so a warranty running out mid-holiday does not catch you out on the road.
These warnings are how Warranty ties into the rest of loadmate. The attention list and More tab badge sit with your other alerts, and the pre-trip flag sits with the rest of your trip checks. To see how alerts work across the app, see [Activity and alerts](/tools/activity-and-alerts). For the trip side, see the [Pre-trip checklist](/pre-trip/checklist).
## Acting on a warning
A warning is not just a colour. When loadmate flags a specific warranty, opening that record gives you something to do about it.
![Warranty coverage detail opened from a warning with dismiss and log-an-issue actions visible.]()
You have two choices, depending on whether anything is actually wrong:
Tap the warning on your attention list to open that warranty's Coverage Detail. It opens ready for you to act, with the actions below shown at the bottom.
If something is not working as it should, choose **Log an issue** to record it now, with the date you first noticed it. That dated note is what you rely on later, and it only counts for certain while the cover is still in date. The issue form opens already linked to this warranty.
If you have looked the item over and there is nothing to report, choose the dismiss action. It quietly clears this warning for 30 days, so the record stops nagging you while it runs out its last weeks. The badge and the date stay exactly as they were; only the attention-list nudge is paused.
If you would like a hand knowing what to check before a warranty runs out, the **Your warranty is expiring** help sheet gives you a short pre-expiry checklist: look over the covered vehicle, trailer, and components, photograph any wear or faults, and log each issue with the date you noticed it. Reporting while you are still covered is what shows you acted in time.
## The distance-limit clock
Some warranties have a distance or mileage cap as well as a time limit, and it is worth being clear about how loadmate handles that.
![Coverage detail screen showing a stored mileage limit and starting odometer for a warranty.]()
If a warranty has a distance or mileage cap, loadmate stores the figure and shows it on the record, but the warnings count down from the time-based expiry date only. loadmate does not track your distance against the cap, so keep an eye on your own odometer against that limit yourself. A warranty can run out on distance well before its time runs out, and the badge will not know.
## Where to go next
When a warning points you at something, the next step is usually to record it or check it against a trip.
Record a problem with the date you first noticed it, while the item is still covered.
See how a warranty expiring during your trip dates shows up alongside your other pre-trip checks.
Keep your service history in step, useful evidence to sit beside your warranty cover.
Exploring is free for everyone, including demo and lapsed users: the badges, the attention warnings, the More tab count, the Health tab card, and the help sheets are all open to look at. Saving a real change on your own rig, such as dismissing a warning or logging an issue, asks you to upgrade to Pro. Demo data stays visible so you can see how it all looks, but it cannot be edited.
# Log a warranty issue
Source: https://docs.loadmate.io/warranty/log-an-issue
Log a warranty issue the day you spot it: save a dated note with a title, photos, and the affected part, then link it to the cover that protects your rig.
When a warranty problem turns into a dispute, it often comes down to one question: when did the trouble actually start? Months later, that is hard to pin down from memory. A short dated note written the day you first noticed it is far easier to rely on, so it is worth logging a problem early, even if it seems too small to bother with.
Logging an issue keeps your own evidence in one place: a title, the date you first saw it, a photo or two, and a link to the cover that applies. It is a note to yourself, not a claim. loadmate does not lodge or chase anything on your behalf; it simply holds your dated record so it is ready if you ever need it.
## What counts as a warranty issue
Set the bar low. If something on your rig is not working as it should while the item is still in date, it is worth logging, even if it seems minor now. A small fault that gets worse is much easier to deal with when you have a dated note showing you spotted it early.
Everyday examples are the kind of thing most owners would otherwise shrug off: the fridge not cooling the way it used to, the awning motor playing up, a water stain creeping in around a window, an odd noise from the suspension. None of those needs to be a crisis to be worth a note.
If you are not sure whether something qualifies, open the help sheet titled **What counts as a warranty issue?** from the help icon in the top corner of the form. It lists common examples and explains, in plain terms, why a dated note now beats trying to reconstruct the story later.
## Log an issue
Logging an issue takes well under a minute. The form is deliberately short, so you can write the problem down before it slips your mind and add the detail later if you want to.
![New warranty issue form showing the title, date noticed, description, affected component, and photo controls.]()
From the Warranty hub, tap **Log an issue**. Or, if you already know which warranty is affected, open that coverage record and tap **Log an issue for this component** — that route starts the form with the cover already linked.
Under **What's the issue?**, write a short, plain description such as "fridge not cooling" or "awning won't retract". This is the line you will recognise it by later.
Tap **When did you notice it?** and choose the day the problem first appeared. This is the most important field on the form, and it cannot be set in the future, because you can only have noticed something that has already happened.
You can describe what happened in the **Describe the issue** field, name the **Affected component** in your own words such as "hot water system" or "front window seal", and add photos if you have them. None of this is required; a title and a date are enough to log.
Tap **Save issue**. The issue is kept against that vehicle or trailer, and it also appears on your rig's activity timeline so there is a record of when you logged it.
The date matters more than anything else here. Record the day you *first saw* the problem, not the day you got around to logging it. That notice date is the piece of evidence that tends to carry the most weight later, which is exactly why the form will not let you set it in the future — you can only record a problem you have already seen.
Most caravans carry separate warranties for appliances like the fridge, the hot water system, and the air conditioner. If a fault touches one of those, naming it in the affected-component field keeps your note specific, so you can see at a glance which appliance the problem belongs to.
## Link it to the right cover
The real value of an issue is the link to the warranty that covers it. The form lists the coverage records you have already added for that vehicle or trailer as tappable options, so you do not have to remember dates or policy numbers.
![Warranty issue form showing the linked coverage picker with no linked coverage and active coverage options.]()
One tap links the issue to the matching cover. That connection is what lets the record show the problem was noticed while the item was still covered, which is the whole point of logging the date early. If you tap the wrong one, just tap another, or choose **No linked coverage** to leave it unlinked.
You can still link to a warranty that has already lapsed. Expired covers sort to the bottom of the list and are clearly marked, but they stay selectable, because what matters is whether the cover was in force on the day you noticed the problem, not on the day you happened to log it. If you would rather not link anything yet, **No linked coverage** keeps the note on its own until you decide.
## Where to go next
A logged issue is just the start. From here you can revisit it, keep a dated record of what happens next, and save the whole claim as evidence. These pages cover the rest of the warranty workflow.
Keep a dated record of every call, email, and visit after you log the problem, and set the status as it moves along.
Save the whole claim as a tidy, branded PDF to hand to a dealer, maker, or consumer-protection body.
Open a logged issue to read or change its details, add or remove photos, and update the linked cover.
Record a manufacturer, extended, or component warranty so there is a cover to link your issues to.
Keep your service history alongside your warranty cover for a full picture of how the rig has been looked after.
Exploring is free for everyone, including demo and lapsed users: you can open the form, browse the coverage picker, and read the help sheets without upgrading. Saving a real change on your own rig — creating or editing an issue, adding a photo, or linking a cover — requires Pro. Demo data stays visible so you can see how it all works, but it cannot be edited.
# Review and edit an issue
Source: https://docs.loadmate.io/warranty/review-an-issue
Edit a logged warranty issue: reopen its dated record to fix the date, title, or linked coverage, add or remove photos, or delete it from your rig.
Once you have logged a problem, you can come back to it any time. Add the photo you meant to take last time, fix the date if you tapped the wrong day, or simply check exactly what you wrote down and when. The record stays put until you change it, so the detail you captured in the moment is still there weeks or months later.
This page walks through what an issue record shows, how to edit it, how to manage its photos, and how to remove it. It also sets out, plainly and once, what Warranty does and does not do for you, so nobody is left expecting loadmate to chase a problem on their behalf.
## What the issue record shows
Open an issue by tapping it on the Warranty hub. Its record is a calm, dated summary of one problem: what it is, when you first noticed it, and any evidence you saved. There is nothing to wade through, because the record only shows what you put in.
![Warranty issue detail showing the issue title, date noticed, linked coverage, description, and photo strip.]()
Reading down the screen, you will see:
* **The title and the date you noticed it.** The title is your short name for the problem. The date is the day you first saw it, which is the detail that tends to matter most when you look back.
* **The affected component**, if you named one, in your own words, such as "hot water system" or "awning motor".
* **Your description**, if you wrote one, kept exactly as you typed it.
* **Your photos**, shown as a small strip you can tap to view full screen.
* **The linked-coverage card**, showing the warranty you connected the issue to. If that cover was later deleted, the card simply notes the link is no longer there, and the rest of the issue stays untouched.
The record now keeps a dated timeline of the calls, emails, and visits you log against this problem, including who you dealt with on each one. What it does not do is keep a separate address book of contacts, and it never fetches or imports anything on its own — you add each update yourself, in your own words.
## Your claim's history
An issue is no longer just a single dated note. Once you have logged a problem, it carries a running timeline of everything that happens next — every phone call, email, and visit you record, newest first — together with a status that shows where the claim stands: open, in progress, resolved, or disputed.
This is the evidence trail you build yourself, one update at a time, so that months later you can show exactly what was said and when. It has its own page, and so does the tidy PDF you can save from it.
Log each call, email, and visit, note what was promised and by when, and set the status as the claim moves along.
Turn the whole dated record into a professional PDF you can hand to a dealer, maker, or consumer-protection body.
## Edit an issue
You can change almost everything about a logged issue after the fact. This is handy when you remember a detail later, or realise you logged the wrong date.
![Animation showing a warranty issue opened from detail, edited, and saved.]()
Tap the menu in the top corner of the issue record and choose **Edit**. The same short form you filled in originally reopens, with your details already in it. From here you can change the title, the date you noticed the problem, the description, the affected component, and which coverage the issue is linked to.
The one thing you cannot change is which rig the issue belongs to. If you logged it against the caravan, it stays with the caravan. That keeps each issue tied to the right vehicle or trailer, so its history does not drift to the wrong rig. If an issue is sitting against the wrong rig, remove it and log it again on the correct one.
If a single appliance is now playing up, log it as its own issue rather than adding it to an unrelated one. A separate dated record for each problem is far easier to rely on later than one entry trying to cover two things.
## Add or remove photos
Photos are dated evidence. A clear picture of a cracked seal or a leaking tap, saved on the day you noticed it, backs up what you wrote far better than a description on its own. You can add to an issue's photos, or remove one, at any time.
![Warranty issue photo strip showing two saved photos and an add-photo control.]()
To add the photo you forgot, open the issue and tap **Add photo**, then choose an image from your device. To remove a photo, press and hold its thumbnail and confirm. Wide shots that show the whole item, plus close-ups of the damage, make the strongest record, so it is worth adding more than one where you can.
Photos belong to the issue you add them to. Removing a photo here does not touch the same image anywhere else on your device or in any other record.
## Remove an issue
If a problem was logged by mistake, or you no longer want to keep it, you can delete the whole issue from its record.
![Delete issue confirmation dialog warning that the warranty issue and photos will be permanently removed.]()
Tap the menu in the top corner and choose **Delete issue**. loadmate asks you to confirm first, because deleting is permanent and takes the issue's photos with it. Once you confirm, you are returned to the Warranty hub, and the matching entry also disappears from your rig's activity timeline, so your history stays tidy rather than showing a problem you have removed.
Deleting an issue cannot be undone. The issue and its photos are gone for good. If you only need to correct a detail, use **Edit** instead, which keeps the record and its history intact.
## What Warranty does not do
Warranty keeps your own dated history: your cover, the warnings as it nears expiry, the problems you log, and the running record of what happens as you chase each one. The point is that it is simply there, ready, when a dealer or maker asks "when did you first notice this?" or "was it still under warranty?". You answer from a record you made at the time, not from memory.
![Warranty issue detail showing a linked coverage card for a coverage record that has been deleted.]()
It still helps to be clear about what loadmate will not do. loadmate does not:
* Lodge, submit, or chase a claim for you.
* Contact a dealer, supplier, or manufacturer on your behalf.
* Interpret your warranty terms, predict an outcome, or give legal advice.
* Link to your service records, or change anything about your insurance.
What it does do is help you build and carry the evidence: the dated timeline of every call and email, a note of what each person promised and by when, and a professional PDF you can hand over. loadmate builds the record and gives it to you; lodging and chasing the claim stay in your hands. That is the same whether the cover is current or lapsed.
One more thing worth knowing. If you delete a coverage record that an issue was linked to, the issue keeps all of its own details, including the date you linked it. Its linked-coverage card simply notes that the cover is no longer there. You never lose the dated evidence you captured just because you tidied up an old warranty.
## Where to go next
The issue record is one piece of your rig's dated history. These pages cover the rest.
Keep a dated record of every call, email, and visit, and set the status as the claim moves along.
Save the whole claim as a tidy, branded PDF to hand to a dealer, maker, or consumer-protection body.
Record a new problem the moment you notice it, with the date, a photo, and a link to the cover that applies.
See how loadmate counts down to each expiry date and where it warns you before cover lapses.
Look back over every service you have logged, for warranty evidence or your own peace of mind.
Looking around is free for everyone, including demo and lapsed users: you can open any issue, view its photos and linked coverage, and reach the edit form without Pro. Saving a change on your own rig requires Pro, whether that is editing an issue, adding or removing a photo, changing the linked coverage, or deleting the issue. Demo data stays visible so you can see how a record looks, but it cannot be edited.
# Track a warranty claim
Source: https://docs.loadmate.io/warranty/track-a-claim
Keep a dated record of a warranty problem — log every call, email, and visit, note what was promised, set the status, and build the evidence trail you may need if a claim turns into a dispute.
Logging a problem is the first step. What usually decides a warranty dispute is everything that happens after it: the call where the dealer said they would look into it, the email that promised a part "next week", the visit where nothing actually got fixed. Each of those is easy to forget and hard to prove later.
loadmate now lets you keep a dated record of the lot. Each time you speak to someone or send an email, you add a short update, and it joins a running timeline on the issue. When a claim drags on, you can show exactly what was said, and when — from a record you made at the time, not from memory.
## Your correspondence timeline
Open any logged issue and you will see its timeline: a dated list of everything you have recorded about that one problem, newest at the top. Each update you add — a call, an email, a visit — becomes an entry, so the whole story reads in order, from the latest development right back to the day you first noticed the fault.
A dated record matters most when a claim turns into a disagreement. Six months on, "they told me it would be sorted before winter" means little on its own. A line that reads "Phone call, 14 March — Sam at the dealership said the part was on order and would arrive within two weeks" is the kind of detail that settles an argument. The timeline turns a string of half-remembered conversations into something you can stand behind.
## Log an update
Add an update while it is fresh, ideally the same day. Open the issue, tap **Log an update**, and choose what kind of contact it was.
Choose the type of update: a **phone call**, an **email sent** or **email received**, an **in-person visit**, an **inspection**, **parts ordered**, **work completed**, a **letter** or other written correspondence, or a plain **note** for anything that does not fit the rest.
The date defaults to today. If you are catching up on something from earlier in the week, change it to the day it actually happened, so the timeline stays true to events.
Record the person's name and the dealer or company they work for. Months later, "Sam at the dealership" is far more useful than "someone at the shop", especially once staff have moved on.
In your own words, put down what happened: what you asked for, what they told you, what was agreed. Keep it plain and factual — it is a note to yourself first, and evidence second.
If they promised something — a callback, a part, a repair booking — note it and add a **by-when date**. loadmate then reminds you when it falls due, so a "we'll call you back next week" does not quietly slip past.
Got a receipt, a quote, or a screenshot of an email? Attach it to the update, and it sits with that entry as part of the record.
Save it, and the update appears at the top of the timeline.
The by-when date is the quiet workhorse here. When a dealer says "give us a fortnight", set that date on the update, and loadmate surfaces it in your [activity and alerts](/tools/activity-and-alerts) when it is due or overdue — in the same place as your other reminders. There is nothing new to set up, and nothing to keep in your own head.
## The "Issue noticed" anchor
Every timeline ends the same way: with an **Issue noticed** entry at the very bottom, built from the problem you first logged. It carries the original date you recorded and any photos you added at the time, so the starting point of the story is always in view beneath everything that came after.
You do not add this entry, and you cannot lose it by logging updates — it simply anchors the record. However long the timeline grows, the first thing that ever happened stays put at its foot.
## Set the status
Alongside the timeline, each issue carries a **status** that shows where the claim stands at a glance. You set it yourself, and every change is added to the timeline, so you can see when things moved.
There are four to choose from:
* **Open** — logged, but nothing has happened yet.
* **In progress** — you are in contact and the claim is moving along.
* **Resolved** — sorted out. loadmate lets you add a short note on how it was settled, which is worth doing while it is fresh.
* **Disputed** — for when a dealer or maker will not help, or turns down a claim you believe is fair. Marking it **Disputed** flags the claim for follow-up, and it is your cue to lean on the record you have built.
Changing the status never rewrites your history; it just adds a dated line noting the change, so the timeline stays complete.
## Remove an update
Logged the wrong thing, or added an update twice? Press and hold the entry on the timeline and confirm to remove it. As with deleting anything in loadmate, it cannot be undone, so remove an entry only when you are sure it does not belong.
The **Issue noticed** anchor stays put — it is part of the original issue, not a logged update, so it is not removed this way. To change the original problem or its date, edit the issue itself.
Reading a claim's history is free for everyone, including demo and lapsed users: open any issue and view its whole timeline and status without Pro. Logging an update, changing the status, and saving the evidence PDF each require Pro. Demo data stays visible so you can see how a tracked claim looks, but it cannot be changed or exported.
## Where to go next
Turn the whole dated record into a tidy, branded PDF you can hand to a dealer, maker, or consumer-protection body.
Open a logged issue to read or change its details, manage its photos, or remove it.
Capture a problem the day you notice it, with the date and a photo, and link it to the cover that applies.
# After your weigh-in: change, move, or remove a load
Source: https://docs.loadmate.io/weigh-ins/after-your-weigh-in
after a weigh-in, learn how changing, moving, or removing a load affects drift and your score, how to edit linked loads, and when to weigh again.
A weigh-in records what your rig actually weighed, and it bakes in the loads that were on the scales that day as a snapshot. From that moment on, anything you change about what you carry moves you a little way away from that snapshot. loadmate keeps track of how far you have moved, calls it drift, and uses it as one of the signals behind your score.
This page explains what "baked in" really means, what happens to your numbers when you change, move, or remove a load afterwards, and how to know when it is time to weigh again. Nothing here needs you to do maths. It is about reading the gentle prompts loadmate gives you and knowing what they mean.
## What "baked in" means
When you save a weigh-in and link the loads that were on the scales, those loads become part of a measured record. From that point on, they no longer count as guesswork. loadmate treats them as known weight, confirmed on the day, rather than estimates it has to track for drift.
One saved weigh-in at a time is your active baseline. That is the single record driving your live score and your drift tracking. Every other weigh-in you have saved stays in your history as a record you can read, but only the active baseline shapes the numbers loadmate shows you now.
So "baked in" is simply this: the loads you ticked at the weigh-in are now the trusted starting point. As long as you leave them as they were on the scales, they add nothing to your drift. Change them, and loadmate starts noticing the difference.
## Changing what you carry: four cases
Once a load is baked in, four common changes behave in four different ways. The table below is the short version.
| If you... | What happens |
| -------------------------------------------------- | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
| Remove a load that was on the scales | Its weight counts toward drift again, because you have moved away from the measured snapshot. |
| Edit a load's weight without re-weighing it | The change counts toward drift. But if you re-weigh that item so it carries an actual reading, it records no drift even though the weight changed. |
| Add a new load that was not on the scales | Its full weight counts toward drift until you re-weigh, because it was never part of the measured record. |
| Move a load to a different spot at the same weight | No change to drift. Moving it only shifts your axle distribution and your compliance picture, not how far you sit from the snapshot. |
The pattern is worth holding onto. Drift is about how far your carried weight has moved away from what was actually measured. Removing, editing, or adding weight moves you away from the snapshot. Re-weighing an item brings it back to measured, so its weight stops counting as drift even if the number is different now. Moving an item that already weighed the same does not change the total at all, so it does not touch drift, though it does change where the weight sits.
Any of these four changes marks your score for a refresh. loadmate does not recalculate on the spot while you are still packing. The next time you open the **Rig** tab, the score is brought current against everything you have changed since you last looked.
Re-weighing an item means recording an actual reading for it, not just typing a new estimate. A typed change is still your figure; a reading is measured. That is why one records drift and the other does not.
## Editing only the loads on a record
Sometimes the rig did not change at all. You just ticked the wrong loads when you saved the weigh-in, or unticked something that really was on the scales. For that, you do not need to weigh again. You can edit only the loads linked to an existing record.
Open the record from **More -> Weigh-In**, then use the option to edit its linked loads. Tick or untick items so the list matches what was genuinely on the scales that day. This corrects the record without pretending you weighed again, and it is the right tool when the measurement was fine but the bookkeeping was off.
Reach for a fresh weigh-in instead when the rig genuinely changed: you added heavy gear, moved a lot of weight between the vehicle and the trailer, or filled or emptied a big tank. Editing the linked loads cannot capture new weight that was never on the scales. Only weighing again can.
To manage the loads themselves, rather than which ones are linked to a record, see [Review load changes](/loads/load-changes). Editing a record's linked loads is a Pro action and prompts you before it saves.
## Setting an older record as your baseline
You can keep many weigh-ins in your history, and you can choose which one is the active baseline. Most of the time the newest weigh-in is the one you want driving your numbers. Occasionally you may want to set an older record back as the baseline, for example if a recent weigh-in was recorded against the wrong configuration, or you want to compare against an earlier, known-good measurement.
Open the record you want from **More -> Weigh-In**, then choose the option to set it as the active baseline. loadmate prompts you first, because this changes which measurements drive your score and compliance going forward. The record you pick becomes the trusted starting point, and your drift is measured against its loads from then on.
This is a deliberate switch, not a routine one. If in doubt, the simplest and safest path is to weigh again and make the fresh record your baseline. Setting a baseline is a Pro action.
## When to weigh again
loadmate watches two things between weigh-ins: how long it has been since your last one, and how much you have changed what you carry since then. It does not nag. It surfaces a small number of gentle prompts on the **Rig** tab, and each one means something specific.
* **A prompt to record your first weigh-in.** If you have never weighed, loadmate invites you to record one so it can work from a measured baseline instead of estimates.
* **A suggestion to weigh again.** Once it has been a good while since your last weigh-in and you have changed your load more than a little, loadmate suggests heading back to the scales. This is a soft nudge you can move past; it simply means a fresh reading would keep things accurate.
* **A firmer safety prompt.** When you are sitting close to a limit and your load has changed, loadmate shows a more insistent prompt that you cannot simply dismiss. Being close to a limit and carrying differently from your last measurement is exactly when a fresh, faithful reading matters most.
How much your changes matter depends on your situation, not on a fixed number. If you were comfortably under all your limits, a bit of drift is rarely a worry. If you were already close to your vehicle limit (GVM / MAM / GVWR), trailer limit (ATM / MTPLM / Trailer GVWR / GTWR), or your coupling limit, even a modest change deserves a second look.
The firmer safety prompt appears when you are close to a limit and your load has changed. Treat it as a reason to weigh before your next trip, not a verdict on your rig. loadmate is asking for a fresh measurement, not telling you that you are over.
## A simple rule of thumb
There is no exact number that means "you have drifted too far". loadmate deliberately works in plain signals rather than thresholds, because how much drift matters depends on two things: how close you were to your limits at your last weigh-in, and how your rig is packed.
When in doubt, weigh again. A fresh weigh-in costs you a short trip to a weighbridge, truck scale, or mobile weigher, and it gives you back a clean, measured baseline with no drift to track. That is the safe move every time, and it resets the comparison so every future change is judged against real numbers again.
To understand how a verified, measured baseline feeds your score, and why a fresh reading is worth so much more than a typed estimate, see [What is the Rig Score](/rig-score/what-is-rig-score).
loadmate helps you work from the numbers you enter. Keep your source documents handy, and use a weighbridge, truck scale, or local authority when you need official evidence.
# Cross-check your numbers and link your loads
Source: https://docs.loadmate.io/weigh-ins/check-and-link-loads
Cross-check your weigh-in totals against each axle, link the loads that were on the scales so they count as measured, then review limits and save your baseline.
You have entered your readings from a weighbridge (US: truck scale / CAT scale) or a mobile weigher. This page is the back half of the flow, shared by both methods. Before loadmate bakes anything in, it helps you make sure the totals add up. Then you link the loads that were on the scales, look the whole record over once, and decide whether this becomes your baseline.
Take it one section at a time. Nothing is saved until the final step, so there is room to check and fix as you go.
## Cross-check your numbers before you add loads
While you enter your readings, loadmate quietly checks that the parts add up to the whole. It does this in the background so you do not have to do the sums yourself.
It looks at two simple relationships:
* Your vehicle front axle plus your vehicle rear axle, checked against the vehicle total.
* Your trailer axle group plus the coupling weight, checked against the trailer total.
If a part and a whole disagree by more than a little, loadmate nudges you to take another look. Almost always this means a single number was mistyped, or a weighbridge platform was matched to the wrong axle. It is far easier to catch that here than after the record is saved.
loadmate also watches the left and right side readings where your report gives them separately. If one side is carrying a lot more than the other, it flags that as a soft warning worth checking before you tow. A large side-to-side difference can point to an uneven load, and it is the kind of thing that is easy to miss on a printed ticket.
A cross-check nudge is not a fault on your rig. It is loadmate pointing at two numbers that do not yet agree, so you can confirm you copied them correctly before moving on.
None of these checks stop you. They are there to help you spot a typo or a mis-mapped platform before you go any further, so the figures you bake in are the ones you actually measured.
## Link the loads that were on the scales
Next, loadmate asks which of your loads were physically on the scales when you weighed.
This step matters more than it first looks. Linking a load is what tells loadmate to count it as measured. A linked load becomes part of this baseline; an unlinked one keeps counting as an estimate. So linking the right items is how your weigh-in turns into a faithful picture of your rig.
Because most people weigh with everything loaded, loadmate pre-selects your eligible loads for you. Rather than ticking every item that was on board, you only need to untick the few that were not on the scales that day. For example, if you weighed before filling a water tank or before loading the bikes, untick those.
A running count and weight total sits at the bottom, so you can sanity-check the figure before you continue. If the total looks far off from what you expect, that is a cue to revisit which items are ticked.
If you have no loads recorded, loadmate skips this step.
## Review and confirm
The review screen gathers everything in one place before you commit. Treat it as your spot-and-fix moment: read it through, and if anything looks wrong, step back and correct it before saving.
You will see:
* **Measured values.** The readings exactly as you entered them, grouped by context and shown in your regional terms and units. The coupling weight appears as tow ball mass (AU), nose weight (UK), or tongue weight (US).
* **Check limits.** A compliance snapshot that places each measured weight against its limit, with a status and a remaining-margin readout.
* **A confidence preview.** A look at how your confidence badge may change once this record is saved.
* **The linked-loads summary.** The loads you marked as on the scales, ready to bake in.
* **Notes and attachments.** An optional section for a short note and up to five attachments, such as a photo of your ticket or a scale certificate.
In the Check limits panel, each limit reads as one of three statuses:
| Status | What it means |
| ------ | ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
| Within | The measured weight sits comfortably under that limit, with room to spare. |
| Close | The measured weight is within about 10% of the limit. Not over, but worth a second look. |
| Over | The measured weight is above that limit as recorded. |
A Close or Over status is a prompt to look again, not a verdict on you. loadmate is showing you where your numbers sit so you can decide what to do next.
Attaching a photo of your ticket here keeps it with the record for good. Months later, you can open the record and check it against the original slip without hunting for the paperwork.
## Use this weigh-in for future checks: the baseline toggle
Near the save action is a toggle: **Use this weigh-in for future checks**. This is the one choice that decides what your weigh-in does, so make it deliberately.
* **On.** This record becomes your active baseline. From now on, your score and compliance picture are measured against it, and changes to what you carry are tracked from this point.
* **Off.** This record is saved as history only. It stays in your weigh-in list as a record you can read or restore later, but it does not change your current numbers.
![Use this weigh-in for future checks toggle switched on in the review step.]()
Most of the time, a fresh and complete weigh-in is the one you want driving your numbers, so the toggle stays on. Leave it off when you are saving an older or partial record purely for reference and do not want it to replace the baseline you rely on now.
## Save your record
When you are happy with the review, save the record.
Saving your own weigh-in requires Pro. You can open the form, enter every reading, link your loads, and work all the way through the review on any plan; only the final save is held back for Pro.
If a save does not go through, you will not lose anything. Your readings, linked loads, and choices stay on the screen, and you can retry the save from there.
## Next steps
Once your record is saved, there are two natural next reads:
* To open the saved record and understand what it shows, see [Read your weigh-in report](/weigh-ins/read-weigh-in).
* To learn what happens to your numbers when you change what you carry later, see [After your weigh-in](/weigh-ins/after-your-weigh-in).
loadmate helps you work from the numbers you enter. Keep your source documents handy, and use a weighbridge, truck scale, or local authority when you need official evidence.
# Read your weigh-in report
Source: https://docs.loadmate.io/weigh-ins/read-weigh-in
Read a saved weigh-in report in loadmate: header badges, measured values, a frozen compliance snapshot, and linked loads, to see what moved since you weighed.
A saved weigh-in report is the record of what was on the scales that day, what was linked to it, and whether this record is the one driving your current numbers. You reach it under **More -> Weigh-In**, then tap a record to open it.
Think of it as a reference you keep, not a pass-or-fail certificate. It does not re-judge your rig or re-run the rules for you. It shows you what you measured, what those readings meant against your limits on the day, and what has moved since. From there you decide whether to act.
## Open a saved record
Your weigh-in history lives under **More -> Weigh-In**. The hub lists every saved weigh-in for the active vehicle. The one currently in use, your active baseline, sits apart from your older history records, so you can tell at a glance which record loadmate is working from right now.
Tap any record to open its detail view. Everything below describes what you will see on that screen, top to bottom.
## Read the header
The top of the report tells you what this record is before you read a single weight:
* the **date** you weighed
* your **reference**, the label you typed when you saved it, such as the weighbridge and the month
* an **Active baseline** or **Historic** badge
* **method and configuration** badges, showing whether it was a weighbridge or mobile-weigher visit and whether the rig was hitched, separate, vehicle only, or trailer only
Only one saved weigh-in drives the baseline at a time. The active baseline is the record loadmate treats as your measured ground truth; every other record stays in your history as a readable reference you can revisit at any time. Keeping older records is deliberate, so you can look back at an earlier measurement without overwriting the one you rely on now.
Setting a different record as the active baseline changes which measurements loadmate uses going forward. The header badge always tells you which record you are looking at.
## Measured values
This section shows the readings exactly as you entered them from your ticket or report. They are grouped by context so they are easy to scan: your vehicle on its own and hitched, your caravan on its own and hitched, and the combined total. Depending on what you recorded, you will see the gross weight, the axle split, and the coupling weight.
The coupling weight is shown in your regional term, as tow ball mass (AU), nose weight (UK), or tongue weight (US), and all values use your regional units, kilograms in AU and the UK, pounds in the US. The labels match the way your weighbridge or mobile weigher reported them, so the screen reads like your paperwork.
## The frozen compliance snapshot
A newer record may also show a compliance snapshot: a picture of how your measured values sat against your limits on the day you saved it. Each limit shows a **Within**, **Close**, or **Over** status. **Close** means a measurement was within about 10% of that limit, a gentle heads-up rather than a problem.
This snapshot is kept exactly as recorded, and deliberately not recalculated later. The reason matters. The whole point of a saved weigh-in is to be a faithful picture of one moment on the scales. If loadmate re-ran the numbers every time your limits or loads changed, the record would quietly drift away from what actually happened that day, and you would lose the reference you keep it for. So the snapshot stays frozen at the values it held when you saved it.
Your live, up-to-date compliance picture lives elsewhere, under **Compliance**. That is the one to read when you want today's position. This snapshot is the historical one.
Not every record has a snapshot. Older or imported weigh-ins may not include one, and when a record does not hold that information the section simply does not appear. The report shows the snapshot when it has one and stays out of the way when it does not.
## Loads on the scales
This section lists the loads you marked as physically on the scales when you weighed. These are the loads that were baked into your measured baseline, so from that day on they stop counting as drift, the measure of how far your current load has moved from what you actually weighed.
Each linked load shows its **current weight** alongside the **snapshot weight** captured at the weigh-in. If the two differ, you can see at a glance that a load was edited since you weighed, which is useful when you are deciding whether the baseline still reflects what you carry today.
Any files you attached when saving, such as a photo of the scale display or a copy of your ticket, appear as chips you can open from the record.
## What has changed since a previous weigh-in
When you have more than one record, the report helps you see what has shifted since an earlier weigh-in. This is change framing, not a verdict. It is not telling you that you have done anything wrong or that you are over a limit; it is simply showing you where your loaded weights have moved compared with an earlier weigh-in.
A larger shift is not a red light. It is a prompt to take a fresh look. You read the change, then you decide whether it is time to weigh again or to adjust how you are packed.
## Actions on a record
From an open record you can do four things, each of which changes your own data:
* **edit the weigh-in** to correct a measured value
* **edit only its linked loads** without re-entering every weight
* **set an older record as the active baseline**
* **delete a record** that should not have been saved
Each action prompts you before it changes anything, because setting a new baseline or deleting a record affects the numbers loadmate shows you afterwards. These are Pro writes.
For the full story of what changing or re-weighing your loads does to your numbers after a weigh-in, see [After your weigh-in](/weigh-ins/after-your-weigh-in).
## When to weigh again
A saved report is most useful as a check. Open your latest record, confirm whether it is marked as the active baseline, then read the change view and the linked loads before you change anything.
If the changes since your last weigh-in look large, or your loadout has moved on from what was on the scales that day, the practical next step is to weigh again and save a fresh record, then set it as your active baseline. There is no exact number that means "too far"; how much drift matters depends on how close you were to your limits and how your rig is packed. When in doubt, a fresh weigh-in is the safe move. [After your weigh-in](/weigh-ins/after-your-weigh-in) walks through the full guidance, and [Record a weighbridge weigh-in](/weigh-ins/record-weighbridge) covers capturing a new one.
loadmate helps you work from the numbers you enter. Keep your source documents handy, and use a weighbridge, truck scale, or local authority when you need official evidence.
# Enter a mobile-weigher report
Source: https://docs.loadmate.io/weigh-ins/record-mobile-weigher
Mobile-weigher reports in loadmate are entered pass by pass: open the unhitched vehicle and caravan passes you have, and copy each pad reading straight across.
A mobile weigher comes to your rig and weighs each wheel on its own pad, so the report you take away is arranged by pass rather than by a single platform reading. Each pass is one weighing the operator did: your vehicle on its own, your caravan on its own, and sometimes the rig while hitched together. Your job in loadmate is simple. You enter only the passes your report actually has, and you copy the pad readings straight across.
This page covers the mobile-weigher path. If your report came from a weighbridge or truck scale instead, see [Enter a weighbridge ticket](/weigh-ins/record-weighbridge). For where the weigh-in flow sits and how to start one, see the [Weigh-in overview](/weigh-ins/weigh-in-overview).
## Step 1: Set the context
Every weigh-in starts the same way. loadmate asks for a **Reference** (your own label, such as the weigher's name and the month) and a **Date**. Both are required. You then confirm the **Rig Configuration** that was weighed and choose the **Weigh Method**.
For this page, choose **Mobile weigher** as the method. That tells loadmate to lay step 2 out by pass instead of by ticket platform. The rig configuration you pick still decides which passes appear, so set it to match what the weigher actually had on the pads.
The full rig-configuration choices are explained on the [weighbridge page](/weigh-ins/record-weighbridge) and the [overview](/weigh-ins/weigh-in-overview); the short version is that loadmate only shows you the passes that make sense for your rig. Set the method to **Mobile weigher** and move on.
## Step 2: Choose which passes your report has
A new mobile-weigher record starts with no passes selected. Nothing is filled in yet, and that is by design. You tap each pass that appears on your report to open it, then fill in the pad readings inside. Leave any pass you did not have untouched.
![Mobile-weigher pass picker with hitched and unhitched pass options ready to select.]()
Use this short checklist to decide which passes to open:
* **Has a tow vehicle?** The Unhitched vehicle pass (four pads) is required.
* **Has a trailer or caravan?** The Unhitched caravan + coupling pass (axle pads plus the separate coupling reading) is required.
* **Does your report also include readings taken while hitched?** Add the optional Hitched vehicle and/or Hitched caravan passes.
* **Leave any pass that is not on your report untouched** — enter only what was actually measured.
### Unhitched vehicle pass
This pass records your tow vehicle on its own, with the caravan unhitched. It has four pad readings, one under each wheel: front-left, front-right, rear-left, and rear-right. If your rig has a tow vehicle, this pass is required, so open it and copy all four readings across.
### Unhitched caravan + coupling pass
This pass records your caravan on its own. You enter a pad reading for each axle — one, two, or three axles, depending on your van — and then a separate coupling-scale reading. The coupling reading is the weight pressing down where the van meets the tow ball, entered using your regional label: tow ball mass (AU), nose weight (UK), or tongue weight (US).
loadmate keeps that separate coupling reading as its preferred coupling value, because a dedicated coupling scale measures it directly rather than working it out from the other pads. If your rig has a trailer or caravan, this pass is required.
### Hitched passes (optional)
Some mobile weighers also take readings while your rig is hitched together. If your report includes those, open the Hitched vehicle and Hitched caravan passes and enter what they show. If your report does not include hitched readings, leave these passes closed. They are optional, and there is no need to invent figures to fill them.
## Entering pad readings
Inside each pass, loadmate shows a diagram with a field for every pad. Work through it one figure at a time and type each reading exactly as it appears on your report, in your regional units. There is nothing to calculate; the group totals are worked out for you from the pads you enter.
As you type, loadmate quietly checks that the left and right sides of an axle look sensible together. If one side reads a lot heavier than the other, it flags the difference as something worth a second look before you tow — usually it points to a mistyped figure or a genuine side-to-side imbalance you would want to know about. It is a gentle prompt, not a verdict. Re-check the reading against your report; if the report really does show that difference, the warning has done its job by surfacing it.
If a pad reading and the side beside it look wildly different, the most common cause is a transposed number — read it back off the report once more before moving on.
## Check the Solo vs Hitched summary
Once your passes are filled in, loadmate shows a Solo vs Hitched summary table that pulls the readings together so you can confirm everything landed in the right place. Read it from top to bottom and check each row against what you expected.
The table shows:
| Row | What it tells you |
| ------------------------------- | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
| Vehicle group total | Your tow vehicle's measured weight, added up from its pads |
| Caravan group total | Your caravan's measured weight, added up from its pads |
| Weight transferred at the hitch | How much load moves onto the vehicle when the van is hitched |
| Coupling weight | The downforce at the tow ball — tow ball mass, nose weight, or tongue weight for your region |
Confirm that each pass mapped to the row you expected: the vehicle total should reflect your vehicle pass, the caravan total your caravan pass, and the coupling weight should match the separate coupling reading you entered. If a row looks wrong, go back into the relevant pass and re-check the pads before you continue. Catching a mis-entry here is far easier than spotting it later.
## Next: cross-check and link your loads
With your passes entered and the summary confirmed, the flow moves on to telling loadmate which loads were on the rig when it was weighed. That step is what makes this a faithful baseline rather than just a set of numbers. Continue to [cross-check and link your loads](/weigh-ins/check-and-link-loads).
loadmate helps you work from the numbers you enter. Keep your source documents handy, and use a weighbridge, truck scale, or local authority when you need official evidence.
# Enter a weighbridge or truck-scale ticket
Source: https://docs.loadmate.io/weigh-ins/record-weighbridge
Weighbridge and truck-scale tickets: pick the platform card matching your slip, copy axle readings in printed order, and let loadmate derive the totals for you.
A weighbridge ticket (US: truck scale or CAT scale) is organised by the platforms your rig sat on. Each weight on the paper is one platform reading. Your job is simple: pick the card in loadmate that matches the way your slip is laid out, then copy the numbers across in the order they are printed. You do not translate your ticket into any setting first, and you never work out a total by hand.
Open the flow from the **Rig** tab, choose **Log Weigh-In**, or from the **More** tab open **Weigh-In** and tap **Add**. You can open the form and work through every step as a free, lapsed, or demo user; only the final save needs Pro.
## Step 1: Set the context
The first screen captures who, when, and what kind of visit this was. Fill in these four things.
* **Reference** (required). Your own label for the ticket, such as the weighbridge name and the month. This is how you find the record again later, so make it something you will recognise.
* **Date** (required). The day you weighed.
* **Rig Configuration**. Tell loadmate what was on the scales: **Hitched together**, **Separate (unhitched)**, **Vehicle only**, or **Trailer only**. If your vehicle has no trailer, you will only see **Vehicle only**.
* **Weigh Method**. Choose **Weighbridge** here. (The **Mobile weigher** option leads to a different screen, covered on its own page.)
The rig configuration matters because it controls which ticket cards appear in the next step. A hitched visit offers different cards than a separate one, so set it correctly before you move on.
![Weigh-in context screen with reference, date, rig configuration, and weigh method choices.]()
## Step 2: Pick the ticket card that matches your slip
loadmate shows ticket cards drawn to match common weighbridge slip layouts. Pick the one that looks like your paper, then read off platform A, B, C, and D in the order they are printed. A small guide at the top of each card shows which axle or section each platform sits under, so you copy numbers without guessing.
The quickest way to choose is to look at two things you can see on the paper: was the rig **hitched** or **separate**, and how many weight rows the slip has.
![Weighbridge ticket-card picker showing available platform layouts and an expanded hitched ticket card.]()
### Decision aid: pick your card
| Your slip shows | Rig state | Pick this card | Where the numbers go |
| ------------------------------------------------ | ------------ | --------------------------- | ------------------------------------------------ |
| 2 weights (vehicle in combination, trailer axle) | Hitched | Hitched - 2 platforms | A = vehicle in combination, B = trailer axle |
| 3 weights (front, rear, trailer axle) | Hitched | Hitched - 3 platforms | A = front axle, B = rear axle, C = trailer axle |
| 3 weights (front, rear, trailer total) | Separate | Unhitched - 3 platforms | A = front axle, B = rear axle, C = trailer total |
| 4 weights (front, rear, coupling, trailer axle) | Separate | Unhitched - 4 platforms | A, B, C, D in the printed order |
| 1 vehicle weight | Vehicle only | Platform A only (vehicle) | A = vehicle total |
| 2 vehicle weights (front, rear) | Vehicle only | Platforms A and B (vehicle) | A = front axle, B = rear axle |
| 1 trailer weight | Trailer only | Platform A only (trailer) | A = trailer total |
| 2 trailer weights (coupling, axle) | Trailer only | Platforms A and B (trailer) | A = coupling weight, B = axle group |
Three points apply to every card:
* The gross or combined row is computed for you, so do not retype it.
* If a value is not on your slip, leave it blank rather than guess.
* If your slip uses unfamiliar labels such as steer, drive, trailer, or gross, ask the weighbridge operator which row belongs to which axle group before typing.
### Hitched tickets
Use these when your vehicle and trailer were coupled together on the scales.
* **Hitched - 2 platforms** suits a slip with two weights: the vehicle in combination on platform A, and the trailer axle on platform B.
* **Hitched - 3 platforms** suits a slip with three weights: front axle on A, rear axle on B, trailer axle on C.
On a hitched ticket, the vehicle axle readings already include the weight pressing down through the coupling. loadmate knows this and accounts for it. It does not bake that coupling download into your vehicle's permanent dry weights, so your vehicle figures stay accurate.
### Separate (unhitched) tickets
Use these when the vehicle and trailer were weighed apart.
* **Unhitched - 3 platforms** suits a slip with front axle on A, rear axle on B, and the trailer total on C.
* **Unhitched - 4 platforms** suits a slip with four weights: front axle, rear axle, coupling, and trailer axle, entered as A, B, C, and D in the printed order.
### Vehicle-only and trailer-only tickets
Use these when only one part of the rig was on the scales.
* **Platform A only (vehicle)** is a single vehicle total on A.
* **Platforms A and B (vehicle)** splits the vehicle into front axle on A and rear axle on B.
* **Platform A only (trailer)** is a single trailer total on A.
* **Platforms A and B (trailer)** splits the trailer into the coupling weight on A and the axle group on B.
## Reading platform A, B, C, and D off your slip
Once you have the right card, copy the weights across exactly as they are printed, one platform at a time. Match each printed row to the matching letter on the diagram.
![Hitched three-platform weighbridge ticket card with front axle, rear axle, and caravan axle fields.]()
Keep these habits and the rest is straightforward:
* **Copy in printed order.** The diagram letters follow the order your slip lists its platforms.
* **Do not retype the gross or combined row.** loadmate works the total out for you. Typing it in by hand only risks a mismatch.
* **Leave a field blank rather than guess.** If a reading is not on your slip, an empty field is better than an invented one.
If your ticket only lists rows such as steer, drive, trailer, and gross, match them to the diagram before typing. As an illustrative example only, a hitched ticket that reads steer / drive / trailer / gross maps the steer row to the front axle (A), the drive row to the rear axle (B), and the trailer row to the trailer axle (C); the gross row is the combined total, which loadmate computes for you. If you are unsure which row belongs to which axle group, ask the weighbridge operator before typing.
## Check What we will bake in before you continue
After you complete a ticket, loadmate shows a panel called **What we will bake in**. It lists the values it has worked out from your readings and will carry forward, such as the derived coupling weight and the part and whole totals. Read it as your first cross-check: do these derived figures look about right for your rig? If they do, you are in good shape to continue.
![Completed weighbridge ticket showing the What we will bake in derived-values panel.]()
Two gentle warnings can appear here. Neither is a verdict, and neither blocks you.
* **A large gap between your typed coupling weight and the computed one.** This is a cue to re-check which platform row went where on the card. Your entered value is the one loadmate uses; the warning is just asking you to make sure it is sitting on the right platform.
* **A look-again prompt if a measured weight is over a limit.** If your figures come in above the vehicle limit (GVM / MAM / GVWR), or above the trailer limit (ATM / MTPLM / Trailer GVWR / GTWR), loadmate flags it so you can look again. It is asking you to confirm the reading, not declaring you illegal.
## If a number looks wrong
A flagged difference does not mean the weighbridge made a mistake, or that you did. Most often it means a platform row landed in the wrong letter on the card. The value you typed is always the one loadmate keeps, so nothing is overwritten behind your back. Treat a big gap as a friendly nudge: open the card again, line each printed row up against the diagram, and confirm A, B, C, and D are in the order your slip prints them. A minute spent re-checking the mapping here saves you from carrying a typo into your baseline.
When you are ready to save, remember the final save needs Pro. You can still enter and review everything first.
## Next: cross-check and link your loads
With your readings in, the next step is to tell loadmate which loads were physically on the scales, so they count as measured rather than as drift. See [Cross-check and link your loads](/weigh-ins/check-and-link-loads) to finish the record.
loadmate helps you work from the numbers you enter. Keep your source documents handy, and use a weighbridge, truck scale, or local authority when you need official evidence.
# Update tow-ball, nose, or tongue weight
Source: https://docs.loadmate.io/weigh-ins/update-tow-ball-weight
save a home ball-scale reading for tow ball mass, nose weight, or tongue weight as a quick coupling-weight update that refreshes your Rig Score.
A coupling-weight reading is small but it carries weight. With a loaded trailer and a ball scale at home, you can capture how much your coupling presses down on the tow vehicle and keep your stability and coupling-limit context current, without a trip to the weighbridge. This is a quick single-value update for your trailer, not a professional weigh-in record.
## When to use this page
Use this when you want to refresh one number: the downward load your loaded trailer puts on the coupling. Depending on your region this is tow ball mass (AU), nose weight (UK), or tongue weight (US).
This is the right path when you have taken a reading from a home ball scale and want to keep your trailer's coupling weight and compliance context up to date between professional weigh-ins. Saving the value updates your trailer's coupling weight and the related compliance state, then refreshes your Rig Score the next time you open the Rig tab.
It is not a professional weigh-in. The reading does not appear in your weigh-in history, and it does not become an active baseline. If you want a full measured record that can become your active baseline, see [record a weighbridge or mobile-weigher weigh-in](/weigh-ins/weigh-in-overview) instead.
A ball scale captures one coupling-weight value. It does not replace a full measured report from a weighbridge or truck scale, and it cannot give you axle splits or a gross weight.
## Open the tow-ball weight sheet
The coupling-weight update opens as a quick sheet, so you do not work through the full weigh-in form. You can reach it from a few places:
* The hitch quick action on the Rig tab.
* The trailer profile in your garage.
* Tapping the coupling point on the Rig hitch view.
Any of these opens the same sheet, with your current coupling weight shown at the top so you can compare it against your new reading.
![Tow ball mass sheet showing the current coupling weight, stability band, and WDH status.]()
## Use the right regional label
The sheet uses your region's term for the coupling weight, so the figure on screen matches the figure on your hitch sticker:
* Australia: tow ball mass (TBM)
* United Kingdom: nose weight
* United States: tongue weight
If your region is set to the universal baseline, the sheet uses tow ball mass. Set your region in the app so the label and units match the equipment you measure with.
## Enter the scale reading
Load the trailer the way you normally tow it, take the reading from your ball scale, then enter that value into the sheet. For a reading you can trust, set the ball scale on firm, level ground with the coupling at its normal tow height, the same height it sits at when hitched up. Type the figure exactly as the scale shows it; the field uses your region's weight unit, so AU and UK users work in kilograms and US users work in pounds.
Enter one reading for the coupling. You do not split it across axles or add other weights here. That detail belongs to a professional weigh-in.
## Save and review the score and compliance effect
When you save, loadmate updates your trailer's coupling weight and the related compliance state, then flags your score and findings for a refresh. The next time you open the Rig tab, your Rig Score recalculates with the new figure. You do not need to run anything by hand.
The updated coupling weight feeds the parts of your score that watch coupling limits and stability balance, so a changed reading can move that context up or down. We do not promise a particular score change; it depends on your new figure against your rig's limits. To read how the score groups respond, see [score bands](/rig-score/score-bands).
Saving your own coupling-weight reading requires Pro.
## When to record a professional weigh-in instead
A ball scale reading keeps one number current, but it is not a calibration event. Record a professional weigh-in when you want a full measured report.
A professional weigh-in, from a weighbridge (US: truck scale or CAT scale) or a mobile weigher, captures axle readings and totals, saves as a record in your weigh-in history, and can be set as your active baseline. That moves your data from estimate to measurement. A coupling-weight update does none of those things; it refreshes a single value.
Use the ball scale for quick coupling-weight upkeep between visits, and a professional weigh-in when you want measured evidence and a new baseline. See [record a weighbridge or mobile-weigher weigh-in](/weigh-ins/weigh-in-overview) and [read a weigh-in report](/weigh-ins/read-weigh-in) for that path.
## Try it now
1. Load your trailer the way you normally tow it.
2. Take the coupling-weight reading from your ball scale.
3. Open the tow-ball weight sheet from the Rig hitch action or your trailer profile.
4. Enter the value using your region's label.
5. Save, then open the Rig tab to see your refreshed score.
loadmate helps you work from the numbers you enter. Keep your source documents handy, and use a weighbridge, truck scale, or local authority when you need official evidence.
# What a weigh-in does and which path to use
Source: https://docs.loadmate.io/weigh-ins/weigh-in-overview
Pick the right weigh-in path - weighbridge, mobile weigher, or home ball scale - so your rig records real scale readings, not estimates, and sets your baseline.
A weigh-in is the moment loadmate stops estimating your weights and records what your rig actually weighed. Up to that point, loadmate works from your plate figures and the way you set up your rig. A weigh-in replaces those estimates with real readings from a scale, so the numbers you see become the numbers you measured.
This page helps you pick the right path before you start. There are three, and they suit different days. Read on, then follow the link to the page that matches your equipment.
## What a weigh-in is (and is not)
A weigh-in is a calibration record. It captures what your rig weighed on a given day, with a given set of loads on board, and it bakes those loads in as the truth for that record. You can then choose to make it your **active baseline** — the one record that drives your live score and your drift tracking from then on.
It is not a pass or fail certificate. loadmate shows you how your readings sit against your limits, but it does not certify, approve, or guarantee that your rig is legal. It simply works from the numbers you enter and shows you where you stand. For official evidence, your weighbridge, truck scale, or local authority is the authority — not the app.
You can open and work through the whole weigh-in form even on a free or demo account. Only the final save needs Pro, so you can see exactly what the process looks like before you decide.
## The three paths at a glance
Three kinds of equipment can tell you what your rig weighs. Each gives you a different amount of detail, and only two of them save a full record.
| | Weighbridge / truck scale | Mobile weigher | Ball scale (at home) |
| ------------------------- | ----------------------------------------------------------------------- | ------------------------------------------------------------------- | ------------------------------------------------------------ |
| What it gives you | Axle and platform totals, plus a gross figure | Individual wheel-pad readings, taken solo and hitched | A single coupling-weight reading |
| Best when | You can reach a public weighbridge and want the common, lower-cost path | You want the fullest axle picture and prefer someone to come to you | You only need to refresh your coupling weight between visits |
| Saves a record? | Yes | Yes | No — it updates your trailer coupling weight only |
| Can become your baseline? | Yes | Yes | No |
| Page to use | Enter a weighbridge ticket | Enter a mobile-weigher report | Update tow-ball weight |
In plain terms:
* Use a **weighbridge** when you have (or can get) a printed slip with platform or axle rows.
* Use a **mobile weigher** when your report is arranged by pass, with a reading for each wheel pad.
* Use the **ball scale** when the only thing you want to refresh is your coupling weight, and you do not need axle splits or a new baseline.
## Which path is right for me
Choose by what is in front of you and what you want out of the day.
* **You have a printed weighbridge slip** — with rows for each platform or axle, and a gross total at the bottom. Use [Enter a weighbridge ticket](/weigh-ins/record-weighbridge). This is the common, lower-cost path most people start with.
* **You booked a mobile weigher who came to you** — and your report lists readings pad by pad, solo and hitched. Use [Enter a mobile-weigher report](/weigh-ins/record-mobile-weigher). This gives you the fullest axle and side-to-side picture.
* **You just want to top up your coupling weight at home** — the tow ball mass (nose weight in the UK, tongue weight in the US), and nothing else. Use [Update tow-ball weight](/weigh-ins/update-tow-ball-weight). This refreshes one figure quickly. It does not create a weigh-in record and cannot become your baseline, so treat it as upkeep between proper weigh-ins, not a replacement for one.
A reading from a home ball scale is a handy quick check, not a professional weigh-in. When you need the full axle picture or a fresh baseline, use a weighbridge or a mobile weigher.
## What you will need before you start
A few minutes of setup makes the whole thing smoother:
* **Your ticket, report, or reading in front of you.** Have the weighbridge slip, the mobile-weigher report, or your ball-scale figure to hand so you can read straight from it.
* **Your region set correctly.** loadmate uses your region to choose both the labels and the units. Units follow your region — kilograms in Australia and the UK, pounds in the US — so the figures on screen match the figures on your equipment. If your labels look unfamiliar, check your region in settings first.
* **Your trailer loaded the way you actually tow.** A weigh-in is most useful when it reflects a real travelling day. Weigh with your usual gear, water, and people aboard, so the record matches how you head off down the road.
## How the next few screens flow
The weigh-in form walks you through four short steps, and the next pages cover each one. First you **set the context** — a reference label, the date, how your rig was arranged, and which method you used. Then you **enter your readings** from your ticket or report, with loadmate doing the totals for you and quietly checking the parts add up. Next you **cross-check and link your loads**, telling loadmate what was actually on the scales so it counts as measured. Finally you **review and save**, where you see your readings against your limits, decide whether this record becomes your active baseline, and confirm.
Take it one screen at a time. Nothing is committed until you confirm on the last step, and you can go back to fix anything along the way.
loadmate helps you work from the numbers you enter. Keep your source documents handy, and use a weighbridge, truck scale, or local authority when you need official evidence.