Water and consumables

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.

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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.

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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

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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.

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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. For saving an item you reuse trip after trip and for the permanent and trip-gear detail, see Load library.

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What belongs outside Loads

Loads tracks the items you carry. A few related things live elsewhere, so it helps to know where to look: 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.

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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.