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. 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. 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. 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.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.