Drop-down tailgates – such as those you find on pickup trucks, ute trays, or in some trucks, hatchbacks and wagons – are designed to keep cargo in place. It, combined with the sides and headboard of the load area, is made to do the job.
- Overcrowding is a major concern for other road users
- In most cases, you can lower the backdoor
- Make sure your license plate and taillights are still visible
However, sometimes you may find yourself in need of a larger space and the easiest option for that is to lower the tailgate.
You’ll often see pickups with dirt bikes in the back or work trucks with the rear of the tray opening up for more cargo space. And this, it seems, is completely legal.
You must ensure that the license plate on the back of your vehicle is still visible – this is a road safety consideration and no matter what state or territory you are in, the police will not please if not able to see your rego details.
Furthermore, you must ensure that other road users can still see your taillights. Anyone behind can see you when you brake, signal, or can only locate you on the road if you are driving at night.
There are many specific rules surrounding vehicle loading. Overcrowding is a chronic problem, and we’ve all seen pieces of steel or pipes get lost on highways, because Jim the Tradie didn’t fix his cargo correctly.
The fact is, not fixing your load is a serious road safety issue. That’s part of the reason why the police have been cracking down on cars that don’t have nets covering the loading area, as furniture can fly out at high speeds and that can be dangerous for people go behind your car.
If you’re wondering how much furniture you’re allowed to protrude, you should check out the Light Vehicle Load Limits Guide (2018). It includes the laws that Queensland, New South Wales, Victoria, Tasmania, South Australia and the Australian Capital Territory refer to.
In those jurisdictions, the rear overhang is measured from the rear axle. It is limited to any lower value – 60 percent of the vehicle’s wheelbase, or 3.7 meters from the rear axle.
The wheelbase is the distance between the front and rear wheels. And for example, it measures 3220mm in the Ford Ranger. So that means you are allowed an overhang of 1932mm measured from the rear axle or 3.7 meters from that point, whichever is lower.
In Western Australia, the rule is different, with the so-called “rear projection” law, which states that a vehicle can have a payload that protrudes up to 1.2 meters from the rear of the vehicle.
You also need to make sure that other road users can see your overhanging load.
“Cargo with a projection that is not easily visible from the rear of the vehicle or has a rear projection greater than 1.2m (all States and Territories except Western Australia) must be affixed.
warning signal until the end of the rear projection. During the day – a brightly colored flag/material at least 300 mm long; at night – red lights can be seen from 200m away.”
The Load Limit Guidelines (2004), which are the operating standard for WA and the Northern Territory, offer some media and upload logic.
“Long haul trucks must be long enough to avoid excessive overhang and ensure good weight distribution for stability,” the book reads.
That document provides some more great advice on download security:
Loads must be restrained to prevent unacceptable movement in all expected operating conditions. Therefore, the load limiting system must satisfy the following conditions: request:
- The load must not fall out of the vehicle.
- Any movement of the load must be restrained, so that in all cases movement occurs, the vehicle’s stability and weight distribution cannot be adversely affected and the load cannot be dislodged from the vehicle.
Loads that are allowed to be displaced relative to the vehicle include loads that are effectively contained in the sides or covers of the vehicle body, such as:
- The load is restricted from moving horizontally (vertical limit allowed to move);
- Very light objects or loose loads (limited horizontal and vertical movement allowed);
- Bulk liquid (allows limited fluid movement);
To achieve this, the load restraint system must be able to withstand the forces that would happen if the fully loaded vehicle was subjected to each of the following separately:
- 0.8 ‘g’ decelerates in the forward direction,
- 0.5 ‘g’ deceleration in the rear direction,
- Acceleration 0.5 ‘g’ horizontally,
- and 0.2 ‘g’ acceleration relative to the vertical load.
Not intended as legal advice. Check with the relevant road authority in your state or territory.
