A Gross Vehicle Mass is the maximum allowable total mass

Mass

Mass can be defined as a quantitive measure of the resistance an object has to change in its velocity.In physics, mass commonly refers to any of the following three properties of matter, which have been shown experimentally to be equivalent:...

 of a fully loaded motor vehicle

Motor vehicle

A motor vehicle or road vehicle is a self-propelled wheeled vehicle that does not operate on rails, such as trains or trolleys. The vehicle propulsion is provided by an engine or motor, usually by an internal combustion engine, or an electric motor, or some combination of the two, such as hybrid...

, consisting of the tare mass (mass of the vehicle) plus the load

Cargo

Cargo is goods or produce transported, generally for commercial gain, by ship, aircraft, train, van or truck. In modern times, containers are used in most intermodal long-haul cargo transport.-Marine:...

 (including passenger

Passenger

A passenger is a term broadly used to describe any person who travels in a vehicle, but bears little or no responsibility for the tasks required for that vehicle to arrive at its destination....

s). The term is also occasionally used for trains

When a vehicle is also towing one or more trailer

Trailer (vehicle)

A trailer is generally an unpowered vehicle pulled by a powered vehicle. Commonly, the term trailer refers to such vehicles used for transport of goods and materials....

s, the GVM is the total mass of the motor vehicle's wheels on the ground, while the Gross Combination Mass

Gross combination mass

A Gross Combination Mass is the maximum allowable total mass of a fully loaded motor vehicle together with all of its trailers...

 is the total mass of the motor vehicle plus all trailers.

Australia

A car

Automobile

An automobile, autocar, motor car or car is a wheeled motor vehicle used for transporting passengers, which also carries its own engine or motor...

 driver licence is limited to driving vehicles up to a maximum GVM of 4,500 kg. Beyond this, a different class of licence is required. A vehicle with a GVM under 4,500 kg is termed a light vehicle, while those over 4,500 kg are termed heavy vehicles.

Vehicles

Many models of small truck are manufactured to have a GVM rating of between 5,000 kg and 7,000 kg but sold with the option of a GVM of just under 4,500 kg so that they can be driven on a car licence. Often, the only difference between the models is where the exhaust exits, with diesel engine

Diesel engine

A diesel engine is an internal combustion engine that uses the heat of compression to initiate ignition to burn the fuel, which is injected into the combustion chamber...

d heavy rated vehicles having a vertical exhaust stack above the cabin and the light rated vehicles having the exhaust exit under the side or rear like a car.

Roads

Many minor roads, including some in rural areas and some in suburban areas, have GVM restrictions such as 5,000 kg or 8,000 kg. These restrictions may be applied for technical reasons such as load limited bridges, or as a method of reducing the number of heavy vehicles on local roads.

See also

• Aggregate Trailer Mass
• Gross Combination Mass
  Gross combination mass
  A Gross Combination Mass is the maximum allowable total mass of a fully loaded motor vehicle together with all of its trailers...
  
  
• Gross Trailer Mass
• Gross vehicle weight rating
  Gross vehicle weight rating
  A gross vehicle weight rating is the maximum allowable total weight of a road vehicle or trailer when loaded - i.e., including the weight of the vehicle itself plus passengers, and cargo....