GVM Upgrade – RAM 1500 DS – 2013 Onwards – Tough Dog

Carry more – Safely & Legally
The allowable payload on most modern 4WDs seems great on paper, but gets quickly eaten up when accessories, gear and passengers get loaded in.
Remaining under the vehicles Gross Vehicle Mass (GVM) can seem like an impossible feat.
Tough Dog Suspension is a recognised Second Stage Manufacturer (SSM) which allows us to develop and federally certify components to increase your vehicle’s GVM. Maximise your allowable payload without risking your roadworthiness!
Each complete GVM kit has been extensively tested to ensure ADR compliance is maintained.

Safety and performance by design
Federal approval for GVM upgrades require rigorous testing to ensure that the vehicle performs as well or better than when it left the original manufacturer.
You can be sure that your Tough Dog GVM upgraded 4WD will stop and handle well, even with the increased load on board.
Depending on the vehicle, the following testing is required:
– Finite Element Analysis (FEA) testing: A check of the maximum load carrying capacity of the vehicle’s axles.
– Brake Testing: Laden and Unladen brake testing as well as testing under partial system failure to comply with ADR35/00
– ESC Testing: If required, this test ensures that the ESC system’s response is the same or better than the original vehicle.

The GVM of any vehicle is the weight in kilograms that the manufacturer has specified as being the maximum that the vehicle can weigh when fully laden. Tough Dog GVM upgrades allow a vehicle to be certified to carry a greater amount than the original manufacturer, without breaching applicable ADRs or laws.
You can upgrade the GVM of a vehicle using either Federal approval or State based approval, depending on whether the vehicle has been registered or not.
– If the vehicle has never been registered, Federal approval can be applied. The Tough Dog GVM kit comes complete with an additional compliance plate which will be fixed to the vehicle.
– If the vehicle is already registered, the data used in Federal compliance is used in conjunction with a vehicle inspection by an authorised State engineer to certify the vehicle.