Weight is the single number that decides almost everything about a teardrop camper: which car can tow it, whether it needs brakes, how much gear you can pack, how much fuel you'll burn, and where you're legally allowed to go. Get it right and your everyday SUV can pull a fully-equipped camper to the far side of the state. Get it wrong and you're either paying for a heavier trailer than you need — or, worse, running overweight on the highway and technically breaking the law.
The trouble is that "how much does a teardrop weigh?" has no single answer. Australian teardrops span an enormous range, from stripped-back micro-campers around 300 kg to bathroom-equipped hybrids past 1,200 kg. This guide maps every number that matters — tare, ATM, GTM, payload and tow-ball download — explains the 750 kg rule that turns weight into a legal question, gives you the real figures for the Hip Summit and Hip Companion, and shows you exactly which cars can tow one. By the end you'll be able to read any camper's weight plate like a spec sheet.
The short answer: Australian teardrop campers range from about 300 kg tare (bare micro-teardrops) to roughly 1,300 kg tare (models with an internal bathroom). Most fully-featured touring teardrops sit between 500 kg and 800 kg empty. The Hip Summit and Companion have a tare weight of 700–750 kg, a 1,500 kg ATM and a 1,380 kg GTM, giving 750–800 kg of payload. That's light enough for a mid-size SUV to tow with margin to spare, yet still carries 100 W of solar, a 120Ah lithium battery, 80 L of water and a full galley. On the road most owners tow a loaded Hip at around 1,000 kg — well under its 1,500 kg limit.
How much does a teardrop camper weigh?
A teardrop's weight is decided almost entirely by its fit-out, not its shape. The classic teardrop silhouette is similar across the market, but what you pack inside the shell — insulation, battery, solar, water tanks, galley, and in some cases a bathroom — is what drives the tare weight up by hundreds of kilograms. Here's the realistic spread you'll find on Australian roads in 2026, grouped by what each weight class actually gives you.
| Weight class | Typical tare | What you get | Suits |
|---|---|---|---|
| Micro-teardrop | ~300–500 kg | Bed pod, tiny battery, minimal or no kitchen, little storage | Small cars, EVs, ultralight touring |
| Lightweight touring | ~500–800 kg | Full galley, solar, lithium battery, fridge, water tank, awning | Mid-size SUVs — the Hip sits here |
| Full-featured | ~800–1,000 kg | Larger tanks, more storage, heavier framing, extra creature comforts | Large SUVs, utes |
| Bathroom / hybrid | ~1,000–1,300 kg | Internal shower and toilet, standing headroom, near-caravan spec | Large 4WDs, dual-cabs |
The takeaway from that spread is that "teardrop" tells you almost nothing about weight on its own — a 400 kg micro-camper and a 1,200 kg bathroom model are both teardrops, but they need completely different tow vehicles. What matters is matching the fit-out you actually want to the lightest weight that delivers it. The Hip's position is deliberate: it packs a genuinely full-featured touring rig — solar, lithium power, a stainless galley, 80 L of water and instant hot water — into the 500–800 kg lightweight-touring band, so you get the equipment of a heavier camper at a weight an ordinary SUV can tow. For a closer look at how it stacks up against other options, see our best teardrop campers in Australia shortlist and the Hip Summit vs generic teardrops comparison.
What the weight terms actually mean
Before you trust any weight figure, you need to know which figure you're looking at — because manufacturers, forums and salespeople all quote different ones, and confusing them is expensive. There are really only a handful of terms, and each answers one plain question. Here they are, with the Hip's own numbers alongside so you can see them in context.
| Term | What it means | On a Hip |
|---|---|---|
| Tare mass | The empty weight of the camper as built, before you add anything. | 700–750 kg |
| ATM (Aggregate Trailer Mass) | The maximum legal weight of the fully loaded camper, measured uncoupled — includes the load that will rest on the tow ball. | 1,500 kg |
| GTM (Gross Trailer Mass) | The weight carried by the camper's own wheels once it's hitched (ATM minus tow-ball download). This is the figure the brake law uses. | 1,380 kg |
| Payload | ATM minus tare — how much water, gear and supplies you can actually add. | 750–800 kg |
| Tow-ball download (ball weight) | The downward force the coupling puts on the tow ball; a rule of thumb is about 10% of the loaded weight. | ~120 kg at full ATM |
| Kerb mass | Your tow vehicle's own ready-to-drive weight (fluids, no passengers or cargo). The base figure for the 85% guideline. | — |
| GVM (Gross Vehicle Mass) | The maximum loaded weight of the tow vehicle itself — passengers, cargo and the tow-ball download included. | — |
| GCM (Gross Combination Mass) | The maximum combined weight of the loaded vehicle plus the loaded camper. | — |
Two relationships are worth memorising. First, ATM = GTM + tow-ball download — the whole loaded weight of the camper is split between what its wheels carry and what its coupling pushes onto your car. Second, payload = ATM − tare — the gap between empty and maximum is all the room you have for water, food and gear. On a Hip that gap is 750–800 kg, which is unusually generous for a light teardrop and the reason you never feel starved for packing space. If you want the two figures that decide legality, watch the ATM (never exceed the camper's own limit) and your vehicle's braked towing capacity (never exceed the car's). Everything else is detail around those two.
Quick rule: A teardrop is legal to tow when its loaded ATM is at or below your tow vehicle's braked towing capacity, its tow-ball download is within your vehicle's ball rating, and the combined weight stays under your GCM. For a light teardrop and a normal SUV, all three have huge margins.
What a Hip teardrop actually weighs
Here are the real, plated numbers for both models, so you can hold them straight against your tow vehicle. The Summit and Companion share the same chassis and running gear, so their weights are identical — the difference between them is the layout and how many people sleep inside, not the mass.
| Spec | Hip Summit | Hip Companion |
|---|---|---|
| Sleeps | 2 adults + 1 child | 2 adults |
| Tare mass (empty) | 700–750 kg | 700–750 kg |
| ATM (loaded max) | 1,500 kg | 1,500 kg |
| GTM | 1,380 kg | 1,380 kg |
| Payload | 750–800 kg | 750–800 kg |
| Tow-ball download (at full ATM) | ~120 kg | ~120 kg |
| Coupling | 50 mm ball | 50 mm ball |
| Brakes | Electric, standard | Electric, standard |
| Chassis | Hot-dip galvanised | Hot-dip galvanised |
| Suspension | Leaf spring standard (independent optional) | Leaf spring standard (independent optional) |
The number that does the heavy lifting here is the 700–750 kg tare. That's less than a couple of adults would add to your car's own load, which is why a Hip barely registers behind a mid-size SUV. The ~120 kg tow-ball download at full load is comfortably inside the ~150 kg ball rating typical of a mid-size SUV — and lower in practice, because you rarely load to the full ATM. Compare that to a caravan's 200–350 kg ball weight, which is where a lot of SUVs actually run out of legal room. Every one of these figures is set and plated before the camper is registered, so what you see is what you tow. For the full inclusions behind these weights, see what's included with the Hip Summit and Companion and the FAQ.
What a loaded teardrop really weighs on a trip
Tare and ATM are the bookends; the number you actually tow sits somewhere in between, and it's lower than most people expect. Here's how the weight builds up on a typical long-weekend load for a Hip Summit — the kind of packing list two people bring for three or four nights off-grid.
| Item | Approx. weight |
|---|---|
| Hip Summit, empty (tare) | ~725 kg |
| 80 L fresh water (full tank) | ~80 kg |
| Bedding, clothes, camp chairs, table | ~70 kg |
| Food, dry stores and fridge contents | ~45 kg |
| Portable cooker, your gas bottle, cookware | ~25 kg |
| Tools, recovery gear, firewood, extras | ~40 kg |
| Typical loaded weight | ~985 kg |
| The Hip's maximum (ATM) | 1,500 kg |
| Headroom remaining | ~515 kg |
At around 985 kg loaded, you're using barely two-thirds of the camper's own 1,500 kg ceiling and leaving roughly 500 kg of headroom. That matters for two reasons. First, it means a car rated at exactly 1,500 kg braked — a base RAV4 or Forester, say — tows a real-world Hip with a wide safety margin, not on the ragged edge of its rating. Second, the tow-ball download at that weight drops to around 90–100 kg, leaving room for passengers and boot cargo without breaching your vehicle's GVM. Note the portable cooker and gas bottle in the list: a Hip has no built-in cooktop, so you cook on your own portable cooker, and there's a standard gas-bottle holder for your own bottle — a few kilograms of payload, not a fixed system. This light, predictable loaded weight is the whole practical case for a teardrop, and it feeds straight into the value argument we make in is a teardrop camper worth it?
The 750 kg brake rule: where weight becomes law
Weight stops being a convenience question and becomes a legal one at exactly 750 kg. Under Australia's national trailer standards — Vehicle Standards Bulletin 1 (VSB1), which each state and territory enforces — a trailer with a GTM over 750 kg must have its own braking system. Below that threshold a trailer can legally run unbraked (within limits tied to the tow vehicle's mass); above it, brakes are mandatory everywhere in the country. (Reference: Department of Infrastructure — VSB1.)
This is where the weight classes above have real consequences. A sub-750 kg micro-teardrop can skip brakes altogether — cheaper and simpler, but you're limited to a very light, sparsely-equipped camper. Any teardrop with a real fit-out — solar, water, battery, galley — will sit well over 750 kg loaded, so brakes aren't optional. A Hip's 1,380 kg GTM is nearly double the threshold, which is exactly why electric brakes are fitted as standard on every Summit and Companion. There's no version of a well-equipped teardrop that legally goes without them.
The requirements step up further with weight: between 751 kg and 2,000 kg GTM a trailer needs brakes on at least one axle (electric brakes are the norm for campers); over 2,000 kg it needs brakes on all wheels plus an automatic breakaway system. A teardrop sits firmly in the first band. Electric brakes also require an in-cab brake controller in your tow vehicle — factory-fitted in many 4WDs and dual-cabs, or an aftermarket unit for a mid-size SUV. We cover the whole braking picture, including controllers and what they cost, in our guide to electric brakes on camper trailers.
Why it's a feature, not a cost: Because a fully-equipped teardrop is always over 750 kg GTM, the question isn't whether it has brakes but whether they came standard. On a Hip they do — so you're not retrofitting a braking system to make a stripped-back camper legal once you've loaded it.
Which cars and SUVs can tow a 1,500 kg teardrop?
Almost anything with a towbar can tow a 1,500 kg-ATM teardrop, because the number that matters — braked towing capacity — is met by nearly every SUV, ute and 4WD sold in Australia. The rule is simple: your vehicle's braked towing capacity must be at least the camper's loaded ATM. Here's how the popular models line up against the Hip's 1,500 kg ATM, and against the ~1,000 kg a Hip actually weighs loaded.
| Vehicle | Braked towing capacity | Tows a 1,500 kg Hip? | Margin at real load (~1,000 kg) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Toyota RAV4 (petrol & hybrid) | 1,500 kg | Yes | Comfortable |
| Subaru Forester | 1,500 kg | Yes | Comfortable |
| Honda CR-V | 1,500 kg | Yes | Comfortable |
| Mitsubishi Outlander | ~1,600 kg | Yes | Comfortable |
| Hyundai Tucson | 1,650–1,900 kg | Yes | Large |
| Kia Sportage | 1,650–1,900 kg | Yes | Large |
| Mazda CX-5 | 1,800 kg | Yes | Large |
| Subaru Outback | 2,000 kg | Yes | Large |
| Dual-cab utes (Ranger, HiLux, D-Max, BT-50, Triton) | 3,000–3,500 kg | Yes | Very large |
| Large 4WDs (Prado, LandCruiser, Everest, MU-X, Pajero Sport) | 3,000–3,500 kg | Yes | Very large |
Every vehicle on that list can legally tow a Hip to its full 1,500 kg ATM — and because you almost never load one that heavy, even the 1,500 kg-rated SUVs are working at about two-thirds of their rating on a real trip. The utes and 4WDs are frankly overkill for a teardrop; they're on the list because plenty of buyers already own one and want to confirm it'll cope. It will, without noticing. The one honest caveat is the lightest end: if your car is rated at exactly 1,500 kg braked, don't also load the camper to its 1,500 kg ATM — keep the load moderate (easy with a teardrop) and you'll always have margin. We go deeper on vehicle matching, the 85% stability guideline and tow-ball limits in can a RAV4 or SUV tow a teardrop camper?, and on towing with an electric car in towing a teardrop camper with an EV.
Why light weight matters: fuel, licence and where you can go
A lighter camper doesn't just make towing legal — it changes the economics and the freedom of every trip. The less a trailer weighs, the less it asks of your car, your wallet and your plans. Three things in particular follow directly from keeping the weight down.
Fuel and running costs
Weight is the biggest lever on towing fuel economy. A ~1,000 kg teardrop barely dents consumption compared with a 2,000–3,000 kg caravan, so a long trip costs meaningfully less to run. A RAV4 towing a loaded Hip typically sits around 8–10 L/100 km, versus the 18–25 L/100 km a big diesel 4WD burns dragging a van. Lighter loads also mean less wear on brakes, tyres, transmission and cooling — cheaper servicing over the life of the car. We put real dollars to it in the cost of owning a camper trailer.
Licence: no special endorsement needed
A standard Australian car (class C) licence lets you tow a light trailer like a teardrop — there's no separate towing licence or endorsement for it, as long as your tow vehicle stays under 4.5 tonnes GVM, which every SUV, ute and 4WD does. Heavier rigs never change that for a teardrop owner. You simply keep the loaded camper within its ATM and your vehicle within its braked capacity, tow-ball rating, GVM and GCM, and you're legal on your everyday licence.
Where you can go
Light and low opens up terrain a heavy van can't reach comfortably. A teardrop on a hot-dip galvanised chassis handles the gravel and dirt access roads that lead to most of Australia's best campgrounds, and its low centre of gravity keeps it planted where a tall van feels twitchy. Being light also means you can be genuinely self-contained without a powered site — 100 W of solar, a 120Ah LiFePO4 battery, 80 L of water and instant hot water let you camp off-grid for days. More on that in our self-contained teardrop guide and the 12 V power system explainer. And there's the simplest freedom of all: no need to buy a bigger car. You tow with what's already in the driveway.
How to weigh your teardrop and stay under ATM
Don't guess your weights — measure them once, loaded the way you actually travel, and you'll never wonder again. Manufacturer tare figures are a starting point, but the moment you add water, gear and a full fridge you change the picture, and the only way to know your real numbers is a weighbridge. Here's how to do it properly.
- Load the camper for a real trip. Full water tank, bedding, food, tools, the lot — weigh it the way you'll actually tow it, not empty. An empty-trailer reading tells you nothing about whether your loaded rig is legal.
- Find a public weighbridge. Most council depots, waste-transfer stations, produce yards and freight yards have one, usually for a small fee. A quick online search for "public weighbridge near me" will find your closest.
- Weigh it uncoupled to read ATM. With the camper unhitched and standing on its own jockey wheel and axle on the scale, the reading is your ATM — the whole loaded weight. It must be at or below the camper's plated ATM (1,500 kg on a Hip).
- Weigh it hitched to read GTM. Hitch up and drive so only the trailer's wheels sit on the scale. That reading is your GTM — and ATM minus GTM gives you your real tow-ball download. Check the ball figure against your vehicle's rating.
- Check the combination. Weigh the fully loaded car (people and cargo aboard) plus the camper together to confirm you're under your vehicle's GCM. With a teardrop you always will be, but it's the five-minute check that removes all doubt.
If any figure is close to a limit, the fix is almost always water and gear, not the camper itself: you can travel with a part-full tank and top up on arrival, and move heavy items into the car. On a Hip, with 750–800 kg of payload against a realistic ~250 kg of gear, staying under ATM takes no effort at all — but weighing it once, loaded, is the habit that keeps you legal and safe for good. If you'd like us to sanity-check your setup, tell us your tow vehicle's make, model and year and we'll run the numbers with you — just get in touch.
Summit vs Companion: which one weighs less?
Neither — the Hip Summit and Hip Companion weigh the same. They ride on the same hot-dip galvanised chassis with the same axle, brakes and running gear, so both carry an identical 700–750 kg tare, 1,500 kg ATM and 1,380 kg GTM. The choice between them is about layout and sleeping capacity, not weight: the Hip Summit adds a skylight and sleeps two adults plus a child, while the Hip Companion has a side window and sleeps two. Whichever you choose, the towing maths is the same — and it's easy maths. You can compare them side by side, or spec colours and galley layout and get a price, in the 3D builder, and see what's ready to go now in current stock.
It's also worth putting the teardrop weight advantage in context against a full caravan, since that's the comparison most buyers are really weighing up. A caravan's 2,000–3,000 kg loaded weight and 200–350 kg ball weight are exactly what force people into a $60,000+ tow vehicle; a teardrop sidesteps all of it. If you're torn between the two formats, our teardrop vs caravan comparison lays out the trade-offs in full.
Frequently Asked Questions
How much does a teardrop camper weigh in Australia?
Australian teardrop campers range from around 300 kg tare for stripped-back micro-teardrops to about 1,300 kg tare for heavier models with an internal bathroom. Most fully-featured touring teardrops sit between 500 kg and 800 kg empty. The Hip Summit and Companion have a tare (empty) weight of 700–750 kg, a 1,500 kg ATM and a 1,380 kg GTM, which is light enough for a mid-size SUV to tow while still carrying solar, a lithium battery, water and a full galley.
What is the tare weight of a Hip teardrop camper?
Both the Hip Summit and the Hip Companion have a tare weight of 700–750 kg — that is the camper empty, straight from build, before you add water, gear or supplies. Tare is the figure your tow vehicle deals with at a minimum, and at 700–750 kg it sits comfortably under the towing capacity of almost every SUV, ute and 4WD on Australian roads.
What is the difference between tare, ATM and GTM?
Tare is the empty weight of the camper as built. ATM (Aggregate Trailer Mass) is the maximum legal weight of the fully loaded camper measured while it is uncoupled, and it includes the load that rests on the tow ball. GTM (Gross Trailer Mass) is the weight carried by the camper's own wheels once it is hitched — the ATM minus the tow-ball download. On the Hip Summit and Companion the ATM is 1,500 kg and the GTM is 1,380 kg, a difference of about 120 kg that sits on the ball.
How much can you load into a teardrop camper?
Payload is ATM minus tare — the total weight of water, food, gear, batteries and accessories you can add before the camper is overloaded. On a Hip Summit or Companion that is 750–800 kg, which is generous for a teardrop. A full 80 L water tank uses about 80 kg, and a realistic weekend of bedding, food, camp kit and tools adds another 200–250 kg, so most owners tow at roughly 950–1,050 kg — still hundreds of kilos under the 1,500 kg ATM.
Does a teardrop camper need brakes?
In Australia a trailer with a GTM over 750 kg must have its own braking system, and a Hip's 1,380 kg GTM is well over that threshold. That is why every Hip Summit and Companion has electric brakes fitted as standard. Electric brakes also need an in-cab brake controller in the tow vehicle. Only very light micro-teardrops under 750 kg GTM can legally run unbraked, and even then only within limits set by the tow vehicle's mass.
What size car do I need to tow a teardrop camper?
For a 1,500 kg ATM teardrop like the Hip, any vehicle rated to at least 1,500 kg braked towing capacity is enough — which covers most mid-size SUVs (RAV4, Forester, CX-5, Tucson, Sportage, Outlander), every dual-cab ute and every large 4WD. Because a loaded teardrop usually weighs around 1,000 kg on the road, a mid-size SUV tows one with plenty of margin. Always confirm your exact variant's braked capacity and tow-ball rating on the compliance plate and in the owner's manual.
Do I need a special licence to tow a teardrop camper in Australia?
No. A standard Australian car (class C) licence lets you tow a light trailer such as a teardrop camper — there is no separate towing licence or endorsement for it, provided your tow vehicle stays under 4.5 tonnes GVM, which every SUV, ute and 4WD does. You just need to stay within the vehicle's braked towing capacity, tow-ball rating, GVM and GCM, and the camper's own ATM.
How do I weigh my teardrop camper?
Take the camper, loaded the way you travel, to a public weighbridge — most local council depots, transfer stations and freight yards have one, often for a small fee. Weigh the trailer while it is uncoupled to read its ATM, then weigh it hitched (trailer wheels only on the scale) to read its GTM; the difference is your tow-ball download. Compare each figure against the camper's plated ATM and GTM and your tow vehicle's limits. Do this once, loaded for a real trip, and you will know exactly where you stand.
The bottom line
A teardrop camper's weight is the number to lead with, because it decides your tow vehicle, your legal setup and your freedom on the road. Australian teardrops run from about 300 kg to 1,300 kg tare, and the smart buy is the lightest camper that still gives you the fit-out you want. A Hip Summit or Companion lands that balance: a 700–750 kg tare, a 1,500 kg ATM, a 1,380 kg GTM and 750–800 kg of payload, with electric brakes standard because a fully-equipped teardrop is always over the 750 kg brake threshold. Load one realistically and you're towing around 1,000 kg — an easy match for the SUV in your driveway, on your ordinary car licence, to almost anywhere you'd want to camp. As reassurance, everything we sell is backed by Australian Consumer Law (see the ACCC on consumer guarantees) plus our own 24-month structural warranty and 12 months on fittings and components.
Want to check the numbers against your own car, or see a Hip in person? Get in touch to talk through your tow setup or arrange a viewing at our Perth display unit, browse current stock, or build your own in 3D and see the Hip Summit or Hip Companion spec'd exactly the way you want it.