Once an insulated body is fitted, the load the vehicle can carry changes, but the figure a roadside check uses is the maximum laden weight on the registration document. Article 6 of the Turkish regulation on loading dimensions and procedures says this weight may not be exceeded, and that even below it, loading may not push axles over their maximum. The calculated capacity of the body gains no validity until it is entered on the document.
How the weight record is kept also changes the answer to when a refrigerated vehicle is necessary.
The calendar comes from Article 32 of the Law: any modification made in compliance with the rules must be entered on the registration document by the operator within 30 days, and an operator who fails to do so faces an administrative fine of TRY 1,000. The same article provides that the vehicle is barred from traffic until the modification is shown to comply and is entered by the registration body. The 30 days should therefore not be read as a period for running with an unregistered body.
The loading plan for the first trips rests on three records: the current document line, the completed vehicle's empty weight measured axle by axle, and the upfitter's written tare declaration. Payload is the maximum laden weight on the document minus the tare: if the document shows 18,000 kg and the completed vehicle tares 7,000 kg (illustrative figures), 11,000 kg is usable, and the margin shrinks as the body gets heavier. With a portable insulated container, the container's weight counts on the load side, and if it stays on the vehicle on the empty return, it is carried on every trip.
