Saturday, Aug 02, 2014 at 22:16
"Ranger (and the 70 series) is a longer overall vehicle with over 400mm longer wheelbase than a cruiser 200, but you discounted them as being small?"
It depends on what you compare them to. All of the research in recent years points to a suitable tow car as being at least as heavy as the van and preferably heavier. The wheel base should be as long as possible and it should have the shortest possible rear overhang. That has been proven in testing and it also passes the common sense test. That means a 3 to 3.5 ton vans should have a big US pickup or a truck if you want the best possible chance of controlling them at all times. Those vehicles make a Ranger and a 70 look like a midget.
I agree with you about the 200. They are very short in the wheelbase. They have the engine to tow just about anything at whatever speed you want and no doubt big vans feel stable behind them but just about all vans do until the right set of circumstances all line up and they jackknife in seconds.
Another issue with very large off road vans is the ball weight. A WDH will almost certainly be needed but they can cause no end of problems on undulating unsealed roads or tracks. This can be made worse by the long rear overhang of utes. If the solution is to beef up the rear
suspension then you have to ask yourself if you have bought the right car. Buying a new car and immediately installing a non genuine
suspension in it just to make it do what you bought it to do is ridiculous. What is wrong with buying a big enough car in the first place?
There is a bit more information here on car to van weight ratios.
http://caravanbuyersguide.com.au/tow-vehicle-caravan-weight/ That is just a fraction of what can be found on the net on all aspects of towing and the extensive research into it.
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