Sway Bars/weight Distribution

Im towing with a Prado and the ATM is 2600

Thanks

Lee

Lee
As I understand the legislation, the fact that the van ATM is in excess of the Prado manufacturer's stated limit makes the combination illegal. From the National Caravan and Recreational Towing Guide (sorry, the legislation itself is such a dog's breakfast I thought this would be easier to understand):
"In December 1998, a national regulation came into effect that limits the mass a vehicle can tow. ......You will find the towing mass (or towing rating) under the towing section in the vehicle manufacturer's handbook. The rating will include a trailer weight capacity and a trailer ball weight capacity, both of which must be adhered to."
The other thing to consider is what will the gross weight of the van actually be? There is usually a huge difference between what the van manufacturer states as the Aggregate Trailer Mass (ATM) and what it is in reality. If you fill your water tanks and gas bottles you have added 200kg's. The food in the pantry can add up to 20-30kgs and then there are all the extra things you carry with you, like clothes, chairs, outdoor table, annexe, annexe flooring, hoses, &etc. Can I suggest you get your van all packed up and ready to go and then put it over a weighbridge.
I note you say this is your first caravan. Have you considered doing a caravan towing safety course? That's an awful lot of van you are going to be pulling around on the highway and through the suburbs, on occasions in traffic lanes no wider than the van itself.

tessa

The ATM is what the manufacturer states is the max allowable gross weight.

If you choose to take the kitchen as well as the sink you will overload it for sure.

Just be frugal and then when its full take it and weigh it.

Then take it home and take out what you dont really need.

If its still over the ATM take a prayer book with you. LOL

I agree with Graham, we just come under our maximum Tow Weight
fully loaded with every thing, Annex Walls , Full Water Tanks, ect,
I carry a fair bit of extra gear in the Van Boot as well, had it weighed
at the local Weigh Bridge fully loaded, now we keep the Weigh Bridge Receipt on file with the Insurance Papers & Rego, even got a
Photo of it getting Weighed.

Should be CGVM Combined Gross Vehicle Mass

I have upgraded my Vans ATM from 2564kg to 2800kg and to do this need to have a ball weight of just over 300kg. (chassis rated at 2500kg)
That only leaves me a bit over 300kg for fuel, two people and anything we put in the back

As long as you are sensible they are fine.

If you dont have enough links you can snap a bar in a tight turn as the chain wont allow for the bar to move forward or backward enough.

This is achieved by using the cams on the WDH to tilt your towball back a bit and thereby tilting the bars down a bit more.
( the towball doesnt have to be vertical)

When manouvering I always disconnect it completely and am cautious going into servos etc so that the bars don't drag on ground.

The only vehicles I am aware of that discourage them are the ones with auto levelling rear suspension as it tends to make it work against itself

Lee
afraid so!!!

tessa

The answer is a definite YES

It comes down to this despite what a dealer may tell you


If the plated ATM is more than your cars allowable tow ATM its ILLEGAL in any situation full, empty or whatever.

End of story.


Mine was. Cars limit 2500kg Van ATM 2564.

Result had to buy a Cruiser

You may be able to get it down rated but why would you. You may have to leave the wife at home. LOL

Loading example
Does it have batteries and were they included in the Tare weight????????
Mine werent another 70kg
Gas 18kg
Water 160kg for two 80ltr tanks
Water in toilet about 15kg plus what you put in it.
Spare tyre 30kg
Annex 15??kg
Clothes ??? 50kg
Cooking gear 20kg
Jack 10kg
Hoses etc 10kg
Thats about 397 kg and I can think of a fair bit more you would take and usually a tandem van has a load of 400kg built in.

Best advice is take it to weigh bridge dead empty. No water or gas or bedding or anything and see what it weighs then you will know what amount you can take. An engineeer can recertify it for about $500 but then you can only load it up to that weight.

Lastly towing a van that is at the top end of any vehicles limit is rather a strain on it and will probably result in reduced life of some components over time.
Sorry to be a doom and gloomer but reality has to be faced

Well my experience with salesmen when looking for a van was just that. They were there to sell you something and like a lot of salespersons, anything to get the sale.

I have a daughter who used to work selling computers for one of the largest retailers. She left because they were told what to sell "this week". She was good at her job and won prizes within the industry for it. However her sense of what was right overtook her and she left, feeling the customer didnt actually get what they came to buy.

Similar things happen in all selling industies, I'm sure and this includes Caravans.

I was told more than once when shopping and after stating my vehicle was limited to 2.5 tonne, I was shown vans that exceeded that and told "Just dont fill the tanks mate thats OK".

Well I didnt do my homework enough at the time and bought a
van privately, as stated above, that was too heavy.

On going to a repairer to get some additions done he

remarked. "Are you going to pull it with this ". I said "yes its Ok

with no water" He said "No its not" and proceeded to show me the regs.

Sadly I went home and raided the bank account and bought a Cruiser.

Only $23,000 to be wrong.

Moral of the story is Find out EVERYTHING you need to know,

Dont believe what you are told by someone selling you anything.

Check it out it will still be there tomorrow.

Maybe it is my engineering logic, but I knew all those things long before I looked seriously to buy the van of my choice. And, when it came to that time, I knew more about the van than the salesman...., hope that doesn't sound too smug!!

Dont know if you need engineering logic, just a read of the regs is enough.

You wouldnt need to know much to know more than some salespersons.

When buying some atricles have read up on them and

deliberately gone in and asked akward questions to see how

much they do know.

Went to buy an expensive camera. Went to one shop that has two letters for name. Was told the manufacturer didnt make that model. ROFL.
Needless to say I wont be back there.

Lee,
you don't need to buy a new 200 series Landcruiser, a good second hand 100 series will last for years if treated properly. They have a tow capacity of 3.5 tonne and so will fill your needs perfectly.

Get your van if its the one you want and look around and upgrade to the right vehicle at the right price.

Its not all bad news but good timely advice, if a little late for you.

Regards,
Gazal

Yeh Hi Graham

Weve solved the situation now.
I bought a 2007 200 series with 14k on the clock ex demo for $59k, we pick her up Thursday.

Your right about the V8 and diesel thing but i looked at it like this, the diesel was about another 12k or so and I only keep the cars for 3 years will i really use 12k of extra fuel in that time, I dont think I will.
we are also looking at getting a gas conversion as well but may not be worth the hassle, what do you think?

Lee

Very nice.

Not my cup of tea but if its what you want its fine.

My friend used the same argument when he bought his petrol 100series and so did another friend who wasnt too happy when they offered him $28,000 for a trade in and its a low k one at that.

Dont know about the gas. My experience with it was that while its cheaper it doesnt go as far. My xF Falcon was doing 6 kpl on LPG as a taxi so dont know what the Croozer will do or how much it will cost to install.

Enjoy it all now you have it and the wife wont have kittens after all. Just as well you cant take them caravaning anyway LOL

Thanks for the advice, maybe ill see you on the road one day!!

Lee