Landcruiser 200 - upgrade suspension?

Yes , you should take it to ARB and have rated coil springs fitted .

Colin

or many other suspension places for new springs, or you may want to investigate air bag assistance........ Maybe join LCOOL and ask the question or check the archives. Good luck

jb,
Have a look at LCOOL, Landcruiser Owners Online. Good information.

I agree any good suspension dealer should point you in the right direction , I say ARB because there are dealers in every major town in Australia .
As for air bags , don't get me started , iv'e just written about my experiences with airbags on this forum a couple of days ago .
You have a new car don't wreck it by using air bags .
Colin .

You want a GREAT ride and superior suspension
GO the ICON suspension
DAZ at AUTOCRAFT geelong will get your landruiser perfect offroad and on

I had the same issue and went for the ARB 400Kg in the back, before and after below of a single axle Expanda.

Christian

What about a good equaliser bar system between the A frame and hitch?? Michael

Agree with Michael. Have a GXL LC200 since 2008, fitted weight distribution hitch with same weight van (230kg toe ball weight) which levels out vehicle and caravan beautifully ????

JB
I have a 2013 200 series LC. I tow a 3400kg Van. The tow ball weight is 340kg.

I previously had a 2009 200 series and quickly found that with the bull bar, drawers, waeco, tools, full fuel tank plus passengers and importantly when another 340kg [tow ball weight] was applied, that I was almost illegal and on cusp of exceeding the GVM of 3350kg. To acheive a safer towing situation I found that I needed to both raise the rear end [that went down when van attached], but critically to ensure that the weight removed from front wheels was transferred/redistributed back by way of a Weight Distibution Hitch.

I installed Lovells all round [front and rear] I also fitted Air Bags. I acheived a reasonable towing set up over tens of thousands of k's towing the Van.

When I purchased 2013 LC 200 I decided to get the GVM upgrade from new which gave me a second compliance plate that states new GVM 3850kg. I did not fit Air Bags as I could see no benefit for my rig - it is level, most of lost weight transferred back to front wheels [some also to Van wheels] and after 40,000k,s of vanning I feel that the set up is not just legal, but as safe reasonably as I can make it. I also used Lovells on this vehicle.

Whilst jacking up the rear end may make the vehicle level, the steering and dynamics of the vehicle will be compromised, unless you redistribute the weight using a WDHitch.

Some of the best advice you will find on safe towing is that by Collyn Rivers - search Vehicle Dynamics. You will likely find advice that says if rear suspension upgraded, then the front must also be upgraded lest you lose steering and handling capability.

I would establish the weight of the laden van as well as the tow ball mass/weight and talk with expert WDH fitters, I am not suggesting that you need a GVM upgrade, however you may, dependent upon weights involved.''

WDH are a pain and create work, however I am influenced they do increase vehicle safety - [assuming you dont have a small Van].
Good luck.
Bob

I agree with most of the last post , you definitely need to replace all of the springs its not safe for handling if the rear has been changed and the front remains standard .
as for Air bags , i've said all this before and having owned a panel shop for 28 years and been in that industry for 40 years all together , I've seen so many damaged chassis and bodies due to air bag suspension , I will say mainly leaf sprung vehicles however I've seen coil sprung cars with bent chassis as well , Prado Land Rover Discovery .

Colin

Most things will sag if you put 24000 kg on them !!

Hi jb2211,

I have a 2013 200 Series Landcruiser and tow a 2400kg offroad van with a McHitch coupling. I left the original springs and shocks and fitted polyair bags. I don't use a WDH with the McHitch coupling. 13 psi levels the vehicle with van on (220kg ball weight). When not towing I drop the polyairs to 5 psi to retain the original subtle ride in the Cruiser. Works well for me without upsetting too much of the original vehicle dynamics.

Cheers GeeVee

Member - jb2211

If you hook up a van that is around 1000kg under a new car's maximum capacity and the rear end is too low then you either have a warranty problem with the car or you have done something wrong.

Have you read the towing information in the owner's handbook? Mine(a Hilux) says a weight distribution hitch must be used for any ball weight above half the maximum. Your car may be the same. Heavier springs are not a substitute for a WDH. They lift the back of the car and leave the excess weight there. A WDH leavers the end of the chassis up taking weight off the rear axle. That weight is then redistributed between the front wheels of the car and the wheels of your van.

Before you rush off and try and fix the problem with somebody elses suspension, get on the phone to Toyota's customer information number and discuss it with them. The number should be on Toyota Australia's website.

I have called them twice during the eight years that I have owned my current car. On one occasion they even called me back the next day with more information.

The realy simple fact is that alll too often people overestimate the towing capacity of their vehicle.

A vehicle may have a towing capacity of XXXXX, but that is far from the whole story.

It MUST be understood that ball weight has to be deducted from payload.

So .... GVM - curb weight = payload.

Payload includes pasengers, most of what is in the fuel tanks if full and all the accessories fitted after the vehicle left the facory.

Many vehicles will only achieve their full rated toawing capacity when pretty much unladen.

Consider that the 200 series landcruiser has GVM of 3350Kg and a curb weight of 2500Kg ( give or take 100Kg depending on model) of that leaves a total payload of arround 800KG.

by the time you add some accessories and fill the fuel tanks you'll be down to arround 500- 600 KG ....... that 240KG of ball weight becomes very significant .... put 2 average adults and a fridge in the back and you may well be overloaded ....and that 3500KG towing capacity becomes unachievable because of the ball weight.

YEH and remember..... all those towing ratings are for "smooth improved surfaces".

SO even though you may be a full tonne under the rated towing capacity ...... you may have to be very carefull how you set up and load that vehicle.

It has been said many times ...... a great many touring 4wds and caravan rigs would be declared overloaded and by quite a bit if diligently inspected.

Get friendly with ya local weighbridge.

cheers

Thanks to everyone for your advice and helpful suggestions. I have a much better idea now of all the possibilities for the suspension. All that expert advice is much appreciated!