landcruiser 4.2 diesel tow caravan ATM 3455kg

Hi, The tare is the weight before all the items such as food and water etc have been added. Just make sure that the towbar is rated to 3.5t as the vehicle may have a lower rated bar on it.
I have been going through the process of looking at vehicles to tow a 2T+ trailer/van and the view is that whilst the 4.2 normally aspirated will pull a heavy trailer/ van, it will not do it quickly and you will be down shifting big time on hills.
Hope this helps.


Mark

This should help explain it....

VIN plate definitions

Con. I think the standard diesel manual will do the job, but with an Off Road van, going offroad you could find you are maxing out at the ATM. And as said above it will be slow going up hills. If you are attached to the vehicle I would look at a bolt on after market turbo.

Some off road vans have water tanks up to 180Lt in other words 180KG, then you have 2 x 9KG gas bottles plus 20lt of petrol for the generator ie another 20KG, then the weight of the genie we take a Honda 20i even with sola fitted, plus another 35KG for a send spare tyre for the van, plus the weight of water in the Hot water system ie from 14kg to 23Kg. Plus the Sat Dish etc. Annex?Electric jug, kettle toatser etc. All this prior to loading in food and clothes.

Peter

I would include in the caravan budget the cost of a turbo because while it can move a van of that weight it can't "tow" it.
The turbo will transform the 1HZ like you won't believe.

One thing not mentioned is that u also have to include the towball weight in the load in the tow vehicle.

So if the car can hold 615kg of load and your van has a 250kg ball weight you must allow for that in your GVM in the car.
Also if you are going to take everything including the kitchen sink there is GCVM to consider.
There is a gross combined vehicle mass of 6680 kg

look in your hand book.

From my handbook

The gross vehicle weight may not exceed the following

For a 1HZ 3180kg

For a 1HD FTE 3260kg.

The gross weight is the sum of the unloaded vehicle, driver, passengers, luggage, hitch and trailer tongue load. It also includes any special equipment installed on your vehicle.


Further to the above

The GCVM for both engines is 6680kg



The roof load is the same for both at 200kg INCLUDING the weight of the rack
The regs also say that the allowable tow weight is the lesser of the capabilities of the vehicle or its towbar.

That is to say if your cruiser can tow 3500kg but has a 2500kg towbar fitted thats all you can tow unless you upgrade it (read buy a new one)

Also dont believe supposed weights Take it and weigh it cos some manufacturers plate a model line, not specific vans and if yours has extras it may well weigh quite a bit more.
Best to check and stay legal. Dont give insurance ANY reason to decline a claim

Cheers

Yep to the above - I've been doing homework on a similar (but lighter) forumula for about a year now - by all reports, you are heading into very 'sluggish' territory - the standard diesel has the reputation of being a highly reliable workhorse, but it's a real plodder when loaded up, especially as soon as you have to go 'up' - with those van specs, you'll need a lot more than 96kw to stay sane it would seem :-o).

Con,

You're not going to enjoy yourself with that rig. If you're not committed to it (what brand/size is the van?), maybe take a look at something a bit smaller/lighter or, as others have said, look at upgrading the Toyo. Or both. We tow about 3200kg with a 100-series TD with a chip and I really wouldn't want to tow anything heavier.

Assuming that the tare is accurate, if you add say 20kg gas and maybe 250kg of water, you're on the way to being beyond the 3500kg limit by the time you've added food, personal stuff, tools and extras. It mounts up quickly. At least run it over a weighbridge before you commit to a purchase - not all tares include all the accessories.

Michael

Con,

Just to reiterate what others have said.

I was chatting to a chap in a van park who had a 23 foot on road van (around 2700 kg loaded) and he was pulling it with an 80 series 4.5 Petrol which has vastly more power and torque than your diesel.

He was telling me he couldn't get over 80 km/h out of it into an headwind with the clog mashed to the firewall.

I would suggest modest hills are going to see you grinding up in first gear at walking pace.

Just something to consider in your decision.

Cheers,

Jim.

Con, I am aware of a Landcruiser that was written off in the last three days by a blown tyre in the NT. It was towing a two (2) tonne van which was also written off. The couple escaped with relatively minor injuries fortunately, but the low speed they were travelling would have contributed to lower injury. I won't say what brand of tyre

What you can tow and what you can control may be totally different issues. There was a bloke here saying he could tow a excavator behind a light weigh ute and put pictures to show it, but is your life worth more than that?