BUYING A CARAVAN

Submitted: Monday, May 18, 2009 at 16:18

ThreadID: 68945 Views:3816 Replies:8 FollowUps:7

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Where to Start

This non-biased article provides a practical outline of the major features to consider when contemplating buying a caravan (new or used) and should help you settle upon your main requirements before

pommy lass

MY BROTHER IN-LAW WANTS TO BUY A 24,FT. CARAVAN, AND IS CONSIDERING BUYING A NISSAN NAVARA TO TOW IT WITH. DO YOU THINK THIS YEARS MODEL VEHICLE WOULD TOW IT.THE VAN WOULD WEIGH APPROX. 2.5OO K.G. UNLOADED. MY HUSBAND THINKS A LAND CRUISER OR 4.2 NISSAN PATROL TURBO, WOULD BE BETTER SUITED FOR THE JOB.

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Reply By: Cruiser .- Monday, May 18, 2009 at 17:11

Monday, May 18, 2009 at 17:11

Best thing is to look up the Navara specs then figure out approx how much he wants to load into the van including water, gas, food, clothes, tools, annexe etc and take that off the towing capacity and that gives him an idea of the max weight of the van unladen that the Navara can tow.

The Cruiser or Patrol will have a tow rating of 3500Kg from memory where as the new Navara is only 3000Kg (once again from memory) so if he can afford or justify one of them he shouldn't have a problem with a van that size.

An BTW, please turn off your caps lock when posting.

Cheers,

Cruiser

AnswerID: 365519

Reply By: Member - SR509 (WA) - Monday, May 18, 2009 at 17:33

Monday, May 18, 2009 at 17:33

My 2 cents

Navara's, Triton's, Hilux's, Colorado's, D'max etc, I wouldn't tow anything above 2 tonne with these unless it was on nice bitumen roads.

There are numerous cases reported of chassis bending and twisting.

I would definitely get a lighter van or go an 80 / 100 series or a GU patrol.

AnswerID: 365525

Reply By: Motherhen - Monday, May 18, 2009 at 17:38

Monday, May 18, 2009 at 17:38

2500 sounds light for a 24 footer. Has the van actually been weighed at that or is it just the manufacturer's compliance plate weight? Also the bigger the van, the more stuff you are likely to pack into it, and likely to have more water tanks to fill.

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AnswerID: 365529

Reply By: grumpy mick - Monday, May 18, 2009 at 17:53

Monday, May 18, 2009 at 17:53

There is a compliance plate on the front of the van, either drawbar or in the boot, that will give you the tare weight & GVM plus the all important tow ball weight. Then the log book of the intended tow vehicle will give you the max Gross Vehicle Mass, max tow ball weight & max Aggregate Vehicle Mass. Hope this helps.
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AnswerID: 365531

Reply By: Warstar - Monday, May 18, 2009 at 17:54

Monday, May 18, 2009 at 17:54

Suggest to your bro-in-law that IF he really needs a 24' van, the Navara won't be suitable. As others have said, it will weigh over 3000KG on the road and the Navara is not the right tow. 4.2 Patrol, LC 80 or 100 would suit.

AnswerID: 365532

Follow Up By: Member - Old/new Girl (QLD) - Monday, May 18, 2009 at 18:05

Monday, May 18, 2009 at 18:05

As long as the 80 is a 96 onwards.

FollowupID: 633228

Follow Up By: mowing - Monday, May 18, 2009 at 19:05

Monday, May 18, 2009 at 19:05

and the 4.2 patrol is not a ute (they have a 2500kg tow capacity)

Mark

FollowupID: 633240

Follow Up By: kenann - Monday, May 18, 2009 at 22:12

Monday, May 18, 2009 at 22:12

My 1996 80 series is only compliant for 2500kg towing capacity. Toyota changed the compliance about August i believe.
Ken

FollowupID: 633291

Follow Up By: Member - Old/new Girl (QLD) - Monday, May 18, 2009 at 22:16

Monday, May 18, 2009 at 22:16

Ken
Its annoying. As far as we know the difference is the size of the tyres brakes etc..

FollowupID: 633293

Follow Up By: Horacehighroller - Monday, May 18, 2009 at 23:58

Monday, May 18, 2009 at 23:58

Kenann, my 1990 80 series 1HZ was 3,oooKG.

Is yours Petrol?

Peter

FollowupID: 633305

Follow Up By: Member - Old/new Girl (QLD) - Tuesday, May 19, 2009 at 09:11

Tuesday, May 19, 2009 at 09:11

Peter
Its a factory T/D. Ive had a gutt full of the damn thing. I wander what the differance from yours to ours is. We went to buy a family van to live in while over WA but had to stay with a smaller one. Pretty jacked off with the situation.

FollowupID: 633328

Follow Up By: kenann - Tuesday, May 19, 2009 at 15:25

Tuesday, May 19, 2009 at 15:25

Peter
Mine is a standard 4.2 diesel. I purchased a 2.2t caravan and it was only when i noticed that the towbar showed a capacity of 2.25t that i checked into it further. I believe that it was only the 96 model that they downgraded to 2.5t and then only until August when they changed the compliance plate due to outcry (and probably loss of sales.) The towbar manufacturer deliberately kept the recommended weight on his towbar down as a safeguard but did send me a sticker with 2.5t to satisfy vehicle inspection requirements.
As this still didnt give me enough tolerance to tow the van it gave me the excuse to buy the new LC200. A pity in some ways as in 350000 kms have had only to replace the back door latch.
Ken

FollowupID: 633373

Reply By: Kiwi100 - Monday, May 18, 2009 at 18:03

Monday, May 18, 2009 at 18:03

Tare of 2500kg is probably about right if it's a black-top tourer and it is not likely to be over-endowed with water tanks. Nonetheless, unless it's a new van, he should run it over a weighbridge to find out if anything has been added since it was built and then check it against the tow vehicle capacity after making a generous allowance for all the stuff that invariably gets added for a trip.

Your husband is right in thinking that something like a Patrol or LandCruiser with more towing capacity will make for more comfortable and safer towing. 24ft is a lot of caravan.

Michael

AnswerID: 365535

Reply By: Member - Don M (NSW) - Monday, May 18, 2009 at 22:06

Monday, May 18, 2009 at 22:06

My Jayco Sterling 24' (24-75.2) has a tare of 2200kg and an ATM of 2750kg. In theory and legally you could tow it with a Navara/Pathfinder but I think you are pushing it to the limit.

I have the LC200 TTD and, while some say you wouldn't notice the van behind, that is plain BS. It feels big and heavy....and it is. I wouldn't consider towing it with much less.

AnswerID: 365589