Toyota Hilux SR5 TD towing a caravan

Have you considered a camper trailer? This way your can have room for your family while towing a suitable weight.

Motherhen

Hi

It will pretty well have to be a bitumen van only but you could look at the windsor Rapid or Jayco Expanda.

Cheers

Darryl

Have a look at the Jayco Expanda Outback 16-49-3.
My family of four holidays often in one and never feel crowded.
I tow mine with a 2009 Triton T/D and hardly know it's on the back. Not sure of towing capacity of your Hilux but I think the expanda would be ok?

I think the 16-49-2 has bunks but no shower/toilet.

16' van to tow but 22' when opened up which is a 5 minute job.

Whilst I understand the legal towing ratings and the Hilux is rated at 2.2 tonnes I think something like the Jayco Expander would be fine. The towing ratings aren't necessarily the best guide, for example the Nissan Navara can legally tow near 3 tonnes however it wouldn't do as good a job as towing as the Hilux in my opinion. I towed my ski boat packed with gear back over easter (Close to 2 tonnes loaded) and I averaged 10.5L / 100KM's and the Hilux (06) was sensational. My point being I would want to limit the towing weight to around 2.2 Tonnes anyhow so i would be looking at Expanda style arrangements where they offer the capacity and room without the size and weight.

G'Day Roff76,
I have towed a 16' Windsor Rapid Pop Top - weighing around 1450kg unladen - with my 2006 SR5 TD DC Hilux and it had no trouble doing the job. I've seen many a caravan towed by the Hilux.

If I still had the van, I'd probably have put a performance chip in my Hilux to improve its towing performance. I've since sold the caravan and bought an offroad hard floor camper trailer to give me the capacity to travel to the many places I couldn't tow the van. I've also modified the Hilux to enable it to travel offroad: AT tyres, 2"suspension lift etc.

I tow my camper trailer in 5th gear without any trouble; it weighs only 800kg when unladen. However, with a caravan behind I only used up to 4th gear, unless I was going down a loooooong hill.

If you plan to stay mostly on the bitumen, a caravan such as those already recommended would be fine. That said, maybe you should consider a campertrailer instead of a van ! A unit such as the Jayco Eagle or Swan would be ideal for an extended trip. An offroad version of these popular trailers would allow you to travel extensively over gravel roads. Going off-road is great as many of the better places to visit are only available to those folk who have the right equipment to reach them eg: Gibb River Road.

A wind-up style of campertrailer would give you plenty of room and I'm guessing it would be light enough to be towed in 5th gear. As well, your GMV would be well within the legal limit.

A shower and toilet in a van ......... not for me. I reckon they're a waste of space and money in a van. You pay for these facilities when you stay in a caravan park. You often meet great people while attending an amenities block. I have a u-beaut porta potti instead, which only gets used infrequently when I stay on a riverbend or at some other free camp site. It gets housed in a pop-up shower/toilet tent.

Hope this may help you make the right decision.
Kind regards,
Netnut