Patrol 3.0 TD auto 2005 towing capacity

Size doesnt matter its the weight and should be adhered to for safety and longevity of the vehicle.

Not sure if longevity and a 3.0TD should be in the same sentence LOL

I had a van with an ATM of 2600 and sold the Patrol and bought a TD Cruiser and couldnt be happier

Quieter more comfortable and doesnt use much more fuel Most people say you shouldnt exceed the ATM of 2500kg but a recent question the the RTA produced this answer to the question.

"If a vehicle has a towing capacity of 2500kg can it tow a van with a higher ATM, say 2800kg"

the surprising answer was

Graham,

Yes,you can tow the caravan under the following conditions.

1 / You do not exceed the vehicle manufacturers tow capacity of 2500 kg for the vehicle, ( this means that the caravan cannot exceed its GTM, of 2500 kg,even though it has an greater ATM ).

2 / Your vehicle must have a compliant tow bar fitted and it must be correctly rated,the RTA do not have any requirements on "ball weight".

Regards


So go figure.


I wouldnt tow that weight with that vehicle.

Hi Ken

Our 2003 model could tow our caravan well, BUT - with a tare of 2.22 t on the rego (without considering additions and amendments made by various owners), we couldn't even fill to water tanks and be legal. When we loaded up the van for long trip last year it was 3 tonne when ON the vehicle. So what ever you get, allow for your maximum load.

Maybe consider a caravan with around 1.8 tonne tare?

The only limitations of the Patrol were twice when on a standing start on a very steep hill, the gear box let us down and we moved rather slowly - had we known what lay ahead we would have selected low range and done it easily.

Motherhen

hi Ken

i have an 05 3.0 td Patrol and we tow a 21ft Jayco Sterling with it, I have had the van on the weigh bridge fully loaded for us! it weighed 2300kg so there is not much left to play with. The patrol just handles it, a little slow on some hills about 90klm on the flat. Keep an eye on the motor and read up on the forum about nissan before you tow anything to heavy.

Dick

hi Ken,it's not the motor that restricts you to the 2500kg it is the auto transmission,the manuals will tow up to 3500kg's.try looking up Wholesale Automatic Transmissions. They do a throttle body upgrade that does the job better ,not sure of your budget though,but will take the power of the chev v8 motor replacement.

Thanks to all for your information and experience - I am seeing a pretty clear general message here. It will tow the max load but with no margins and working the Patrol to it's limit - and most of our trips we would expect to be long haul out of Perth to actually "get away" to places we have not been.

So, looking in the other direction and not changing the Patrol, what load would you all consider a feasible load to pull with the 3.0 TD - more like 2000Kg all up or lower?? (I note Motherhen suggested maybe a TARE of 1800).

Ken