Prado for towing

Hi Mark, " a rule of thumb" figure for the weight of all the personal stuff such as clothing, food, bedding, appliances etc women put in vans is about 300 Kg.

By the time you add gas bottles, water in your tanks & maybe a battery or two and maybe some tools I reckon you will be well over the 2500 Kg.

Just my thoughts, but others may disagree. At least you are checking!! I think there are many people on our roads who pay no attention to the legalities of weight & vehicle towing capacity & the associated safety & insurance issues.

Good luck in your travels.

HI there. We have a Prado also (1998 model Series 95). Our van is a Coromal Tare 1000 kg, ATM 1400 kg, and, as usual, the empty weight is more than the stated tare (and yours is probably the same). Like many people, we weighed our van to find out the actual weight rather than the so-called tare. I'd be surprised if you would find your van with water gas and your stuff coming within the 2500kg allowed for the Prado, and remember also the 250kg ball weight max for the Prado.
Our manual petrol Prado handles our 1.5 tonne van fine, but it would die on the hills with an additional tonne on the back. As it is, I find myself using the gears (NEVER 5th) on quite modest rises, and just let the speed drop back.
Hope this helps.

I agree with all your other responses. We recently towed a 1.8 tonne van to the cape and back and more recently to Tasmania and back. The car did just fine with this weight. If we had to pull more (and I would not recommend any more than 2 tonne) I would only do it for a short stretch (eg 200ks) not around Oz.

Hi Mark,

I am currently towing a 24' Windsor van at the moment with a 2006 GLX 3L Diesel Prado. I havent checked the weight (officially) but I am sure I am on my max of around 2500kgs. Have done around 4000kms since starting in late Sep and the Prado hasnt missed a beat.

Obviously we notice the hills but we havent struggled to get over anything at this stage. We sit comfortably on around 90kmh. I think the fuel consumption is quite high when towing - 19l/100km compared to around 12 to 13l/100km, around town. Not sure how this compares to others. Have fun. Alan

Mark

You'll have no problems.

Cheers

Seeing this is a thread on towing, I just noticed, looking on carpoint.com, that the Ford Ranger PJ series (which was the first model of the Ford ranger) has a towing capacity of 3000 kg, but the newer model the PK is only 2500 kg.
This I believe is a smart thing to do by Ford and Toyota as 3000 kg is putting a lot of strain on these vehicles, my 2 cents worth.

G'day Mark. I have a 2004 V6 Prado with the 5 speed auto. I recently towed a 22 ft Jayco Stirling Outback from S.A. to NSW. Around 2000km distance. Although I haven't weighed the van it would be well into 2500kg loaded and I had no problems towing it. We had a headwind for the first 300k and averaged 22.5 l/100k on the first fuel stop. It did go down to 80k on some hills but we weren't in a hurry. We had flat roads, wind, heavy rain and hills as well as the interstate trucks and averaged 23l/100k. I towed in 4th gear and manually changed back when at the bottom of the bigger hills and never had a problem. I would say you should do it comfortably if you have the 5 speed auto or manual. The 4 speed auto may suffer a bit more and use a bit more fuel. Regards,Bob

Hi Mark

We've just got back 5 weeks ago from 7 months around Oz including Tassie. We have a 16' Jayco pop top and a 2001 turbo diesel Prado. Not sure of the weights but we must be close to our limit although I did manage to hold the 'A' frame up by myself at one point. No trouble at all but did have to go down through the gears at times especially crossing from Lithgow to Penrith.

We do tow in overdrive but only with a downhill slope or on flat country with a tail wind. Averaged just over 16L per 100 km for the 25000km that we travelled.

John

Hi Mark
Dont profess to know too much about tares and otherthings. Thing I do know is that a couple of months ago I did a 13K trip around Kimberley etc etc and I was astounded at the number of Prados towing vans. There were heaps of them. I have a Pradoand thats probably why I noticed them.

Cheers

Howard.

I would not tow a van near 2500 with a Prado as you will put things in the van to make it overweight and mess up your insurance if something happens I have a regent pop top of 1850 plus all I put in (water 160ltr tools food eating cooking and clothes)I like to keep at least 10% under max weight for safety reasons

I'm totally amazed that half the posters have no idea of the weight of their vans.

Personally I like to have at least 25% in reserve when selecting a tug as the weight on the scales can be totally different to the stresses put on the towing truck/car.

This is one area where the RTA should step in and do random weight checks on travellers and put the overweight off the road.

Some of the rigs I see coming up the Bruce Highway are downright dangerous.

Bruce

IMHO, look at a cruiser but that is just me.

Load it up and go for a test drive, it will pull your van. If you are happy with how the Prado tows, you have your answer. I generally like to have more power than I need, others are happy with sufficent power for the job. As far as fuel consumption goes, it is a petrol and doesnt have the torque of a diesel, consumption may be higher than expected, especially around hilly areas

Right on Some of the rigs I have seen on our trip would make your hair stand on end. Some examples

In Jurien Bay a Cruiser 100ser with a big off road van Great big toolbox on A frame chokka with gear.
Asked did he know the van weight.

Yep a bit over 3.7t he said Pluss the car was full with a tinnie and a foldup trailer on the top

Whats legal 3450 if the car is loaded to capacity.

At Kalgoorlie A 24 ft Sterling which the guy was bragging had everything in it including a domestic washing machine.
Was towing with a Prado
Legal limit 2500kg Weight of van Way north of that.

Then he hooked it up Hmm Both chains on one D shackle I wouldnt use on a box trailer.
His brakesafe was wound twice through the hitch handle and onto the same D shackle

Guy who lives on Bribie Tows a big Coromal with a Patrol Passed him coming home one day and front of Patrol was so high it would have had the shocks fully extended to hold it down could see way past front axle underneath.

He doesnt need a WDH he reckons steering is nice and light, would be when wheels are nearly off the ground. As well when he goes away he puts split rims with skinny tyres on it.

THere are all kinds of idiots out there Just hope I dont meet one on my side of the road.

Always remember there is a clause in your insurance PDS which says

If overloading contributes to the cause of the accident your claim my be denied

Or words to that effect, so dont say you didnt know. Its your responsibility to be aware and to be legal.

Yes your Prado will pull 2500kgs. You will have to nurse it quite a bit.
Pulling capability of any vehicle is only a small part of the package.
More important is the ability to stop and / or change direction at a crucial moment.
A crucial moment being an unforeseen occurrence. eg. roo, washout, rural livestock, other idiot on the road. These all should be thrown into the equation when choosing what weight you choose to manage.
Notice I didn't say choose to tow.
Its all about how you and your set up can perform.
I suggest, try and simulate a crucial moment and then make your decision.
The lighter you tow the more relaxed you will be. But that doesn't mean sacrificing the serviceability of the chosen gear nor going without all the things that make touring a great experience.
As all things in life the more you do it the more informed you will be.
I would not start a round Australia trip unless I done a few shorter shake down trips well in advance. Tassie being a small island may require you to circle it twice so as to get the feel of a short trip. 50 times for a long trip.
Try the road from Corinna to Arthur River. Very beautiful and not too challenging.
Any way this is my two cents worth.
Remember If your not having fun its your own fault.