To Eazlift hitch or to Hayman Reese Hitch

I'm also happy with my eaz lift use it around the farm and on the van carnt fault it and trust me I flog he'll out of it and I regularly check it for faults and I have never been able to find any damage or faults .

Thanks for your comments Rod.We will definitely have a look at the Caravaners forum.
Happy Travels
Sue and Shaun

you picked it in one
Thanks Lyn

Lyn, aren't 200 series Cruisers supposed to legally tow 3500kg vans, as I have ordered one that will weigh that much and have a 200 series Sahara to tow with and understand that i can do that legally, is that correct?

Hi Hunter Gatherer,
A 200 series can pull 3500kg however what you can place on the axles (back axles in particular) is just as important to consider. If you have not done a GVM upgrade or added any accessories (i.e. bullbar, winch etc) then I believe you will have approx. 600kg to play with. I'm guessing your van will have a ball weight of 350kg (10%) which only leaves you 250kg for your other gear which us not a lot. There's a few more things to consider however this is ball park enough to give you an idea.
Cheers,
PeteS

Hi Hunter Gatherer,

PeteS is correct in his assumptions, the LC200 in standard form would be marginal in towing a 3500kg van. Personally we have always allowed for at least a 25-30% safely margin with our tow weights and carrying capacities. This way if things do go pear-shaped for some reason at least you have better control over the situation.

The OP has the right idea in using a F250 which has plenty of tow capacity. We had a business in the States where we used an F250 to tow about 5 tonnes with the F250 having a rated towing capacity of 15,000lbs or around 6.8 tonnes and it did it with ease.

Would suggest you google LC200 towing capacity and see some of the comments.

G'day again Hunter Gatherer,

I note you state 'I have ordered one'. You can get a GVM upgrade by ARB or Lovells (I used ARB). The ARB upgrade will increase your legal carrying capacity by 250kg. Lovells have an even greater increase. Ensure this is done BEFORE they (dealer) register the vehicle. ARB & Lovells will advise if you speak to them.

Cheers
PeteS

Hi PeterS,
You said "Before they (dealer) register the vehicle"
As I read it, Hunter Gatherer already has the 200 series Cruiser and has ordered a new van weighing 3.5 tonne. A GVM upgrade to the van (before registration) will not benefit in this instance unfortunately.

Hi Hunter Gatherer,
From what I have read the 200 series Twin TD Cruiser will tow that 3.5 tonne with absolute ease, however, at the factory rated 3.5 tonne tow capacity it will be flying close to the "legal" wind. A lovells GVM upgrade to the cruiser could be a good move, re ball weight capacities, and an inexpensive one comparatively speaking, in this instance.

However, whether this will increase the rated tow capacity of the Cruiser I cannot say as I do not know. Can anyone enlighten further re this matter.

Cheers, Bruce.

Not one person has asked what brand and model of van he is going to tow and what the unladen weight is. I think these need to be answered before and solutions can be offered. I tow a 21' Top Ender which comes in at 3500kg behind a 2010 Disco 4 with ease and no other upgrades.

Cheers

Merv

Apologies Bruce, read this too quickly and thought Hunter Gatherer had on order a new 200 series, look like my GVM upgrade idea is dead in the water.

Cheers
PeteS

Yeh unfortunately this is all too typical....people pushing the towing limits as far as they will go, then looking for more.

Sorry but the towing limits are not as simple as they appear and they are not intended for all situations.

In fact many of the current high capacity towing limit vehicles have to reduce their in vehicle carrying capacities to diddly squat to tow maximum capacity.

Thus we have hundreds of fundamentally unstable rigs being towed well below the posted highway speed limits, presenting a danger to all concerned.

If you realy want to tow safely and not inconvieninece everybody else on the road, you need to be ( as others have said) 25 to 30% under your towing limit.
AND that is before you take the vehicle off road.


Serilusly if you need a truck, buy a truck.

cheers

Thanks to everyone for your advice, always amazed at the wealth of knowledge of members. I have ordered a New Age "Big Red" custom built 22'6" van, am going to contact Lovells for upgrade to the Sahara.

Also remember that the maximum rating for a 50mm ball in Oz is 3500kg. There were some reports on the Bushwacker site of tow hitches going egg shaped under 3500kg load conditions.

In the USA you could buy a 50mm (2") ball with an 1 1/4" shank which was rated at 10,000lbs but they are not legal here as they are not ADR stamped.

If you are getting a van built I would suggest you upgrade the hich to a 70mm or a 4.5t McHitch for safety sake.

Um just a couple of things.

you will find that it is almost imposible ( or rediculously expensive and complicated ) to do a GVM upgrade after the vehicle is first registered.

Its all to do withAustralian design rules, vin plates, vehicle compliance and the federal act.

this issue has been very well canvased on other forums.




There ARE better quality ADR compliant 50mm balls available in Australia with a larger threaded shank......BUT the 3.5 tonne limit still applies to the 50mm ball in Australia.

think on this....a cheap 50mm tow ball will cost you arround $10, a top shelf one will cost you arround $25.

then we make the step up to the 9 tonne rated 3 inch ball......the ball alone costs arround $200

So remember you are dragging arround that 3.5 tonne how many thousand $$ van on a $25 part.

Better have good safety chains eh

As you can see 3.5 tonnes is pushing the limits of what we understand of pasenger car towing.

UM...BTW, I doubt that you will find a pasenger car or a pasenger derived commercial with a towing capacity on a rear mounted hitch over 3.5 tonnes in Australia.


Are we getting the mesage on the scale of this undertaking.

just to push the matter home....a 3.5 tonne van behind a 2.5 tonne pasenger car is a 6 tonne combination.

If that was a rigid vehicle it would require a truck licence to drive it.

I can tell you I would rather drive a fully loaded 6 tonne medium rigid truck, anywhere, any time than a 6 tonne pasenger car bassed combination on the limit of its towing capacity.

cheers