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Towing capacity

General Tech Talk

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Towing capacity

Post by Fishin' Dave »

I'm looking for an older model 4x4 (read that as cheap-ish) to legaly tow my 3t boat to the ramp.
I thought the 70, 80, and 100 series could all tow 3.5t but was told by a 2nd hand car yard today that only 1996 and newer were rated to 3t+.

I've searched Google but not found any definate answers.
The boat weighs 3000kl fully loaded, my current 07 Hilux turbo diesel is rated to 2250kg so I'm illegal towing the boat with it.

Can anyone tell me the facts on early cruisers or make a suggestion?
Thanks
Dave
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Post by dogbreath_48 »

Older rovers have outrageous towing capacities, and would be cheaper than a cruiser.
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Post by ISUZUROVER »

A 80's range rover would be cheap and would tow it with ease. Towing capacity is around 4T (with the right trailer brakes).

Search for RUFF's posts on how nicely his rangie tows.
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Post by stuee »

ISUZUROVER wrote:A 80's range rover would be cheap and would tow it with ease. Towing capacity is around 4T (with the right trailer brakes).

Search for RUFF's posts on how nicely his rangie tows.
I think this has been brought up before but I have a feeling all light vehicles are capped at towing 3500kg. I know in the uk 4000kg is good (my disco has this on the towing plate too) but as far as I'm aware its capped in Aus at 3500kg.

All a moot point though as the boat only weighs 3000kg :lol:
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Post by zagan »

All i ever found was Jap 4wds are 750 unbraked/3.5t braked.

You have to go earlky 80's for a jap 4wd to tow less than 3.5t braked.

The new LC 200 can do 4t or 4.5t it's a bit higher than 3.5t anyway.

other wise it's imported US pickups or a F250 or ford explorer for higher than 3.5t.
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Post by Eddy »

Dare one suggest Mitsubishi Canter or the like? :P

Plenty towing capacity, and similar wheelbase to a lardbruiser. :cool:

I got me this, can tow about 6 tonnes and by the time I shorten the wheelbase to the minimum listed by the manufacturer (hole for the springs etc are already in the chassis rails) and build a 7' x 10' tray it'll be the about the same length as the ole FJ45 :cool:
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Post by KiwiBacon »

stuee wrote: I think this has been brought up before but I have a feeling all light vehicles are capped at towing 3500kg.
Is that your towing connection?

I know over here the strongest towball I've found is 3500kg, the yanks have some bigger sizes with higher ratings.
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Post by BEU77y »

Pre '96 Cruisers are 2.5t
Post '96 are 3.5t

I think they are the same chassis etc but they got recertified for the higher rating. I bought a Hayman Reese for my '91 model 80 and it came with 2 stickers for the different ratings.

If you have a surf on Redbook it lists the specs for different cars.
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Post by Toli »

I found this a while ago and even though it does not state boats, it is good for other towing information. You may want to check how current it is as it was a while ago I found it.

http://www.towingguide.com.au/index.html

I have a 92 Cruiser and it is only legally able to tow 2.5T

The previous owner had polyairs put in the back, and said it could be engineered for 3 - 3.5 T. I don't care as I never tow that much. I can not remember but I thought the GQ could go up to 3T or a bit more.
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Post by Fishin' Dave »

Thanks for your input - it is quite confusing.
The little Merc ML270 can tow over 3000kg but a early 90's Cruiser can only tow 2500kg.
A trayback, the same year, motor ect can tow 3500kg!

Cheers
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Post by stuee »

KiwiBacon wrote:
stuee wrote: I think this has been brought up before but I have a feeling all light vehicles are capped at towing 3500kg.
Is that your towing connection?

I know over here the strongest towball I've found is 3500kg, the yanks have some bigger sizes with higher ratings.
Could be the case. I dunno why but I've always been lead to believe that towing with light vehicles was capped at 3500kg in Australia. Never been a concern for me as I've never towed over 1500kg.

An interesting link for everyone is a list put out by rac with all the manufacturers tow ratings for most vehicles back to about 1985 or so.

http://rac.com.au/Motoring/About-my-car ... ide07.ashx
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Post by ISUZUROVER »

KiwiBacon wrote:
stuee wrote: I think this has been brought up before but I have a feeling all light vehicles are capped at towing 3500kg.
Is that your towing connection?

I know over here the strongest towball I've found is 3500kg, the yanks have some bigger sizes with higher ratings.
May be, but the various states in OZ have/had a bunch of weird laws re towing. Some states used to have a rule that you couldn't tow anything heavier then the weight of the vehicle - regardless of the manufacturers towing capacity...
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Post by Fishin' Dave »

Now that is exactly what I was looking for - thank you.
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Post by bogged »

go the old dodge tray
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Post by jeep97tj »

stuee wrote:
An interesting link for everyone is a list put out by rac with all the manufacturers tow ratings for most vehicles back to about 1985 or so.

http://rac.com.au/Motoring/About-my-car ... ide07.ashx
:? :? Iv just brought a 5.8L F150 to replace my 3L hilux and i have lost 80kg max towing weight
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Post by PJ.zook »

Eddy wrote:Dare one suggest Mitsubishi Canter or the like? :P

Plenty towing capacity, and similar wheelbase to a lardbruiser. :cool:

I got me this, can tow about 6 tonnes and by the time I shorten the wheelbase to the minimum listed by the manufacturer (hole for the springs etc are already in the chassis rails) and build a 7' x 10' tray it'll be the about the same length as the ole FJ45 :cool:
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How much does that thing cost a year to register?
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