Storing stuff in the back of the tow vehicle

rexboggs5 · Senior Member

Storing stuff in the back of the tow vehicle

Cupie · Guru

The most important thing is to ensure that all is safe in case of an accident. Use tie downs & protective cage barrier.

In my Patrol waggon, I remove the second & third row of seats & carry such things as ...

Engel

Push Bike (sits neatly along the RHS)

Washing Machine (if required)

Tool box (small)

Kayak seats & other stuff

Milk crate of bits & pieces

mezza56 · Senior Member

Going thru just that at the moment rexy , we have to get a GVM upgrade on the vehicle in order to stay legal , all up including the weight of the van on the hitch we are a couple hundred kilos over the cars GVM , but that includes kayaks , drawers full of tools and stuff an 80 litre fridge full and various other bits and pieces . My suggestion is pack the car full of everything you want. Go down with a full tank of diesel and take the wife / furry friends included and weigh it . front and rear together then separately as you may exceed your rear axle limit , dont forget if you use a WDH put that in as well , when you get back add your TBW and see if your ok. The more gear in the car will be helpful to your van vs vehicle weight ratio .

Warren-Pat_01 · Guru

What I need to carry at the time, Rex. I removed the two dicky seats, put in a piece of plywood to protect the carpet - it's bolted to the floor using existing bolt holes.

Essentials are fire extinguisher, 5L of water, 5L of engine oil (some is better than none), some diff/gearbox oil, some spares (belts, thermostat, etc), fishing rod, reel & some gear, air compressor, soldering iron (240v & gas), wiring crimps, tools & other bits & pieces.

I can carry our 60L Trailblazer fridge in a slide - bolted to the ply floor, but these days it mostly stays home.

Camp chairs, flasks & other things like birthday/Christmas presents go in, soft carry bags.

Mostly it's overkill but it's better to have it than not in isolated areas.

Plain Truth · Guru

Took the Dicky seats and the rear passengers seat out of the Prado,they weighed nearly 70 Kgs.

Made some drawers for the back ,and a false floor where the rear seat was,nowhere near 70kg.

Now I can pack heaps in.Will post some photos.

yobarr · Guru

rexboggs5 wrote:
My tow vehicle is a Land Cruiser 200 series. I was wondering what stuff the experienced nomads carry in the back of their tow vehicle, and if they have a particular way of packing it.
I am mindful of the GVM and want to stay within this, so carrying some gear in the LC will help.
Thanks for any sage advice you can offer.
Thanks and Cheers, Rex

Hi Rex...Just a note that your biggest problem on a 200 is the cars rear axle weight.You are allowed only 1950kg on that axle.Just hooking up a decent sized van will get you close to that..before you even pack your gear. And a GVM upgrade gives you only 2000kg on that axle,or so I am advised.Just saying.Good luck with your project.Cheers

-- Edited by yobarr on Tuesday 17th of July 2018 05:39:23 PM

HandyWalter · Senior Member

Just a word of warning. Permanently removing seats in a car is illegal unless the car is approved by the relevant authority. Ie if the car is registered as a 7 seater you would need to get it reregistered as a 5 seater if back 2 seats are permanently removed. For a short trip (say 6-8 weeks) is OK but they must be put back in the vehicle.

yobarr · Guru

HandyWalter wrote:
Just a word of warning. Permanently removing seats in a car is illegal unless the car is approved by the relevant authority. Ie if the car is registered as a 7 seater you would need to get it reregistered as a 5 seater if back 2 seats are permanently removed. For a short trip (say 6-8 weeks) is OK but they must be put back in the vehicle.
Hi Walter...You are,of course,absolutely right with that assertion.I didnt bother mentioning it for fear of starting pages of dispute from people who know more than I do! Cheers.

Cupie · Guru

HandyWalter wrote:
Just a word of warning. Permanently removing seats in a car is illegal unless the car is approved by the relevant authority. Ie if the car is registered as a 7 seater you would need to get it reregistered as a 5 seater if back 2 seats are permanently removed. For a short trip (say 6-8 weeks) is OK but they must be put back in the vehicle.

Yer ... heard that before but have not bothered to test the legality of the statement. Probably right though. Thanks for the heads up.

I don't permanently remove them. I still retain the bolts & fixed nuts in the tug so that they can be easily re-installed, which I do on return home, just in case of the rare event that I have passengers.

But then I took out the 3rd row of seats about 20 years ago when I got the GQ, wrapped them (it) in plastic & stored it in the back shed. I will replace it when I take it to the wreckers in 5 yrs or so.

I take out the second row (4 bolts for each & 10min work) before I go on an extended trip. I actually use the seat mounting points of both rows to install extra tie down loops.

Warren-Pat_01 · Guru

Walter,
Yes, I was aware of the legal requirements but I'm certain the TMR in Qld would get fed up with me going back for irregular changes.

I have the two seats stored in my garage, ready to install if family fly up & we need to take them to places (as has happened in the past). When I sell the car, it will be a 7 seater again.

Cupie, that's not a very nice ending for a reliable (older) car - there are still lots of them around (& some very nicely repainted, etc).

Cupie · Guru

Warren-Pat_01 wrote:
Walter,
Yes, I was aware of the legal requirements but I'm certain the TMR in Qld would get fed up with me going back for irregular changes.

I have the two seats stored in my garage, ready to install if family fly up & we need to take them to places (as has happened in the past). When I sell the car, it will be a 7 seater again.

Cupie, that's not a very nice ending for a reliable (older) car - there are still lots of them around (& some very nicely repainted, etc).

Just joking.

In fact I have a line up of people who want it ... from a bush bashing Nephew to NSW Fishermen who want to use it as a beach tractor. I am always surprised to see how many of them in good condition there are running about the roads in northern NSW.

Mine still looks good in that 'wet look' Maroon & Gold paint job. Low KM, No rust, no beach or Bush & always stored under cover, regular services from new .. of course.

Seriously though, it still runs very good and the motor purrs ... no rattles either.

Meredith · Senior Member

We have a GVM upgrade to allow us to carry more in our 200 Landcruiser. We have a system from Fourby Fitouts, their touring unit as shown at fourbyfitouts.com.au/quality-4wd-storage-systems-touring-unit/ except we removed the top soft luggage rack. This allows us to put our fairly large chairs and our table on the top shelf tied down with straps. We have a fridge on the slide, keep some recovery gear and some tools etc in the drawer , and put our ground mat and side shade wall and a few other bits in the space above the drawer, and a few bits and pieces in the side spaces. For us it works well. We were informed by VicRoads that removing the 3rd row seats required no paperwork, if permanently removing the 2nd row there are regulations. The 3rd row are stored away to be put back in if we ever decide to sell it.

-- Edited by Meredith on Wednesday 18th of July 2018 01:37:41 PM

Mike Harding · Guru

Meredith wrote:
We were informed by VicRoads that removing the 3rd row seats required no paperwork, if permanently removing the 2nd row there are regulations.

Interesting. Do you know what those regs are or have any pointers to them?

rexboggs5 · Senior Member

Wow, what a wealth of knowledge there is on this forum.

I have removed the last row of seats to give us a bit more legal storage weight. I didn't even thing about removing the 2nd last row. Not sure if we need to do so, but it good to know that it isn't too difficult. If needed, I will check out the regs.

Some great suggestions, so thanks very much for your sage advice.

More sage advice, of course, is always welcome.

Thanks and Cheers, Rex