looking at purchasing a 3200 kg loaded van ...am after people's experiences of towing similar weights with dual cab thanks
Radar said
04:12 PM Feb 23, 2018
Simshaz wrote:
looking at purchasing a 3200 kg loaded van ...am after people's experiences of towing similar weights with dual cab thanks
Hi Simhaz and welcome.
There has been a lot writen lately about towing weights of dual cab utes, not good at all, we don't own a 3500kg towing capacity dual cab ute but we do own a Nissan Navara with a 3000kg towing capacity. With that we are running close to the mark with our 2750kg caravan.
I would strongly subjest you use the seach button in the blue line above to help in your decision making. There must be quite a bit written about dual cabs real towing capacity, yes they will tow 3500kg but your partner will need to make other arrangements to meet up at the next destination, don't forget that means you can not use the rest of the car to carry anything else possibly you may not be able to put fuel in the car.
Hope this may help, sorry about the disappointment that goes with iwning a dual cab ute.
Desert Dweller said
06:07 PM Feb 23, 2018
It will be at D maximum, another tail wagging the dog.
Bass said
06:37 PM Feb 23, 2018
bought a 2011 D max new our van in holiday mode was 2.9t. In keeping with the current theme we were asking max to do a personel best every day. ( but it did it ) we now have a 200 series and much much better and safer, with same van. we now have a new van 3.0t and max would struggle with it I think.
Bass
rockylizard said
07:04 PM Feb 23, 2018
Gday...
Welcome to the forum Simshaz
Unfortunately, almost all the utes currently on the market (let alone the older models) are not as capable as the marketing blurb states when it comes to loading the vehicle up and then hitching up a big van.
The article in the following link is a little long-winded and deals with more than just the D-Max but it does cover how difficult it is to tow upto 3,000Kg with the D-Max ... let alone to tow more the 3,000Kg.
Perhaps one day someone in a position of authority will legislate to force manufacturers to more accurately state the capabilities of their vehicles rather than the current situation where the marketing blurb misleads buyers.
As the same authorities are yet to conduct regular weigh-ins of vehicles and vans on the highways, but when it comes, there are going to be many who will be left red-faced and very annoyed on how they have been mislead with overweight vehicles and vans.
Cheers - John
Simshaz said
09:42 PM Feb 23, 2018
Thanks everyone for your replies ...may have to look at a 200 cruiser
Radar said
10:36 PM Feb 23, 2018
Simshaz wrote:
Thanks everyone for your replies ...may have to look at a 200 cruiser
Hi
Just be as vigilant with that choice also, sorry I am not trying to be negative.
All I am trying to do is making you awhere of the pitfalls of purching a overweight dream and that soon become a nightmare.
We had a smaller caravan told the sales people we will use the dual cab ute for caravaning, reply " we sell lots for towing caravans".
Navara was great with the 2tonne caravan under weight in lots of areas, then purchased the larger caravan with ensuite 2749 kg, first thing noticed we were heavy on the towball then found we were close to maximum in other areas. We are now after 3 months of negotiations we are legal and still with our dream caravan. But it did cost extra dollars.
Most of us choice dual cab utes for there flexibility, including economy of the small powerful motor, automatic transmission and car like comfort.
On this forum there has been lots of talk about weights, engineered up grades on tow vehicals including Land Cruisers, so once again be awhere 200's have there share of problems also. There tare weight is quite heavy to start with.
Hope you have success with your choices.
Dougwe said
10:40 PM Feb 23, 2018
Take a peak at a Iveco Daily. No problems then.
Simshaz said
11:14 PM Feb 23, 2018
Thanks again and thanks for the heads up radar ...have been checking out 200 weights etc ...very similar problems ...kinda makes you wonder who's towing all the heavy vans around ...I do get the feeling things are going to tighten up as regards to supposed mobile weigh stations etc ...this lap thing can be an expensive excercise lol
Mackayak said
04:52 AM Feb 24, 2018
Are in a similar situation to you. Like D-Max and have owed 2 over 20 years loved them but for towing have end up with a 200 LC have weighed it and they are heavy but it maybe OK will deepened on tow ball weight when van is loaded. Van arrives in 2 weeks and it will then be weighed loaded if not legal will nave to get GVM to the 200 this is an expense, but it should be better towing a van with a similar weight tug.
yobarr said
10:43 AM Feb 24, 2018
Simshaz wrote:
Thanks everyone for your replies ...may have to look at a 200 cruiser
Hi Simon....Great decision,and good advice from Radar.I note that you have asked the same question on the
other site and,as always,you got reports from the wannabe brigade waffling on about how well their little cars
tow big vans! Your suggestion that you may purchase a 200 is your best bet,but,as Ralph has noted,you
will need to do a GVM upgrade to 3800kg.I got my 70 series done by Carroll Springs in Wacol,at a much lower
price than Lovells.Unless absolutely necessary for weight transfer,forget the WDH that so many insist on using,
and a DO35 hitch gives you much less TBO (towball overhang) than does a McHitch.Always remember that both
a WDH and a McHitch increase that TBO,making the whole rig a lot less stable.From memory,Toyotas maximum
loading on the rear axle is 2300kg,with 1560kg on the front axle on later models. If you Google Claytons towing
caravan rescues,or similar,you will see that the vast majority of their photos show twin-cabs,Prados and the like,
towing big vans,that have come to grief.Simple physics seem to be beyond the comprehension of some owners
of twin-cabs etc,but few people will admit that their purchase was a mistake! I wish you all the best with your
research,and trust that you will have safe and happy travels!
Cheers.
PeterD said
04:41 PM Feb 24, 2018
What ever tug you get, read the link in rockylizard's reply first and digest it fully. Even the great Cruiser can get effected by the GCM rating. The Iveco Daily seems to be the best alternative suggestion to-date.
yobarr said
06:15 PM Feb 24, 2018
PeterD wrote:
What ever tug you get, read the link in rockylizard's reply first and digest it fully. Even the great Cruiser can get effected by the GCM rating. The Iveco Daily seems to be the best alternative suggestion to-date.
Hi Peter...I just had a quick look at the link you suggested,and it appears to say that GCM is the sum of the cars GVM plus ATM.Surely this is incorrect,as GCM is the total of GVM plus GTM? Its been a long day,but I believe thats right?.. Assuming that I am right,it is easy to see how newbies,and even older members,get confused.
Cheers.
rockylizard said
06:56 PM Feb 24, 2018
Gday...
Perhaps this site will assist in understanding the definitions -
There's a pretty simple recipe for avoiding all of these weight problems, buy a smaller caravan.
How much room do two elderly people need?
We've had a 17fter for the past 5 years, plenty of room.
We spend most of our time relaxing under the roll out awning.
Who needs to be dragging a massive ''box on wheels'' around constantly worrying about being overweight?
Our parents did 3 laps of OZ back in the early 70's towing a 12ft caravans in total comfort.
Footprints said
08:10 PM Feb 25, 2018
My Isuzu NPR has proven time and again over the past three years to be the ideal solution to the weight dilemma and in my opinion has more benefits than Iveco not least of all being cost effective. Worth considering, highly recommend
looking at purchasing a 3200 kg loaded van ...am after people's experiences of towing similar weights with dual cab thanks
Hi Simhaz and welcome.
There has been a lot writen lately about towing weights of dual cab utes, not good at all, we don't own a 3500kg towing capacity dual cab ute but we do own a Nissan Navara with a 3000kg towing capacity. With that we are running close to the mark with our 2750kg caravan.
I would strongly subjest you use the seach button in the blue line above to help in your decision making. There must be quite a bit written about dual cabs real towing capacity, yes they will tow 3500kg but your partner will need to make other arrangements to meet up at the next destination, don't forget that means you can not use the rest of the car to carry anything else possibly you may not be able to put fuel in the car.
Hope this may help, sorry about the disappointment that goes with iwning a dual cab ute.
It will be at D maximum, another tail wagging the dog.
Bass
Gday...
Welcome to the forum Simshaz
Unfortunately, almost all the utes currently on the market (let alone the older models) are not as capable as the marketing blurb states when it comes to loading the vehicle up and then hitching up a big van.
The article in the following link is a little long-winded and deals with more than just the D-Max but it does cover how difficult it is to tow upto 3,000Kg with the D-Max ... let alone to tow more the 3,000Kg.
Click to read the information
Perhaps one day someone in a position of authority will legislate to force manufacturers to more accurately state the capabilities of their vehicles rather than the current situation where the marketing blurb misleads buyers.
As the same authorities are yet to conduct regular weigh-ins of vehicles and vans on the highways, but when it comes, there are going to be many who will be left red-faced and very annoyed on how they have been mislead with overweight vehicles and vans.
Cheers - John
Hi
Just be as vigilant with that choice also, sorry I am not trying to be negative.
All I am trying to do is making you awhere of the pitfalls of purching a overweight dream and that soon become a nightmare.
We had a smaller caravan told the sales people we will use the dual cab ute for caravaning, reply " we sell lots for towing caravans".
Navara was great with the 2tonne caravan under weight in lots of areas, then purchased the larger caravan with ensuite 2749 kg, first thing noticed we were heavy on the towball then found we were close to maximum in other areas. We are now after 3 months of negotiations we are legal and still with our dream caravan. But it did cost extra dollars.
Most of us choice dual cab utes for there flexibility, including economy of the small powerful motor, automatic transmission and car like comfort.
On this forum there has been lots of talk about weights, engineered up grades on tow vehicals including Land Cruisers, so once again be awhere 200's have there share of problems also. There tare weight is quite heavy to start with.
Hope you have success with your choices.
Are in a similar situation to you. Like D-Max and have owed 2 over 20 years loved them but for towing have end up with a 200 LC have weighed it and they are heavy but it maybe OK will deepened on tow ball weight when van is loaded. Van arrives in 2 weeks and it will then be weighed loaded if not legal will nave to get GVM to the 200 this is an expense, but it should be better towing a van with a similar weight tug.
Hi Simon....Great decision,and good advice from Radar.I note that you have asked the same question on the
other site and,as always,you got reports from the wannabe brigade waffling on about how well their little cars
tow big vans! Your suggestion that you may purchase a 200 is your best bet,but,as Ralph has noted,you
will need to do a GVM upgrade to 3800kg.I got my 70 series done by Carroll Springs in Wacol,at a much lower
price than Lovells.Unless absolutely necessary for weight transfer,forget the WDH that so many insist on using,
and a DO35 hitch gives you much less TBO (towball overhang) than does a McHitch.Always remember that both
a WDH and a McHitch increase that TBO,making the whole rig a lot less stable.From memory,Toyotas maximum
loading on the rear axle is 2300kg,with 1560kg on the front axle on later models. If you Google Claytons towing
caravan rescues,or similar,you will see that the vast majority of their photos show twin-cabs,Prados and the like,
towing big vans,that have come to grief.Simple physics seem to be beyond the comprehension of some owners
of twin-cabs etc,but few people will admit that their purchase was a mistake! I wish you all the best with your
research,and trust that you will have safe and happy travels!
Cheers.
What ever tug you get, read the link in rockylizard's reply first and digest it fully. Even the great Cruiser can get effected by the GCM rating. The Iveco Daily seems to be the best alternative suggestion to-date.
Hi Peter...I just had a quick look at the link you suggested,and it appears to say that GCM is the sum of the cars GVM plus ATM.Surely this is incorrect,as GCM is the total of GVM plus GTM? Its been a long day,but I believe thats right?.. Assuming that I am right,it is easy to see how newbies,and even older members,get confused.
Cheers.
Gday...
Perhaps this site will assist in understanding the definitions -
http://www.towingguide.com/definitions/
Cheers - John
There's a pretty simple recipe for avoiding all of these weight problems, buy a smaller caravan.

How much room do two elderly people need?
We've had a 17fter for the past 5 years, plenty of room.
We spend most of our time relaxing under the roll out awning.
Who needs to be dragging a massive ''box on wheels'' around constantly worrying about being overweight?
Our parents did 3 laps of OZ back in the early 70's towing a 12ft caravans in total comfort.
My Isuzu NPR has proven time and again over the past three years to be the ideal solution to the weight dilemma and in my opinion has more benefits than Iveco not least of all being cost effective. Worth considering, highly recommend
Cheers