Hi all have just brought ourselves a 36 ft bus and want to tow a trailer with my hilux on it .
Just like some opinons ie would we be better off with a a Rav4 or a suzuki .
Do trailers become a pain in the bum or are most parks ok with them we plan to free camp a lot .
If the Hilux is in good nick why not think of flat towing behind the bus, this would help when backing and also save on registration and maintenance on the trailer (i.e.: - tyres)
You could also store items in the tray of the Ute.
The Hilux you already you own, the question you probly need to answer first do I like the car, in general are a trusty sort of a friend very useful vehicle. Eg. Load carrying, cheap to run, if it's a four wheel drive model even better.
Before I would buy a trailer suggest looking into a A Frame towing arangement, this would allow you to flat tow the hilux behind the mobile home, no extra rego., no parking problems with the trailer.
At times when I was thinking of hitting the frog and toe with a motorhome I thought I would just get the partner to drive one of the vehicals the short distance between stopping points, it would give them a bit of free space perhaps.
If you decide the way to go is a trailer then you will need a very substantial quality built one and they don't come cheap.
To get involved in which one is the better of the two other option I have had no real experience.
What ever the choice enjoy and do it at a nice pace.
We have a similar setup, 11mt bus with a dual axle trailer.
They can be a pain at CV Parks, but we don't go to CV Parks that often.
It all comes down to weight as far as the trailer is concerned.
Most car trailers are rated at 2 tonne, the trailer itself weighs about 600kg, so this only gives you a payload of 1400kg.
Don't know the weight of a hilux, but it may be too heavy, and as mentioned above to get a trailer specially built to take the extra weight will be expensive.
We have just a small runabout and this works fine for us, but we do intend to get a Rav or Suzuki ourselves at some point (finances allowing).
As for the Flat towing alternative, keep in mind the wear and tear of the vehicle being towed as well. You are still using tyres and brakes for a start.
But an often overlooked area of wear is the drivetrain.
Particularly in a 4WD there is a lot of wear going through the diffs, transfer cases and gearboxes and it's all on the back of the gears instead of the front.
This can be significant, i have seen the results of long time flat towing a 4WD, all the above parts had to be replaced at significant cost, as you could imagine.
For us personally, the trailer is better, yes it's a bit more inconvenient and there is another rego, but there are also advantages as well.
We are able to mount an extra gas bottle and some jerry cans on the trailer as well as a small tool box, which is very handy.
it's all legally within weight and with approved mounts for the above.
it will also look pretty cool when we colour co-ordinate it with the bus as well.
Whatever you decide though will no doubt work for you, and if not, well it can always be changed later.
I would add just make sure it can be flat towed. We are all assuming it can and that might well be the case. Flat towing for autos only the Suzuki Grand Vitara and then only some of the models. We are going the motorhome route and doing the same research and have decided to go the flat tow route and the Suzi is the only option for us. With the Suzi you actually select "flat tow mode" and it comes up in the instrument cluster. Some dealers will tell you it is OK to flat tow what they sell but omit to tell you that you can only do it for 300ks and then you need to start the vehicle, run it through the gears etc. Too much hassle for me!
Safe travelling and good luck whichever way you go just make sure you enjoy it. You only get one chance at life so it might as well be the best you can manage and take the time to smell the roses.
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Cheers Jeff
Ticking off the bucket list before we kick it!
200 TTD with Evernew 22'6" and 40+ years in the oil & gas industry, now retired. CMCA Member.
Thanks all for your thoughts and yes i would need a very big trailer which would be costly as the Hilux is about 1800kg
Flat towing is a great idea but just want to be 100% sure i wont do damage as it is a 4Wd
