Hello everyone, I would like some advice on a tow vehicle for my Van. I have an 18' single axle Van with an ATM of 2120 Kgs and I have had the Van weighed recently at a weigh bridge at a local tip and the Van weighed close to 2600 Kgs. The Van was full of water (2 X 90 litre water tanks) cloths, gas bottles full etc, etc. I currently have a 2002 Toyota Prado 3 litre Turbo Diesel which has a tow capacity of 2500 Kgs and it does the job OK but it is getting a bit old now, I do want a Ute, I am a Toyota man & I have been looking at the new Dual Cab Toyota Landcruiser, V8 turbo diesel, which starts at $67,000 cab chassis & also will be dear to run, any ideas ?
You say the 18' single axle Van with an ATM of 2120 Kg ... do you mean Tare or ATM??
You also say that it weighed, fully loaded, 2600Kg over the scales. If the Plate says an ATM of 2120Kg then you have a bigger problem than just getting a new tug.
The 2600Kg you say the scales showed when fully loaded is the ATM.
So not only is the Prado 'illegal' towing - the van is also 'illegal' as well loaded to that extent.
OH ... and Welcome to the Forum Sunset Davo
Cheers - John
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2006 Discovery 3 TDV6 SE Auto - 2008 23ft Golden Eagle Hunter Some people feel the rain - the others just get wet - Bob Dylan
Davo, as you probably know you are taking a risk, firstly if you get pulled over and weighed, you will be deemed to be towing illegally, so there is the risk of a fine, and the inconvenience of rectifying the situation before you are allowed to proceed.
BUT I believe you are running a far more significant risk.
The manufacturer of your van has certified your van as being capable of being loaded to a total laden weight of 2,120kg, in their opinion the wheels, tyres, brakes, suspension, chassis etc are all capable of carrying and braking at least 2,120kg. Your are exceeding this significantly, and risking a failure.
If you have an accident no matter what the cause you run the risk of your insurance company recognising the degree of overloading, and therefor not honoring your policy, either on the van, or the tow vehicle.
It MAY be that your van would be capable of having the ATM increased, but only the manufacturer or an engineer would know that.
For your sake, and the sake of other road users I would suggest you should have the ATM on your van increased, or reduce the load in your van.
Sorry Davo I forgot to answer your initial question, I tow with a Landrover Discovery, designed and built to tow. It tows my 3.4t van beautifully, and averages 14.6l / 100k with the cruise set on 96 kph.
As others have said, you have bigger problems than deciding what tug to use if your weights are accurate, you need to get rid of a half a tonne of stuff from your van to make it legal.
Regarding the tug ... are you only considering Toyota's or looking at other manufacturers? I believe Ford are introducing a new model Ranger next year so there may be some good deals on the current model shortly as dealers try to clear them out (I don't know if the same thing is happening to the BT 50 but it may be worth while checking). They have a 3.5 tonne towing capacity. Most of the dual cab utes have towing capacities between 3 and 3.5 tonnes so you have a fair amount of choice.
