"The factory rear suspension springs will need a bit of beefing up if you plan on towing big, like us. The suspension sagged a fair bit, so a good chunk of the weight transferred off the front wheels. We had a few teething issues with the load swaying around at highway speeds, but that can mainly be put down to the 'Cruisers factory rear-end suspension being a bit soft for such a job, and bugger-all ball weight, thanks to an unloaded van at first."
Vehicle
Tare 2740
GVM 3350kg
GCM 6850kg
Towing capacity 3500kg
Fuel capacity 138L
GVM - Tare = 610Kg payload
610Kg payload - 250Kg towball (and that is conservative praps) = 360Kg payload remaining
This test looks weird, seems no WDH was fitted to compensate for the car's inadequate rear suspension which just accentuates the van's severe nose-down stance (maybe he over-compensated a tad in his "adjustment" for the initial light ball load he mentioned?). The set up just looks and sounds a mess. All the fuss over LC is still a mystery to me, and for close to $100k on road? Oh dear.
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Cheers,
Tony
"Opinion is the medium between ignorance and knowledge" - Plato
Owned a LC once. But there are a few others far better, more comfortable and cheaper both to run and own. Car manufacturers love brand loyalty. Every time I decide I need a new car, I look at everything that I think will suit my needs, and then test them all. I do research and look on lots of forums. As a tow mule, both for comfort and running costs, a VW tourag will probably be my next vehicle. Lot cheaper than a LC 200, and I have seen one in the bush and I was amazed at what it could do.
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16.5 Discovery 4 with a few mods and New Age MR 16' Deluxe
"The factory rear suspension springs will need a bit of beefing up if you plan on towing big, like us. The suspension sagged a fair bit, so a good chunk of the weight transferred off the front wheels. We had a few teething issues with the load swaying around at highway speeds, but that can mainly be put down to the 'Cruisers factory rear-end suspension being a bit soft for such a job, and bugger-all ball weight, thanks to an unloaded van at first."
Vehicle
Tare 2740
GVM 3350kg
GCM 6850kg
Towing capacity 3500kg
Fuel capacity 138L
GVM - Tare = 610Kg payload
610Kg payload - 250Kg towball (and that is conservative praps) = 360Kg payload remaining
WOW.... another chance to bash Landcruiser 200's.... let's get 'em!!!!
How many "bashers" out there have actually owned one?
Order of my ownerships - Landcruiser short wheelbase, then Nissan Patrol, 2007 Touareg then 2012 Touareg (great cars but in my opinion a little light to tow the rated 3500kg)
However now back with Toyota, yes a 2017 Landcruiser 200 VX, a really great car!!
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"life is too short to spend it with people who suck the happiness out of you"
"The factory rear suspension springs will need a bit of beefing up if you plan on towing big, like us. The suspension sagged a fair bit, so a good chunk of the weight transferred off the front wheels. We had a few teething issues with the load swaying around at highway speeds, but that can mainly be put down to the 'Cruisers factory rear-end suspension being a bit soft for such a job, and bugger-all ball weight, thanks to an unloaded van at first."
Vehicle
Tare 2740
GVM 3350kg
GCM 6850kg
Towing capacity 3500kg
Fuel capacity 138L
GVM - Tare = 610Kg payload
610Kg payload - 250Kg towball (and that is conservative praps) = 360Kg payload remaining
Just for once, park your personal, parochial opinions of the vehicles you own and examine the figures ... NOT the 'marketing' brochures for STANDARD UNMODIFIED vehicles.
Do that with all the offerings available and there sure enuff ain't many that are great in accurately representing their actual, usable payload.
And Vince, my posting of this thread is not 'bashing Landcruiser 200' as you suggest. Did you read the article, the reviewer was in love with the vehicle.
I have owned 60, 80 and 100 series cruisers ... they were great for what I wanted, and expected, at that time.
OH, and I looked through the Just Joking sub-forum and found no mention of the Discovery.
I have had mine for 8 years, and it has 240,000 faultless Km on the clock and has never provided even a hiccup in all that time travelling full-time.
However, I do know others have not had the same run with their vehicle. OH ... and I have met dozens of others who have had trouble with their 'pride' ... including LCs and every other brand. They are all as good, or bad, as each other.
The point of the thread was to highlight, to those who fail to realise the impact of the loading of their vehicles (of all makes/models), that one needs to be aware and careful.
Cheers - just keep on keepin' on - John
[EDIT: I can't subtract accurately 352Kg payload with full tanks LESS driver & passsenger @ 70Kg each = 212Kg remaining payload for Disco. ]
-- Edited by rockylizard on Monday 18th of December 2017 08:06:44 PM
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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
We have a 200 Series and love it. We've owned several Toyotas, 80 Series and a Troopy as well as a Prado. This is the most comfortable and capable one we have owned. We put a Lovell's suspension upgrade on before delivery so the GVM is upgraded. We considered getting a Lovell's GCM upgrade but decided to wait till we had used it. Don't need it we've decided.
Our other car is an Hyundai Tuscon; love it.Good city car and good for touring.
GEEZ fellas unknot those knickers Snip - you can go back up the thread if you need to
From the above the Disco has a better load allowance of the two vehicles. However the biggest difference in the two vehicles has not been discussed - the tow ball overhang. When you caompare the short overhang of the Disco compared with the long over hang you will see that the Disco will be a much more stable platform when hitched to a arrge van.That in itself would make the disco a better tow vehicle.
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PeterD Nissan Navara D23 diesel auto, Spaceland pop-top Retired radio and electronics technician. NSW Central Coast.
From my spreadsheet ... actual Km travelled, actual litres used both towing and non-towing.
240,000Km on clock, minimum of 160,000Km towing ... over eight years full-time on the road.
Averages - Km/fill, Litres/fill, MPG/fill, projected full tank Km, Ltrs/100Km
Cheers - John
[EDIT: this thread is NOT about who can p**s up the wall the highest ... it is about being aware of payload and how easy it is to overload the vehicle. EVERY vehicle has good points, bad points, brilliant points ... and many examples of the same vehicle has a problem at times.]
-- Edited by rockylizard on Tuesday 19th of December 2017 03:57:46 PM
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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
From my spreadsheet ... actual Km travelled, actual litres used both towing and non-towing.
240,000Km on clock, minimum of 160,000Km towing ... over eight years full-time on the road.
Averages - Km/fill, Litres/fill, MPG/fill, projected full tank Km, Ltrs/100Km
Cheers - John
[EDIT: this thread is NOT about who can p**s up the wall the highest ... it is about being aware of payload and how easy it is to overload the vehicle. EVERY vehicle has good points, bad points, brilliant points ... and many examples of the same vehicle has a problem at times.]
-- Edited by rockylizard on Tuesday 19th of December 2017 03:57:46 PM
Nice figures/statistics.
My recent Lap last Winter, when speaking to Landcruiser Grey Nomads, revealed a l/100km average of 25-28 lt (towing 2.5t-3.0t). Not my opinion but what I was told.
I agree the Landcruiser is a great Tug but....at what cost in fuel usage.
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Cheers, Richard (Dick0)
"Home is where the Den is parked, Designer Orchid Special towed by Jeep Grand Cherokee Limited"
"4x250W solar panels, Epever 80A charger and 3x135Ah Voltax Prismatic LiFePO4 Batteries".
To me the new land cruiser is undoubtably probably one of the greatest tow vehicles you could possibly own but at 100k to throw that sort of money at a car you would have to have deep pockets,to me a car is something that is a fraction of your wealth not most of it
My recent Lap last Winter, when speaking to Landcruiser Grey Nomads, revealed a l/100km average of 25-28 lt (towing 2.5t-3.0t). Not my opinion but what I was told.
I agree the Landcruiser is a great Tug but....at what cost in fuel usage.
Something wrong with their vehicles then.
I have a 2013 Cruiser which has done 85,000 klms of which just under 50,000 klms has been towing a 3 tonne van.
From new my average is 17.3 ltrs/100 klms.
Worst I have seen towing is 23 ltrs/100 klms with a best of 17.5 ltrs/100 klms with a strong tail wind.
My recent Lap last Winter, when speaking to Landcruiser Grey Nomads, revealed a l/100km average of 25-28 lt (towing 2.5t-3.0t). Not my opinion but what I was told.
I agree the Landcruiser is a great Tug but....at what cost in fuel usage.
Petrol or Diesel?
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PeterD Nissan Navara D23 diesel auto, Spaceland pop-top Retired radio and electronics technician. NSW Central Coast.
My recent Lap last Winter, when speaking to Landcruiser Grey Nomads, revealed a l/100km average of 25-28 lt (towing 2.5t-3.0t). Not my opinion but what I was told.
I agree the Landcruiser is a great Tug but....at what cost in fuel usage.
Petrol or Diesel?
Diesel.
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Cheers, Richard (Dick0)
"Home is where the Den is parked, Designer Orchid Special towed by Jeep Grand Cherokee Limited"
"4x250W solar panels, Epever 80A charger and 3x135Ah Voltax Prismatic LiFePO4 Batteries".
My recent Lap last Winter, when speaking to Landcruiser Grey Nomads, revealed a l/100km average of 25-28 lt (towing 2.5t-3.0t). Not my opinion but what I was told.
I agree the Landcruiser is a great Tug but....at what cost in fuel usage.
We have had our 200 Landcruiser from new in 2010, and have since then have towed about 30,000 km with it, towing our 2.8 ton van. We have kept very good records of our fuel costs when towing and have averaged about 20l per 100k. We tend to tow at around the 90kmh mark, sometimes slower and occasionally a bit faster. We have only ever got up about the 25k for short periods when towing into a strong head wind.
We really love the Landcruiser for its comfort and ease of driving and towing. We did get a Lovells upgrade to allow us to carry more in the tug. Prior to the Landcruiser we had a Pajero for 5 years, which served us well and towed the van about 60,000 over that time, and while it was a reasonable vehicle we can really feel and appreciate the difference towing with the Landcruiser. No one car is going to suit everyone, but it suits us.
Wouldn't the onboard trip computer provide the average fuel usage of l/100km Yes and be a reliable record? No
Gday...
From talking with others in my travels with a variety of modern vehicles, and my own experience, the inbuilt computer of the vehicle does provide average litres/100Km.
However, it is almost always an optimistic figure. Actual Km travelled by actual Litres consumed is the only really reliable figure.
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
Car manufacturer trip computers are very optomistic when it comes to LP100K. Trouble is different tyre size, inflation etc will effect the overall diameter of the tyres and hence the distance covered. I currently have a D4 towing a 2400kg van and Using my calcs (not the trip computer) I averaged 15.6 litres per 100kms. This was sitting on the speed limits (maybe a little more). When I did slow down my consumption also decreased to as low as 14.3. Now that is a lot better than a LC and also no need to do any suspension upgrades!
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16.5 Discovery 4 with a few mods and New Age MR 16' Deluxe
unknot those knickers 
]
