Landcruiser 200 Series - Lovells 4000KG Towing Upgrade.

AlPal · Veteran Member

Landcruiser 200 Series - Lovells 4000KG Towing Upgrade.

aussie_paul · Guru

Would it be rude to ask how much?

Aussie Paul. smile

Radar · Guru

Hi Alpa

Nice job, sounds great.

My only concern, I have no qualifications but would question the lenght of the hitch from the rear of the car. That is a lot of overhang, I sure if that was shorter it woukd be that much better again.

Enjoy what you have done, it great to know you are travelling with good figures. Ralph.

Pamela G · Senior Member

Just wondering if you had both upgrades done, we had the car upgrade to the 3.8 however it does not change the gross combined weight of 6800. It does allow you to move more of the caravan stuff to the car. you need the second upgrade done to tow 4 ton and increase the GCM to 7800. We are having to second upgrade to tow the van and stay legal. It costs around $9000 for both upgrades.

Dickodownunder · Guru

Pamela G
Was your upgrade done by Lovells ?

Dickodownunder · Guru

I was in at Lovells the other day and that new heavy hitch is really well made...quite impressive.

Pamela G · Senior Member

yes it is a lovells done by TJM

Pamela G · Senior Member

Talked to lovells last week. If the upgrade is done before the vehicle is registered it has federal compliance so can be transfered between states. If done after registration it applies to the state registration and needs new certification if it is sold interstate. All states except queensland upgrade the plate to show GCM. Queensland at this stage use two plates one for the vehicle showing GVM of 3.8 and one for towing at 4 ton, so they need to be added together to get 7.8 its a bit messy, they are trying to get it the same as other states

Peter_n_Margaret · Guru

Some day, this will be a classic case of the tail wagging the dog.
I just hope no one is seriously hurt when that happens.

Cheers,
Peter

Pamela G · Senior Member

Talked to lovells last week. If the upgrade is done before the vehicle is registered it has federal compliance so can be transfered between states. If done after registration it applies to the state registration and needs new certification if it is sold interstate. All states except queensland upgrade the plate to show GCM. Queensland at this stage use two plates one for the vehicle showing GVM of 3.8 and one for towing at 4 ton, so they need to be added together to get 7.8 its a bit messy, they are trying to get it the same as other states

Dickodownunder · Guru

Thanks Pamela, that answered my query as I have had mine upgraded and the GCM is clearly stated and upgraded to 7300 kg.
Mine was done in SA.
It is interesting that TJM did your vehicle as I asked TJM and they would fit the suspension components but could not provide the upgrade. I had Autoequipe in Adelaide do my upgrade.

I dont have a problem with the federal v state thing as I will sell my vehicle in SA if the need be, but at this stage I have no intention on selling it.

BruDi · Senior Member

We had the Lovell's GVM upgrade prior to delivery and knew that the GCM upgrade was on the cards a couple of months after we bought. We are definitely considering the the GCM upgrade for the same reasons.

Di

Dickodownunder · Guru

Peter_n_Margaret wrote:
Some day, this will be a classic case of the tail wagging the dog.
I just hope no one is seriously hurt when that happens.

Cheers,
Peter

I agree in part with you Peter.

The 4000kg towing upgrade will possibly recreate a similar situation as with the standard vehicle only everything is heavier.

I have done a bit of research on these upgrades and from what I can determine an owner will apply for a towing upgrade if the van he is towing is over the 3500kg and this usually occurs with carrying extra water etc. The caravan has to be upgraded as well. In some circumstances it can be quite an expensive upgrade for an extra 100 litres of water (this is only an example and it was how it was explained to me)

The GVM upgrade with the increase in GCM will actually produce a safer situation with the 200 series Toyota provided the van wont exceed 3500kg

Achieving a heavier weight in the towing vehicle would only go to make a safer towing combination and actually would be the opposite to your "tail wagging the dog" situation.

All things being equal I think that there would be a much more chance of someone getting hurt when the caravan exceeds the weight of the tow vehicle which is the present case when people are using any of the Aussie utes or the smaller varieties of SUV wagons.

In the case of the 200 series Toyota if the van was 3500 kg atm and with the upgrade the tow vehicle would be 3800 kg then the tug would be 300 kg heavier than the trailer.

In the case of one of the later model Aussie utes with an upgrade to 7000 kg GCM you could then at least have the tow vehicle weighing the same as the caravan which would still be safer than the situation without the upgrade. As we all know the GVM of the non upgraded ute has to be a few hundred kgs lighter than the caravan to comply with current laws.

The travelling caravan nomad does carry a lot of gear and to have this weight legally in the tug rather than unsafely loaded in the caravan goes a long way toward achieving a safer towing combination.

The towing weight upgrade may then create a situation where the van is heavier than the tug which is not ideal and would need to be addressed accurately when loading the rig. In many cases an upgrade of any kind would be a lot safer than the thousands of vanners who are out there in an overloaded condition, blindly travelling and believing that they are legal or worse srill, not having a clue.

-- Edited by Dickodownunder on Monday 5th of February 2018 10:15:42 AM

-- Edited by Dickodownunder on Monday 5th of February 2018 10:34:23 AM

AlPal · Veteran Member

Because I bought (quote) my upgrade at the 4 X 4 show in Melbourne I was able to get a show price of $8,000.00. The Lovell's ugrade was for both GVM and GCM (7800) and installed by an accredited and approved installer. Lovell's have a list of approved installers. (TJM, Uneek 4 X4, etc). If you buy a new Landcruiser get the GVM installed (3300 to 3800) prior to registration, then you do not have to get an Engineers Certificate ($500 plus). If you get both upgrades (GVM & GCM) done at the same time, the Engineer is supposed to charge one fee instead of doubling up. Engineer Certification should only cost between $500 to $550. No doubt some may want to charge more.

Re the overhang issue raised: I have a Haymen Reece (Hockey Stick style bars) 600 lb WDH and from the back of the vehicle to centre of tow ball measures 240mm whereas the Lovell's measures 260mm. That is 20mm or 3/4 " longer than the Haymen Reece, but really there is little difference.

What I didn't mention in my first post was that I have fitted a set of drawers in the rear with a fridge slide and if I wish I can carry a good weight in the vehicle. By taking out the rear two seats you are changing the registration seating capacity from 7 to 5. I simply stated that after caravaning I would take the drawers out and replace the seats When I did my own drive test with everything connected and level; it is my opinion that this is best system I have had. When I swerved the van, the only thing that happened was that the ESC on the caravan came on and it also worked 100%. I am not qualified or an expert on these matters, nor do I recommend anyone buy the Lovells Upgrades. But having driven Army heavy haulage vehicles, semi- trailers and heavy vehicles , a bus and had 3 caravans over 53 years without an accident, I feel comfortable in what I have done.

Lovells now also do upgrades for the Prado 150 Series. It changes the GVM from 2990 up to 3500. It changes the BTC from 2500 to 3100 and changes the GCM to 6550.

If anyone has any queries or wants advice, I suggest you email Lovells Sales Manager on - dragav@lovells.com.au

Regards and hope this helps, AlPal

aussie_paul · Guru

AlPal wrote:

If anyone has any queries or wants advice, I suggest you email Lovells Sales Manager on - dragav@lovells.com.au
Regards and hope this helps, AlPal

I tried that email and it bounced back, any thoughts why AIPal?

Aussie Paul. smile

Pamela G · Senior Member

try draganv@lovells.com.au phone 0408356737. very nice fellow with lots of information

aussie_paul · Guru

Pamela G wrote:
try draganv@lovells.com.au phone 0408356737. very nice fellow with lots of information

Thanks, will do.

Aussie Paul. smile

AlPal · Veteran Member

G'Day Aussie Paul. Sorry my fault. Trevor and Pamela have got it right. draganv@lovells.com.au. AlPal.

BruDi · Senior Member

I'd second getting in touch with Lovells. We rang them to talk about the upgrade we wanted done and they were most helpful. Their website is pretty good too.

http://www.lovellsauto.com.au/new.php

Di