new caravan

Shtik · Newbie

new caravan

yobarr · Guru

Shtik wrote:
Hi We are considering buying a new caravan. We recently had a New Age Big Red 20
We are considering an Evernew or a Lotus
Any suggestions
Thanks

What is your car? If safety is of any concern,always remember that the weight on the wheels of the laden,ready to travel,car should be at least 10% more than the weight on the wheels of the laden van.Cheers

Shtik · Newbie

We have a land cruiser Sahara

Mike Harding · Guru

After six months of living in it and driving it around some very tough High Country areas I am very happy with my Snowy River SR-19.

yobarr · Guru

Shtik wrote:
We have a land cruiser Sahara

Hi Sue....the LC200 is one of the most over-rated cars around,despite many people towing with them because there seems to be little choice? An LC200 cannot ever SAFELY tow 3500kg as a pig trailer.Any van that you choose to purchase should have an ATM no more than 3000kg,the main problem being the rear axle of the your car,which is rated at only 1950kg carrying capacity.Your towing capacity is 3500kg,but your car has a short wheelbase (2850mm) and a large TBO (towball overhang,or distance from rear axle of car to hitch point).With 10% ball weight on a 3500kg van,you are adding over 500kg to your cars rear axle.(Think levers).You will then be advised by eggspurts that you need to fit a WDH,but that further increases your TBO,adding even MORE weight to your rear axle,until you tension the WDH.More trouble....a WDH does not alter towball weight,so when it is tensioned,some weight is transferred from the cars rear axle to the front axle of the car,with the rest being transferred to your vans axle group.....instantly your van is over its ATM,and overweight. Upgrading the GVM of the car to 3850kg seems like a good idea,until you realise that doing so increases your rear axle rating to only 2000kg.This is great if you simply want to carry more stuff in the car without the van attached,but is a dead-set waste of money if you think it will help you to safely tow 3500kg.The ONLY way an LC200 can SAFELY tow a 3500kg trailer is if that trailer is a DOG trailer,which has next to no towball weight.(Caravans are PIG trailers).We now will hear howls of protest from LC200 owners who are unlikely to understand these things,but I will reiterate that an LC200 cannot SAFELY tow more than 3000kg in a pig trailer configuration. You may well be able to source a van around that weight,but if you would like to discuss this further,please send me a PM and we can go from there.Cheers

-- Edited by yobarr on Friday 12th of July 2019 09:01:17 AM

Wanda · Guru

I don't think she mentioned which model Landcruiser she has Yobarr yawn

Ian

Shtik · Newbie

Its a 200 series

moamajohn · Guru

Hey Yobarr.The folks simply asked about a bloody new van ! You then dish out a tirade on their tow vehicle not having a clue regarding the size of van etc .On a personal note my dream is to own a Sahara as in MY opinion they are the best vehicle in all of OZ to tow with . These folk made no mention of weight at all .Your a senior member whom should have asked some polite questions first as they are only newbies .

yobarr · Guru

Wanda wrote:
I don't think she mentioned which model Landcruiser she has Yobarr
Ian

Hi Ian...when I started researching cars to tow 3500kg,I quickly eliminated the LC200 as not being fit for that purpose.As far as I am aware,and I am happy to be corrected,the only Sahara that has a tow capacity above 3000kg is the 200(?) so I based all my advice on that vehicle.If there is indeed a Prado Sahara,using that vehicle would be even sillier than using a 200.As I mentioned earlier,if Sue would like to discuss this further,I urge her to PM me so we can talk.Cheers

yobarr · Guru

moamajohn wrote:
Hey Yobarr.The folks simply asked about a bloody new van ! You then dish out a tirade on their tow vehicle not having a clue regarding the size of van etc .On a personal note my dream is to own a Sahara as in MY opinion they are the best vehicle in all of OZ to tow with . These folk made no mention of weight at all .Your a senior member whom should have asked some polite questions first as they are only newbies .

Hi John...why in earth you would want a 200 is beyond me,but each to their own.My advice to Sue was simply to make her aware of the severe towing limitations of her car before she rushed out and bought a van with an ATM above 3000kg.It is called Helping Others.....forewarned is forearmed.Pretty pointless giving advice AFTER Sue has bought a van,surely? Cheers

-- Edited by yobarr on Friday 12th of July 2019 10:45:06 AM

yobarr · Guru

Shtik wrote:
Its a 200 series

Hi Sue....PM sent.You can access your messages by clicking on your user name on top right of screen,and when the next page pops up,look on the lower left side of that page and you will see all your messages and your posts.Cheers

Possum3 · Guru

Sue, We have an Evernew 900E - considered by many to be the best "Stick & tin" caravan built in Australia - Certainly not the cheapest but pure quality at every fitment - Had a look at a new one at Bollon last week (over $120,000) but it was a total masterpiece.
There are are some relatively less costly units on the second hand market. I doubt you would be disappointed with one.
The Lotus on the other hand is considered to be one of the most toxic brands by "Lemon Caravans and RV's - yes they make some good ones, but do you want to take the chance.

PM me if you require any further information.

wendycarlene · Veteran Member

Hi Sue, without going into a whole lot of statistics, a really good van ,well built ,strong with good quality appliances would be a 6 to 7 yr old Traveller about 21ft. The newer models are heavier making it necessary to have huge vehicles to tow with. There are a lot of Pajero towing these very practical size vans, a good combination. Good luck , look hard.

montie · Guru

Shtik wrote:
Hi We are considering buying a new caravan. We recently had a New Age Big Red 20
We are considering an Evernew or a Lotus
Any suggestions
Thanks

Sue,

The two brands you mention build good quality vans and have both been around for a considerable lenght of time.

Don't worry about the Lemon Caravan forum, I think every brand of van ever made is on there, so not much credibility.

My advice is pay a visit to a couple of caravan parks and have a cuppa with some owners of your preferred brand and you will get invaluable information

Eaglemax · Guru

moamajohn wrote:
Hey Yobarr.The folks simply asked about a bloody new van ! You then dish out a tirade on their tow vehicle not having a clue regarding the size of van etc .On a personal note my dream is to own a Sahara as in MY opinion they are the best vehicle in all of OZ to tow with . These folk made no mention of weight at all .Your a senior member whom should have asked some polite questions first as they are only newbies .

Agree, in fact Yobarr's first line " the LC200 is one of the most over-rated cars around" was disappointing to a new member. Comments like "You will then be advised by eggspurts" is simple abuse. There was no mention by the member to upgrade their cars towing capacity nor tow 3500kg.

I note your Big Red was a 20ft caravan and those vans have a ATM (loaded weight) maximum of around 3000-3100kg which was within the towing capacity of your splendid Sahara.

Mike Harding mentioned the Snowy River Sr-19 which seems an ideal van with 2640kg ATM loaded weight and a growing reputation for well built vans. https://ontheroadmagazine.com.au/snowy-river-sr-19/

Possum 3 suggests an Evernew E900 also below 3000kg ATM and a friend of mine owns one and raves about it.

So, if you are looking at under 20ft there is a massive selection out there suitable for your vehicle. There is also caravans up to 18ft with single axles which is my preference with disadvantages and advantages to dual axle.

Tony

yobarr · Guru

oEaglemax

Agree, in fact Yobarr's first line " the LC200 is one of the most over-rated cars around" was disappointing to a new member. Comments like "You will then be advised by eggspurts" is simple abuse. There was no mention by the member to upgrade their cars towing capacity nor tow 3500kg.Tony

Hi Tony.....please refer to my reply to Johns post,the post that you quoted. For your benefit,I will repeat that my advice to Sue was simply to make her aware of the severe towing limitations of her car before she rushed out and bought a van with an ATM over 3000kg.It is called helping others......forewarned is forearmed.Pretty pointless giving advice AFTER Sue has bought a van,surely?Big,comfortable,powerful and luxurious possibly are words you could use to describe an LC200,but I stand by my comment that the LC200 is one of the most over-rated cars around,simply because they cannot SAFELY tow the claimed 3500kg.A quick Google search showed that most Evernew vans and Lotus vans are in the 3300kg-3500kg ATM range,and not able to be SAFELY towed by an LC200.Sad,inconvenient truth.Cheers

Eaglemax · Guru

Caravans by those maker 19ft long are under 3000kg atm, I looked them up today.

Eaglemax · Guru

Caravans by those maker 19ft long are under 3000kg atm, I looked them up today.

AlPal · Veteran Member

I,m not sure what to say here. I have had four(4) L.C. 3.500kg towing capacity. My most recent is a Sahara upgraded to four(4) tonne towing capacity (Lovells) towing an upgraded( 4 tonne) Traveller caravan. I have also towed the same caravan with an GMC 2500 truck which I imported from USA. In case you are wondering I change my vehicles over every two years. Those of you who are questioning the suitability of a Sahara L.C. to safely tow at 3500kg, is beyond me because I tow beyond that limit legally with a Lovells upgrade. I suspect there may be some people who sit back with some criticism who can't have a properly equipped Land Cruiser. The bottom line for me is this= accident free after 56 years, know my limitations, learnt how to pack a van, service the van and towing vehicle as required and never drive too far in a day, I also have cameras and safety devices fitted. Regards, AlPal.

AlPal · Veteran Member

I,m not sure what to say here. I have had four(4) L.C. 3.500kg towing capacity. My most recent is a Sahara upgraded to four(4) tonne towing capacity (Lovells) towing an upgraded( 4 tonne) Traveller caravan. I have also towed the same caravan with an GMC 2500 truck which I imported from USA. In case you are wondering I change my vehicles over every two years. Those of you who are questioning the suitability of a Sahara L.C. to safely tow at 3500kg, is beyond me because I tow beyond that limit legally with a Lovells upgrade. I suspect there may be some people who sit back with some criticism who can't have a properly equipped Land Cruiser. The bottom line for me is this= accident free after 56 years, know my limitations, learnt how to pack a van, service the van and towing vehicle as required and never drive too far in a day, I also have cameras and safety devices fitted. Regards, AlPal.

travelyounger · Guru

Yobarr once said on a previous forum that you have "zero" chance of carrying over 3.5 tonne with a 2017 dmax .I am sorry to tell you that you are wrong and you should not be commenting on topics you don't know about.I have upgraded my dmax to 3.6 gvm and gcm to 7.1 tonne with a Lovell's upgrade with 3.600 on my registration and paperwork for the 7100 gcm which has to be carried in the vehicle when towing over the standard 6.0 tonne.That's a legal kit engineered by Lovell's and I am not confused as you stated in a previous forum and for the record it tows really well and you keep on lecturing everyone on this .forum about there vehicles without telling every one what you have.

montie · Guru

travelyounger wrote:
Yobarr once said on a previous forum that you have "zero" chance of carrying over 3.5 tonne with a 2017 dmax .I am sorry to tell you that you are wrong and you should not be commenting on topics you don't know about.I have upgraded my dmax to 3.6 gvm and gcm to 7.1 tonne with a Lovell's upgrade with 3.600 on my registration and paperwork for the 7100 gcm which has to be carried in the vehicle when towing over the standard 6.0 tonne.That's a legal kit engineered by Lovell's and I am not confused as you stated in a previous forum and for the record it tows really well and you keep on lecturing everyone on this .forum about there vehicles without telling every one what you have.

How can you carry 3.5 tonne with an Isuzu DMax??

yobarr · Guru

travelyounger wrote:

Yobarr once said on a previous forum that you have "zero" chance of carrying over 3.5 tonne with a 2017 dmax .I am sorry to tell you that you are wrong and you should not be commenting on topics you don't know about.I have upgraded my dmax to 3.6 gvm and gcm to 7.1 tonne with a Lovell's upgrade with 3.600 on my registration and paperwork for the 7100 gcm which has to be carried in the vehicle when towing over the standard 6.0 tonne.That's a legal kit engineered by Lovell's and I am not confused as you stated in a previous forum and for the record it tows really well and you keep on lecturing everyone on this .forum about there vehicles without telling every one what you have.

You are in fact still confused,because,unless you also have ungraded your towing capacity to more than 3500kg,there is no way known that you can get to your 7100kg GCM.I do not presently have time to explain,but later today I will endeavour to do so. Do you know the new axle rating (carrying capacity) on your car? Cheers

-- Edited by yobarr on Saturday 13th of July 2019 01:11:57 PM

Iva Biggen · Senior Member

yobarr wrote:
Shtik wrote:
We have a land cruiser Sahara
Hi Sue....the LC200 is one of the most over-rated cars around,despite many people towing with them because there seems to be little choice? An LC200 cannot ever SAFELY tow 3500kg as a pig trailer.Any van that you choose to purchase should have an ATM no more than 3000kg,the main problem being the rear axle of the your car,which is rated at only 1950kg carrying capacity.Your towing capacity is 3500kg,but your car has a short wheelbase (2850mm) and a large TBO (towball overhang,or distance from rear axle of car to hitch point).With 10% ball weight on a 3500kg van,you are adding over 500kg to your cars rear axle.(Think levers).You will then be advised by eggspurts that you need to fit a WDH,but that further increases your TBO,adding even MORE weight to your rear axle,until you tension the WDH.More trouble....a WDH does not alter towball weight,so when it is tensioned,some weight is transferred from the cars rear axle to the front axle of the car,with the rest being transferred to your vans axle group.....instantly your van is over its ATM,and overweight. Upgrading the GVM of the car to 3850kg seems like a good idea,until you realise that doing so increases your rear axle rating to only 2000kg.This is great if you simply want to carry more stuff in the car without the van attached,but is a dead-set waste of money if you think it will help you to safely tow 3500kg.The ONLY way an LC200 can SAFELY tow a 3500kg trailer is if that trailer is a DOG trailer,which has next to no towball weight.(Caravans are PIG trailers).We now will hear howls of protest from LC200 owners who are unlikely to understand these things,but I will reiterate that an LC200 cannot SAFELY tow more than 3000kg in a pig trailer configuration. You may well be able to source a van around that weight,but if you would like to discuss this further,please send me a PM and we can go from there.Cheers

-- Edited by yobarr on Friday 12th of July 2019 09:01:17 AM

yobarr · Guru

Iva Biggen wrote:

Hi Ivan.....I thought that only young people took selfies? Anyway,perhaps you would like to enlighten us on what part of my factual and informative post is icecream? There is absolutely nothing in my post that I cannot prove to be true,if you bother to READ and absorb the details,rather than just look at them.Cheers

yobarr · Guru

montie wrote:
How can you carry 3.5 tonne with an Isuzu DMax??

You cannot,but trying to help some understand these things is met with scorn.Later today,when I can spend more than a couple of minutes here,I will again attempt to present the facts in an easily understood form.Cheers

montie · Guru

yobarr wrote:
travelyounger wrote:
Yobarr once said on a previous forum that you have "zero" chance of carrying over 3.5 tonne with a 2017 dmax .I am sorry to tell you that you are wrong and you should not be commenting on topics you don't know about.I have upgraded my dmax to 3.6 gvm and gcm to 7.1 tonne with a Lovell's upgrade with 3.600 on my registration and paperwork for the 7100 gcm which has to be carried in the vehicle when towing over the standard 6.0 tonne.That's a legal kit engineered by Lovell's and I am not confused as you stated in a previous forum and for the record it tows really well and you keep on lecturing everyone on this .forum about there vehicles without telling every one what you have.
You are in fact still confused,because,unless you also have ungraded your towing capacity to more than 3500kg,there is no way known that you can get to your 7100kg GCM.I do not presently have time to explain,but later today I will endeavour to do so. Do you know the new axle rating (carrying capacity) on your car? Cheers

-- Edited by yobarr on Saturday 13th of July 2019 07:05:24 AM

Basically, your combination cannot legally exceed 6750kg measured weight which is GVM (3600kg) plus GTM (3150kg).

Assuming a ball weight of 10% which is 350kg.

Flags2 · Veteran Member

Hi Shtik,

Have you considered the Bailey Rangefinder series?

Possum3 · Guru

A new member asked about caravans - Some of you on here are totally rude, act your age!

yobarr · Guru

travelyounger wrote:
Yobarr once said on a previous forum that you have "zero" chance of carrying over 3.5 tonne with a 2017 dmax .I am sorry to tell you that you are wrong and you should not be commenting on topics you don't know about.I have upgraded my dmax to 3.6 gvm and gcm to 7.1 tonne with a Lovell's upgrade with 3.600 on my registration and paperwork for the 7100 gcm which has to be carried in the vehicle when towing over the standard 6.0 tonne.That's a legal kit engineered by Lovell's and I am not confused as you stated in a previous forum and for the record it tows really well and you keep on lecturing everyone on this .forum about there vehicles without telling every one what you have.

I cannot address you personally,as you seem not to have a name,but Hullo. With respect,I comment ONLY on topics that I DO know about,and I will tell you for free that you have absolutely NO chance of getting anywhere near your 7100kg GCM...NONE. As Monty pointed out,your 3600kg GVM includes 350kg towball weight,or 10% of your 3500kg van ATM. IF you could ever get 3600kg onto your cars wheels.....and you will not........the car would have 3600kg on wheels while the van would have GTM (weight on wheels) of 3150kg.As Monty stated,that would give you 6750kg GCM.....long way from 7100kg.Like the LC200,the only way to get near to the claimed GCM is to tow a Dog Trailer.Your car has a wheelbase of 3095mm and a TBO (towball overhang,or distance from rear axle to hitch point) of around 1450mm.This means that your 350kg towball weight puts over 500kg onto your cars rear axle,and takes about 160kg off the front axle.With your upgrade,your front axle is rated at 1450kg,so even if you were able to get it up to 1450kg,as soon as you connect your van,that axle comes back to 1290kg.NOW,your rear axle is rated at 2150kg,so if we add that 2150kg to the front axle load of 1290kg,we have a car with 3440kg on its wheels. Add your vans GTM of 3150kg and we have a total weight on wheels of 6590kg.....light years away from 7100kg,you would agree? And please do not mention a WDH as that only increases your TBO,putting even more weight onto your car rear axle, and when tensioned it puts SOME weight back onto the front axle of the car,but it also puts weight onto your caravan axles so instantly you exceed your vans ATM so you are overloaded and illegal.In the unlikely event that you READ this post,and not just look at it,you should be able to understand what I have posted? I certainly hope so. Cheers