Thread: Towing larg(er) caravans

Personally with my D3 SE I have never needed the stabilizers, you cannot use a WDH with air suspension, my van is just on 2000kg and the 2.7 tows it without knowing it is there half the time. The folks have an 05 S pulling a 3200kg van around the country for the last few years again without any real issues.

Cheers


Strudeltoowoomba
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Gday...

I have D3 2.7 TDV6 SE Auto - tow a 2600kg 23ft caravan with a 230kg ballweight. As a retired old dude I am travelling full time - been on the road for over 12 months - done about 22,000km and the van has done at least 14,000km of those.

No WDH or stabilisers because they are verboten but it tows it exceptionally well without them. I travel on highway with the van at 1900rpm (5th gear) = 90kph. The auto decides if it needs a lower gear up hills and then I try to keep it around 2200-2800rpm in whichever lower gear it has decided it needs.

I get a best of 12.5ltr/100km and a worst so far of 15.9ltr/100km - my spreadsheet shows that I have averaged 14.4ltr/100km over that time.

The D3 is capable of sitting on 100kph, but I just can't see the point.

I had the Auto flushed and oil changed (and the steel pan fitted) at 82,000km (have 96,000km on clock now). Not because the auto was causing any trouble it just seemed like a good idea for longevity of the trans.

I thoroughly recommend the D3 for towing your size rig. The D3 is like a limo without the van, and feels exactly the same with the rig on - although accelleration is a trifle slower. Having said that I often pass trucks up long hills even with the van on.

Cheers and happy travelling
John

G'day Rednib,
You'll have no trouble towing that weight with your D4 2.7.. Absolutely safe without stabilisers which are not allowed anyway with air suspension. D4 has "tow assist" ( I think that is what called!) which sorts out loss of control when towing.
I am local to you so PM me if want a bit more of a yap..

Discojools.

i do those weights with a tdi300 and a 2.25p....

if your boots heavy enough you are'nt even going to know its there except for the mirrors.

Thanks guys,I feel much better now ...for a while I could not see the forest for all the Japanese trees around me! There seemed to be only one way to go and that was a V8 Diesel !!! All the japa-toyo-nese talk was rather frightening.
So thank you for sharing your experiences with me . Any other tips and hints are much appreciated and welcomed

Originally Posted by rednib

Thanks guys,I feel much better now ...for a while I could not see the forest for all the Japanese trees around me!

you a midget?

assuming its an auto talk to your dealers about upgrading the auto cooler.

advise them that sealed for life means that the dealers life expectancy now equals the life of your auto, when it dies from lack of servicing you are going to come and kill him.

The 3.0L D4 tows much better than the LC200. It's not all about the power and torque. If you want more you can always get a re-map which will put it way beyond the LC200.
Do not use a stabiliser as it will compete with the air supension and the Tow Stability Assist.

I have towed 2 vans with my D4 now.

The first was a Coromal 615 the ATM was 2300kg the D4 towed it very well indeed.

The second and current van is a Lotus Trackvan Extreme the ATM is 3500kg the traveling weight will be around 3200-3300kg. There is a marked difference between how the D4 handles each van. With the lighter van I had no loss of steering feel at all the bigger van causes a marked difference in steering feel. I have since had a wheel alignment done on the D4 but I haven't towed the van since.

I am surprised at the change in steering, the new van at the configured tow weight has a ball weight of 220kg (Test on a weight bridge) this isn't a high load for the D4.