Thread: help advice towing i want a p38

I always thought solar was a money making racket for clever sparkies! Now your choice of work vehicle will confirm it to the unknowing (of P38 bargain prices) public at large.

FIND:

Well maintained, "Top Hat" fitted GEMS OR Thor. If you can, get as many of the following thrown in or find one with it done.

BUY:

- EAS Kicker OR (pref) a Nanocom Evolution

BUY and FIT:

- EAS Override Kit (or carry valves for emergency use)
- Aussie Desert Coolers OR New Radiator
- New coolant overflow cap

Triple check all normal consumables and service items and replace/upgrade as required.

Go to your favourite Auto Elec and get them to wire up your battery/tool stuff.

Start towing... there is a lot more than that to consider, but for the money you are only paying out 1/4 the cost of an SR5. That means you can throw 3 P38's away while properly joining in with the community here, learning to use the search function and getting on top of the other bits and pieces!!!

Good Luck! Dave

P.S. Join RACQ Top Care (just in case!).

thanks dave,


yep the general public don't know what they are missing out on lol and yes about 1/4 cost of sr5 but also bout 1/4 cost in custom trailer so yes should be in front even after spending on restoration of bits and pieces, wallet should be wiser and more comfortable sitting in luxury hehe


racq will be a must also, p38 wont have any probs with the weight towing I assume, any tips worthy in the performance line


yes forgot to put in bout nanocom or eas kicker that's on the list


"top hat"??? meaning nice condition?? or something else
either GEMSr THOR no noticeable torque advantage?
I figure cooling will be an issue specially out west
have been reading and learning a lot here


thanks again for the help mick

thanks dave


hmmm "top hat" fitted cant find any post re top hat think it means something else other than looked after type of intake manifold?? now im showing my newbie side
mick

Top hat refers to the way new cylinder liners are fitted. Like an upside down top hat. These engines can over heat .

Me, for towing would go Thor. Better torque down low I think.

The only other thing to watch is your tow ball weight. 150 kg ball weight / 3500 kg towing.

Highly recommend EAS Kicker. And EAS Over ride kit.

There a great car . Hope you find a good one

Gary

thanks gary


ahh so how do you find out if "top Hat" fitted it has to have had an engine rebuild?? for top hat to be fitted??
yes to the eas override and kicker
and regards trailer I haven't worked out the ball weight as yet as being custom built and designed althou im sure we can get it to under 150kg ball weight and expecting loaded weight to be 2300kg to 2400kg so will be inside those limits


thanks again
mick

Without blowing the trumpet, I think what you're after is something similar to my current setup (minus the off-road additions).

See my thread in Members Rides section: Meet my second P38!

And also my dual battery setup: My Dual Battery install and new centre switch pack

A basic rundown - Traxide SC80 dual battery isolator, capable of feeding one or two batteries (so great for feeding power to a trailer or van). Mine has two 50amp circuit breakers (one near the crank battery and one near the aux battery) and I've also fitted an Anderson Plug to my dual battery setup for physical disconnection when/if needed as my aux battery is in an Ark Powerpack box so I can take it out and power accessories away from the Rangie. To top that off I've fitted an isolation switch to the battery controller to allow me to prevent charging the aux if needed, but also to prevent draining the main battery on extended camps.

The Anderson Plug doubles as a means to connect my solar panels to the aux battery.





In terms of towing, I've now got a Tekonsha P3 trailer brake controller for my P38. I have heard excellent things about this brake controller. Am yet to use it in anger.

With that said, I towed a fully loaded Classic Rangie on a 1.2t car trailer - while my P38 was also loaded to the hilt (this was in Cape York on my trip in 2013 and without a brake controller at the time) and managed a respectable 18.5L/100km at 85km/h average speed. The P38 had no issues towing that 3.5 to 4t load, it also had no issues pulling the load up despite no trailer brakes (but I do not recommend it - I went down the Kuranda Range in Cairns like this and nearly had no brakes by the bottom).

So towing wise, a Thor 4.6 has plenty of torque to get the job done.

You'll also see in my thread in Members Rides that I've installed a second OEM EAS Compressor to run in parallel with the original. This is an off-road mod as I deflate and reinflate quite often on trips, including other vehicles. It allows the short-term use of pneumatic tools from the on-board air as well (although you probably use 18v cordless).

And lastly, something preventative for EAS issues (I don't have issues, but would like to be prepared in the event that I may), I've installed a manual bypass for the EAS.

This setup consists of an alloy block with schrader valves for each air spring, plus one (with a pressure gauge) for the air tank. To improve on a good thing I've fitted a ball valve to each air spring line prior to the alloy bypass block. This allows me the opportunity to bypass the factory EAS system altogether and run pure manual if needed. It's hard to explain as its not the usual bypass. Instead of using a T fitting straight from the valve block I've placed the T fitting after the ball valves.

Long spiel there, and like I said I'm not trying to blow the trumpet! I quite like my setup and I think if anyone can poach ideas from it that are handy, it could possibly prevent issues before they arise or allow quick recovery/mobilization if something did happen.

Cheers
Keithy

Howdy,

Not sure if this is of use, but ill say it anyway

I recently bought a boat weighing 3.5 ton on the trailer, and needed to buy a cost effective, comfortable car to tow it.

For the price, i just couldnt beat the P38. Full chassis car meaning from a structural point of view towing this weight is not a problem. I was lucky enough to get an EAS kicker with mine when i bought it.

They certainly have their electrical issues - theres no doubt about that, but to be honest ive found that a resourceful person can usually get parts quite cheap (second hand).

Most of the issues that happen with them are common across the board, therefore they are well documented with many having almost step by step guides on how to rectify.

They are comfy, aircon is great (when it works), bucket loads of mod cons for a car of their vintage, and really a lot of smarts built in (sometimes too smart for its own good).

I tow my boat regularly from east of Melbourne down to the Mornington peninsula which is predominantly flat 100km/h roads. It tow very smoothly and despite its slightly shorter wheelbase (than say a landcruiser or patrol) it doesnt really get thrown around a bit.

Power admittedly is my biggest issue. Once it gets to 100 k's, you have to work it to get it to stay there. Any form of hill and it will either slow down, or if you push it, it will just drop down a gear and really work hard. Remember I am towing over 100kg's more than you would be though.

I dont know what motor i have unfortunately. Its a 1996 4.6 V8......if that helps.

I find putting it in sport mode helps towing that amount of weight. The gear changes just seem to be a little snappier, and a little earlier.......seems to work for the way i tow.

hope that helps.

Dave

You say you dont want LPG now,,,
wait untill you fill your combo up after only 350 odd kays and it sets you back $150 bucks,,
work it out yourself at around 5-6 kilometres per litre,, I get 3.5 towing my van on LPG.

It will be comfy though!