Off road Caravan options whats the truth?

[Razorback81 Advanced Member Find all posts View Profile Close Razorback81]

Bamurru
what has been done to your car?
suspension ?
internal mods?
external mods?
tyres? size?
brake controller ?
tow bar? type and has it been checked !!!!!!
what is on the roof ?
auto or manual ?
if manual what clutch is in it?
if your a manual and your towing heavy i would suggest you look into the transfer case mod a fellow PP member has done to allow you to put it in low range without locking the centre diff
i am ready to do it to 3 cars here as we all need to reverse into awkward areas and we are all manual with heavy vans & campers



all of the above will affect the towing some in a good way, some affect them really bad

does your car have the brake booster or the other type of brakes with the motor driven actuator ????????
the booster style brake work fine until you drive the other type, then they fell quite bad until you get used to them again
(by the way i have changed rotors to the slotted type & fitted better pads on the 120 and the 150 std brakes are far better as it has traction control)

in my honest opinion 2.4t van behind a manual Prado 120 would be all i would tow
i have towed 2.9t (loaded car trailer always felt like i was pulling the guts out of the car) , so drove accordingly 5th gear 90km/hr looking way ahead if i needed to stop

an auto give a bit more flexibility for getting a heavy weight going, but then there is a lot mor effort in stopping as you don't have the gears to aid you slowing down

my car uses the King Shocks and special ordered rear springs and airbags
if i put the van on the back i would ad 30lbs to the airbags
if i am loaded for a big remote trip still run 20lbs

in the 150 which has nothing in it
i run lifted springs with std shocks at the moment with air bags in the rear
run 5lbs empty (it's too stiff) hook the van on and we run 30lbs and it's nice

std suspension won't take a heavy load , and it will handle like a boat
what type of off road do you want to do with your van ????????????
where do you want to take your off road van ???????


how much gear & how many people are you taking ?????

Razorback

[Bamurru Lurker Find all posts View Profile Close Bamurru]

Thanks all who have replied....most helpful.....in terms of question about proposed use i am not proposing tracks as rough as Telegraph track but certainly was hoping for other less challenging dirt touring roads and national park roads with some creek crossings. In terms of the question about modifications the only addition is a 2 inch lift with TJM suspension kit. As you have probably gathered I am not particularly mechanically minded or aware of additions and equipment nor have i any towing experience of note. Having said i am much travelled off road but am getting too old to continue to swag it on longer trips or in cold and rain down south (i am Cairns based)...thus looking for a bit of comfort

[Razorback81 Advanced Member Find all posts View Profile Close Razorback81]

mate have a look at some of these
these will go wherever you would the prado and be reliable , have good sized aircons and are well build as they are for off road

https://www.gumtree.com.au/s-ad/elim...van/1209656184

https://www.gumtree.com.au/s-ad/maro...eer/1210228856 a bit smaller one

https://www.gumtree.com.au/s-ad/tull...van/1201043160

these were the ones i would look at up closer to you in QLD, have aircon , have the cut up rear end and are poptops for low aero height and have outside showers

[Razorback81 Advanced Member Find all posts View Profile Close Razorback81]