Q's about towing 23ft van with SWB Prado

[frederick Member Find all posts View Profile Close frederick]

Hi again, its got me buggered how a shortie prado has a higher towing rating than the longer wheelbase one? that does not make sense to me and as i stated earlier in the thread i cannot get my head around towing a large caravan with a volkswagon even if the volksie could do it! anyway thats just me bloody old fashioned but ultra careful. May i say this before some of you ppers jump on me and start talking about road trains and prime movers etc well consider this, thats what they are designed for, road trains and prime movers not like the Prado which is an every day car that takes mum and the kids to school then hooks up a bloody large caravan and tows at the legal speed limit. I will say this, you would want to be very careful with the shortie Prado and its 3 tonne towing capacity, no doubt it can tow that weight legally but what happens if you need to swerve because some idiot pulls out in front of you and then caravan weight takes over.
Just my two bobs worth and my own opinion.

Cheers
Wazza (frederick)

[light5light Member Find all posts View Profile Close light5light]

Talking about towing, my caravan is around 1.5t with 21ft long and electric brake on 4 wheels (and about 2T with full load of 4 x 100L water tanks and stuffs).

One thing i am concerning is that, if I press the brake hard, the caravan will stop faster than my Prado, and feeling like that van stops the car rather than the car stops the van.

Is this the right thing? - Im using Tekonsha P3

Anyway, I tow it on highway with 120kmh without any problem.

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

first time I seen so much negativity that Toyato has got it so wrong with their product, maybe you need to go buy a proper 3T capable vehicle

You will find that there is a total maximum weight for car and trailer combined, that may also give you parameters to work within.

[Big Block Junior Member Find all posts View Profile Close Big Block]

I didn't buy the prado to tow big weight, that's what the 100 series is for. Hey light5light it sounds like you just need to wind the setting back a tad on the teckonsha.

[light5light Member Find all posts View Profile Close light5light]

I didn't buy the prado to tow big weight, that's what the 100 series is for. Hey light5light it sounds like you just need to wind the setting back a tad on the teckonsha.

Thanks mate.
I will try to adjust the Teckonsha and see how it goes.

[Foxy49 Junior Member Find all posts View Profile Close Foxy49]

Hi , People we have the shortie and as I have said it is excellent .The power to weight ratio using everything that the Prado has, towing has NEVER been a problem .As with all towing if you have your vehicle and trailer set up properly ie your brakes ,torsion bars ,and drive to conditions there is no problems .As for swerving out of the way of other vehicles that can happen anywhere anytime by anyone. the shortie is excellent for towing and it also uses less fuel as it has what I said earlier less weight to hall along.I have no trouble in recommending the shorties Cheers Foxy

[Reedy Lurker Find all posts View Profile Close Reedy]

I have towed 2.8tonnes with my SX and it did it with no problem. As long as the van has a good brake system you will be fine with a ZR. Just take it easy!

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

I have towed 2.8tonnes with my SX and it did it with no problem. As long as the van has a good brake system you will be fine with a ZR. Just take it easy!

How does it tow up and down Mt Victoria pass north of Mt Boyce?

Yowie.

[prado2004 Advanced Member Find all posts View Profile Close prado2004]

how come the new swb prados tow more than the lwb version?

A mate just bought a swb prado. He told me the main reason was becasue they tow 3000kg and the lwb tow 2500kg. I thought this was weird but seems to be true, I wonder why this is? Usually it is the other way around, I know the pajeros have always been this way due to lighter kerbside weight etc it does not really make any sense to me... Better ABS or something?

Anyway just curious to see why this would be

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

because large towing capacities are reserved for the cruiser, allowing the lwb prado to tow 3t would dent demand for the cruiser. The swb is not seen as a threat to cruiser sales, hence higher towing capacity.

[waltec Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close waltec]

Does it have to do with total mass?? Does the SWB have a lower gross mass? I guess it would, so that extra mass can be added to the towing capacity

Just had a look on Toyota website and that does look like the case - Gross combination Masses are very close.

GX

• - Kerb weight (kg) 2210
• - Gross Vehicle Mass (kg) 2990
• - Gross combination mass (kg) 5490
• - Gross trailer weight braked (kg) 2500

ZR

• - Kerb weight (kg) 2145
• - Gross Vehicle Mass (kg) 2600
• - Gross combination mass (kg) 5585
• - Gross trailer weight braked (kg) 3000

[okkanui Lurker Find all posts View Profile Close okkanui]

A mate has an SX model (diesel / auto) and regularly tows his 2.4 tonne boat/trailer rig all around Victoria and up to south coast of NSW. No problems at all

[BAZPRADO Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close BAZPRADO]

I used to tow a double axle un-braked 5,700 lbs boat trailer with my 2007 SWB V6, went by without a hitch (laws here are pretty lax on towing), the only concern was the longer braking distances, so I drove it with that in mind. I now have the same vehicle but with a 2.7L 4 cylinder engine, I will not be towing anything with this car