Caravan Towing 150 Series

[Prone Member Find all posts View Profile Close Prone]

Just in case you are running the standard tyres still, bear in mind that their maximum pressure is 51psi cold.

I still run the standard tyres, generally around 40psi when towing. The van tyres are LT and I run those at 50psi. On last trip of 6139 km Melbourne to Birdsville and surrounds and back with van at around 1400kg +/- used 823 Litres for a calculated average of 13.4L/100km.

I use D and S4 depending on terrain as others have noted.

I have TPMS fitted and the above pressures fit in with the 4-6 psi rule.

Cheers
Prone

[Bawky Member Find all posts View Profile Close Bawky]

How many people towing heavy loads have the oil cooler fitted to a D4D diesel vehicle?

[Gav&Jo Lurker Find all posts View Profile Close Gav&Jo]

G'day Bawky. I don't have a transmission oil cooler fitted to the new Altitude, however it does make good sense. From memory, my father used to always have one fitted to his vehicles for towing the boat, or van around....however I don't hear much about them these days. I wonder if Toyota have a genuine product that could be fitted? I'm not sure I'd be keen to go for an aftermarket cooler....just in case it was to fail, drop oil and leave a nasty non-warranty bill !

[krypto Avid PP Poster! Find all posts View Profile Close krypto]

If you check the transmission temp when towing you'll see why coolers are a good idea.

Toyota's solution to high temps has been to raise the alarm point to a point that is very close to the oils thermal limits.

Fitting a transmission cooler is pretty simple and Toyota seem happy provided you do it in series with the existing cooler, which actually seems to be more of a heater for cold climates. There is no OEM option.

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

I tow a 2,100kg off road pop-top at around 90kmh in S4 and only use S5 on downhill runs that do not need engine braking. This keeps the revs at 2200 to 2300 and the torque converter locked up. Fuel use 12.8 to 13.4 on the flatter country and up to 16.0Lph in the hills. My Scanguage is the older type so I can only monitor water temp and if it goes over 90°, I back off. Only happened half a dozen times in three years and usually have the cruise control on with right foot control uphill to keep it in fourth, tourque locked. The comment about the box being able to look after itself is wrong, it will cook trying to keep the revs down. Remember that you need a given power output to maintain the speed of your rig and the middle of your power band is the right place to be. If the Scanguage is correct you will use less fuel towing in fourth than fifth.

[Bawky Member Find all posts View Profile Close Bawky]

Nine months ago I spoke with our dealer workshop. They said that the petrol engine has a auto transmission oil cooler which is external to the radiator for engine coolant. They said the diesel has an auto transmission oil cooler in part of the engine coolant radiator being a separate section. The dealer said that they have installed this OEM part to some diesels to keep the transmission oil cool.

How many of you have done this and has it made a difference?

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

I tow a 2t (+ load) van with a petrol auto 150, and so far the temp gauge stays fairly constant, even up Mt Ousley near Wollongong and the big hills around
Goulburn and Gundagai (plus others). Then again, I don't push it hard on very hot days.

The trans oil cooler is situated near the nearside front of the radiator, and I have a steel insect screen behind the grill to protect the cooler from stones. It appears it would receive a good flow of air through it.

When I had the Prado serviced last week (70,000 service though travelled less than this) I mentioned the trans fluid being checked (as I always do) and was told that at the 80,000 service, it would be checked due to being a major service.

Was also told that the trans fluid is a special long life one that should not need changing. I mentioned that regardless of what Toyota says, heat is the biggest killer of the fluid, and he nodded his head up and down. So wait and see what happens next service.

[Mark from Brisbane Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close Mark from Brisbane]

Sadly I can't add anything to this coversation.....yet.....my new Lotus Van arrives at the end of November, 2100 Tare...max 2500 (so not a lot of weight I realise).

I too have read the manual, and think the S4 option (mine is a diesel auto) seems to be the safest option., but again that's not from experience.

After reading this might have to invest in an auto transmission cooler!!

Oh the joys of 4WDing and now Caravanning........your back pocket NEVER gets a rest

[statey 57 Lurker Find all posts View Profile Close statey 57]

i too had the auto tranny temp warning come on three times in my 150 diesle vx on hill climbs one out of port auguster and twice in the hills south of hobart in tassie,i tow a goldstream off road camper van ,only at 1.7t when out side air temp was 8degrees .so i tow in s4 on the hill climbs and on d when on the flat.i done 10,000ks from wyndham to tassie return i have since bought a davies craige oil cooler and scanguage2 (yet to install them),and have changed the tranny oil when i got home there was no issues with the tranny on the way home to the kimberleys.

[statey 57 Lurker Find all posts View Profile Close statey 57]

i have a 5 door vx D4D 150 and i have the brigestone D697 LT all terrains ,i run 40 psi all round and run 45psi in the campervan goldstream wing 3 model off road ,and i have just done a 10,000klm from wyndham in the kimberleys to tasmania return and my fuel economy figures averaged 17lts-19lts per 100kms driving at 95-100klms,your figure seem to be spot on to me.

[katrx7 Junior Member Find all posts View Profile Close katrx7]

gday, I too have a 5dr d4d towing 2.5t, have travelled on flat services in D and have found temp light can still appear (admittedly into a headwind), so now S4 for most of the times and downhill into S5, run mickey Thompson tyres on 40psi and van tyres on 50psi and no more than 100kph and the best I get is 17L, and up to 21L depending on terrain, but you cant expect miracles, and certainly not the figures they provide. still happy as im towing with a Toyota!!

[ptnlinda Member Find all posts View Profile Close ptnlinda]

Took the new Camper Trailer for a run on the weekend so thought I would experiment with what gear I would run in. The tow vehicle is a diesel GXL with Auto and accessory Auto Transmission oil cooler fitted. We only went 100k's down the road to Adelaide River but the observations were quite enlightening. On the trip down on Saturday ambient temperature was 33c and the Auto was in "D". We sat on 100kph. According to the scan gauge the Auto Box ran at 86c but when the auto changed out of overdrive the temperature at the torque converter got to 105c. I monitor both the auto box and torque converter oil temperatures on the scan gauge. As soon as the auto got back into Overdrive the temp came back to that of the oil in the auto box. This happened the whole way to Adelaide River.
On Sunday coming home the ambient temperature was 37c but this time I left the transmission in S4 as recommended in Mr Toyota's manual. What a difference. The torque converter temp only got to 105c when taking off and getting up to 4th gear and the 100klm I traveled at. The rest of the trip the temperature for both the oil in the auto box and at the torque converter stayed at 77c. Cooler than the trip down even though the ambient temperature was much hotter. From this I have learn't Mr Toyota knows what he is talking about and will in future be towing in S4 as recommended.

[whitey89 Lurker Find all posts View Profile Close whitey89]

Certainly good having the scanguage to monitor that type of thing.

[whitey89 Lurker Find all posts View Profile Close whitey89]

what was fuel consumption like by comparison?

[ptnlinda Member Find all posts View Profile Close ptnlinda]

The difference in fuel consumption was negligible. Certainly not worth worrying about knowing that your auto is running so much cooler as it is the heat that will shorten its life.


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