150 GX prado towing questions

[Loomis Lurker Find all posts View Profile Close Loomis]

Hey everyone looking at getting a 150 prado GX, looking for real life examples of the towing capabilities. Ive got a 2.3 Tonne boat that I will be towing constantly and really don't want to have to worry every time I hook it up. The main things I'm looking for are that I don't lose a massive amount of speed every time I hit a small hill. What will my fuel economy be like ?? Are there any specific upgrades I should look at getting for towing with a 150 GX ?? Any help much appreciated

[bdee Member Find all posts View Profile Close bdee]

Petrol or diesel? I towed approximately that weight for 3 months towing a 21ft van around Oz. I cannot remember dropping below 80 on any hill. We own a petrol the diesel would be even better.

Brett

[Loomis Lurker Find all posts View Profile Close Loomis]

OK cool thanks for that mate, looking at the diesel mate, not a massive fan of petrols in a 4x4

[Pugaree Member Find all posts View Profile Close Pugaree]

You probably already know but 2.3 ton puts you only 200 kgs shy of the max limit for the Prado.

What is the towball weight? The standard suspension is quite softly sprung in favour of comfort. Airbags or an upgrade may be on the cards as well.

[ash56 Lurker Find all posts View Profile Close ash56]

I tow a 16 foot poptop van weighing around 1800 kg with my 2012 gx,as stated by Pugaree they are soft in rear end and would benefit from airbags, I'm looking at installing some soon. As for fuel economy I get around 13/ 100 towing at up to 100kph depending on road conditions.

[Loomis Lurker Find all posts View Profile Close Loomis]

Ok thanks guys, the ball weight is actually very low around 100 kilos the trailer itself its massive and tows my 21 foot bass boat very, its very well balanced can fold away the jockey wheel entirely and the tow hitch wont even touch the ground. If I have to upgrade suspension that's no problem and I probably will anyway. Before the prado I had a 2009 ranger auto it managed the boat OK but lost a lot of speed on hills due to a slow auto box and bad gear ratios 5th gear was massive compared to 4th and just didn't cut it. Don't want to jump into a prado and find the same problem, these have a bit more power and torque from the factory than the ranger just worried that if im going down the high way and hit a hill im going to go from 110km/h to well under 90 is this going to be the case or will it just cruise up hills without me having to put my foot through the firewall ???