Bent Utes

[Ian Reid Advanced Member Find all posts View Profile Close Ian Reid]

Bit of intrresting reading http://www.4x4australia.com.au/drive/1504/bent-utes/
Makes me glad i got a Prado or 2

[Joe Lighty Member Find all posts View Profile Close Joe Lighty]

Good read, thanks for posting.

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

Bit of intrresting reading http://www.4x4australia.com.au/drive/1504/bent-utes/
Makes me glad i got a Prado or 2

Although it appears to effect utes, we need to be mindful of not overloading the prado, and as an example the Patrol mentioned in the article was a coiled sprung wagon that had a chassis crack. quote from article below

""In 2004, before we stretched my Patrol, we were nearing the end of a seven-month trip that had taken in some cross-country travel south of the Cooper Creek, some remote sections of the Gulf Country and two complete laps of the Kimberley off the beaten track. Just as we were coming back from Steep Point and Dirk Hartog Island we noticed we had cracked the chassis of the hard-working Patrol. At the time, we were towing a trailer and we had the heaviest duty coil springs we could find under the rear of the Patrol, but there were no airbags.""

[AJ120 Out of control poster! Find all posts View Profile Close AJ120]

Cracked chassis on Patrols is probably as common as utes bending, it's a known issue with the Patrol so doesn't necessarily equate to other wagons.

Cheers Andrew

[Ian Reid Advanced Member Find all posts View Profile Close Ian Reid]

We managed to break a couple of 100 series over the years but they were constantly loaded and very rarely saw any bitumen 2-300k on them. The Patrols we had for demo went back in a few months with lots cracks in chassis and panels never to be invited back


Sent from my iGizmo using Tapatalk

[kenny5000 Advanced Member Find all posts View Profile Close kenny5000]

Interesting read, highlights the fact that you need to be aware how much weight you are loading your rig up with! All those accessories weigh a lot too when added up, combine that with all your camping gear etc and your pretty heavy!!

[clarkie383 Member Find all posts View Profile Close clarkie383]

Combined with driving like your on a highway and not a bush ttrack.
Morrons

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

A bit like the one we south of Tilpa a few years ago towing a single axle van. Swear that they weren't driving fast..........but we had to use a jack to get the van off the tow ball. Sold 100 series manual to by an auto due to a knee issue and could not believe this had happened.

[clarkie383 Member Find all posts View Profile Close clarkie383]

I remember a guy in a 80 series cruiser and trailer doing the Gibb river rd back it the 90s.
He had spares on car and trailer,ended up ditching trailer when he ran out of spares.
Went to next town and got them all fixed then back to retrieve trailer.
If only he slowed down and dropped some air pressure.
This is the guy that had the whole family packed in for an around Australia holiday..............in 5 weeks........
Must have seen a lot of sights..........meathead.

[AJ120 Out of control poster! Find all posts View Profile Close AJ120]

This is the guy that had the whole family packed in for an around Australia holiday..............in 5 weeks........
Must have seen a lot of sights..........meathead.

That reminds me of a guy I spoke to in the Kimberly, his neighbour had recently returned from a 5 week around Australia trip and reckoned it was a waste of time, as there was nothing to see :shock:

Cheers Andrew

[D4Dforme Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close D4Dforme]

I know of someone who bent a Triton ute while towing a boat on bitumen on the Daly River road............There is a few dip's and bumps nothing too seriouse but the leverage the trailer had was enough to bend the ute to the point where the tow bar was within a 100mm of the ground.......
It was a thrifty hire car too.......so possibly had been way overloaded before........No air bags and bugger all in the ute and a 5mtr alloy boat and trailer should not bend a car.

Dan

[Early Member Find all posts View Profile Close Early]

The 4x4 article mentions Mitsubishi and Nissan to be more prone to bending the rear chassis than any other brand. If you look at the location of the rear wheel and the amount of tub overhang, I agree.
Hate to say it, one thing the americans got right is majority of their 4x4 trucks (Ford, Chev, Dodge) change wheelbase length dependent on whether it's single/dual cab or short/long box to have the rear wheels almost in the middle of the tub to help with load distribution.

[AJ120 Out of control poster! Find all posts View Profile Close AJ120]

I know a lot of people complain about the Prado's 2500kg towing capacity, and a few people have switched to dual cabs as some of them offer 3500kg towing capacity. Makes you wonder just how safe some of the Utes are with those weights hanging on behind, even if they never leave the blacktop.

Cheers Andrew

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

I agree with those commenting in the article. Most of it can be attributed to a combination of weight and driving style. My opinion on the matter is our 4x4s are more refined, powerful and handle better than ever before. This causes the drivers to go harder on crap roads than they otherwise would have in something older or less refined. The car still cops the same pounding than the older cars would have but the passengers don't.

The laws of off-road driving still apply, air down and slow down. Have some mechanical sympathy and use common sense.

[Ian Reid Advanced Member Find all posts View Profile Close Ian Reid]

I know a lot of people complain about the Prado's 2500kg towing capacity, and a few people have switched to dual cabs as some of them offer 3500kg towing capacity. Makes you wonder just how safe some of the Utes are with those weights hanging on behind, even if they never leave the blacktop.

Cheers Andrew

I suspect that is one reason Toymota don't rate them higher. There is a lot of additional stress on a vehicle towing off road. Reducing the towing limit reduces Toyota's liability. Countries like NZ and UK can cope with 3 tonne on a Prado more readily as they wouldnt get the nearly the amount of long haul off road hammering that occurs in Aus.


Sent from my iGizmo using Tapatalk