Pedders Trakryder Lift/GVM

[Daniel150 Member Find all posts View Profile Close Daniel150]

Hi everyone
I’m new to this forum. I’ve been using it for years for advice for my previous 120 series and now I’ve bought a new 150 I thought I’d become a member and share some information with everyone.
We took delivery of our new 2021 model Prado this august and being a big investment I decided to do everything correct, right from the start. After years of touring I knew exactly what I wanted in mods etc.
First mod was a 2inch lift with a GVM upgrade to make the weight of the mods etc all legal. This was done pre rego so it was recognised in every state for re rego.

We chose Pedders as the local dealer was a great bloke and very knowledgeable. BIG MISTAKE
After installation the suspension would “top out” on even the smallest bumps and sounded terrible. 3 sets of different springs and spacers later the dealer realised that the shocks that pedders supply with their lift and GVM kits (same thing, just engineered) are only the standard length, meaning they don’t have enough travel to cope with the lifted springs. Pedders only make 1 foam cell and one gas shock for our prados and both are too short but they still install them by the bucket load.
Toyota even offer these kits from factory

So just a word of advice, steer well clear of Pedders lift kits or GVM upgrades. I’ve since fitted a dobinsons IMS kit and had it re engineered. Other than that, lovels are the only other mob to offer a pre rego kit.
And yes my car was correctly weighted for the springs (bullbar, winch etc)
Hopefully this saves someone some time and money!
Happy to provide more details and model numbers if anyone needs them.
Cheers

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Adding to that, I would avoid Lovells too. Horrible ride quality, and quite dubious practices by Lovells in regards to what they say you get and what you legally get. GVM/ GCM etc.

[Daniel150 Member Find all posts View Profile Close Daniel150]

And the pedders ride was on the harsh side as well.
Second set of dobinsons on my cars now and pretty happy with them.
To Pedders credit, they owned up to the fault and refunded the purchase price. It’s just ridiculous that they can sell a “premium outback” kit that can barely be driven on most highways.

[Tamziiko Banned Find all posts View Profile Close Tamziiko]

Thanks to your advice, I have more knowledge about Pedders. Basically, I don't have a lot of money and my knowledge is limited
fall guys

[MarkAW Lurker Find all posts View Profile Close MarkAW]

Hi everyone
I’m new to this forum. I’ve been using it for years for advice for my previous 120 series and now I’ve bought a new 150 I thought I’d become a member and share some information with everyone.
We took delivery of our new 2021 model Prado this august and being a big investment I decided to do everything correct, right from the start. After years of touring I knew exactly what I wanted in mods etc.
First mod was a 2inch lift with a GVM upgrade to make the weight of the mods etc all legal. This was done pre rego so it was recognised in every state for re rego.

We chose Pedders as the local dealer was a great bloke and very knowledgeable. BIG MISTAKE
After installation the suspension would “top out” on even the smallest bumps and sounded terrible. 3 sets of different springs and spacers later the dealer realised that the shocks that pedders supply with their lift and GVM kits (same thing, just engineered) are only the standard length, meaning they don’t have enough travel to cope with the lifted springs. Pedders only make 1 foam cell and one gas shock for our prados and both are too short but they still install them by the bucket load.
Toyota even offer these kits from factory

So just a word of advice, steer well clear of Pedders lift kits or GVM upgrades. I’ve since fitted a dobinsons IMS kit and had it re engineered. Other than that, lovels are the only other mob to offer a pre rego kit.
And yes my car was correctly weighted for the springs (bullbar, winch etc)
Hopefully this saves someone some time and money!
Happy to provide more details and model numbers if anyone needs them.
Cheers

Hey, how'd you go reengineering a dobinsons IMS set up. I contacted about 20 VASS engineers here in Victoria and no one was interested.

Fitted lovells GVM the other day, ok mostly but a bit harsh on some roads that look smooth but roads that look rough it's smooth...go figure. Drops about 20mm with 230kg van on the rear

[Daniel150 Member Find all posts View Profile Close Daniel150]

Hi mate.
We used a local engineer called tonkins, they seem to do all the after rego certification in sa. Pedders organised it and payed the fee ($1400 from memory). I have since contacted their office a few times to follow up on paperwork etc and they are pretty hopeless with customer service. Not sure if they’re more geared towards only working for suspension places and not the end user but they weren’t helpful at all.
I’ve heard the lovells are pretty rough, a mate upgraded his 79 and it’s unbelievably harsh. At least the shocks are the right length though

[Daniel150 Member Find all posts View Profile Close Daniel150]

Ok, so to follow up with my new lift for those looking around…
Had the dobinsons ims lift fitted a month ago and have since done 2000km mostly towing a caravan and beach driving. Have done a few hundred km of average dirt roads and rocky tracks (not extreme, but pretty bumpy) and beach driving.
Firstly, my Prado is fairly heavy, Steel bar (arb), winch, roof rack, towbar, 4 kids and a 50l waeco. I tow a 2 ton 18 foot single axle van and we mostly free camp so plenty of water etc.
When we left, the car weighed in at 3210kg, just under the new gvm of 3250kg. The van came in 100kg over on the axle.
The dobinson 100-300kg springs only dropped 20mm with the 200kg ball weight, 4 kids and tandem kayak on the racks. This is my second set of 100-300kg springs on a Prado and they ride great around town but don’t sag badly once loaded. A good compromise in my opinion as air bags are not a good idea (my own opinion I know)
The ride is fantastic compared to the other Prados I have been in (we have a lot between my mates). I gave it a hard time to test it, did a 20km stretch of fairly rough track at 90kmh with 40 psi in the tyres to make it work and it felt great. No fade and kept all four wheels in touch nicely.
Front flex is pretty standard for IFS, but rear flex is great. I have 32” muddies and it will tuck into the guard until the mud flap touches the ground. On the other side it will drop until 3/4 of the tyre is below the sill.
All up, really happy with everything and a HUGE improvement over the Pedders crap.
Time will be the only other test but for now I think it’s definitely worth the coin.
hope this helps anyone looking at upgrading
cheers

[Daniel150 Member Find all posts View Profile Close Daniel150]

Just to add, I’ve lifted a few 4wds and I believe as long as you stick to a 4x4 brand (fulcrum, ome, tough dog etc) you will be happy with the money spent. The above is just a review on the dobinsons as I am pretty stoked with the result we got.
Just don’t go Pedders trakryder

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

Got a Lovells pre reg GVM upgrade in my 2019 GXL. Initially the front HD springs sagged, which wasn't unexpected with ARB bullbar and Warn winch. Lovells swapped it over to their EHD springs which has resulted in no sagging, however I'm on my 3rd set of lower shock bushes which constantly get flogged out.The ride is OK, but getting tired of the flogged out bushes and fortunately . Lovells have replaced them under warranty. The EHD springs look like they belong in a Mack truck. The Prado is just over 3000kg, but Lovells are saying the front is too heavy.

[drk1986 Lurker Find all posts View Profile Close drk1986]

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Daniel150 , I am new to the GVM upgrade process and at the time of writing this i can only seem to find 2 kits that are authorised for GVM upgrade in Prados - Pedders and Lovell. Is the Dobinson kit you put in a GVM upgrade or just a lift?

Any info appreciated - i currently have OME 2 inch lift (BP-51), absolutely love it. The ride is so smooth and hasn't sagged over 35000km yet, however we are buying a caravan and need to upgrade to 3500kg GVM.

[Daniel150 Member Find all posts View Profile Close Daniel150]

Hi mate.
Pedders and Lovells have a pre engineered package that they sell. It is just heavier duty springs that have been engineered. Their engineer has also looked at the axles and deemed them capable of 3500kg, unlike Toyota who deemed them capable of 3250kg.
ANY set of stiffer springs can be upgraded to the axle limits of 3250kg by an engineer without the need for expensive lane change and braking tests. You could get any brand set up and engineered for 3500kg but you’d need deep pockets.
My dobinsons kit was engineered to a gvm of 3250 very easily with an inspection from the engineer and the RTA.
The simplest way to get 3500kg is to buy a pre packaged kit from pedders or lovells. In my experience I’d only be using Lovellls, I could not advise strongly enough AGAINST pedders.
In your case, ask your local 4x4 mob like dobinsons or arb if they have an engineer available and you could get the existing setup engineered for 3250kg for about $1400 for the engineer and $300 for the RTA inspection.
Happy to give you a call if you need any help, just pm your number.

[Daniel150 Member Find all posts View Profile Close Daniel150]

Which state are you in?
Also you won’t find any details on gvm upgrades online apart from the kits from pedders and lovells.
You may even find it hard to find a 4x4 store that will do even basic gvm upgrades. Some dealers do them, some don’t. It depends on the individual franchise.

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

Superior Engineering also offer GVM Upgrades for the 150 (non KDSS), but they come with remote reservoir shocks.

[Daniel150 Member Find all posts View Profile Close Daniel150]

Superior Engineering also offer GVM Upgrades for the 150 (non KDSS), but they come with remote reservoir shocks.

Correct, sorry I forgot that one, but from memory their 2 inch lift gvm is just lovells and the remote res ones are for a 4 inch lift. I could be wrong on that though.

Correction. Sorry the do offer their own 2 inch lift and gvm. It will set you back a cool 10k though.

[mcleanross Moderated member Find all posts View Profile Close mcleanross]

A suggestion I think you need to make more precise choices
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