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One thing I didn't mention in my build thread is any weight over the stock GVM comes off my towing capacity. Pre rego or GVM kits don't do that, it's just because I've done it with the existing lift.

Not an issue for me as my camper is only about a ton dry weight. Could be an issue for you if you want to tow a 3T van.

It's different state-to-state of course, I'd still talk to an engineer to see what options you have.

['Dan' Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close 'Dan']

One thing I didn't mention in my build thread is any weight over the stock GVM comes off my towing capacity. Pre rego or GVM kits don't do that, it's just because I've done it with the existing lift.

Not an issue for me as my camper is only about a ton dry weight. Could be an issue for you if you want to tow a 3T van.

It's different state-to-state of course, I'd still talk to an engineer to see what options you have.

Oh that's a bit of a game changer lol

Back to waiting for a new petrol Prado

[malloc Member Find all posts View Profile Close malloc]

Back to waiting for a new petrol Prado

Petrol hybrid would be great. I've looked around at other cars as well but like the size and barn door configuration of the Prado.

['Dan' Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close 'Dan']

Petrol hybrid would be great. I've looked around at other cars as well but like the size and barn door configuration of the Prado.

You LIKE the barn door? What the hell man lol it's my least fav feature of the car hands down.

The size is the winner for me.

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You LIKE the barn door? What the hell man lol it's my least fav feature of the car hands down.

It gets the spare out from underneath without needing a rear bar. Much easier to change a tire offroad.

You can climb on the tire to get to the roof rack. You can hang a bin bag off it too.

With a drop down table installed it makes a perfect cooking area, and the door can act as a wind break. A 270 awning clears the door easier vs a lift back.

Yep, I love the barn door

['Dan' Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close 'Dan']

It gets the spare out from underneath without needing a rear bar. Much easier to change a tire offroad.

You can climb on the tire to get to the roof rack. You can hang a bin bag off it too.

With a drop down table installed it makes a perfect cooking area, and the door can act as a wind break. A 270 awning clears the door easier vs a lift back.

Yep, I love the barn door

Hahah fair enough, we will have to agree to disagree but here's my rant anyway - all in good fun.

Heavy (kids struggle with it and can easily close itself/crunch you/kids etc if it's not fully opened and locked if you're on a slope/wind gets it). Kano specifically sell a shim kit to raise the door back up after the hinges inevitably sag over time.

Rattles/Squeeks - lots of complaints about this one online, I 'think' I've found the specific plastic piece of the guide that causes the annoying squeek so I can just keep some lube up to it, never had this issue in either of the old Territories I had.

Makes bike rack purchasing more expensive as you need swing/tilt if you ever want to get to the door, even then it can be a compromise and I have a full tilt, lay down flat style rack.

Access is limited to the driver side unless you open the door wider, annoying for small parking spots.

Guess how many spares I've had to change in my life? 0.... Yeah bit of luck in there and I'm not a big off road person, but in over 20yrs of driving the location of a spare has never really been a concern for me. Oh wait sorry, I changed a spare for an elderly couple in their Prado once as they were struggling because the supplied kit from Toyota is a bit average for the job.

I stand on the rear wheels if I need to get to the roof or just on the sidesteps - depends on how tall you are I guess, I'm only 6ft.

Also, since the latest firmware I've had like 6 instances of codes so it's a backwards step for me. I did alter the lockup sensitivity as it was extremely conservative when it came back, but maybe that's for good reason to avoid the codes?

I will keep playing and chatting with Marshall but in D the behaviour is either problematic with codes or barely doing anything for normal commuting, but that may just relegate it to being a towing specific mod.

I'm also slowly chipping away on an engine rebuild project with the kids for another car ($500 worth of Ford Mondeo XR5 with a spun bearing lol) that when done I might drive most days of the week for the school run etc (if it actually runs after this) and the Prado can be parked.

'm bored of driving the Prado and paying the excess in terms of servicing/fuel usage just to do basic commuting in/out of town/ferry the kids around etc but we need it for the van/towing race cars etc and even though the missus is due for a new car it won't be anything big enough to tow this or the future van but should be big enough to be a weekend away/family holiday car which we also usually use the Prado.

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

Guess how many spares I've had to change in my life? 0.... Yeah bit of luck in there and I'm not a big off road person, but in over 20yrs of driving the location of a spare has never really been a concern for me. Oh wait sorry, I changed a spare for an elderly couple in their Prado once as they were struggling because the supplied kit from Toyota is a bit average for the job.

You must either be very young or very lucky! I've had 5 punctures in the last five years. All five on blacktop, four were tech screws, three in the metro area, two were so close to the side wall that repairers refused to repair them and one of those two write-offs was a three-week-old tyre! And one of the, thankfully repairable, punctures happened on the way back from the local garage, where I'd towed my caravan to check the tyre pressures before setting out on a trip the next day.

And I can say, lifting a tyre onto the door-mount spare tyre location on a Prado takes more than a grunt. But I love the 150 litres of fuel that I can carry when travelling long distances.

['Dan' Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close 'Dan']

You must either be very young or very lucky! I've had 5 punctures in the last five years. All five on blacktop, four were tech screws, three in the metro area, two were so close to the side wall that repairers refused to repair them and one of those two write-offs was a three-week-old tyre! And one of the, thankfully repairable, punctures happened on the way back from the local garage, where I'd towed my caravan to check the tyre pressures before setting out on a trip the next day.

And I can say, lifting a tyre onto the door-mount spare tyre location on a Prado takes more than a grunt. But I love the 150 litres of fuel that I can carry when travelling long distances.

Gotta be luck then lol, I'm 41 shortly. I do try and look after my tyres, proper inflation, don't drive on the shoulder where avoidable/through potholes etc and I live 3ks down what was up until recently a dirt road and live in a rural setting where the roads in general are not flash and have been back on the Dunlop AT20s for quite a while now. Luck for sure but also some common sense has helped improve that luck maybe.

I think the last time I had a tyre failure was hitting a gutter in my Celica when I was maybe 20? It was either that or rear end the car that pulled out in front of me in an 80 zone lol Took a big chunk right out of the sidewall and damaged a rim and they were only a week old

Yes I love the tank size too and don't love moving the wheels around during rotations at service time, the road tyres are much nicer to work with than the ATs I had though, so much lighter.