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increasing your vehicle towing capacity


J Kelly

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Hi all,

has anyone on the forum had any luck increasing the towing capacity of their tug.

My tow vehicle is a v8 Troopy with a Lovells gvm upgrade to 3900kg. when the upgrade was done Lovells told me that their licence did not inclue the ability to upgrade the tow capacity.

I have since talked to Creative Conversions at Brendale with no success as they are waiting on some new legistation to allow them to do it. A further call to Lindsey Stone in Townsville met with a similar respone but Linsey did tell me that CVM does not exist for light vehicles which is a bit of a help as I can load the troopy to it's full capacity.

I then spoke with Tom at Kedron and he mentioned that someone had had their tow capacity successfully raise by someone in Townsville but was unable to recall the name of the firm that did the job.

Any information that you can pass on will be greatly appreciated.

Regards, JK.

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John,

I was talking with Tom around September after discussions I had with a company in Townsville. I have since found out that Qld TPT will no longer accept this companies upgrades. It has nothing to do with the product they were producing just the govt doing what it does best stuff everything up.

Cheers

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Hi Laurie,

thanks for the response; this is probably why Phil at Creative Conversions said that they are waiting on new legislation from Qld Govt.

Looks as though an upgrade will have to go on the wish list for a while yet.

Regards, JK.

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Hi all,

has anyone on the forum had any luck increasing the towing capacity of their tug.

My tow vehicle is a v8 Troopy with a Lovells gvm upgrade to 3900kg. when the upgrade was done Lovells told me that their licence did not inclue the ability to upgrade the tow capacity.

I have since talked to Creative Conversions at Brendale with no success as they are waiting on some new legistation to allow them to do it. A further call to Lindsey Stone in Townsville met with a similar respone but Linsey did tell me that CVM does not exist for light vehicles which is a bit of a help as I can load the troopy to it's full capacity.

I then spoke with Tom at Kedron and he mentioned that someone had had their tow capacity successfully raise by someone in Townsville but was unable to recall the name of the firm that did the job.

Any information that you can pass on will be greatly appreciated.

Regards, JK.

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Hi JK Good luck trying to increase towing capacity, been down this path and the short answer that I got from Queensland transport department is NO unless the vehicle manufacturer dose it. We live in Townsville and went and seen Lindsey Stone about increasing towing capacity of our 4.5 litre patrol from 3.2 tonnes to 3.5 tonne he gave me the understanding and a list of things that had to be done to increase it to the 3.5 tonnes done by ARB . So we place a order with Kedron for a top ender knowing it was 3.5 tonnes. 2 months before picking up our van went back to Lindsey to book the car in for an inspection before getting the work done at ARB. Lindsey informed me that the rules had changed and no longer could you increase the towing capacity of a vehicle unless done by the manufacturer, Rang Queensland transport department to verify this and received the same answer from them. So I was in dyer straights what to do so I had to quickly trade in my patrol for a 4.8 litre, Great tow vehicle but could not keep the fuel up to it. Sold it seen the light and bought a v8 Toyota gxl ute the rest is history very happy tows great. GOOD LUCK Richard :lol:

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Thanks for the good luck offer Richard,

yes I also rang Qld transport and got the same no go response; so unless I want to spend $123k plus on a new Chevy or something I guess we will have to work a bit harder on getting the weigh down in the T/E <_< .

Might just get some helium balloons and hang off the back!

Regards, JK.

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Hi All,

This thread in the LCool 200 series site might be of interest to 200 series owners wanting to increase their towing limit:
/>http://www.lcool.org/forum/viewtopic.php?t=5243&highlight=engineer

I am trying to find his contact deatils and will post if successful.

Ian

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Hi All

The Last trip I made in Feb 2011, I was Pulled over & weighed by the RTA, My tow vehicle was a 100 series V8 Petrol (33 lt per 100km)towing a Topender fully fitted out, also carrying a collapsable boat trailer on the rear, outboard on the front & boat on the car roof. I went over the 3500kg, luckily I was let off with a warning.

I searched everywhere as I also heard the car tow capacity could be increased, unfortunately I had no luck.

In the end I purchases a new Chev silverado 3500 HD 6.6lt turbo diesel fully optioned excluding Sunroof. Eventually buying it through American car sales in Vic as they where prepared to negotiate. It cost 107K plus $3800 onroad, only draw back is you need a LR licience which you can do through the RTA for $48.

Certainly fixed the towing problem.

Cheers

David

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Hi David,

Am thinking of that tow vehicle myself because of the weight issues. Did you consider downgrading the Silverado slightly to allow you to drive it on C Class license?

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Hi David,

Am thinking of that tow vehicle myself because of the weight issues. Did you consider downgrading the Silverado slightly to allow you to drive it on C Class license?

Hello All.

We have the 2500 Silverado, which we drive on a C class lisence. Does your Silverado have dual wheels.

Best Wishes. Sue

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Hi All

I also bought a 2500 Silverado, I had the gvm lowered 50kg by an engineer so it can be driven on a car licence, The dealer organised the gvm decrease, it cost $400.00 to do it. The Chevy is the nicest car/truck I have ever driven..

Cheers Phil

post-1028-0-59927800-1326719052_thumb.jp

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Hi All

Origionally I was going to purchase the 2500HD but was told that the New 2011 was 50kg heavier than the previous models & would require a LR Licience. I had heard a few Vehicles had their GVM lowered & therefore could be driven on a C class licience. Not sure if that applies to the new 2011 model.

I had the opportunity to purchase the hew 2011 3500HD at the same price as the 2500Hd, the 3500Hd has heavier running gear which increases the Payload from 1417kg to 1917kg, pushing the GVM to 5218kg, well over the 4500kg limit. The curb weight is only 100kg heavier. The extra weight suited me as I sometimes take a quad bike for beach fishing.

If you do not need the extra payload as both vehicles can tow a trailer up to 5896 KG, I would suggest you purchase a 2500Hd, have the GVM reduced if that is still possible. Not sure how much that reduces the trailer tow capacity but it will certainly still tow any van with ease.

Upgading to a LR means your Greenslips are higher unleass you can register the vehicle through a business. I found the process of taking the test very easy.

Sue & Graham, no the vehicle is a Crewcab standard box 4X4.

Whilst I have not had the opportunity to tow the Topender on any long trips as yet ( heading off to WA in mid Feb for 7 weeks & Cape york in mid august for 7 wks)I concur with Phil & Darlene, the vehicle drives extremely well, leaves my V8 100series for dead..

Std driving, the manufacturer quotes 15 lt per 100km, the vehicle is only 6 wks old, currently getting 14.7lt per 100km.

Phil & Darlene, I would be very interested in what your fuel useage is when towing. It will definately leave the 33lt per 10km Iwas getting from the petrol 100 series.

If anyone would like more info on my experiences when purchasing a chevy please email dhunt@woolworths.com.au & I will be only to happy to respond via email of phone.

Cheers Davidpost-1107-0-63426600-1326757264_thumb.jp

Hope this photo attached correctly

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Hi David and Anyone else interested.

i drove our truck from South Melbourne to Port Augusta and got 13.4lt /per 100km traveling about 110km p/hr, From Pt Augusta to Norseman we got about 15.7 lt/ per 100km travelling about 20-25km p/hr faster.

Towed my van (aprox 4.3t ) around the south west got between 21-25 lt per 100km up hill down dale.

It has an engine brake and a tow haul mode, I bearly need to use the brakes. I have only had it three weeks and have travelled nearly 8000km and don't get tied of driving it.

If anyone would like any other info feel free to call.

Cheers Phil 0417 885 151

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John,

The option of the Silverado while it would be nice doesn't always allow you to get everywhere off road once you leave the van behind unless you want plenty of panel damage on some of the narrow tracks up north. Don't get me wrong I would love one it's just the additional width when you go 4WDing without the van.

We put our 19'6" TE (external)over the weighbridge yesterday set up the way we had it for our trip to Darwin last year and it came in at 3780, so I took it to another weighbridge and it came in at 3760. I am somewhat confused at some of the weights being quoted for vans in some previous topics and discussions considering they are larger vans than ours. We don't have a generator or anything additional hanging off the van.

I have taken everything out of the van today and weighed it and came up with 180kg inside, 250 kg outside this is allowing a 20% increase on what I weighed for scale error. The tare listed on the van is 2835 but I am missing between 195 and 215 kg that I cannot find hidden in the van between the tare weight and loosing the 300kg water, 250 kg outside and 180 kg inside. Even allowing that the tare may have been calculated without the 2 spares (80kg) no gas (18kg) I still cannot account for a significant figure around 100kg ?

I have reduced 52 kg worth of gear from the outside that I can transfer into the car but we are not carrying anything inside that would be considered luxury or not a necessity if you were going for a trip around the block.

Guess I will have to keep looking for options to increase the tow capcity of the cruiser and in the meantime lower water levels while travelling.

cheers

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Hi Laurie,

Do you have the 'dieso heating system with fuel tank' on the TE? The line would be primed with fuel plus what's in the fuel tank.

The hot water system tank and piping would have fluid in it, plus the water piping to all taps /shower from the water tanks.

Then there's the toilet cassette.

Is the washing machine bone dry.

The drinking water filtration unit if you have one.

It's surprising how it all adds up. Becomes an interesting and frustrating subject when you look into it!!

Good luck with your investigation.

Cheers

Gary & Kaye

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Hi Laurie,

the saga drags on, I've had some interesting emails with David Hunt today on buying a Silverado. Like you I also want to get right off road with my tug as I do a spot of gold prospecting as a hobby and I can't see myself taking the Chevy into places that I currently get the troopy. My head is really starting to spin while I look at the options.

I have also stipped the T/E out and rewieghed and similarly have a 100K+ that I can't find. Kedron assure me that the vans are tared with the spares mounted and 2 empty gas bottles in place.

I am starting to doubt the accuracy of our weighbridge here but I don't have an alternative option.

My tare is 3905 which allows me a load of 595k ... I weighed most of the stuff that I normally carry plus made maximum allowances for clothing etc and logged them on to a spread sheet (attached, I hope). With this minimum loading I have 43k left as a margin but I did not make any allowance for the fridge contrents and assume that this would be all of the 43k left.

I can transfer some of the load into the troopy but when I do my annual trip to the cape country it is fully loaded with extra equipment needed for long bush camps.

Regards, JK.

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Stop it!Stop it! Ya doin my bleedin head in :D:wacko: Seriously though ,we weighed our van in WA in 2010 and it came in at 3.7 tonnes fully loaded.

That was heart attack time.The ball weight was 425 Ks.so back to the drawing board. We have got rid of everything that we do not use within 3 months and slid the rear bumper out about 8 inches and fitted a Polly pipe for tent polls and awning arms etc.Back to the weighbridge just out of Richmond NSW. Weight 3.62 Tonnes and ball weight 400ks.The only solution we came up with is to travel with both front tanks empty unless going bush.

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John,

The option of the Silverado while it would be nice doesn't always allow you to get everywhere off road once you leave the van behind unless you want plenty of panel damage on some of the narrow tracks up north. Don't get me wrong I would love one it's just the additional width when you go 4WDing without the van.

We put our 19'6" TE (external)over the weighbridge yesterday set up the way we had it for our trip to Darwin last year and it came in at 3780, so I took it to another weighbridge and it came in at 3760. I am somewhat confused at some of the weights being quoted for vans in some previous topics and discussions considering they are larger vans than ours. We don't have a generator or anything additional hanging off the van.

I have taken everything out of the van today and weighed it and came up with 180kg inside, 250 kg outside this is allowing a 20% increase on what I weighed for scale error. The tare listed on the van is 2835 but I am missing between 195 and 215 kg that I cannot find hidden in the van between the tare weight and loosing the 300kg water, 250 kg outside and 180 kg inside. Even allowing that the tare may have been calculated without the 2 spares (80kg) no gas (18kg) I still cannot account for a significant figure around 100kg ?

I have reduced 52 kg worth of gear from the outside that I can transfer into the car but we are not carrying anything inside that would be considered luxury or not a necessity if you were going for a trip around the block.

Guess I will have to keep looking for options to increase the tow capcity of the cruiser and in the meantime lower water levels while travelling.

cheers

Hi Laurie & Helen,our van had a tare of 2730 kg & to get to this wt.they told me that all of the following are on the ground & are not included[ 2gas bottles,2spares,gen set,no water including cassett,matress's & seat cushions]I also asked if the 3 deep cycle batteries were included & they would not comment.So Iwould say your missing KGs are some where here.Regards Neville

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Hi all

Took delivery of 2011 silverado 2500HD just before Christmas.Even though I hold a MC truck licence I had it down graded to car licence

so wife can drive it & also if I pull up for lunch I can have one beer and still drive because I don't have to be on zero alcohol . Went away for a couple of

weeks after Christmas the silverado fully fueled 216 ltrs & loaded & with the 21ft topender hooked up and fully loaded with drink water full & other 2 half full

& both jerry cans full, put on public weighbridge & came in at 7.460 so can run all water tanks full plus more

Cheers Kakadu

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Hi Laurie,

We have been through the same issues as you are experiencing. We originally had an excellent 100 Series TD until we realised it was no chance of towing 3500kg legally with us staying in the vehicle (lol). The 100 series cannot have the GVM upgraded in Qld thanks to Qld Transport, so we reluctantly upgraded to a 200 series at significant cost. It now has a GVM of 3800 kg (An additional 500kg payload). Our TE is 19 feet externally and first weighed in fully loaded at 3860 kg subsequent to a 6000km trip to the Flinders Ranges. We were absolutely stunned!! Lucky we didn't get pulled over I guess. Anyway, the short story is, the guys at Kedron were great and helped us out no end.

We removed about 14 drawers at around 3kgs each and replaced them with single large doors. Got rid of the washer and plumbing entirely and replaced it with a portable twin tub that weighs about 13kg and has a lot less moving parts. A saving of about 40kg. Ditched the 100 l drinking water tank for a 63 l tank, a further saving of nearly 40kg. The 2 jerry cans and holders together with the outboard bracket have also been removed which was about 62kg. An audit of the contents was also conducted with lots of weighing etc etc... It now weighs in at 3460kg without clothes and food. We will still have to run with the front water tank empty though to be legal and get the towball weight down.

By the way, as I understand it, the tare weight includes both spare wheels and 1 gas bottle with sufficient gas to test the onboard installations, 1 battery, mattress and seat cushions, but no water whatsoever. Don't quote me though please, as I was nearly wrong once before many years ago........ (lol)

Hope this helps.

Regards

Chris

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G'day Chris,

No one is ever wrong, people just interpret what is said differently to what the author intends sometimes. Yes it is a worry but we should be able to make ours work in the meantime with some adjustments to what and how we carry things. The last thing I want to do is get rid of the cruiser as I have nearly got it set up the way we need it for when we leave the van behind.

cheers

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As a guideline for keeping my loading weights down I stripped the van out and weighed all of the necessities that we need to carry on an average trip.

I committed the weights to a spread sheet which allowed me to get a running load as I proceeded. Finally I came up with a list that will allow my loading to come within the prescribed GVM, provided that the Tare was done accuratley at time of delivery.

Caravan Loading Schedule

Tare 2905....... GVM 3500

Load 552...... Allowable 595....... (available for allocation 43)]

water in HWS 20

water (2 part tanks) 150

gas 40

jerricans 10

fuel 0

deisel in heater 5

Front Boot

ant flap kit 12

hoses 5

BBQ 9

gas bottle 10

ext leads 7

water pump 6

Side boot

Honda generator 21

chainsaw 10

LH Side boot

chairs 10

sullage 5

table 8

camp oven 6

LH shovel 2

buckets etc 8

mt jerricans 9

Under Bed

jack 17

shade panels 16

floor panels 10

wine 11

TV dish 12

Kitchen

pots/pans 6

sundries 10

pantry 12

tin food 14

draw contents 30

Clothing

JK 30

PK 30

linen/bedding 25

bathroom 20

Fridge

(contents will have to come within the 43kg spare)

It would be interesting to see how my loading compares with others.

Regards, JK.

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